29

The next two months were relatively calm, and the team's performance in the competition was consistently good, with the Samsara team taking turns competing for the top spot in the regular season standings.

The club quickly recovered from the public opinion storm. After the latest episode of the "Transparent Factory" documentary aired on television, its reputation reversed, and it even gained some goodwill.

Shen Ning successfully got a permanent position, and her relationship with Zhang Xinjie was stable. During their time off, the two would usually meet at each other's homes to continue working on their projects. One of them would study numbers, and the other would study tactics. In the morning, Zhang Xinjie would take a brisk walk for an hour, and in the evening, Shen Ning would go for a run for an hour. They would not compromise or interfere with each other. When it was time to eat, they would go out to eat and chat together to strengthen their relationship. They would not stay overnight at each other's homes.

And so, a year of ups and downs quietly passed by amidst the falling snow.

In early January, with the All-Star event concluded, the teams entered their winter break, returning home in small groups. The company as a whole exceeded its operating targets last year, and everyone was looking forward to the generous bonuses for the Lunar New Year.

There weren't many urgent tasks, so there were also fewer demanding ones; most of the work was administrative.

"This is next year's budget request. The two team leaders can take a look when they have time. There's no rush. The finance department said we can submit it next week."

"In addition, this is the application for scrapping the computer that has reached the end of its life. I have checked it all. The time is correct, and the performance is indeed not up to par. It has been idle for almost a year."

Shen Ning printed two copies of each of the two documents and handed them to Han Wenqing and Zhang Xinjie: "That's basically it before the New Year."

While signing the scrap application, Han Wenqing said, "There's a big project coming up after the New Year, which might last all year. Keep that in mind."

What project?

"The sales team is currently in talks about an e-sports industrial park project, with an investment reportedly exceeding 100 million yuan."

Shen Ning was surprised: "Hundreds of millions? There hasn't been such a large investment in the past two years. Is it our own? Or do we have a partner?"

"They said it was a joint investment with Shengchong Group, with them contributing the majority of the funds."

"A big corporation, it seems their annual financial growth has been over 50% in recent years." Although she had witnessed malicious order-grabbing before, Shen Ning still sincerely admired their outstanding capabilities. "To be able to secure this kind of cooperation, impressive."

Zhang Xinjie checked the budget, handed it to Han Wenqing and said "No problem", then continued on the topic: "This kind of project will definitely need to go through the general office meeting after the New Year, and it requires the cooperation of the whole company. We definitely can't avoid it."

"Do you have a specific plan?"

"Not yet, it will be after the New Year. I heard Mr. Wu mention that there is a VR experience hall, a competition venue, a trend exhibition hall, a cultural and creative street, as well as vocational training and live streaming."

"It won't be finished in less than six months. We'll probably have to provide the personnel for vocational training and live streaming... Okay, I think I understand. Let's discuss it again when we have a concrete plan."

After Han Wenqing signed the document and handed it back, he asked, "Are you free after get off work?"

"I'm fine." After Shen Ning finished speaking, she turned to look at Zhang Xinjie, who also indicated that he had no special arrangements.

"Let's have dinner together tonight, Xin Nuan will treat."

He remained puzzled: "Why did she treat us?"

“After the public outcry over your rescue, Wu Meng sent a thank-you letter to her workplace and also donated a bonus in her personal capacity. Now that she has the money, she insists on treating you two to a meal.”

“That’s not appropriate, Shen Ning and I both have them too,” Zhang Xinjie said.

"It's okay, she's happy."

"Okay, we'll treat her next time, or buy her something small." Shen Ning readily accepted, and before leaving, she couldn't resist teasing Han Wenqing, "Captain, are you feeling particularly threatened lately?"

Han Wenqing frowned.

Shen Ning pointed at Zhang Xinjie: "Look, your man is mine now, and your woman, who is my sworn sister, is mine too. What are you going to do about it?"

After saying that, Chen Ning opened the door and slipped out, leaving Han Wenqing, who had just picked up the folder on the table, at a loss. In the end, Han Wenqing angrily threw the folder back onto the table.

Han Wenqing glared angrily at Zhang Xinjie: "Didn't you say you were in charge of her? Is this how you're supposed to be in charge?"

"……calm."

"Quickly transfer her to another department; this team is too big to afford."

“…Calm down.” Zhang Xinjie looked at the office on the other side of the glass wall, where Shen Ning was smiling and looking over. He shook his head helplessly. “It’s not easy to find someone smart and capable. It’s understandable that she has a bit of a personality.”

"..." Han Wenqing closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"I'll go to the Sports Bureau to submit the materials first. If I don't have enough time, I'll just go straight to the place where we eat."

"...Hurry up and leave."

He didn't want to talk to the couple for even a minute longer.

The snow was heavy today, and with the north wind blowing, even though we were fully bundled up with hats, scarves, and gloves, it was still bone-chillingly cold.

After finishing his business at the Sports Bureau, Zhang Xinjie felt a headache coming on from the wind even though it was only a short walk from the car. Since he didn't have any cold medicine in the car, he pressed his temples to relieve the headache and then drove to the place where the gathering was to take place.

The meal was very enjoyable. The two girls sat together, chatting about clothes and dressing up. They even made a plan to find a day before the New Year to go shopping for new clothes for the New Year with Xu Xinnuan's other best friend and get their hair done.

Han Wenqing and Zhang Xinjie would only exchange a few words with the two princesses when they remembered to speak to them.

However, Zhang Xinjie did feel unwell, and seemed to have a fever.

At the end, the two couples went their separate ways home. Zhang Xinjie said to Shen Ning in the parking lot, "I'll be in your car for a bit, could you give me a ride first?"

When the usually gentlemanly Zhang Xinjie said such a thing, Shen Ning immediately sensed something was amiss. She stared at him intently, then suddenly reached out and touched his forehead. It was clearly very hot, not a normal body temperature.

Shen Ning opened the car door for Zhang Xinjie, then walked around to the driver's side and said, "Hurry up, get in the car."

The roads were slippery due to the snow, so Chen Ning didn't dare to drive too fast and would occasionally check on Zhang Xinjie's condition through the rearview mirror.

He was leaning back with his eyes closed, breathing faster than usual, and his very fair skin was slightly flushed.

"You, with a fever, still came over."

"...He didn't have a fever before he came here."

"Still being stubborn."

"..."

Shen Ning smiled and said, "When I had a fever, you scolded me a lot. Now it's your turn."

"After confirming that I am not feeling well, I will adjust my driving schedule accordingly so that you will not do anything dangerous or exhausting."

"Okay, you're so noble, you're so amazing."

"..."

Zhang Xinjie was listless, so Shen Ning stopped arguing with him. About half an hour later, the car slowly came to a stop. Shen Ning unbuckled her seatbelt and said, "Let's get out. We're here."

Zhang Xinjie opened his eyes, only to find that this was not his own home, but the house that Chen Ning had rented.

He didn't move, but turned to look at Chen Ning.

Then Shen Ning reached out and helped him unbuckle his seatbelt, smiling as she said, "Don't worry, I'm not a beast. I won't take advantage of you."

“…” Zhang Xinjie was very tired and didn’t want to talk.

When a person is sick, they have no ability to struggle. Zhang Xinjie obediently returned to Shen Ning's home, and the two spent the night together for the first time.

Shen Ning took his temperature and saw that it was 38 degrees Celsius. She quickly found some fever reducer, poured a glass of water, cut two lemons and boiled a pot of lemon water, then found a new set of toiletries and even bought a set of men's pajamas in a flash sale.

After all that fuss, Zhang Xinjie lay on the bed in the bedroom, feeling the soft and fluffy mattress and cotton quilt. His body, which had been aching from the fever, finally relaxed, and he said weakly, "Thank you for your help."

"Alright, go to sleep now."

Zhang Xinjie glanced at the bed, hesitated for a moment, and asked, "Where will you sleep later?"

What a stupid question.

Don't you know there's only one bed in the house?

"You're right next to me." Shen Ning touched his forehead again. "Are you delirious with fever?"

"..."

"You don't want me to sleep on that sofa outside, which is so small it's barely big enough for one person to lie down on, do you?"

"……no."

"What is that?" Shen Ning raised an eyebrow.

"...It's okay, I'm going to sleep."

He suppressed a laugh, his eyes full of slyness: "Don't worry, if I really can't resist your good looks and do something to you... I will definitely take responsibility, young man."

Zhang Xinjie closed his eyes and lay down, pretending to be dead.

The deep index finger gently traced the contours of Zhang Xinjie's profile, a provocative gesture that caused Zhang Xinjie to clench his fist under the covers.

"Haha, you're so adorable when you're sick."

"..." He couldn't resist now, so he had to endure it.

Seeing Zhang Xinjie defeated, Shen Ning was in a good mood. He turned off the bedroom light and went to the living room to continue studying the financial report.

At 11 o'clock, Shen Ning closed her laptop, washed up, and returned to the bedroom. She carefully turned on the bedside lamp on her side and gently took Zhang Xinjie's temperature again.

It's already burning at 39 degrees Celsius.

Shen Ning touched his face and neck; they were burning hot.

Sure enough, fevers are most likely to spike at night, and I don't know when the fever reducer will take effect. If it doesn't come down, I'll have to go to the hospital.

Shen Ning remembered what Zhang Xinjie had mentioned about physical cooling, so she went to the bathroom, filled a basin with cold water, and took two towels. She folded one into a long strip and placed it on Zhang Xinjie's forehead, and then wrung out the other towel before wiping Zhang Xinjie's body with water.

He was sleeping soundly, his breathing was noticeably heavy and rapid, and even when Chen Ning rubbed his neck and upper body, he showed no signs of waking up.

After fussing around for a while, Chen Ning rinsed the towel on her forehead with cold water again, set an alarm on her phone every hour, and then turned off the light and lay down next to him.

Every time the alarm rang that night, Chen Ning would get up to check his temperature and change his towel. It wasn't until after 4 a.m. that his temperature finally dropped below 38 degrees Celsius. Only then did she turn off all the alarms and fall asleep peacefully.

Before going to bed, I was relieved that the next day was the weekend.

Zhang Xinjie woke up at around 7 a.m. the next morning.

This was a rare instance of him not getting up at 6 a.m. according to his schedule.

The curtains were thick, and the room was dim. Zhang Xinjie felt a towel on his forehead that was no longer cold. He took it off and saw another wet towel next to the basin on the table. He also noticed that the top two buttons of his pajamas were undone, and guessed that Shen Ning had helped him cool down.

He looked at Shen Ning sleeping beside him. This was the first time they had shared a bed, the first time they had shared a blanket, and the first time he had woken up to find a girl next to him.

It was an experience he had never had before. Her breathing was very light and close to his. Zhang Xinjie lay closer to her and could feel the warmth of her breath.

Shen Ning turned to face him, her hair slightly disheveled and covering her cheeks. Zhang Xinjie wanted to reach out and brush her hair away, but he was afraid of waking her. After hesitating for a moment, he didn't move. He indulged himself and lay with her like this for another half hour, greedily enjoying this unexpected tenderness.

It wasn't until eight o'clock that Zhang Xinjie quietly got out of bed, covered himself with the blanket, and left the bedroom.

My temperature was normal when I checked it in the living room, and I did feel much lighter, but my body felt sticky from sweating due to the fever.

Since it was already overnight, Zhang Xinjie didn't hold back anymore. He used the bathroom to take a shower and finally felt refreshed. As he dried his hair, he came out and thought about what to order for breakfast.

There was a man sitting in the living room.

His hair was turning gray, and his face was kind yet dignified; I had seen this face before.

The man looked him up and down, then calmly called out his name: "Zhang Xinjie".

Zhang Xinjie felt that perhaps the way he woke up was wrong, the clothes he was wearing were wrong, and the things he did were even more wrong.

In short, nothing is right.

Because this person is Shen Zhongxing, who is also Shen Ning's father.