Having completed her plan for the day and having nothing much to do, Qin Jiujiu checked in on the status of her task with 001 and decided to orchestrate a chance encounter.
After walking for about half an hour and stopping along the way to buy an ice cream cone, Qin Jiujiu finally spotted the auto repair shop run by He Yi's family.
Situated on a wide, though not particularly bustling street, a striking sign reading "Old He's Auto Repair" occupied two oversized storefront bays at the very edge of the block—one bay apparently used for mechanical repairs, and the other for car washing.
The forecourt was spacious, with several cars parked outside, including quite a few high-end models.
Business seemed to be doing well.
He Yi was wearing a military-green short-sleeved shirt and matching cargo pants, busy tinkering with a car hoisted up on a lift alongside a few employees, his figure darting back and forth in a flurry of activity.
"He Yi! What a coincidence, it really is you." The young girl's voice was crisp and clear, her elevated tone tinged with a bright cheerfulness.
Hearing this, He Yi and the others all looked over.
The slender girl stood prettily in the open space at the entrance of the shop, radiating youth.
Her long hair cascaded like ink, with strands tucked behind her ears. A black cap made her face look small and delicate, and her skin was clean and fair. She had willow-leaf eyes that were neither overly seductive nor overly cold, their dark pupils giving her gaze a vibrant spark.
At the moment, she was holding a half-eaten ice cream cone in her hand, looking over with bright, shining eyes.
The men were all momentarily stunned.
He Yi was the first to snap out of it. He stopped what he was doing and greeted her, saying, "What a coincidence. This is my family's repair shop."Qin Jiujiu's eyes curved into crescents. "You even know how to fix cars? That's pretty impressive!"
He Yi rubbed the bridge of his nose, and then heard her say quite proactively, "There are so many people here, aren't you going to introduce us?"
Complying with her request, He Yi pointed to the others from closest to farthest. "This is Daniu, Monkey, Brother Yang."
Qin Jiujiu greeted them one by one. When they reached the oldest man in the group, He Yi said, "This is my dad."
Qin Jiujiu took off her hat, ran her fingers through the top of her hair, and said with a bright smile, "Hello, Uncle. I'm He Yi's deskmate. My name is Qin Jiujiu—you can just call me Xiao Qin."
"Ah, hello there!" He Yi's father stood out from the crowd as well. Wearing a jumpsuit stained with grease and a gray towel hung around his neck, he greeted her with honest warmth. At a loss for what else to say, he raised his voice to urge his good son:
"He Yi, stop working for a bit. We've got this covered here—go take care of your classmate!"
He Yi acknowledged with a sound, took off his work gloves, and quickly washed his hands at the makeshift tap set up by the shop entrance. Then he pulled over the cleanest large chair in the shop and placed it in a relatively safe spot by the entrance for her to sit on.
"What brings you over this way?"
Qin Jiujiu tilted her head back to look at him. "I went out for a stroll, and on my way home I passed by here. Um... can you sit down to talk? You're too tall.""Fine, you've got quite a few demands." He Yi sat on a tall wooden stool, his long legs sprawled casually. The stool was much lower than a regular chair, which meant he now had to tilt his head up slightly to look at Qin Jiujiu.
Qin Jiujiu took a bite of her ice cream. A bit of the white ice cream brushed against her lips before being swiftly licked away, leaving her lips a bright, rosy red and slightly swollen.
He Yi averted his gaze and swallowed involuntarily. Damn, she was too alluring!
Unaware of what he was thinking, Qin Jiujiu sat the way she usually did—though they often sat together, they each went about their own business and rarely spoke, like familiar strangers.
"Do you... have any plans for the afternoon?" Fortunately, He Yi had no intention of letting the atmosphere go cold on his turf.
Qin Jiujiu thought for a moment. "Nothing much. Can I sit here for a while? You can just go ahead and do whatever you need to do."
"Mmh," He Yi replied.
The two of them chatted in a desultory fashion. Watching her finish the ice cream bite by bite, He Yi found it somewhat agonizing.
Qin Jiujiu pointed to a water dispenser not far away. "He Yi, do you have a cup? I'd like a glass of water."
He Yi noticed how she always spoke with such ease and confidence, yet with great politeness and breeding—like a pampered young lady, spoiled to absolute perfection, spoiled in a way that made it impossible for him to look away.
He glanced at the yellowed water dispenser in the shop. "Wait here."
With that, he got up and walked into the adjacent small convenience store, coming back out carrying a bag of drinks.Qin Jiujiu watched him come back and hand out drinks to everyone, finally holding the last few bottles and bringing them over to her.
She thanked him and was about to reach for the bottle of mineral water when she spotted the carton of chocolate milk sitting right beside it.
Her heart skipped a beat.
For a split second, her mind seemed to stall, unable to process a thing, as if struck by something unexpected.
She had just eaten sweets and really only wanted some water, yet, driven by some inexplicable impulse, she changed her mind and picked up the carton of chocolate milk instead.
She poked the straw in and took a sip. The familiar, beloved taste filled her mouth. She lowered her gaze to look at the boy, who had just sat back down on his small stool. Their eyes met, and Qin Jiujiu felt scorched by his gaze, looking away first.
Both of them fell silent, the atmosphere just right with a subtle tension.
After a while, He Yi's father walked over holding a list. "He Yi! Go with Xiao Yang to Uncle Liu's place to pick up these parts. We need them urgently."
He Yi took the list. "Sit here and stay safe," he said to her. "I'll be back in about half an hour."
Qin Jiujiu murmured her assent, watching him get into the passenger seat of a car and drive off with the man called Brother Yang.
She took a sip of her drink, spacing out as she watched the busy figures inside the shop and the street scene outside.
The various noises of the auto repair machinery filled her ears, but she didn't find them noisy at all.