Chapter 38: The Transfer

Lin Ye’s company offers a two-hour lunch break. It takes about twenty minutes to drive from the office to that coffee shop; while the distance isn't significant, the city traffic makes it hard to move any faster.

As for lunch, Lin Ye had carefully studied the coffee shop’s menu the night before. They serve small desserts and some delicate side dishes. Naturally, he wouldn’t dream of spending his money on those. Not far from the cafe is a boxed-meal shop; judging by the storefront, it has likely been in business for many years.

Parking his car in the same spot he used last night, Lin Ye hummed a tune as he walked into the shop. From the outside, it looked like a small, narrow storefront, but once inside, he was surprised to find the space quite expansive. It appeared to have been formed by merging three or four separate units. The person serving the food was an auntie who looked several years older than Lin Ye’s own mother.

She had a very kind face and would chat aimlessly with the customers who came in for a meal. Lin Ye also observed that her hand was incredibly steady as she portioned out the food—a skill that put the cafeteria ladies at his university to shame. Lin Ye joined the queue, picked up an old-fashioned, large porcelain bowl—much like the ones he used at his grandmother’s house when he was a child—and instinctively shuffled forward... until...

"Young man, what would you like to eat?" The auntie’s voice was warm and friendly, and she always seemed to have a smile on her face.

He pointed to a few dishes he usually enjoyed: two meat dishes and three vegetable dishes. The portions were massive, and the auntie even used her spoon to press the food down into the bowl, yet it was still piled high. He took out his phone, scanned the code, and paid twelve yuan. Honestly, the price was much lower than he had expected—even cheaper than his company’s own cafeteria. It was no wonder he had seen several people in the queue wearing company lanyards; if they rode electric scooters here, they could cut his driving time nearly in half.

He carried his bowl and found a seat. From there, he could just catch a glimpse of a corner of the coffee shop across the street, though only a small sliver was visible. The food tasted like simple home cooking; it wasn’t gourmet, but it was exactly how his parents cooked back home. Come to think of it, it had been a long, long time since Lin Ye had eaten a home-cooked meal. He had been alone in this city for far too long.

Visiting Su Qing in the hospital during her coma over the past while—was that not, in its own way, a form of salvation for him? He just wondered when he would be able to see her again.

***

The lunch hour passed quickly. Lin Ye leaned back in his car for a short nap before it was time to return to work. He hadn't caught a glimpse of Su Qing again today. He hadn't really held out much hope for that anyway; after all, he and Su Qing had only met yesterday morning. Even though she said she came to the cafe often, Lin Ye figured "often" didn't necessarily mean every single day.

Sitting in his office chair, he yawned, and two involuntary tears pricked the corners of his eyes. He felt as though there was something he had forgotten to do. This nagging feeling made him particularly uncomfortable, and his intuition was usually spot-on. If he had this thought, there must be something he had overlooked.

He rubbed his brow. He was certain he had completed all the tasks assigned by President Su, including visiting the heads of the various departments. Now, other than the fact that he still lacked Su Qing’s contact information, there was nothing else weighing on his mind... Wait. He recalled his father mentioning on the phone that his younger sister was coming over. Where would she stay? In the school dorms, or would she rent a place outside?

He decided to leave that up to her. With his current salary, he could easily cover her living and housing expenses, and even the tuition fees wouldn't be a problem. Lin Ye’s brow furrowed slightly as another thought occurred to him. After his mother fell ill and the family couldn't afford her surgery, his sister had already finished her college entrance exams. His father had mentioned she went out to work a summer job.

Lin Ye stroked his chin; the emerging stubble pricked his fingers. He had spent the night in his car and forgotten to shave in the morning. He had also spent the summer after his own college entrance exams working, and he had learned to drive during college—a troublesome process that required squeezing in lessons during his free time.

As for his sister... within a flurry of thoughts, Lin Ye had already decided how to handle this. Their family of four had always spoiled her, which meant she wasn't particularly afraid of their parents. Her parents rarely scolded her, and only Lin Ye had lectured her a few times. He pulled up their chat window on WeChat. His fingertip hovered briefly over her profile picture—a Shiba Inu hiding behind a yellow wooden board.

A genuine smile touched Lin Ye’s face. Honestly, the profile picture suited her personality perfectly. In the chat history, the last exchange between the siblings was from before the New Year: a message from the Shiba Inu: "Are you coming home for the New Year?"

Lin Ye had replied: "No."

Lin Ye’s gaze became unfocused. What was he doing at the time? Oh, he remembered. It was snowing heavily, and his roommates had all gone home for the winter break. He was the only one left in the dorm. The electricity had run out, but his roommate had accidentally taken the power card home in his bag, leaving Lin Ye disconnected from his family. His phone had also died, so he couldn't even explain to his sister why he wasn't coming home. Not that he thought an explanation would have changed anything for her; their relationship had already soured, and he doubted a missed visit would make it much worse. In any case, that winter had been the hardest one of his life. As for why his roommate "accidentally" took the power card home—everyone knew the reason, didn't they?

"How are things lately?"
"Congratulations on getting into your dream university."

Lin Ye’s fingers danced across the screen. He wrote, deleted, and rewrote the message. In the end, he sent: "Take this money and get your driver’s license during the summer break."

Considering it had cost him thirty-two hundred yuan to get his license back then, and even though it was cheaper now, Lin Ye transferred five thousand yuan to her. Naturally, he didn't use WeChat. He knew she wouldn't accept it, so he sent it via Alipay, where it would deposit directly without requiring her to accept the transfer.