Rong Jiqiao froze for a second, her brain briefly short-circuiting.
“…No, we’re out.”
Duan Yan tilted his head slightly, his gaze resting on her face for a moment.
“Didn’t we just buy a box last month?”
Rong Jiqiao’s face burned as if it were about to catch fire.
“I… I don’t know how it just—”
She bit her lip when a sudden pain shot through her ankle, conveniently giving her an excuse to change the subject.
“My ankle hurts a bit. Let’s just forget about it today.”
Duan Yan’s tone remained as emotionless as ever when he said things like that.
“I didn’t mean we’re doing it today.”
Rong Jiqiao wanted to dig a hole and disappear on the spot.
“I was just asking casually. Am I that much of a beast in your eyes?”
“…?”
For once, Rong Jiqiao actually heard a hint of teasing in his voice.
Suddenly, she felt like Duan Yan was also just an ordinary person living in this world.
She opened her mouth several times but still didn’t know how to respond.
In the end, Duan Yan didn’t seem interested in watching her embarrassment any longer.
He went to get a hairdryer and dried her hair for her.
Afterward, he turned off the lights and lay down beside her.
Rong Jiqiao closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep, afraid he would notice she still had energy left.
…
The next day, her ankle felt slightly better, so she went to work as usual.
There weren’t many patients at the clinic. At the front desk, Zhu Xiaoyue was holding a thermos and scrolling on her phone. When she saw Rong Jiqiao come in, she smiled brightly.
“Sister Jiqiao, what happened to your foot?”
Rong Jiqiao changed into her work uniform.
“I twisted it last night.”
Zhu Xiaoyue put down her phone and leaned closer.
“Is it serious? Didn’t your boyfriend take you to the hospital?”
“It’s fine. That’s why I’m here at work.”
“Did your boyfriend bring you here?”
“Mm-hmm.”
Zhu Xiaoyue continued,
“Sister Jiqiao, your boyfriend…”
“Where does he work?”
Rong Jiqiao’s hand paused for a moment.
“Security guard.”
Zhu Xiaoyue’s smile froze for a split second, then she let out an “oh.”
The drawn-out tone carried a slight rise at the end, as if she was chewing on the word.
Rong Jiqiao heard it clearly but said nothing.
Zhu Xiaoyue took a sip of water and sat back down, her enthusiasm noticeably fading.
“A security guard… that’s pretty stable, I guess.”
After that, she lowered her head and went back to scrolling on her phone, no longer paying attention to Rong Jiqiao.
Rong Jiqiao could tell what she meant.
She probably thought neither she nor Duan Yan had much going for them, so there was no need to invest further in the relationship—just treat them as ordinary coworkers.
Rong Jiqiao finished organizing her things and went to report to Director Lin.
Director Lin was sorting through medical records and pointed to a stack of examination forms.
“Sort these by number and distribute them to each department.”
Rong Jiqiao took them and flipped through quickly. The format was familiar—she had done similar work during her internship at a county hospital.
She worked efficiently and finished in about ten minutes.
Director Lin glanced at her.
“Quick hands and feet.”
Rong Jiqiao smiled but didn’t respond.
After work in the afternoon, Zhu Xiaoyue came over again.
“Sister Jiqiao, where do you live?”
Rong Jiqiao gave her the address.
Zhu Xiaoyue’s eyes lit up slightly.
“That area isn’t cheap, right?”
“It’s okay.”
She rested her chin on her hand.
“Can your boyfriend afford it alone?”
“We live together.”
Zhu Xiaoyue smiled.
“Then that’s better. Sharing the rent eases the pressure.”
She paused, then changed the topic.
“My boyfriend’s family has a place in the Second Ring Road.”
Rong Jiqiao looked up at her.
Zhu Xiaoyue continued,
“He said in a couple of years we’ll get married, and the house—”
“Even the car is already prepared.”
Rong Jiqiao played along enthusiastically. “Wow, that impressive? What does he do?”
“Investment,” Zhu Xiaoyue said modestly. “His family has a bit of money too.”
If this had been her personality in her past life, she probably would have been unable to hold back and started competing with her on the spot.
But luckily, she had no intention of staying here long, so there was no need for such pointless pride or arguments.
So she simply followed along and said, “I’m so envious of you.”
Zhu Xiaoyue, pleased by the praise, became more talkative and continued chatting warmly with her.
Rong Jiqiao responded casually, her mind elsewhere.
By the end of the workday, Zhu Xiaoyue’s boyfriend arrived in a Mercedes-Benz to pick her up.
Out of either kindness or condescension, Zhu Xiaoyue said, “Your leg isn’t convenient. We’ll give you a ride.”
Since it was a free ride and she didn’t need to squeeze the subway, there was no reason to refuse.
Rong Jiqiao happily agreed and limped outside.
She didn’t expect that Zhu Xiaoyue’s so-called investment boyfriend would stare at her face for several seconds without even blinking before finally reacting.
He enthusiastically opened the car door for her and asked, “A coworker?”
None of them knew that Duan Yan, who had arrived early on his electric scooter to pick her up, was standing across the street and had already seen everything.
His gaze landed on her back as she was about to get into the car. His Adam’s apple moved slightly as he pressed his lips together.
He didn’t approach.
Instead, his eyes cut through the evening traffic and settled on the black Mercedes.
The car’s body reflected the sunset light, glaringly bright.
Rong Jiqiao stood by the car door with her head lowered. The man politely held the door open, smiling as he spoke to her. She nodded slightly.
A gust of evening wind carried dust across the street.
Duan Yan narrowed his eyes slightly, lashes casting a shadow over his gaze.
The usually cold and restrained expression on his face had turned even more still—like a layer of ice had formed over it.
His brows were lowered, his eyes emotionless, fixed entirely on that car without moving at all.