Farewell to the Sunset

“Ge, good morning!”

As soon as Shen Youning got out of the elevator, he looked up and bumped into Zhao Qiang.

“Morning.” He approached the card machine without haste and pressed his fingerprint.

“Wow, Ge, it’s rare, you can even be late?” Zhao Qiang carried the wastepaper basket and followed Shen Youning happily.

“Well, I took the subway to the wrong station, and I walked the wrong way.”

“But Ge, are you still very happy after getting wrong? Could it be that there was something good?” Zhao Qiang chuckled and said, “Could it be…Herman is finally willing to give in?”

Herman, a stubborn British old man, was also Shen Youning’s difficult client. The other party had very high artistic quality, and had a lot of insights into the plan provided by Shen Youning. Although the idea was unique, he never considered structural mechanics.

As deputy manager of the department, Shen Youning was also the person in charge of this project. There were four people on the project team, and they had been tortured by Herman for a while.

“The one who gives in is probably not Herman.” Shen Youning sighed and said helplessly: “Yesterday he proposed two new ideas, stepped over me, and talked directly to the manager. What the manager means is…it is not easy to have such a large order. I hope we will do our best…”

“Let’s keep going with big and small weeks? Does the weekend still seem far away?” Zhao Qiang asked, who had just graduated a short while ago. Besides the tricky work, the department had to work overtime all day, resulting in psychological and physiological distress.

But he was also considered lucky to be assigned to Shen Youning’s group. In other groups, during the peak business season, single breaks are the norm. Shen Youning was considerate of his colleagues, and two people in the group took a round, alternating two days off.

“If you have anything to do, just tell me, and I will replace you.” Shen Youning said to Zhao Qiang.

“That is not possible, Ge. How many times have you replaced Da Chen, and do you still have a break for me?” Zhao Qiang refused decisively.

Da Chen mentioned by Zhao Qiang, whose full name was Chen Junhao, was about the same age as Shen Youning, and was also a member of the group. Chen Junhao married early, and his daughter-in-law just gave birth to a cute baby. This novice father had to worry about family affairs. Therefore, Shen Youning often took care of him.

“I can take a day off once a month. I have nothing else to do except work.” Shen Youning continued: “Besides, Sister Qiong said that she could take single breaks in a row, just staring at Yangyang doing his homework.”

“Oh my god, sister Qiong brings Yangyang here every week? Isn’t that brother a free tutor?” With an exaggerated expression, Zhao Qiang put down the wastepaper basket and squeezed Shen Youning’s shoulders. “Brother, there is no problem with big-small weeks, and I am very satisfied with big-small weeks.”

Yang Qiong, the last member of the quartet, was a single mother in her early forties. Yangyang is her son’s nickname, who just entered high school this year.

“It’s not that exaggerated.” Shen Youning didn’t take credit for himself, and simply replied: “I occasionally help to look at some difficult problems. Yangyang just wants to have fun, and his foundation is still very good.”

“Brother, you are such a human being, tsk tsk. I really have nothing to say.” Zhao Qiang gave Shen Youning a thumbs up. His face was full of reverence.

Shen Youning felt that he was stupid. So he patted the back of the other’s head with amusement.

Zhao Qiang was indeed not one of the hexagrams of intelligence, and his learning ability was also average. He had to learn some things several times. But this big-hearted fool was eager to learn, motivated, and willing to endure hardships. It happened that Shen Youning was surprisingly patient. The two cooperated smoothly. They were both subordinates and friends.

Zhao Qiang knew that his brain was spinning slowly, and he had been scolded a lot because of this. Shen Youning didn’t even use heavy language here to criticize Zhao Qiang, let alone to criticize him. If he made a mistake, Shen Youning would naturally fix it, and tell him to remember it. That’s all.

He was not only a good teacher but also a close friend. Zhao Qiang was very loyal to Shen Youning.

“Ge, Da Chen and I have almost changed the previous layout. But there are a few minor problems, and I still feel that it is not good enough. Please help me take a look when you get back.”

“En.” Shen Youning stood aside, waiting for Zhao Qiang to take out the trash.

He casually glanced at the wastepaper basket, and unexpectedly saw a field of familiar colors.

“What is this?” Shen Youning picked up a golden and red sheet.

“The small advertisement paper posted on the side of the road. It seems a new store has opened nearby, right?”

“Well, it’s a dessert shop.” Shen Youning stared at the leaflet for a while, folded it in half, and put it in his computer bag.

“Ge, aren’t you working out? Don’t you need to control your diet anymore?” Zhao Qiang asked.

Shen Youning had extraordinary perseverance in maintaining his figure, and didn’t even touch high oil and sugar very much. He rarely ate snacks. For sweets, Zhao Qiang only saw Shen Youning eating oranges.

It’s strange. How could he be interested in a dessert shop?

“Of course you need to control your diet.”

“…”

“But I want to try it.” Shen Youning said.

_________

At three o’clock in the afternoon, Shen Youning finally walked out of the manager’s office, sorted out the materials, and prepared to rush to the next meeting venue.

The next meeting would be on the 12th floor. It would be a general meeting for employees above the P6 level. Only Shen Youning and Chen Junhao were required to attend the meeting. The two agreed to meet at the elevator entrance.

In his heart, Shen Youning pondered another thought. When he saw Chen Junhao, he said to the other party first: “Brother Chen, help me take a seat in the back row. I’ll go downstairs.”

“OK.” Chen Junhao took Shen Youning’s notebook and water glass, and asked him to pay attention to the critical things first.

“I’m going to buy coffee. What do you want to drink? Latte? Americano?”

“Anything is fine, just bring the same one as you.” Chen Junhao responded for a few seconds and asked: “You go downstairs… just to buy coffee?”

“Eh, there’s a new shop downstairs. I want to go there and try it.”

“Do you want to go down in person?” Chen Junhao watched Shen Youning running back and forth after a busy day, and said: “You should rest. I’ll tell Zhao Qiang, and let him run an errand for you. That kid just happens to be idle and has nothing to do.”

Zhao Qiang was playing with his hair in the office when he received a WeChat from Chen Junhao. Then he rushed downstairs in a hurry. Shen Youning was still talking with Chen Junhao on the 12th floor when Zhao Qiang had already posted the menu to the group.

Zhao Qiang: @shenyouning I’m here. What do you want to drink?

Zhao Qiang: @chenjunhao what do you drink? I will take it upstairs in a moment.

Zhao Qiang: Sister @yangqiang, there are many beautiful little cakes. Do you want to eat them?

Zhao Qiang: “Image” “Image” “Image”

When Shen Youning saw the message in the group, he had no choice but to get into the elevator with Chen Junhao. He knew that part of going downstairs was to buy coffee, and part of it was to see the person.”

Shen Youning: “Red envelope letter”

Shen Youning: @zhaoqiang Da Chen and I both want lattes. Pick a cake for sister Qiong. You can buy what you want to eat yourself.

Twenty minutes later, Zhao Qiang sent two cups of latte to the 12th floor, and returned another red envelope to Shen Youning.

_______ Zhao Qiang: @shenyouning Ge, the clerk brother said, “Buy three, get one free, and the ice cream is for free on that special offer.”

Shen Youning replied with an OK emoji, and accepted the red envelope.

“Youning, these coffee beans are good. From which store? How did you find them?” The CEO gave a generous speech on stage, while Chen Junhao and Shen Youning secretly chatted in the back row.

“I saw the leaflet.” Shen Youning didn’t know much about coffee, and he usually only drank it for taste. The cup in front of him was a mellow milk taste and fruity aroma, which perfectly suited his acidophilic taste.

“Have they used high-grade beans?” he asked.

“I guess it’s Yirgacheffe,” Chen Junhao whispered: “The latte we usually drink uses blended coffee beans, that is, a mixture of several coffee beans. But this one seems to be SOE latte, single-product coffee beans, which generally cost more and have high requirements for roasters.”

Shen Youning nodded, took another sip of coffee, and said: “This store is newly opened downstairs, right next to the cooked food. There’s an orange signboard. There is a leaflet in my office. Go back and take a look.”

“Is it expensive?” Chen Junhao asked.

“Not, not much more expensive than those on the street.” Shen Youning found out the menu that Zhao Qiang posted in the group, pointed to the price to Chen Junhao, “Buy three and get one free. Zhao Qiang ate an ice cream for free.”

“Hand brewed coffee, the price is very reasonable.” Chen Junhao was obviously very interested, and immediately saved the picture.

A meeting lasted nearly three hours. Shen Youning was browsing and moving from site to site randomly on the internet, being lazy. The noisy whispers in his ears became weaker and weaker, and the aroma of coffee in his nose became stronger and stronger as time passed on.

Working overtime tonight, Shen Youning didn’t want to eat in a canteen that used heavy salt and oil. So he ordered a salad for takeaway. At the end of the meeting, he and Chen Junhao said that they would not eat together and would go to the first floor to pick up takeaway.

The two parted ways, and when Shen Youning walked downstairs, he received a call from the rider, saying that the takeaway had been delivered to the reception.

He went down to the lobby on the first floor, and passed the reception. In spite of this, his steps did not stop and he walked straight out of the office building’s gate.

In the evening, under the orange-red signboard, the lights were on.