Salt Soda and Mint - Chapter 3

Nan Sui’s body stiffened.

What on earth is this?

It seemed she had accidentally clicked the wrong thing.

Looking at the text that had appeared out of nowhere, it was no longer just a hint—it was a full-blown declaration. Nan Sui’s cheeks burned instantly.

She used to enjoy tinkering with the “Poke” feature, changing the custom message several times. She had long forgotten when she had set this incredibly embarrassing phrase.

Ignoring her momentary confusion and overwhelmed by sheer embarrassment, she frantically typed and deleted on the screen before finally picking a “my mistake” sticker to send.

Nan Sui: [Sorry, Dr. Lu. My hand slipped.] Nan Sui: [I hope I didn’t disturb you.]

A long while passed.

Lu Ling: [Mm, it’s fine.]

The sense of distress didn’t fade. Nan Sui quickly went into the settings, intending to change the startling notification, only to realize she hadn’t set it herself.

There was only one explanation for the blunder that had just occurred.

Lu Ling had set it herself.

“…”

After 9:00 PM, the living room was lit by a dim floor lamp. It was silent, and Lu Ling was sitting on the sofa resting.

She hadn’t been home long since getting off work. She wasn’t exactly exhausted, but she was too tired to move. Outside the massive floor-to-ceiling window, she could see the glittering nightscape of Xinhai City. She sat in a corner, with the occasional flickers of light falling across her calm face.

Not long after, her phone buzzed again.

Lu Ling lowered her eyes.

It was a message from the kid.

Nan Sui: [Dr. Lu, about the “poke” notification, did you set that by mistake? It looks a bit strange.]

The tone was respectful and cautious.

Lu Ling clicked on it to take a look. She didn’t know whose prank it was, but it really was set that way on her end.

Even hearing her put it that way, her expression remained calm, without a hint of awkwardness. Lu Ling rested her chin on her hand, her long lashes half-lowered to hide the glint of amusement in her eyes. [It was my fault.] Lu Ling: [I’ve changed it now.]

Why did it feel like she was the one being accused first?

Nan Sui struggled to type for a long while. When it seemed like the person on the other end was losing patience, she closed her eyes, steeled herself, and sent: [Dr. Lu, get some rest early. Good night!]

A few seconds later, Lu Ling replied: [Good night.]

A few days later, it was the Xinhai University spring job fair.

Preparation had been ongoing since the morning. There were many companies and corporations present, occupying three floors of the gymnasium. By the time Nan Sui arrived, the place was already packed.

One had to be careful just to find a place to step.

At the entrance of the gymnasium stood several prominent banner stands, listing the names of all the companies and the positions they were hiring for. Once inside, there were several long queues. The place was noisy, filled with both enthusiastic and hesitant graduates.

Pu Ning’s goal was very clear: she headed straight for the Xinhai Medical Center booth.

She stood at the end of the long line, looking at her polished resume with a serious expression. Amidst her nervous anxiety, she noticed out of the corner of her eye that Nan Sui was standing behind her.

Pu Ning: “…” Pu Ning: “You’re not a medical student. What are you applying for?”

Nan Sui replied with composure, “Janitor.”

What if Dr. Lu happens to be there?

Even though she knew she was busy, Nan Sui felt that even if there was only a one-in-ten-thousand chance, she should try.

To see her, to speak a few words to her.

Gradually, she began to think that maybe, just maybe, it was possible.

Holding onto this optimistic thought, Nan Sui ignored the look of a person staring at a lunatic that Pu Ning was giving her. Before her stood tall, imposing people, blocking the HR representative who was doing the hiring at the front.

As the line slowly moved forward.

The light of anticipation in Nan Sui’s eyes flickered out, but she didn’t feel discouraged. She patted Pu Ning on the shoulder and grinned, showing a mouth full of white teeth. “Good luck, I’m going to wander around elsewhere.”

Pu Ning, preoccupied by her own anxiety, gave a distracted “mm,” unsure if she was responding or just self-hypnotizing. “Good luck, good luck.”

…

Nan Sui wandered around aimlessly. Her major was Artificial Intelligence, and in this age of AI, there were many relevant job openings. In the time it took her to walk around once, she had already seen at least four or five companies.

Unlike Pu Ning, she had no real plan for her future career. In her original plan, she was supposed to have successfully gained admission to Beicheng University for graduate studies, waiting for the enrollment process to begin.

Even if she hadn’t passed, she would have been preparing to take the exam a second time.

Although her plans had shifted, everything was generally fine.

She still… managed to see the person she thought about day and night.

She had no admiration or longing for Beicheng University itself, nor any extra attachment to it; the only reason she had aimed for that school was that it was where Lu Ling had gone.

Although Lu Ling hadn’t brought it up herself, Nan Sui had once seen a Beicheng University campus card among items she had accidentally dropped.

It was likely that she had used it for a long time, as the card surface was slightly worn.

A small commotion ahead interrupted Nan Sui’s thoughts. She looked over and saw that it seemed to be the student union conducting “surprise interviews.” It appeared that something went wrong during the process, angering the interviewee, and a young girl had started to cry softly.

The “reporter” stood awkwardly to one side.

The scene was quite eye-catching, and eyes kept drifting toward them.

Both parties were people she recognized.

Nan Sui walked over to them, looked at the crying girl, and gently took her wrist to pull her aside. “Jia Ning, don’t be sad. I’ll make her apologize to you.”

She brought Jia Ning to a nearby plastic chair, gestured for the younger student from the publicity department to follow, and once they were seated, she pulled out a clean tissue to wipe her cheeks. “There now, your makeup is all smudged from crying.”

Under her gentle tone, Gu Jia Ning realized her embarrassment and gradually stopped crying.

Nan Sui looked up. “Xiao Liu, apologize to senior Gu.”

“Senior, I… I really didn’t say anything. She suddenly got triggered… it startled me too.”

“Apologize.”

Under her frowning gaze, the reporter, Liu, apologized to Gu Jia Ning as if giving up, then used the excuse that her work wasn’t finished yet and scurried away.

The area returned to a quiet state.

Gu Jia Ning looked away. “Aren’t you going?”

“Me? I’m in no rush.” Nan Sui stretched her legs out lazily.

“Actually, she wasn’t wrong just now. I was the one who broke down. I’ve been rejected by so many companies, and getting into graduate school seems hopeless. I don’t know where to go or what to do after graduation.”

Gu Jia Ning stared at her toes, speaking quietly, “I don’t want to go back and stay in my small county town. I still want to go to a big city to see the world and forge my own path.”

Nan Sui encouraged her. “You can do it.”

Gu Jia Ning curled her lips. “I don’t even have confidence in myself.” As she spoke, she turned to look at Nan Sui. “Why aren’t you in a rush? Has someone already contacted you in advance?”

“Not at all. I was even rejected just now when I tried to apply for a janitor position,” Nan Sui said, making it up on the spot.

Gu Jia Ning: “What?”

“That one—the Xinhai Medical Center. A top student as young, beautiful, strong, and responsible as me, and they didn’t even want me as a janitor,” Nan Sui pointed to her own face and gave a light huff. “They certainly can act like big shots.”

….

Before Gu Jia Ning left, she looked at Nan Sui again.

The girl was sitting on a rough plastic chair holding a resume. Unlike her own dense resume, Nan Sui hadn’t written much, and at this moment, she didn’t show any anxiety or worry; instead, she looked completely at ease.

She was wearing a long, white down jacket. When she lowered her head, half of her face was buried in the collar. Her soft hair against her ears and her delicate, fair cheeks, along with her curled eyelashes, were all visible.

When she laughed, or when she comforted others, the corners of her lips would curve into a bright, sunny smile that was dazzling.

Optimistic and positive.

Carefree.

Gu Jia Ning couldn’t imagine what could ever trouble someone like her.

….

….

Nan Sui didn’t walk away empty-handed after that whole day. After comforting Gu Jia Ning, she wandered around and noticed a luxury brand company, a quite famous one called Surname.

The company’s marketing department was hiring for a position mainly responsible for liaising with promotional influencers and A-list celebrities, as well as assisting with the filming and editing of commercial ads—the core focus being filming and editing.

It wasn’t her major, but fortunately, Nan Sui had experience in this area and had work she could show for it.

After submitting her resume, she received a call a few days later to go to the company headquarters for a second interview.

Pu Ning was basically interning at the hospital during the day and would accompany her when on shift breaks. Since that wasn’t the case today, Nan Sui took a taxi by herself, having picked out an outfit that looked a bit more professional before leaving.

The Surname headquarters was a cloud-shaped building, dozens of meters high, located in the city center. It was layered and intertwined, with a light and ingenious design. The lobby on the first floor was clean and elegant. Nan Sui was welcomed inside by a woman in a formal suit and taken to the manager’s office.

Three people with stern expressions were sitting inside.

“…”

Nan Sui placed her resume on the table and introduced herself.

It was a smooth interview. Ten minutes later, Nan Sui exited the office. Her timing was unfortunate; she ran into the leadership team just as they were heading out. As they passed her, the interviewers from earlier respectfully called out, “Director Lu.”

The woman being addressed responded in a calm and detached manner. Nan Sui’s attention, however, was drawn to the woman beside her.

Her unabashed gaze caused Lu Ling to finally look over.

“…”

Several seconds of silence passed.

Nan Sui stood straight immediately. “Dr. Lu.”

Lu Ling stopped, her gaze examining her, the corners of her lips curving into a subtle smile. “Hello.”

Hearing this, Lu Li raised an eyebrow. “You know each other?”

Noticing that many people in the company were looking their way and worrying about causing unnecessary misunderstandings, Nan Sui shook her head and said softly, “Not very well.”

The manager beside them promptly explained Nan Sui’s identity to Lu Li.

Lu Li gave an “oh.” “Did you drive here?”

Nan Sui: “Me? I took a taxi.”

“Perfect,” Lu Li said, looking at Lu Ling beside her with a faint, amused smile. “Have her drive you back. The hospital she’s at and your university happen to be on the same route.”

…

The situation suddenly evolved into Nan Sui walking out with the two big shots. Lu Li parted ways with them at the entrance and left in a driver-serviced car. Left alone with the two of them, Nan Sui kept a distance of half a step behind. During this time, she secretly watched Lu Ling’s profile.

When Lu Ling looked over, she lowered her eyes in time, pretending to look at the ground.

After a moment, Nan Sui heard her say, “Let’s go. I’ll take you back.”

Recognizing that there wasn’t the slightest hint of unwillingness in the woman’s tone, Nan Sui nodded gently. “Sorry to trouble you, Dr. Lu.”

Lu Ling glanced at her.

The young girl was dressed quite formally today, wearing a light gray, structured blazer and narrow-cut wide-leg pants. Her long hair was tied into a soft bun. With her rounded head, when she looked down, a slender, white section of her neck was exposed.

She looked clean, tidy, fresh, and bright.

When she got into the car, Nan Sui thanked her.

It was silent throughout the journey.

Twenty minutes later, they arrived near Xinhai University. Nan Sui slowly unbuckled her seatbelt and thanked her again.

Lu Ling didn’t unlock the car immediately. She looked at her through the rearview mirror and remarked, as if she felt something, “You didn’t seem this polite before.”

Nan Sui’s movements froze, and she looked straight at her.

Lu Ling tapped the steering wheel with her fair, porcelain-white fingers. “Who taught you that?”

Nan Sui didn’t answer right away. Her throat felt tight, and she wasn’t sure if Lu Ling’s words were addressed to the old acquaintance from years ago, or if it was just a playful comment between an elder and a new acquaintance.

Soon, Lu Ling gave her the answer.

“I’d really like to learn from you, after all…” She deliberately dragged out her tone, bringing with it a sense of nostalgia for the past, “When I was tutoring you, you weren’t this well-behaved.”

Lu Ling turned her head to look at her, her lips curving.

“Don’t you agree, little Nan Sui?”