Mute Beauty

Chapter 43: Familiarity

Finally making it through the meeting, as most people were leaving, Yu Ting followed closely behind Jin Ya. Originally, they were walking one in front of the other, but Yu Ting quickly walked a few steps to walk alongside her and tilted her head to ask, "What were you looking at me for just now?"

After taking a few more steps, Jin Ya glanced at her. "Don't you need to cover up your blemishes?"

Yu Ting didn't immediately react. "What?"

"It's not just me staring; nearly everyone was looking at the hickey on your neck. You weren't focused in the meeting, and playing with your phone and your fingers was also quite obvious. At least pay attention to your image in the company."

As she listed Yu Ting's offenses, Jin Ya took another look at her neck. The woman's fair neck was marked with several deep red hickeys, visible just enough as her long hair swayed and concealed them.

Jin Ya turned her gaze away in disdain.

"Oh, so that's how it is. Miss Jin, I didn't know you could describe 'hickeys,'" Yu Ting chuckled and teased, "Looks like you're not too outdated after all."

"Can't help it; I was in a hurry this morning and didn't have time to cover them. But what does it matter? Haven't those people ever seen a woman with hickeys on her neck? As for playing with your phone..."

Knowing that the meticulous Jin Ya always disapproved of such distractions, Yu Ting paused deliberately to apply pressure. "Miss Jin, are you advising your superior?"

"..."

Jin Ya didn't even look back at her and walked away.

Yuncheng is a city with distinct seasons. Entering August, summer is about two-thirds over. As if to exhaust the remaining twilight, the weather grows increasingly hot as it nears the end, with several days of continuous high temperatures. Walking on the street, one gets drenched in sweat from the blazing sun within five minutes.

However, this does not affect the business of hear. hear will not disappear from this city at any time; it operates 24 hours, serving drinks at night and transforming into a café during the day. On weekday afternoons, it is so quiet that only the sound of keyboard typing can be heard, filled with a completely different atmosphere from nighttime. Almost all the customers are focused on their computers, occasionally taking a sip of their coffee, which is melting from the ice, working against the clock.

Yu Ting pushed open the glass door, and the wind chime hanging on it chimed crisply. The staff looked up and, seeing it was Yu Ting, greeted her with a smile, knowing her preferences and immediately preparing her coffee.

Yu Ting didn't head to her office; instead, she glanced around the shop and chose a window seat. The staff brought her an iced latte. "Sister Yu, try this. It's made with new beans."

"Mm."

Yu Ting responded but didn't move, holding her phone to reply to a WeChat message.

Recently, she had been chatting frequently with a woman who used a cat as her profile picture.

After their morning separation at home, Yu Ting usually received a WeChat message from her within one to two hours.

Ran Ling would tell her she was getting up, or that she had finished breakfast, or would ask if Ting Ting would be coming home for lunch. Sometimes it would be about the weather, like "it might rain today," and so on, with endless conversation starters.

Sister Ling: "Does Ting Ting like small pets? Like kittens or puppies?"

It seemed the woman was worried that Yu Ting wouldn't know how adorable kittens and puppies are, so she attached a short video from a cat shelter and a dog shelter.