A cool-faced, adorable, no-nonsense lawyer * a poor, aloof tattoo artist with a hidden passionate side
&1
Yu Tao, who had been single for all 22 years of her life, never imagined she'd meet her very own crush and experience a heart-fluttering moment on her graduation trip.
As if swept up in the moment, she took the first step and asked him for his WeChat. Of course, he turned her down.
Luckily, she'd always been used to taking things as they came instead of fighting for what she wanted. Compared to the disappointment of rejection, she felt more relieved that the matter was settled.
When the trip ended, she returned to her ordinary life, shuttling between the office and her rented apartment. Her lifeless routine left even the living feeling a little dead inside. With nothing new happening, she made the newly opened, well-furnished tattoo shop downstairs her regular after-work entertainment.
- Today, they installed the windows.
- Today, they brought in a bunch of cabinets.
- All the lights inside are on.
- The renovations are done. There's a little brown dog outside the shop wearing a huge gold chain. It's so small that it looks more comical than intimidating.
&2
For a whole week, Yu Tao greeted the comical little dog on her way to and from work. Just as she was regretting that she wouldn't get to see it on Sunday because she wasn't going out, it miraculously appeared in the hallway, grinning at her with its tongue out as she stepped out to throw away the trash. In return, she crouched down and gave it a sincere smile.
Perhaps her smile was too sincere, because someone asked her a question.
"Do you two know each other?"
Her smile froze on her face. Her heart thumped louder than the beat of the music in her headphones. She looked up, and sure enough, a face both familiar and unfamiliar came into view.
From the man's cool, distant eyes, she could tell he didn't remember her.
Jiang Yan felt a little unnerved by the fixed stare behind him. He turned and looked down, meeting a pair of inquisitive eyes tinged with resentment. His temple twitched, but then his gaze fell on the little dog, and his expression softened.
Turning back, he casually offered a word of comfort as he opened the door.
"If you're friends, you can hang out together whenever you like."
Yu Tao slowly turned her head. She and the dog stared at each other. After a brief silence, she watched the comical little dog slip through the gap in the door the man had left open. Amid her jumbled thoughts, she muttered, neither too loudly nor too softly,
"If I want to hang out with you, can we do that even if we're not friends?"
On the other side of the wall, Jiang Yan, who hadn't had time to close the door, said, "?"
Theme: Live well
