The Alley Was Always This Long – Chapter 11

Height Difference

A height difference perfectly suited for a kiss the moment she lifts her head.

[Tianran, hey, Tao Tianran.
Hey, Tao Tianran…]

            

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“Tap, tap.”

Cheng Xiang knocked on the door twice.

“Come in,” Tao Tianran said.

            

The door was pushed open, but no continuous footsteps followed. Tao Tianran lifted her gaze to see Cheng Xiang leaning in the doorway, shooting her a languid, unhurried smile.

It turned out that shirts could be so vastly different. Tao Tianran’s crisp, structured shirt was used to conceal her figure, while Cheng Xiang’s soft, light shirt was used to accentuate hers. It clung limply to her curves, acting like a second layer of skin.

Tucked into tailored trousers that pinched out a graceful waistline, Cheng Xiang leaned against the doorframe holding a mug that said “Shh!”, her whole body looking so soft it was as if she had no bones.

            

“Is there something you need?” Tao Tianran asked.

Cheng Xiang walked over with the coffee mug. “I have something to ask of Teacher Tao.”

“Speak.” Tao Tianran had already lowered her head again. Unlike other up-and-coming designers, she never used a drawing tablet or even a pencil; she always used that Montblanc fountain pen to draw directly on the manuscript paper, as if she didn’t need to sketch a draft at all.

            

Cheng Xiang stood in front of her. Her eyes lowered, looking at the edge of the first joint of Tao Tianran’s middle finger, where a tiny spot had been stained blue by leaking ink.

In the past, when they were intimately entangled in bed, Tao Tianran’s knuckles would occasionally have unwashed blue ink stains. Cheng Xiang had always found it incredibly sexy.

She reined in her gaze and asked, “How do you feel about Yu Yuce?”

            

Tao Tianran didn’t even lift her head. “You want to chat with me about this during working hours?”

Cheng Xiang’s wrists were soft too. She lazily lifted her hand to glance at her diamond-studded watch. “There are still two minutes before work starts.”

Mother of god, why was her tone so flirtatious, so sweet it could melt right into a person’s bones.

            

Cheng Xiang herself suppressed a shiver. Yet Tao Tianran remained completely unruffled. Lifting her exceptionally thin eyelids, her gaze was very light. “What, are you interested in my private affairs?”

Truthfully, Cheng Xiang had plenty of excuses she could spout.

For example: That’s my brother, I’m just interested in my family’s affairs.

            

Instead, she merely curled the ends of her hair around her fingertips, cast a glance at the morning sun through the massive floor-to-ceiling windows of Tao Tianran’s office, and slowly drew her gaze back, letting it rest on Tao Tianran’s face like the dawn light. “And if I say I am?”

Tao Tianran lowered her head to continue drawing her manuscript. “I have no thoughts about Mr. Yu.”

“I imagine Miss Yu has been in the workforce for a few years now. You shouldn’t be asking questions like ‘if you’re not interested, why did you go to the Yu residence for dinner’.”

            

She lightly rotated her wrist pressed against the manuscript paper. It was startlingly thin, pale blue veins faintly visible.

A bone structure like this, devoid of excess flesh, was the most suited for jewelry—it wouldn’t look the least bit greasy. Yet, she only ever wore a single pinky ring on her right hand, the hand that held the fountain pen.

Cheng Xiang, of course, understood why Tao Tianran was willing to dine with the Yu family. With Yu Yuce taking the helm of the Yu Group, he was in charge of the synthetic stone business, which was closely tied to the future of the jewelry design industry.

            

“Oh.” Cheng Xiang dragged out the end of her syllable. “And here I thought there was a real chance I’d get to call Teacher Tao…”

She bent her waist slightly, letting her long, curly hair cascade over her shoulder. Cheng Xiang had always wanted to grow her hair this long in the past; wherever it fell, it oozed temptation. Staring at the earlobe peeking through Tao Tianran’s black hair, the word “sister-in-law” felt like it was breathed out in a low hum.

Tao Tianran’s neck stiffened. She leaned back, putting distance between them.

            

Cheng Xiang smiled and straightened up. “After all, the title ‘Teacher Tao’ is a bit too serious. I wonder if I’ll have the chance to change it in the future. If I don’t call you sister-in-law, perhaps it will be…”

She tilted her head. “Tianran?”

Tao Tianran gave a slight frown. Just as she parted her lips to speak—

            

Cheng Xiang raised a slender index finger and pressed it against her own soft lips. “Three, two… one.”

“Teacher Tao, working hours have begun. It’s no longer suitable to discuss private matters.”

She placed the mug in her hand on the desk. “I saw you were busy this morning and didn’t have time to make coffee.”

            

As she turned to leave, Cheng Xiang felt incredibly satisfied. The way her long, curly hair swooshed with her turn—now that was commanding!

Tao Tianran knocked her knuckle against the desk.

When Cheng Xiang turned her head back, Tao Tianran jutted her chin toward the bright yellow mug. “That’s your cup.”

            

“I know.”

“It’s not for communal use.”

“I know.” Cheng Xiang curled her lips. She raised three fingers to Tao Tianran and gave a light wave. “Going to work. Bye.”

            

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Cheng Xiang’s heart was pounding like a drum by the time she slipped back to her cubicle.

She raised a hand and pressed it against her chest. After crossing over into Yu Yusheng’s body, those graceful, soft chuckles, the swaying waist, the way her high heels tapped slightly forward when leaning against the door—all of those were clearly from Yu Yusheng.

But just now, when she called out the name “Tianran”, she couldn’t help but use Cheng Xiang’s tone.

            

In the past, she always used to call her like that: “Tianran, hey, Tao Tianran.”

Joyfully. Encouragingly. Wistfully.

Even on the day Tao Tianran dragged her suitcase out and closed the door behind her, Cheng Xiang had sat curled up with her knees pulled into her washed-out, baggy pajamas, head bowed as she stared at the pilling fabric of the sofa.

            

She hadn’t thought she was crying. She just watched in odd fascination as small, circular water stains bloomed on the fabric. One drop. Two drops.

A habitual smile still hung on her lips. Amidst Shopkeeper Tong’s exaggerated “My god!¹” playing on the TV, she rested her head against her knees and heard herself call out in a very small voice, “Tianran, hey, Tao Tianran…”

The door that Tao Tianran had just closed remained dead silent.

            

No one answered anymore.

No one looked back anymore.

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When the assistant entered Tao Tianran’s office, she found Tao Tianran standing by the floor-to-ceiling window with her arms crossed.

            

The assistant froze. “Teacher Tao… are you feeling unwell?”

It was extremely rare to catch Tao Tianran zoning out during work hours.

She continued gazing out the window, leaving the assistant with only her back. After a half-second of silence, just as the assistant was nervously preparing to ask again, Tao Tianran turned around. Her expression was its usual light indifference. “No.”

            

She returned to her desk and sat down. After going over her schedule with the assistant, her gaze darted toward the bright yellow mug. “Clean that up.”

The assistant glanced over.

It was a full cup of coffee, completely untouched. Wait a minute… wasn’t this Yu Yusheng’s coffee mug?

            

!!!

Maintaining a composed exterior, the assistant picked up the mug. “Understood, Teacher Tao.”

Once back at her desk, with an excited heart and trembling hands, she immediately typed passionately into the small gossip group chat: 【Shianne used her own mug to make coffee for Teacher Tao!】

            

【Pass it on!】

【Shianne used her own mug to make coffee for Teacher Tao!】

Someone hit the nail on the head and asked the crucial question: 【Did Teacher Tao drink it?】

            

【Though she hasn’t for the moment, Teacher Tao was standing by the window looking at the scenery!】

【When has Teacher Tao ever stood by the window to look at the scenery before?】

Cheng Xiang remained huddled at the very bottom of the group member list, pretending to be invisible. In her mind, she traced the image of that massive floor-to-ceiling window in Tao Tianran’s office, imagining what Tao Tianran looked like gazing out into the distance.

            

The tip of her tongue curled up, pressing against the back of her teeth.

Silently, in her heart, she called out: Tianran, hey, Tao Tianran.

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“Is it that urgent?” The assistant jogged the whole way as she crossed the main office to reach Tao Tianran’s office.

            

The others began whispering amongst themselves: “Which major client is throwing a fit now?”

Two minutes later, the office door opened. Tao Tianran stood there herself, typing on her phone with one hand. Without looking up, she asked, “I’m flying to Gangdao this afternoon. Who’s coming with me?”

The room fell silent in an instant.

            

Kunpu’s revenue model worked like this: designers were free to form groups and take on commissions. But Tao Tianran was a very delicate presence. She wasn’t technically a superior, but her professional skills were overwhelmingly strong. In projects led by her, it was incredibly difficult for other designers to find any room to showcase their own talents.

In short: you got money, but no career development. It was a waste of effort.

In the midst of the dead silence, Cheng Xiang raised her hand. “I’ll go.”

            

When Tao Tianran glanced over, Cheng Xiang had her lips curled up in a smile and blinked at her.

Tao Tianran withdrew her gaze and merely tilted her chin toward the assistant. “Buy her a ticket.”

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The group chat exploded again.

            

【Was Shianne ever this proactive with Teacher Tao before?】

【I remember she actually had very little interaction with Teacher Tao in the past, right?】

【As the company’s two most talented designers who joined right after one another, there was a bit of a ‘kings do not meet²‘ vibe between them.】

            

【We suffered so much back then. We were purely hard-shipping them with zero sugar³.】

【And now???】

Someone made a bold guess: 【Is the Yu family going bankrupt?】

            

Huddled in front of her computer, Cheng Xiang gave a wicked, villainous smirk. She logged into her mobile banking app using facial recognition and counted the number of zeroes trailing behind her bank card balance.

This feels amazing! This feeling of seemingly not working just for the money.

The flight to Gangdao⁴ was scheduled for the following afternoon.

            

Cheng Xiang brought her suitcase to the company first thing in the morning.

Ever since she was a kid, she had only seen those chic, urban professional women dragging suitcases and strutting through airports in high heels on Gangdao TV dramas, their bouncy curls looking oh-so-dashing. She never imagined that when she grew up, she’d be cooped up in a run-down office building reeking of green pepper and shredded pork, drawing the chests of countless female video game characters.

Where were the opportunities for business trips? Even going downstairs to buy a jianbing⁵ during overtime felt like she was traveling far from home.

            

Thinking about this trip to Gangdao, she felt a little flutter of excitement.

At three in the afternoon, Tao Tianran dragged her suitcase out of her office.

She was 172 centimeters tall, and her extreme thinness made her appear exceptionally tall and slender. She wore a white shirt paired with tailored trousers, overlaid with an overcoat boasting crisp shoulder lines. The belt was left untied, hanging loosely at her back, swaying conspicuously with her long strides.

            

Truthfully, her style leaned towards a handsome, androgynous sharpness, but her face was the epitome of gentle grace. A pointed chin, thin eyelids, and long, narrow eyes. The two tiny, ink-black moles at the outer corners of her eyes were like a lyric penned on floral stationery⁶—yet her expression remained utterly cold, devoid of any romantic sentiment.

Her beauty was a reversal of a reversal, a collision beyond conflict.

It was eternally unexpected, causing an unguarded leap of the heart.

            

“Let’s go.” She strode past the main office like a gust of wind, suitcase in tow. She didn’t turn her head, yet everyone knew exactly who she was calling out to.

Cheng Xiang stood up.

She was also wearing a plain black cashmere coat, but the style was vastly different from Tao Tianran’s. The rounded shoulder lines sloped softly, and the collar was wide open, complementing her sharp, alluring cat-like face. At the waist, however, it gathered sharply. A wide belt cinched her waist tightly, perfectly displaying her superior waist-to-hip ratio.

            

Standing at 168 centimeters tall, she walked up to Tao Tianran’s side in a pair of high-heeled boots.

To borrow a phrase from their private group chat: 【A height difference perfectly suited for a kiss the moment she lifts her head.】

Each dragging a suitcase, the two women waited by the elevator.

            

The floor-to-ceiling glass doors of Kunpu’s administrative reception led straight to the pantry. In this usually quiet corridor, there was currently a steady, endless stream of people holding mugs.

“Teacher Tao,” Cheng Xiang hooked her lips into a shallow smile. “I think they’re shipping our CP⁷.”

Tao Tianran watched the jumping red numbers. “And so?”

            

Cheng Xiang lowered her head, lightly kicking the short-pile carpet with the tip of her toe. The smile on her lips hadn’t faded.

And so, nothing.

It’s just that, in the past, when you and I stood side-by-side, no one ever said we were a good match.

            

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