Please Be More Serious | Chapter 32

In the underground parking lot, Yin Ting follows Qiu Zheng Qing to his car and even cheerfully waves at Qin Yu Fei. “Have a good weekend!” she says. Then in a whoosh, she is taken away by Qiu Zheng Qing.

Qin Yu Fei feels ill at ease. She cannot see through Qiu Zheng Qing’s intention.

He is someone who wouldn’t waste time doing meaningless things. So she thinks that he is not adopting Yin Ting’s cat out of charity or because he likes small animals. Based on her intuition, this must be a man’s intention towards a woman.

But that is even more unbelievable. Because Qiu Zheng Qing’s score on seriousness is 100, his score on solemnness 200. He hates people who are not serious, not solemn, and has no regard for others’ seriousness the most.

Coincidentally, Yin Ting is such a person. Her score on seriousness is -100, her score on solemnness  -200. She also would often leave people in a daze, anyone who follows her pace would definitely go mad.

Therefore, Qiu Zheng Qing has that sort of intention towards Yin Ting? That is simply impossible. But to say there is intention? Exactly what is going on right now?

Qin Yu Fei calls her boyfriend. “How well do you know Qiu Zheng Qing?”

Gu Ying Jie laughs. “Not as well as you.”

“But both of you are men.”

“So? Wifey, I won’t have any ill intentions towards Director Qiu. Even if I’m going to be unfaithful, it won’t be with him. But the point is, I’m loyal and definitely won’t cheat.”

“Don’t interrupt me. Find a chance and talk to him. Ask him what he thinks of Xiao Ting.”

“Xiao Ting? You think he likes Xiao Ting?”

“You also think it’s impossible? But he actually adopted Xiao Ting’s cat, even brings her home. He even talks to her intimately in front of everyone. He’s very suspicious.”

“I don’t think it’s impossible. Anyone can like whoever, it’s up to him.”

“I can’t imagine Qiu Zheng Qing liking a woman, and he’s completely incompatible with Xiao Ting.”

Gu Ying Jie laughs. “Did you imagine him liking a man? It’s fine whether it’s a woman or man, as long as he likes it. Wifey, you’re thinking too much. Whether or not they’re compatible is not based on thought. Didn’t you once thought we would be incompatible, aren’t we doing very well now? If they like each other, they would be compatible. If they’re compatible but don’t like each other, then it’s pointless.”

“Huh, why do you sound like Xiao Ting?”

“I can smell sourness all the way here.” He laughs. “I’m still at work. Go to my place, okay? Buy dinner for me.”

“Overtime again,” she complains. “I hate men who work overtime.”

“Yes, yes. Working overtime is most annoying. I miss you. Go home and wait for me.”

Hearing him act like a spoiled child makes Qin Yu Fei smile. “Okay.” She is going to a nice restaurant and get him something really tasty for dinner.

Meanwhile, Qiu Zheng Qing and Yin Ting is at a restaurant somewhere. The fast food restaurant is indeed rather well-known because the line is very long. Yin Ting joins the queue while he goes to the supermarket to buy some frozen food to stock up his refrigerator. When he drives back to the restaurant, she is still not done. He gets out of the car and waits for her outside. After a while, Yin Ting comes out carrying several boxes of food in a big plastic bag. Seeing him, she smiles. “There are a lot of people. You must have waited for a long time?”

Seeing her smile, his entire heart is warm. Qin Yu Fei’s words earlier who has caused him to feel awkward, all of those melt away at the sight of her smile. He can imagine Qin Yu Fei teasing and ridiculing him later when she learns that he is courting Yin Ting but if he really becomes Yin Ting’s boyfriend, he thinks he won’t mind it.

He opens the door for her. Yin Ting hops in and says, “I bought lamb meat and scallion, braised pig’s feet, stewed pork and beans, also some cold dishes, and fried lettuce.”

Lamb meat? He shuts the door with a straight face. She happily adds, “There are a lot of dish selections. I rarely eat fast food, I hope it’s good.”

“There is a long queue, I think it should be good.” He starts the engine. Lamb meat and scallion… she looks so happy that he can’t bear to rain on her parade.

The both of them reach his house soon enough. As soon as they open the door, they hear Da Da meowing from inside its room. Yin Ting runs to check on the cat while shouting, “Okay, okay, I’m coming.”

Qiu Zheng Qing unloads all their groceries and food in the kitchen before going into the room to check on them. Both cat and woman are already playing well together. Yin Ting is hugging the cat in a warm embrace. “Have you been obedient? Did you miss me today?”

The cat is meowing, stretching its body to escape the tight hold. He smiles at the sight, with an overwhelming sense of satisfaction. He checks on the cat’s food and water bowl. This little cat actually ate all of its food, even finished a good portion of the water. The room smells a little bad because of the lack of ventilation. Looking at the litter, he sees that cat has done quite a bit of number two, even carefully buried its poop.

“It eats quite a lot,” he says, opening the window to let some air in. He gestures the amount of food he has put in. “He finished everything. Is this okay? It is so small.”

“It should be fine. I read online that cats will know what to eat and what not to eat. I used to put a completely full bowl too; sometimes it doesn’t even finish it. So it should know when to stop.” Yin Ting raises the cat’s pat. “Don’t you? You know how to eat in moderation, right?”

Looking at the cat’s expression, he thinks it must have no concept whatsoever of eating in moderation.

“Take the cat outside, won’t you?” he says.

“You’re allowing the cat to go outside?” she asks with a look of surprise.

“En, let it have some fresh air. The air is not good here, I need to open the door. I’ll clean the toilet a bit, the smell will be bad. Take the cat outside, won’t you. We can put it back in later.”

“Okay.” She has a face full of gratitude. “I will watch it properly, I won’t let it destroy your furniture.” She pulls the cat into her embrace and tells it, “Let’s go Da Da, I’ll bring you around the house. This house is really nice, the living room is very large…” While saying this, she leaves the room.

Qiu Zheng Qing takes off his coat and rolls up his sleeves. He walks out the balcony to get the trash can and readies himself to clean the litter. Seeing that someone is cleaning its toilet, the cat quickly jumps from Yin Ting’s arms and runs to supervise the cleaning. The smell is horrid. He takes a deep breath and decides to ignore it. The cat is pawing his leg. He glares at it and continues cleaning. When he is finally done, he hurriedly stands up and runs to get some fresh air.

He almost suffocated. If he dies because of this, this reason of death is really too embarrassing.

The cat is drilling the sand to inspect the result of his hard work. He picks up the trash can and turns around. He sees Yin Ting leaning against the doorway, watching him with a smile.

The two of them stare at each other. He feels moved, he hasn’t realized what a good feeling it is to see her as soon as he turns his head. He wants to say something but the cat has already beaten him to it. It runs from the litter, out of the room, into his bedroom.

“Da Da!” She quickly chases after the cat. “You can’t go in there!”

Qiu Zheng Qing sweat-drops. It couldn’t be, could it? He hurriedly puts the trash can back to its place and runs out to check on the runaway cat. By time he is outside, he sees Yin Ting carrying Da Da out of his bedroom. She is lecturing the cat, “Da Da, you can’t run around like this. He’s already kind enough to keep you and give you your room. If you mess up and he doesn’t want you anymore, what will you do? You must be obedient.”

Before she is even finished, the cat jumps and runs towards the living room.

“Da Da!” Yin Ting and Qiu Zheng Qing runs after it.

“You stay here to corner it, I’ll go over there,” he instructs.

“Okay.” She rearranges the shelf to trap the cat, but who knows Da Da runs the other corner. After that much hoo-ha, the two end up catching nothing. Yin Ting is sorry she almost cries, “I’m sorry, really sorry. Cats are like this, they’re very lively and just want to play around. I’ll take it back into the room. I’ll find a home for it soon, really.” She really fears that he would go back on his word and abandon Da Da.

“It’s alright. Let it take a run around. When it stops, we can just put it back into the room.” He feels helpless, he can’t believe the two of them cannot even handle a little cat. “Let’s wash our hands and have dinner. The food is getting cold.”

So the two of them washes up and begins eating the still-warm takeaway. Seeing that no one is chasing after it, the cat also stops running around. It begins walking around, curiously probing its new surroundings. Every now and then, it will rub itself against the edges of the furniture.

“Is it itchy?” he asks, watching its movements.

“No, no. It doesn’t have any disease or fleas. Seems like it’s leaving its scent, to mark its territory.”

“…” Territory? He thinks he needs to have a good talk with Da Da soon and ask it not to leave its scent everywhere. This territory is still his.

Yin Ting puts a piece of lamb meat into his bowl. “Try this.”

He has no choice but to try the meat, it’s already in his bowl. “It’s okay.” He really doesn’t like lamb meat. Opposite him, Yin Ting is also trying a piece. Her eyes light up and she says happily, “Not bad, not bad. Even though it’s fast food, it’s pretty tasty.”

Okay then, as long as she’s happy. He continues eating other dishes, avoiding the lamb dish.

Right then Da Da arrives, leaping onto the table, obviously attracted by the smell of food.

“Hey, you can’t come up.” He reaches out to catch the cat but it escapes.

When he sits down again, the cat returns. But this time it doesn’t jump on the table. Instead it quietly watches from underneath. When Yin Ting is putting a piece of meat into her mouth, the cat sits up straight, sniffing. It tries to paw her hand.

“What are you doing? This is not for you.” She laughs but makes no move to capture it. The cat goes closer to her arm, trying to eat from her bowl. He stares at it.

She hurriedly hugs Da Da and says, “That’s enough, let’s go back to your room. I’ll feed you canned food. Don’t be naughty and don’t make Great Director Qiu upset, understand?”

The cat meows in dissatisfaction but it has no space to run from her grasp this time. With a ‘pop’, the can is open, the door is locked, and so the cat is defeated.

“I’m sorry,” she apologises when she walks out. The cat has just entered [married] into his house, she doesn’t want it to be thrown out so soon.

“Don’t worry about it,” he says, meeting her eyes. She begins to smile sheepishly. “I’ll be responsible for all its expenses. If it scratches any of your furniture, I’ll buy you new ones.”

“Okay.” As long as she is willing to be responsible. Then she must come over often.

Yin Ting is stunned. Based on Qiu Zheng Qing’s personality, she thought he would turn her down to be polite. But this way is good too, there’s no need to be overly courteous. This way it’s more relaxed.

After they wrap up their meal, he readies himself to wash the dishes. With embarrassment, she hurriedly says, “Let me do it.”

“Are you responsible for washing dishes at home?” he asks.

“No, the housekeeper would do it.”

He smiles. “Then why are you competing to wash dishes at my place?”

“I’m trying to curry favour with you and win some points for Da Da.”

He laughs as he reaches for the dishcloth and opens the tap.

“Wait, wait.” Yin Ting hurries over, nagging at him like an old housekeeper. “You forgot to roll up your sleeves again. You’re like my brother, so clumsy,” she says as she helps him roll up his sleeves.

Qiu Zheng Qing hides a smile. Of course he’s not clumsy, he did it on purpose. Looks like the result is pretty satisfying.

When she is done, she looks up and notices his smile.

Ah, he really is quite handsome.

She takes a step back, feeling a little embarrassed. Even though she would gush over cute boys she sees in the streets while hanging out with her girlfriends, but to have her heart waver over a serious, straight-laced friend of hers is really quite inappropriate.

Qiu Zheng Qing cannot read minds, of course he has no idea that in that moment, he actually became an attractive “beauty.”  He turns around to wash the dishes and while still trying to come up with a conversation topic, he hears her say, “Then I will go check on Da Da first.”

“Okay.” Then he will just wait until he finishes washing.

Yin Ting disappears into Da Da’s room, no doubt to play with the cat. Da Da has already finished its meal and is stretching on the floor. Yin Ting picks up the toy stick to play with the cat. After a while, Qiu Zheng Qing enters the room and sits down, leaning against the door. He watches both the human and cat play together energetically.

Yin Ting turns around to look at him. “Do you have anything else to do? It’s fine to leave me alone.”

“It’s fine.”

Yin Ting grins. “It’s good that I’m not disturbing you.” After playing a bit more, she hugs the cat and sits down beside Qiu Zheng Qing. “Thank you,” she says.

“No problem.”

Then, the both of them are quiet.

Yin Ting alternates between teasing the cat with the stick and scratching its belly. The cat curls up in her embrace, preparing to call it a night. The entire house is silent. Qiu Zheng Qing cannot think of a conversation topic, but it doesn’t matter that he can’t think of any. Sitting next to each other like this, it doesn’t feel awkward at all. Watching Yin Ting smiling gently at the cat, he feels warmth from every corner of the room.

Under such ambiance, coupled with his sleep-deprived state thanks to yesterday, he accidentally falls asleep. When his head comes into contact with her shoulder, Yin Ting gets a little fright. Lifting her head, she sees that the man beside her is actually asleep. She cannot help but smile. He must be really tired.

But since he is this tired, shouldn’t she wake him up and have him sleep on his own bed? But waking him like this, would she make him feel awkward and embarrassed? Of course he would tell her that he is fine, that he is not tired, and he will send her home.

If that’s the case, then she really should leave. She shouldn’t overstay her welcome. If she leaves without waking him, he wouldn’t have to sacrifice his rest to send her home. Then, it’s decided, she will let him rest a bit more.

Yin Ting keeps herself very still, afraid of jolting him. On one side of her is a snoring cat, on the other side is the sound of Qiu Zheng Qing breathing deeply in his sleep. Sitting there, her heart feels both calm and satisfied. If she can have such a blissful, happy life in the future, that would be lovely. A loving husband with a sense of responsibility, who likes pets – the both of them can keep a cat and a dog, raise two children. Their house doesn’t need to be big, the size of Qiu Zheng Qing’s house is good enough. Their days would be filled with joy and bliss.

Who knows where is her other half right now, and what he even looks like?

She really wants to date someone. She is really envious of those people who have a boyfriend they can be coy, watch movies and travel with, and go hunt for good food every day. When someone asks them out, she wants to shamelessly say, “Oh sorry I’m not free, I have a date with my boyfriend today.” She can also say, “That’s right, I will forsake my friends for my boyfriend [idiom].”

But even until now, it is always other people saying those words to her. She is the one who can only laugh bitterly and say, “Are you free today? Let’s have dinner together. What, you’re going on a date again? Don’t you feel bored of your boyfriend’s face, seeing him every day? You really have forsaken your friends for your boyfriend!”

Dear God, dear matchmaker, dear red thread, can you all please work your magic? Please hurry up and be more efficient. She really wants try forsaking her friends for her boyfriend too.

Qiu Zheng Qing is not too sure how long he is asleep. He doesn’t even know he has fallen asleep. He is awaken by the sound of Da Da meowing and Yin Ting quietly saying, “Shh, stop meowing. Don’t make any noise and let Uncle sleep a while longer. Be good.”

Da Da meows quietly, leading Yin Ting to say, “Is it because of your non-stop meowing yesterday that Uncle is so sleep-deprived? You can’t be like this. Uncle works very hard, he can’t go without good rest at night.”

Qiu Zheng Qing barely refrains himself from laughing out loud. It is way too awkward to “wake up” now. Plus, he is leaning on her shoulder right now. He has never gotten this close to her before. She really is thoughtful. Not only is she cute, she is also very gentle and considerate. Qiu Zheng Qing decides to keep on pretending to be asleep. He will only pretend a little more, it’s really not easy for such an opportunity to come by.

But before he can finish that thought, Yin Ting’s phone starts ringing. This time he can no longer pretend and sighs inwardly before “waking” up. He watches Yin Ting run out the room to answer the call. Da Da gets up to sneak out along with her, but he stops it in time by closing the door tightly shut.

  

The phone call is from Qin Yu Fei. She asks Yin Ting, “Where are you?”

“I am still at Qiu Zheng Qing’s place.”

“Why are you still there this late at night?”

It is only now that Yin Ting realizes that her shoulder feels really numb. She groans and massages her sore shoulders, while watching the door to Da Da’s room. When she sees that Qiu Zheng Qing is not walking out, she quietly answers, “He fell asleep earlier, I didn’t know how to wake him up, so I let him sleep. But now he’s awake, so I am leaving soon.”

Qin Yu Fei cries, “He fell asleep! Did he do anything to you?” Yin Ting’s voice over the line sounds very suspicious to her.

“He didn’t do anything. He’s just tired and fell asleep while sitting down.” Yin Ting finally understands what Qin Yu Fei means and adds, “Your mind is really evil. The situation is actually similar to when a person fall asleep on the public transport. Where has your thought gone to?”

“Below the belt,” Qin Yu Fei shamelessly answers. “Is he next to you?”

“Don’t you think it’s a little too late to ask that after saying so much impolite things about him?”

“Nope. I don’t care if he knows I’m suspicious of him,” Queen Qin answers.

“Okay, you win,” Yin Ting readily admits defeat. “He’s not here, he’s inside Da Da’s room. I am in the living room.”

“Then let me ask you. Is Qiu Zheng Qing courting you?”

“Of course not.”

“You’re so out of it, of course you won’t even know if someone is courting you. I will refrain from reminding you of your silly past. I will tell you this, don’t you think that just because Qiu Zheng Qing is a top executive of my family’s company, you can stop worrying about him. Rape cases usually involve people you know.”

Yin Ting nearly drops her jaw from the shock. What is she talking about?!

“You can never be too careful of others. I am not joking with you. If he really does anything inappropriate to you, you must not be polite. And also,  you must tell me. I will end him.”

“He won’t.”

“Even though I don’t think he is a bad person, but girls should take care of themselves,” Qin Yu Fei lectures. “Think about it. Why is he being so good to you?”

“He’s kind,” Yin Ting answers without hesitation.

“Idiot. Do you think my Qu Ying Jie is kind?”

This time Yin Ting’s reaction is swift and knows exactly what Qin Yu Fei is talking about, that Gu Ying Jie backtracks on the matter of adopting the cat. She confidently says, “There are two possibilities. One, Gu Ying Jie is not as kind as Great Director Qiu. Two, Gu Ying Jie’s love for you has diminished his kindness.”

“…” Qin Yu Fei sighs. “You’re good at talking back, huh.”

“I am stating the truth.”

“Either way, I have already reminded you. Take care of yourself. If a man doesn’t have any intentions about a woman, why would he treat her so kindly? Think about it. If I am the one who went up to him and ask him to adopt my cat, he definitely won’t help me.”

“How would you know if you haven’t tried!” Yin Ting can’t help but stand on his side.

“You idiot, you really should die of your idiocy. I am just warning you. If he really likes you, but you don’t like him, then don’t let him help you so much. When you find someone you like and he has immersed himself too deep to let go easily, the situation would be very awkward and difficult to handle. He will think that you have wronged him and you will think that you’re innocent, isn’t that such an ugly situation?”

Yin Ting is left speechless. She finds that Qin Yu Fei’s words actually make sense. But she thinks that Qiu Zheng Qing wouldn’t do such a thing. He wouldn’t play revenge games, he wouldn’t fuss over little matters. He is responsible, dependable. He makes her feel safe.

“If he thinks you have deceived his love and makes a fuss about it, not coming to work and cause trouble for my family company, isn’t that bad?”

“…” Yin Ting really feels like reaching into the phone to choke Qin Yu Fei. “You have the nerve to say something like that!”

“Why not?” Qin Yu Fei answers unabashedly. “But of course, if you also like him, even though I don’t think there is such a possibility. Right, there shouldn’t be this possibility. This is the steel-faced workaholic! If you really fall for him, everyone will be shocked to death,” Qin Yu Fei babbles to herself. “Since there is no such possibility, then I won’t say much about it. Either way, you should really pay attention and consider things more. Don’t put yourself into trouble, okay? Ah right, I have already asked Gu Ying Jie to hurry up and find a home for your cat. You should also hurry up and find one yourself. It’s not appropriate to keep the cat at Qiu Zheng Qing’s place. He always works late and takes business trips, he’s not a good candidate as the owner.”

“Oh.” Her words make Yin Ting feel uneasy and a little sad. Qin Yu Fei lectures her a little more, saying that since they are not a couple, she really should not be staying at a man’s house this late at night. She tells her to hurry home. Yin Ting agrees and hangs up.

When she returns to the room, she sees Qiu Zheng Qing is teasing the cat with a stick. Da Da is leaning on its back, trying to catch the stick with its tiny paws. Qiu Zheng Qing laughs heartily.

When he notices Yin Ting, he asks, “What’s the matter, who called?”

“It’s nothing.” She shakes her head.

Da Da has flipped on its belly, trying to bite the stick and distracting Qiu Zheng Qing. He hurriedly removes the stick away from the clutches of the cat. Watching the both of them, Yin Ting thinks of Qin Yu Fei’s words earlier. Is there really a possibility that Qiu Zheng Qing likes her?