Chapter 21
Dear heavens.
“This… I…”
Jiang Yi silently put down the sushi, wishing she could crawl into a crack in the floor and disappear.
If there were ever a champion of dying from embarrassment, it would probably be her.
After a long silence, Jiang Yi pieced her shattered heart back together through sheer regret.
“I didn’t do it on purpose.”
“Let’s eat.” Yin Lei looked at her expressionlessly.
Jiang Yi did not dare look at her.
“Mm.”
After they finished eating, Jiang Yi went to pay the bill. The cashier told her that since she had spent more than five hundred yuan, she could draw a free mystery box.
“Really?”
Jiang Yi felt her luck today was actually quite good—aside from enthusiastically retelling Yin Lei’s own gossip right in front of her.
The cashier pointed toward a row of emoji mystery boxes and told her to choose one at random.
“Each emoji has a stand underneath, so you can put it on your desk as a decoration.”
“Yin Lei, you draw one.”
Jiang Yi stepped aside and let her come forward.
Yin Lei glanced at her, casually picked up a mystery box, and tore open the packaging.
“Let me see what it is.” Jiang Yi leaned over.
Yin Lei said without expression, “It’s the [smile] emoji.”
The universally passive-aggressive [smile].
“…”
Was this mystery box trying to make sure she had not embarrassed herself enough?
“It’s still pretty good.” Jiang Yi clutched her little handbag and tried to salvage her dignity. “At least it isn’t the poop emoji, right? You drew it, so you can keep it.”
Yin Lei rubbed her thumb over the emoji figure, then slipped it into her trouser pocket.
“Let’s go. It’s getting late.”
“All right. You can head back. I’ll call a car home. We’ll meet again if there’s a chance.”
Yin Lei went to the parking lot while Jiang Yi called a car. Once inside, she messaged Team Leader Lin Fei and the others to tell them she was heading home.
After putting her phone away, Jiang Yi thought for a moment, then opened a delivery app and ordered a box of tampons to be delivered.
She really was such a considerate person. She had used someone else’s things and even bought a replacement box to return.
Feeling pleased with herself, Jiang Yi arrived back at Fuan Residential Complex.
The moment she entered, she saw Song Rao cooking at home and immediately remembered the mortifying incident from earlier.
“Song Rao, let me tell you something. That piece of gossip you told me before—I actually retold the entire thing right in front of the person involved today. You have no idea how embarrassed I was.”
Jiang Yi set her bag on the sofa, changed out of her silver low heels, slipped into plain house slippers, and picked up a glass of water.
She walked to the kitchen doorway, complaining as she drank.
“I’ll never dare face her again in this lifetime.”
Song Rao was stir-frying vegetables. She tossed them twice as the oil hissed in the wok, then found a moment to glance at her.
“You mean the wealthy woman?”
“No, the female university student.”
Jiang Yi covered her forehead in regret. Every time she remembered it, she wanted to curl her toes into the floor.
Song Rao could not understand.
“You two have nothing to do with each other. Why would you tell that story right in front of her?”
“It’s because of my job. Management handed us a difficult major project, and Jiayu and Pengting happen to be bidding for it too. My team leader sent me to Jiayu to gather information. That student of yours is already a department head there—she was promoted ridiculously fast.
“Shen Siyun put her in charge of the project, so I’ve been acting as an undercover agent these past few days, gathering intelligence. I treated her to dinner tonight, my mouth slipped, and I told her that story. Then she looked me straight in the face and said she was the female university student. Boo-hoo.”
Jiang Yi closed her eyes in anguish.
“How did something like this happen to me? I don’t even know how I’m supposed to face her from now on.”
“You still need to face her again?” Song Rao transferred the vegetables onto a plate.
“I don’t know whether I should keep spying on the competition.”
Jiang Yi considered what might happen in the future and suddenly jolted.
“Song Rao, it’s over. It’s really over. There’s a one-hundred-percent chance I’ll have to meet her again.
“Because of the bidding project, she’s Jiayu’s lead representative. I’m not my team’s leader, but when the real-estate developer reviews the proposals, representatives from all three companies will be present.
“Yin Lei is definitely going to discover that I’m a competitor from the opposing company. Then I’ll have even less dignity left when I face her.”
“That really is a problem.” Song Rao frowned. “When you decided to coax information out of her, didn’t you consider that possibility?”
Jiang Yi shook her head.
“Could I pretend to be sick and skip it when the time comes? Then she won’t discover that I approached her with ulterior motives.”
Song Rao carried the dish outside.
“Look at it from another angle. Shen Siyun is behind her. If you snatch such a major contract from her hands and finally vent some of your anger, won’t you feel much better?”
Those words instantly woke Jiang Yi from her confusion!
She thought Song Rao’s brain truly worked brilliantly and followed her into the living room.
“You’re right. Even The Art of War says all warfare is based on deception. Why am I overthinking it?”
“Do you want to eat?” Song Rao went to get bowls and chopsticks and asked casually.
“No, no. I already ate outside. Oh, right—I bought you the Juewei duck wings you like. I almost forgot.”
Jiang Yi suddenly remembered the duck wings on the table. She hurried over, picked them up, found a bowl, and poured out a heaping plate.
“It’s rare that you still remember me,” Song Rao teased.
“Listen to you. Do I look like some heartless scoundrel?”
Jiang Yi sat across from her and rested her chin on one hand.
“Are you still busy with your research experiments lately?”
“It’s all right. Not as busy as a while ago.”
Jiang Yi said, “Mom said her second aunt is getting married in a few days and wants us to attend the wedding banquet in her place.”
“Mom’s second aunt? Wouldn’t that make her our Second Great-Aunt?” Song Rao asked in surprise.
“Exactly. She’s young but ranks high in the family, so we have no choice but to go.”
“Then why did Mom say we should go in her place? Isn’t she attending?”
“When my mother was in school, Second Great-Aunt stole her money and then turned the accusation around on her. My grandfather ended up beating my mother in public.
“Although my great-grandfather later forced Second Great-Aunt to apologize to her, my mother never forgave her.”
“Something like that happened?” Song Rao did not know whether to laugh or cry. “Did she say when the wedding is?”
“This Friday. We still have two or three days. If you’re going, I’ll apply for a few days of leave from work.”
“All right. I can take leave on my end too.”
Once they agreed, Jiang Yi called her mother and only ended the call after listening to a long string of reminders and instructions.
Just before going to sleep, Shen Siyun sent her a message.
Shen Siyun: ?
Jiang Yi thought of the box of tampons and replied calmly.
Jiang Yi: I accidentally mixed yours in with my things when I packed. I bought you a new box to replace them.
Shen Siyun: Is that supposed to be compensation?
Jiang Yi’s fingertip hesitated before pressing down.
Jiang Yi: I suppose so.
Shen Siyun sent a smiling emoji.
This woman was truly determined to draw a perfectly clean line between them.
Then another message arrived.
Shen Siyun: What kind of compensation is that? My period is coming soon. If you’re sincere, come over and change it for me yourself.
Shen Siyun sat at the desk in her bedroom, replying to Yin Lei’s latest progress report. A cup of coffee rested on the table as she leisurely waited for Jiang Yi’s response.
The next second, her long fingers froze over the keyboard.
Jiang Yi: I’m not sincere. If President Shen has reached menopause, I can help hire a caregiver for you.
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