31. Drinking leads to mistakes.
It was already ten o'clock, and Fang Shuning still showed no signs of getting up.
After much hesitation, Song Jiuchen went out first. Fu Yuanzheng had invited him to dinner. Fu Yuanzheng claimed he wanted to show him hospitality and also thank him for his help in Xitang.
Song Jiuchen felt it was unnecessary to go to so much trouble or be so polite, but Fu Yuanzheng didn't. Mainly, he was just idling at home anyway.
Having spent so much time in Xitang and gotten used to the daily grind, Fu Yuanzheng felt a bit empty these past few days since returning. He asked Fang Shuning several times when he was going back.
Fang Shuning always said "right away, right away".
It was clearly an excuse to brush him off.
Then Song Jiuchen arrived. Fu Yuanzheng finally had something to do. He got up early to go out for lunch and shopping with Song Jiuchen, and to show him the local customs and culture of City A.
Song Jiuchen couldn't refuse any longer, so he agreed.
Fu Yuanzheng even thoughtfully came to pick up Song Jiuchen. The moment he saw Song Jiuchen and saw that there was no one behind him, he asked, "Where's Fang Shuning?"
"Not up yet."
"What are you thinking about? I slept on the sofa last night."
"Secretary Song, what's wrong with you? How could you not seize such a perfect opportunity with all the right timing, location, and people?" Fu Yuanzheng said in a tone of disappointment. "Let's go, get in the car."
Fu Yuanzheng is indeed wealthy; the cars he drives, the restaurants he frequents—everything about him screams "rich." Thanks to Fang Shuning and Xitang, Fu is now being exceptionally generous to him.
Around noon, Fang Shuning finally got out of bed.
When asked if she wanted to go to their restaurant, it turned out Song Jiuchen had gone to see Fu Yuanzheng. She'd almost forgotten about him.
"No!" Fang Shuning refused outright.
I need to go to the law firm this afternoon. Although there's nothing much to do tonight, I need to go to bed early so I can have a follow-up appointment tomorrow morning.
See, Dr. Xu is such a thoughtful person. Fang Shuning replied, "Does Dr. Xu care this much about every patient he treats?"
Should everyone individually remind her to go for the follow-up checkup?
Yes, every single one.
Xu Congye knew perfectly well that Fang Shuning was teasing him. He also knew how to respond in a way that would leave Fang Shuning feeling disappointed. See, Xu Congye had just successfully ignited Fang Shuning's competitive spirit.
Each?
She's different from others.
Song Jiuchen had probably gone off to indulge in a life of luxury with Fu Yuanzheng and hadn't had any contact with Fang Shuning. Fang Shuning didn't bother with him either; it wasn't her style to question or pry into a man's indifference towards her.
Never mind him, go to sleep.
Song Jiuchen was left alone, staring blankly at his phone.
Fu Yuanzheng invited a bunch of his cronies. Song Jiuchen wasn't particularly interested in these kinds of gatherings among rich kids, but the rich kids who hung out with Fu Yuanzheng were probably rich but naive. Getting to know a few of them might be a good way to secure investment later. So Song Jiuchen gladly accepted.
Fu Yuanzheng: I consider you a good brother, and you say I'm stupid and rich?
In the lively setting, everyone was chatting and laughing. Only Song Jiuchen seemed out of place.
"Secretary Song, what are you doing? Come on over." Someone called out to Song Jiuchen. But Song Jiuchen had already lost interest.
The next day, Fang Shuning got up early, dressed up carefully, and took a taxi to the hospital. She specifically booked an appointment with Xu Congye, waiting outside until her name appeared on the screen.
Soon, it was her turn.
"Dr. Xu, it's been a long time." (The sentence is a bit awkward in this context.)
"Ahem, sit down." Xu Cong remained calm and composed, but in reality, his heart had already stirred the moment he saw Fang Shuning's name.
However, Xu Congye is a very pretentious person, sometimes even more so than Fang Shuning.
Xu Cong quickly prepared a list of tests for Fang Shuning after only some routine examinations were required, and told her where to go for the tests.
Fang Shuning took the order, said thank you, and left. Without a word, Xu Cong, surprisingly, felt a pang of disappointment and silently shook his head as Fang Shuning walked out the door.
Fang Shuning's figure, which had disappeared, suddenly reappeared at the doorway. She poked her head inside, revealing half her body. "Dr. Xu, do you have time tonight? I'd like to invite you to dinner." (She was still asking for money.)
Xu Cong didn't react at first, but subconsciously nodded and said "Mm".
"You go ahead and get busy, I'll contact you after get off work. Bye~"
After a series of checks, it was already mid-afternoon. Fang Shuning went home, rested briefly, and then, refreshed and radiant, went to her "date" with Xu Congye.
Song Jiuchen slept in late today, a rare occurrence for him. The first thing he did upon waking was, as usual, check his phone. He glanced at it, but still no messages from Fang Shuning. He sighed, then looked at his train ticket home. He sighed again, because there were no tickets left.
I contacted the villagers and found out they were free for the next couple of days, so I felt relieved and booked a ticket back to Xitang for the next day.
For Song Jiuchen, this was also a rare opportunity to rest. He decided to spend the whole day lying around in Fu Yuanzheng's large apartment. A rare moment of laziness.
Fu Yuanzheng woke up shortly after Song Jiuchen. He had a dinner appointment that evening and asked Song Jiuchen if he wanted to join. Song Jiuchen shook his head, fearing a repeat of the previous night's scene. He expressed his desire to lie at Fu Yuanzheng's house like a corpse.
Fu Yuanzheng didn't say anything more.
He left on his own when it was time. Song Jiuchen is a grown man with full civil capacity; he's not incapable of taking care of himself.
However, there are always too many coincidences in this world.
For example, the moment Fu Yuanzheng stepped into the restaurant, he immediately spotted Fang Shuning's smiling face and the handsome man sitting opposite her, whose looks were second only to his own. Fang Shuning was a scoundrel; she came back to "cheate." No wonder she was so hot and cold towards Secretary Song.
She quickly pulled out her phone, took a picture, and sent it to Song Jiuchen, along with his location. She thought to herself, "Hopefully Song Jiuchen will cooperate; then we'll have a good show to watch soon."
He refused to believe that Song Jiuchen would remain unmoved.
The moment Song Jiuchen saw the picture, his heart felt like it had been stabbed with needles. He knew, of course, what Fu Yuanzheng meant by sending him the location, but without any official status or recognition, what right did he have?
He was conflicted, but finally, he slapped his thigh and decided to go! Even though he had no official status, he wanted to get a definite answer.
If the man in the photo is someone she likes, then he will never bother her again and will wish her well.
Little did he know, Fang Shuning had already given him a definite answer, but he was too drunk and couldn't remember it when he sobered up. See, drinking really does lead to trouble.
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