PSMD – Chapter 49

Shen Ningruo had never celebrated April Fool’s Day because no one dared to play tricks on her. But it wasn’t just April Fool’s Day; she wasn’t sensitive to other holidays either. Sometimes she’d only realize it was a holiday again after seeing posts on her social media feed. And for her, statutory holidays just meant more time off.

Beyond that, she had no other thoughts.

Today, she had been busy running around and hadn’t checked her social media much, so she didn’t know it was April Fool’s Day, much less that Qiu Yang would pull something like this on her.

She really liked it.

And she finally experienced the taste of surprise she hadn’t felt in a long time. All her fatigue seemed to be swept away by Qiu Yang, leaving only warmth and joy filling her heart and eyes.

Shen Ningruo was certain she would have a good dream tonight because Qiu Yang was right beside her.

Qiu Yang was the god who granted her beautiful dreams.

They had slept together for three consecutive nights. Qiu Yang realized this upon waking up, and it actually went against her initial intention. She had planned to end this improper relationship with Shen Ningruo quickly and stop contacting each other, but the direction things were taking was completely out of her control.

But she didn’t resist it; she even thought it was quite good this way.

With Shen Ningruo by her side, she could sleep well.

Shen Ningruo’s cold was much better, and she could drive to the company today, which relieved Qiu Yang considerably.

“Remember to drink water.”

“Drinking more hot water helps you recover faster.”

Before they parted ways, Qiu Yang reminded her twice. She genuinely hoped Shen Ningruo would get better soon.

No one liked being tormented by a cold.

Shen Ningruo smiled, “I know.”

She paused, “I’ll send you a text message after I drink a glass of water.”

Qiu Yang heard the hidden meaning in that sentence. She pursed her lips, then lowered her head, unlocked her phone, and presented her WeChat QR code to Shen Ningruo, her expression and tone calm: “Scan it.”

Shen Ningruo’s eyes curved with a smile, “Our Xiao Yang is really smart.”

She had deliberately emphasized “text message” just now to imply that she hadn’t added Qiu Yang on WeChat yet.

They had known each other for almost a month and interacted frequently, yet they hadn’t even added each other on WeChat.

Actually, it wasn’t strictly necessary since they had each other’s phone numbers, but Shen Ningruo just felt like something was missing.

When they were in Xicheng, they never brought this up; they had such tacit understanding then. But even back then, Shen Ningruo felt a bit of regret. Now, that regret was completely gone.

“Okay,” Shen Ningruo sent the verification request and waited for Qiu Yang to accept before closing her phone with satisfaction.

Qiu Yang hummed in acknowledgment, “Then let’s go.”

“You’ll be late for work if you don’t leave now.”

“Alright.” Shen Ningruo’s voice lifted slightly at the end again, though she still had a bit of a nasal tone, making it sound a little muffled, without that previous leisurely feel. She didn’t mind it herself; she was just in a very good mood right now.

During the meeting, her subordinates were surprised to see her expression. It was rare today not to see the Director frowning. The subordinates exchanged glances, unsure what had happened, and finally attributed it to the fact that it was probably Friday.

And this time, it wasn’t just a two-day break, but three, because tomorrow was Qingming Festival.

A three-day holiday was precious, and everyone was planning how to spend it.

Shen Ningruo had looked at the calendar last night because of April Fool’s Day and only then realized that Qingming Festival was tomorrow. She didn’t have any specific plans but wanted to stay with Qiu Yang.

It felt as if their roles had switched. Before, she thought Qiu Yang needed her more, but now it was completely reversed; she needed Qiu Yang very much.

Shen Ningruo knew what she was thinking. She was very greedy for this rare warmth she had encountered; she wanted to have more.

At the same time, she felt that Tao Sixian was even more despicable. If she had hurt someone else, Shen Ningruo wouldn’t have cared, but since she hurt Qiu Yang, Shen Ningruo’s brows furrowed tightly.

She thought back more than once to what Qiu Yang had said the night before last.

– It’s okay.

– I don’t blame you.

– It’s just that I haven’t been able to move on so quickly.

Having spent this much time with Qiu Yang, Shen Ningruo was absolutely certain that if Qiu Yang truly liked someone, she would definitely hold them dear to her heart. Once she realized this, she became very jealous of Tao Sixian.

And Tao Sixian not only didn’t cherish it but was also insidious and cunning, deceiving Qiu Yang for so long.

Unconsciously, Shen Ningruo’s hand on her desk had quietly clenched into a fist. The next second, a WeChat message from Qiu Yang arrived, calming her anger.

Xiao Yang: 【Working overtime tonight?】

Shen Ningruo exhaled, driving away her anger, before typing her reply: 【No overtime.】

Some work wasn’t that urgent, so she wasn’t rushing to finish it.

Xiao Yang: 【Okay.】

Xiao Yang: 【Then I’ll wait for you.】

The word “wait” was coated in a beautiful layer in this context. Shen Ningruo used to dislike this word very much.

She liked being on time, she liked being early, she didn’t like waiting.

But now she was the one being waited for, and she couldn’t help but smile, her eyes curving along with her lips.

Qiu Yang finished work earlier; she had to work an hour later, which couldn’t be helped.

After getting off work, Qiu Yang still went back to her place first. She fed the cat and put on some makeup, and it was already six o’clock.

She had originally planned to go directly to the city center herself, but Shen Ningruo wouldn’t let her, insisting on picking her up. Considering Shen Ningruo was still sick, she didn’t refuse.

It was no surprise, however, that there was traffic. Shen Ningruo arrived at the entrance of her residential complex about ten minutes later than expected.

Qiu Yang had changed into a hoodie and jeans, wearing canvas shoes. She had also tied the drawstring of her hooded sweatshirt into a pretty knot. At first glance, she still looked like a college student, youthful, vibrant, and full of energy.

The chill had lessened considerably with the passage of time, so Qiu Yang didn’t feel cold dressed like this; instead, she felt a cool sense of leisure and comfort.

After Qiu Yang buckled her seatbelt, Shen Ningruo asked, “Any hoodie brands you recommend?”

Qiu Yang looked at her and blinked, feeling confused, “Why are you asking me that?”

“Just…”

“You look really cute wearing it.”

Shen Ningruo said somewhat awkwardly. In reality, she not only thought Qiu Yang looked very cute but also felt her heart skip a beat just now.

Qiu Yang, rarely, made a joke, “Maybe it’s not the clothes.” She turned her face away, looking out the window, her tone cheerful, “It’s me who’s cute.”

Shen Ningruo looked at her profile, the smile on her lips deepening significantly. She cleared her throat before managing a normal “Mhm,” “That’s right, absolutely.”

Qiu Yang felt her face heat up a little after praising herself. As the car moved forward, she rolled down the window slightly to alleviate the embarrassment.

But considering Shen Ningruo still had a cold, she only let the air blow on her forehead. Even so, it was enough.

The destination was the city center, an area with many shops, ranging from various luxury brands at the top to two-yuan stores at the bottom, covering all levels.

However, with the start of the short holiday today, the roads were constantly congested, and the city center was even worse; walking was faster than driving.

The traffic was blocked again. Yao Yao’s call came at this moment. Shen Ningruo didn’t have her earphones on, so she picked up the phone to answer.

“Ruoruo, where are you?”

Shen Ningruo glanced at Qiu Yang, “On the way to the city center.”

“Shopping?”

“Yes.”

“I’m nearby. I find this gathering too boring right now, but Yue Chu just started her job and has to work tonight.”

“Can you take me in?”

Shen Ningruo’s other hand was on the steering wheel. Her eyebrow twitched when she thought of Qiu Yang, but Yao Yao sounded so pitiful. She pursed her lips and agreed, “Okay, come over then.”

She didn’t tell Yao Yao she wasn’t alone, otherwise, knowing Yao Yao, she definitely wouldn’t want to disturb her.

But since Yao Yao had said that, she certainly wouldn’t leave her bored and continuing to hang out.

“My friend is coming with me later,” Shen Ningruo looked into Qiu Yang’s eyes. The colorful lights outside seemed to be hidden within Qiu Yang’s eyes.

Qiu Yang had heard the conversation just now. Hearing this, she nodded, showing no objection to the arrangement, “Okay.”

The cars ahead finally moved. The car struggled to move on the road, but it seemed less congested than before. After about ten minutes, they parked in the underground parking lot; there wasn’t a single spot left outside.

They opened their doors and got out, walking side by side, squeezing into the elevator with others.

Shen Ningruo was still wearing her work clothes, but her face showed little expression, making her appear even more cool and aloof. Standing among the crowd, she was particularly eye-catching. Qiu Yang noticed passersby frequently looking at Shen Ningruo.

It took about ten seconds to get from the second basement level to the first floor. They then followed the flow of people out.

The mall was lively. The foot traffic here was huge on weekends. This building had a total of six floors. The top two floors sold food, the middle two sold clothing, and the first and second floors sold skincare and cosmetics.

Consequently, the first floor had a stronger perfume smell. Some people came with friends, others with their partners. The counter staff smiled radiantly, putting in their hundred percent energy to welcome customers.

Qiu Yang wrinkled her nose. She thought none of these smells were as pleasant as the lemon scent on Shen Ningruo.

However, at the moment, she and Shen Ningruo weren’t completely close together, and her sense of smell was distracted by other scents, so she couldn’t smell Shen Ningruo’s scent right now.

People were constantly passing by their side. It was also dinner time, and some people came in just to go upstairs for dinner.

Qiu Yang didn’t know where Shen Ningruo was taking her first; she just followed beside Shen Ningruo. But after only a few steps, Shen Ningruo took her hand, turned to look at her, her eyes clearly smiling, “Afraid you’d get lost.”

Qiu Yang pursed her lips, neither struggling nor pulling away. She could clearly feel the slight coolness of Shen Ningruo’s palm and the amplified sound of her own heartbeat.

When she was with Tao Sixian, they rarely held hands in such crowded environments because Tao Sixian would say, “My left hand needs to hold milk tea, and my right hand needs to hold my phone.”

Meaning she couldn’t hold her hand.

But in reality, Qiu Yang hadn’t even asked her to hold her hand, but it was false to say she wasn’t disappointed. Unfortunately, she quickly processed this feeling herself, comforting herself that Tao Sixian was right.

Thinking back now, she felt like an idiot.

Shen Ningruo noticed Qiu Yang zoning out, but she didn’t say anything. She just held Qiu Yang’s hand a little tighter and occasionally put an arm around Qiu Yang’s shoulder while navigating through the crowd to prevent her from being bumped.

This brought them much closer, and Qiu Yang smelled the lemon scent on Shen Ningruo again.

She lowered her gaze, looking at their joined hands. After two seconds of thought, she flipped her hand, changing their normal handhold into interlocked fingers.

Palm against palm, fingertip touching fingertip.

They had done this one night in bed, but at the time, she didn’t have any other thoughts. Now, however, Qiu Yang felt a tingling sensation starting from her fingertips, slowly traveling through her palm, her wrist, her arm, and straight into her bloodstream.

Shen Ningruo looked at her with a hint of surprise. She caught the look and responded calmly, “This way, I won’t get lost.”

“Okay,” Shen Ningruo chuckled softly. Her thumb couldn’t help but rub Qiu Yang’s hand twice. The upward curve of her lips seemed to have no intention of dropping.

Yao Yao waited for Shen Ningruo at the agreed spot for a few minutes. From a slight distance, she spotted Shen Ningruo right away, and also Qiu Yang beside her, who looked no different from a college student.

Yao Yao: …

She wanted to leave.

If Yue Chu hadn’t been busy with work, would she have been tricked by Shen Ningruo into coming here to eat dog food?

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