Assistant Architect by Xi He Qing Ling

Chapter 88 Extra: [Small Theater] 002: First Love article – Gu Yu

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Gu Yu drove to Zhang Siyi’s house to pick him up. Even though he experienced the family’s hospitality previously, when Mother Zhang saw Gu Yao, her changed attitude wasn’t a surprise. To himself, Mother Zhang is polite and regarded him as an excellent young man or her son’s Boss. But for his sister, she treated Gu Yao with obvious affection. After all, Mother Zhang give her a piece of jewelry as one might do when treating a girl as a potential daughter.

This is the reality of society. Any elders expect their children to become married as soon as possible. Men with women and women with men, but no parent expects their child to appear with a same-sex partner.

Even if his pursuit of Zhang Siyi was successful, he didn’t know how much pressure it would bring to his family and how much pressure Zhang Siyi could endure. Thinking of the future, Gu Yu felt very sorry for himself. Since Zhang Siyi was able to have a normal relationship with women, he thought, should he just let Zhang Siyi go?

And go your own way by yourself……

Anyway, after so many years, he was used to being alone…….

Driving the car from the garage to pick them up, he saw Zhang Siyi and Gu Yao chatting very happily. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, they got along very well. He increasingly felt more tormented and jealous.

In his anger, he thought if they really did like each other then he should let them be together. A proper brother would wish them a lifetime of happiness.……

At the rest stop, while the other two people were still inside, Gu Yu was leaning on the side of the car and viewing the mountains deep in thought. He felt that everything in this world was obscured and revolving without a purpose. He felt desolate and lonely.

When Gu Yu looked over at the service building, he immediately noticed Zhang Siyi figure walking calmly back to the car. He stared at the man approaching him. His handsome facial features, the wave in his hair… every action and every expression are so vivid.

With each step that Zhang Siyi took, Gu Yu felt his world became brighter. Zhang Siyi presence eliminated the fog that Gu Yu saw and gave him purpose.

He was just an ordinary boy with few advantages and many shortcomings. He was careless, could easily be confused, and lacked perseverance……. But…… he likes him.

Admit it, Gu Yu. You are just a mortal.

You have your desires.

Even if there is an abyss in front of you, you can’t let go!

[End of 002]

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Assistant Architect by Xi He Qing Ling

Chapter 88: Lunch

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Although “this weekend” seemed far away, Saturday was in fact, the day after tomorrow. On Friday, Zhang Siyi no longer stayed in the office foolishly for overtime. He remembered what Be Lele had mentioned before about a previous employee that was let-go for lack of work efficiency because she would stay after work all the time as an excuse to stay with Gu Yu.

It’s enough of a problem for him that he has a secret crush on his male boss. The gossip circle in his work-place is rather intense. He felt their impact when for two days, his colleagues teased him about being lovesick. If he acted obvious now, then the truth of his love would be known. Since the architectural circle is rather small, if he had to leave Borderless, he wouldn’t have any place to go.

On Saturday morning, Zhang Siyi woke up early to take a shower and wash his hair. For his date with two girls, he styled his hair with gel and picked out a handsome set of clothes to wear. One girl he hasn’t seen in a very long time and the other is the sister of his boss. This was no easy task!

Before leaving his apartment, he walked Cheer-Up outside. When he got back, he filled his dog food in case he ended up staying out later than expected. He patted the dog: “Stupid Dog, this brother is going to head out now. Wish me luck!”

Cheer-Up pounced on him and loudly spoke: “Woof!”

Zhang Siyi: “……” Fuck! He almost knocked me over!

Even though Cheer-Up was adopted three months ago, it is the first time Zhang Siyi has heard his loud bark. When he was home with Fu Xinhui, the dog was still a puppy and as young dogs do, he had a high pitched yap.

Feeling like the dog’s happy barking was a sign of good luck, Zhang Siyi left the house in a very good mood. He also sent a text to Fu Xinhui: “Your son this morning barked at me when I called him!”

Putting his mobile phone away, he wasn’t expecting Fu Xinhui to return his message. Recently, he is hardly ever online during the day. At most, his friend logged into WeChat in the middle of the night to reply with a couple of short sentences. Zhang Siyi didn’t know why he was so busy and rarely online.

Zhang Siyi arrived at the Plaza Square fifteen minutes early. On his way out of the subway station, he contacted Gu Yao and rendezvous with her. Wearing the faux rabbit fur hat that Zhang Siyi has seen before, she was quite punctual and full of energy.

“Brother Siyi!” Just like a small rabbit, she jumped up and trotted over to him. She approached him with a strange look on her face. “Wow! Why are you dressed so handsomely today? I thought this wasn’t a date!” She grumbled: “If I knew I was going to be the third-wheel again, I wouldn’t have come.”

Smiling, Zhang Siyi said: “It’s not. I already told you on WeChat. How else would you be able to get involved? Anyways, what do you mean about being a third-wheel again?”

Gu Yao ignored his question and instead asked: “When is your ‘date’ going to come?”

Zhang Siyi glanced at his phone for any new messages and reported his findings: “Soon. She said she is parking her car in the underground garage now. We can go to the restaurant first and wait for her there.”

Gu Yao nodded and obediently followed. After walking for a while, Zhang Siyi coughed lightly and asked: “Where’s your brother?”

Gu Yao: “That homebody. He is probably reading or writing.”

Zhang Siyi: “Ha ha…”

Gu Yao quietly snuck a look at Zhang Siyi and seeing his interest in her brother she followed up her statement: “When my brother first came to Haicheng to work, he didn’t leave the house very much, even on the weekends. But, when he did leave his house, do you know what he would do?”

Zhang Siyi squinted in thought: “No. What did he do? It wasn’t……. to look at buildings?”

Gu Yao clasped her hands together: “Yes! You really understand him! When I decided to study in Haicheng, I thought I would be blessed by having a brother nearby. The first weekend at school, he invited me out for dinner, but thereafter he was always busy with work. At first, I thought he was going on dates behind my back every weekend these past six months, so I pressured him to take me out for dinner and as a result, he took me out for a whole day.”

Zhang Siyi wondered: “Out for a day?”

Gu Yao grinded her teeth: “Yes, for a whole day, from sunup to sundown. At noon, we stopped at a noodle place he came across on the side of the road for lunch. That day, like a servant, I helped him carry water and equipment. All he did was walk around with his camera and take photos of the buildings. I thought he could take a few cute photos of me, so I posed for him, but can you guess how he reacted? He just sneered at me at told me to move out of the way, that I was blocking the view.”

“Ha-ha-ha-ha-!” Zhang Si Yi can fully understand her feelings. He told Gu Yao about the time her brother took him out to visit the parking lot on his birthday. When their eyes met, they could only laugh together with the same bitterness.

As they approached the restaurant, Zhang Siyi messaged He Xueying to let her know they arrived. Since they weren’t in a rush to go inside, they waited outside and continued chatting. Gu Yao said: “Because of that time, I’ve been afraid to invite my brother out. I wouldn’t be surprised if he has visited every building in the entire city! Well, you have mentioned how much of a workaholic he can be…… Isn’t’ he lonely? He will end up growing old and dyeing alone.”

“Lonely?” Zhang Siyi smiled with bitterness: “I don’t think so. Two days ago, he posted a picture about his dinner and with an open invitation “Empty” for his partner to join him. He clearly has someone close to his heart.”

Zhang Siyi is quite certain of this point. When he played Truth or Dare last year, Gu Yu revealed he did have someone dear to him. When thinking about what Gu Yao said about her brother not being available on the weekends. maybe it was because he was with the person he liked. Maybe even, he had dinner with that person two days ago.

Feeling a sense of yearning, Zhang Siyi sighed with emotion: “I guess your brother has someone close to his heart, but he can’t show his emotion to just anyone. He probably only talks about it to the person he likes.”

Gu Yao is listening to Zhang Siyi, but his voice is like a background murmur as her conscience isn’t fully paying attention to what he is talking about. She is still trying to process his early statement about her brother’s social media post from two days ago. Why didn’t she see it?

As she was about to ask Zhang Siyi to explain it further, two people suddenly appeared in the distance. One was a tall, handsome man and the other was a slim, beautiful women. “Sisi!” The young man called out.

“Brother Tian! Why are you here, too?” Zhang Siyi said in surprise. Walking towards one another, they stretched out their arms and gave each other a fist-bump.

Zhang Siyi turned to greet He Xueying. She has changed a lot over the past eighteen years. She was wearing a tight shirt and leather pencil skirt with a pair of Doc-Martin boots and carrying a Chanel bag with no other accessories. Due to her modern clothing choice, she had a very fresh and simple look, but it did nothing to lessen her beauty and charm.

The two of them hugged loosely and He Xueying repeated what her brother said at the wedding: “How come you haven’t changed at all?”

Zhang Siyi chuckled: “Compared with you, I really haven’t changed much.”

He Xueying raised her hand and pinched his face. She smiled and said: “Even though your body has grown bigger, your facial features are the same as when you were young! Look at my brother. Now he is only half handsome and half a middle-aged uncle.”

Her face-pinching action was both intimate and natural and not even Zhang Siyi felt embarrassed, but Gu Yao stood next to him feeling alarmed. It was clear to her that He Xueying was making an attempt at Zhang Siyi’s attention.

While He Xueying didn’t pay any attention to Gu Yao, her brother standing next to her, couldn’t stop himself from staring at Gu Yao. She extended her hand and asked: “Hey, are you a friend of Sisi’s?”

Gu Yao shook hands with him and didn’t bother explaining her relationship with Zhang Siyi. She politely said: “I’m Gu Yao, the sister of a friend of Brother Siyi.”

He Xueying also exchanged polite greetings and shook her hand.

Seeing at how lively and friendly Gu Yao was, Zhang Siyi didn’t feel the need to make further introductions. He wanted to tell He Chengtian about her relation to Gu Yu, but considering his past hostile attitude, Zhang Siyi was afraid of making the atmosphere awkward, so he didn’t mention it.

After they were seated at the table, He Xueying took the opportunity to explain why she brought her brother with her: “When my brother heard about our date, he initially didn’t want to disturb us, but when I told him you were bringing a friend, he was eager to come too.”

He Chengtian immediately retorted: “Hey, don’t make me out to be an old playboy. I wasn’t busy and I wanted to talk to Zhang Siyi. The last time we talked was at Qu Miao’s wedding and he never replied to my proposal. I came here to hear what Zhang Siyi’s intentions are.” Even though his voice was coming out of his mouth, he wasn’t looking at Zhang Siyi. With his face turning a deeper shade of red, He Chengtian eye’s kept following Gu Yao.

Zhang Siyi didn’t notice He Chengtian intentions. He only felt embarrassed and worried about his own response to reject He Chengtian without trouble.

He Xueying turned a blind eye and didn’t make fun of her brother’s poor acting skills. She opened the menu and said, “Well, let’s order the food first, then chat.”

He Chengtian opened a menu and passed it to Gu Yao and said: “We are old acquaintances with Sisi. Be at ease and make yourself comfortable. What would you like to eat?”

In front of strangers, Gu Yao camouflaged her outspoken personality by being quiet and meek. She took her time to look at the menu then, maneuvering the conversation, suddenly asked: “Um, I thought there were only three people. I only have three tickers and didn’t expect more people so what are we going to do?”

He Chengtian looked at her dismayed expression and smiled to comfort her: “There is nothing to worry about. We can buy another ticket at the box-office.”

Gu Yao put the menu down on the table and quietly spoke: “If that is the case, then can I also call my brother to join us?”

He Chengtian: “Your brother?”

Gu Yao: “Yes. He is also living in Haicheng. Originally, I wanted to watch a movie with my brother and brother Siyi, but I only had three tickets. Since I gave one to, He Xueying, there wasn’t one left for him.”

He Chengtian chuckled and smiled generously: “It isn’t a problem. Call your brother and ask him to come out. We can buy an additional ticket for him too.”

Sipping on water, Zhang Siyi nearly choked on the liquid. He wanted to stop the direction this conversation was heading, but Gu Yao spoke first: ”Really?”

He Chengtian leaned on the back of his chair and gestured with his arms while he talked: “Why would I lie? It’s a rare opportunity this weekend to meet people. The more the merrier!”

Gu Yao graciously thanked him then immediately got up and went to the side to call her brother.

At the same time Gu Yao went to call her brother, Zhang Siyi felt a short signal from his phone in his pocket. He took it out and read the message from Fu Xinhui: “Before the thugs came to my house, Cheer-Up already barked when called, but after, I thought his barking would put him in danger.”

With the sudden potential appearance of Gu Yu combined with the unexpected news from his friend, Zhang Siyi’s anxiety grew. The original plan for the day was so simple, but now it was giving him a headache.

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Assistant Architect by Xi He Qing Ling

Chapter 87: Date

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With mixed emotions, Zhang Siyi gave Gu Yu a compliment on his social media post. Lamenting about his own situation, he slumped on the sofa in self-pity. His phone sounded; He Xueying sent him a message.

Unlike his other friends, He Xueying didn’t write a public comment on his social media page. Instead, she messaged him privately and asked: “Sisi, are you off work? Was that a picture of your dinner just now on your social media page? Is that what you normally eat?”

Zhang Siyi: “I left work a while ago. I’m home now eating a Hot Spicy Rice Bowl for dinner……”

He Xueying: “You like spicy food? Did you buy it at a street vendor? It doesn’t look too good.”

Zhang Siyi: “Well, it’s not very tasty.” (t_t)

When he saw it at the roadside, he thought it would be pretty good, but after seeing Gu Yu’s meal on his social media page, his remaining dinner was difficult to swallow.

He Xueying: “Seeing your pathetic dinner, I have to invite you out and treat you to a meal. We haven’t seen each other for a long time!” [Snicker]

This simple invitation warmed Zhang Siyi depressed heart. He replied: “How can a girl invite and treat a boy? Do you even have the time?”

He Xueying: “Since I work from my office at home, I can set my own schedule and free time. Living in the central city area, we are all fairly close to one another. If you aren’t too busy, let’s go out for dinner. I can pick you up after work because I have a car.”  ^_^

Whoa, a car! Sure enough, she is the daughter of a multi-millionaire!

Fortunately, their chatting in WeChat over the past few days let them regain the casual familiarity that they once had as childhood friends. Zhang Siyi doesn’t feel he has to be so formal with her, and as a gentleman, he certainly will not ask to meet her at night. However, it has been many years since they have seen each other so it is almost like meeting for the first time. Therefore, their meeting can’t be too casual.

Zhang Siyi knows that his material and economic conditions aren’t as good as He Xueying. Never the less, he can’t present himself in a sloppy manner. Zhang Siyi replied: “I have no urgent projects at work right now, so I should be free during the weekend.”

He Xueying: “This weekend sounds perfect. We can go out early together. Since my friends recently saw “Cinderella” and liked it, I’ve been wanting to go with someone to see it. How does lunch and a movie sound?”

This girl is so sweet, but……”Ha-ha. Going out for the couple’s standard… It’s like we are going out on a date!” Zhang Siyi casually joked. From the bottom of his heart, he didn’t want to imply anything by going with her.

He Xueying casually replied: “You don’t have a girlfriend and I don’t have a boyfriend. Being both single are you still embarrassed to go with me unless it’s an official date?”

Zhang Siyi: “Ha-ha-ha, of course not. It is better to eat and watch a movie together than it is to be alone.” Previously, He Xueying clearly told him that her childhood “love” couldn’t be taken seriously, so Zhang Siyi didn’t feel like there were any ulterior motives. He rather liked the idea of hanging out with an old friend. Moreover, he wanted to do something to distract his attention from Gu Yu.

Zhang Siyi has thought about the issue of love before. Perhaps, having spent his energy on his career so earnestly these past months, he hasn’t had any time to think about normal love and thus, has left himself vulnerable to alternate ideas of love.

He Xueying appearance was like a timely rain after a drought. Since Zhang Siyi didn’t think she was expecting anything more serious with him, he felt at ease going out with her. Through a ‘normal dating’ experience, he thought he could take this opportunity to self-reflect on his own sexual orientation and unburden his current emotional deadlock. With such a good opportunity presented before him, he would be stupid not to take advantage of it.

He Xueying: “So how about it?”

Zhang Siyi: “No problem. See you on Saturday?”

He Xueying: “Great! I will pick a place to eat and let you know the reservation time.”

Zhang Siyi: “Deal!”

After chatting with He Xueying, Zhang Siyi’s mood was much better. He refreshed his social media page and saw more likes added to his post. Even Gu Yao commented. Gu Yao’s WeChat avatar is quite different from her brother’s serious one. She used a little rabbit that was petite, white, and round. Even though it looked like a dumpling at a glance, it was very cute.

Scrolling through his social media page he saw that he was the only one to comment about Gu Yu’s dinner post. Before, they had no common friends, but now there is Gu Yao. If she commented on Zhang Siyi’s social media page, why didn’t she make a comment on her brother’s? Although Zhang Siyi is a bit puzzled, he didn’t think about it further. He looked at Gu Yu’s social media page again and stared at the image. He noticed the lack of comments and the word “empty” seemed to stare back at him. Who is he waiting for……?

Zhang Siyi swallowed a mouthful of saliva and quickly quit WeChat before his eyes could turn into envy.

Since WeChat was no longer active, he saw an unread message waiting for him and out of habit, he opened it without thought. It was a text from Gu Yao.

Gu Yao: “Brother Siyi, are you there?”

Zhang Siyi: “Yes.”

Gu Yao: “Hey, do you have time this weekend?”

Zhang Siyi: “Why? What is it?”

Gu Yao said: “My School gave me some coupons for move tickets. My friends already saw “Cinderella” last weekend. I want to go see it with you and my brother this weekend on Saturday afternoon!”

Zhang Siyi: “…” Shit! This coincidence is too funny!

Watching a movie with Gu Yu? No, no, no…. this is too exciting. He can’t handle it! (&////&)

But, but, but… to be able to see Gu Yu not at work on the weekend…. He really wants to go. (o////o)

Since it would be like the time the three of them went to the movies together and saw Wolf Totem, Zhang Siyi doesn’t feel embarrassed to go out with Gu Yu.

Zhang Siyi tried to formulate a plan in his mind: But, when? Contact He Xueying and change the date to Sunday? But they have already settled on a time…… What about seeing the movie twice? Eat again and then see the movie for a second time?

While contemplating the issue, He Xueying unexpectedly sent him a message about their plans: “I’ve reserved a table at the Thai restaurant in Sung Le Square at 11:30 Saturday. It’s a very popular place to eat so it’s difficult to make reservations. Since it was early in the day, luckily, we got a table. Remember to arrive on time! “ ^_ ^

Zhang Siyi: “…” What speed is this!!!

Now, it was impossible to change the time of his date, so Zhang Siyi had no choice but turn down Gu Yao’s offer: “I’m sorry. I won’t be able to go with you. I’ve already arranged to see it with someone else on Saturday.”

Gu Yao: “You can’t come Saturday? Who are you going to the movie with?”

Zhang Siyi: “A friend.”

Gu Yao: “Male or female?”

Zhang Siyi: “…… Female.”

Gu Yao: “A date!?”

Zhang Siyi: “No. She is just a friend.”

Gu Yao: “What kind of friend?”

Zhang Siyi: “A childhood friend. We were neighbors as kids, and I haven’t seen her in a long time.”

Gu Yao: “Just the two of you?”

Zhang Siyi said frankly: “Well, the plan was to eat together at noon then watch “Cinderella” after.”

Gu Yao was silent for a bit and sent a cartoon expression of ‘grievance’. It was a little rabbit with red eyes and drooping ears with large tears streaming out, crying.

Feeling uncomfortable, Zhang Siyi didn’t like seeing her message. He also thought it was strange; Why is he starting to feel nervous about Gu Yao after questioning him about his date? He got a bad premonition…… Gu Yao… Is she interested in him? (=_=)

…………….

……

Fuck! Zhang Siyi, can you stop tooting your own horn? Gu Yao is so smart and pretty that the people who can chase her are out of your league. Why would she have a crush on you!? However, he must admit that as soon as they met, like close siblings, they got along extremely well. His mother even gave her a present so now, is Gu Yao using her brother’s name to ask him out to a movie?

Well, it’s very suspicious ……. (￣_￣)

Just as Zhang Siyi was fretting about this issue, he saw another text from Gu Yao: “Why don’t you ask your friend, and we can all go together?”

Zhang Siyi: “…” What the fuck type of development is this! ╭(°a°`)╮

Gu Yao: “Anyway, the two of you are also going to see “Cinderella” and I have three tickets.”

Zhang Siyi: “This…”

Gu Yao: “Oh, sorry. Am I being too forward? Since you said the person grew up in Ningcheng, she is also a Ningcheng sister, right? Because you aren’t going on a date, I thought we could all go and make this an opportunity for new friends.”

Zhang Siyi thought Gu Yao was indeed, being presumptuous, but she also was very logical and so he didn’t really have a reason to refute her. “Just a moment. I’ll ask her.”

Sending the message to Gu Yao, Zhang Siyi sighed. Then, he texted He Xueying: “Sorry, I want to ask your opinion about something that has come up.”

He Xueying: “Hmm? What’s up?

Zhang Siyi: “Another friend of mine asked me to also see Cinderella Saturday. She has three tickets. Do you mind if we all go see it?”

He Xueying: “Is she not at ease with you coming to a movie with me? If you have such a pursuer, tell me earlier. It’s good to avoid suspicion!” [Smirk]

Zhang Siyi rushed to explain: “No, no. You misunderstand. She is my boss’s sister and is also from Ningcheng. She is still in F-University to study. Even though she is a lovely girl, I have nothing to do with her.”

He Xueying: “Oh, I see. Fortunately, I booked the restaurant for four people, so it’s alright.”

Zhang Siyi: “She was only interested in watching the movie with us.”

He Xueying: “How can I not take her to eat when we will be watching a movie together? Since she is a Ningcheng fellow, let us all eat. Anyway, you treat us for lunch, and she will treat us to the movie. It’s a win-win situation for me.”

Zhang Siyi: “…”

Both are so enthusiastic, what is he still struggling with here? Zhang Siyi immediately informed Gu Yao of He Xueying consent and Gu Yao appeared to be very happy. Imaging his weekend “dating” two girls at the same time, he didn’t know if he should feel happy or feel worried. Inexplicably, Zhang Siyi felt like he was getting a headache.

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