Chapter 38

Yan Qing has been having a lot of dreams lately. In her dreams, the first half of her life replays rapidly like a miniature movie.

First, I dreamt of Jiang Xiaoman. The Jiang Xiaoman in the dream was different from the one in life; she seemed older, as if her age hadn't stopped with death, but continued to grow in some parallel universe. Jiang Xiaoman, just like before, sat in her favorite wicker chair, basking in the sun and humming a song. Sunlight streamed into the lines of her face, and she smiled with her eyes squinted, a few strands of gray hair fluttering at her temples, like her life, faded and worn.

Yan Qing tried to call out to her, but no sound came out. She asked Qiao Yi for help, but Qiao Yi just smiled and didn't move. She then realized that it was a photo of Qiao Yi, and three sticks of smoke were rising from the incense burner in front of the photo.

Turning back, Jiang Xiaoman was gone too. The surrounding scenery had changed, and she was back in Mengshui Village. Her mother Feng Fanying's funeral procession was sparsely scattered across the overgrown hillside. The coffin swayed precariously on the rugged mountain road, eerily resembling a bridal sedan chair in a traditional opera, making one wonder if it contained not skeletons, but a beautiful bride.

Various dreams kept colliding in her mind, causing her to wake up with a dull headache.

On her way to the subway station, she passed by Fantland. It was early in the morning, not yet open, but two familiar figures stood in front of the store, making it hard for her not to notice them.

Hu Ruoting was intimately embracing Zhuge Xiaoxiang's arm, chatting and laughing like a couple deeply in love. Upon seeing Yan Qing, the two, who had been inseparable, immediately separated, and Hu Ruoting awkwardly slipped into the bar.

In fact, Yan Qing did not want to disturb them. After an unintentional eye contact, she lowered her head and walked away quickly.

Zhuge Xiaoxiang caught up with them.

Can we talk?

Yan Qing found it amusing. Ever since witnessing his and Hu Ruoting's love in the garden of S City's First Hospital, she had consciously withdrawn. And as if sensing her presence, Zhuge Xiaoxiang hadn't contacted her again since that day.

If it weren't for this chance encounter today, he probably would never have wanted to "talk" to her.

Yan Qing didn't think there was any need to chat, but she still gave the other person face: "You can send me a WeChat message if you need anything, and I'll reply when I see it." After saying that, she continued walking forward.

Zhuge Xiaoxiang stopped her a second time: "Give me five minutes, no, two minutes."

Yan Qing said helplessly, "I'm in a hurry to get to work."

"I'm sorry, I don't expect your forgiveness, but I do have my reasons." Zhuge Xiaoxiang's expression was solemn, as if she were going through great pain.

Yan Qing realized that every face of his was genuine. The happiness and sweetness on his face when he was with Hu Ruoting was touching, and the regret and pain he showed towards Yan Qing at this moment was also touching.

Any man with a decent face can use it to create all sorts of vivid and realistic masks, enough to fool most people.

Yan Qing looked quietly at Zhuge Xiaoxiang before him. Her calmness seemed to intensify his pain, and he couldn't help but grasp her shoulders: "What are you thinking? Tell me, okay? You can scold me, hit me, just don't look at me so indifferently. I miss you terribly. Even if you don't believe me, I have to say it, I haven't forgotten you for a single day, I can't pretend nothing happened. My feelings for you are genuine, I want to make it up to you..."

Zhuge Xiaoxiang spoke with emotion, and Yan Qing saw her own reflection in his moist eyes.

She suddenly realized that the reflection was not herself, but the deceased Hu Ruoyi.

The ambiguous confessions uttered by Zhuge Xiaoxiang took her back to the night market stalls he and Hu Ruoyi frequented, and to Hu Ruoting's conclusion, after scrutinizing her, that she resembled her older sister...

But no matter how much she resembled Hu Ruoyi, how could she possibly be more like her than her own sister? Especially when Hu Ruoting wore a hospital gown, her pale and thin face must have reminded him of his once equally vulnerable lover who needed his protection. The love between Zhuge Xiaoxiang and Hu Ruoting wasn't the result of Hu Ruoting's one-sided unrequited love for her former brother-in-law; rather, Zhuge Xiaoxiang had long harbored feelings for her. Yan Qing guessed that on that day in the hospital garden, Zhuge Xiaoxiang's suppressed emotions finally erupted, and Hu Ruoyi finally returned to life through her sister's body…

Zhuge Xiaoxiang's love was always for Hu Ruoyi.

"Do you still need me?" Yan Qing asked him, coming back to her senses.

Zhuge Xiaoxiang's facial muscles twitched: "May I?"

Yan Qing smiled, grasped his trembling wrist through his shirt, her expression both carefree and understanding: "I wish you all the best. If you need anything, you can still contact me anytime."

Her magnanimity left Zhuge Xiaoxiang in disbelief, and she cautiously asked her, "Really? I can keep you?"

Yan Qing didn't answer directly, but just waved her phone in her hand: "I have to go to work, let's keep in touch by phone."

After saying that, she walked towards the subway, ignoring the bewildered gazes behind her.

Before reaching the subway entrance, she blocked all of Zhuge Xiaoxiang's contact information.

Aside from a minor incident on the first day, Yan Qing's days at Huanyu went smoothly overall.

She was quiet, hardworking, and naturally approachable. Gradually, some of her colleagues had a change of heart and stopped ordering her around to do odd jobs.

It was almost lunchtime when Xiao Guo next door took out a box of cream puffs and handed one to Yan Qing: "Qingqing, cover for me. Let me know when Lao Maoya stands up." Lao Maoya was their team leader, a strict and somewhat fussy middle-aged man who disapproved of his team members eating snacks and chatting in the office and often confronted them directly.

After instructing Yan Qing, Xiao Guo crouched down and hid at her workstation to eat.

After finishing a whole box of cream puffs, Xiao Guo wiped her mouth contentedly. Seeing Yan Qing next door, she suddenly had a whim: "Why don't you come to yoga class with me!"

The yoga class that Xiao Guo mentioned is a company benefit provided by Huanyu. Every Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday at noon, a yoga teacher will teach for an hour and a half in the large classroom on the 5th floor of the company.

Yan Qing stated that she does not practice yoga.

"It's okay, I have a coach! Those coaches can earn several hundred yuan a session outside! It's a company benefit, so I might as well take advantage of it." He then chuckled and said, "The main thing is that I want to lose weight, but I'm afraid I won't be able to stick to it, so I asked you to join my class to keep me motivated."

Yan Qing hesitated, "I don't even have any equipment."

Xiao Guo glanced at her outfit: a cotton T-shirt and cotton-linen wide-leg pants. "This will do!"

Unable to resist her persistent pleading, Yan Qing agreed to go and take a look together.

Xiao Guo was overjoyed and took out his sports bag from the cabinet. "Let's go, let's get there early and save some seats."

In the bright and clean classroom, students came in one after another, and soon the floor was covered with colorful yoga mats.

When Xiao Guo and Yan Qing arrived, there were only three yoga mats left. Xiao Guo happily said, "Luckily we came early." She then took a yoga mat from the corner. Just as Yan Qing was about to take a yoga mat as well, a voice broke through the surrounding noise and pierced her eardrums.

"Oh dear, I'm late! There's only one seat left!"

Yan Qing slowly turned around, and sure enough, it was Secretary Gao. Secretary Gao also saw her at almost the same time.

"Secretary Gao," she greeted.

Secretary Gao and a woman in her thirties were both dressed in yoga clothes. Secretary Gao held a bottle of water and had a towel draped over her shoulder. She casually introduced the woman to her, saying, "She's from the technical outsourcing team. I told you she wasn't busy. When have you ever run into those slackers from the other outsourcing teams here?"

The female companion remained silent, while He Yanqing nodded and greeted her.

Secretary Gao looked Yan Qing up and down, who was dressed in casual clothes, and asked with suspicion, "You practice yoga?"

"I don't know," Yan Qing answered honestly.

Secretary Gao smiled knowingly and introduced the place with an air of ownership: "This entire floor is a gym. This is the yoga room, and that's the weight room. They're all perks for the company's female employees." Secretary Gao emphasized the words "female employees."

Yan Qing naturally understood the implication behind her words. Yan Qing was merely an outsourced member, a temporary employee of the company, and had no right to enjoy the benefits of company employees.

"Secretary Gao, please come on over. I'm not a big fan of exercise, I'm just here to watch the fun."

Seeing that Yan Qing was so sensible, Secretary Gao's tone softened: "Practicing yoga is very beneficial for girls. You can come and learn next time when there aren't many people."

Guo, sitting next to her, listened awkwardly, not daring to say a word. She watched Yan Qing walk out of the classroom, silently giving her an apologetic look. Yan Qing didn't seem to mind, smiling and waving at her through the glass door.

After leaving the yoga studio, Yan Qing found the cafeteria closed, so she went back to her office and grabbed some cookies that someone had given her to fill her stomach.

She hasn't been getting enough rest lately. After working in front of the computer for a while, her eyes started to ache terribly. She rubbed her eyelids, leaned back in her chair, and unconsciously dozed off.

He dozed off for a short while, then was pulled up by Secretary Gao who barged in.

Yan Qing thought she had overslept, but when she checked the time, it was only 1:15.

Secretary Gao hadn't even changed out of her yoga clothes when she issued an order: "Urgent notice, leaders from Sunshine International are coming for an exchange this afternoon. Go upstairs to the conference room to help with the setup, then listen to Secretary Zhao's instructions. Do whatever she tells you to do."

Yan Qing hesitated, remembering that she still had model revisions to make that afternoon and that her team leader was pressuring her, saying, "But I still have other work to do..."

Secretary Gao rolled her eyes at her: "It won't take you half an hour. You have plenty of free time to practice yoga, don't you?"

In the conference room on the 30th floor, Secretary Zhao gave her some general instructions before rushing off to do other things. Hanging banners, setting up nameplates, and setting up the projector were all done by Yan Qing alone. Secretary Gao came to urge her twice: "Not done yet? Hurry up, the meeting is about to start!"

The meeting room was finally set up, and Yan Qing felt weak all over. She knew that her low blood sugar had struck at a very inopportune time.

While it wasn't too serious, she headed towards the stairs.

Just as they reached the stairwell, the elevator doors slowly opened. Shen Hanyang strode out first, followed by a large group of people, all dressed in suits and ties. Yan Qing quickly moved aside. As Shen Hanyang brushed past her, she bowed slightly. Shen Hanyang, however, didn't linger, walking straight towards the conference room.

Secretary Gao, who was at the back of the line, stopped Yan Qing and pulled her aside.

"Six cups of coffee: one with skim milk, no sugar, no ice; two with low-fat milk, no sugar; one with ice, one without ice; and the remaining three, just coffee, two with ice, one without ice. Bring them to my desk."

The meeting was large, so Yan Qing didn't dare to be negligent. She busied herself between the coffee machine and the refrigerator several times, finally carrying a tray with six cups of coffee towards Secretary Gao's desk. The break room and the secretary's office were at opposite ends of the corridor. Halfway there, Yan Qing suddenly felt dizzy. The sudden vertigo made her panic and her hands tremble. Her limbs felt weak, and she almost couldn't hold the tray. With nowhere to rest on either side, she had no choice but to squat down against the wall and place the tray on the ground. Her heart pounded even harder; she buried her head in her arms, trying to calm the racing whirlwind in her head.

"What's the meaning of putting the coffee on the floor? This is for entertaining clients, how can we drink it like this?"

Despite speaking in a low voice, Secretary Gao's authority descended with overwhelming force.

Yan Qing took a deep breath and struggled to tilt her head back: "I'm sorry, I have low blood sugar..."

Secretary Gao glanced at her with great displeasure: "We really brought back a Lin Daiyu (a character from a Chinese folktale known for her delicate features)." Then he instructed the young girl beside him: "Go and make six more cups of coffee! Hurry up!" The girl nodded hurriedly in agreement. As she passed Yan Qing, she asked worriedly, "How are you? Should we go to the hospital..." Before she could finish speaking, Secretary Gao shouted sternly, "Hurry up and go! The client has been waiting for ages!" The girl responded repeatedly, not daring to delay any longer. She glanced at Yan Qing and ran towards the break room.

Yan Qing felt sweat pouring out, surrounded by a cacophony of footsteps. She couldn't care less about Secretary Gao's mood; she had to find a place to rest and eat something sweet as soon as possible.

She slowly rose, supporting herself against the wall, but just as she was about to stand, a dense flurry of silvery snowflakes filled her vision. Her legs gave way, and she collapsed.

In the last second before losing consciousness, she felt a force supporting her...