On the last working day of the studio before the Chinese New Year, Shen Zhaoran, as the boss, was caught by Ruan Yan just as she was about to slack off at the office door.
“Have you finished your work before you try to run away?”
“I finished it yesterday. I only came today to pick up the brooch.”
“?”
“The one you’re giving to your brother?”
“Yes.”
“Hasn’t it been finished for a long time? Why haven’t you given it to him yet?”
“I ran into some unexpected issues.”
Ruan Yan leaned closer to gossip, “So, is Xie Cangyue living at your place now?”
Shen Zhaoran shook her head. “My brother found a place for her outside, but she wasn’t willing to move into our home.”
After leaving the Xia family home that day, Xie Cangyue had talked with Shen Junhuai again and expressed that she still insisted on her previous viewpoint and did not intend to move into the Shen household.
Ruan Yan asked again, “Is she easy to get along with?”
Shen Zhaoran replied, “It depends on the person. She seems to be on bad terms with my brother.”
Ruan Yan was filled with questions, and for a moment, she doubted who had been swapped with whom.
Seeing Shen Zhaoran’s serious expression, she finally just quipped, “You are indeed Shen Junhuai’s biological sister. Your personalities are both just as strange.”
Shen Zhaoran couldn’t help but retort, “How is my brother strange?”
Ruan Yan pointed toward the front gate. “Go, go, go, hurry up and go.”
She couldn’t stand sibling-obsessed people.
Shen Zhaoran ran away with her bag on her back.
She arrived at Hengyu by car, took the elevator card Xuan Zuo had given her earlier, and went upstairs without any obstacles.
The staff in the General Management Office were not surprised to see her. The young secretary even smiled and pointed toward Shen Junhuai’s office at the very end.
Shen Zhaoran asked, “You knew I was coming?”
The young secretary nodded. “President Shen said to buy a cake from Qingzhi, so we guessed it.”
Qingzhi was a dessert shop that Shen Zhaoran frequented. Unless she was coming, Shen Junhuai would not specifically order cake from there.
Shen Zhaoran stood there in silence.
Shen Junhuai was not working properly, so why was he checking her location?
Could they not let her prepare a surprise?
Shen Zhaoran curled her lips, knocked on the door a few times, and only pushed it open after hearing a “Come in.”
Shen Junhuai looked up at her from a pile of documents. “Is the holiday starting?”
Shen Zhaoran nodded. She walked closer, took out a jewelry box, and handed it to him. “A gift for you.”
Shen Junhuai opened it to see the surprise he had already known about early on, yet he still couldn’t help but raise the corners of his lips.
Shen Zhaoran leaned against his desk and raised her proud little chin. “I knew you would like it.”
She didn’t use the sapphire she bought earliest, nor the one she bought from Wei Li. Instead, she had someone help her buy a new piece of raw stone, selected the piece she was most satisfied with from inside, and then polished it into the finished product herself.
Shen Junhuai put the brooch away and said, “Eat something and play for a while. I will get off work early today.”
Shen Zhaoran said, “I still have to go find Cangyue.”
Shen Junhuai asked, “What are you looking for her for?”
Shen Zhaoran said, “I prepared a gift for her too, but she has to go to the hospital to stay overnight tonight, so I thought I would come directly to the company to give it to her.”
Shen Junhuai suddenly realized that he had become the secondary priority.
He calmly put the item away and gave a few more instructions before telling her that Xie Cangyue was in the Development Department.
Shen Zhaoran was already used to it. After answering haphazardly, she carried her things and went to the Development Department.
Unlike Shen Zhaoran, who had entered the company through a blatant back door, Xie Cangyue had genuinely gone through the standard process to join. Although she had been a department supervisor at Huiying, Huiying was a small company compared to Hengyu, which meant Xie Cangyue’s starting position was bound not to be very high.
Shen Junhuai intended to cultivate her well, which was why he arranged for her to be in the Development Department. As long as her own abilities were strong enough, reaching a high position would be a matter of time.
Shen Zhaoran found the Development Department, stood at the door, sent a message to Xie Cangyue, and then leaned against the wall, waiting in boredom while occasionally looking up.
As a result, before she could wait for Xie Cangyue, she randomly encountered other colleagues who were preparing to go to the pantry. When the other party saw Shen Zhaoran standing at the door, they were startled, saying, “Eldest Miss!”
There were all kinds of names they called her in the company, so she was used to it.
Shen Zhaoran smiled and greeted, “Good afternoon.”
“Good afternoon!”
Seeing that she was completely frozen, Shen Zhaoran had no choice but to continue smiling while pressing on her shoulder to turn her in the other direction. “Go get your water.”
Another minute passed, and Xie Cangyue came out.
Shen Zhaoran pulled her to a corner before handing the handbag over. “A welcome gift for you, even though it is a bit late.”
“This is a bracelet designed by my studio, one of a kind.”
She had thought about it before: most of what she owned now was given by her family, and anything she sent seemed to be taking things that originally belonged to Xie Cangyue and then resending them to her.
In the end, she designed the blueprint herself and rushed to complete a bracelet.
“Thank you. I have nothing to give you in return, but the New Year is almost here, so here is some lucky money for you.”
Shen Zhaoran responded with a questioning look.
In the end, when Shen Zhaoran returned holding the red envelope, she still felt it was a bit absurd.
Shen Junhuai saw the red envelope in her hand at a glance and asked her where she got it from.
Shen Zhaoran explained, “It’s a red envelope from Cangyue. She said she might not be able to meet me during the New Year, so she gave it in advance.”
Shen Junhuai listened in silence.
But in the end, they met again before the New Year.
Because Xie Xiangxue had matched with a suitable heart donor, the surgery was scheduled for the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month.
This was the second time Shen Zhaoran had seen Xie Xiangxue. Her condition seemed to be even worse, but her gaze toward Xie Cangyue remained exceptionally gentle.
She also saw Shen Zhaoran and said softly, “Our Nan-nan has friends to accompany her now.”
Xie Cangyue’s complexion was currently worse than Xie Xiangxue’s. She could only force a smile. “We can still have New Year’s Eve dinner together when you come out.”
Xie Xiangxue thought the child was being silly, wondering how she could eat right after finishing surgery, but she still smiled and agreed.
Afraid that too many people coming would make Xie Xiangxue suspicious, only Shen Junhuai accompanied them this time.
While communicating with the doctor, he had to turn his head from time to time to look at the situation of his two sisters. Finally, he patted Xie Cangyue’s shoulder and reminded her, “It’s time to go in.”
Xie Cangyue seemed to have only just regained her senses. She comforted Xie Xiangxue, saying, “You’ll be out after a sleep. It will be very quick.”
Although Xie Xiangxue was smiling, she couldn’t help but shed tears. Originally, she had thought about at least accompanying Xie Cangyue to finish this year.
Xie Cangyue watched her being pushed into the operating room. In an instant, she thought of many things, yet it was as if she hadn’t thought of anything at all.
Shen Junhuai wanted Xie Cangyue to go to the lounge to rest, but she didn’t react. Seeing her like this, Shen Zhaoran wasn’t willing to leave either, so she stood beside Xie Cangyue and said, “I will stay to keep you company.”
Shen Junhuai had no choice but to press both of them onto the chairs, saying, “At least sit down and wait.”
After a while, Shen Chengshan and Xia Qiaoya also arrived.
Seeing the two children sitting at the entrance, Xia Qiaoya felt as if a heavy stone were pressing down on her heart. She urged, “Eat something.”
Before coming, she had heard from Little Zhu that Xie Cangyue hadn’t eaten anything since yesterday and didn’t seem to have slept either. She had the kitchen cook some sweet soup, packed it in small bowls, and brought it out so they could eat immediately.
Xie Cangyue’s lips were pale. She shook her head and didn’t say anything.
Shen Zhaoran originally didn’t have much appetite, but seeing Xie Cangyue like this, she cheered herself up, took a bowl, and delivered it into Xie Cangyue’s hands. “Big sister, eat something. The chef at home has excellent skills.”
Xie Cangyue was startled by her calling her big sister.
Looking at the way she gazed at her, Xie Cangyue finally began to eat.
Seeing this, everyone let out a sigh of relief.