ICSTC CH9: Downpour Tomorrow

Wan Qing didn’t notice the shift in Luo Ye’s expression, still gleefully reveling in his zero-yuan haul: “Chi Zhiyue, of course. He arrived right after me. After being away for two days, he accumulated a whole pile of stuff again, so he distributed everything he didn’t want to us.”

Luo Ye’s face darkened: “Let me see that.”

Wan Qing pushed the boba tea over. Luo Ye leaned in, carefully verifying the text printed on the order label.

Great. It really was the exact cup he had ordered. No ice, thirty percent sweetness, with extra pearls added separately.

The more Luo Ye looked at it, the more foul his mood became. An absurd wave of anger surged straight up from the pit of his chest.

With a grim expression, he handed the drink back.

Observing his movements and then reading his face, Wan Qing suddenly had a lightbulb moment: “Wait, you want a sip?”

Luo Ye: “…No.”

He grabbed the iced latte sitting on the table, tilted his head back, and chugged it clean in a single gulp, the paper cup buckling slightly under his grip as he let go.

Lan Ju, who had been listening with a craving for a long while, twitched his hamster ears back and forth, tapping his lip with a finger as he remarked enviously: “Why didn’t you mention it earlier? If you had told me sooner, I would’ve snagged a cup of boba tea too.”

“Bro, I bolted full speed the moment I grabbed the boba tea, where would I find the time to message you?” Wan Qing said, pointing at the boba tea’s brand logo.

“Though this brand is insanely generous—they gifted him a bunch of boba teas and tea bags. I picked a nice-looking one; the rest all looked brownish, and only this one was red.”

No shit, because this cup was ordered by me, Luo Ye thought bitterly to himself.

This was the signature masterpiece voted on by over a hundred netizens, and he had ordered only this single cup.

Luo Ye’s frustration didn’t stem from Chi Zhiyue giving gifts away to others—it was that if he had intended to discard it all along, why put on such a charming smile and agree so warmly back in the car? Was he simply playing him for a fool?

Gradually, he managed to rationalize it.

In any case, he had fulfilled his gesture of gratitude; whatever Chi Zhiyue did moving forward was none of his business. He had originally thought they might end up on slightly better terms before his departure, but now it seemed entirely unnecessary.

Just as Wan Qing said, Chi Zhiyue owned so many fine things—he likely didn’t care about a modest thank-you gift like this anyway.

During the dozen seconds Luo Ye spent lost in thought, Wan Qing had already steered the conversation away, bringing up various happenings from the past year as well as their respective future plans.

Both Wan Qing and Lan Ju had to keep working, taking things one day at a time, leaving Luo Ye as the only free agent. Both were immensely curious about where he was heading.

Luo Ye rested his chin on his palm, his fingers tapping rhythmically against the table: “I’ll head back to my hometown first, then make my way toward Yunnan. I want to see snow-capped mountains and record some raw footage.”

“Your hometown? Heading back to Xiangyang?” Lan Ju asked.

“Yeah.” Luo Ye nodded.

“Where’s that? Never heard of it,” Wan Qing chimed in.

“Just a small county town,” Luo Ye replied.

“Nice! You don’t even forget to edit videos while taking a break—you’re way too conscientious,” Wan Qing gave him a thumbs-up.

Luo Ye smiled faintly: “I’ve got to leave something behind to prove I was actually there, otherwise I might forget it later.”

Luo Ye said it that way, but what he actually thought was:

Once I’m dead, everyone can watch these videos to remember me—how nice would that be? Maybe the little mute will see them too, and come visit me at my gravesite when the time comes.

Lan Ju threw his head back, stretching his arms: “Remember when we first arrived? The three of us were sitting at this exact spot, roasting the company leaders. I said I’d definitely be the first to leave, but turns out it was actually you.”

Wan Qing chuckled: “Isn’t that great? Escaping the sea of misery. With your skill set, things are bound to get better and better for you in the future.”

Luo Ye nodded, a smile gracing his face: “Thanks for the sweet words, I’ll hold you to that.”

Time truly flowed like water; things spoken as mere jokes back then had somehow all turned into memories of “back in the day.”

His past self could have never imagined ending up where he was today.

Lan Ju patted Luo Ye’s back, waving his hand generously: “When you upgrade to a bigger place later on, I’ll gift you some home appliances. Just let me know whatever you’re missing.”

Lan Ju was usually quite stingy, but he was genuinely generous whenever a friend was in need. Back when Luo Ye had very little money, it was Lan Ju who found him an apartment and threw in an induction cooker as a gift. Lan Ju was among the very first who wished for him to thrive, having witnessed his journey firsthand.

A complex mixture of emotions welled up in Luo Ye’s chest—he was bound to reveal this secret to Lan Ju eventually. What kind of expression would Lan Ju wear when that day came?

As the countdown ticked away second by second, Luo Ye’s expression grew increasingly serene. Yet during a moment of farewell like this, everyone felt a touch of reluctance, so no one thought anything was amiss.

After chatting for about half an hour and covering all available topics, Wan Qing glanced at his phone: “Don’t you have a wrap-up dinner party? Are you going?”

“Yeah, I am,” Luo Ye nodded.

“That’s awesome, we can still see each other then!” Lan Ju wrapped an arm triumphantly around Luo Ye’s shoulders. “Someone over here will just have to shed little pearls of tears all alone in his department.”

Wan Qing cupped one ear with his hand, acting like a total scoundrel to deflect the subject: “Old Luo, aren’t you crazy about white chocolate? How many packs did you grab on your way out?”

Luo Ye thought for a moment: “Two or three packs, I think.”

“Is that stuff really that delicious? Nobody in our department eats it… Oh wait, actually, there is someone,” Wan Qing nodded to himself. “I occasionally see Chi Zhiyue grab a couple of packs.”

Hearing that name again made Luo Ye’s newly relaxed mood tighten up once more.

Dissatisfied with the modest quantity, Lan Ju shook his head in frustration at his friend’s restraint: “You’re still far too polite. If it were me, I’d swipe every single napkin and disposable paper cup on the way out, redeem all the front-desk vouchers, order employee cakes right now, plug into the charger for twenty-four hours straight, and catch a three-hour nap in the break room.”

Luo Ye: “…By the time your resignation goes through and the boss returns from his business trip, he’ll find the company turned into a bare-concrete shell.”

And a century-old bare-concrete shell at that.

Lan Ju burst into loud laughter. Checking the time on his phone, Luo Ye stood up: “I should get going.”

Wan Qing stood up as well: “I’ve gotta head back too.”

Lan Ju remained seated, typing a message as he spoke: “You guys go ahead first, Xiaohua asked me to bring her a few cups of coffee.”

The two exchanged glances before leaving the coffee shop together, parting ways in the parking garage.

Luo Ye went to retrieve his motorcycle, while Wan Qing happened to pick up a phone call and was summoned to the third floor for a meeting.

Leadership speeches always amounted to splitting ten concise sentences into fifty verbose ones. Wan Qing felt a headache coming on, wishing once more that Luo Ye were there so they could secretly whisper to each other—now it was pure torture to endure.

With great difficulty, he finally survived until the end, only to be called in separately to receive a project proposal. By the time he stepped onto the elevator, it was already 4:30 PM.

The elevator paused briefly on the eighth floor, but nobody boarded—it was likely pressed by mistake.

Watching those figures getting ready to clock off work, Wan Qing felt a subtle pang in his heart at the thought that Luo Ye would no longer be among those figures.

Sigh…

He had lost a friend to share gossip with, the department had lost a capable employee, the company had lost a handsome guy, and the rooftop had lost a cat that loved basking in the sun.

Who would have thought that a single modest job position had held three people and a cat all at once.

When the elevator reached the ninth floor, a long-faced Wan Qing stepped out. It just so happened that several people were standing near the main entrance, among whom Chi Zhiyue’s tall, distinguished figure stood out prominently.

Before Wan Qing could speak, someone spotted him and called out: “Wan Qing’s back!”

Everyone turned their heads in unison. Wan Qing froze, his mind frantically scanning through all the group chat contents from today, not daring to take another step forward.

Chi Zhiyue walked over first, lowering his head slightly as he asked softly: “Brother Wan, did you take a cup of red velvet boba tea earlier?”

Though tall, Chi Zhiyue carried no air of intimidation whatsoever—his tone sounded as casual as discussing an ordinary everyday matter.

Winning over by his warm smile and assuming it was a brand survey, Wan Qing naturally spoke the truth: “Yeah, it was actually really tasty! The texture was light, and the pearls were huge.”

The receptionist intern clapped her hands: “See! I told you it was him! That person definitely delivered it—how many people around here can be that handsome?”

Chi Zhiyue brought a hand to his forehead. Wan Qing asked in confusion: “What’s wrong?”

Knitting his brows tightly, Chi Zhiyue offered a brief explanation.

“The logbook was taken away at the time, so I didn’t check it. I thought they were all gifted by brands, without realizing that red velvet cup wasn’t one of them.”

Chi Zhiyue paused, his voice softening noticeably: “That cup was delivered by Luo Ye.”

Wan Qing pieced it together instantly—recalling Luo Ye’s expression when looking at his boba tea earlier that afternoon, everything clicked into place.

He shuddered violently: “Holy crap! I even met up with him this afternoon! No wonder his eyes looked off—it wasn’t because he was thirsty!”

“He probably assumed Chi Zhiyue threw it away on purpose,” Xiao Zhao chimed in with a nod. “Sigh, he must feel pretty upset inside.”

Wan Qing shook his head: “Not really, he’s a pretty easygoing guy. What’s past is past, he doesn’t hold grudges over stuff like this.”

Yet Chi Zhiyue’s expression remained serious: “I should still explain things to him properly. Could you give me his contact information?”

Wan Qing suddenly felt like a petty person by comparison.

Ah, now this is a responsible man—realizing a mistake and immediately asking for a number to apologize.

“Sure, I can do that,” Wan Qing looked at Chi Zhiyue. “You don’t have his phone number?”

“Only his work account,” Chi Zhiyue offered a subtle smile.

“Oh right, his work phone has been handed in,” Wan Qing opened WeChat. “But I need to ask him first if I can share it.”

The receptionist girl smiled: “Your friend is quite vigilant.”

“He has no choice but to be vigilant,” Wan Qing let out a sigh at the memory. “Back then, a colleague’s boyfriend suspected he was seducing his partner, so he spammed his phone number with harassment calls for days on end—to the point where he couldn’t even turn his phone on.”

“Ah? That’s so awful! What happened afterward?” Xiao Zhao asked.

“Handled it through the police, of course. If those two had maintained a better attitude at first, they might have just paid for a new phone, but they insisted on being provocative and almost got beaten up by him.” After speaking, Wan Qing inexplicably felt a cold chill across his forehead.

He looked up to see Chi Zhiyue opposite him still watching him with that same faint smile as before.

Wan Qing’s “senior colleague” instinct kicked in again, assuming Chi Zhiyue was worried he might get beaten up in the future too, so he quickly added: “Luo Ye only looks like a troublemaker on the outside, but he’s really soft-hearted deep down. He responds to gentleness, not force—as long as your attitude is good, there won’t be any issues.”

“Responds to gentleness, not force,” Chi Zhiyue softly repeated the phrase, followed by a faint smile. “I understand.”

“So don’t worry, reaching out to him so sincerely means he definitely won’t mind,” Wan Qing said, his eyes lighting up as he checked his screen. “Oh, he agreed! I’ll send you his number.”

The moment Chi Zhiyue received the digits, he began drafting a text message.

When Luo Ye received the message, he was standing in the station plaza of Xiangyang Railway Station.

The winter plaza of Xiangyang was desolate and chilly. Withered leaves blanketed the greyish-white floor tiles. There were hardly any people around; the few present walked with hurried steps, their fluffy ears perked up against the cold, leaving as soon as they met their contacts.

Watching the countdown timer shrink lower and lower, Luo Ye rubbed his slightly chilled cat ears and walked briskly over to the map board to check his location.

Shortly after, his phone vibrated twice.

Opening it, a message from an unfamiliar number appeared on his screen:

[Hello, this is Chi Zhiyue. I’m sorry—it wasn’t my intention to reject your thank-you gift today; there was a bit of a misunderstanding, so please don’t be angry.]

[If possible, could we add each other on WeChat to talk in detail?]

“…” Luo Ye stared at the final sentence of the text message, pulling down his scarf to exhale a breath of warm air.

Although he didn’t quite understand why they needed to add each other on WeChat when they already had phone numbers, considering the other party’s sincere attitude…

Luo Ye actually sent a friend request to Chi Zhiyue.

The friend request was accepted almost instantaneously within a second.

Luo Ye deliberated for a moment before typing out a reply.

[Luo Ye]: Hello.

The very next second, three consecutive 200-yuan transfer notifications slammed right across his screen.

[Luo Ye]: ?