PSMD – Chapter 153

After listening to Qiu Yang’s rough explanation, Shen Ningruo’s brows furrowed. She was somewhat surprised that Qiu Yang’s mother had sent so much money over the years, and at the same time, she was shocked by the parasitic nature of Qiu Yang’s uncle’s family.

Over 700,000 yuan was not a small sum, and 20,000 or 40,000 yuan a year was considered upper-middle class in the past.

“I still want to make up for this shortfall. I don’t want to owe my mom,” Qiu Yang exhaled deeply, lowering her gaze. “It just needs some time.”

Shen Ningruo cupped her face, her expression serious. “No, Xiao Yang, your thinking is wrong.”

Qiu Yang looked at her, her eyes conveying her confusion.

Shen Ningruo said word by word, “You don’t owe her. You barely spent any of her money. Even the 250,000 you gave away before, have you spent even 10,000 of it over the years? No.”

“The ones who owe her financially are not you, but your uncle’s family. Even if the money needs to be returned, it’s not your responsibility.”

Shen Ningruo’s voice was right beside her ear. Qiu Yang was a bit stunned at first, but her mind quickly caught up.

Indeed, she had fallen into a dead end.

During that dinner with Qiu Yan and Wen Yuan, she thought she would completely cut ties with her relatives afterward, which was why she wanted to balance things financially. But the money her mother had sent over the years had all gone into her uncle’s family’s pockets.

Ultimately, when it came to money, she was completely an outsider. She had been stubborn, thinking it was cool this way, but in the end, she was the only one who lost out.

Because she hadn’t gained anything at all.

After figuring it out, Qiu Yang patted her head. She met Shen Ningruo’s gaze. “Why didn’t I notice this before?”

The office was quiet. Shen Ningruo rubbed Qiu Yang’s head. “Have you figured it out now?”

“Yes, I have.”

“Since President Qiu wants to get that money back, let her. It’s her money anyway, and I didn’t touch any of it.”

When she was in elementary school, Qiu Zheng and Zhao Rong had taken over a shop near their home to open a restaurant. It had been operating for over ten years. Qiu Yang used to be dragged to the shop to help after school until she started boarding in high school, which gave her some relief.

She hadn’t thought about where the money came from before, but now that she knew the truth, Qiu Yang fell into silence.

Qiu Zheng’s family had used the money Qiu Yan sent for her living expenses to support themselves.

Heh.

Qiu Yang felt even less pity for them now. This outcome was their own doing. Even if she stepped in, it would only add fuel to the fire, bringing up the suffering she had endured over the years to intensify their punishment.

Unexpectedly, after a while, Wen Yuan called. His voice was muffled. “Jie… Miss Qiu, can we talk?”

Shen Ningruo stood up from beside Qiu Yang and walked to her office chair.

This was a matter between Qiu Yang and Wen Yuan; she had no intention of eavesdropping.

Even between lovers, boundaries were important. Shen Ningruo didn’t want to be someone who didn’t understand limits.

Qiu Yang glanced at her twice, then replied to Wen Yuan, “Talk about what?”

“I don’t know.” Wen Yuan’s answer was somewhat unexpected for Qiu Yang. She thought he would say something about their uncle’s family, but it was this kind of answer.

At certain moments, Qiu Yang felt that Wen Yuan was really like a younger brother, and a well-behaved one who didn’t cause trouble.

“Let’s set a place. I’m free after two o’clock,” Qiu Yang’s tone softened.

Two o’clock was Shen Ningruo’s work time, and she should leave instead of staying in the office.

Hearing this, Shen Ningruo’s ears twitched. She touched her chin, then unlocked her phone, pointed the camera at Qiu Yang, and took a photo.

Wen Yuan’s voice finally showed some fluctuation, a hint of joy. “Okay, so Jie, where do you want to go? A coffee shop or something? I’m not very familiar with Yuncheng. How about you pick the place? Where are you now? How about I come pick you up?”

Qiu Yang: “…”

She didn’t expect Wen Yuan to ask so many questions at once.

“No need, I can go myself, thank you,” Qiu Yang’s eyelid couldn’t help but twitch.

“Then where are we going?”

“How about the Jidong Dessert Shop right outside the company?”

“Okay.”

“Mm.”

Qiu Yang hung up the phone. She exhaled again, then turned around and met Shen Ningruo’s smiling eyes. Her head tilted slightly, and she sighed, “Wen Yuan is like a little puppy.”

Shen Ningruo immediately protested, “You said that about me before.”

“…No, it’s different.”

“How is it different?” Shen Ningruo raised an eyebrow, looking like she was jealous. “Even though he’s your brother, your puppy can only be me.”

Qiu Yang couldn’t help but stand up. She walked over to Shen Ningruo’s desk with a smile, resting her palms on the surface and looking into Shen Ningruo’s eyes. “I like you, Ruoruo.”

Shen Ningruo’s heart skipped a beat. She had expected Qiu Yang to say something else, but she opened her mouth with this sentence.

Because they had been comfortable with each other before, they didn’t express their affection excessively after getting together, mostly showing it through actions. But it had to be said that words still had a great impact, like stirring up waves.

Even though she had been with Qiu Yang for some time now, Shen Ningruo still felt she couldn’t completely get used to this.

“I still feel very moved,” Shen Ningruo held Qiu Yang’s hand and squeezed it, her eyes curved in a smile. The feigned jealousy from before vanished without a trace. “I like you too.”

Qiu Yang leaned forward slightly and kissed Shen Ningruo’s lips.

Yao Yao’s joke about “office play” suddenly popped into Shen Ningruo’s mind, and in a second, her face turned red.

Qiu Yang felt the position was a bit awkward, so she stood up straight after one kiss. Unexpectedly, she saw Shen Ningruo showing a rare expression of shyness.

Qiu Yang chuckled. She simply walked around the desk and squatted beside Shen Ningruo. “What are you thinking about? You look so happy.”

Shen Ningruo collected her thoughts and cleared her throat. “Nothing.”

She changed the subject. “Are you going at two o’clock?”

“Yes.”

Shen Ningruo looked at her watch, then pursed her lips. Although she would see Qiu Yang again after work, there were only a few minutes left until they parted, and she still felt a bit reluctant.

“Three more minutes,” Shen Ningruo lowered her forehead and rested it against Qiu Yang’s again.

Qiu Yang said slowly, “That’s enough.”

“Three minutes is enough for a kiss.”

Exactly at two o’clock, Qiu Yang came out of Shen Ningruo’s office. Some Qiyao employees in the office area were surprised to see her coming out of Director Shen’s room, but when they heard from colleagues that she was Director Shen’s girlfriend, they immediately understood.

Qiu Yang went straight to the underground parking lot. Even after the car door closed, her heart hadn’t returned to normal.

Kissing in the office was something she had never imagined before, but she had done it today.

It didn’t matter that it was short; the frequency of her heartbeat had directly reached its peak.

She sat in the driver’s seat and took a few deep breaths before gripping the steering wheel and heading to the “Jidong” Dessert Shop.

There was a reason for choosing this dessert shop as the location. Firstly, it was very close to Wanming, and Qiu Yang didn’t want to take up too much of Wen Yuan’s time. Secondly, she hadn’t eaten desserts from this place in a while and missed them a little. Combining these two points, Qiu Yang gave this address.

There weren’t many cars on the road now, so she only waited for two traffic lights before parking the car in a spot by the roadside.

It wasn’t even two-thirty yet, and she had already arrived. Before leaving, she had sent Wen Yuan a text message. Now that she was on the ground, she took out her phone again and sent Wen Yuan a text saying she had arrived.

Her phone rang two steps after she started walking. Just as Qiu Yang was about to answer, she saw the dessert shop door open, and Wen Yuan ran out holding a black umbrella. Like a little bodyguard, he held the umbrella over Qiu Yang’s head to block the sun.

Qiu Yang: “…”

Qiu Yang pressed reject, her face expressionless. “Let’s go.”

She had brought her own umbrella too, but had forgotten it the moment she got out of the car.

“Okay.” Wen Yuan was clearly very happy. He was a head taller than Qiu Yang; their shoulders weren’t level. He secretly glanced at her twice, then chuckled to himself. “Jie, guess how tall I am?”

Qiu Yang felt a bit helpless hearing him call her “Jie” repeatedly.

Because when they met in the HR manager’s office last time, they had made things very clear. It had only been a week, and they were meeting again.

Qiu Yang admitted she didn’t mind meeting like this because she didn’t have any ill feelings towards Wen Yuan, and his attitude towards her was even more obvious. But she couldn’t help but feel a little unaccustomed to it.

“I don’t know.” Qiu Yang glanced at the height difference between them, finally giving a number. “One eighty-five?”

Wen Yuan’s eyes lit up. “Yes, exactly one eighty-five.”

Qiu Yang’s lips curved up, and she said “Oh.” They had just reached the entrance of the dessert shop. Wen Yuan didn’t talk about anything else. He pulled open the door again, letting Qiu Yang go in first, then closed his umbrella and followed her inside.

It was working hours now, but the shop’s business was a little better than on previous weekdays because many high school graduates had come here after the college entrance exam ended recently.

Friday was no different from any other day in their eyes.

Qiu Yang saw several young faces when she went in and immediately guessed they were recent high school graduates. A few girls seemed to be on a graduation trip to Yuncheng together, carrying backpacks and chatting and laughing. When they saw Wen Yuan come in, they quietly cast admiring glances at him.

Wen Yuan was a standard handsome guy. His good looks were different from that trash Guo Ming’an. He had a vibrant youthful energy, combined with a certain depth, making him a contradiction.

“How long have you been here?” Qiu Yang remembered to ask.

Wen Yuan scratched the back of his head. “I’ve been waiting since two o’clock.”

Qiu Yang: “…”

Several desserts from the shop were already on the booth where Wen Yuan was sitting. There were classic items, newly launched ones, and some popular ones; he had ordered one of everything.

Qiu Yang looked at the table and couldn’t help but twitch her eyebrow. “Do you like desserts?”

“Not really,” Wen Yuan sat down opposite her and asked in surprise when she asked this, “Didn’t you choose this place because you like it, Jie?”

Qiu Yang put her bag aside and sighed inwardly. Just then, a bold girl walked over and nervously asked Wen Yuan, “Hi, handsome, can I add you on WeChat?”

“Sorry.”

“I just graduated from elementary school this year, I don’t have WeChat.”

Qiu Yang: “…”

Even if kids nowadays looked good, that was too much of an exaggeration!