Eh?
Xia Rui was stunned for a second.
Deer?
Such an affectionate contact name? It looks like a girl, and the way she talks also sounds like a girl.
Uh, what kind of relationship do those two have? But Senior Liang Rou said she didn’t have a partner… This must just be a best friend, right? What girl doesn’t have a best friend? That’s perfectly normal…
That’s right, Xia Rui had successfully confused the word “boyfriend” with “partner,” but that was understandable. Who knew Liang Rou would only say half the sentence? She said she didn’t have a boyfriend, but she never said she didn’t have a girlfriend.
“Ahem!”
Right at that moment, Liang Rou coughed, drawing all of Xia Rui’s attention over. She immediately forgot about “Deer” on the phone and went to check on Liang Rou instead.
“Senior, what’s wrong with you today? You don’t look so well.”
Xia Rui bent over with concern, looking at Liang Rou.
“Oh no, your face is so red, and you just coughed too. Senior, are you running a fever?”
She had just taken the fever medicine not long ago, so the fever hadn’t gone down completely. Liang Rou felt dizzy, and when she heard someone caring about her, she sat up weakly and nodded.
“Yeah, I got delayed on the road yesterday, and just as I got home, it started raining. I got caught in the rain, and when I woke up this morning, I had a fever. Sigh, it’s all my own fault for not being careful.”
Xia Rui immediately frowned and grabbed her senior’s wrist.
“Then Senior, you should have taken the day off and stayed home! Why force yourself to come in? Rest well at home. Come on, Senior, I’ll request leave for you and take you home.”
But Liang Rou shook her head. “No, if I take leave, I’ll lose this month’s Full Attendance Award.”
Xia Rui froze for a second, searching her mind for a while before remembering there was a 200 to 500 yuan Full Attendance Award in the salary section.
It wasn’t her fault she couldn’t recall it right away—after all, as an intern, the few thousand yuan she earned, even with various bonuses, was just enough for Miss to buy a piece of clothing.
She opened her mouth, about to say, “It’s fine, I won’t let them dock your pay,” but suddenly remembered her father’s instructions.
Since she had chosen to start from the bottom, she shouldn’t reveal her identity to anyone. But if it’s Senior… that should be fine, right?
In the end, Xia Rui softened and helped Liang Rou up.
“It’s okay, Senior, I… I have a relative who’s an executive at the Company. I’ll ask him not to dock your pay, really, it’s no trouble at all, it’s very simple for me.”
Of course it was simple—the Company belonged to her family.
After hearing this, Liang Rou’s mind short-circuited for a moment, thinking she was hallucinating.
But when she met Xia Rui’s earnest gaze, she realized she hadn’t misheard.
“Ah… as expected.” She murmured.
As expected, this girl’s family is really rich.
She felt her body getting hotter.
Although she didn’t want to owe Xia Rui any more favors, in her current condition… she really couldn’t hold on any longer.
“Thank you, Xia Rui.”
Liang Rou forced a weak smile.
Xia Rui smiled back, her heart bursting with joy.
She’d imagined countless scenarios like this in her head—her senior falling ill, and her running around to take care of her… Surely this would boost her favorability!
“Let’s go, you don’t need to request leave. I’ll just tell my, um, that relative of mine!”
After saying this, Xia Rui didn’t give Liang Rou any chance to refuse and helped her towards the underground parking lot.
If there weren’t so many people around, and if she wasn’t worried Liang Rou would mind, Xia Rui really wanted to princess-carry her, just like in those domineering CEO stories…
“Come on, Senior, since you’re sick, don’t ride your little e-scooter. I’ll drive you home.”
This is way too much trouble, isn’t it? That was Liang Rou’s first thought.
She’s already requesting leave for her, and using her relative’s position to help her keep her Full Attendance Award, and now she’s even going to drive her home… Isn’t she taking way, way, way too much advantage here?
“No, you should hurry back to work. I’ve already troubled you so much…”
Before she could finish, Xia Rui interrupted her.
Xia Rui grasped Liang Rou’s hand sincerely, her beautiful eyes full of emotion as she looked at her.
“Senior, it’s really no trouble at all. No matter how much you trouble me, it’s okay…”
This sudden ambiguous remark, coupled with her actions, made Liang Rou’s heart skip a beat.
No, not because she was moved, but because she was startled—she thought she was delirious from the fever.
But Xia Rui mistook Liang Rou’s increasingly red cheeks from the fever as shyness.
So, grinning from ear to ear, she let go of her hand and ushered the now petrified Liang Rou into her car, seating her in the front passenger seat and even thoughtfully buckling her seatbelt.
“All set, Senior. Let’s go~”
Xia Rui took the driver’s seat and stepped on the accelerator.
Liang Rou didn’t protest further—not because she was at ease accepting help, but because she was a bit dazed at the moment.
She felt like the way Xia Rui looked at her just now was… a little like… looking at a lover?
By the time her slow-to-react brain caught up, the car had already left the Company and gone a fair distance.
Now, if she asked Xia Rui to turn back, it would seem a bit pretentious.
Sigh.
Liang Rou let out a sigh.
Looks like she owed another favor.
She’d have to run more errands for Xia Rui in the future to pay it back.
All the way there, Xia Rui didn’t say much.
She drove fast, but without speeding or running red lights—it took only about five minutes to reach Liang Rou’s place.
After all, her current home was arranged by the Company and was very close; normally, it only took her a dozen minutes by e-scooter.
Going upstairs, Xia Rui stuck closely to Liang Rou, supporting her.
Liang Rou felt awkward, wanting to dodge her warm hands and body, but then thought, Xia Rui was being kind by bringing her home.
If she pushed her away, it would seem like she was rejecting her kindness—she didn’t want to make Xia Rui feel bad.
With that in mind, she didn’t move away, letting Xia Rui help her all the way home.
Once they got home, Xia Rui helped Liang Rou onto the bed and thoughtfully tucked her in.
Then, acting like she owned the place, she bustled around—boiling water in the kitchen, fetching a wet towel from the bathroom and putting it in the fridge, planning to use it to cool Liang Rou’s fever later.
Watching Xia Rui’s busy figure, Liang Rou’s suspicions grew stronger.
That girl… could it be… she likes her?
But as soon as that thought popped up, Liang Rou got a fright and shook her head.
“How could that be! She’s so rich—what could she possibly see in me? And besides, if she were really into girls, how could she bother doing her nails…”