PSMD – Chapter 78

As this thought arose, Qiu Yang felt a chill down her spine.

Miao Yi didn’t know what was wrong, but seeing Qiu Yang’s expression, she couldn’t help but worry. “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

“No,” Qiu Yang paused, shaking her head. “Nothing happened.”

Miao Yi breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s good.”

She blinked, still speaking from a friend’s perspective. “I know forgetting an ex might not be that easy, but ‘not that easy’ is one thing, and going back to contact them is another.”

“I know,” Qiu Yang offered a smile.

“As long as you know,” Miao Yi hesitated, then added, “And that new person you’re seeing…”

Qiu Yang picked up some food for her bowl, and hearing Shen Ningruo mentioned, she asked, “What about her?”

“Have you seen Heavenly Sword and Dragon Saber ?”

“Zhang Wuji’s mother said it herself, the prettier a woman is, the more dangerous she is.”

Qiu Yang couldn’t help but laugh. She had only been smiling before, but now she was laughing, lowering her head slightly, her shoulders shaking a little.

The surroundings were noisy and bustling, and no one paid attention to what they were talking about in their little corner.

“Hey!”

“I think it’s true!”

“Yangyang, you’re the most reliable good-looking person I know. The others…”

“Too many people take advantage of their looks to trample on others’ feelings.”

Miao Yi spoke earnestly, even slapping the table, her face full of worry. “Are you listening?”

“I’m listening,” Qiu Yang nodded seriously. “Teacher Miao is right, I’ll be more careful.”

Only then did Miao Yi relax. She really didn’t want to see Qiu Yang go through that again. If she hadn’t been serious, it would be fine, but if she was serious and it ended up like before, what could she, as a friend, do then?

Oh, she could help take care of the cat when Qiu Yang went traveling to clear her head.

Thinking this, Miao Yi felt she wasn’t entirely useless.

After parting ways with Miao Yi, Qiu Yang’s smile faded. She walked among the coming and going crowds, many pedestrians brushing past her.

Cars on the road honked, the sound coming in waves. Qiu Yang’s eyelashes fluttered, and after walking for a while, she chose to sit down on a bench by the roadside.

There were two trees above the bench, and a leaf fell onto her shoulder. She gently picked it off and held it in her hand.

Yuncheng had no sun again today. Qiu Yang pursed her lips and opened her WeChat chat with Qu Yan.

Because she was at work five days a week and saw Qu Yan every day, they didn’t actually chat much privately. Scrolling back, she could easily find their previous conversations. If she remembered correctly, Qu Yan had sent a message about Tao Sixian even before she returned to Yuncheng.

Surrounded by the clamor of people, she felt as if she had created a barrier around herself, focusing all her attention on this.

The further up she scrolled, the lighter her breathing became.

Only after her fingertips stopped did she take a deep breath.

-By the way, Yangyang, your ex waited outside the company for me before and asked about your whereabouts. I didn’t tell her.

Qiu Yang stared at these two lines of text, her lips pressed tightly together, her mind in a jumble.

Subconsciously, she didn’t think Qu Yan would be in contact with Tao Sixian, but how else would Tao Sixian know about her being sick? It couldn’t just be a blind guess.

And the person who sent flowers to Shen Ningruo signed it “QY”. Although it was hard to believe, there was indeed a slight possibility that this person was Qu Yan.

Qiu Yang took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled, before pressing back and looking up at the bustling street, a hint of confusion in her eyes.

She couldn’t completely judge Qu Yan yet, but it was true that she couldn’t trust Qu Yan for the time being. She couldn’t figure out why.

This was Qu Jie, who was both her mentor and friend.

Was she really that easy to deceive?

This question popped into Qiu Yang’s mind again.

After returning to the company, Qiu Yang hid her emotions, making herself appear completely normal.

There was also a bag of medicine on her desk, with a note telling her to remember to take it.

From the ugly handwriting, it wasn’t hard to guess who sent the medicine.

Qiu Yang was in a bad mood, so she took the medicine bag to Peng Kaimiao’s desk and put it down. “Take it back.”

Peng Kaimiao: “…”

Peng Kaimiao looked troubled. “Xiao Qiu, you’re sick, you should take your medicine properly.”

Qiu Yang frowned. “I have my own, thank you.”

Actually, she had long felt that Peng Kaimiao’s attitude towards her was a little different, but he had always been cheerful and joking, so she hadn’t bothered to pay attention. But now that he was doing things like sending medicine across the office, Qiu Yang felt a bit uncomfortable.

She didn’t want to be misunderstood, and she didn’t want her and Peng Kaimiao to become office gossip.

Since Peng Kaimiao put the medicine on her desk in front of other colleagues, she could also return it in front of them.

Qiu Yang put the medicine down and left, not caring what Peng Kaimiao wanted to say or what his attitude would be afterward. But after this incident, she thought of Qu Yan again—

Did Qu Yan see Peng Kaimiao’s feelings for her, which was why she repeatedly arranged for Peng Kaimiao to work with her?

Going to Qiyao Company was with Peng Kaimiao, and going on a business trip to Beijing was also with Peng Kaimiao.

Logically, Peng Kaimiao hadn’t been at the company for long and didn’t have much seniority, less than even Qin Tian and Chen Chen. So why was he the one who got to go?

Qiu Yang couldn’t help but fall into thought. She was a bit distracted during the afternoon work, occasionally looking up at Qu Yan’s office.

Qu Yan was working seriously and didn’t notice her gaze. By the time work ended, Qiu Yang still hadn’t made eye contact with her.

But this was good. Qiu Yang was worried about revealing her thoughts.

Now was not a good time for a confrontation.

She wasn’t stupid. When she connected these incidents, which one wasn’t related to Qu Yan?

It was just that she still couldn’t figure it out so quickly.

Before leaving work, Qiu Yang received a message from Shen Ningruo. She had arranged for a driver to pick her up, using her car.

Qiu Yang: …?

Qiu Yang replied: 【I can go back myself.】

【I’m worried.】 Shen Ningruo used these four words again, the same ones she had said to Qiu Yang the night she drank too much.

It actually felt quite reassuring.

Shen Ningruo also sent a voice message. Qiu Yang tapped it open, and Shen Ningruo’s voice filled her ears.

But this person was acting spoiled again.

“It’s easy to not get a seat on the bus or subway. What if you stand for too long and feel uncomfortable? Xiao Yang, please just take my car, okay?”

Thinking that Shen Ningruo said this in her office, Qiu Yang’s eyes curved into a smile. She cleared her throat and replied coolly with one word: 【Okay.】

Shen Ningruo: 【So obedient.】

Shen Ningruo: 【My Xiao Yang.】

Qiu Yang was too lazy to correct her that she wasn’t Shen Ningruo’s Xiao Yang yet. She hadn’t even accepted Shen Ningruo’s confession, but frankly, she was happy seeing that form of address herself.

Shen Ningruo’s car was parked in the company’s underground parking lot. After work, Qiu Yang went straight to the basement level. The driver Shen Ningruo hired had already contacted her, and it was easy to find the car.

“Thank you,” Qiu Yang said to the driver after getting into the back seat.

The driver was an uncle, looking about forty years old. He glanced at Qiu Yang and gave a kind smile. “No trouble at all. You can just call me Lao Yu.”

“Uncle Yu,” Qiu Yang called out.

Lao Yu held the steering wheel and drove the car away. His voice was thick and low like a middle-aged man’s, but because he spoke slowly, it didn’t sound stern, but rather friendly.

On the way, Lao Yu started talking on his own. “Ah, I used to be the driver for the Shen family. Today, Miss called me back, and I’m happy from the bottom of my heart.”

“Miss” referred to Shen Ningruo, which was obvious.

Qiu Yang sat upright in the back seat, and hearing this, she hummed in acknowledgment, not knowing how to respond. Then she heard Lao Yu say, “The Shen family treated me well. They’ve been helping me all these years, and I’ve always remembered this kindness.”

“Especially Miss. She sends me things and buys me gifts during holidays, and she cares about me normally too.”

Lao Yu sighed at this point. Just then, the car stopped again, and he turned to look at Qiu Yang. “Miss Qiu, you’re the first person our Miss has ever asked me to drive. I know you must have a very good relationship with her, so I hope you can persuade her more.”

Qiu Yang pursed her lips. “Persuade her about what?”

Elders always worry about the younger generation. Qiu Yang thought of Auntie Mingfen and Auntie Qiong, whom she hadn’t seen in a while. It seemed she could find time to visit those two aunties again.

“Miss is probably still hasn’t come out of the psychological shadow from back then.”

Qiu Yang was startled for a moment and asked hesitantly, “Is it about her mother?”

“Yes.”

The red light ahead turned green, and the traffic moved forward. Qiu Yang held her phone, remembering the words Shen Ningruo had said while holding her from behind yesterday.

“When Ah Ying passed away back then, Miss was the first one to see it. After she was sent to the hospital, Miss was also the first one to hear the news.”

“So many years have passed, I’m old now, but thinking back to that time still makes me very worried.”

“Miss was only a little over ten years old back then, seeing her mother collapse in front of her, she…”

Lao Yu drove, sighing deeply at this point and not continuing, but Qiu Yang knew what he was going to say.

She put herself in that position and didn’t know how to breathe. She had her family’s psychological shadow, and how could Shen Ningruo not have hers?

Qiu Yang’s eyelashes fluttered, and her lips moved. “Okay, Uncle Yu, I’ll try to persuade her.”

This “persuading” actually meant helping Shen Ningruo move on as much as possible, but perhaps she would never fully move on.

How tragic it must be to see one’s mother die in front of them. Even after more than ten years, time seemed useless in this situation, and it would only deepen the longing.

Due to rush hour, the road was jammed several times before Lao Yu finally dropped her off at the entrance of her residential area.

“Thank you, Uncle Yu.”

Lao Yu rolled down the car window, revealing a simple, honest smile. “Miss Qiu, this is our secret, okay?”

“Okay, I understand.”

“Then I’ll go pick up Miss from work now.”

Watching the car disappear from her sight, Qiu Yang lowered her gaze, took out her access card, and walked inside.

After returning to her apartment, Qiu Yang hugged Pingzi and opened the WeChat chat with Shen Ningruo.

She coughed lightly before sending a voice message—

“Then I’ll reluctantly let you be my Ruoruo.”

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Huge thanks to drago for the support!

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