Chapter 31

At this hour, several floors of the building housing the Chunxiang Studio were still lit; many companies were working overtime.

Someone headed downstairs to the delivery lockers to pick up their food. As she returned, the elevator was just about to go up, and she hurried over to press the call button. The doors, which had just closed, reopened to reveal a man standing inside.

The man stood with one hand in his pocket, his expression languid and indifferent. He merely glanced at her as the doors slid open.

As the elevator ascended to her floor and stopped, the man stepped out. Once the doors closed behind him, she opened WeChat and sent a message to a colleague:
—I just saw a super handsome man in the elevator!
—I’m wide awake now!

Ji Xi stepped out of the elevator and bumped into Yuanyuan, who was returning from the restroom.
Yuanyuan paused. "Mr. Ji?"
"Are you here to see Sharon?"

Ji Xi nodded slightly and asked, "Is she in her office?"
Yuanyuan nodded. "I’ll take you there. Though she just had someone go in."

Inside the Chunxiang office, everyone was busy either sketching or modeling. Wu Tianqi was also working overtime on research. Hearing the interns whispering in the next room, he looked up.
"Ji Xi." Wu Tianqi waved at him.
Ji Xi walked over.
Wu Tianqi asked, "Are you here to wait for Sister Ran to get off work?"
Ji Xi gave a soft "Mm" and asked, "Are you all very busy lately?"
Wu Tianqi replied, "Yeah. We were already busy, but with a client presentation tomorrow, it’s even worse."

After Shu Shiran finished talking to an architect, the person had just left when her office door was knocked again.
"Come in."
She heard the door open and close, and the sound of footsteps, but a few seconds passed without the visitor speaking. She looked up and saw that it was Ji Xi.
"Have a seat for a moment."

The Chunxiang Studio only had about a dozen people, and their office space wasn't large. Shu Shiran’s office was also modest; besides her desk, there was a small seating area with a sofa and a coffee table. Despite the limited space, it was carefully curated. The models on the shelves, the blueprints on the table, and the coffee beans were all traces of her work.

With another person in the room, it remained quiet. Shu Shiran was reviewing the drawings they had sent over, and the only sounds were her mouse clicks and typing. After finishing a sentence, she couldn't help but look away from the screen to see what Ji Xi was doing, only to find herself meeting his eyes.

She paused and found a topic. "How was the dinner party tonight?"
Ji Xi leaned against the sofa, his posture weary and relaxed. His suit jacket lay beside him, a sleeve dangling off the edge of the sofa. The cool, white light of the office cast his shadow to one side.
"It was alright. I ran into that guy surnamed Zhou."
He raised an eyebrow, adding with a touch of disdain, "He wasn't much."
"..."

Shu Shiran hadn't thought much of it initially, but now that he brought it up, she felt an inexplicable sense of guilt, as if her presence had diminished in front of him. She then thought to herself, he was just someone who had pursued her. She had never asked him which women were by his side during his own social engagements or what he did.

Noticing the shift in her gaze—as if he had offended her—Ji Xi raised an eyebrow. "Can’t I, as your husband, even ask?"

Just then, there was a knock at the office door. Shu Shiran didn't continue the topic.
"Come in."
It was Yuanyuan, carrying two bags.
"What is it?" Shu Shiran asked.
Yuanyuan glanced at Ji Xi sitting on the sofa and said, "The delivery person said this was a meal Mr. Ji ordered for us."
Shu Shiran looked at Ji Xi.
Ji Xi stood up, walked over, took the bags from Yuanyuan, and said to her, "You guys can eat the rest."
Yuanyuan: "Okay. Thank you on behalf of everyone, Mr. Ji."
Yuanyuan didn't intrude further and left, closing the door behind her.
Ji Xi turned with the bags and looked at Shu Shiran. "Want to eat something?"

Shu Shiran hadn't eaten much for dinner, so she was actually a bit hungry. Ji Xi had ordered congee and rice rolls from a restaurant they had visited together before.
After eating, Shu Shiran said, "I still need about half an hour; it’s taking a bit longer than I expected."
Ji Xi gave a soft "Mm" and tilted his chin toward a stack of sketches nearby. "Can I take a look?"
Shu Shiran nodded.
Those were all her hand-drawn drafts. Some were fairly complete, others only showed partial structures. Though rough, the lines were clean and precise, with notes written in the margins.

The office fell quiet again. Ji Xi flipped through them for a while, then started replying to messages, stepping out twice to take calls. By the time he returned from the second call, Shu Shiran had just shut down her computer.
Ji Xi: "Ready to go?"
"Yes."

It was past eleven when they left the office. Ji Xi had been drinking that night, so his car had already been driven back by someone else. He took Shu Shiran’s car.
After getting in and fastening her seatbelt, her phone rang. It was a call from Xu Ying.
She answered: "Ah Ying?"
Xu Ying: "Ran Ran, did you know Yan Yan is in the hospital?"
Shu Shiran: "Hospital? What happened to her?"
Xu Ying: "I just called her, and her secretary answered. She said she’s hospitalized with food poisoning."
Shu Shiran: "Is it serious?"
Xu Ying: "Should be fine. I happen to be nearby, so I’m heading over to check on her."
Shu Shiran: "I just got off work and haven't gone home yet. Which hospital?"

After the call, Xu Ying sent the hospital address. Shu Shiran checked it; it wasn't far. She looked at Ji Xi.
Ji Xi: "I’ll go with you."
He raised his eyes and added, "Or did you want to dump me at your office?"
Shu Shiran had intended for him to go back on his own. What did he mean by "dumping" him at the office? Forget it.

**

When they arrived at the hospital, they happened to see Xu Ying and Cheng Yexiu.
"Ah Ying," Shu Shiran called out.
Xu Ying turned and looked surprised to see Shu Shiran and Ji Xi together.
Cheng Yexiu and Ji Xi knew each other and had professional dealings; last year, Cheng Yexiu had even invited Ji Xi to his birthday party. The two men exchanged nods.

There were no set visiting hours for the private hospital’s VIP ward. The four of them entered the elevator together, and Shu Shiran asked Xu Ying about what she knew.
Zheng Tingyan had only just woken up and was still on an IV. She had rarely had a free night, so she had a whim to cook for herself at home. Only hours after eating, she began to feel unwell, gradually growing faint, nauseous, and suffering from severe stomach pain. She had quickly called property management to get her to the hospital.

Hearing a knock at the door, she guessed it was Xu Ying. After she woke up, her secretary had told her Xu Ying had called to say she was coming.
"Come in."
When four people walked in, Zheng Tingyan was stunned.
Shu Shiran saw Zheng Tingyan’s pale face and asked, "Yan Yan, how are you feeling now?"
Zheng Tingyan: "Better."
She looked at Cheng Yexiu and Ji Xi standing behind them and greeted them.
Zheng Tingyan asked Shu Shiran, "Did Ah Ying tell you?"
Shu Shiran nodded. "Why are you alone? Where’s your secretary?"
"I sent her home; there are nurses here anyway," Zheng Tingyan said. "I’m really fine. I’m sorry to have dragged you all out so late."
Xu Ying: "We feel better seeing you for ourselves. What did you eat?"
Zheng Tingyan coughed lightly. "I cooked a meal myself."

Shu Shiran: "..."
Xu Ying: "..."
The room went quiet for a few seconds. Ji Xi and Cheng Yexiu said they would go to the nurse's station to check on her condition, leaving the women to talk.
After they left, Zheng Tingyan said, "Why did you bring those two big Buddhas along? It’s just food poisoning, such a fuss."
With four people showing up, anyone would think something major had happened. Shu Shiran hadn't expected Xu Ying to come with Cheng Yexiu either.
Xu Ying: "Cheng Yexiu happened to be home and offered to drive me over."
She looked at Shu Shiran.
Zheng Tingyan also looked at Shu Shiran. "It’s one thing for Cheng Yexiu to come with Ah Ying, but Ran Ran, why is Ji Xi with you so late?"
Shu Shiran: "He lives upstairs from me now."
Zheng Tingyan was shocked: "Upstairs? Did he buy it?"
Shu Shiran: "Yes."
Zheng Tingyan: "I heard the owner didn't want to sell that unit. I even offered extra money before and they wouldn't sell. How did they sell it to Ji Xi?"
Shu Shiran: "I’m not entirely sure of the details. I only found out later, too."
Zheng Tingyan felt a bit unbalanced about being treated differently.

It was very late, and after a brief chat, Zheng Tingyan urged them to go home. "Don't worry, the nurses are here."
Shu Shiran and Xu Ying didn't want to disturb her rest.
Shu Shiran: "Call us if you need anything."
Zheng Tingyan: "Got it. Don't tell anyone about this." It was quite embarrassing.
Zheng Tingyan added, "And tell those two not to say anything either." She was referring to Ji Xi and Cheng Yexiu, though they were unlikely to gossip.

As Shu Shiran and Xu Ying exited the room and closed the door, they saw Ji Xi and Cheng Yexiu standing in the hallway, talking in low voices—one looking detached and languid, the other calm and composed. Nurses were glancing their way.
Seeing them emerge, the two men stopped talking.
Ji Xi said, "She’s fine, just needs to be on an IV for three days."
Shu Shiran: "That’s good."
Ji Xi: "Ready to go back?"

They parted ways in the parking lot and headed home separately. When their cars pulled into the basement of Chuansong No. 1, it was already one in the morning.
After getting out of the car, Shu Shiran yawned and reached for the elevator button. A hand reached out, and her fingertips brushed against a warm hand.
"Sleepy?" Ji Xi pressed the elevator button with a natural motion.
Shu Shiran withdrew her hand and nodded, feeling a bit more awake from the accidental contact. They walked into the elevator one after the other.
Every day, Shu Shiran’s commute home was just the path from her parking spot to the elevator and up; tonight, she had Ji Xi with her. It felt as if they were going home together.

The elevator ascended and soon stopped at Shu Shiran’s floor. She stepped out, while Ji Xi remained inside.
Ji Xi: "Goodnight."
Shu Shiran: "Goodnight."

**

Although they had become neighbors, Shu Shiran and Ji Xi didn't see each other at all over the next two days. The studio was swamped. Dai Jiao was either reporting to clients or on her way to do so—she was a true "frequent flyer." Shu Shiran hadn't traveled much, but she had been working overtime consistently. She hadn't been back to Lubei in nearly a month. Taking advantage of some free time at noon, she called Grandma Shu.
Judging by her voice, the old lady’s spirits were still good.
"Don't work too hard, Nan Nan. Take care of yourself and don't wear yourself out."