Jiang Nanshu watched his back as he walked away, then glanced at Lin Yao, who looked like a resentful woman.
She hesitated should she take the chance to slip away or obediently wait for him at the entrance?
At that moment, the people around them had already dispersed, each tidying up their things.
Lin Yao looked at her and said, “Jiang Nanshu, you…”
Xu Hao coughed, interrupting him before he could finish his sentence.
Jiang Nanshu sensed the strange atmosphere.
Lu Youchuan also noticed something was off Lin Yao seemed to have some hostility toward Jiang Nanshu.
It was as if he didn’t want her to interact too much with Song Ye.
If Lin Yao’s girlfriend weren’t still sitting on the chair outside, Lu Youchuan might have suspected that Lin Yao secretly had a crush on Song Ye.
“What about me?” Jiang Nanshu looked at Lin Yao.
Lin Yao frowned and said, “Nothing.”
Even if there was something, it wasn’t his place to say.
Xu Hao’s cough was meant to remind him not to speak recklessly, lest Song Ye come after him later.
Jiang Nanshu thought Lin Yao was hinting that she should leave quickly and not delay their gathering.
Since she didn’t want to be alone with Song Ye anyway, she simply threw the problem to Lin Yao.
“I’m leaving first.
Later, let Song Ye know that I’ll go back on my own.
You guys go have supper.”
After saying that, she looked at Lu Youchuan.
“Brother, I’m leaving.”
“Hey…” Lu Youchuan called after her.
“I’ll take you home.”
Jiang Nanshu had already turned around, quickening her pace as she waved her hand.
“No need.”
For a long moment, Lu Youchuan frowned and looked at Lin Yao.
“What’s your issue with my sister?
It feels like you’re targeting her.”
“What issue could I have?
Even Song Ye hasn’t said anything.”
Lin Yao snorted coldly and then turned the tables on Lu Youchuan.
“Are you trying to set them up?
Of all the people, why her?”
Lu Youchuan didn’t like hearing that.
“Be clear what’s wrong with Nanshu?
She’s pretty and sensible.
Isn’t she good enough for Song Ye?”
“Of course not!”
Lin Yao became agitated.
“Anyone but Jiang Nanshu!”
“What’s wrong with her?
Don’t leave things half-said.”
Lu Youchuan was getting more confused.
Song Ye’s attitude toward Jiang Nanshu had been odd before, too.
“Don’t tell me you had a crush on Nanshu in high school, but she liked Song Ye instead.
Since you and Song Ye were brothers, he rejected her out of consideration for you…”
“Stop!
Stop!
Stop!”
Lin Yao couldn’t listen anymore and rolled his eyes.
“What nonsense are you making up?
Think you’re a screenwriter?”
“Who said I liked Jiang Nanshu?”
Lu Youchuan: “Then what’s the deal?”
Lin Yao hesitated, while Xu Hao said, “Don’t ask anymore.
Song Ye doesn’t want it mentioned.”
Lu Youchuan wanted to press further, but Lin Yao’s girlfriend walked over and asked, “What are you guys doing?
Everyone else has left already.
Hurry up!”
After a whole night of basketball, everyone was hungry, and they were being urged to leave.
Lu Youchuan had no choice but to suppress his curiosity, planning to ask again later.
On a cold and rainy winter night, Jiang Nanshu stood at the entrance of the sports hall, opened her umbrella, and walked away quickly.
This place was a privately built sports center with various venues besides the basketball court, as well as private training programs.
Usually, there were a lot of people, but tonight, likely due to the rain and the late hour, it was relatively empty.
Jiang Nanshu was quite afraid of walking alone at night, so she quickened her pace.
The phone in her pocket vibrated.
She stopped in her tracks and took it out to check.
It was a text message.
From an unmarked number.
[Why are you running?]
Jiang Nanshu: “…”
She and Song Ye hadn’t added each other on WeChat, but her number was on her resume.
Did he remember it after just seeing it once?
She could almost imagine Song Ye’s indifferent, frowning face.
Feeling guilty, she quickly locked her screen and stuffed the phone back into her pocket.
Pretending she didn’t see it.
As she passed the open-air parking lot, she suddenly heard a weak “meow.”
She hesitated, unsure if she had misheard.
A few seconds later, another faint “meow” sounded.
She cautiously followed the sound, turning on her phone’s flashlight and mimicking a cat’s call as she searched.
Finally, under the trunk of a car, she found a small, drenched kitten.
The kitten lay motionless under the car.
It was unclear whether it was injured or sick, but it looked feeble and lifeless.
Jiang Nanshu squatted beside the car, pondering.
Taking the cat with her meant taking responsibility she’d have to find its owner.
If she couldn’t, she might have to adopt it herself.
But she was living in Lu Youchuan’s house now.
Back when she rented in Shenzhen, some landlords wouldn’t lease to pet owners.
Based on her understanding of Lu Youchuan, he’d probably say something like, “Sure, whatever makes you happy.”
Even if she couldn’t keep it, she couldn’t just leave it there.
Carefully checking the kitten, she noticed its leg seemed injured.
Just as she was about to get up and find something to carry it in, a man’s cold and mocking voice suddenly rang out behind her.
“Didn’t you leave?
What are you sneaking around behind my car for?”
Jiang Nanshu jolted, lost her balance, and fell backward, landing right on the wet grass.
Song Ye hadn’t expected to scare her so badly and instinctively reached out to grab her, but it was too late.
Jiang Nanshu was momentarily stunned, sitting on the ground.
She looked up at the man in front of her and blinked in lingering fear.
Song Ye looked at her helplessly, reached out, and pulled her up.
His voice was indifferent.
“Guilty conscience?”
How can someone be this unlucky?
Ever since returning to Jiangcheng, her luck had been as bad as a player with the worst possible draw in a game outrageously terrible.
Jiang Nanshu sighed inwardly before resigning herself to reality and looking up.
“Lin Yao said you guys rarely get together.
I just didn’t want to disturb you.”
Song Ye didn’t argue with her anymore and instead glanced at the back of her clothes.
Jiang Nanshu didn’t need to check to know that her clothes were in a terrible state.
But in these sub-zero temperatures, taking off her coat would require some serious courage.
“Meow…”
A soft cat’s cry came from under the car.
Song Ye was momentarily stunned and looked at Jiang Nanshu.
“There’s a kitten under your car.
It’s injured.”
Jiang Nanshu explained before turning to him.
“Do you have anything in your car to carry the cat in?”
Song Ye turned on the car’s heater first, then walked to the back, put his sports bag in the trunk, and crouched to check on the kitten.
He stood up, looked down at her, and lifted his chin.
“Take off your coat.”
“…Huh?”
Jiang Nanshu was caught off guard.
“Your coat.”
“…Oh.”
Her coat was definitely filthy and couldn’t go into the car as it was.
Jiang Nanshu didn’t hesitate any longer and removed her coat, shivering the moment it was off.
She glanced down quickly and, sure enough, it was too dirty to even look at.
Just as she felt the cold seeping in, a warm, crisp-scented coat was draped over her head.
She held her breath as Song Ye’s indifferent voice rang out.
“Put it on.”
“……”
When did he take his coat off?
Jiang Nanshu pulled the coat down and looked at Song Ye.
He was now wearing only a black sweater.
He opened the backseat door, stuffed her dirty coat inside, then closed the door and turned his head toward her.
Jiang Nanshu rubbed her fingertips against the fabric before bowing her head and putting it on.
The black jacket was large and thick, wrapping her in warmth.
The heat spread through her pores and gradually reached her face.
She took a deep breath.
Calm down!
It’s just a jacket.
Song Ye took a cardboard box from the trunk, put the kitten inside, opened the passenger-side door, and looked at her.
“Get in.”
Jiang Nanshu glanced at him before stepping in.
As soon as she sat down, a box with the kitten inside was placed on her lap.
Song Ye walked around the car and got into the driver’s seat.
For a while, neither of them spoke, and the atmosphere felt frozen.
Jiang Nanshu turned to look at the man beside her and broke the silence first.
“You know where a pet hospital is, right?”
Song Ye had been raising cats for ten years and was familiar with these things.
He stepped on the accelerator and drove off.
“There’s a 24-hour clinic near my apartment.”
Jiang Nanshu grabbed some tissues and gently wiped the kitten’s damp fur.
The fur around its neck, chest, and paws was white, making it look rather cute.
Although she had never owned a cat, she often visited cat cafés and followed pet bloggers online.
She had virtually “adopted” several cats and knew a fair bit about different breeds.
This one… looked like a tabby cat.
Tabbies were known for their strong survival instincts.
Maybe it had run away from home, or maybe it was a true stray.
“Don’t touch it too much before it gets checked.”
Song Ye reminded her.
“Alright…”
Jiang Nanshu placed some tissues over the kitten but refrained from touching it further.
She kept staring at it, though, already deciding in her heart to adopt it.
A while later, her phone rang in her pocket.
When she took it out, she realized it wasn’t hers it was Song Ye’s.
She glanced down at the screen and saw the name “Li Yi,” momentarily stunned.
She looked up at Song Ye.
“Li Yi is calling.”
Song Ye kept his eyes on the road.
“Answer it.”
Jiang Nanshu picked up the call and leaned slightly toward him, holding the phone to his ear.
Her fingertips brushed against his ear it was as cold as her hands.
For a second, she didn’t react.
Song Ye’s hand, resting on the steering wheel, paused slightly.
Whatever Li Yi said on the other end, he didn’t catch it.
“What did you say?”
“I said, I want to join the player test!”
Li Yi repeated over the phone.
As Jiang Nanshu’s fingertips warmed up, she suddenly realized something Song Ye’s ears were heating up.
Her nerves tensed instantly.
She curled her fingers slightly, telling herself it was probably just because the car heater was on.
“There’s no spot for you.”
Song Ye turned the steering wheel with little patience.
“If you want to play, come back to work at the company.
Think it over before you call me again.
I’m hanging up.”
Li Yi wailed from the other end.
“Bro, please!!”
Jiang Nanshu hesitated for a few seconds before hanging up the call for him.
She placed the phone on the center console and turned to look at him.
“Li Yi is your brother?”
She recalled that he was an only child.
“Cousin.”
“So, is that why you came to Ji Fan?”
She had pretty much figured it out he was here to clean up Li Yi’s mess.
Song Ye let out a soft hum, not bothering to hide it from her.
His few words confirmed her suspicions.
Jiang Nanshu then asked, “So, you want Li Yi to come back as the lead planner?”
There wasn’t really another position that fit.
After all, Li Yi had written the original project proposal, and aside from Song Ye, no one understood it better than him.
“Yeah.”
Song Ye didn’t deny it.
That meant kicking Liang Yun out of the project.
The car made a turn, and Jiang Nanshu spotted the pet hospital.
Song Ye pulled up to the entrance, turned off the engine, and unbuckled his seatbelt.
“Wait here for a moment.”
He grabbed an umbrella from the trunk, walked around to the passenger side, and opened the door.
Jiang Nanshu held the box and stepped out, standing beside him.
As soon as the kitten felt the cold, it whimpered uncomfortably and started shivering again.
She looked down at it, then up at Song Ye, who was still without a coat.
“We should go in quickly.”
She just wanted to get inside where it was warmer.
The umbrella was large, and there was little space between them.
Song Ye glanced at her before slipping his keys into his pocket.
“What do you plan to do with the cat?”
“I… want to keep it.”
Jiang Nanshu glanced at him before looking down and following his steps.
“I even picked a name Rou Song.”
Song Ye stopped abruptly at the entrance of the hospital, staring at her with a complex expression.
Raindrops pattered against the umbrella.
Jiang Nanshu raised her head, heart pounding at the intense emotion in his eyes.
She hesitated before asking in a small voice, “What’s wrong?”
“Pick another name.”
Song Ye looked down at her, his tone calm.
“Your cat and my cat… have the same name.”