Jiang Nanshu felt that the gift she gave was a good one.
It wasn’t something she deliberately bought, so it didn’t seem too ambiguous, yet it was practical.
But… looking at Song Ye’s expression, he didn’t seem satisfied?
She blinked.
“You don’t like it?”
The man looked down at her and chuckled helplessly.
“If I don’t like it, is there something else?”
“Nope. ”
Jiang Nanshu smiled nonchalantly.
“Tomorrow morning, I’m taking Xiaobei to the hospital for a follow-up, so I won’t need to leave him at your place. ”
After saying that, she turned to leave, but then suddenly remembered something.
She fished out a lollipop from the pocket of her down jacket and turned back to hand it to him.
“Oh, right.
There’s also a lollipop. ”
Today, during the player test, the administration had prepared a lot of snacks and drinks for the players.
The lollipop was something she had casually taken and put in her pocket but hadn’t gotten around to eating.
“……”
Song Ye watched her close the door, then turned around with a helpless expression, holding all the stuff she had given him before shutting his own door.
Rousong, his cat, was still full of energy tonight after being played with by Xiaobei.
It stretched lazily on the carpet.
Song Ye sat on the sofa, tossing the cat food, hair grooming tools, and two cat toys toward Rousong.
“She gave these to you. ”
Rousong immediately pounced on the toy, letting out a soft meow.
Leaning back on the sofa, Song Ye checked his messages.
Over the past few years, he rarely celebrated his birthday, but there were quite a few people who remembered it, and he would receive quite a few messages every year.
After replying to a few, he opened Lin Yao’s long string of messages.
Lin Yao: [Who are you pursuing? Is it Jiang Nanshu?]
Lin Yao: [Don’t tell me it’s not her.
As soon as Jiang Nanshu came back, you said you were pursuing someone. ]
Lin Yao: [Be honest.
Is it her?]
Song Ye didn’t like Lin Yao bringing up the past.
Over the years, Lin Yao had rarely mentioned it, but seeing that he was still single, he would occasionally ask, “Is it because of Jiang Nanshu?”
Holding his phone in one hand, Song Ye typed out a single character.
S: [Yes. ]
Lin Yao was so shocked that he sent a 60-second voice message.
Song Ye had a good guess about what he was going to say and had no intention of listening to it.
S: [Don’t stir up trouble.
Be polite to her. ]
After sending that message, Song Ye put down his phone and ignored Lin Yao, getting up to take a shower.
The next morning, Jiang Nanshu took Xiaobei to the hospital before heading to work.
Around noon, she received a message from the doctor saying that Xiaobei had recovered well and no longer needed to be kept in a cage.
She arranged for Xiaobei to stay at the hospital for the night and planned to pick him up the next morning.
Everyone at work seemed unusually energetic today.
Zhou Jiale and Jiang Nanshu went to the tea room together, and Zhou Jiale couldn’t help but complain, “Seriously, this group of workhorses…
After working overtime for so long, a single day off has them acting like they’ve been injected with adrenaline. ”
Jiang Nanshu chuckled.
“I think you’re the same way. ”
Zhou Jiale grinned.
“Ke Xu asked me to spend New Year’s Eve together. ”
As she mentioned Ke Xu, she glanced at Jiang Nanshu’s expression and hesitantly asked, “Nanshu, you used to be in the same class as Ke Xu.
What’s he like?
I don’t know anyone else around him, so I thought I’d ask you. ”
In reality, Jiang Nanshu wasn’t very familiar with Ke Xu.
He was close with Chen Qingyue, and every time Chen Qingyue invited her out, Ke Xu was usually there.
Back in high school, Ke Xu was somewhat similar to Lin Yao polite to her but not overly close.
Sensing that Zhou Jiale had a bit of a crush on Ke Xu, Jiang Nanshu thought for a moment before saying, “I was only in the same class as him for a year.
At the time, he seemed like a good person, and his grades were decent. ”
“That’s good.
I’m planning to see where things go with him. ”
Zhou Jiale was delighted and then asked, “What are you doing tonight?”
“Going to a concert. ”
“Wow, wow, wow!
I wanted to go too, but I couldn’t get tickets!”
“Jia Jia bought scalped tickets.
They were expensive. ”
As they walked out of the tea room, they happened to pass by Song Ye and the planning team heading into a meeting.
Their paths crossed for a brief moment, and Jiang Nanshu’s gaze unintentionally met Song Ye’s.
She quickly looked away as if nothing had happened.
In the conference room, Song Ye leaned back in the main seat.
Behind him, the screen displayed feedback from the player test conducted the previous day.
The feedback had been compiled into a detailed list, making it easy for everyone to analyze.
Li Yi scrolled through the list with his mouse, reading aloud:
“Player 1: The game’s skill animations are really cool.
Even the big ultimate moves run smoothly. ”
“Player 2: The open-world exploration is well done.
The post-apocalyptic atmosphere is great, and the desolate wasteland aesthetic is detailed. ”
“Player 3: The level of freedom in exploration is really high…”
“Skip the praise,” Song Ye interrupted.
“Focus on the negative reviews. ”
Li Yi, who had been enjoying reading the positive feedback, sighed and scrolled down.
“There aren’t many negative reviews.
This time, the players had a really good response. ”
He snorted.
“Unlike previous tests, where finding a single positive review was harder than fishing one out of the ocean. ”
Just as he finished complaining, he came across a negative review:
“The gear progression system is too complicated.
The controls are cumbersome, and there are too many restrictions. ”
By the time the meeting ended, it was already past six in the evening.
Most of the project team had already left, whether they had plans or not.
As Song Ye exited the conference room, he instinctively glanced at Jiang Nanshu’s desk, only to find that she had left long ago.
Li Yi followed behind him, speaking into his phone.
“We just finished the meeting.
We’re heading back now, but we’ll probably get stuck in traffic.
Yeah, yeah, I know.
We’ll be quick…”
After hanging up, he looked at Song Ye.
“Bro, let’s hurry.
My mom’s already nagging. ”
Song Ye hadn’t celebrated his birthday in Jiangcheng for years.
He hadn’t planned on celebrating this year either, but Li Yi’s mother and aunt insisted on cooking a meal to thank him for helping Li Yi, turning it into an impromptu birthday gathering.
Tonight, they were heading to Song Ye’s parents’ house.
His parents lived in the old city center a prime location.
Though the residential complex was outdated, it was convenient for shopping and transportation, so they refused to move.
Their apartment was spacious, and when Song Ye had renovated his own place, he also updated theirs.
When they arrived, the table was already set with food, and his mother and aunt were arranging the dishes.
Song Ye glanced at his mother.
“Mom. ”
He then greeted his aunt.
Ye Qing scoffed.
“Oh, so you still remember to come home?”
“I’ve been busy,” Song Ye replied as he set his car keys down at the entrance and changed his shoes.
Later that night, as he left his parents’ house, he happened to see Jiang Nanshu’s WeChat post.
Shu: [Sigh] Arrived 30 minutes late and missed the opening act.
It was accompanied by a video of the concert.
She had left work early.
How did she end up being late?