Because of that conversation that morning, Liang Shi was absent-minded all morning.
Li Ran went to ask her for the proofread manuscript, calling her twice before she came to her senses and hurriedly handed over the manuscript.
After flipping through two pages, Li Ran said helplessly, "I picked up the wrong one."
Liang Shi rummaged through the table again, found what she wanted, and handed it over, apologizing somewhat embarrassedly, "Sorry, Sister Ran."
"Why do you seem so down?" Li Ran asked casually as she flipped through her manuscript. "Did you have a fight with your wife?"
Liang Shi: "..."
She shook her head: "No."
Li Ran glanced at her, then pointed to her eyes and said, "I've seen too many young couples with these eyes. Right now, your face is practically screaming—I'm unhappy!"
"That's not necessarily because of my wife." Liang Shi tied his messy hair back up. "Alright, go ahead and get busy."
"Really?" Li Ran didn't believe it. "I've seen a lot of heartbroken people, and they all have the same expression as you."
Liang Shi: "..."
"What happened?" Li Ran asked. "Your wife is so beautiful, how could you two be arguing?"
“There was no arguing,” Liang Shi said. “It was just…”
She paused, realizing she didn't know where to begin, and sighed helplessly, "Alright, Sister Ran, go ahead and get busy."
Li Ran wanted to ask a few more questions, but Zhou Li turned around and asked, "Where's the manuscript we asked for this week?"
Li Ran immediately slipped away.
After a while, Zhou Li handed the new document to Liang Shi, "Can you do this?"
Liang Shi nodded: "Of course."
“If I need time to calm down, I can delegate it to someone else,” Zhou Li said coldly.
Liang Shi took the document directly from her hand and said, "Don't listen to Sister Ran's nonsense, I'm fine."
Zhou Li glanced at her but said nothing.
Thanks to Liang Shi's recommendation, Zhou Li has now become the head of the magazine department, while she also serves as the head of the editorial team. After hiring several new employees, the magazine department is finally able to operate smoothly.
The first issue of the e-magazine sold reasonably well, but the bi-monthly magazine was extremely difficult to produce. They had to come up with two new themes every month, and then they would rush around inviting people, conducting interviews, finding clothing, and going to factories... Every step was unfamiliar to them.
Furthermore, new employees need time to work together and get to know each other.
The previous minister always wasted time on useless things. After Zhou Li became the minister, she worked concisely and clearly, putting everyone in the right position, which greatly improved efficiency.
Liang Shi's task was not heavy, only compared to the other employees in the magazine department.
So she didn't have much time to wallow in self-pity, but she was still a bit down when doing things and couldn't seem to muster any enthusiasm.
Only after finishing her work did she contact Zhao Xuning: "Is your house still available?"
When it was lunchtime, Zhao Xuning replied to her: [Still here. Want to move?]
Liang Shi: [Yes, I'd like to go take a look.]
Zhao Xuning: [Tonight?]
Liang Shi: [Yes.]
Zhao Xuning gave a brief "OK" sign, quickly ending the conversation.
//
Zhao Xuning's house is in Linjiang District, a prime location.
It only takes about 20 minutes to drive to Minghui, which is a very short distance.
The two houses Liang Shi visited with the real estate agent at noon were still unsatisfactory. One had a terrible neighborhood environment, and the other had a bad layout, with the bedroom not even getting any sunlight.
She could only pin her hopes on Zhao Xuning's house.
She wouldn't have contacted Zhao Xuning if she hadn't had no other choice.
Debts of money are easy to repay, but debts of gratitude are not.
But then she thought again, and realized that she owed Zhao Xuning a lot of favors anyway.
There's no need to be polite with Dr. Zhao.
So, feeling at ease, I drove to Linjiang District after get off work and successfully found the place Zhao Xuning had mentioned.
When she arrived and found no one around, she sent a message to Zhao Xuning.
Zhao Xuning said he would arrive soon.
But this happened very quickly, taking a full half hour.
Liang Shi: "..."
She stood there playing Snake, accumulating over 100,000 points, until her phone got hot and her fingers went numb.
Then Zhao Xuning finally arrived, albeit late.
Even after taking off his white lab coat, Zhao Xuning was still wearing a shirt and trousers, with white canvas shoes on his feet.
However, not wearing glasses today made him appear even more aloof and distant, lacking his usual suave and roguish charm.
After she walked over, Liang Shi smelled a faint scent of alcohol and casually asked, "Have you been drinking?"
Zhao Xuning nodded: "I drank a little."
"Didn't you just get off work?" Liang Shi asked in confusion. "You can drink alcohol while working at your hospital?"
"I drank it after get off work," Zhao Xuning replied as he led her into the residential area.
This falls into the category of upscale residential communities, with good security. Facial recognition and fingerprint locks are required to enter the building entrances and elevators. The landscaping and the cleanliness of the common areas within the buildings are also very good.
Zhao Xuning led her all the way to the top floor, the 36th floor.
There are two households on the first floor. Zhao Xuning's family lives on the left. It is over 160 square meters, with three bedrooms, one living room, and two bathrooms, which fully meets Liang Shi's needs.
...
After the visit, Liang Shi stood by the window and looked at the river view.
The lights on both sides of the river are all lit up, the bridge is bustling with traffic, the water ripples flow along the colors of the lights, and the water sparkles when the wind blows.
"Dr. Zhao, are you really going to rent this house to me?" Liang Shi asked, somewhat incredulous.
"I'll lend it to you temporarily," Zhao Xuning said. "You can move out once you buy your own house."
"Why did you buy this house in the first place?" Liang Shi opened the window. The air was cool after the rain, but the breeze was pleasant. "Was it an investment?"
Zhao Xuning was silent for a moment, then said, "No."
"Then why do you want to buy it?" Liang Shi asked in surprise. "Is it for our wedding? But your family will definitely buy you a villa, right?"
"No," Zhao Xuning denied again.
Fearing Liang Shi would ask again, Zhao Xuning explained, "I lived here with my girlfriend when I was in college."
Liang Shi: "...??"
No one can resist gossip!
Even the usually calm and collected Liang Shi couldn't help but notice his eyes light up. "Is it the one I saw at the hospital last time?"
Zhao Xuning responded softly, "Mm."
"So you two were college classmates?" Liang Shi exclaimed. "That's wonderful, a campus romance."
"You haven't talked about it?" Zhao Xuning asked back.
Liang Shi shook his head: "Would you believe me if I said I never went to university?"
Zhao Xuning was taken aback, then said, "I told you not to tell me about your side of things."
Liang Shi: "..."
That fear of getting into trouble came back to me.
Seeing her like this, Liang Shi found it amusing and teased her, "Then I'll tell you."
Zhao Xuning: "..."
“I actually bought a house,” Liang Shi said. “It was a river-view house, but now I have nothing left.”
Zhao Xuning: "...Serves you right."
"How can you talk like that?" Liang Shi scoffed. "Dr. Zhao, you are completely ignorant of human suffering."
"You talk as if you know everything," Zhao Xuning said sarcastically, "Miss Liang San."
“Of course,” Liang Shi said. “I’m a self-made man, you know. Before I entered the entertainment industry, I had nothing. I rented a basement, then a semi-basement, and then shared an apartment with others. I only moved to a better place after I started making money from filming.”
"Playing the victim?" Zhao Xuning glanced at her sideways.
Liang Shi shook his head: "What's so terrible about it? We're just having a chat. You're the first person I've talked to since I came here."
Zhao Xuning: "..."
Although Zhao Xuning still felt that Liang Shi might be mentally unstable, seeing her speak so confidently, he couldn't help but waver a little. But a few seconds later, Zhao Xuning would firmly believe again that Liang Shi was indeed mentally unstable.
"So what did you get from entering the entertainment industry?" Zhao Xuning asked, following up on her question.
"Money and fans," Liang Shi said. "Oh, and I also won a Best Actress award."
Zhao Xuning's eyelid twitched, but he praised her expressionlessly: "Impressive."
Liang Shi: "..."
She lost interest in confiding and instead complained, "You're just trying to brush me off."
Zhao Xuning nodded, "It's good that you figured it out."
Liang Shi: "?"
Liang Shite sincerely asked Zhao Xuning, "Dr. Zhao, with your infuriating personality, how did you find such an outstanding girlfriend?"
Zhao Xuning: "..."
Zhao Xuning closed the window, her voice colder than the autumn wind outside: "She just loves it when I annoy people."
"But we still broke up." Liang Shi blurted out instinctively, then added, "I didn't mean to insult you."