The two returned to the door of their home.
It was already past midnight.
Jiang Nanshu stood at the door, expressionlessly taking the paper bag that Song Ye handed over.
“Could you bring Xiao Bei out for me? I won’t go inside.”
Song Ye hummed in response, opened the door, and quickly came out carrying Xiao Bei.
Jiang Nanshu took the cage without looking at him and kept her gaze on Xiao Bei inside the cage.
She said, “I won’t be bringing Xiao Bei over tomorrow.”
“Why?” Song Ye’s tone was indifferent.
He frowned at her and curled his lips self-deprecatingly.
“Are you afraid of owing me a favor? Or are you worried I might use the cat to threaten you with something?”
Jiang Nanshu: “……”
She wasn’t actually afraid of owing Song Ye a favor.
After all, Xiao Bei had already been staying at his place for a few days.
Keeping him there a little longer wouldn’t make much difference.
She was just angry.
But what exactly was she angry about?
Perhaps she was mad that the first time he said he liked her, it wasn’t when she needed it most.
Mad that he so easily brushed over the years she had held onto her feelings with a simple “I regret it.”
Mad at herself for being so useless for still feeling moved by his “I like you” despite everything.
She had sworn with such determination before, yet she was shaken so easily.
“I’m not afraid of those things.
I just…”
“Didn’t they say you’re hard to pursue?” Song Ye interrupted her.
His tone carried a hint of helplessness.
“I have never forced you to make any decisions. You don’t need to deliberately avoid me.”
Jiang Nanshu was stunned.
She finally looked up at him, her gaze slightly dazed.
She still didn’t quite understand what he was thinking.
“It’s late. Go rest,” Song Ye said, looking down at her.
Jiang Nanshu withdrew her gaze, lowered her head, turned around, and opened the door.
Just as she stepped inside, she heard the door next door open as well.
She turned back and saw his tall figure.
“Thank you for taking me out to eat,” she said.
Song Ye paused and turned to look at her.
His original intention in taking her out was to make her happy, but in the end, he had become the reason she was upset.
The two of them stood silently in the hallway, facing each other.
Just as Jiang Nanshu thought he was about to say something, the deep emotions in his eyes faded.
He looked straight at her and said in a low voice, “Good night.”
That night, Jiang Nanshu unsurprisingly had trouble sleeping.
When she finally fell asleep, she was haunted by bizarre dreams all night.
She woke up in the morning before her alarm even went off.
The room was pitch black.
For a moment, she couldn’t tell if she was still dreaming.
Feeling anxious, she fumbled for her phone and lit up the screen.
It was only seven o’clock, and the sky outside was still dark.
She lay in bed for another ten minutes, but sleep wouldn’t come.
She simply got up.
After breakfast, she sent a message to Zhou Jiale, saying she would bring her breakfast.
She waited for Xiao Bei to finish eating before changing clothes and putting on makeup.
Before leaving, she hesitated for a few seconds but eventually picked up Xiao Bei’s carrier and left.
She placed the carrier at Song Ye’s door and sent him a message.
Shu: [I left Xiao Bei at your door.]
She walked to the elevator and pressed the button.
Just as the elevator doors opened, Song Ye also happened to open his door.
She was leaving half an hour earlier than usual.
When he received her message, he was still washing up.
Jiang Nanshu glanced at him as if nothing had happened and pointed at the carrier.
“I’m leaving.”
At the company, Zhou Jiale opened her lunchbox.
Seeing the Hong Kong-style dim sum inside, she turned and asked, “Nanshu, did you go out for dim sum last night? I thought…”
“You thought I was making an excuse to avoid you?” Jiang Nanshu smiled.
“Hurry up and eat before it gets cold.”
Zhou Jiale chuckled.
“Okay, thanks.”
She didn’t ask any further about last night, which made Jiang Nanshu breathe a sigh of relief.
A colleague like Zhou Jiale was the easiest to get along with gossipy but also considerate.
Song Ye arrived at the company and held a meeting with the planning team to discuss the next phase of the project.
Liang Yun asked, “Aren’t we waiting for the test data before writing the next phase?”
“Why wait?” Song Ye shot him a cold glance.
Liang Yun fell silent.
Li Yi, however, wasn’t as polite.
He sneered, “Are you worried that if the test data is bad, the executives will want to cut the project? So you think there’s no point in writing the next phase?”
Liang Yun’s face darkened as his thoughts were exposed.
He actually hoped the project would be scrapped.
He was already sick of the project team and felt suffocated every day.
If this project were canceled, the company would have to start a new one sooner, ideally in the card game genre he specialized in.
Song Ye looked at him.
“If you don’t have any ideas for the next phase, hand it over to Li Yi.”
Li Yi’s eyes lit up.
Before Liang Yun could protest, he quickly said, “Sure, no problem.”
Liang Yun clenched his jaw.
His chest heaved violently as he looked at Song Ye.
“I do have ideas.”
“Fine. You can write one as well,” Song Ye replied indifferently.
Everyone’s focus was on the player test happening on the 30th.
The day before the test, there was a small issue two players originally set to participate had dropped out.
Fortunately, the operations team had prepared backups in advance and quickly found replacements.
Li Yi had spent two days writing the planning document and needed Song Ye’s opinion.
When he entered the office, he noticed an ashtray full of cigarette butts on the desk.
He hesitated and asked, “Bro, I thought you didn’t smoke?”
Li Yi found it strange.
What could have made his brother break his no-smoking habit and be this stressed?
Song Ye exhaled a slow breath of smoke, his gaze fixed on the computer screen.
“What is it?”
Li Yi suddenly had a realization.
“Wait… is this not about the test? Are things with future sister-in-law not going well?”
Song Ye finally looked up at him.
“If you don’t have anything important to say, get out.”