Chapter 24: Sang Ran

Chu Susu seemed to hear the ticking of the second hand, each tick signaling the passage of time like grains of sand slipping away, impossible to grasp.

She lowered her head to look at the wrinkled fabric of her skirt from earlier, clutching the tampon in her hand, her mind locked in inner turmoil. She knew Han Xuan’s suggestion was the best option right now, but…

“You’re in a rush, aren’t you?” Han Xuan added, “I saw the car waiting downstairs at the company building.”

This jab hit Chu Susu’s weak spot dead-on. The hand gripping her skirt loosened dejectedly, and then she gently flipped down the stall door lock.

The door creaked open, and she saw Han Xuan’s face.

“I won’t look.”

Han Xuan quickly stepped in, locked the door again, took the tampon from her, deliberately turned her head away, and averted her gaze.

“Come on.” Chu Susu quickly convinced herself. Just get it over with quick—compared to missing the interview, what was this little thing?

But when Han Xuan started, she still couldn’t help but tense up all over. This instinctive muscle reaction was hard to control.

“Relax.” Han Xuan said softly.

Chu Susu wanted to, but she couldn’t.

In the past, she’d always been the one saying this to other women, and now she finally understood for the first time just how hard it was to actually do it.

Though… the situation was completely different now. It was just a tampon.

Han Xuan’s hand rested on her shoulder, carrying a faint scent as always—like herbal medicine—filling Chu Susu’s nose.

But that left hand on her shoulder suddenly lifted, cupping her left cheek and gently tilting it up. Chu Susu’s gaze naturally met those eyes.

Like a pool of autumn water rippling by a shallow shore.

“Don’t be scared.”

Han Xuan’s nose tip was almost touching hers, her murmur barely audible.

Chu Susu blanked out for a moment, forgetting what she was doing. Her tense posture finally eased slowly. Then, a sudden slight discomfort pulled her back to reality.

The tampon was in place.

“Mm!”

Chu Susu couldn’t help leaning forward, right into the other’s embrace.

Her head buried into Han Xuan’s neck. Even though she was quickly steadied, there was still a brief moment of breathlessness.

“Thanks, I should go.” She said lowly.

“Okay.” Han Xuan’s voice sounded by her ear.

The phone on the nearby partition showed it was exactly 9 o’clock.

Once that number caught her eye, Chu Susu had no time for other thoughts. She straightened her clothes and walked straight out.

“Susu.”

Looking back, Han Xuan hadn’t moved from the stall, smiling brilliantly.

Chu Susu suddenly had a fleeting illusion. For some reason, Han Xuan’s current look seemed so flamboyant, nothing like her usual pure and harmless vibe. “Hm?”

“Nothing.” She said, “Bye-bye.”

“Bye-bye.”

The bathroom was left with only Han Xuan. She sauntered slowly to the sink, tilting her head to look in the mirror.

Between her neck and collarbone was a faint lip print, left accidentally when Chu Susu had stumbled into her.

She stared at it for a while but didn’t wipe it off. Instead, she brushed her long black hair forward to cover it.

The person in the mirror blinked, still with that pitiable, delicate look.

Thanks to Han Xuan’s timely arrival, Chu Susu didn’t arrive late and smoothly completed the interview.

Though Jack was absent, she was always well-prepared and had the script memorized. Even where she got stuck, her quick reactions covered it without the other side noticing.

The client had arranged a lawyer for the interview, and this Lawyer He also wanted to cozy up to the client, so she specially invited Chu Susu to lunch. They chatted idly for a bit.

“I see your complexion isn’t great?” Lawyer He asked with concern. “Feeling unwell?”

Chu Susu smiled. “No, just got my period suddenly. My lower abdomen’s a bit sore.”

But the tampon felt surprisingly refreshing; she barely felt any bleeding.

She couldn’t help recalling the events in the bathroom stall a few hours ago with Han Xuan.

Chu Susu wasn’t some innocent little girl; this level of closeness wouldn’t make her blush or feel shy. But…

That feeling of being led by the other was entirely new.

Of course, Chu Susu didn’t dislike contact with Han Xuan. It was just… this sensation felt stifling.

When the initiative was in someone else’s hands, everything was out of her control, and she could only go along with it.

No way!

Compared to that, she much preferred taking the lead herself, making the other obey her.

By her ear, Lawyer He, who was a few years older than her, sighed. “Young girls these days really push themselves.”

Chu Susu came back to herself and smiled, shaking her head. “Nah, you’re the one working hard.”

Lawyer He’s consultations were booked solid every day. They didn’t chat long, exchanged WeChat contacts, and then she left.

By the time Chu Susu got back to the company, it was already 2 p.m.

She emailed today’s interview materials to the rest of the project team and went to cross-check the draft content with her colleague.

As the colleague organized the interview recording, she said, “Hey, what’s up with Jack anyway?”

Chu Susu was a bit surprised; she’d thought Jack was just late. “He still hasn’t come in?”

“Nope, phone’s off, WeChat no reply, no leave request either.”

The colleague gossiped mysteriously, “He’s got a ton on his plate today. After the interview, there was a client report meeting with Rebecca. Let me tell you, Rebecca’s pissed.”

Chu Susu frowned. “What now?”

The colleague pursed her lips. “No worries, Rebecca’s got solid skills. Anyone else would’ve been clueless. She’ll handle it.”

As long as the client side was satisfied, it was fine. Chu Susu relaxed a bit, but the more she thought, the off it felt.

“What?” The colleague saw her expression. “You’re worried about Jack? Why bother? Him not showing up is your chance to shine.”

Chu Susu shook her head. “No, Jack’s a bit of a trash-talker, but he’s a workaholic. Vanishing without reason doesn’t seem like him.”

The colleague thought about it carefully and agreed. “I’ll call his emergency contact.”

She reached Jack’s family, but they were shocked to say Jack had left for work at 7:30 a.m. and hadn’t come back.

Piecing the info together, everyone got uneasy. Jack’s family even reported him missing to the police.

But Chu Susu had no time for that. With Jack gone, someone had to handle his stuff, so Rebecca called her to fill in.

She bustled around until evening, but hey, it was the last day before the National Day holiday. Finish this, and she could finally relax.

By the time she finally got home and checked her phone, the small colleague group had exploded.

Only four or five people, but nearly 100 messages flying back and forth.

Chu Susu opened it and scrolled to the top, reading down line by line. Her pupils shook.

“You guys know why Jack didn’t come to work today? He got robbed on the road.”

“Robbed?! This is the Imperial Capital—in broad daylight?”

“Yeah, they took all his valuables, but Jack’s laptop had all the materials. He wouldn’t let them take it, so he fought the robber.”

“And then?”

“Jack’s all skinny arms and legs—of course he lost. The robber knocked him out with a stick in some alley. A sanitation worker found him later and called the cops. When the police arrived, he was down to just his underwear.”

“WTF? Robber even took his clothes and pants??? What the hell?”

“…Oh god, everyone stay safe, seriously.”

“Did they catch the guy?”

“Yep, some unemployed drifter. Dude couldn’t pay his online loans, so he went for it.”

“Tsk tsk, online loans ruin lives.”

Chu Susu finished reading without commenting or feeling much.

She wouldn’t sympathize with what happened to Jack—he’d made her life difficult plenty of times.

She wasn’t some saint repaying evil with good.

But she wasn’t gleeful either, since Chu Susu didn’t take Jack seriously at all. Whatever happened to him, she didn’t really care.

Suddenly, Han Xuan’s words from that day in the car resurfaced in her mind.

“Karma, huh.”

Chu Susu murmured the words, then opened the astrology blogger’s page to see if there were any new posts.

To her disappointment, there weren’t. The blogger had stopped updating for days, and the latest post was flooded with fans begging for updates.

[@Pit-Bottom-Flattie-Salted-Fish: Big shot, update or I’ll die QAQ]

[@Devotee-Getting-Rich-This-Year: Waiting for a whole-net crowdfunding Ursa Major update TvT]

[@Hungry-Grain-Grain: Big shot hasn’t updated in so long—are you prepping daily 10k-word chapters?]

Chu Susu casually posted one too.

[@Susu: When’s the update?]

Less than 5 minutes later, a notification: “Someone replied to your comment.”

[@BetaUrsaeMajoris: Tomorrow.]

Chu Susu didn’t end up waiting for an update from Ursa Major, because early the next morning, she boarded a plane to Spring City with her friends.

It was crowded during National Day, so they deliberately chose a non-provincial city near Spring City, planning to relax for a few days.

Spring City had beautiful scenery, a long history, and a wide variety of food. The atmosphere was countless times more relaxed than the fast-paced Imperial Capital.

When planning the trip, Li Le’er asked if she wanted to bring Han Xuan along. Chu Susu refused, saying they weren’t at that stage in their relationship yet.

Besides, Han Xuan wasn’t familiar with the others, and it might get awkward.

Li Le’er didn’t buy it. She pouted. “No way! You just don’t want to share your little lamb with us! Wuu wuu, Eldest Miss, you’ve fallen!”

Chu Susu ignored her.

Han Xuan woke up early. That morning, when she boarded the plane, she casually chatted a couple of sentences with the other party via phone, then the plane took off.

After landing, Chu Susu reconnected to her phone network, thinking Han Xuan’s reply must be quietly waiting there for her.

There were indeed some unread messages in WeChat, but they were all from colleagues and friends—no sign of the person she was hoping for.

Chu Susu scrolled through, staring at the chat window. For some reason, her heart felt a bit itchy.

Perhaps it was because she could see that face she liked the most every day at work.

Now, just one day without seeing her, and she actually missed her a little.