She went to the bathroom to wash up, then changed into some loungewear. As she came out, she drank some water and started chatting with Xi Luoyu, "How did you know I was home? I didn't tell you yesterday, did I?"
"I called your newspaper office to ask, and they said you were on leave today. I tried calling your cell phone again, but it was switched off, so I guessed you were still at home."
Song Jianan smiled sheepishly, "It's rare for me to sleep in. By the way, have you had breakfast yet? Do you want me to make you some?"
It's a very simple bowl of plain noodles, with chicken broth as the base, sesame oil floating on top, and a pretty egg drop in the middle. The aroma alone is enough to whet your appetite. Song Jianan explained, "There probably isn't much good food on the plane, so please make do with this. I didn't make much, it's already past nine o'clock, and if I eat too much, I won't be able to eat lunch."
Xi Luoyu sighed, "It's been so long since I've had hot noodles."
“Yes, that’s right. When I’m at work, I eat boxed lunches or the cafeteria. After get off work, I’m so tired that I don’t want to move. I feel like cooking a meal is a luxury.” She looked at Xi Luoyu with a smile. “But it feels really good to cook a meal. You know, a home can’t be called a home if it doesn’t have a fire to cook, or oil, salt, soy sauce and vinegar.”
"Oh, really? Then my house is definitely not a home anymore."
“Hmm.” She joked mischievously, “Your home? It’s a den, a nest, a cave, a mountain stronghold.”
He felt a slight jolt in his heart. The smooth white rim of the bowl reflected the winter sunlight, which was almost blinding. He lowered his head and finished the soup, then let out a long sigh. "Song Jianan, I think we need to have a serious talk."
"Huh? What are you talking about?" She looked up blankly, when suddenly the phone in the bedroom rang urgently. She quickly dropped the chopsticks in her hand. "Excuse me, I'll go answer this call."
I really want to tell her that there's no need for a reason for someone to be kind to another. It's just that when you see that person unintentionally, you'll unconsciously move closer to them, wanting them to be happy.
In fact, a person's efforts do not need to be reciprocated, no, they do not need to be reciprocated with such guilt. Sometimes, a quietly blooming smile is the greatest reward.
It's impossible to say there's no selfishness or expectation, but if the effort is too utilitarian, the relationship will also change.
But can such a sensitive and independent girl be changed so easily?
He sighed softly, stood up to tidy up his dishes, and the bedroom door was suddenly opened with a "whoosh." Song Jianan, dressed in her outdoor clothes, looked nervous, but her voice remained calm, "I'm sorry, I need to go to the People's Hospital now."
"What happened?"
"A colleague had an accident." She quickly cleared the dishes and put them in the kitchen, then hurriedly stuffed her phone, press pass, and wallet into her bag, and apologized helplessly to Xi Luoyu, "I'm really sorry, I'll contact you when I'm done with this."
He felt that strong sense of rejection and alienation again, but he didn't want to go along with her wishes anymore. Xi Luoyu took out his car keys and said, "Don't mind if I take you to the hospital, no, don't refuse."
Song Jianan smiled politely, "Thank you for your trouble."
Upon arriving at the hospital, they walked to a building behind the surgical ward. The ward looked quite ordinary, but Xi Luoyu recognized it. Only the wealthy and powerful could afford to stay there. He was curious as to why a colleague, a reporter from the newspaper, was staying there, but he didn't ask. He watched as Song Jianan searched through the wards, finally stopping in front of a room.
A gentle and familiar female voice came through, sounding tense, "Fang Yanyan, after what happened to you, not to mention your parents, I definitely won't agree to you continuing to cover the social news section, not even the news section."
The voice on the other end was more familiar, weak and with a hint of coquettishness. Song Jianan recognized it as Fang Yanyan, "Hey, sis, don't be so nervous, okay? I didn't do anything wrong, don't make a fuss over this. Don't let this negate my work."
"Editor, TV drama director, you're given such an easy job and you won't take it. I contacted provincial TV stations and satellite TV stations for you, such good places. How could you be so stupid as to want to be a reporter? Let me tell you, this time you have no choice. Either transfer to another section or become an editor. The social affairs section can't be running anymore."
"Sis! At least respect my wishes! I just love being a reporter, a social affairs reporter!"
"Respect your wishes? Yes, we respect your wishes, but now you're lying in the hospital. That's the result of our respect. Anyway, you're not allowed to continue. I'm telling your newspaper's boss today."
Fang Yanyan's voice suddenly rose, "Sister, no, no for now, let me think about it some more. I like that work environment, everyone treats me very well. How about I consider other versions?"
There was silence on the other end, and after a long pause, a faint reply came: "Okay, I'm leaving now. I have a meeting soon. You get some rest. Call Aunt Li if you want anything to eat or anything else."
Before the words were finished, the door opened. Song Jianan, Xi Luoyu, and the woman were all stunned for a moment. The woman had an excellent temperament, wearing a black cashmere coat, with short, sophisticated hair and long tassel earrings, exuding charm. Song Jianan felt that she looked very familiar at first glance, but she couldn't remember her. The woman also saw her, quickly looked her up and down, and then smiled slightly at her. Song Jianan smiled back instinctively. The woman didn't say anything and walked away.
Fang Yanyan poked his head out, his pale face beaming with undisguised joy. "Sister Jia Nan, you're here! You're two hours later than I expected. Someone else took the sofa, so you'll have to sit on the floor."
In her memory, Fang Yanyan always seemed to be that sunny and lively big kid, with a bright and cheerful smile. But now he was leaning against the bed, his body slightly turned to the side, his right arm wrapped in white gauze all the way to his shoulder, and his face pale and bloodless.
Although I was somewhat prepared, I was still really startled by what I saw. My heart felt like it had been hit hard by something. Fang Yanyan, on the other hand, looked relaxed. "Hey, doesn't it look like a mummy?"
"Pah, what kind of unlucky things are you talking about, you're not the Pharaoh." Song Jianan glared at him, bent down to look at her wound, bit her lip, but ultimately said nothing.
Fang Yanyan, however, noticed Xi Luoyu standing behind her, tilted his head slightly, and smiled nonchalantly, "Oh, Sister Jia Nan, you brought me a lawyer to represent me in court after I was attacked?"
"According to your case, the crime of obstructing official business is a civil case. You can claim nursing expenses, mental distress damages, lost wages, nutrition expenses, and subsequent treatment costs. However, you will need to undergo a disability assessment."
Fang Yan shrugged nonchalantly, "It's so troublesome, but I can finally rest. But sleeping is so troublesome. I can only sleep on my side, which is so painful."
"What exactly happened?"
"Last night at 3 AM, while I was on duty, the Public Security Bureau called, saying they were going to conduct surprise inspections of some illegal pork vendors they'd reported. The provincial TV station happened to have a previous report on dead pork and water-injected pork on their 'Legal Online' program, so this was a follow-up. Only the provincial station's producer, two other junior reporters, and I went. The first two in Nankou went smoothly, but then at the third one—you know how those slaughterhouses are, killing animals all day, their hands covered in blood, they're really fierce—the owner violently resisted. During the argument, I don't know where he pulled out a slaughtering knife, but it was really…" "It's a butcher's knife!" Fang Yan clicked his tongue. "I didn't even notice that two policemen were injured. We were in the back, so we should have been fine, but that girl from the provincial TV station wasn't paying attention and got pushed to the front. That bastard's eyes turned red, and he started slashing without thinking. I saw something was wrong and tried to pull her back, but that beast just swung the knife at me. Before I even felt anything, I felt a sharp pain in my shoulder, followed by bleeding. It felt like being pricked with needles, and then I felt numb. Then I had difficulty breathing and felt weak all over! For a moment, I felt like I was going to die."
"I don't remember much after that. I was taken to the hospital, and then it was pain, numbness, and more pain."
Song Jianan sighed deeply, "I know this is dangerous, but Fang Yanyan, I really don't understand. You could have called the police station or contacted the provincial TV station afterward. Why did you have to take this risk? Don't you know that such places are never absolutely safe? Let me tell you, I've been covering the social news for so long, and I understood it on my first day. Even a small dispute could lead to accidents or even death for the reporters present, let alone such a major event!"
After a long silence, Xi Luoyu quietly retreated to the door. Fang Yanyan sighed softly, looking directly at Song Jianan with a firm gaze. "Jianan, why did you choose journalism as your profession? Why didn't you take the civil service exam or become a stable editor in a public institution? Why did you choose to work on the social section? Why did you choose to work in journalism?"
She suddenly found herself at a loss for words.
The only sound was the soft, shallow breathing. The window of the ward was not closed properly, and the gentle midday breeze made the window frame rattle. Song Jianan glanced out unintentionally and saw the leaves of the plane trees outside swaying gently in the sunlight. Occasionally, one or two leaves would break free from the embrace of the branches and slowly fall.
Fang Yanyan quietly closed his eyes, seemingly waiting for her answer.
The phone rang at an inopportune moment. Xi Luoyu took it out, glanced at it, nodded slightly in apology, and turned to leave the ward. There were faint footsteps in the corridor. He originally wanted to brush off Fang Yanyan's questioning, but a shadow flashed through his mind like lightning. The face of the woman from earlier strangely overlapped with someone in his memory.
Such similar face shapes, and those long, narrow eyes, as if they could see through a person's soul, exuding a cool and aloof aura.
It's Su Jin, Su Li's older sister.
So Fang Yanyan is their.....
She suddenly looked at Fang Yanyan, but he didn't notice, his face turned to the side as if listening to some sound. In an instant, the door was gently pushed open, and Fang Yanyan laughed, "Brother, you're really slow. If you were to see me off at my deathbed, I wonder if you would be a little quicker."
"Don't talk such discouraging things. I was in Chongqing yesterday. I got a call from Su Jin this morning, and immediately..." The low, clear voice abruptly stopped, the flowing notes falling to the ground in an instant. After a long while, a hoarse voice came through, "Song Jianan?"
When she heard him call her name, a vast blankness overwhelmed her mind. She just stood there, unable to do or say anything.
The room suddenly became extremely quiet, with only the air conditioner fan blades rising to a certain peak and stopping with a "click".
That sound brought her back to her senses.
"Hmm." Song Jianan said cautiously, as if they had their first conversation a few months ago, and facing him didn't seem as difficult as she had imagined. "I didn't expect this, what a coincidence."
The man who had lived in her memory for ten years still had that indifferent and aloof face and thin shoulders. Time seemed to have left no trace on him, but instead added more composure and maturity. He looked at her without any scruples, half sharp and half probing, like an adult scrutinizing a child who had made a mistake but tried to cover it up with a lie. For a moment, Song Jianan was so scared that she wanted to cry.
It felt like an eternity before she clearly heard Su Li say...
"I know now, it was all because of you."
There was a faint smile, but his breath was cold.
Author's Note: The next chapter will officially be available for purchase.
Thank you all for your understanding. I'll update and give back later.
Thank you for your long review, Nian Nian. I love it and I'm very touched.
There's a version at the old place with a female voice, which sounds even better.
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"Time's Edge" by Sheng Li, Chapter 25 — Jinjiang Original Website [Works Library]
She opened her mouth slightly, her lips pressed tightly together, dry. The afternoon sun shone into the entire ward, and all she could see was a blinding white light, making Su Li's face seem even more unreal.
Fang Yan blinked, quite surprised. "Huh, are they all acquaintances?"
Before he could finish speaking, Xi Luoyu knocked and came in. He was slightly taken aback when he saw Su Li, greeted him politely, and then turned to Song Jianan, "Excuse me, there are some things at the law firm, and I need to go back urgently."
Relieved, Song Jianan, who was eager to escape the awkward situation, said, "I'll see you out." She turned around, grabbed her bag, and said to Fang Yanyan, "I'll come up later. You two chat first."
She just didn't dare to look at Su Li.
After they left, Fang Yan clicked his tongue in surprise, "Brother, how do you know Sister Jia Nan?"
There was no reply for a long time. He turned his body with difficulty to look at Su Li. The window of the ward had been blown open at some point. A breeze stirred the hair on his forehead. Beneath his hair, his long, cold eyes were looking out the window at some unknown point. His brows were slightly furrowed, and he looked indifferent and aloof.
He only shows this expression when he has something on his mind.
“High school classmate, same school but different class.” Su Li turned to the side, but her eyes were still focused on some unknown point. “Who was that guy to her?”
Fang Yan thought for a moment, "I've only seen him two or three times, last time at the hospital, and this time too." He paused, then muttered to himself, "What an idiotic sentence! What's the difference between it and Lu Xun's 'There are two trees in front of my house, one is a jujube tree, and the other is also a jujube tree'?"
"I'm asking you a question, why are you going off on a tangent?"
The calm voice carried a hint of anxiety, but Fang Yanyan didn't notice it. "Boyfriend, huh? No one would bring a complete stranger to their colleague's hospital room. They probably just started dating recently. I didn't see them being that close the last time I saw them. Sigh, it's true, winter has come, but spring has come even earlier."
He continued talking to himself, unaware that the man standing by the window gently closed his eyes, and the smile on his lips slowly faded.
After waiting for a while, a noisy chatter came from the corridor. Then Song Jianan pushed the door open and came in. She gestured to Fang Yanyan and then smiled and said to the people behind her, "Boss, Director, this is it."
The people who came were the CEO of the newspaper group, the director and editor-in-chief of the social section, and two or three others. Fang Yanyan joked without any respect for elders, "Uncle Li, Director, judging from your posture, you're not here to tell me personally that you're going to fire me, are you?"
The boss laughed and said, "No way, we've come to visit comrades on the front lines of the news revolution." Then he carefully examined his injury and said, "Would you like Lao Zhang to take a picture of you as a souvenir?"
"Alright! Uncle Li, the doctor's scan is much clearer, it even goes into the bone." Fang Yanyan saw that everyone was looking at Su Li, so he quickly introduced, "Director, teacher, this is my cousin, Su Li."
Song Jianan easily saw the look of amazement in everyone's eyes the moment they saw Su Li, and secretly chuckled to herself, "Oh, they're all just ordinary people like me." She looked up a few more times, but met Su Li's indifferent eyes.
That look in his eyes seemed to see right through her.
Su Li also greeted them with a polite smile, "Uncle Li, Director, thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedules to visit Fang Yanyan."
The newspaper group's CEO quickly declined, saying, "Why are you being so polite with me?" Then he turned to the head of the social section, "Old Zhang, this is Su Li, Su Jin's younger brother, and Governor Su Haibin's son."
Fang Yanyan explained from the side, "Do they look familiar? They are siblings."
Everyone suddenly realized, and the director of the social section exclaimed, "To be honest, when I came in and first saw him, three words immediately came to mind—Young Master!"
Everyone burst into laughter, even Su Li couldn't help but chuckle. Song Jianan turned her face away and secretly laughed. She thought the metaphor was absolutely apt. The social version of the director was indeed first-rate at reading people's expressions, humorous yet polite, and deeply loved by everyone.
She glanced at Su Li again out of the corner of her eye, and sighed inwardly. What a sight it would be if he were dressed in a blue robe and white gown, holding a book and account book, with indifferent eyes, an arrogant and noble air, and cold lips, sitting on a carved marble and rosewood chair.