Tang Li turned her head and indeed saw the fruit vendor’s cart.
"Then I’ll go buy some."
Having said that, she ran off to buy mandarins.
Song Baiyan stood still, watching Tang Li squeeze into the crowd with her bag containing notebooks and pens hung on her wrist, her short hair refreshingly sassy, her figure slender and graceful in overalls, standing among the older tourists, looking even more delicate and beautiful.
The night market was filled with temporary stalls where one could encounter light bulbs overhead.
Song Baiyan’s gaze lingered on Tang Li’s retreating figure, seeing her selecting mandarins, his throat subtly itching, his smoking habit, developed early in the military, not so easily curbed now.
He had just lit a cigarette when, at the cart, Tang Li was already paying.
Seeing the smile that touched her lips as she took the bag, a poem he had just read sprang to his mind—
"Weight and size disproportionate
Like the violet, so petite
Like the petal, so fluttering
Attracting me with a force beyond Earth’s weight
Fell uncontrollably towards her
On the way back, Tang Li, holding the bag of mandarins, wanted to say something but found it hard to start.
When the jeep stopped outside the hotel, she pressed a hand on her stomach: "Seems like I ate too much, feeling a bit stuffed now."
As she spoke, she couldn’t help but look at him: "Are you returning to the capital tomorrow?"
Song Baiyan hummed in response, his tone tinged with a sigh: "There’s a backlog of work at the department; if I don’t return soon, they might replace this Finance Minister."
Even though she knew he was joking, Tang Li retorted: "If you were no longer the Finance Minister, you’d surely be a higher-ranking official than the Finance Minister."
In Country S, there are few positions higher than the Finance Minister.
Tang Li’s intention in her words was clear to Song Baiyan; turning to look at the girl sitting beside him, his gaze carried a smile: "That’s not something to say in public."
Tang Li softly responded: "I’ll tell it only to you."
After a pause, she added: "You will win."
"That much faith in me?"
"I trust my instincts; when the day comes, I’ll vote for you and urge everyone I know to vote for you too."
Then, there was a short silence in the car.
Song Baiyan broke the stillness: "Go inside, don’t stay up late."
Tang Li placed her right hand on the car door handle but didn’t immediately open the door, instead turning back and finding Song Baiyan also looking at her, she said: "I know you’re very busy and still I took up half your evening, but... thank you for having supper with me."
"...Then, goodbye." Having said that, she pushed the door open and got out.
Late at night, there were still occasional cars passing by on the street.
Tang Li crossed the street, seemingly on impulse turned back, and found the jeep was still there in the hazy night; even though she couldn’t see inside the car, she still felt a gaze watching her leave.
Such a silent yet warm sending-off touched her heart.
Back in her hotel room, Tang Li walked to the window; the olive-green jeep was no longer there. Looking at the empty street corner, she remembered all that had happened tonight, her lips unconsciously curving into a smile.
Song Baiyan returned to the guesthouse, it was in the early hours of the morning.
Hearing the noise, Ji Ming from the next room came over, seeing Song Baiyan standing at the end of the bed removing his camouflage belt, he informed: "Chief of Staff Liang’s secretary came by tonight, saying the guesthouse is too simple, Chief of Staff Liang wanted to invite you to stay at his place. Since you were not here, I declined on your behalf."