A Friend I've Loved for a Long Time - Chapter 15

Xiao Bai wiped the water droplets from her hands with a paper towel before jogging over to Yun Zhi’s side, taking her arm. “I’m done, let’s head back.”

Yun Zhi snapped back to reality and nodded, then looked toward Yu Mingxia with a silent inquiry.

Yu Mingxia’s gaze flickered to the arm Xiao Bai was holding; after a split second, she looked away as if nothing had happened and responded to the unspoken question. “Let’s go.”

Throughout the walk, Yu Mingxia could see Yun Zhi’s distraction. It wasn’t hard to guess that it was due to the conversation between the two colleagues.

As they reached the Promotion Department again, Yu Mingxia suddenly reached out and pulled Yun Zhi back.

Yun Zhi’s gaze traveled slowly from the hand gripping her arm up to the other woman’s face. They met eyes, hers full of confusion.

“Your office is on the thirteenth floor,” Yu Mingxia explained.

The studio members looked at each other, not understanding why L&Y would make such an arrangement.

“Doesn’t that mean our team is being split up?” Xiao Bai was the first to voice the concern.

“Since I am primarily responsible for this project and many matters require communication, this was taken into account when arranging offices. Therefore, your office is on the same floor as mine.”

Yun Zhi understood and nodded, then gave Xiao Bai a few instructions, telling the team to focus on their work.

Once everything was arranged, Yun Zhi followed Yu Mingxia up to the thirteenth floor.

Yun Zhi had noticed during her last visit that half of this entire floor was Yu Mingxia’s exclusive domain—office, lounge, production room, collection room… it had everything. To the right were the company’s conference rooms and the Legal Director’s office.

Comparatively, the thirteenth floor was much quieter, lacking the noisy chatter of the other floors. For a designer, this environment was indeed more conducive to focused work.

Following Yu Mingxia, Yun Zhi entered the office and suddenly paused, a bit confused as to why she was being brought into this specific room.

Before she could ask, she saw a brand-new desk. On top was a celadon vase holding two stalks of sunflowers. With the sun high in the sky, the sunlight from the window hit the vase perfectly, reflecting a shimmer of light onto the snow-white wall.

Aside from the sunflowers, the desk was empty. Clearly, this desk was prepared for her.

Meanwhile, the main desk ahead was neatly stacked with various documents, the signatures clearly visible. The bookshelves against the wall were likewise filled with files, with years labeled on the sides.

Yun Zhi was bewildered. “I… You’re letting me work in here?”

Yu Mingxia saw her blank expression. Unable to tell if she was pleased or annoyed, she asked tentatively, “Do you not like it?”

“It’s not a matter of liking it or not,” Yun Zhi bit her lip. She felt like even glancing around was a mistake, but she voiced her hesitation. “This is your office. There must be many confidential documents here, right? It might be inappropriate for me to work here.”

Yu Mingxia’s office was very clean, dominated by a black-and-white color scheme. However, it faced the sun, and from that desk, one could see the commercial center with its dense high-rises—a prime spot for viewing the city’s nightscape.

But, as she just said, Yu Mingxia was a key figure in the company. There were bound to be secrets in this office. If they were lost, or if she saw something she shouldn’t, it wouldn’t be good.

“My sister arranged it. She said it would help improve work efficiency.”

Aside from Yu Chuxue’s actual tone, Yu Mingxia’s recount was word-for-word.

Yun Zhi thought about it. If they were close, she could ask Yu Mingxia questions directly, and Yu Mingxia could convey instructions quickly.

“Rest assured, there are no secrets here. You can look at whatever you want.” Seeing her resolve soften, Yu Mingxia took the opportunity to speak up.

Since everything had been said, it would seem forced if Yun Zhi continued to refuse.

Yun Zhi walked over to the desk and leaned down slightly to touch the sunflower petals with her fingertips. From the corner of her eye, she noticed the clear patterns on the vase; it looked expensive.

Looking back at Yu Mingxia’s desk, there was a vase there too, also holding sunflowers.

“I have a habit of buying a bouquet before work. It makes me much happier while I’m working,” Yu Mingxia explained when she saw her observing the flowers.

“I like buying flowers too. When I was a student, I would always pick a flower from the garden; it made the walk to school much more pleasant. I haven’t changed that habit even after starting work.”

Finding another habit she shared with Yu Mingxia, Yun Zhi spoke with a very cheerful tone. It seemed she was satisfied with the flowers.

The smile on the corner of Yu Mingxia’s lips widened.

After a while, Yu Mingxia checked the clock; it was already 11:00 AM. “Hungry? Shall we go for lunch?”

Yun Zhi had eaten a light breakfast and was indeed a bit hungry. She headed out with her and stepped into the elevator.

“By the way, I have a question.” Yun Zhi, who had just finished messaging Xiao Bai, suddenly remembered the contract from yesterday and looked up.

Yu Mingxia stood by her side. Hearing the voice, her gaze shifted from Yun Zhi’s fingers to her face.

“What exactly does the part about Party A being responsible for Party B’s clothing, food, housing, and transportation refer to?”

Yu Mingxia paused. “Did you sign it without asking for clarification?”

“Does it mean room and board? It sounded beneficial to me, so I didn’t ask much. I figured I probably wouldn’t use it.” Yun Zhi had thought it was a strange clause—does a collaboration nowadays require taking care of the other party’s living arrangements?

“It is indeed quite beneficial to you.”

“Then what does it specifically mean?”

“‘Clothing’ means if you need attire, the company will send someone to design it for you, unconditionally.”

“Huh? Who?”

“Me.”

Yun Zhi: “Ah? Wouldn’t that be too precious?”

Yu Mingxia smiled. “It’s what I should do.”

“‘Food’ means the company covers meals and provides personnel to accompany you for dining.”

Yun Zhi: “?”

“Who…?”

Yu Mingxia: “Me.”

Yun Zhi’s head was full of question marks. She even began to deduce the next two items.

“‘Housing’ means providing a residence and…”

“Wait, don’t tell me you have to live with me too?” Yun Zhi blurted out in shock, following the pattern.

The half-step back she took was proof of her astonishment. Her face even held a look of absurdity.

Yu Mingxia froze, unable to suppress the upward curve of her lips. She said softly, “If you want to…”

Yun Zhi waved her hands hurriedly. “No, no, I was just talking nonsense.”

Seeing Yu Mingxia’s expression, Yun Zhi knew she had guessed wrong. Her face began to heat up as she looked away. She cursed internally—L&Y wasn’t just sincere; this “sincerity” was about to drown her.

“And it’s a three-bedroom apartment nearest to the company. ‘Transportation’ means free use of company vehicles, equipped with a dedicated person for pickups and drop-offs.”

Yun Zhi bit her lip and asked tentatively, “It’s not… you again, is it?”

Yu Mingxia pursed her lips and nodded.

At this moment, their thoughts were completely different. Yu Mingxia was worried Yun Zhi would notice something and even felt some regret for listening to her sister’s suggestion. Meanwhile, Yun Zhi was thinking…

“I see now. You’ve been wronged.” Yun Zhi patted her arm to comfort her.

Now it was Yu Mingxia’s turn to have a head full of question marks.

The elevator happened to reach the first floor. They stepped out into the lobby. Since it was still working hours, there weren’t many people. A few black sedans were parked in front.

Yun Zhi didn’t leave her wondering for long. “After all, you two are sisters. How can your sister treat you like this?”

What kind of messy contract was this? In the end, Yu Mingxia was the one doing all the hard work. She had wondered why such a strange clause existed; it turned out to be another trick to prank the younger sister. How could a Vice President of a company be a dining companion, a playmate, and a chauffeur for a partner?

It was really too much.

Yu Mingxia blinked, realizing Yun Zhi might have misunderstood. “My sister, she…”

“Don’t worry, I won’t let you do those things. It’s too much—she’s clearly torturing you on purpose.”

Given Yu Mingxia’s previous words, Yu Chuxue’s image in her heart plummeted even further.

Listening to Yun Zhi stand up for her, even though the truth wasn’t what she thought, Yu Mingxia still felt the warmth of being chosen by someone.

“Actually, I can’t blame my sister. After all, I was the one who proactively applied to follow the project from start to finish, so…”

Hearing this, Yun Zhi suddenly paused. She finally realized this was a sacrifice Yu Mingxia had made for her. Her heart was filled with both moved emotion and regret. The gaze she turned toward Yu Mingxia was tender for a long time.

Truly a good friend!

“Besides, I’m technically being paid by my sister. If you don’t use my services because we’re friends, and she finds out…”

Yu Mingxia apologized to Yu Chuxue in her heart once again.

Yun Zhi’s guilt and touched feelings deepened.

They hadn’t walked long after leaving L&Y before they reached a crossroad. Since they had to cross it to get where they were going, they waited for the light to turn green while chatting.

Yun Zhi and Yu Mingxia were deep in conversation. They didn’t notice that on the other side of the street, Zhu Qingmeng and Jiang Yan’an were passing by.

“Yu Mingxia,” Zhu Qingmeng murmured to herself, spotting the familiar figure under the traffic light. Even after many years, she recognized her instantly.

“What did you say?” Jiang Yan’an hadn’t heard the whisper. She was currently upset, so her tone was none too pleasant.

“Did Yun Zhi tell you who she’s been in contact with lately?” Zhu Qingmeng asked, ignoring the dissatisfaction. She knew that mentioning Yun Zhi would improve Jiang Yan’an’s attitude.

“How would I know?”

Jiang Yan’an hesitated, but in the end, she didn’t betray the “big beauty” from Yun Zhi’s camera. Although she only promised Yun Zhi not to tell Nan Qiao, Zhu Qingmeng was close to Nan Qiao; who knew if she’d take her side?

Besides, she was still angry. Zhu Qingmeng had just upset her, so she felt entitled to refuse to answer.

Having been in a relationship with Jiang Yan’an for so many years, Zhu Qingmeng could hear even that slight hesitation. Knowing she wasn’t trusted—or that the other was just too angry to answer—she stopped asking.

She simply remembered that for all these years, she had never heard Yu Mingxia’s name from Yun Zhi’s mouth. Since high school graduation, those three words seemed to have vanished from their world.

Yet seeing her again now, she was with Yun Zhi, and the two looked to be talking and laughing quite comfortably. Their relationship seemed quite good.

Zhu Qingmeng fell into deep thought.