A moment of silence.
Song Ye’s gaze became meaningful, raising an eyebrow slightly: “Rousong Xiaobei?”
The words “Rousong” and “Xiaobei” together, even if not associated with a couple, still sounded like they belonged to the same family.
“Calling it Xiaobei, is there a problem?” Jiang Nanshu remained expressionless.
“You took Rousong away.
Can’t I call it Xiaobei? I just like these two words together.”
“No problem.”
Song Ye let out a faint laugh and nodded.
“Good.”
Jiang Nanshu’s phone rang twice in her pocket, but she ignored it for now and turned to walk into the hospital.
Xiaobei was in a cage, its fractured hind leg fixed in place.
As soon as it saw her approaching, it stood up on three legs, meowing at her.
She curved her lips into a smile and reached in to stroke Xiaobei’s head.
The doctor behind her said, “Xiaobei is recovering well.
Are you here to take it home today?”
Jiang Nanshu thought for a moment and nodded.
“Yes, I’ll take it home later.”
The doctor said, “Then please wait a moment.”
Jiang Nanshu played with Xiaobei for a bit before turning to look outside.
Song Ye hadn’t followed her in.
His tall, upright figure stood outside, his back to her as he answered a phone call.
She took out her phone and opened WeChat.
It was a message from Cheng He.
Only two messages, without any polite greetings just a link to the promotional article she had posted yesterday morning.
Cheng He: I heard from a professor that you work at Jifan Technology.
Are you on this project team? I play games in my spare time too.
I watched this promo video and found your company’s game quite interesting.
He was a smart man, starting the conversation with a topic related to her.
Jiang Nanshu paused before replying: Yes.
Cheng He: Are you guys very busy?
Shu: Yes.
Cheng He: Are you planning to renovate your house?
Shu: Mm.
Looking at her own cold replies, Jiang Nanshu felt that he must be quite frustrated.
She wasn’t doing it on purpose she just didn’t know what to say and didn’t want to force a conversation.
Cheng He: My cousin does interior design.
Their company is quite well-known in Jiangcheng, and their prices should be reasonable for you.
Want me to introduce you?
If she accepted, it would establish a connection, making it hard to avoid future interactions.
Finding that troublesome, Jiang Nanshu lowered her head and replied: Thanks, but I’ve already found a designer.
While she was being distant, Cheng He fell silent.
After a while, he sent another message: Are you free on Christmas? I’d like to treat you to a meal.
Christmas was in just a few days.
Game companies usually had to work overtime on such holidays especially the operations team, which handled event promotions and emergencies.
Project A hadn’t launched yet, so overtime wasn’t guaranteed.
But she had no intention of dining with this doctor.
“Christmas overtime.”
Just as Jiang Nanshu was about to reply “no time,” a cold male voice suddenly sounded above her.
“……”
She put down her phone, originally intending to question him for peeking at her screen.
But when she turned and met his calm gaze, the words stuck in her throat.
Instead, she asked, “Is there overtime pay?”
“Yes.” Song Ye had his hands in his pockets, looking down at her with a cold tone.
“Is this your blind date?”
“……”
Her so-called “dear brother” had clearly sold her out again!
And he even swore he hadn’t!
Expressionless, Song Ye asked, “How many is this?”
“What do you mean by ‘how many’?”
Jiang Nanshu realized what he meant only after speaking.
His tone was way too similar to someone questioning their cheating girlfriend.
Feeling a bit weird, she looked up at him and met his detached, indifferent eyes.
“You mean blind dates? Why do you care?”
“Miss Jiang, you can complete the discharge procedures now.”
A female doctor, busy tonight, came over briskly and interrupted their conversation.
Jiang Nanshu glanced at Song Ye before following the doctor to handle the paperwork.
After checking the bill, she couldn’t help but wince.
Xiaobei’s fractured leg and pneumonia had cost over ten thousand yuan during its hospital stay.
More expensive than if she had fallen sick herself.
“Take special care of Xiaobei’s leg.
Don’t let it walk too much.
Keep it in a cage for a while; otherwise, it might develop a limp.”
Jiang Nanshu had only bought a cat bed.
She pointed at Xiaobei’s cage.
“Like this one? Do they sell these here?”
Song Ye spoke up, “No need to buy one.
I have one.”
“Then… thanks.”
She didn’t stand on ceremony and asked casually, “Why do you have a cage? Did Rousong get injured too?”
“It’s an airline carrier.
I use it for transport.”
“…Oh.”
The female doctor glanced at the two of them.
Their conversation sounded polite, not quite like a couple.
But if they weren’t a couple, why had he accompanied her here multiple times?
Perhaps that was just how they interacted.
The doctor felt she was overthinking and shook her head with a smile before handing Xiaobei to Jiang Nanshu.
Holding Xiaobei as she left the hospital, Jiang Nanshu felt an indescribable sense of happiness.
A childhood dream, only realized at the age of twenty-seven.
Standing by the car, Song Ye looked down at her barely concealed smile.
If it were Rousong, it would probably be jumping for joy rather than smiling so reservedly.
He snapped back to reality and unlocked the car.
The headlights flashed.
Jiang Nanshu instinctively looked up and met Song Ye’s gaze.
The eye contact rate was too high.
After hesitating for a few seconds, Song Ye had already walked over and opened the car door for her.
She looked up at him briefly before getting into the car with Xiaobei.
After Song Ye got in, he didn’t start the car right away.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket.
Jiang Nanshu suddenly remembered she hadn’t replied to Cheng He yet.
She took out her phone, looked at the message on the screen, and froze for a moment before turning to ask, “Who did you refer me to?”
Song Ye put his phone down, started the car, and drove off casually.
“A designer. Don’t you need one? I already spoke to him. You can contact him directly.”
“……”
@Unlimited Great Stories, exclusively at Jinjiang Literature City.
Song Ye: “Or did you actually find one already?”
“…No.”
Feeling conflicted, Jiang Nanshu opened the contact card.
The strange feeling in her heart deepened.
Did Song Ye not want her to accept Cheng He’s recommendation, so he introduced someone else instead?
Could he actually be interested in her?
The thought barely surfaced before she pushed it down.
Impossible.
But his care… was very misleading.
She hesitated for a few seconds before saying, “Is this the same designer who worked on your place? I might not be able to afford it.”
Song Ye replied indifferently, “Just tell him your budget.”
Not wanting to reject him outright, Jiang Nanshu added the designer.
She then returned to Cheng He’s chat and told him she’d be working overtime on Christmas.