Jiang Nanshu was speechless.
That’s what he’s happy about?
The next evening, there was a dinner gathering with the marketing department.
When Jiang Nanshu walked into the private room,
she saw Lu Xiaowei, whom she hadn’t seen in a long time.
Lu Xiaowei was now just a regular employee in the marketing department,
not a team lead anymore, and looked healthier than before.
When she saw Jiang Nanshu, she gave a slight smile. “Long time no see.”
Jiang Nanshu sat down next to Zhou Jiale and politely smiled back. “Long time no see.”
Project A was on the 16th floor, while the marketing department was on the 11th, so they rarely crossed paths.
The marketing director, Liao Siqi, sat across the round table and smiled at Jiang Nanshu: “Xiaowei used to be the team lead for your project.
She knows it well. From now on, coordinate with her for anything you need.”
Jiang Nanshu: “……”
After all the twists and turns, she still ended up working with Lu Xiaowei.
She felt helpless inside but maintained a polite smile. “Okay.”
After an awkward but polite dinner, Liao Siqi suggested going to karaoke.
Jiang Nanshu declined tactfully.
“I’ve got something to do, I’ll skip it.”
Zhou Jiale quickly followed suit: “My boyfriend’s picking me up.”
Hardly anyone from the operations group responded to Liao Siqi’s suggestion.
As they all exited the restaurant, the two departments went their separate ways.
Just as Jiang Nanshu was about to call a cab, her phone rang.
It was Cheng Jiajia.
She had been coordinating with Jiajia over WeChat regarding Li Yi’s exclusive interview.
Now that they were handing things off to the marketing side, this was no longer under her scope.
She’d sent a message two or three hours ago, and only now Jiajia was calling back.
Once the call connected, Cheng Jiajia’s voice was weak.
“I’m in the hospital. If you’re free in the next day or two, come visit this wounded soul.”
“Wounded?” Jiang Nanshu’s face changed immediately.
“Was it a car accident?”
“Sort of. Don’t worry, it’s not too serious,
just a concussion and a fractured right leg.”
“…That is serious!”
Jiang Nanshu forgot all else, waved at her coworkers,
and spotted a vacant taxi nearby.
She quickly walked over.
“I’m heading over now. What room are you in?”
Cheng Jiajia: “It’s already 8 p.m. If you come,
The nurses will kick you out soon after.”
Jiang Nanshu got in the taxi and told the driver to go to the hospital.
“I’m in the car already. What happened?”
“Qi Hongyu, that scumbag,
who knows what’s gotten into him.
Suddenly came crawling back begging for a second chance.”
Cheng Jiajia cursed, clearly still agitated.
“I’m not taking him back, f*** that.”
She took a breath.
“Ugh, talking about that trash makes me dizzy and nauseous again.
I need to calm down.”
Jiang Nanshu sighed.
“Then don’t say anything for now.”
“I’m okay now.
Not as dizzy anymore.”
Qi Hongyu was Jiajia’s ex.
She found out he cheated and broke up with him over a year ago.
Now he’d suddenly decided he wanted her back and started pestering her nonstop.
That evening, she’d just finished eating noodles near her apartment and was heading home when he showed up again.
They got into a scuffle, and she got hit by a passing tricycle.
Unlucky timing,
It struck her right leg, and she also hit the back of her head when she fell.
Half an hour later, Jiang Nanshu walked into the hospital room.
She saw Cheng Jiajia lying in bed, her right leg in a cast, playing on her phone.
At least she had some energy, which was a relief.
Jiang Nanshu sat in the chair beside the bed and asked,
“Do your parents know you’re in the hospital?”
Cheng Jiajia finished replying to a message and put down her phone.
She sighed. “I didn’t tell them. I’m afraid my mom might try to make me get back with that jerk.
She used to like Qi Hongyu.”
“Auntie wouldn’t go that far, would she?”
“I’ll wait to tell them.
They went back to our hometown for the Lantern Festival and haven’t come back yet.
No need to worry about them.”
She looked over.
“I just asked Li Yi.
If we’re interviewing in the next day or two,
he might have to come to the hospital room.”
Jiang Nanshu smiled.
“He’s willing to come?”
“I showed him my cast. If he doesn’t come,
I’ll have to get someone else to do his interview.”
Jiajia had been in communication with Li Yi already.
“He said he’ll come the afternoon after tomorrow.”
“Good.”
Jiang Nanshu nodded.
Just then, her phone buzzed in her pocket.
It was a message from Song Ye, asking if the dinner was over.
Shu: It’s over.
S: Want me to come pick you up?
Jiang Nanshu looked down and replied:
I’m at the hospital. Jiajia’s been hospitalized, so I came to see her.
S: Is everything okay?
Shu: Nothing serious.
Cheng Jiajia was in a two-person hospital room, and the bed next to hers was empty.
Jiang Nanshu glanced at it and asked, “Should I stay with you tonight?”
“No need,” Cheng Jiajia replied.
“I’m fine. If anything happens, I’ll just call the nurse.
The bed next to mine is occupied by an aunt in her sixties or seventies.
Her daughter just took her out for a walk.”
Cheng Jiajia teased, “You should go back to accompany Song Ye.
You’re in the honeymoon phase.”
Jiang Nanshu chuckled and lowered her head to reply to Song Ye:
How about you come pick me up from the hospital?
She put down her phone and looked up at Cheng Jiajia.
“I plan to clear things up with Song Ye about Chen Qingyue, but… I’m a bit worried.”
“Worried he’ll go crazy?” Cheng Jiajia immediately guessed.
Jiang Nanshu paused for a moment before nodding.
“I could blame Song Ye, blame Chen Qingyue, or even blame Fang Xu…”
All the frustration she had at least had someone to vent to,
and she’d already let off some steam, so now her emotions were slowly calming down.
But with Song Ye, it was different. He thought he was the one who had interfered.
His upbringing and pride had suppressed him for years, and only gradually had he accepted this situation,
though even now, he regretted not acting years ago.
If he knew this was all a misunderstanding, he might feel guilty and heartbroken.
That kind of regret would only grow inside him.
All those complicated emotions would likely be bottled up inside him, and then…
Jiang Nanshu didn’t say more, but Cheng Jiajia understood right away.
She glanced at her for a moment.
“It’s fine if there’s no outlet for those emotions.
Physical expression is another way to release them.”
“……”
Although she didn’t want to admit it, it seemed to be true.
Just then, the aunt and her daughter, who had been out for a walk, returned.
The conversation had to stop there.
Jiang Nanshu sat with Cheng Jiajia for a while before leaving the room.
As she exited the elevator and walked down the long corridor,
she saw an aunt sitting in a wheelchair, struggling to move it,
trying to pick up a medical slip that the wind had blown away.
Jiang Nanshu noticed and hurried over to help her pick it up, not lo
oking closely at her, just bending down to hand it to her.
“Thank you.” The aunt’s face was pale and haggard.
She looked up at Jiang Nanshu and smiled weakly, but then her smile froze on her face.
“You… You’re…”
Jiang Nanshu looked at her in confusion.
“Do you know me?”
The aunt seemed to have been tormented by illness for a long time.
Her face was withered and pale, and as she looked at the young,
fair, and beautiful girl in front of her, her complexion became even whiter.
She weakly shook her head.
“No, I don’t know you.
I must have mistaken you for someone else…”
Jiang Nanshu looked at her for a moment and was about to turn to leave when a tall figure walked out from the nearby restroom and came down the dim and narrow corridor.
The clear and handsome outline gradually came into view.
Chen Qingyue froze when he saw her, standing still and staring at her in a daze.