I didn't expect the coach to get the joke.
It was five o'clock, and then it got dark.
Xi Jia made an appointment with Ye Qiu that evening and didn't train any further. Before leaving, she took one last stroll around Wu Yang's office.
"Yangyang, are we going back or not?"
Wu Yang: "Working overtime."
He spent the whole day in the monitoring room, but didn't get any work done.
Xi Jia leaned against the door frame, not in a hurry to leave, seemingly wanting to say something but then stopping herself.
Wu Yang: "What's wrong?"
Xi Jia looked at him and paused for half a second.
During lunch, she showed Wu Yang a photo of Yu Fei. He stared at the photo in a daze and remained silent throughout the meal, occasionally drifting off into thought.
Based on her years of experience writing domineering CEO dramas, Wu Yang still loves Yu Fei.
Wu Yang: "Is there anything between us that we can't talk about?"
Xi Jia bluntly stated, "Christmas is coming soon. If you still can't let go of Yu Fei, then take the initiative to get back together. You're both single, and your feelings for each other are still there. There's nothing shameful about taking the initiative to reconcile."
Wu Yang: "We're not a good match."
Xi Jia shrugged; she had done her duty to remind them anyway. "See you tomorrow," she said, and left.
Wu Yang leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling.
When she broke up with Yu Fei for the second time, she said, "Wu Yang, you've changed. You don't love me anymore."
Has it changed?
Don't you love me anymore?
It shouldn't be like that.
——
On her way back to the city, Xi Jia received a call from Ji Qingshi, who said that a table had been reserved for her and that the chef had prepared all the dishes that she and Ye Qiu liked.
"Second brother, when are you and Ye Qiu planning to get married?"
Ji Qingshi did not respond.
"Hello? Is the signal bad?"
Ji Qingshi: "It still depends on you."
Xi Jia: "What, does Ye Qiu not want to marry you?"
"Um."
"Serves you right."
The call ended.
Ji Qingshi: "..." He thought she would offer to help.
Xi Jia turned on the music; it was a cheerful Christmas song.
At the intersection ahead, the green light only lasted two seconds. Unable to cross, she lightly applied the brakes and slowly slid forward. Suddenly, with a bang, her car was thrown a meter or two.
Xi Jia touched her chest; thankfully, she felt nothing.
She turned off the engine and went downstairs.
The people in the car behind also got out.
Their eyes met, and both were taken aback.
Zhou Mingqian had no idea what kind of twisted fate had led to him hitting her car on a suburban road.
Yu An was so excited that she ran out of the passenger seat and took half a step forward, hoping that Xi Jia could see her clearly and recognize that she was Yu An.
But no.
Xi Jia looked at her with unfamiliar eyes, her gaze fleeting.
"Are you Director Zhou Mingqian?" Xi Jia asked first.
Zhou Mingqian nodded, "Sorry, I was just spacing out." When he came to his senses, he noticed a sports car in front of him, slammed on the brakes, but still couldn't stop in time.
It rear-ended another vehicle.
Xi Jia extended her hand, "I've heard so much about you."
Zhou Mingqian was a beat slow to react. He then gently shook hands with Xi Jia and apologized again.
Yu Anxin thought that this historic handshake would probably completely cure Director Zhou's stomach problems.
They're going to the resort today. Director Zhou decided to reshoot a scene and discussed the location with the resort's manager.
The scene that was reshot was the one Zhou Mingqian had said Xi Jia wrote was mediocre. He seemed to be haunted by a demon and felt compelled to reshoot it.
Xi Jia checked the damage from the rear-end collision; it wasn't too serious. She needed to rush to have dinner with Ye Qiu, and calling the police would take too long.
"Forget it, I'll fix it myself."
Zhou Mingqian felt bad. The car she was driving today was even more expensive than the one he had repaired for her last time when it broke down. It didn't look badly damaged, but it would still cost over 100,000 yuan to repair.
"I'll leave you my contact information. Give me the repair invoice later, and I'll transfer the money to you."
Xi Jia wrote down the contact information, but not to ask for repair fees.
She added a note, put her phone away, and said, "I'll cover the cost myself. I was in a rush and didn't have time to go through insurance, so I can't let you spend the money."
Then, she changed the subject: "If there's a chance, I'd like to invite you for coffee. I have a script that I'd like to ask for your advice on."
Zhou Mingqian: "..."
No wonder she's so easy to talk to.
With her personality, she would never do a losing deal.
Speaking of scripts, he thought of her domineering CEO style, "Falling in Love with the Stars in the Deep Sea".
Xi Jia pressed her advantage, "Director Zhou, are you free this Saturday?"
Zhou Mingqian nodded.
Mo Yushen and Ji Qingshi had already spoken to everyone who had come into contact with Xi Jia in the past two years, in order to cooperate with her treatment and rehabilitation.
Xi Jia: "How about we have dinner together on Saturday night? I'll bring my first draft of the script."
Zhou Mingqian agreed.
She's the kind of person who takes advantage of others. Taking advantage of the fact that he hit her car, she started inviting him for coffee whenever he had free time, then having dinner together on Saturday nights, and giving him pointers on the script.
Xi Jia immediately sent him a message, setting the time at Ji Qingshi Restaurant at seven o'clock.
Zhou Mingqian didn't take it seriously. Because she wouldn't know what happened today until tomorrow.
Xi Jia drove away. Zhou Mingqian had Yu An drive while he sat in the passenger seat. He asked someone for Ji Qingshi's phone number, called him, and explained about the rear-end collision.
"I will have my assistant contact your secretary about the repair costs."
Ji Qingshi said, "You're too kind, it's nothing." He also thanked Zhou Mingqian for cooperating with Xi Jia.
Zhou Mingqian: "Xi Jia also invited me to dinner on Saturday night to give her some pointers on her script, but I doubt she'll remember by then. But there are message records on her WeChat."
Ji Qingshi: "It's alright, a team here will take care of it for her."
Every night, the medical team holds meetings to discuss and have professional technicians remotely delete Xi Jia's communication records as needed.
They will also restore her chat history appropriately based on Xi Jia's memory the next day. This will not cause her any trouble and will ensure she has no psychological burden.
This was all decided by the eldest brother, Ji Qingyuan. His intention was that no matter how much it cost, as long as she was happy every day, that was enough. He asked for nothing more.
Zhou Mingqian also felt like he'd been fooled. Actually, he didn't need to make that call; Ji Qingshi already knew who had rear-ended Xi Jia's car.
Xi Jia's memory is currently unstable, and Ji Qingshi has arranged for countless people to secretly ensure her safety.
After the call ended, Ji Qingshi also left the company.
Xi Jia isn't home tonight, so he doesn't need to go home early to keep her company.
He hadn't been to the club in a long time, so he invited a few friends to go together.
Downstairs at the clubhouse, Ji Qingshi ran into Cheng Weiming and Jiang Qin. They had only ever nodding acquaintances before, but because of Xi Jia's illness, their relationship had grown much closer.
Everyone who is kind to Xi Jia is someone he should be grateful to.
Cheng Weiming: "Want to have a drink in our private room? Mo Yushen is on his way back from the airport, he'll be here soon too." Xi Jia has a date, and they all have nothing to do.
When Ji Qingshi heard that Mo Yushen was also there, he agreed.
Ji Qingshi's circle of friends overlaps significantly with Cheng Weimo's circle; they basically know each other, differing only in the closeness of their relationships.
Mo Yushen arrived at the private room of the club an hour later. There were a few trench coats draped over the back of the sofa; he hadn't hung them in the closet, so he just casually draped them over there as well.
Mo Yushen sat next to Ji Qingshi.
Ji Qingshi handed him a glass of red wine. "You haven't had any for a year, have you?"
Mo Yushen thought about it and agreed. Today was the most relaxing day.
Jiang Qin glared fiercely at Mo Yushen. Even now, he still hadn't removed her from his WeChat blacklist.
Xi Jia had completely forgotten about this matter; he still treated it like a sacred decree and would absolutely carry it out.
Mo Yushen took the initiative to clink glasses with Jiang Qin, saying, "Don't be angry."
Jiang Qin snorted.
Ji Qingshi knew that Jiang Qin had a tough time. He himself might not be able to put aside his pride for his friend, especially since she cared so much about her own reputation.
He clinked glasses with Jiang Qin: "I thank you on Jiajia's behalf. In the future, if there's anything I can do to help, you just need to give me a call."
Jiang Qin ignored Mo Yushen, but smiled at Ji Qingshi and said, "You're too polite." She then drank her wine.
Mo Yushen chatted with Cheng Weimo and asked if the law firm had been busy lately.
Cheng Weiming: "It's alright. By the way, Xiang Luo's agent contacted me a couple of days ago, saying that one of Xiang Luo's endorsement contracts has expired, but the other party is still using her posters for promotion, and asked me to issue a lawyer's letter."
Mo Yushen: "Then let's help her."