Hearing the tension in Lin Yanbei’s voice, Lin Shiyu laughed gently to soothe her. “It’s fine. Didn’t you just see her today? Did she look like anything was wrong with her?”
Lin Yanbei’s tight grip on the shopping cart relaxed. She had almost forgotten that just earlier today, she had encountered a fully intact, vitalized Jiang Ran who had scolded her with plenty of vigor.
“It was acute urticaria. She was fine once she got to the hospital and was put on an IV drip. Still, it was quite dangerous; if things had gone wrong, it could have caused asphyxiation and been fatal. We called the police at the time, and the investigation revealed that the thermos Jiang Ran was drinking from contained traces of what appeared to be shrimp roe. Jiang Ran is severely allergic to shrimp, which triggered the acute urticaria.”
“When the police brought Yin Xu in for questioning, he claimed he had ordered sushi for lunch, but Jiang Ran hadn’t eaten any. He suggested that when he helped Jiang Ran refill her water, some shrimp roe might have accidentally transferred onto the thermos lid.”
Hearing this, Lin Yanbei silently returned the sushi from her shopping cart back to the refrigerated display counter.
Lin Shiyu continued, “Who would believe that, right? Qin Ji asked someone to look into it, only to find out that the local architectural association in Shenchuan City had already been in private contact with Yin Xu for a long time. In the end, that project indeed went to a local construction firm in Shenchuan. Coupled with the fact that he hastily resigned right after the incident and left Jingdu for Shenchuan… the precise details are impossible to prove now, but some things don’t strictly rely on legal evidence; as long as everyone knows what happened in their hearts, nobody is a fool. This industry isn’t that big. As long as he stays in this field, even in Shenchuan, running into him is only a matter of time.”
“That bastard Yin Xu is smart in a way. His cleverest move was making sure everything he did was directed strictly against Jiang Ran as an individual, keeping it entirely free of commercial trace. As long as Jiang Ran didn’t press charges, he could walk away completely scot-free. And in fact, Jiang Ran really didn’t pursue it. It seems he understands Jiang Ran very well, doesn’t he?”
“However, his foolishness lies in the same place. He self-righteously thought that taking this ‘gift of loyalty’ to Shenchuan would secure him a brighter future, that he could be a glamorous architect instead of remaining a low-level assistant. Little did he realize that the path Jiang Ran was paving for him was infinitely better than anything he could have planned for himself. If he had only been patient and waited a little longer…”
Lin Shiyu paused suddenly and gave a soft, dry laugh. “Then none of this would have had anything to do with you.”
Lin Yanbei frowned inexplicably upon hearing those words.
Lin Shiyu went on, “Yanbeibei, Jiang Ran is the absolute best resource your little aunt could ever find for you. You’ve been smart since you were small; I know you understand that I’m not telling you this just to gossip. As for Sun Wen scheming against you, even though you didn’t tell Jiang Ran, she probably guessed the rough outline of it, which is why she handled it for you. If you feel uncomfortable about it, I’ll go settle the score for you when I get back. But don’t hold a grudge against Jiang Ran. I brought you to D&A to be her assistant for the sake of your career. But she is also my best partner and friend; you must not pick on her…”
Her throat parched from talking so much, Lin Shiyu wanted to add a few more earnest warnings.
Lin Yanbei interrupted her, “Little Aunt, I was the one who got scolded today.”
Imagining the sheer absurdity of herself picking on or bullying Jiang Ran, Lin Yanbei let out a brief, ironic laugh.
Lin Shiyu replied, “Ah, well, you know what I mean! Just get along well with her, and when I get back, we’ll all grab a meal together. I won’t keep you any longer; I’m going to take a quick shower and soak in an indoor hot spring later. Hanging up now.”
Putting her phone away, Lin Yanbei realized she happened to be standing right in front of a display stand for a brand of thermoses. A sleek white thermos caught her eye.
She lowered her gaze, looking at the cheap wet wipes and her unplanned dinner sitting in her shopping cart, and let out a quiet sigh.
Leaning against the side cabinet at home, Lin Yanbei picked up the neatly packaged thermos and stretched her arm out into thin air.
“Architect Jiang, I’m sorry about yesterday. This is to make it up to you…”
She pulled her hand back, flexed the corners of her mouth, and extended it once more.
“Um, the packaging hasn’t been opened yet… You can use it for now…”
After rehearsing twice, she still withdrew her hand.
It’s too awkward. No, this won’t work.
She felt a touch of regret. Why on earth had she bought it on a sudden whim? She was already running low on money, and this thermos wasn’t cheap either…
Lin Yanbei had to admit that the slight resentment she had previously held toward Jiang Ran had completely vanished after hearing the full story from Lin Shiyu.
Not only was the anger gone, but she even felt a strange sense of empathy. She found herself empathizing deeply with the backstabbed Jiang Ran. So much so that upon seeing an identical thermos, she had eagerly bought one, wanting to give it to her as compensation.
The next morning at work, Lin Yanbei arrived very early as usual. She glared fiercely at Sun Wen, who was getting coffee in the pantry area, mentally rehearsing how she would snap back if Sun Wen dared to speak to her again.
However, Sun Wen neither had the thick skin to initiate a conversation nor the hostility to pick a fight; she simply acted as if Lin Yanbei were invisible. On the other hand, when other colleagues arrived, they would nod or greet her politely.
Jiang Ran arrived right on the dot, carrying a brand-new gray thermos in her hand. As she walked past Lin Yanbei, her gaze flicked briefly toward her.
Lin Yanbei felt immensely relieved that she hadn’t done anything unnecessary. She decided that the white thermos in her bag would be better off sitting quietly on her side cabinet at home, or perhaps she could look for the receipt to see if she could return it.
She settled down to focus on organizing the task briefs and inter-departmental files in her hands. Then, she pulled up the corresponding completed construction drawings on her computer and began systematically summarizing D&A’s project workflows, working with deep concentration.
Once the work at hand reached a temporary stopping point, Jiang Ran raised her wrist to check the time. It was already past 12:00 PM. D&A’s lunch break started at 11:30 AM, so the cafeteria should be less crowded by now.
Pushing her door open, she saw Lin Yanbei with half a pastry hanging from her mouth, still rustling through the documents in her hands.
Jiang Ran leaned against the doorframe and watched for a moment, noticing that although Lin Yanbei worked in an unhurried manner, she was deeply engrossed and not distracted in the slightest.
Stepping closer to take a look, she saw that the spreadsheet on the screen was already filled with a considerable amount of organized information. Even if it was just for her own reference, her list maintained a crisp and clear logic.
With just a single glance, Jiang Ran could immediately understand which project it was, what had occurred at each phase of the engineering progress, and how problems were resolved. This was usually proof that the person making the table had a clear mind and fluent logical thinking.
Jiang Ran tilted her head slightly and noticed a question mark typed at the end of the table, accompanied by a note: Missing files after multiple rounds of submissions?
Unable to resist, she spoke up, “Do you have an account for the collaboration platform? You can log in there to check.”
To her surprise, the Lin Yanbei in front of her suddenly went rigid at the neck. Stiffening up, she turned around, and upon seeing Jiang Ran, her neck went rigid once more.
Was she startled?
Lin Yanbei repeatedly patted her own chest, twisting in a flurry of panic.
The large bite of pastry she had just stuffed into her mouth hadn’t even been chewed yet, and now it was stuck in her throat!
Realizing what was happening, Jiang Ran hurriedly looked around for water. She grabbed Lin Yanbei’s cup, only to find it completely dry, so she rushed to the pantry to fetch half a cup of water for her.
Lin Yanbei chugged the water in large gulps. After swallowing forcefully, she felt the lump in her throat slowly sliding down. Bit by bit, it finally moved, and she let out a long breath of relief.
Jiang Ran reached out to gently stroke her back, asking, “Are you feeling any better?”
Choked to the point of tearing up involuntarily, Lin Yanbei snatched a tissue and hurriedly covered her face. “I’m fine, I’m fine… It’s nothing…”
She truly didn’t want to make a fool of herself in front of Jiang Ran ever again, but why did it end up like this every single time!
Jiang Ran breathed a sigh of relief, pulled out two more tissues, and handed them over. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“It’s fine, really,” Lin Yanbei replied, wishing she could cover her entire face with the tissues. The surrounding noises were becoming lively; it seemed some colleagues had returned from lunch.
Am I going to be misunderstood again? Is another rumor going to spread that Jiang Ran scolded me to tears?
Noticing her embarrassment, Jiang Ran gently took hold of her wrist, pulling her hand away from her face. She looked toward the doorway and asked, “Would you like to come down to the cafeteria with me and sit for a while?”
Lin Yanbei revealed a pair of flushed, puppy-like eyes again and hesitated before muttering, “I suppose so…”