Love Finds Its Time - Chapter 24

After a full day at work and dealing with part of the tasks Wen Qinghan had handed over, Jian Yizhi completely forgot she was supposed to talk to Fu Anran about the job. It wasn’t until the end of the day that she remembered what she’d promised to do.

It wasn’t anything major, and Jian Yizhi wasn’t the type to procrastinate. Once she made a decision, she rarely went back on it. Besides, if this choice could stop her parents from constantly matchmaking, why would she refuse? As the saying goes, “A master leads you to the door, but practice is up to the individual.” Letting her guide Fu Anran a bit was no problem. And if Fu Anran turned out to be unfit for the job, the law firm wasn’t hers alone to decide.

With that thought, her mood brightened considerably. She packed up a few files and headed home.

By coincidence, she spotted Fu Anran stepping off a bus near the residential complex. Parking her car at the base of her own building, she waited for about ten minutes before seeing Fu Anran walk up.

Today, Fu Anran wore a soft-colored dress, her shoulder-length hair loose around her face, which made her look especially gentle. She carried no trace of worldly sharpness or social polish. Just a striking, almost unreal cleanliness that was, in its way, very pleasing.

“Hey, come here,” Jian Yizhi called from a distance.

Fu Anran glanced around, saw no one else nearby, then pointed at herself questioningly. Jian Yizhi nodded. Hastily, Fu Anran quickened her steps, stopping in front of her with a smile. “Senior.” She even looked like she was about to bow.

Jian Yizhi quickly pressed a finger to her forehead to stop her, then pulled her hand back and cleared her throat. “You don’t have to be so formal. It’s not like we don’t know each other.”

“Mm. Alright.” Fu Anran agreed obediently.

Her easy compliance actually made Jian Yizhi pause. She glanced up at her own apartment building, then at the windows of Fu Anran’s home. This wasn’t a conversation she could have at home. Even if her parents knew why she was meeting Fu Anran, they wouldn’t be able to resist sneaking in a bit of matchmaking.

So she asked, “You haven’t eaten yet, right?” Judging from the timing, it was unlikely.

“No, not yet. Why, Senior?”

“Perfect. Let’s eat together. I’ll take you out.” Jian Yizhi opened the driver’s side door and added over her shoulder, “Sit in the passenger seat. Hurry up.”

“Ah?” Fu Anran was confused. Something about Jian Yizhi felt different today. She looked the same, but there was a hint of warmth that hadn’t been there before.

“‘Ah’ what? Get in.” Jian Yizhi shut her door, rolled down the window, and leaned out to urge her again.

Left with no choice, Fu Anran circled the car, got in, and buckled her seatbelt. Once Jian Yizhi backed out and drove toward the gate, Fu Anran sneaked a glance at her profile. She still couldn’t guess what Jian Yizhi was thinking, but habit made her follow her lead.

It was like all the times their parents had schemed to put them together: if Jian Yizhi stayed silent, she stayed silent; if Jian Yizhi refused, she went along with it. She didn’t want to cause trouble for her, so more often than not, she cooperated in rejecting their parents’ meddling. Over time, that had become a quiet habit.

“What do you want to eat?” Jian Yizhi suddenly asked.

Snapping back to the present, Fu Anran focused on her clear, composed profile. “I’m not picky. Whatever you decide, Senior.”

Jian Yizhi’s lips curved faintly, as if pleased by her obedience. She turned the wheel and drove into the parking lot of a nearby restaurant.

Even though Fu Anran gave the impression she’d go along with anything, Jian Yizhi still politely let her order. In the end, with the waiter’s suggestion, they settled on half a dry-pot duck and two simple side dishes.

While waiting, the silence stretched until Fu Anran, searching for something to do, poured tea into Jian Yizhi’s cup. Jian Yizhi glanced sideways, her smile softening with genuine warmth.

She had to admit, Fu Anran really was a good girl. They could have been friends under different circumstances. She was still untouched by the harsher rules of the world, a little too clean, but refreshingly so. If their parents hadn’t pushed so hard, Jian Yizhi wouldn’t have minded spending more time with her.

The duck came quickly; it was the restaurant’s specialty, simmered in a clay pot, always ready in the kitchen. In minutes, the waiter set it on the small stove in the middle of the table. Steam and rich fragrance filled the air.

“Senior…”

“Um…”

They both spoke at once, then stopped. Jian Yizhi chuckled. “I’ll go first.” Fu Anran nodded. After a pause, Jian Yizhi said, “Didn’t you tell me before you were getting ready to start working? Our firm is recruiting right now. If you’re interested, you can come directly.”

She deliberately avoided mentioning that it was because of their parents. After all, both of them had always been passive in these matters, and Fu Anran, like her, disliked the meddling. It wasn’t her fault. So why make her feel burdened by it? Sometimes, all it took was framing things differently to make everything easier.

Fu Anran froze, staring at her in surprise. Jian Yizhi raised her brows but kept her expression pleasant as she reached for her briefcase and pulled out a document.

“Senior, why so suddenly?” Fu Anran asked. She’d already thought Jian Yizhi was acting unusual today. Treating her to dinner, of all things. And if the purpose was to offer her a job, then her actions seemed even stranger.

Working at Yihan was an incredible opportunity. It should’ve been her thanking Jian Yizhi, not the other way around. …Wait, why was she unconsciously following Jian Yizhi’s line of thought?

“What’s sudden about it?” Jian Yizhi placed the document on the table, picked up her chopsticks, and dropped a piece of duck into her bowl. After a bite, she added, “You’re looking for a job, and we’re hiring. Perfect timing, isn’t it? But listen, even if I let you in directly, if you can’t handle it, I can’t keep you. The firm isn’t run by me alone. You’ve met that other partner already—she’s stricter than I am, never easier.” As she spoke, she also placed a piece of duck into Fu Anran’s bowl and tapped it with her chopsticks. “What are you staring at? Eat—it’s just right.”

Inwardly, Jian Yizhi laughed at herself. She’d just turned Big Baby Wen’s image into that of a tyrant boss before the new recruit even arrived. But with a face like hers, Fu Anran probably wouldn’t dare approach anyway. The last time they’d all eaten hotpot together, the two had barely exchanged a word.

Hurriedly, Fu Anran lifted her chopsticks and started eating, still dazed by everything Jian Yizhi had just said.

Watching Jian Yizhi press her lips together while picking meat out of the clay pot, Fu Anran couldn’t help but smile faintly. She said seriously, “Thank you, Senior. I’ll do my best.”

The moment those words left her mouth, Jian Yizhi knew the matter was settled. A breath of relief slipped out of her chest.

She had already expected this outcome. After all, it wasn’t entirely because of personal ties that she was giving Fu Anran the opportunity. This was just a good starting point—whether or not she could stand on her own later depended entirely on her.

“That’s good. Don’t let me down,” Jian Yizhi said with a look full of expectation. She glanced at the file, lifted her chin slightly, and added, “That’s the recruitment requirements, salary details, and a few office rules. Take it home and read it carefully. The requirements part you can skip. If you feel ready, come in a day or two. If not, start next Monday. Report to my office first thing.”

“Mm, I understand,” Fu Anran replied. She looked at Jian Yizhi through the steam rising from the pot. Seeing her eating naturally, without any airs of self-restraint, her refined features still carried an air of elegance.

Two more dishes arrived. Out of courtesy, Fu Anran served a spoonful of mapo tofu into Jian Yizhi’s bowl.

“Thanks,” Jian Yizhi said with a small smile.

For some reason, a sudden thought slipped into Fu Anran’s mind. Thinking of the awkward ties that had bound them for years, she asked, “Senior, after all this time, have you ever thought about dating?”

Jian Yizhi looked up.

Flustered, Fu Anran quickly put down her chopsticks and explained, “I didn’t mean anything by it. I just wondered—have you ever thought about getting out of… this situation?” She pressed her lips together, meeting Jian Yizhi’s probing gaze. “After all, no matter what, Uncle and Auntie and my parents never stop…”

The truth was, Fu Anran had just broken up with her boyfriend not long ago. Her peaceful life had been rattled since then. Her gentle, soft-spoken mother always brought up Jian Yizhi at home, sometimes praising her character, other times her career.

In her parents’ eyes, Jian Yizhi outshone any boyfriend she’d ever had. And rationally speaking, Fu Anran agreed. She couldn’t deny it.

Jian Yizhi picked up her bowl, swept up the tofu Fu Anran had served, and popped it into her mouth. Her cheeks puffed slightly as she chewed, lips pressed together—an image so unexpectedly cute that Fu Anran found herself caught off guard by the thought.

Setting her bowl down, Jian Yizhi said calmly, “Why should I change myself because of that? To date just for the sake of getting out of this situation—I’d only be irresponsible to myself and to whoever I dragged into it.”

In other words, dating for the sake of dating. Not only unfair to herself, but even more unfair to the other person.

Fu Anran nodded repeatedly while eating, and Jian Yizhi almost laughed. “Anyway, as long as we keep our attitudes clear, our parents can only nag. That’s all.”

That was how she had always seen it. No matter how hard her parents pushed, unless she wanted it herself, they couldn’t force anything. After all, she was the one who would have to live it.

“Why ask now? Haven’t things always been this way?”

Fu Anran shook her head, looking a little embarrassed. “It’s nothing. I just broke up with my boyfriend recently, and ever since then, my mom’s been praising you again every single day.”

The corner of Jian Yizhi’s lips lifted. She sighed. “So you broke up. No wonder my mom’s been so happy lately. I was wondering why things had gone quiet for a bit, and then suddenly started up again.”

Fu Anran was amused by her tone and couldn’t help laughing, dropping the subject that had always weighed on them both. After all, they already had an understanding: as long as their attitudes were firm, that was enough.

Just as she turned her attention back to the food, from the corner of her eye she caught Jian Yizhi sipping tea unhurriedly, her voice steady and even. 

“The path you walk is always in your own hands. Never let anyone or anything dictate what you should think. What others arrange for you may not suit you at all—because you have your own way of thinking.”

Fu Anran lifted her gaze. Jian Yizhi was still sipping tea, her profile turned toward the window. The clean lines of her side profile, together with the sudden weight in her words, froze Fu Anran in place. She missed the flash of indifference that briefly flickered in Jian Yizhi’s eyes.

A blink later, Jian Yizhi looked just as she always did—warm and approachable.

“I’ll remember, Senior,” Fu Anran said softly.

She saw Jian Yizhi nod slightly, the curve of her lips carrying that familiar, gentle smile.