Pharmaceutical Negotiator - Chapter 31

Mid-August, Beijing entered its rainy season.

The misty rain was dense, but the weather was still muggy, and the paved roads were a deeper color after the rain.

There was a sweet osmanthus tree in the residential compound that had bloomed early. The clusters of flowers, dampened by the rain, hung low, emitting a faint, sweet osmanthus fragrance.

Qi An suggested they go for a walk outside. Zhang Sitan shook her head; although the rain wasn’t heavy, the splashes would wet her rolled-up pant legs.

Besides, it was a rare, leisurely weekend, and she wanted to rest well.

“Let’s go out and wander, change our mood,” Qi An leaned against her, her eyes wide with a hint of hope.

“I haven’t put on any makeup,” Zhang Sitan used another excuse to fend her off.

“Sister Sitan, you’re naturally beautiful, you look super gorgeous even without makeup.” Qi An nudged her again. “Please, please go.”

Zhang Sitan felt helpless and started to hesitate.

Seeing a glimmer of hope, Qi An jumped off the sofa and tried to pull Zhang Sitan up.

The warm, small hand rested on Zhang Sitan’s arm, and the outward pull made her lean forward involuntarily. Her long hair, loose behind her head, fell in large swathes over the side of her face. Qi An tugged her with one hand and helped tuck the strands behind her ear with the other.

Since being enlightened by Qi An, Zhang Sitan had become extremely sensitive to this kind of ambiguous gesture.

She sprang up from the sofa, pushed Qi An’s hand away, and said, trying to cover her sudden movement, “Let’s go.”

Qi An looked at her abrupt jump with some confusion but was happy to be going out.

She went to the entryway to pick out a large umbrella and urged Zhang Sitan to quickly change her shoes.

Zhang Sitan glanced at the umbrella in her hand and said leisurely, “Change it to two small ones.”

After almost two months as a working adult, Qi An had developed many realizations. For example, when they were in Qingdao, Zhang Sitan wouldn’t let her open the car door or carry her bag, not because she thought Qi An couldn’t do it well, but simply because she felt it wasn’t suitable for her to do.

It was the same now; Zhang Sitan didn’t want to share an umbrella, only feeling that sharing one was too inconvenient and both people would likely get their clothes wet.

Even though she understood, Qi An still felt a little wronged. The romantic walk in the rain had turned into a hurried, one after the other journey.

She obediently put the umbrella back on the rack, took two folding umbrellas instead, and pouted slightly, “Let’s go.”

Zhang Sitan didn’t know why Qi An was throwing a subtle tantrum, so she accepted the folding umbrella and gave her a comforting look, “We’ll go to the coffee shop downstairs and sit for a while.”

A clear, rainy day paired with a cup of rich coffee was also a romantic choice.

Qi An nodded, becoming happy again.

Zhang Sitan looked at Qi An’s unpredictable expressions and subtly curved her lips.

Exiting the unit door, they opened the folding umbrellas. Zhang Sitan and Qi An kept an eye on the puddles, walking side-by-side with caution.

The rain wasn’t heavy, but compared to the incessant, damp meiyu (plum rain) of the Yangtze River region, the raindrops hitting the ground here certainly had more force.

The osmanthus tree they had looked down on from upstairs looked heavier, standing sturdily on the ground. Its dense mass of branches and leaves held tiny flowers dotted with raindrops, their pale yellow color standing out from the surrounding green.

Qi An still had a childlike mentality; rainy days always made her think of when she was little, with a group of children circling a puddle, jumping up and down to see whose splash was the highest.

So when she saw it was raining, she happily pulled Sister Sitan outside, always feeling that rainy days were joyful, and that they should be outside, heedlessly getting their shoes and socks wet.

Zhang Sitan only had two memories of rainy days. One was in middle school when the rain was too heavy. She, who always walked to school, begged her father to take her. He rode an old-fashioned motorcycle very fast, and when they arrived at school, her pant legs were completely covered in splashed mud.

The other was when she first started working. Beijing’s traffic lines were too complex, and people were rushing in the rain. Zhang Sitan was swept along toward the bus, her clothes and bag soaked by the rainwater falling nearby.

Looking at the somewhat gloomy sky and the sporadic raindrops in the rain curtain, Zhang Sitan’s expression softened slightly.

Staying with an energetic person means you’ll also be radiated by that energy field. Qi An was a happy little dog, a person who could walk freely in the rain. Influenced by her, Zhang Sitan also granted rainy days more forgiveness.

New sprouts joined the old green on the branches, becoming even more untamed after being washed by the rain.

Qi An was wearing a pair of absorbent slippers without socks, and she deliberately sought out the places with more standing water. The slippers squished through the water, became soaked, and made a cheerful squeaking sound when she walked.

“Are you a child?” Zhang Sitan waited for Qi An, feeling a bit helpless.

Qi An chuckled, stomped on the ground a few times to release the water.

“It’s fun.”

They finally arrived at the coffee shop, where a few bright yellow, uniquely designed lights were on.

Pushing the door open, the wind chime on the door was lifted and then fell back, making a crisp ding-a-ling sound.

The shop wasn’t crowded. A damp, cool current flowed across the floor. Peaceful music gently flowed through the small space. The owner, with long, exaggerated acrylic nails, sat on a high stool, wiping cups behind the bar.

“Let’s go upstairs,” Zhang Sitan suggested.

The umbrellas had been drained outside and were standing upright by the entrance.

Qi An, with her wet slippers, followed behind Zhang Sitan. The dark wooden staircase in the corner was small, just wide enough for one person to pass through.

The center of the coffee shop’s second floor was a commercial display area, holding some cultural and creative products and merchandise. Small spotlights scattered light everywhere, and due to the overcast weather, the light was dim even during the day.

Zhang Sitan found a window seat, propped her feet on the high stool’s footrest, and sat down. Qi An quickly followed, climbed onto the stool, and dangled her legs in the air, swinging them leisurely.

There was a QR code on the table corner. Zhang Sitan brought out her phone, scanned it, placed the phone flat between them, and asked Qi An what she wanted to order.

Qi An’s fingertip slid across the phone screen, looking at a stack of diverse names. She asked Zhang Sitan what she wanted.

Zhang Sitan selected an Americano, and added extra ice.

“Too bitter,” Qi An said dismissively, choosing one with an appealing picture.

The option labeled “Pomegranate Color” had a picture of a wide, tall-stemmed glass. The frosted texture of the glass was slightly translucent, revealing the layers inside, with foam overflowing at the top.

“Want a small cake?”

Small cake… Qi An leaned closer to the screen, earnestly scrolling through the pictures.

Since coming to Beijing, she hadn’t ordered dessert, so she might as well make up for it all at once now.

Zhang Sitan also selected a “Crispy Crispy,” which looked like small biscuits from the picture.

After ordering, Qi An boredly looked out the window and asked Zhang Sitan, “When you lived in Beijing before, what did you do on weekends?”

“Nothing, just stayed home,” Zhang Sitan shook her head.

“Ah.” Qi An rested her head in her hands, swaying back and forth. “Sister Sitan, didn’t you go shopping?”

“I didn’t have the energy for that. After working all week, I just wanted to lie down. Plus,” Zhang Sitan looked meaningfully at Qi An, “no one used to forcefully drag me out.”

“Hehehe.” Qi An gave an embarrassed laugh. “But changing your perspective like this is more relaxing, isn’t it?”

“It is,” Zhang Sitan nodded, her eyes fixed on the rain curtain outside. The sound of the dense raindrops was filtered by the window, sounding much fainter.

The light in the shop was flickering, casting light spots on the window, forming a star map. Large drops of rain fell on the window, streaking lines, and condensation formed on the glass.

In the rain, this kind of aimless daydreaming was indeed very relaxing.

The coffee and dessert were brought up on a tray. The Americano had too much ice, and condensation formed on the cup wall.

Qi An’s two small cakes were no bigger than a clenched fist. The ordering app noted that they contained animal cream, so they probably wouldn’t be too rich.

Zhang Sitan’s “Crispy Crispy” was just a few square small biscuits. She pinched a piece and broke it in her mouth; it had no taste, likely intended to balance the coffee.

Qi An also pinched a piece to taste and couldn’t help but laugh, “Isn’t this just a mini version of our calcium milk biscuit from Shandong?”

Zhang Sitan also smiled. She had bought a bag of calcium milk biscuits when she visited Qingdao, and they did look similar to this, though the calcium milk biscuits were slightly sweet.

After eating and drinking for a while, Qi An got off the high stool and wandered over to the merchandise display area in the middle, looking around casually.

Zhang Sitan took a big sip of the Americano, the coldness rushing to her heart, and then also walked toward the merchandise area, looking at the lipstick Qi An was holding.

“Smell this,” Qi An saw Zhang Sitan approach and brought the lipstick under her nose for her to smell.

Zhang Sitan took a careful sniff; there was indeed a sweet fragrance.

“Mmm, it smells very nice.”

“This is fruit flavored lipstick, strawberry flavor. The packaging even says you can eat it, look.” Qi An leaned in and smelled it herself.

With her saying that, Zhang Sitan realized belatedly that it did indeed have a light strawberry scent.

“There’s a tester here.” Zhang Sitan saw an unwrapped lipstick on the front of the shelf, with a white note stuck on the shelf that read “For Testing Only.”

“Do you want to try it?” Zhang Sitan handed the lipstick to Qi An.

Neither of them was wearing makeup, so they both had their natural lip color. The lipstick Zhang Sitan was holding was a very light color; she wondered if it would show up clearly.

Qi An took the lipstick, lightly smeared it on her lips a few times, and then pressed her lips together. The color was a very light pink, like crystal-clear strawberry rock candy.

“Mmm” Qi An smacked her lips. “It’s sweet, a little sticky.”

“Sister Sitan, you put some on too.” The lipstick in her hand hadn’t been capped yet. Qi An held it up to Zhang Sitan’s face.

Zhang Sitan did want to try the fruit-scented lipstick.

But, Qi An had just used this lipstick; would her using it now count as an indirect kiss?

While she was still hesitating, Qi An’s small head leaned in. She thought Zhang Sitan didn’t want to apply it herself, so she reached forward, holding the lipstick to put on Zhang Sitan’s lips.

They were so close that Zhang Sitan could feel her fluctuating breath. She felt a little uneasy and wanted to turn her head away.

“Don’t move,” Qi An called out. “This lipstick color is too light, I need to put on a few layers.”

The strong strawberry scent hung around Zhang Sitan’s mouth, and feeling the stickiness in front of her lips, Zhang Sitan stopped moving, obediently lowering her head and letting Qi An apply it for her.

“Sister Sitan.” Qi An finished applying it and put the lipstick away.

“Yes?”

The lipstick with the pink, tender design was put back on the shelf. The bright light overhead made their skin look very bright and pale.

The rain was still falling, but the sound seemed to be getting farther and farther away.

“Lick it.”

The sentence was too provocative. Zhang Sitan couldn’t help but swallow, but she did as told, extending the tip of her tongue and sliding it over her lips.

It was indeed sweet, but it was the cloyingly sweet taste of overly processed industrial products.