A Friend I've Loved for a Long Time - Chapter 14

“Who else?”

Yu Chuxue’s follow-up question went unanswered.

“Tell me, will it fail this time?”

Yu Mingxia’s expression suddenly became melancholy, which caused Yu Chuxue a great deal of heartache. Setting aside her previous curiosity, she hurriedly comforted her: “It will definitely be a success. You are already friends now, and you have a reason to meet. I can see she has a pretty good impression of you. Don’t worry, it will work out.”

Seeing Yu Mingxia’s head lowered, unsure if she was even listening, Yu Chuxue offered another guarantee: “Don’t worry, I won’t tell Yun Zhi about what you’ve done without your permission. I’ll speak to Qu Lan as well.”

“What have I done?” Yu Mingxia suddenly looked up and asked back.

Yu Chuxue took it as a test and made a “zipping the lips” gesture: “Nothing at all.”

No intentionally manufactured encounters, no ditching sisters just to go to Yunsan Temple with Yun Zhi.

“Did Yun Zhi agree to the collaboration?”

“Mm.”

“Then you take charge of her side of the work. I won’t assign it to anyone else.”

“What about the collaboration with TG?” Yu Mingxia feigned difficulty.

“With your capabilities, can’t you handle both?” Yu Chuxue widened her eyes, as if she couldn’t believe how much Yu Mingxia was pushing her luck.

“One should be single-minded in work and life. One cannot serve two masters,” Yu Mingxia said solemnly, without blinking.

Yu Chuxue: “…”

“Just say you don’t want to go on a business trip.”

The collaboration with TG required a business trip for over half a month. It was a schedule set a month ago, but now that plans had changed, Yu Chuxue felt that her sister’s happiness was more important.

“I’ll go,” Yu Chuxue patted her shoulder, encouraging her. “I hope my sister gets her heart’s desire.”

“Thank you.”

To show their sincerity, L&Y sent Qu Lan to find Yun Zhi the next day to sign the contract.

On the seventh floor of the Xiyun Building, inside the “Yun Li Wu Zhi” studio, the two sides were discussing the contract. Yun Zhi skimmed through the document, her gaze pausing on a specific additional clause.

She looked up and asked Qu Lan: “This part here—’During the collaboration period, Party A must provide Party B with clothing, food, housing, and transportation, and Party A’s personnel must be on call at all times’—what does that mean?”

What did “on call” mean? And why was Party A providing all this for Party B? Why would L&Y establish a treaty that offered themselves no benefit? Was this also a form of “sincerity”? Like how they sent the Legal Director herself to sign the contract early in the morning just to save them the trouble?

“It means exactly what it says. Clothing, food, housing, and transportation will all be arranged by the company; please rest assured. As for the ‘on call’ issue, it is indeed a gesture of the company’s sincerity. With your reputation and ability, this is what we should do.”

She had guessed right; it really was just “sincerity.”

Yun Zhi roughly understood the other party’s meaning. Aside from sincerity, she couldn’t think of any other reason why L&Y would list such strange terms.

Even after seeing Qu Lan off, Yun Zhi still felt a sense of daze. She had collaborated with many companies, but this was the first time she had encountered one with this much “sincerity.” Most companies would bury a few traps for her to jump into, unlike L&Y, where the contract was entirely in her favor.

It was as if… they were terrified she would regret it and refuse to sign.

A moment later, Yun Zhi thought of another possibility. Could this contract have been handled by Yu Mingxia?

Aside from her, Yun Zhi really couldn’t think of a reason. Over the years, she had encountered countless large corporations, many of which liked to use smoke screens or self-serving content in their contracts. None were like L&Y, solely looking out for her interests.

The day after signing the contract, at 9:00 AM, Yun Zhi brought five people from her studio to the L&Y headquarters. From a distance, she saw Yu Mingxia standing at the entrance talking to Qu Lan.

As she got closer, she was considering whether saying hello would interrupt them when she heard Yu Mingxia’s voice: “You’re here.”

Qu Lan shot her a glance and then looked at Yun Zhi: “Good morning. We meet again.”

“Good morning,” Yun Zhi greeted Qu Lan before walking to Yu Mingxia’s side. “Are you waiting for me?”

“Mm.”

Qu Lan shot her another glance. Just now, Yu Mingxia had barely hummed a response to ten of her sentences without a single smile on her face. Now that she saw Yun Zhi, the corners of her mouth were practically curling up to the sky.

Unbearable.

Yun Zhi was oblivious to Qu Lan’s feelings, but her fondness for Yu Mingxia grew, reinforcing her feeling that she hadn’t been wrong to make this friend.

After introducing the two teams to each other, Yu Mingxia led Yun Zhi’s group into the elevator. They first went to the twelfth floor, the floor where the promotion department was located.

Most employees had already arrived, and the workstations were nearly full. At a glance, only a few workstations against the wall on the right were new, with green plants and small gifts placed on the desks. It wasn’t hard to see that these were prepared for them.

The head of the promotion department arrived and introduced the group. Upon hearing the name “Yun Li Wu Zhi,” a sudden wave of chatter broke out in the office—shock, cheers, and curious looks. Since Yun Zhi had never appeared in her own posts, leaving only her photography work, she had always been quite mysterious.

Seeing her in person, some people couldn’t help but want to take photos to gossip online.

Just as someone raised their phone, they heard Yu Mingxia say: “The company has signed a non-disclosure agreement with Yun Li Wu Zhi. Anyone who leaks information about her will be treated as having leaked company secrets.”

Hearing this, those who were about to take photos quickly put their phones away.

Yun Zhi glanced at Yu Mingxia, a bit surprised that her tone was so cold—nothing like the person she knew. But she quickly realized that this was a professional setting; it couldn’t be as relaxed as their previous outings.

While Yun Zhi and Xiao Bai had been to L&Y before, the other four had not. After the introductions, led by Qu Lan and Yu Mingxia, the group took a tour of the twelfth floor. Unlike their previous casual walk, this time they were being shown which areas could be used as focal points for the shoot.

“Sister Yun Zhi, I need to use the restroom.”

Yun Zhi was listening to Qu Lan’s introduction when she heard Xiao Bai whisper in her ear. Seeing her hesitant expression, Yun Zhi guessed she wanted her to go along. After Qu Lan finished her explanation, Yun Zhi told Yu Mingxia and then headed toward the restroom with Xiao Bai.

In the years she had known Xiao Bai, Yun Zhi knew that every time they went to a new place, the assistant took a while to adjust. Though she didn’t know what Xiao Bai was afraid of, she always dragged Yun Zhi along to the restroom in unfamiliar places.

“Go ahead, the lights are bright in there, don’t be afraid.” Yun Zhi gave Xiao Bai a reassuring pat. Once she left, Yun Zhi leaned against the wall to wait.

Five minutes passed, and finally, there was a sound. However, the arrivals weren’t Xiao Bai, but the voices of two women in conversation.

“Did you hear what I heard yesterday? About Yu Mingxia.”

“What? Don’t leave me hanging.”

“I heard Yu Chuxue asking her if, after ten years, she still likes that person.”

“Ten years? For real?! What did she say?”

“She didn’t answer, but I think with that kind of question, no answer is the best answer. It’s definitely a yes.”

“Huge news! Designer Yu has been pining for one person for years. Who wouldn’t be curious about that? What else did you hear?”

“Also… Yun Li Wu Zhi?”

Yun Zhi leaned against the wall unconsciously, the words of the two women echoing in her mind. She thought back to what Yu Mingxia had said when answering her own question. Yu Mingxia looked to be about her age; ten years ago would put her at seventeen or eighteen.

It’s been that long?

Her thoughts were abruptly interrupted when the two women emerged from the restroom and looked at her in shock. They exchanged a look as if asking each other: We didn’t say anything bad, did we?

Yun Zhi looked at them. Instead of her usual warm response, she reminded them: “It’s not very nice to gossip about other people’s love lives behind their backs, is it?”

The two women pursed their lips tightly. The one who started the conversation promised: “We absolutely won’t tell anyone else.” They knew Yun Zhi and Yu Mingxia were close; a report could be filed in a second.

Yun Zhi didn’t respond, lost in thought. The hardest thing to stop in this world is the talk of others.

“Really, really, we won’t say a word. Please don’t tell VP Yu. I’m actually a fan of yours, really.” The first woman, worried she wasn’t believed, offered another guarantee.

“Me too, me too! I even follow ‘Nan You Qiao Mu.’ I’m a CP fan of you two. My fan status is more real than gold.” The other woman tried to prove herself as well.

Hearing Nan Qiao’s Weibo handle, Yun Zhi’s mind drifted slightly. The reminder made her realize she hadn’t contacted Nan Qiao in a few days. Years ago, when she first registered her “Yun Li Wu Zhi” ID, Nan Qiao thought it was fun and split her own name to create that handle.

One was a photographer, the other a painter. They had interacted before, and “insiders” online had leaked various rumors and written stories, leading many fans to ship them as a couple. Sometimes it was Yun Zhi’s photography, sometimes it was Nan Qiao’s paintings; fans said their works contained traces of each other.

“So, is it true between you and Nan You Qiao Mu? Do you like her?” The woman saw her dazed state and pressed on.

Yun Zhi snapped back and frowned. Just as she was about to refute it, she heard a cold voice: “Are you two trying to drive away the company’s guests?”

The ice in Yu Mingxia’s tone, combined with the guilt of being caught gossiping, sent the two women scurrying away after a round of apologies. They grumbled about their bad luck as they fled.

When Xiao Bai finished washing her hands and came out, she saw Yu Mingxia and Yun Zhi standing face-to-face in a silent, heavy atmosphere.

“I saw you hadn’t come out for a long time, so I came to check,” Yu Mingxia explained softly.

The words of those women were still ringing in her ears. Perhaps if she had been one step later, she would have heard Yun Zhi’s answer.

An answer she already knew in her heart—one that, even now, she had no way to change.