Chapter 69: Charge for Love |
“Sorry, I went to sleep right after I got back last night. I just saw your message.”
The next morning, Shen Siyuan was having breakfast when he received a message from Jiang Taozhi.
“It's fine, rest is the most important thing.”
Shen Siyuan casually replied. Since he had decided to give it a try with Ruan Hongzhuang, he extinguished any thoughts of pursuing Jiang Taozhi.
Just as he was about to put his mobile phone away, another WeChat message popped up.
“Boyfriend, good morning.”
Shen Siyuan nearly spat out the breakfast in his mouth.
“Who greets people like this?” Shen Siyuan.
“How else?” Ruan Hongzhuang.
“Good morning.” Good morning.
“That's fine.”
The two had talked late into the night. Although they hadn't met up, their relationship seemed to have become much more familiar.
“You still haven't said good morning to me.”
Shen Siyuan: …
“Good morning.” Shen Siyuan could only send her that one line.
Her by-the-book way of dating was, frankly, a little funny, yet also quite adorable.
“I posted something on my Moments.”
“Oh.”
“Oh? Frown.jpg.”
“Do you need me to like it?” Shen Siyuan asked tentatively.
“I rarely post on my Moments,” Ruan Hongzhuang said.
So Shen Siyuan immediately opened her Moments, only to find a single, lonely post that had just been published this morning.
A casual snapshot of the rising sun, paired with a caption.
“A gentle breeze brushes my face, the morning sun fills the sky.”
A very simple caption, but one could almost feel the joy within the words.
Only then would one feel the wind was warm and the sunlight was pleasant.
So Shen Siyuan gave her a like and also left a comment: "Time is young, the sun is warm."
The moment his comment was posted, he saw another comment and a like appear on Ruan Hongzhuang's Moments post.
Only mutual friends could see each other's likes and comments.
Shen Siyuan and Ruan Hongzhuang had only one mutual friend, and that was Jiang Taozhi.
Her comment was very direct.
“Wow, Boss, you seem to be in a great mood today?”
But immediately after, another one refreshed.
It was clear Jiang Taozhi had seen Shen Siyuan's reply.
“Something's not right, very not right…”
“Let me formally introduce you.
My boyfriend, Shen Siyuan.” Shen Siyuan saw Ruan Hongzhuang's reply.
“What's going on, am I still dreaming? I'm going to wash my face.”
“Hurry up and get to work, don't be late again.”
“Sister, is this really the time to be talking about that? I take one nap, and you get a boyfriend?”
…
The two had actually started their own private chat under the Moments post.
Since Shen Siyuan was only friends with the two of them, he could only see their conversation.
But Ruan Hongzhuang and Jiang Taozhi had far too many mutual friends, including Jiang Wenxin.
In an instant, Ruan Hongzhuang's WeChat blew up.
It was hard to say if it was because this was her first relationship and she was a bit giddy, wanting to announce to the whole world that she had a boyfriend, or if it was just her personality, disdaining to hide her feelings.
“Ruan Ruan's personality is just like that.” Grandma Su gave Shen Siyuan the answer.
When Shen Siyuan came downstairs in the morning, he saw Grandma Su waiting for him.
Clearly, she knew about him and Ruan Hongzhuang.
Shen Siyuan felt a bit awkward when he first saw her.
Before they parted last night, he had been adamant that the two of them weren't suitable, but in the blink of an eye, they had become a couple.
Grandma Su was someone who understood people well and didn't mock Shen Siyuan for it.
Instead, she happily thanked Shen Siyuan.
“Whether it ends in regret or hurt, Ruan Ruan needs a relationship.
Of course, my greatest hope is that you two will grow old together and spend your lives with each other.”
Grandma Su's perspective was somewhat similar to Ruan Hongzhuang's.
It's often said that women of a certain caliber have the hardest time finding a partner. Ruan Hongzhuang was already twenty-eight this year, long past the age for marriage discussions.
But on one hand, due to her personality, there were very few men who could move her heart.
On the other hand, she was too outstanding, and very few men were worthy of her.
——
“What's going on? What's going on?”
Jiang Taozhi didn't even have time for breakfast. With her hair all disheveled, she burst into the Company.
Her eyes were wide as she stared at Ruan Hongzhuang, who was sitting behind the boss's desk, holding a cup of coffee with a calm expression.
“What 'what's going on'? It's just as you see.
I think he's not bad, he thinks I'm okay, so we decided to try dating.” Ruan Hongzhuang took a sip of her coffee and said nonchalantly.
But the slight upturn of her lips betrayed her feigned indifference.
“Isn't this a little too fast? I just slept for a night, and my potential boyfriend is gone? Didn't you say you wouldn't fight me for him?”
Jiang Taozhi thought of the text message from last night.
“It's only 'fighting' if he's yours. If he's not yours, how can it be called fighting?” Ruan Hongzhuang said.
“That… makes sense,” Jiang Taozhi said subconsciously.
But then she snapped back to reality.
“Makes sense my ass! This is way too fast!”
“If I wasn't fast, he was going to pursue you.”
“What do you mean?”
“Literally what it means.
He said he has a very good impression of you and wanted to try dating you…”
Jiang Taozhi looked mortified. Sister, can you really say these things right to my face?
“I asked him, what did he think of me?”
“He said I was great, but he felt we might not be a good fit.
He probably thinks my personality is too aggressive.” It was obvious Ruan Hongzhuang understood what Shen Siyuan meant.
“If that's the case, how did you two get together?”
“We're not 'together,' we're just trying it out first.”
Jiang Taozhi was very displeased to hear this.
“He clearly likes me, so how could he turn around and start liking you?”
“He doesn't 'like' you, he just thinks you're nice. He also thinks I'm great, just that you might be more suitable for him,” Ruan Hongzhuang corrected her.
She really disliked that sentence. What did she mean, 'likes you'?
“Fine, let's not talk about that.
So how did you two start dating?”
“I said, if we don't try dating, how will we know if we're suitable? He thought that made sense, so we decided to try dating first…”
Jiang Taozhi didn't know what to say.
She just stared at Ruan Hongzhuang with wide eyes.
Ruan Hongzhuang felt a little uncomfortable under her gaze, feeling as if she owed her something, so she asked gently, “Have you had breakfast?”
Jiang Taozhi shook her head. She had rushed over and hadn't had time to eat breakfast.
Ruan Hongzhuang opened a drawer, took out a piece of bread, and handed it to her.
Jiang Taozhi took it and sighed.
“You're always so decisive in your work. I never thought you'd be just as decisive in matters of the heart.”
She wasn't actually angry or sad about her 'boyfriend' being 'stolen.' She even felt happy for Ruan Hongzhuang.
After all, it was her first time meeting Shen Siyuan, and they were still strangers. She just didn't know how to explain this to Jiang Wenxin.
“But I just don't get it. What is it about him that attracted you so much that you couldn't wait?”
Jiang Taozhi asked curiously as she tore open the bread wrapper.
“Huh, that's not right?”
“What's wrong?”
“This bread is expired.”
“Oh~”
“And isn't this the one I gave you last time?”
“Is it? Possibly.
It has been in my drawer for a while.”
Jiang Taozhi suddenly felt that something was off about their conversation.
It was as if they weren't really talking about the bread.