Chapter 8: Wait for me at the entrance.

What’s the point of this test?

Does it benefit either of us?

Jiang Nanshu was frustrated but could only keep up appearances.

“I really just forgot something.”

Song Ye let out a quiet, indifferent “Oh,” clearly not believing her.

The elevator arrived.

He stepped in without hesitation.

Jiang Nanshu couldn’t exactly say she forgot something again otherwise, he might start thinking she had early memory loss.

So, she had no choice but to follow him in, standing beside him.

The elevator doors slowly closed.

Song Ye pressed the button for B2, then turned to look at her.

“I’m going to the first floor,” Jiang Nanshu said.

His finger paused briefly before pressing the button for 1.

“You don’t have a driver’s license?”

“I do.”

She had gotten her license two years ago, but in Shenzhen, taking the subway was far more convenient.

Besides… her father had died in a car accident.

Driving had always given her anxiety.

Jiang Yu had asked if she wanted to buy a car, and she was still considering it.

The nearest subway station wasn’t close, and taking a cab wasn’t always convenient.

“Maybe I’ll get one soon.”

“You went out last night?”

Hands in his pockets, Song Ye asked the question casually.

Jiang Nanshu was caught off guard.

She looked up at him.

“How did you know?”

Had Lin Yao and the others seen her after all?

“I heard the door.”

He had gotten home close to 1 AM, three minutes earlier than her.

If he had come up a little later, they might have run into each other in the elevator.

Jiang Nanshu let out an “Oh.”

The elevator stopped several times, and people came in and out.

They didn’t speak again.

When they reached the first floor, she walked out but couldn’t help glancing back.

Song Ye lifted his gaze toward her, his lips slightly moving almost as if he was about to say something.

But Jiang Nanshu quickly turned away and left without looking back.

As she stepped outside, an odd thought popped into her head.

Was he about to offer me a ride to work?

Impossible.

She quickly shook off the idea and stepped into the cold morning air.

This subtle, lingering tension between them was unsettling.

It felt like being slowly boiled in warm water, uncertain of when the heat would suddenly rise and make everything overflow.

The wait for a cab was long.

She nearly ended up late.

Although game companies weren’t strict about tardiness because of their brutal overtime hours, she was in the operations team, which hadn’t worked late last night.

Being a new hire, it wouldn’t look good if she was the only one arriving late.

When she reached her desk, Zhou Jiale was secretly playing a game and turned to greet her.

“Morning, Nanshu.”

“Morning.”

Jiang Nanshu pulled out her chair and sat down.

“Where do you live?”

Zhou Jiale asked casually.

Jiang Nanshu hesitated.

Do they know where Song Ye lives?

Lying wasn’t a good idea eventually, she might slip up.

After a brief pause, she decided to tell the truth, at least partially.

She mentioned the name of her residential complex.

“Wow, that area is expensive!”

They had talked the day before, so Zhou Jiale knew she was a local.

“Do you live with your family?”

“It’s not my place.

I’m just staying there for a few months.”

She kept it vague.

“Isn’t Song… Ye-ge living there too?”

Lu Xiaowei, the head of the operations team for Project A, suddenly turned around.

“You two know each other?”

Within the project team, everyone either called Song Ye boss or Ye-ge.

Some called him by his full name.

For example… Jiang Nanshu.

Lu Xiaowei’s tone wasn’t particularly friendly.

Whether she was prying or simply disliked her, it was unclear.

Jiang Nanshu smiled faintly.

“I just moved there a few days ago.

There are a lot of people in that complex why would I have met all of them?”

Lu Xiaowei smiled back but said nothing more.

A moment later, Zhou Jiale sent a message.

She’s dating the lead programmer.

Jiang Nanshu immediately understood.

She had sided with Song Ye during yesterday’s meeting.

Meanwhile, Song Ye had repeatedly challenged the lead programmer.

If there was already tension between them, the lead programmer had probably complained to his girlfriend about it.

This project team was really something…

Even the operations team was split into factions.

She felt a headache coming on.

The operations team wasn’t too busy at the moment.

Most people were sneaking in some game time.

Jiang Nanshu, however, opened up the project documents she hadn’t finished reviewing.

Ever since Song Ye joined the company a little over a month ago, the project had been gradually shifting back to its original vision.

He must have put in a lot of effort to make that happen.

One department after another was called in for meetings.

People came back looking exhausted.

The art team, in particular, was wailing in despair.

“More revisions?!

I’ve redrawn this character so many times I’m going bald!”

“There aren’t enough artists!

Suddenly expecting us to churn out this much work how are we supposed to keep up?”

“Ye-ge said they’re hiring more people and outsourcing some of it.”

After the meeting, the art team started arguing with the writers, blaming them for poorly written character descriptions.

The writers fired back, saying the art team wasn’t following their guidelines.

The two teams were always at each other’s throats.

Then, it was time for the operations team’s meeting.

Song Ye leaned back in his chair, his sharp side profile illuminated coolly under the conference room’s white light.

He didn’t look up at first, eyes fixed on his screen.

Only when the sound of chairs shifting stopped did he lift his gaze.

As always, he was straight to the point.

“There will be another closed beta test for the core gameplay at the end of the month.”

Meng Xiaowei asked, “How many participants?”

“A small-scale, on-site test with around fifty players.”

Jiang Nanshu asked, “What type of players are we inviting?”

Song Ye looked at her.

“Mainly open-world players.

But also bring in a few who play card games and competitive games for a player type analysis.

Also, the operations team should start maintaining the game’s official social media.

You can release some of the approved concept art.”

Everyone nodded.

Meeting adjourned.

That afternoon, Jiang Nanshu went with Zhou Jiale to buy bubble tea.

The shop was crowded, so they placed their order and sat down to wait.

Zhou Jiale rested her chin in her hands, smiling.

“Nanshu, do you have a boyfriend?”

Jiang Nanshu smiled.

“Nope.”

“Really?

You’re so pretty.

How do you not have a boyfriend?”

Jiang Nanshu chuckled.

“I just don’t.”

Zhou Jiale squinted.

“Then just wait there are probably a lot of guys in the company who’ll want to chase after you.”

Dating within game companies was common.

With how busy everyone was, office relationships were just more convenient.

“…I’d rather not.”

Jiang Nanshu saw it as more of a hassle than anything.

“What’s your type?”

Zhou Jiale asked curiously.

Jiang Nanshu thought for a moment, then smirked.

“I go for looks.

I like handsome guys.”

“Then the person who fits your standards the most in the entire company… is Ye-ge.”

Jiang Nanshu calmly pulled out her phone, opening an otome game she had been playing.

With a serious expression, she said,

“Actually, I already have a husband.

He doesn’t like it when I look at other men.”

Zhou Jiale: “…”

Aside from the day he picked her up from the airport, they hadn’t called each other.

They had barely been in contact these past few days.

Jiang Nanshu glanced at the two elders and said,

“It’s my brother calling. I’ll take it.”

Lu Mingkun snorted.

“He probably left something behind.”

Jiang Nanshu answered the call.

“Xiaomei, are you home?” Lu Youchuan asked on the other end.

“Yeah, just got back.”

“I called Dad, but he didn’t pick up. He’s probably busy cooking and didn’t hear it.”

Lu Youchuan coughed lightly.

“Uh… I seem to have misplaced a phone. Can you check if it’s on the couch?”

A father knows his son best.

Jiang Nanshu walked to the couch, lifted two cushions, and sure enough, there was a phone.

“Got it. Black leather case?”

“Yeah, that’s the one.

Can you… send it to me via express delivery?”

Even the fastest delivery would take over an hour, and a phone was too important.

“Is it urgent?” she asked.

“If not, I can bring it to you after dinner.”

“No rush. Have dinner and chat with them.

I’m still busy.

I’ll send you the address later.”

Lu Youchuan was still dealing with work at the company.

His office was quite far from home.

Later, he was planning to meet up with Song Ye and the others for a basketball game and late-night snacks.

It was the perfect chance for Song Ye to give Jiang Nanshu a ride back.

She had no idea her dear brother had just set up another “high-end social event” for her.

After dinner, Lu Mingkun eagerly started using his new tea set.

Jiang Nanshu stayed with the two elders for tea, only receiving Lu Youchuan’s location at around 8 PM.

It was a basketball court.

Song Ye and Lin Yao had booked a court for 7 PM.

Lu Youchuan got stuck in traffic and arrived late.

They had temporarily pulled in a university student to fill the team.

“Haven’t played in so long.

I’m dying,” Lin Yao panted, hands on his knees.

He looked up at Song Ye, who was casually drinking water, and felt a little indignant.

“You sit in an office all day too.

How the hell do you still have the same stamina as before?”

Song Ye screwed the cap back onto his bottle and glanced at him.

“Who told you I sit in an office all day?”

“Oh, right.

You’ve only been super busy recently.

Normally, you still go for morning runs.”

Lin Yao straightened up and sighed.

Then he suddenly snickered and gave Song Ye a sideways look.

“Not that you’d understand.

When you sleep with your wife in your arms, morning runs become impossible.”

Song Ye didn’t bother responding.

His gaze, however, unconsciously swept toward the entrance

And then he froze.

A girl stood at the door, looking around.

She wore a white cashmere coat, holding an umbrella whose tip pressed against the ground, leaving a small puddle beneath it.

Xu Hao pushed up his glasses with his index finger and followed Song Ye’s gaze.

The next moment, his eyes widened in shock.

“Holy sht! Am I seeing things?

Is that Jiang Nanshu?”

Hearing the name, Lin Yao immediately turned to look.

The moment he recognized her, his eyes nearly popped out.

“That’s definitely her!”

He turned to Song Ye instantly

Only to find that his reaction was strangely calm, as if it was no surprise at all.

Lin Yao narrowed his eyes.

“You two have already met?”

“Mm.”

Song Ye nodded flatly, without any emotion.

Lin Yao grew wary.

“So, is she here for you?”

Song Ye hesitated.

Before he could answer, Lu Youchuan, standing under the basket, spotted Jiang Nanshu as well.

He immediately shouted,

“Nanshu, over here!”

The court was packed, with most players dressed in basketball jerseys.

Jiang Nanshu set her umbrella aside and walked in while scanning the crowd.

She paused when she heard someone calling her name, then turned in that direction.

“Over here!”

Lu Youchuan waved again.

At that moment, she felt numerous gazes land on her, some more intense than others.

A bad premonition crept up her spine.

Following Lu Youchuan’s line of sight, she indeed spotted a familiar figure.

That man was wearing a white jersey.

Jersey number 11 same as in high school.

The familiar sight left her momentarily dazed.

Her eyes locked onto him, and her mind flashed back to the past

Sitting by the court, watching him play.

One glance from him was enough to send her heart racing uncontrollably.

I let my guard down.

Why didn’t I ask Lu Youchuan if Song Ye would be here?

Even worse

She realized that Lin Yao and Xu Hao were standing right beside him, both looking utterly shocked.

So this is what they mean by “you can’t escape fate.”

Jiang Nanshu sighed at her own bad luck and braced herself as she walked over.

The man beside Lu Youchuan glanced at her curiously.

“Your girlfriend?”

That was exactly what Lin Yao and Xu Hao wanted to ask.

If it was true, this would be next-level drama.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Lu Youchuan corrected.

“This is my sister.”

Some of the guys there knew about his dad’s remarriage, and the explanation made sense instantly.

Jiang Nanshu looked at Lin Yao and Xu Hao and smiled.

“Long time no see, old classmates.”

Lin Yao smiled back, but his tone carried an odd edge.

“Yeah. Long time no see.”

Cheng Jiajia was right.

Lin Yao really didn’t seem to like her.

Back in high school, he wasn’t like this at all.

He had always been polite, even occasionally treating her and Cheng Jiajia to bubble tea when they went out as a group.

Maybe it’s because Song Ye never liked me.

She ignored Lin Yao’s attitude and pulled out the phone from her bag, handing it to Lu Youchuan.

“I’ll head back now.”

Lu Youchuan took the phone.

“You took a cab here?”

“Yeah.”

“Wait a few minutes.

We were about to leave anyway,” he said before turning to Song Ye.

“You and Song Ye live next door to each other.

He can drop you off it’s raining outside.”

Song Ye, who was packing up his things, paused slightly.

“WHAT???”

Lin Yao practically shouted.

“They live next door to each other??? Neighbors???”

His reaction was so over-the-top that even the other players were startled.

Lu Youchuan frowned.

“What’s the big deal? It’s just being neighbors.”

Realizing his reaction was too extreme, Lin Yao scrambled for an excuse.

“I-I was just surprised.

Isn’t that your house?”

“Yeah, I let Nanshu stay there for a while.”

“Then you can’t let Song Ye drive her back.”

Lin Yao’s expression darkened.

“Weren’t we going for a late-night meal?

It’s a rare chance to catch up.”

He had never been this unreasonable before.

Lu Youchuan was unimpressed and turned to Jiang Nanshu with concern.

“Then I’ll take you home.”

Feeling awkward, Jiang Nanshu shook her head.

“I can go by myself.

It’s not far.

A cab will be quick.”

She paused and glanced at Song Ye, who had just picked up his bag.

“I won’t interrupt your gathering.”

“I can drive you.”

The speaker was the young university student they had pulled in for the game.

He was youthful, bright-looking, and had been eyeing Jiang Nanshu.

Song Ye cast him a cold glance before looking back at her.

“Wait for me.

I’ll change my clothes.”

Then he turned to Lin Yao and Xu Hao.

“I’m skipping dinner. Next time.”

“Wait, I”

“You want him to take you?”

Song Ye cut her off, tilting his head toward the university student.

“…Not really.”

Why does his tone sound off too? Am I imagining things?

Jiang Nanshu stared at him, momentarily speechless.

Turning to the student, she politely declined.

“Thanks, but no need.”

The guy looked between her and Song Ye, sensing something off.

Disappointed, he nodded.

“Alright.”

“I’ll meet you at the entrance.”

Song Ye gave her one last look before heading to the locker room.