Paper Lover At Old Town Bookstore Chapter 18

Testing the Waters

The coffee machine in the pantry hummed, and amidst the rising steam, I held the freshly brewed latte. Feigning casualness, I brought up the topic: “I heard Consultant Yang Changwen has been getting quite close to the new intern, Li Qinglian, lately? Last time I worked late, I saw him walking Li Qinglian downstairs, and he even bought her bubble tea.”

Xu Xingruo was busy poking at the strawberry cake in her hand. Hearing this, she looked up and glanced toward the office area—Yang Changwen was leaning against a cubicle, talking to Li Qinglian, his mouth curved in his usual frivolous smile. Li Qinglian had her head bowed, her cheeks flushed, looking shy.

“Is that so?” She withdrew her gaze, her tone as flat as if she were saying, “The weather is nice today.” The fork in her hand continued to slowly poke the cake, melting the strawberry jam, which she didn’t seem to notice. “I didn’t pay much attention.”

I quietly breathed a sigh of relief, the grip on my coffee cup loosening.

Her reaction was completely different from the novel. In the book, Xu Xingruo should have already been moved by Yang Changwen’s sweet words, and seeing him close to another girl would inevitably make her feel lost or curious.

But the woman in front of me showed no ripple of emotion in her eyes, only a detached indifference, as if speaking about an irrelevant stranger.

“A lot of people are talking about it,” I continued, deliberately observing her expression. “They say Consultant Yang Changwen is especially caring toward Li Qinglian. He assigns her simple tasks that are easy to shine in for projects, and he even specifically brings her afternoon tea in her favorite flavors.”

Xu Xingruo finally stopped poking the cake. She looked up at me, a hint of teasing in her eyes: “Why are you so interested in other people’s gossip? Song Qiusheng, when did you become a ‘workplace gossip expert’?”

Her words made my ears burn. I quickly covered up: “It’s not that I care; I just heard Sister Li from the Administration Department talking about it, so I mentioned it casually.”

“Oh~” She drew out the syllable, a knowing smile playing on her lips. “I think you’re afraid I’ll be fooled by him, aren’t you?”

My heart jumped. I instinctively looked up at her, only to see her eyes full of amusement, without any blame, but rather a sense of understanding. “Don’t worry,” she picked up a strawberry and put it in her mouth, saying vaguely, “I’m not interested in him.”

“Huh?” I was stunned, not quite catching on.

“He’s not my type,” Xu Xingruo shrugged, stating it as a matter of fact. “Look at him—he’s slick with his words, and his eyes are always darting around. He clearly isn’t reliable. Plus, he treats everyone the same way. He can tell Sister Li, ‘You look so young today,’ and he can compliment the cleaning auntie, ‘You clean so well.’ I can’t handle that kind of ‘central air conditioning’ type.”

Her words were direct and sharp, completely different from her usual abstract and humorous style, yet they accurately pinpointed Yang Changwen’s essence. Watching her nonchalant expression, an indescribable joy welled up inside me. It turned out that without the constraints of the novel’s plot, without the deliberate “protagonist halo” boosting him, Xu Xingruo herself was a clear-headed and perceptive person. She had her own judgment and wouldn’t be easily misled by superficial flattery.

“Besides,” she suddenly leaned closer, lowering her voice with a hint of mystery, “I don’t think he’s as good-looking as you! Although you don’t talk much, you seem dependable, much more reliable than his smooth-talking.”

Her words were like a small pebble, creating ripples in my heart, and my ears instantly turned crimson. I quickly averted my gaze, pretending to drink my coffee to hide my fluster: “Don’t talk nonsense.”

“I’m not talking nonsense!” She nodded seriously. “Look at you—you’re fair-skinned, your features are delicate, you’re serious and responsible in your work, and you’re very good to me. You’re much better than Yang Changwen!”

The steam in the pantry blurred her outline. Her voice was crisp and sincere, like morning dew falling on my heart, warm and soft.

I looked at her bright eyes, and the stone in my heart finally settled. It turned out I didn’t need to go to great lengths to stop her from getting close to Yang Changwen, because she already possessed a clear understanding and a firm stance.

Perhaps the reason the character in the novel was attracted to Yang Changwen was merely a plot requirement, simply because she was the “tool character” used to facilitate the female lead’s growth.

But the living, breathing Xu Xingruo in front of me had her own thoughts, preferences, and judgment. She wouldn’t be easily swayed by others, much less allow herself to fall into an unnecessary emotional entanglement.

“Alright, let’s stop talking about him,” Xu Xingruo picked up her bubble tea and turned to walk out of the pantry. “Brother Zhang is waiting for our proposal. Let’s go!”

I followed behind her, watching her light steps, a smile unconsciously spreading across my face. The sunlight streamed through the office’s floor-to-ceiling windows, falling upon her and coating her in a soft halo.

This was wonderful. This clear-headed, perceptive Xu Xingruo, who possessed her own judgment, was the way she was meant to be.

And all I could do was stand by her side, accompanying her through workplace challenges, sharing the joys and sorrows of life, and protecting this hard-won beauty.