PSMD – Chapter 77

As soon as Qiu Yang said that, both of them felt a jolt inside.

Qu Yan was Qiu Yang’s direct superior. Qu Yan was the one who brought Qiu Yang into Wanming in the first place. Over the past four years, their relationship was very good, like mentor and friend. Qiu Yang trusted Qu Yan very much.

“It’s very likely just a coincidence.” Qiu Yang pursed her lips. “I think Qu Jie…”

Shen Ningruo thought it through carefully and interrupted Qiu Yang: “No, there’s something wrong with her.”

Qiu Yang quietly looked at Shen Ningruo. She was now thinking about that beautiful bouquet of champagne roses. If it was really Qu Yan who sent the flowers, then she truly didn’t know what to say.

“That dinner on Wednesday night, she probed about my relationship with you.” Shen Ningruo only now felt something was off as she recalled. “She asked if I also went to Xicheng. She must have known you went to Xicheng, right?”

“Yes.” Qiu Yang’s eyelashes trembled slightly.

Shen Ningruo’s brows seemed determined not to relax. Qiu Yang wanted to smooth them, but forced herself to hold back, only listening as Shen Ningruo continued her speculation: “Besides leaving the letters QY on the card, two other words were written: ‘Missing you’.”

“If she was just simply sending flowers, she wouldn’t have needed to probe about my relationship with you that Wednesday night, right?”

“Since she probed, she must have known that I met you. Since I started cooperating with your company Wanming, my behavior has been somewhat abnormal, which I believe anyone could see, whether it’s my subordinates or your superior Qu Yan. If they also knew I returned from Xicheng, then anyone with a bit of sense would guess that you and I definitely met in Xicheng, and all my abnormal behavior is because of you.”

Shen Ningruo paused here and asked Qiu Yang: “Did your colleagues know you had a girlfriend before?”

“The ones I’m close to know.” Qiu Yang listened intently and answered seriously. “Someone like Peng Kaimiao, who hasn’t been with the company long and isn’t close to me, wouldn’t know.”

“Then Qu Yan must have known too?”

“Then, considering my abnormality, wouldn’t that link me and you together completely?”

Pingzi just listened to the two of them talking back and forth. It didn’t understand a single word, but still watched them curiously. When Qiu Yang stroked its head, it comfortably closed its eyes and enjoyed it.

It’s just a little cat, what does it matter if it doesn’t understand?

Shen Ningruo was a bit thirsty from talking, but still continued: “Your superior… there’s something wrong.”

Qiu Yang was still a bit confused. She understood Shen Ningruo’s words, but couldn’t quite grasp it: “Since she confirmed my relationship with you, why would she send flowers under the name QY?”

“I don’t know.” Shen Ningruo also didn’t know Qu Yan’s motive for doing this.

She stood up and poured a glass of warm water for herself and Qiu Yang. After a couple of sips, she asked Qiu Yang again: “Before, did she ever mention me in front of you?”

“No.” Qiu Yang shook her head, then seemed to remember something and nodded. “The day after the first dinner with your company, she came and asked if I had added your WeChat. Does that count?”

That’s all she could remember now.

Shen Ningruo handed the cup to Qiu Yang: “Drink some water first.”

“Okay.”

The living room was quiet now. Shen Ningruo watched Qiu Yang’s throat move as she drank water; her own throat moved too. But her mind was focused on Qu Yan.

She still felt this matter was very strange. It couldn’t be that Qu Yan liked her, because she couldn’t feel it at all.

“Are you clear about Qu Yan’s relationships?” Shen Ningruo waited for Qiu Yang to finish drinking, asking as she took the cup back.

Qiu Yang licked her moist lips: “She’s only dated boyfriends before.”

“Then that’s right, I don’t think she sent me flowers because she likes me.”

Qiu Yang looked at her, her eyelashes fluttered like feathers, her tone a little uncertain: “I don’t know, what if?”

“No ‘what if’.”

Qiu Yang chuckled: “Director Shen, don’t you have any idea how charming you are?”

“Then I…”

“Did I charm you?”

Qiu Yang was choked by the question, then looked away, cleared her throat, and didn’t answer.

Shen Ningruo wasn’t sad. She instead held Qiu Yang’s hand, her gaze deep and her tone sincere: “Xiao Yang, soon, very soon I will tell you everything, clearly and plainly, with nothing held back from you.”

Qiu Yang knew what she was referring to and softly said “Mm.”

Regarding the fake overtime, Qiu Yang did want to know the truth, but from Shen Ningruo’s attitude, it seemed Shen Ningruo was busy with something very important, so she naturally wouldn’t force Shen Ningruo to tell her now.

After all, Shen Ningruo wasn’t without punishment. Her lack of response to Shen Ningruo’s confession wasn’t that punishment?

As for that bouquet of flowers, although it wasn’t entirely certain if it was related to Qu Yan, it didn’t seem completely without clues either.

And the fundamental issue wasn’t about this bouquet, but that she found out about Shen Ningruo’s fake overtime.

By Monday, Qiu Yang put away her thoughts and went to the company. Her cold was much better now; currently, her throat was just uncomfortable and she still coughed, so she wore a mask before leaving. Fortunately, it wasn’t summer yet, so wearing a mask was bearable.

Qiu Yang met Qu Yan downstairs at the company. The other person immediately showed concern when she saw her: “Yangyang, are you still feeling very unwell?”

Qiu Yang looked at the concern in her eyes and shook her head: “Much better, Qu Jie.”

Qu Yan seemed relieved and patted her chest, but hearing Qiu Yang’s voice was a bit hoarse, she still looked worried: “Oh, you… drink more hot water, I’ll supervise you.”

She said this as she patted Qiu Yang’s back, and the two of them squeezed into the elevator together.

Qiu Yang couldn’t see any abnormality in Qu Yan at all right now. She lowered her eyelids, her heart started to feel confused.

Could it be that everything had nothing to do with Qu Yan?

There were people from other companies in the elevator. By the time they reached Wanming, half had already gotten off. The space was a bit larger, and Qiu Yang’s breathing felt a bit freer.

Out of the elevator, clocked in.

To the workstation, meeting.

Qiu Yang still felt that Qu Yan was no different from before. The confusion in her heart deepened by half. She didn’t tell Shen Ningruo about this, just quietly observed.

If Yue Chu was her first older sister figure, then Qu Yan was the second.

Qiu Yang naturally didn’t want this older sister figure to have any issues.

Qu Yan took great care of her, both at work and privately. She took good care of her, making her feel a lot of warmth. And if Qu Yan was really two-faced, Qiu Yang had to admire her mental fortitude.

By noon, Miao Yi asked Qiu Yang out for lunch. She knew what Miao Yi wanted to say, definitely to scold Tao Sixian. Qiu Yang was prepared to just listen quietly.

Miao Yi heard Tao Sixian’s voice on Saturday night. She felt a wave of nausea just thinking about it now.

“Yangyang, you can’t be soft-hearted.”

“What do I have to be soft-hearted about? I didn’t even hear what she said.”

“Ah ha.”

“Then she said she was very worried about you being sick, did you hear that?”

Qiu Yang’s movement of holding her chopsticks paused, then her brows furrowed tightly.

The first person to know about her being sick wasn’t someone else.

It was precisely Qu Yan.

---

Huge thanks to RobertJay for the support!

If you’d like to read ahead and support me, you can request extra chapters or get the full novel as an EPUB.