"Miss Su." Tian Qiu walked over with a wide smile, carrying two glasses of wine. He sat opposite Su Qing and placed one glass in front of her. "We only met for a moment earlier. Let me introduce myself properly. My family name is Tian, and you can call me Tian Qiu. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Su."
Although Tian Qiu had been unaware of Su Qing’s name when they first met, he had since made a circuit of the conference and learned it. He figured that since she was accompanying Mr. Gong, she must be close to him. Therefore, he decided to make his approach through her. Besides, Su Qing’s beauty was a delight to behold. If he could kill two birds with one stone, it would be a wonderful outcome indeed.
Su Qing gave the wine glass a cool glance before looking up at Tian Qiu. "You didn’t grow up in Hua Country, did you?" she asked, her voice flat.
Tian Qiu never imagined Su Qing would say something so direct right after they’d met. He froze for a second before quickly forcing a laugh. "You must be joking, Miss Su. I’m a true-blue native of Hua Country. Why would you ask such a thing?"
The shift in Tian Qiu’s demeanor did not escape Su Qing’s notice. ’So there *is* something off about this guy,’ she sneered inwardly. Outwardly, however, she simply raised an eyebrow. "We’re all used to calling each other ’Comrade’ here. Your use of ’Miss,’ Mr. Tian, caught me a bit off guard. I thought you might be a returned overseas Chinese or something of that sort. Please forgive me if I was out of line."
Su Qing had no intention of exposing him outright. That small probe just now had been enough.
Tian Qiu breathed an inward sigh of relief. He had been worried he’d shown a crack in his facade for Su Qing to notice. But it was just a matter of address, which wasn’t a major issue. With Hua Country opening its markets, many forms of address were in a state of flux between old and new. It was perfectly normal for some people to be unaccustomed to the changes.
Tian Qiu smiled. "Ah, so that’s what it was. It seems I caused a misunderstanding, Miss Su. My family is from Hai City, where we probably interact with more foreign visitors, so we aren’t as rigid with our terms of address. If you don’t like it, I can just call you Comrade Su from now on."
"I see. Hai City is certainly more cosmopolitan," Su Qing said with a look of understanding. "You don’t have to change on my account, Mr. Tian. It’s just a title. It was my mistake earlier. I hope you can overlook it."
Tian Qiu smiled. "You’re being too modest, Miss Su. I was wondering, would I have the honor of becoming your friend?"
Su Qing raised an eyebrow. "We’ve only just met for the first time today. We hardly know each other. Isn’t it a bit premature to be talking about friendship?"
"If you would give me the chance, Miss Su, I would very much like for us to become friends," Tian Qiu said with a smile. "What do you think?"
"Well... let’s leave it to fate. I believe friendship is a matter of destiny," Su Qing replied with a nonchalant air. To Tian Qiu, this sounded like she wasn’t rejecting him, and his heart leaped with joy.
Tian Qiu quickly smiled. "I heard you’re a student at Beijing University, and you were the top scorer in last year’s college entrance exams for all of Beijing. Truly a perfect combination of beauty and brains. Honestly, I’m quite envious."
"Do you compliment every girl you meet this way?" Su Qing asked with a faint smile.
"Not at all, you misunderstand me, Miss Su." Tian Qiu put on an embarrassed expression. "I just happened to hear about your accomplishments and genuinely admire you, which is why I wanted to become your friend. I wish I could be as outstanding as you. Unfortunately, while I’m passionate about traditional Chinese medicine, I’ve never had the chance to study it systematically. It’s a great regret of mine."
As he spoke, Tian Qiu adopted the look of a man thwarted in his ambitions and let out a soft sigh.
Although this Tian Qiu was a bit on the short side, he was quite handsome. His sorrowful sigh might have earned him some words of comfort from another girl, but Su Qing was not just any girl. She said coolly, "What’s this? Did you come here to tell me your sob story, Mr. Tian?"
"Ah, no." Tian Qiu was startled by her words. ’In the past, whenever I put on this expression for other girls, they would always soften up a little. Who would have thought I’d strike out repeatedly with Su Qing today? I’m starting to wonder if I’ve lost my charm. Otherwise, how could she be so completely unmoved?’
"You misunderstand, Miss Su. I was just speaking my mind," Tian Qiu hastily backpedaled. "I had no intention of burdening you with my troubles."
"Good." Su Qing gave a faint smile. "I’m not very good at comforting people. I’m more likely to rub salt in the wound. It would be a shame if that happened to you, Mr. Tian."
Tian Qiu: ’...Thanks a lot. You already have!’
Still, while Tian Qiu found Su Qing a bit unromantic, he was momentarily dazzled by her faint smile. He consoled himself with the thought, ’She’s still young and hasn’t come into her own yet. That’s why she’s so blunt.’
Having successfully consoled himself, Tian Qiu smiled at Su Qing. "I wonder, would I have the honor of inviting you to dinner, Miss Su? It would be a good chance for us to get to know each other better."
"I’m sorry, but as you know, I’m a student. My final exams are in a few days, so I really need to focus on reviewing my lessons."
Being shot down by Su Qing again and again, even Tian Qiu, who prided himself on his excellent composure, couldn’t help but feel a surge of irritation. ’How is this Su Qing exactly like Mr. Gong?’ he thought sullenly. ’Her rejections are so absolute. It gives me no room to maneuver.’
However, his target in coming to Beijing was Mr. Gong, so he certainly wasn’t going to give up this easily. He smiled and said, "That was thoughtless of me. In that case, how about I treat you to dinner after your finals are over, Miss Su?"
Seeing how persistent he was, Su Qing grew genuinely curious about Tian Qiu’s reasons for wanting to get close to Mr. Gong. She knew perfectly well that Tian Qiu was only approaching her to get to Mr. Gong. After a moment’s thought, she said, "Fine. If I have time then."
Although Su Qing hadn’t given a firm commitment, Tian Qiu looked thrilled. "Great! Then it’s settled."
"Alright."
The two exchanged contact information, and Tian Qiu tactfully took his leave. He knew not to push his luck. In his eyes, this Su Qing was different from other girls; saying too much might annoy her, which would be counterproductive.
The conference was a great success. By the time it concluded, night had fallen. In those days, most people didn’t own cars, and the public buses had already stopped running for the day. Fortunately, several of the prominent families owned property nearby, and the Bai Family had also arranged accommodations for all the attendees.
As it happened, Su Qing owned a two-courtyard residence nearby that she had asked Yan Dongjun to help her purchase. So, she took Mr. Gong to stay there.
Once they arrived at the two-courtyard residence, Mr. Gong spoke to Su Qing with a serious expression. "Qingqing, that Tian Qiu fellow is no good. You shouldn’t get too involved with him."
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