Jian Ziming was with his girlfriend Tong Xin. Su Mo pushed open the door and found the two of them huddled together singing love songs. Zhou You was all alone in a corner, frantically sending messages in the group chat to urge them on.
"Su Mo, you're finally here! I was about to throw up!"
"Is your stomach upset?"
"No, I'm just full of dog food."
"......"
"Where's Bai Qiu?" Su Mo sat down, greeted Jian Ziming who was 'stealing a moment from singing' with a microphone, casually glanced around, and asked.
"Qiuqiu still has surgery to perform, and they're racing against time to snatch her from the jaws of death. Unlike us, we're just sitting around doing nothing..."
“It’s you, not us,” Su Mo corrected.
Just as Jian Ziming and Tong Xin were almost hoarse from singing, Bai Qiu arrived late, smelling strongly of disinfectant. The brightly lit, extravagant room seemed to instantly take on the sacredness of a hospital, making everyone feel refreshed.
This is the karaoke area, which also connects to a separate room. The interior is simply decorated, but it's fully furnished with tables and chairs for dining.
The group moved to a different spot and sat down on chairs. The overhead lights were bright, but there were no flashing colors, and the surroundings became quiet.
Zhou You casually called over the waiter and, as usual, first served a spicy hot pot broth, then ordered a bunch of random side dishes, mostly meat, and finally, despite the cold winter weather, ordered chilled jelly.
The four were college roommates, and it was rare for them to end up in the same city after graduation. Not long after Bai Qiu returned from studying abroad, he went straight to Jiangcheng Hospital as an attending physician, while Zhou You worked in sales, making full use of his eloquence and persuasive skills.
Only Jian Ziming and Su Mo are considered true disciples here. They were classmates, but their paths have diverged drastically.
Jian Ziming started his own band and usually takes on some commercial performances.
For example, a bar opening, a wedding, and so on.
His income is quite considerable for an ordinary person, and he travels around performing every day, so he is quite content.
Su Mo once proposed to collaborate with him on an album, but Jian Ziming refused. His exact words were as follows.
"Well, people are born different, and I know my own limitations. Now that we have a car, my son and I will work hard for a while longer to save up for a down payment on a house. Life is pretty good."
It was winter, and the two of them were squatting outside smoking. After Jian Ziming finished speaking, he stubbed out his cigarette on the ground, patted him on the shoulder, and joked.
"You should do a good job. It's quite prestigious to have a big star as a friend."
"Get out of my way." Su Mo laughed and kicked him.
As the group chatted, the dishes were served. In the dead of winter, only hot pot could warm the heart and dispel the cold. Zhou You deftly poured slices of meat into the boiling red broth.
"Come on, come on, eat up!"
"I won't eat this." Bai Qiu frowned and refused. Zhou You clicked his tongue, about to scold her, when he heard Bai Qiu say something else.
"I just finished an operation, and now I feel nauseous at the sight of red meat."
Well, everyone's lost their appetite.
In the end, all the meat ended up in Zhou You's stomach. The soup was boiling less and less, and he had eaten most of the vegetables. During the break, Zhou You leaned back in his chair, feeling bored, and said casually.
"By the way, did you know Jiang Jianhuan is back?"
Su Mo paused in her act of picking up food.
"Ah, when did this happen?" Jian Ziming looked at Su Mo in surprise, while Tong Xin frowned.
"Why is she back? To cause trouble for Su Mo again? She just left without a word back then..."
"Alright, stop talking." Jian Ziming nudged her, and Tong Xin shut her mouth in dissatisfaction.
"It seems like something happened to her family back then." Zhou You told them everything he knew. Su Mo already knew about it, but the others were somewhat surprised.
For a moment, the atmosphere fell silent.
"Alright, let's not talk about that anymore. Come on, let's have our second round of eating." Zhou You rolled up his shirt sleeves and beckoned, but Jian Ziming nudged Su Mo's shoulder and turned to ask softly.
"So what do you plan to do? Reconcile?"
Su Mo glanced at him, her gaze indifferent, then reached for the wine glass beside her and drank it all in one gulp.
A moment later, he was heard whispering.
"I don't know what to do either."
Chapter 16
As winter approaches, the grass and tree branches are covered with frost when you go out in the early morning.
In the office, a group of people were complaining about how hard it was to get up. Jiang Jianhuan smiled, turned on her computer, and began her new day's work.
She handed over all her work to Fang Xiaoli. The two joined the company around the same time, but Jiang Jianhuan applied for the position of director's assistant, while she was the designer's assistant.
Now that he's been transferred from outside to work under Jiang Yuan, it's practically a promotion.
During lunch, Fang Xiaoli couldn't help but sigh.
"Sigh, I never imagined that after only six months at the company, you'd already be a designer while I'm still struggling as an assistant."
"It's true that you don't know the harm without comparison."
Jiang Jianhuan picked out the green peppers from the plate and comforted her.
"You can learn a lot from Director Jiang. Don't worry, you'll become a designer sooner or later."