Chapter 47: In a Dilemma Part 1

Jiang Ruoning returned home once again at four in the morning. This time, unluckily, she was caught red-handed by Jiang Qin. When Jiang Ruoning arrived home, she heard the sound of the toilet flushing in the bathroom. She glanced around and immediately darted into the kitchen, pulling open the fridge door.

Jiang Qin heard the noise in the living room and the sound of the door opening. She hadn’t even washed her hands before stepping out of the bathroom and called out, “Ruoning?”

“Yeah!” came Jiang Ruoning’s muffled response from the kitchen.

Jiang Qin heard her voice and her eyelids drooped. She had tossed and turned in her room until one o’clock before falling asleep, so she was very sleepy now. She didn’t look toward the kitchen—had she done so, she would have noticed that Jiang Ruoning wasn’t wearing pajamas but outdoor clothes.

Jiang Ruoning said, “Mom, you go ahead and sleep. I’m just getting up to drink some water.”

Jiang Qin didn’t pay it much mind. “Close the fridge door.”

Jiang Ruoning swallowed. “Got it.”

She heard the sound of her mother’s bedroom door closing and finally relaxed her nerves completely. Her body nearly went limp against the stove. She wandered back to her room in a daze, changed into pajamas, lay down on the bed, and glanced at the time: four-thirty.

The sky was turning pale with the first light of dawn, a subtle brightness. She rolled over, not feeling sleepy at all, and picked up her phone to scroll through some videos.

Perhaps because she had just been to Linping once, her feed was filled with Linping-related content.

【Best places to visit in Linping】【Top Linping food rankings】【Anyone know about the pay and benefits at LESS in Linping?】

Jiang Ruoning tapped on that last one.

She opened it.

The comments were all over the place.

【Not bad at all, OP. My sister works there in design—great salary, follows national statutory holidays.】

【My family member has been there a year, good benefits.】

【Heard they changed bosses. True?】

【Not a new boss, just a new manager. The original one went to Shangjing as the general agent. Capable people shine anywhere.】

【Whispering: the person is gorgeous! Snuck into the LESS new product launch and was blown away. Movie-star beautiful. Tagging for you @R.】

【Nothing else to say, LESS hires so many water army shills. Not enough to hype the brand, now praising the leaders too. Licking boots that comfortably?】

Water army?

Shi Sui was just that pretty.

This person was more like an anti-fan.

Jiang Ruoning let out a huff of laughter.

Her entertainment mindset lingered too long—everything got twisted into fan wars.

Then she tapped with her little finger, blocked that user, and by the way, clicked into the account with the same ID as Shi Sui on that book platform.

It was way more exciting than WeChat Moments, but it was all corporate culture and clothing promotions. Jiang Ruoning scrolled from top to bottom and didn’t find a single photo of Shi Sui.

She suddenly thought of something and exited the app to search other platforms. Still no photos of Shi Sui. Even LESS interviews were text-only, no pictures.

Afraid of getting famous?

Or afraid of being seen by them—by Jiang Qin?

So narcissistic.

Jiang Ruoning tried to shake off the thought, but once suspicion took root, it followed her like a shadow. Unfortunately, she couldn’t just blurt out questions like she used to. She could only silently turn off her phone and stare at the ceiling, thinking she wouldn’t sleep. But when she woke up, the sun was already shining on her butt. She hadn’t drawn the curtains, and it was too glaring. She floated out of bed like a ghost, yanked the curtains closed, and collapsed back to sleep.

Today, Jiang Qin surprisingly didn’t come to wake her for breakfast.

Bliss.

Jiang Ruoning slept a deep, carefree second sleep.

When her phone vibrated, she groped for it at the bedside and held it to her ear. She heard Ye Yu ask, “Free tonight?”

Jiang Ruoning’s foggy brain gradually cleared as she remembered Ye Yu mentioning treating everyone to dinner before leaving Shangjing. Her voice came out muffled. “Yeah.”

Ye Yu laughed. “Sleeping?”

Jiang Ruoning said, “Mm.”

Ye Yu said, “See you tonight then. I’ll send you the address later.”

Jiang Ruoning said, “Oh. Not at Lele’s place?”

“Let her rest.” Ye Yu said, “She wants to go to Liming Grand Hotel.”

Qu Lele was set on bleeding Ye Yu dry without a second thought. Jiang Ruoning said, “Alright, see you tonight.”

Ye Yu said, “See you.”

After hanging up, she found Shi Sui’s new number, thought for a moment, and still dialed it.

It had been a long time since she’d heard Shi Sui’s voice over the phone. Ye Yu wasn’t quite used to it. Back when she was at her most helpless, Shi Sui had helped her. Knowing she’d been kicked out of her home with no shoes in the cold, Shi Sui bought her a pair while caring for her pride—buying shoes for all her friends too and sending her a new quilt.

Thinking back, Jiang Ruoning was an indispensable light in her life.

And Shi Sui was no different.

But she had always kept Shi Sui firmly in the friend zone, never entertaining any fantasies. She had even felt jealous once.

Ugly thoughts that left deep scars after squeezing out the jealousy.

If only Shi Sui weren’t so good.

But she just was.

“Hello.” A slightly weak voice came from the other end. Shi Sui leaned on the sofa with her eyes closed, her head throbbing and her whole body limp. Ye Yu didn’t recognize the hoarse voice at first. “Shi Sui?”

Shi Sui recognized her. “Ye Yu?”

The two fell silent across the phone.

Suddenly, Shi Sui coughed. Ye Yu asked, “Sick?”

“Just a cold,” Shi Sui said. “No big deal. What’s up?”

Ye Yu replied, “Dinner tonight?”

They used to have frequent group dinners, mostly organized by Shi Sui. She had no money and didn’t want to go, but Shi Sui and Jiang Ruoning would drag her along. They’d eat foods she’d never tried before. Later, when she came to Shangjing and started earning from singing, work kept her too busy to treat anyone. Back then, she thought there was plenty of time—once things settled, she’d make it up.

Who knew that “settled” would take six years.

Shi Sui said, “Sure. Where?”

“Liming Grand Hotel. I’ll send the time later,” Ye Yu replied. Shi Sui smiled. As she hung up, Ye Yu said, “Shi Sui.”

Shi Sui: “Hm?”

Ye Yu’s tone was gentle. “Welcome back.”

Shi Sui hung up and tilted her head to look at the ceiling. Her eyes grew slightly wet. She wiped the corner of her eye with her fingertip and saw several messages from Jiang Nuan pop up on her screen: 【hello, taking the day off today?】

Sent at nine-thirty that morning.

No reply.

Jiang Nuan: 【Still sleeping?】

Ten o’clock.

Jiang Nuan: 【Took Lin Wei to check out store locations. Jiang Ruoning’s coming to the company this afternoon for styling trials. You coming?】

Half an hour ago.

Shi Sui moved her sore, weak body and replied: 【Yes.】

Immediately, Jiang Nuan bombarded her: 【Oh, awake?】

【I’m almost back at the company.】

【What time you coming?】

Shi Sui: 【Before one.】

Jiang Nuan saw her curt replies and realized Shi Sui was either unwell or in a bad mood—probably the latter. With Jiang Ruoning’s attitude last night, it would be weird if she wasn’t.

Shi Sui set down her phone, went back to her room to change clothes, and applied light makeup to cover her pale face. Just as she was about to head out, her phone vibrated. She glanced at the screen, a bit surprised—it was Zhou Man calling.

She used to just knock. Maybe she thought Shi Sui was at work today.

Shi Sui answered without hesitation.

Zhou Man asked, “At work?”

Shi Sui said, “No, at home.”

Zhou Man sounded concerned. “Hm? Not working today?”

“Feeling a bit under the weather, resting this morning.” She asked Zhou Man, “What’s up?”

Zhou Man said, “Open the door.”

Shi Sui hung up and saw Zhou Man standing at her door. Shi Sui said, “You off work today too?”

“Just got back for lunch.” Zhou Man handed her a bank card as she spoke. Shi Sui looked puzzled. Zhou Man explained, “Last night, I told Aunt Jiang about you.”

“Wh-what… what about me?” Shi Sui hadn’t expected herself to stammer. Anxious and uneasy—turns out this was what Jiang Ruoning went through every day. She spaced out.

Zhou Man said, “About you leaving the money with me to give to Ruoning.”

Shi Sui looked down at the bank card.

Zhou Man said, “Aunt Jiang gave this back to you.”

Shi Sui took it, suddenly feeling as drained as if all her strength had been sucked out. Utterly deflated.

Zhou Man saw her pale face and asked, “Where do you feel unwell?”

“Just a little cold.” Shi Sui looked up, pretending to be fine. “I’ll rest and be okay.”

Zhou Man said, “Want me to go to the hospital with you?”

Shi Sui clutched the bank card. “Already went.” Not sure if she was emphasizing or what, she added, “Ruoning took me.”

Zhou Man figured Jiang Ruoning must have been with Shi Sui last night, not at Qin Zheng’s. Still, hearing it surprised her a bit—given Jiang Qin’s attitude, she clearly knew nothing about Shi Sui’s return.

She asked Shi Sui, “Planning to keep hiding forever?”

Shi Sui shook her head.

Zhou Man said, “Auntie’s attitude has softened a bit. If you’re scared to go alone, bring Xiao Guai.”

Shi Sui was silent for two seconds before saying, “Got it, Sister Xiao Man.”

After Zhou Man left, Shi Sui returned home and tossed her car keys casually onto the coffee table with her right hand. She looked down at the bank card—it was brand new, with the PIN written on the back, not in Zhou Man’s handwriting. Must be Jiang Qin’s.

Her finger brushed over the numbers, then she tossed the card onto the coffee table too.

Jiang Nuan waited left and right at the company for Shi Sui but she didn’t show. It was odd—Shi Sui never went back on her word; if she said a time, she meant it. Now it was past one-thirty and still no Shi Sui. Jiang Nuan couldn’t hold back and called her.

No answer.

Jiang Nuan frowned when someone called out, “Assistant Jiang.”

She looked up to see Wu Jie approaching with Jiang Ruoning. Jiang Ruoning wore an orange-yellow dress, long hair cascading over her shoulders, light makeup. Silent, she exuded a model’s cool allure—intense. Jiang Nuan relaxed her brows and greeted, “Sister Wu, Miss Jiang.”

Wu Jie saw her standing at the door and asked, “Waiting for someone, Assistant Jiang?”

“Yeah.” Jiang Nuan turned the topic back. “President Shi asked me to wait here for you.”

Wu Jie beamed. “President Shi is too courteous.”