The essence of love is the exception to the rule
Ji Shuhe thought Stella was joking with her again. She looked down to gather the scripts and other documents, hugging a stack of papers to her chest before raising her eyes to brush it off. "You're just making things up..."
But before she could finish, her words came to an abrupt halt.
Her gaze followed the direction Stella had stepped aside. It was just a casual glance at first, but as her eyes passed over the crowd, they still precisely caught Wen Shaoyu.
He was standing right where she could see him, wearing a well-fitted dark rock-gray cashmere coat that emphasized his broad shoulders and tall figure. Underneath the open coat was a black suit. The weather in Xinhai had already entered quick-freeze mode, but Wen Shaoyu wasn't even wearing a scarf, his hands casually in his coat pockets as if he didn't feel the cold at all.
Beside him stood the familiar Li Xin, holding a laptop and chatting with an acquaintance from the design institute. Wen Shaoyu listened, slightly turned, occasionally taking over when Li Xin hesitated, continuing calmly.
Ji Shuhe didn't know if he had seen her, but throughout the entire time she looked at him, he was absorbed in work, not glancing sideways at all—nothing like the resentful look Stella had mentioned.
But a shrewd person like Stella didn't need confirmation from both parties. Just by looking at Ji Shuhe's expression, she knew they had history. "Oh my little grain, your expression tells me there's a story between you two! Has your little lover really come knocking?"
Ji Shuhe withdrew her gaze and shook her head. "Not a lover. It's the old acquaintance I told you about."
"...Old acquaintance?" Stella raised an eyebrow, then mimicked Ji Shuhe's tone, repeating the two words, and suddenly smiled meaningfully. "The little bamboo horse I didn't get to see when I went to Tuowei with you last time?"
Ji Shuhe wanted to correct Stella's choice of words. Wen Shaoyu was hardly a childhood friend; he wasn't that young when she met him. Of course, from Stella's perspective, calling him young was fine, but...
Never mind.
Ji Shuhe often found herself tangled in inexplicably contradictory thoughts. After a headache-inducing moment of pondering, she was forced to sum it up in two words: never mind.
After all, it wasn't that important. If she couldn't figure it out, so be it.
Of course, a more direct reason was that Ji Shuhe's emotions were too unsettled. Arguing about this with Stella now would only drag her deeper.
She hadn't expected Wen Shaoyu to suddenly appear here. Although it was probably for work, she didn't know if they could maintain their composure if they happened to run into each other and exchange pleasantries.
Ji Shuhe bit her lower lip and stole another glance in that direction, only to meet Wen Shaoyu's sidelong gaze.
Both of them were startled, then hurriedly looked away from each other.
Stella, eager for drama, let her gaze linger between the two and then spoke with an air of epiphany. "Dear, I suddenly feel like I've gained a deeper understanding of Chinese."
Her smile was bright as she bumped Ji Shuhe's shoulder. "So two different terms can represent the same relationship."
"Sometimes," Ji Shuhe couldn't help correcting. "But obviously, not right now."
She was already annoyed, and now she felt as restless as an ant that had mistakenly climbed onto a hot stove, pacing anxiously, wishing she could disappear from Wen Shaoyu's sight with her things.
"Alright, forget about them. Pack up and head back to the hotel. I still need to go over tomorrow's script with you."
Ji Shuhe looped her arm through Stella's, ready to leave, but behind them came Li Xin's eager voice: "Director Stella, Producer Ji, please wait!"
Stella let out a soft "Whoa" and patted the back of Ji Shuhe's hand. "No escape now~"
She turned around before Ji Shuhe, greeting Li Xin openly. "Hello, Manager Li from Tuowei, I remember you. We're all familiar here, no need to be formal. Just call me Stella."
Ji Shuhe was frozen, neither able to leave nor stay. As she stood stiffly, Stella wrapped an arm around her, turning her like a doll on a music box.
Li Xin, as if afraid they might run, quickened his steps to reach them. "What a coincidence to meet again. I didn't expect the crew to be filming in Xiafei Lane today."
"Yes, since this area is in the demolition plan and people have moved out, we were worried that if we waited any longer, we wouldn't be able to capture the original environment of the buildings." Seeing Ji Shuhe with her head down and silent, Stella naturally took over the conversation. "Manager Li, what brings you here today?"
"Oh, Xiafei Lane is also planned to be part of the smart street architectural IP. Our President Wen brought me along to assist in calibrating the airborne LiDAR for subsequent acquisition of building rooftop data."
Li Xin came to his senses and slightly stepped aside to make room for Wen Shaoyu, who was approaching slowly. "I forgot to introduce you. This is our company's President Wen, Wen Shaoyu."
Then he turned to Wen Shaoyu, who was staring intently at a certain head-lowered 'quail.' "President Wen, these are Director Stella and Producer Ji Shuhe from the documentary crew."
Wen Shaoyu nodded, withdrew his gaze, and turned to Stella, though it was clear his peripheral vision was focused on only one person.
He extended his hand. As he moved, the sleeve of his coat rode up slightly, revealing the prominent wrist bone and the metal strap of his watch. "Hello to you both. I didn't get to meet you last time due to work, but I didn't expect fate would bring us together today."
How hypocritical. Ji Shuhe stared at that hand—the back covered with blue veins, the knuckles pale and delicate—and silently cursed.
She had come to him for work, but he made it seem like she was chasing him down to the company to settle old scores. And what was with the excuse of being too busy to meet? That was a terrible excuse!
Filled with indignation, she thought: since he was so busy, why didn't he just pretend not to see her now? Why bother coming over to greet them, just to stir up trouble?
She glanced at Wen Shaoyu again, and their eyes met as if fated.
Ji Shuhe didn't look away this time. She faced those eyes—so familiar they often appeared in her dreams—but now they felt as still as dead water.
He looked at her without any ripples.
Suddenly, that inexplicable anger surged even stronger. Ji Shuhe grasped Wen Shaoyu's outstretched hand. "President Wen, you're too kind. You're a busy man; it's only natural that we didn't meet."
Wen Shaoyu took the opportunity to tighten his grip on Ji Shuhe's cold hand. His gaze dropped, fixed firmly on the obviously displeased woman before him, and a hint of a triumphant smile appeared on his face. "Perhaps Producer Ji only came to Tuowei once. I saw the intention to cooperate, but not the sincerity."
"Based on my own experience, if you want cooperation, you have to take the initiative to visit, try to run into people, use every possible opportunity for a face-to-face meeting. Not to mention..."
He paused. "Not to mention, I consider myself a good partner. Once a long-term cooperation is established, I can stick to the same task for years. Even if a partner withdraws their investment and runs away, I can hold on alone."
Ji Shuhe licked her dry, chapped lips. How could she not pick up on the insinuation in Wen Shaoyu's words?
Her hand was almost completely enveloped by his larger, warm hand, causing her palm to sweat with a sense of guilt.
Ji Shuhe chided herself internally: she shouldn't feel guilty.
It had taken her eight years to return to Xinhai. Even if this city wasn't as welcoming as she had imagined, it still symbolized her escape from a cage.
Wen Shaoyu had no right to make veiled accusations against her. She did feel guilty about leaving, but she could explain why she had been out of touch for so long, just as she had explained her submission when she was dependent on others as a child.
But everything was different now.