“She is in the thirteenth-floor lounge.”
Everyone watched as Song You resolutely dropped a single sentence stating that the meeting was canceled and hurried away without a single moment of hesitation.
Upon seeing this, the secretary let out a sigh of relief.
Logically speaking, such a minor matter as someone fainting should not have required disturbing Song You; the security department could have handled it.
Fortunately, she happened to run into Chen Chi in the elevator. While Chen Chi was nominally Song You’s driver, he was also considered a right-hand man. Having accompanied President Song through thick and thin and possessing a wealth of experience, his words carried considerable weight.
Song You’s thoughts were hard to fathom, and since the secretary was unsure of what to do, she informed Chen Chi of the situation. Chen Chi went with her to the thirteenth floor, took one look at the fainted delivery worker, and decisively told her to report it to President Song.
The secretary broke out in a cold sweat afterwards, never expecting that President Song actually had a close relationship with a convenience store employee. Luckily, she had asked that extra question in the elevator; otherwise, it would have been difficult to answer to Song You.
After Song You left, varied expressions filled the crowd. Someone gossiped with great interest, “This is the first time I’ve seen President Song walk away so fast. Could there be a situation?”
“Are you kidding? Who would dare have a special situation with the Great Demon King? I bet some idiot messed up again.”
“True that. President Song always looks like that kind of iron-fisted, cold-hearted, pure-minded career woman who only has big business on her mind.”
When the career-oriented powerhouse arrived swiftly at the thirteenth floor, Zhong Yu was surrounded in the center of the crowd.
Chen Chi waited nearby, helping disperse the onlookers, “Back to work, everyone. President Song is here.”
Hearing this, the crowd scrambled back to their workstations. Pushed in her wheelchair by the secretary, Song You stepped forward, her gaze locking firmly onto Zhong Yu.
Zhong Yu leaned against the sofa, feeling drowsy and dizzy. Her mask still hung securely on her face, already soaked through with sweat. Inky black strands of hair clung to her pale, slender cheeks, her eye corners flushed red, and her thick eyelashes fluttered weakly like the wings of a transparent dragonfly.
Song You narrowed her eyes and asked in a low voice, “What is going on with her?”
Chen Chi replied in a low voice as well, “It looks like a fever. I just checked with a thermometer; it’s 39 degrees Celsius.”
Song You frowned unconsciously, took out her phone to make a call, and while keeping her eyes on Zhong Yu on the sofa, lowered her voice even further.
Five minutes later, Song You’s personal doctor rushed over without stopping, carrying two suitcases and sweating profusely, “I rushed right over as soon as I got off the plane. What kind of difficult and complicated medical case does Young President Song need me to handle?”
After a round of diagnosis, the doctor widened her eyes in astonishment: it was just a fever! From the tone of Song You’s voice on the phone, she thought someone was dying!
Chen Chi asked, “How is it? Is it serious?”
“High fever. But this level of fever wouldn’t cause fainting; it’s likely caused by hypoglycemia.”
With a cold expression, Song You spoke after a moment, “It’s not hypoglycemia. She has vasovagal syncope.”
The secretary beside them experienced a violent eyelid twitch, her heart for gossip burning fiercely.
Knowing this much? There is a story here!
Who doesn’t love listening to their boss’s gossip? She was already prepared to share it with the hungry little meerkats in the company’s small chat group!
Song You lowered her eyes, her expression devoid of emotion, and simply reached out to expertly lift the drowsy Zhong Yu, laying her flat on the sofa.
The pampered young lady used to have a frail constitution. Who knows how she ended up like this; she would faint regardless of the occasion, and once she even collapsed suddenly while crossing the street, scaring her whole family out of their wits.
Ever since then, Song You never dared to stay too far away from her wherever she went. Zhong Yu also known she had this issue, and every time she woke up, she would burrow into her girlfriend’s arms, calling out her pet name in a soft voice.
“My head hurts, Youyou…”
A tiny, delicate murmur suddenly escaped the quiet, empty lounge, light as the wind.
The doctor, who was busy preparing fever-reducing medicine, paused and muttered curiously, “What is she saying?”
The secretary calmly poured warm water while perking up her ears to eavesdrop.
No one noticed Song You’s frozen expression, which for a fleeting moment seemed dragged back to the past by a stuffy summer breeze.
As she thought about it, the image of the past Zhong Yu unexpectedly overlapped with the present Zhong Yu. The young lady’s rosy face had turned pale and thin, her wrists had grown a size slenderer, thin calluses had sprouted on her fingertips, and her luxurious custom haute couture gown had been replaced by a plain, dust-stained shirt.
Five years, how could so much change?
Zhong Yu slowly regained consciousness, feeling only that dizziness still lingered as her pitch-black pupils gradually focused.
The moment she came to, the sight that greeted her eyes was a face she had yearned for in her dreams.
Zhong Yu froze.
Who was she? Where was she? Was she dreaming?
Chen Chi smiled, “Miss Zhong is awake.”
Zhong Yu sluggishly sat up, turning her head around like a wooden puppet with rusted joints, her eyes wide and blank, “Eh?”
Her bright eyes suddenly rounded like a startled cat’s, still filled with sleepiness and bewilderment, as if she might bristle and flee at any second.
Seeing this, the personal doctor smiled understandingly, “You have a high fever. Rest for a while.”
Song You looked back at Zhong Yu with a blank expression, her demeanor detached and nonchalant, as if indifferent.
Zhong Yu felt as though she were sitting on pins and needles.
How could she have forgotten that Polar Star was Song You’s company? She had spent the entire last night researching information about Song You, and the massive industrial scale had made her head spin. Her brain must have been fried by the fever to have completely forgotten this fact a moment ago.
She had longed to see Song You with all her heart, but Song You probably did not want to see her now.
Had she known it would turn out like this, she should have let Yang Lan come in her place.
With no one speaking, the atmosphere turned somewhat cold and heavy. Unconsciously biting her lip, Zhong Yu said politely and formally, “Thank you, Miss Song.”
Song You curled the corners of her lips, delivering a cold and sarcastic barb, “When did the great Miss Zhong become so polite?”
Zhong Yu’s complexion turned even paler. The hair hanging down her shoulders blocked her eyes; her shoulders slumped, and her spine looked angular.
Her voice was very low, “Sorry, I’ve caused trouble for you again.”
Song You paused, looking away as if disdainful of watching her, and first raised her hand to push the cold medicine on the table forward.
“Take your medicine first,” she said in a calm tone.
“Okay.” Zhong Yu lowered her head to pull down her mask. A feverish, pale pink spread across her cheeks and the tip of her nose, giving her a powdered-white complexion like a lotus flower. Her moist eyes radiated the fragility of a sickly beauty.
The secretary’s breathing hitched.
Zhong Yu?
She and President Song actually knew each other!
Song You slipped one hand into her pocket, only to see Zhong Yu swallow the medicine with her head tilted back, not blinking an eye.
She froze, putting the candied fruit she held in her palm back down.
She used to need coaxing and pampering just to take medicine, but now she was so efficient.
It seemed that without her by her side, Zhong Yu could manage to live her life neither painfully nor itchily.
Song You let out a self-deprecating, faint chuckle.
“Miss Song, how much do these medicines cost in total? I’ll transfer the money to you.” Zhong Yu washed the medicine down with water and summoned the courage to speak.
“No need.”
Zhong Yu’s tone was firm, “I have to pay you back.”
She already owed Song You too much and really didn’t want to owe her anymore. Owing money was always better than owing favors; favor debts were too hard to clear.
Song You took a deep breath, her voice very soft, “You want to clear the slate with me that badly?”
Zhong Yu didn’t catch it clearly, “What?”
Song You glanced at her and said indifferently, “Pay me back if you want to.”
Zhong Yu picked up the medicine box to inspect it, only to find they were all expensive imported medications, causing her to instantly worry about her wallet.
“These boxes of medicine aren’t expensive, a total of five hundred.” The doctor began nearby, but suddenly felt a chill down her spine, as if receiving a fatal signal from someone.
Why was President Song staring at her at a time like this? How terrifying!
She tentatively changed her tune, “Fifty?”
The gaze felt like pins on her back. No, that was quoting too low.
“Five thousand and more?” The doctor altered her words with a sudden flash of inspiration.
Song You calmly withdrew her gaze and lowered her head to sip her tea.
So expensive…
Zhong Yu drew a sharp breath.
Blinking, her cheeks instantly flushed with embarrassment, “I don’t have that much money right now. I’ll pay you back as soon as I get my paycheck, okay?”
Song You stared at her without blinking.
A Zhong Yu like this felt utterly foreign to Song You.
The Zhong Yu she looked up to had been proud and radiant in every smile and expression, with even the wisps of her fluffy hair flowing with the sweet taste of being pampered.
The present Zhong Yu sat inside a pristine, sunlit skyscraper, penniless and broke, her slender body curled into a small ball like a sensitive hedgehog defending itself against the outside world. She looked truly destitute and pitiful, as if she could be easily kneaded in the palm of one’s hand.
“Sure.” Song You suddenly curved the corners of her lips with a hint of satisfaction, her smile casual, “When?”
“Probably around the beginning of next month.” Zhong Yu was momentarily dazzled by her smile and spoke hesitantly, “Can you leave me your contact information, please?”
Song You unlocked her phone and flashed the QR code on her screen toward her, “Fine.”
The personal doctor sighed from the side, “Wow, President Song was so nervous after watching you faint just now. I thought you guys were good friends, but you didn’t even have each other’s contact info?”
Song You was nervous about me?
Zhong Yu’s breathing hitched. She subconsciously looked toward Song You, feeling as though her heart had been gripped tightly by a fist, struggling and beating violently.
“Just high school classmates.”
Song You’s smile faded somewhat, her tone a nonchalant calm, “Miss Zhong and I aren’t very close.”