It was the weekend, in Xiao Mo's office.
Seated at the tea station, Xiao Mo boiled water, warmed the cups, and added tea leaves in one smooth sequence.
He had switched to yet another kind of tea.
Nuomi sat to Xiao Mo's left.
Today, she wore a light blue knit top, her hair tied up, with a pair of little studs in her ears.
She looked considerably more striking than usual.
Wang Xiaoliang sat opposite Xiao Mo, with Huang Xueli beside him.
That was right.
Today's gathering was a blind date jointly planned and personally carried out by Wang Xiaoliang and Nuomi.
Leading lady-Nuomi.
Special guest-Huang Xueli.
Executive director and sole supporting actor-Wang Xiaoliang.
Things started normally enough. Introductions, polite small talk, a slightly stiff atmosphere.
Then they went off track.
Xiao Mo, the seasoned veteran, and Huang Xueli, the young fox, seemed to hit it off at once.
"Teacher Huang, where do you think the global landscape is headed?"
That was Xiao Mo's question.
"Our overall national strength will rank first in the world sooner or later. That's inevitable."
Xiao Mo nodded vigorously. He had said the same thing many times in his videos.
"But armed conflict is inevitable too."
"Exactly! Iran, North Korea, and Russia are all wild cards-"
"And look at the Middle East-"
"Right! The struggle over energy-"
The two grew more animated as they talked.
Wang Xiaoliang sat there holding his teacup, sipping slowly.
He glanced at Xiao Mo, then at Huang Xueli.
You two aren't the ones dating.
He glanced at Nuomi out of the corner of his eye.
Nuomi looked from Xiao Mo to Huang Xueli, utterly bewildered.
Wang Xiaoliang nudged her foot under the table.
Nuomi looked up.
He raised his eyebrows slightly.
Say something, will you?
Nuomi gave a slight nod.