Cohabitating With My Sworn Enemy After The Apocalypse - Chapter 2

Chapter 2

There were two dining tables in the private room. The other colleagues were already seated, leaving only two adjacent empty seats for Wan Qiyun and Shi Qingwan.

Xiao Zhang, sitting next to Shi Qingwan, quietly leaned in and whispered, “This restaurant isn’t cheap. The new Supervisor Wan must be really loaded.”

She flashed her phone screen. Shi Qingwan glanced at it and nudged her with an elbow, signaling her to restrain herself—the person they were talking about was right next to them.

After the dishes were gradually served, Wan Qiyun stood up, raising the glass of water in front of her. Her clear voice caused the chattering to slowly subside. “I won’t say much else. I just hope to work happily with everyone going forward.”

“Come, cheers!” Wan Qiyun raised her glass.

“Cheers!” Everyone responded, standing up. Glass cups clinked in the air. Shi Qingwan also put on a smile, joining the atmosphere.

The water glass to her right suddenly tilted toward her, gently tapping the side of Shi Qingwan’s cup, making a crisp sound.

Shi Qingwan’s fingers trembled slightly, and the lemon slice in her cup wobbled. She instinctively turned her head, meeting Wan Qiyun’s eyes, which held a knowing, playful smile.

Shi Qingwan set her cup back on the table. Wan Qiyun was chatting warmly with her colleagues across the table. Laughter and the clatter of bowls and chopsticks intertwined, but Shi Qingwan felt slightly suffocated.

“I’m going to the restroom,” she quietly told Xiao Zhang next to her, then got up and left the table.

The hallway lights were much dimmer than those in the private room. The thick, dark carpet muffled all footsteps.

Shi Qingwan stopped at the sink. The cold stream of water running over her wrists helped her clear her head slightly.

The person in the mirror had slightly furrowed brows and a lingering smile on her lips, a remnant of her effort to deal with the situation. She hadn’t played it cool at all.

She felt like Wan Qiyun was laughing at her, which made her feel slightly humiliated. She was still so annoying.

She turned off the faucet, pulled out a tissue, and slowly dried her hands.

Just then, the sound of the door opening came from behind her. Wan Qiyun’s tall figure appeared in the mirror.

Wan Qiyun in the mirror leaned against the doorframe, a faint, subtle smile playing on her lips. Her fingertips lightly tapped the doorframe, making a subtle sound.

“Does seeing me make you so uncomfortable?” Wan Qiyun leaned against the door, her tone as relaxed as if she were having a casual chat.

She had been paying attention to Shi Qingwan and could naturally sense her mood.

The crumpled tissue was tossed into the trash can. Shi Qingwan turned to face Wan Qiyun. This was the first time today she had directly confronted her.

“It’s not discomfort. I just don’t understand why you are here. Shouldn’t you be working at Xinghuo?” Shi Qingwan lowered her eyes, her tone calm, as if stating an objective fact.

Wan Qiyun tilted her head slightly, her gaze looking straight into Shi Qingwan’s eyes: “You certainly remember things clearly.”

Of course.

It was precisely because Wan Qiyun worked at Xinghuo Animation that she finally gave up on that company and took a job at her current one.

So why was Wan Qiyun here now, constantly popping up in front of her, impossible to shake off?

“Is it because I won the competition against you, that you hate me so much?”

Under Wan Qiyun’s calm tone, an almost undetectable tension was hidden. Her fingers unconsciously rubbed the edge of the doorframe.

She racked her brain, and the only major event that happened before Shi Qingwan cut ties with her was that one competition.

Shi Qingwan looked up at her. “No.”

“Then why?” Wan Qiyun softened her voice, unwilling to disrupt the current atmosphere.

“I’m the one asking you,” she repeated. She disliked Wan Qiyun’s habit of taking control of the conversation. “Why did you suddenly show up here?”

Wan Qiyun fell silent. Shi Qingwan didn’t press further, instead walking directly past her, pushing the door open, and leaving the restroom.

The hallway lights stretched their two shadows long, one in front of the other.

When she returned to the private room, Shi Qingwan noticed a subtle change in the seating arrangement.

Xiao Zhang, who had been sitting next to her, had swapped places with Li Yi at some point. Now, Li Yi was sitting right next to her, eagerly peeling shrimp for her with gloved hands.

The peeled shrimp meat was neatly arranged on crushed ice. Catching Li Yi’s expectant gaze from the corner of her eye, Shi Qingwan nodded slightly, “Thank you, this is enough.”

As she placed the plate in front of herself, Wan Qiyun returned to her seat. Shi Qingwan pretended not to notice, slowly enjoying the food in front of her.

“Xiao Li is so thoughtful,” Wan Qiyun glanced lightly at Li Yi, whose ears suddenly turned red. “Could you peel some for me too?”

The female colleagues around them took the opportunity to tease him. Li Yi’s face instantly flushed crimson. He frantically picked up a few more shrimp and started his peeling duty again.

Shi Qingwan stopped eating. This familiar scenario reminded her of things that had happened before.

She had many admirers in school. After they met Wan Qiyun, many of them went on to pursue her instead. This Li Yi would probably end up like everyone else before him.

A hint of coldness flashed in Shi Qingwan’s eyes.

Suddenly, a loud thunderclap exploded outside the window, the boom making the glass hum.

Shi Qingwan’s spine stiffened abruptly. For a split second during the booming thunder, she almost flinched, but remembering she was at the dinner, she forcefully controlled her movements.

“Ouch!” Xiao Zhang was so startled she dropped her chopsticks. “That thunder came out of nowhere!”

“Are you alright?” Wan Qiyun looked at her with concern, her warm breath brushing against Shi Qingwan’s ear.

Shi Qingwan forced herself to remain calm and picked up her water glass: “What could be wrong?” Her voice, however, ended on an uncontrolled, slight tremble. The water surface in her cup rippled minutely.

Outside, the rain poured down. Large raindrops hit the glass with a dense crackling sound. Distant flashes of lightning occasionally tore through the sky, the bright light instantly swallowed by darkness.

Wan Qiyun quietly shifted her body, trying to block the window as much as possible.

“It’s not even seven o’clock yet; why is the sky so terrifyingly dark?” Xiao Zhang stood up and peered out the window. The sky outside was abnormal. “With all this rain, I hope there won’t be flooding soon.”

“The super typhoon is about to make landfall. Frequent rain lately is normal. I’ve received text alerts multiple times today.”

“I don’t know what’s going on with the weather recently. It’s raining everywhere. Even Mengcheng is having floods, which is really rare.”

“My hometown flooded yesterday,” colleague Xiao Wang said worriedly. “My social media feed is full of videos of people rowing boats. The weather is getting weirder every year. It rained in previous years, but it was never as serious as this year. I heard that people in the New District, where the terrain is low, are already preparing for early evacuation.”

Shi Qingwan unconsciously glanced at the window. Just as she did, a bolt of lightning flashed, illuminating the wildly shaking tree shadows on the street.

Her hand subtly reached under the table, gripping the chair.

“BOOM!”

The deafening thunder exploded. Shi Qingwan’s pupils contracted sharply, her spine rigid. Her nails dug fiercely into the gaps of the chair cushion, yet she managed not to make a sound.

As Shi Qingwan endured the sound of the thunder, when she opened her eyes, a crème brûlée appeared in front of her. The golden caramel crust lay atop the wobbly pudding, looking quite appetizing.

A part of her nerve system, previously focused on resistance, was diverted by the sweet treat in front of her. It seemed she wasn’t so afraid anymore.

“Try some.” Wan Qiyun gently placed a silver spoon on the edge of the pudding. “This pudding tastes quite good.”

“Thank you.” Suppressing her annoyance with Wan Qiyun, she picked up the silver spoon and took a spoonful of the pudding. The sweet aroma of the caramel melted on her tongue, perfectly easing her tense nerves.

Wan Qiyun merely nodded slightly, then turned to chat with other colleagues about the recent heavy rain, as if the gesture of offering the dessert was perfectly normal.

Her profile looked especially soft under the restaurant’s warm, yellow light. Shi Qingwan secretly observed her. Wan Qiyun noticed her gaze but didn’t react.

There were no teasing eyes, no meaningful smiles, only a vague concern.

She disliked rain and was afraid of thunder. Wan Qiyun was the one who told her that eating something sweet during a thunderstorm could distract her.

Wan Qiyun said…

Unconsciously, she ate a few more bites of the pudding, no longer minding the gradually weakening thunder outside the window.

The heavy rain lessened after half an hour. Everyone had eaten enough, put down their chopsticks, and sat chatting.

Wan Qiyun chatted well with the people beside her. Everyone spoke freely with her.

Perhaps she possessed a unique temperament—neither deliberately distant nor overly familiar, yet she strangely made people feel close to her.

Her eyes and brows were perfectly shaped, the outer corners slightly upturned, making her look confident yet not aggressive.

When she lowered her eyes, she was calm and reserved; when she looked up at someone, her gaze was focused and peaceful, making people instinctively want to confide more; when she smiled, the corners of her eyes curved slightly, carrying a mix of abandon and charm that made it impossible to look away.

Shi Qingwan also found it hard to look away. A person like this naturally drew people closer, yet intimidated them from approaching rashly.

At the same time, she noticed that Li Yi was looking at Wan Qiyun with an increased sense of admiration.

Water droplets dripping from the eaves hit the ground. Xiao Zhang excitedly stood up, “Shall we call it a night? While the rain has stopped.”

Everyone felt they were done and gathered their belongings, preparing to leave. Wan Qiyun subtly walked up to Shi Qingwan.

“I’ll drive you back,” she asked softly, testing the waters.

“Thank you, but no need.” Wan Qiyun had approached her too many times today, intentionally or unintentionally. She didn’t want any further entanglement with her.

Wan Qiyun’s gaze lingered on Shi Qingwan’s slightly furrowed brow for a moment, then she nodded understandingly: “Alright.”

She took a step back, giving Shi Qingwan space. That look was too honest, which left Shi Qingwan’s defensive words stuck in her throat.

Wan Qiyun timely turned to the other colleagues, raising her voice slightly, “Everyone, send a message in the group chat when you get home to confirm you’re safe. Be careful in the rainy weather.”

The colleagues agreed, leaving in twos and threes. Wan Qiyun walked with them.

It had just rained, but there was no sign of coolness outside. The air was muggy and sticky, making it hard to breathe. Damp humidity mixed with the heat radiating from the asphalt road washed over them.

The colleagues gradually left, leaving only the two of them standing under the eaves at the restaurant entrance.

Wan Qiyun stood about three steps away from her, neither approaching nor leaving.

Shi Qingwan’s phone screen showed “Searching for ride-share.” She waited for six or seven minutes, but no driver accepted the order.

“Didn’t you want to know why? Let me drive you home, and I’ll tell you the answer.”

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