"…"
Jiang Ningchu's heart, which had been hanging in suspense for so long, suddenly settled at last.
She didn't know if it was the relaxation of her body finally shedding its burden after the fever, or the clarity brought by her congested nose finally being able to breathe freely—either way, she felt a light, weightless sensation, as if nothing around her was quite real.
So all these years, it was she who had imprisoned herself…
"Take your medicine."
Jiang Heng poured half a cup of warm water, walked back to the bedside, pressed a pill out of the blister pack, and held it out to her, bending down to wait.
Jiang Ningchu, propped up on one arm against the headboard, took the cup of water and the pill.
Seizing the moment as she lowered her head, she secretly lifted her lashes to glance at him.
Jiang Heng's eyes were dark in color, and when he looked at people, there was usually a careless, wandering quality to his gaze, an indifference that suggested he didn't much care about anything around him.
At this moment, that gaze rested on her with a focus that made her chest tighten.
Jiang Ningchu swallowed the pill, and the lingering anxiety in her heart dissipated along with it, leaving her feeling a little more at ease.
It seemed he didn't care about that abrupt, out-of-nowhere question she'd asked.
Or perhaps, he simply didn't care what she thought of him at all.
"Go back to sleep."
Jiang Heng took the cup from her hand and set it back on the nightstand, glancing at the time—it was just past five. "Your fever hasn't broken yet."
"Big brother… you should get some sleep too, shouldn't you?"
Jiang Ningchu looked at him, her brow furrowing unconsciously, a wave of guilt washing over her.
It was strange—after staying up all night, his face showed barely any sign of fatigue.
"I really am much better now. No dizziness, and I don't feel hot and cold anymore. How about… you go back to your room to rest, and I'll call you if anything comes up?"
Hearing this, Jiang Heng raised his eyes and quietly held her gaze for a few seconds.
In those round, deer-like eyes that usually carried a trace of timidity, the fear had, for once, faded away, replaced by clear worry and a trace of something he found strangely unfamiliar… guilt.
He said nothing, silently scanning the room, then casually picked up the blanket from the bench at the foot of the bed, shook it out, turned, and walked back toward the window.
"Sleep."
"Okay!"
Having never expected him to actually take her suggestion, Jiang Ningchu's nerves, taut all night, finally relaxed completely in that moment.
She obediently burrowed into the covers, wrapped herself up, and drifted back to sleep.
Jiang Heng lay down on the chaise lounge, his long legs somewhat awkwardly propped on the edge of the armrest, closing his eyes in what looked like an uncomfortable position.
After who knew how long, the alarm went off.
Jiang Ningchu instinctively picked up her phone and silenced the alarm, then guiltily looked up.
Jiang Heng hadn't stirred.
He had actually… really fallen asleep.
She quietly let out a sigh of relief, her gaze dropping back to her phone.
The screen showed a string of WeChat notifications, all from Lin Wei:
[Got the contract, you're the best, mwah mwah mwah mwah~]
[Jiang Jiang, could you come by the office this morning? That case I've been chasing forever is coming down to the wire today, and I can't be in two places at once. Come and lend me some support?]
[Never mind, never mind—you stayed up so late last night, you shouldn't come. Honestly… the odds aren't good]
Jiang Ningchu's brow furrowed slightly.
Lin Wei wasn't like her—Lin Wei was the type to eat when hungry, sleep when tired, all fire and brimstone with never a care in the world. She rarely showed such a lack of confidence.
Clearly, this "final push" case was a tricky one.
Jiang Ningchu quickly typed a reply: [I'm coming in to work. See you soon.]
Between taps on his screen, Jiang Heng was already standing at the bedside with the thermometer. Beep—
36.5°C.
"Hehe…"
Jiang Ningchu tilted her face up and laughed guiltily. "Okay… that was fast, huh. Thanks… Brother.”
Jiang Heng lowered his eyes, taking in every trace of her uneasy expression.
He said nothing, just set the thermometer back on the nightstand and returned to the chaise lounge to wait for her to continue.
The morning light leaking through the window happened to fall on his shoulder and the side of his face, gilding his hard features with a soft, fuzzy golden edge—an almost unreal blur of focus that softened his usual sharpness.
"Um…"
Jiang Ningchu licked her somewhat dry lips, torn between finding an excuse to send him away and making a run for it, or seizing the chance to come clean. “Brother, you…"
Jiang Heng crossed his long legs and got straight to the point. "Speak."
Under his calm gaze, her little schemes had nowhere to hide.
Unable to come up with any good excuse, she simply told the truth. "I know I haven't fully recovered. I should technically keep resting, but Weiwei has run into some trouble, so today I… have to go to the office."
Jiang Heng seemed to have expected this; he wasn't surprised.
He rose directly, his figure blocking part of the light, radiating an invisible sense of pressure. "Now?"
Jiang Ningchu pressed her lips together, unable to gauge his attitude, and lowered her voice. "Mm, yes."
Jiang Heng stood there, studying her for a few seconds as if weighing something.
"Get up and wash up." He turned, took out a blister pack of medicine, and placed it on the nightstand for her to bring along. "One tablet every four to five hours."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over her still-pale cheeks, his tone flat. "If you forget to take it and your condition worsens, you can look forward to being hospitalized directly."
"…"
Jiang Ningchu was momentarily speechless.
It was just a cold—since when did it warrant the word "condition"?
Taking a few seconds to adjust to this "threat," she sat up in one motion, grabbed her phone, and typed rapidly. "I'll set an alarm right now! I'll stuff it straight into my bag in a bit—I promise I won't forget!"
Jiang Heng's brow arched slightly. After watching her set the alarm, he said nothing more and turned to leave the room.
The warm water washed away the exhaustion of a night of recurring high fever, along with the last remnants of her dazed heaviness.
Jiang Ningchu changed into clean, comfortable clothes and felt her spirits had indeed cleared considerably. Though her limbs still felt weak, the fog in her head was gone.
She took a deep breath, pulled open the door—and her steps abruptly stopped.
Jiang Ningchu thought the high fever had made her eyes play tricks on her.
Jiang Heng had changed into a crisp dark-gray casual suit and was leaning lazily against the wall of the corridor across from her, looking down at his phone screen.
His slightly damp black hair had been combed immaculately, and he carried the clean, cool scent of an ocean-notes body wash.
Clean, with a trace of coldness.
She hadn't noticed the contrast before, but now, seeing him leaning there so impeccably dressed and upright, he was a completely different figure from the silent man who had kept watch by her bed all night.
Hearing the door open, he looked up, as if he had been waiting for her specifically.
"Morn—"
Jiang Ningchu bit her lip.
The slight closeness that had grown in her heart was subtly pushed back to where it had been.
The corner of Jiang Heng's mouth lifted faintly. He pocketed his phone and headed downstairs.
"Hey?!"
"It's this early already? What's for breakfast?"
Su Wanqing came out of the kitchen carrying a glass of milk, her gaze landing precisely on the two people coming down the stairs one after the other. She stepped forward in confusion: "Xiaochu, when did you get home last night? You didn't get caught in the rain, did you?"
Jiang Heng glossed over her string of concerned questions without breaking stride, only turning his head to toss out a line: "Take her to the corporation's legal department. Skipping breakfast."
Jiang Ningchu quietly breathed a sigh of relief inside.
That answer was rather clever.
Going to the legal department—whether to study or look up materials, whether for a day or a month—was entirely open to interpretation.
But the core objective was clear: she was going to Jiang Corporation.
Sure enough, Su Wanqing naturally understood it as Jiang Ningchu having a need to "learn," following Jiang Heng to Jiang Corporation to "broaden her horizons."
"You just finished up with school things. Why not rest a few days? Heading over so soon?"
She frowned and pondered for a moment, then turned and hurried back into the kitchen. "You can't skip breakfast! Wait, let me pack some sandwiches and juice for Xiaochu!"
"Ningchu…"
Su Wanqing efficiently packed up the sandwiches while continuing her instructions without even lifting her head. "Once you're at the corporation, just relax. Don't be too stiff, and don't wear yourself out, okay? If anything's inconvenient or uncomfortable, have your brother arrange it."
"Ah Heng."
Something suddenly occurred to her, and she turned to look at Jiang Heng, who stood at the kitchen doorway with an indifferent expression, her tone turning serious. "Your sister is going to the company with you today, so I'm handing her over to you. You must take good care of her."
Jiang Ningchu followed quietly behind Su Wanqing, feeling fortunate: good thing she wasn't eating this breakfast at home. Otherwise, if Su Wanqing kept talking, she doubted she could have handled it without leaving a trace.
Jiang Heng's gaze swept over her guilty look—lips slightly parted, unable to squeeze out a complete sentence for the longest time—and blatant mockery surfaced in his eyes.
He slowly withdrew his gaze and turned toward the door. "Traffic. We're leaving."
Su Wanqing was hurriedly sealing the packed insulated bag. Seeing Jiang Heng already heading out, she had no time for further instructions and quickly shoved the bag into Jiang Ningchu's arms, pushing her toward the door.
"Go on, go! Be careful on the road! Call Auntie if anything comes up!"
Jiang Ningchu assented again and again as Su Wanqing pushed her into the car.
The morning light was just right, and the car's interior was silent.
Jiang Ningchu turned her head to watch the street scenery rapidly receding outside the window, the insulated bag in her arms still radiating warmth.
Strange.
After a night of fever and chaos, sitting in this car that had once made her feel so much pressure, she felt an almost unfamiliar sense of calm.
A faint aroma of toast and fried eggs wafted from the insulated bag.
"Not eating?"
Jiang Heng, eyes on the road ahead, spoke up suddenly.
Jiang Ningchu snapped out of it and shook her head instinctively. "…I'm not really used to eating in cars."
Her mind instinctively recalled the smell of disinfectant that had permeated Zhou Yichi's car, and she belatedly realized where this "habit" of hers had come from.
The scene from the hotel entrance last night flashed back without warning. She gripped the edge of the insulated bag and added quietly, "I'll eat with Weiwei when we get to the company."
Jiang Heng didn't press, didn't even glance at her, only gave a faint "mm," acknowledging that he'd heard.
The conversation ended there, without deliberate extension or awkward gaps.
The car interior returned to its earlier silence, yet it no longer seemed oppressive.
In the elevator of Yunqi Plaza, Jiang Ningchu was squeezed among the morning rush of commuters, watching the floor numbers flash by in rapid succession.
The day before, with Lin Wei guiding her, everything had been a blur. Now, alone amid the "nine-to-five" atmosphere, she oddly felt a sense of freshness and reality.
"Ding—"
The elevator reached the 28th floor.
When the doors opened, a spacious, bright reception area came into view.
On the light gray backdrop wall, there were only a few sleek glowing letters and a simply sketched "little bug" logo:
Firefly Creative.
Carrying her insulated bag and commuter tote, Jiang Ningchu walked through the open-plan office.
Yesterday's slightly noisy environment was now strangely quiet, with only the sound of keyboard clicks and faint murmurs of conversation.
She reached her workstation and sat down. The moment she set her things down, the unusual stillness was shattered—
"I really don't have time to play games with you!"
The door to the general manager's office on the second floor was flung open with a loud bang.
Jiang Ningchu looked up along with everyone else.
A woman who looked around thirty, with a neat short haircut and thin-framed glasses, was storming out of the office, brows furrowed and face frosty. It was Ada.
Jiang Ningchu recognized her.
Lin Wei had made a point of introducing her yesterday—another crucial partner at Firefly Creative, the senior colleague Lin Wei had gone to great lengths to recruit, a "golden brand" who had won three consecutive top industry awards within just three years of entering the field.
Before Ada could even descend the stairs, Lin Wei had chased her out of the office, grabbing her by the arm and speaking in a hushed voice, "Ada, just hear me out…"
"You already said there's no hope, so what more is there to say?" Ada tried to shake free, her tone even sharper.
Refusing to let her go, Lin Wei half-dragged, half-coaxed Ada, who had already reached the top of the stairs, back into the office.
The door shut with a soft bang.
At the last moment, Lin Wei seemed to notice the eyes below her. She turned, snatched the remote from the desk, and with a swipe, lowered the electric blackout blinds over the office's glass wall.
As the blinds came down, the surrounding colleagues began whispering:
"It's over… From the look of it, President Wei can't win Ada over. Feels like Ada isn't the same as before—this time it's serious."
"Ugh, honestly, I don't get what Ada is being so picky about. Is business from connections not real business? As long as it makes money, isn't that enough?"
"You're in business development, of course you'd say that. What kind of person is Ada? She used to handle only top-tier beauty and FMCG accounts, creativity that could bend over backwards, work that made year-end roundups. And now? Distillery brochures, daily chemical product packaging, plus those government projects no one can even mention… Would you be content with that?"
"Exactly. If this keeps up, the company's whole identity will go astray, and the road ahead will only get narrower. What Ada cares about isn't money—it's something more long-term."
"Whatever. If Ada really does leave, I'm going with her. After all, following her means learning real skills."
"What's it to you? Haven't President Wei treated you well? Has she shortchanged you?"
"It's not about being treated well or not…"
……
Jiang Ningchu sat at her workstation, listening, her heart sinking along with it.
Lin Wei had given her a rough picture of Firefly's business situation just yesterday.
The company had started at a high point—staff, equipment, and office environment were all built to the best standards. The cost pressure was significant, but after gritting their teeth through two or three years, they'd finally achieved a balance of income and expenses. They were just one or two eye-catching projects away from stable profitability.
"Honestly, if we land this contract… our company will absolutely jump to the next level. Really."
In a corner, someone had steered the hushed chatter toward more specific difficulties. Several heads huddled closer, the discussion growing more heated.
"Then what do you think the two bosses are arguing about? Isn't it precisely because this contract is such a tough nut to crack, and it looks like it's about to fall through?"
"Exactly. If we could pull it off, not only would we dominate the entire Nancheng market, but we'd easily take home an Annual Best Case award. And the resources afterward… I don't even dare imagine."
"Isn't that the truth? Two tough bones sitting there, impossible to chew. I heard they went and waited three days and got stood up three days in a row—couldn't even get a meeting. If I were Ada, I'd quit too. All that effort for nothing, plus it damages our reputation."
…
Jiang Ningchu recalled the contract template she'd reviewed yesterday. She looked down, unlocked her phone, and opened the detailed proposal document Lin Wei had sent her to help her understand the business.
A Day for You—a large-scale urban interactive campaign.
The core of the proposal was to upend the traditional model of exorbitantly priced electronic billboard advertising, introducing the innovative concept of the "accessible big screen."
Firefly Creative's ambition was to secure the electronic billboards at all of Nancheng's core locations and build an open platform, allowing ordinary people to scan a QR code and, at an affordable price, customize their own exclusive messages: marriage proposals, birthday wishes, anniversaries, even missing-person notices…
The creative concept was dazzling, with enormous room for imagination.
If it succeeded, they would not only form a deep strategic partnership with the city's largest lifestyle services platform, securing ongoing platform service fees and advertising revenue shares, but also create a phenomenon-level urban marketing case, ready for submission to the advertising association's awards.
Jiang Ningchu was absorbed in the proposal's thrilling vision and rigorous data analysis when the office door upstairs opened again.
Tap, tap, tap—
The sound of high heels striking the floor carried clearly, and the office area instantly fell silent.
Lin Wei walked to the top of the staircase on the second floor, her gaze sweeping over the space below, her tone restored to its usual crispness. "Xuewang, Sirui, get the proposal ready. In ten minutes, we're heading to Hongyuan Industries."
The two girls sitting side by side diagonally across from Jiang Ningchu immediately raised their hands and answered crisply, "Got it."
Lin Wei's gaze skimmed across the faces, and when it landed on Jiang Ningchu, she hesitated for a moment. "Jiang Jiang, come up here."
"Okay." Jiang Ningchu put away her phone and rose, heading for the staircase.
She had only climbed a few steps when she came face to face with Ada, who was coming down.
Ada's face was still tight, her eyes lowered, her steps quick.
Jiang Ningchu stepped aside and politely greeted her in a soft voice: "Ada."
As if lost in her own thoughts, the other woman neither looked up nor responded, brushing past her like a gust of wind.
"Jiang Jiang, baby, I'm sorry…"
Lin Wei rested her chin on Jiang Ningchu's shoulder, her voice muffled, carrying an unprecedented dejection and guilt. "It's only your second day here, and you had to see all this mess… I was supposed to be the backbone of your new life, and instead…"
"What are you saying? It's fine."
Jiang Ningchu gently hugged her back, patting her back soothingly, her voice very soft. "Whatever difficulties come up, we'll face them together. It's just a pity I'm only an intern now—there's so little I can do to help…"
She paused, let go, and looked at Lin Wei's reddened eyes, asking earnestly, "Is there anything I can do?"
Lin Wei took a deep breath and straightened up, light gathering in her eyes again. "Of course there is!"
She widened her eyes and rallied her spirits. "There are two toughest hurdles right now. I'll personally lead a team to tackle one of them, and the other…"
She paused and looked toward the door. "We'll leave to Ada. Today you'll follow her and assist her."
When Jiang Ningchu joined the company, Lin Wei had assigned her to Ada's creative team—it was just that Ada happened to be out yesterday, so she had stayed in the office reading contracts all day.
This arrangement made perfect sense.
Jiang Ningchu nodded without a second thought. "No problem."
Lin Wei turned to pick up her handbag from the chair and checked her documents. After hesitating for two seconds, she spoke up hesitantly. "Jiang Jiang, no one at Firefly Creative knows you're the eldest daughter of Jiang Corporation except me. You don't have to…"
A few seconds later, as if finally making up her mind, she added in a low voice, "Here, you're just Jiang Ningchu—my junior schoolmate."
"I understand."
Sensing Lin Wei's kind intentions, Jiang Ningchu smiled and reassured her, "Don't worry."
Looking at her clear yet resolute eyes, Lin Wei swallowed all the words of caution at the tip of her tongue—"don't stress yourself too much" and "if it doesn't work out, never mind."
She picked up her bag and opened the door. "Alright, just do your best. Let's go."
By the time Jiang Ningchu returned to her workstation, Lin Wei had already swept out of the company with two colleagues in tow.
"Jiang Jiang."
Before she could even sit down, Ada had already come over. "Do you have the full electronic version of A Day for You backed up on your computer?"
Jiang Ningchu quickly unzipped her laptop bag and checked. "Yes, Ada-jie."
"Good." Ada nodded and waved to the colleague at the diagonal workstation. "Xiao Song, grab the company brochure. Jiang Jiang, bring the proposal. Let's go."
Jiang Ningchu had no time to think it over—she swiftly picked up her laptop bag and followed.
The three of them entered the elevator in silence, rode down, and walked out of the building, turning straight into the underground passage connecting to the office tower across the street.
Jiang Ningchu quickened her pace, came up beside Xiao Song, who was walking just behind Ada, and asked in a lowered voice, "We're not taking a car? Where are we going?"
Xiao Song was tall; hearing the question, she deliberately slowed her steps, bent down slightly, half-covering her mouth with her hand, and replied quickly in a hushed voice. "Jiang International—it's right across the street. Faster to walk than to drive."
Jiang International.
Jiang Ningchu's steps faltered for an instant.
Jiang Heng's… Jiang International?