The next morning, after eating a couple of slices of toast, she drove to the training center.

When she parked, many parents were also dropping off their kids. Seeing her pull a Cayenne into the lot, quite a few of them looked surprised.

One mother commented, “Is that Ms. Zhong’s car? I’ve never seen her drive before.”

“Maybe it’s a friend’s. If she were that well-off, why would she be working part-time?”

“Not necessarily. She carries herself so well, speaks so eloquently—she doesn’t seem like an ordinary girl. Maybe she’s just a rich lady experiencing life.”

A little girl tugged at her mother’s sleeve. “Mom, let’s go inside. We’ll be late.”

“Alright, alright, let’s go.”

Hui had just finished class and hadn’t even had time to take off her dance shoes before she was called to the office.

She had no idea what was going on, so she knocked politely before entering. “Ms. Zheng, you were looking for me?”

Zheng Xiaojun gestured for her to sit. “Here’s the thing, Qiehui. National Day is coming up soon, and there’s an open slot for a children’s performance at the gala. The station has specifically requested a dance number, and I managed to secure the spot.”

Qiehui still had a tissue pressed against her forehead to wipe off sweat.

She realized she was about to get very busy. Her expression stiffened slightly. “Am I supposed to lead the team for the performance?”

To be honest, she didn’t want to take on the job—it would take up too much time.

With her salary staying the same, the fewer responsibilities, the better.

That was probably the simplest wish of every working person.

Zheng Xiaojun could see through the girl’s hesitation and smiled knowingly.

She tapped her pen in Qiehui’s direction. “Don’t just stand there—come, sit down and let’s talk.”

Qiehui crumpled the tissue in her hand and tossed it into the trash can.

She decided to be upfront about her shortcomings. “Ms. Zheng, I don’t have much experience performing on stage. If I mess it up, it won’t be good.”

Zheng Xiaojun raised an eyebrow and feigned ignorance. “Oh? No experience? Then how did you win the children’s group championship back in the day? Did your family pay for it?”

“Of course not.” Qiehui lowered her head, sweat still trickling down her chin. “Maybe it was just that my teacher choreographed a great routine.”

Zheng Xiaojun followed her lead. “Well, I’ve already choreographed the dance, and I’ve selected a few top students from different classes. You just need to teach them.”

“But…”

Before Qiehui could finish her sentence, Ms. Zheng made an offer. “I’ll give you three times your usual salary this month as compensation for the extra effort.”

That was an offer she couldn’t refuse.

As she was about to leave, Qiehui couldn’t help but ask, “There are so many good teachers at the institute. Why does it have to be me?”

Zheng Xiaojun sighed helplessly. “It’s because Teacher Zhong is well-liked. The girls voted, and they all chose you. They really like you.”

So all her teaching hadn’t been in vain. A warm feeling spread in Qiehui’s heart, and she smiled as she closed the door behind her.

She headed to the shower, changed into a fitted black polo knit top and a tennis skirt, and put on a cap.

Grabbing her small backpack, she checked her unread messages while walking outside.

The class group chat had a notification requesting active party applicants to fill out a form. She opened it and entered her personal information.

The other message was from Youyuan, who had sent her the location of a restaurant, telling her to go there directly after class for dinner.

Qiehui got in the car, tossed her backpack onto the passenger seat, and followed the GPS directions.

The restaurant was a newly Michelin one-starred vegetarian place inside a mechanical and electrical compound on Gongti North Road.

After parking, she asked a server for directions and found the private room, where Youyuan and the others were already waiting.

She greeted everyone one by one before sitting next to Youyuan and handing her car keys to Zhuang Xinhua. “Zhuang Zhuang, here.”

Zhuang Xinhua accepted them, clasped his hands together, and bowed slightly. “Much appreciated.”

Wei Jinfeng chuckled and whispered, “Why does it sound like you’re paying respects to your great-grandmother?”

Zhuang Xinhua smacked him on the head. “Have you ever seen such a young and pretty great-grandmother?”

“Oh? So now you admit she’s pretty!” Wei Jinfeng took a sip of tea and smirked. “Didn’t you say you weren’t interested in her?”

As if worried that Qiehui would overhear, Zhuang Xinhua frowned and shut him up. “Quit talking nonsense. We have a pure revolutionary friendship.”

Wei Jinfeng lifted his teacup and gave him a pointed look. “Oh yeah? What revolution have you two fought together?”

Zhuang Xinhua declared shamelessly, “The revolution against freedom! The revolution against love!”

“…Just don’t let Xiaole know. She’s petty. If she finds out, she’ll raise hell again.”

The first dish was a lily root purée served in a hollowed-out monk fruit shell, carrying a natural medicinal sweetness.

Shen Tangyin arrived at that moment, alone, without her usual shadow, Yang Yumeng.

Wei Jinfeng’s eyes lit up, and he quickly offered her a seat. “Tang’er, what took you so long?”

Hearing the nickname “Tang’er” come from his Beijing-accented mouth completely stripped it of any wuxia-style elegance.

But Shen Tangyin still smiled. “Traffic was bad. Sorry for being late.”

She greeted Youyuan with a smile and nodded at Qiehui. “We meet again.”

Qiehui gave a slight nod and pulled her lips into a faint smile. “Yeah, we’ve been running into each other a lot lately.”

That “again” piqued Feng Youyuan’s curiosity.

She leaned in and asked, “When did you two see each other?”

Qiehui scooped up a spoonful of porcini mushroom ice cream.

After taking a bite, she said, “Yesterday evening, at her uncle’s place.”

Everyone’s eyes widened. “You went to Shen Zongliang’s house?”

“How else was I supposed to get my shawl back?”

Youyuan’s imagination ran wild. “Just for the shawl? Nothing else happened?”

“There was,” Qiehui admitted, focused on her food. “We had crab together.”

“No way!”

Youyuan suddenly covered her mouth, barely stopping herself from shouting.

She lowered her voice. “Seriously? You call that normal?”

Qiehui raised an eyebrow. “It was late, we’re neighbors, we had a meal together—what’s abnormal about that?”

Was Shen Zongliang supposed to be some kind of heartless outcast?

Was his reputation outside really that bad?

Worse than even her initial misconceptions of him?

Youyuan exchanged looks with her, then pointed over her shoulder at Zhuang Xinhua. “He used to live in the same compound when he was a kid. Ask him—how many times has he ever had a meal with Shen Zongliang?”

Zhuang Xinhua, who had been listening intently, shook his head firmly. “Not even once! With his status and rank, we weren’t even on the same level.”

Youyuan raised an eyebrow. “See? What did I tell you?”

Qiehui surrendered and whispered, just loud enough for the three of them to hear, “Can we stop talking about him already?”

She was really afraid that Shen Tangyin would read her lips.

And then tell her little uncle—”Downstairs, Zhong Qiehui and her group of friends are wildly gossiping about you. Seems like they have ulterior motives.”

This kind of misunderstanding was anything but pleasant, okay?

Zhuang Xinhua placed a bowl of small wontons in front of Qiehui. “Try this. The wrapper is made from rapeseed leaves.”

Qiehui scooped one up and took a bite. The filling was matsutake mushrooms, tasting both fresh and delicate, evoking memories of spring.

This restaurant thrived on its gimmicks. Knowing the distinguished status of their guests in the private room, the head chef pulled out all the stops, showcasing every skill in his arsenal—but he overdid it.

So, amidst a lineup of extravagant and elaborately named dishes, the simplest wonton ended up tasting the best.