Chapter 41 Male Colleague: I know you've always done a great job. ...
Perhaps because of the erotic dream she had last night, Zhou Jinqin's period came rather unexpectedly this time.
Actually, her menstrual cycle was fairly regular, only a few days different from last month. It's just that she hadn't experienced the feeling of having her period on time once a month for many years, so she had indeed lost her awareness of prevention.
Fortunately, she always carries sanitary napkins with her, so she wasn't completely flustered. However, this period came on very suddenly, and because her summer clothes were made of thin fabric, her outer pants were still stained with a small patch of blood.
Zhou Jinqin took the clothes and thanked her softly, "Thank you, I'm sorry to have taken up your time."
“It won’t delay us. It was almost over anyway. I just noticed you hadn’t sat down, so I guessed you might need it.” Jia Yang’s ears were slightly red, and his throat was a little dry. “If you’re not feeling well, you can go back and rest first. Anyway, there’s not much left to do. I’ll call you a car.”
Zhou Jinqin shook her head: "No need to trouble yourself, I'll wait for you. You said it won't be long, a little longer won't make a difference."
She hadn't really been able to help much, but she figured at least she could help organize the files at the end, so it would be a proper ending.
Seeing that she seemed to be in good condition, Jia Yang didn't refuse her anymore. He simply told her that she could contact him if she had any questions, and then returned to the front row.
Zhou Jinqin had chosen a corner spot anyway, so standing wouldn't bother anyone. Afraid of getting the chair dirty if she sat for too long, she simply stood to the side and finished reading the rest of the story.
The event ended quickly. Jia Yang saw the experts off and returned, and Zhou Jinqin and the volunteer classmates arranged by the school had just finished cleaning up the venue.
Jia Yang handed her a cup of hot water and said, "Thank you for your hard work."
Zhou Jinqin took a sip of lukewarm water, smiled and shook her head: "I've only made things worse. It's good enough that I didn't make things more difficult."
“This is great.” Jia Yang pointed to the neatly categorized files on the table. “I couldn’t possibly categorize them this clearly myself.”
"Besides, I also have my reasons for calling you here..." Jia Yang glanced at her, then lowered his head and coughed lightly, "If you're nice to me, it will be easier for us to communicate at work in the future."
He picked up the documents and said, "Let's go, time to clock out!"
"Okay, time to go home." Zhou Jinqin smiled and hugged the few file folders he had left behind.
Next to the parking lot is a basketball court enclosed by a wire fence, which remains lively even during the holidays, with students who have just finished exercising often speeding past on electric bikes or bicycles.
Jia Yang raised his hand and gestured to Zhou Jinqin, who was standing on the outer edge: "Walk a little further in, be careful not to get hit by a car."
"Oh, okay." Zhou Jinqin, still shaken from nearly being grazed by the bicycle handlebars, said, "Thank you."
A breeze swept by, ruffling Zhou Jinqin's short hair that was tucked behind her ears, and a delicate fragrance wafted into her nose, like flowers and fruit, indistinguishable from each other.
His thoughts paused for a moment until the burst of cheers rang out, and Jia Yang finally came to his senses. He spoke a beat late, "You're welcome."
The two neatly placed their belongings on the back seat of the car, and Jia Yang went to open the passenger door: "Where do you live? I'll give you a ride."
"No need, no need, you've already gone to so much trouble for me today," Zhou Jinqin said. "Later I..."
"Sister Jinqin!"
She was interrupted halfway through her sentence by Liao Zhengqing, who suddenly drifted and stopped in front of her on his bicycle.
Seeing his hurried manner, Zhou Jinqin finally understood why the accident had happened last night. With a sigh, she asked, "What are you doing here?"
"Didn't Sister Qingqing tell you? I'm a student at S University," Liao Zhengqing said.
"No," Zhou Jinqin shook her head. "She hasn't mentioned you much."
Liao Zhengqing was taken aback, and with a long face, he said, "But what are you doing here?"
"Is it for work?" he guessed. "Are you here for that lecture in the academic hall?"
"Yes." Zhou Jinqin pointed to Jia Yang next to her, "Today's event was organized by my colleague."
"Oh..." Liao Zhengqing glanced at the thin man beside him, "He's in charge of taking you home?"
"No." Zhou Jinqin finished speaking to Jia Yang and said, "Jia Yang, you've already gone to so much trouble for me today. I don't want you to go out of your way to make the trip. It's more important for you to go home and rest. Thank you so much for today."
Zhou Jinqin had run into Jia Yang a few times at the subway station before. The two lived on opposite sides of the same subway line, so taking her back would take a long time.
"It's not numb..." Jia Yang lost because of his gentle voice, which was completely suppressed by Liao Zhengqing's young voice.
"Then come with me, I'm going the same way as you." Liao Zhengqing casually grabbed the bag Zhou Jinqin was carrying and hung it on the handlebars. He glanced at the real-time temperature on his watch, frowned at her suit that was several sizes too big, and said, "Are you cold? It's still thirty degrees Celsius."
"She's not feeling well." Jia Yang didn't explain much to Liao Zhengqing, but turned to Zhou Jinqin and said gently, "If she's hot, tie it around her waist."
"That's not good. I don't think your material is cheap." Liao Zhengqing took out a sun-protective shirt that was casually crumpled up from his bag. "Use mine. It won't get twisted."
Jia Yang looked at the thin layer of sweat on Zhou Jinqin's forehead and knew that she would not agree to wrinkle her clothes, so he smiled gently and compromised: "It's okay, you can use this classmate's clothes, just don't get heatstroke."
Zhou Jinqin smiled gratefully: "Thank you so much for today. I'll keep the clothes for now and return them to you after they've been dry-cleaned."
"You've said thank you countless times today," Jia Yang said with a helpless smile.
Zhou Jinqin said somewhat shyly, "It's annoying, isn't it?"
"No, it's just that I think we have a pretty good relationship, so there's no need to be so polite." Jia Yang walked around to the other side of the car. "Since you're going the same way as him, I won't give you a ride. Please take care of the clothes. See you tomorrow."
Zhou Jinqin nodded: "Okay, see you tomorrow, be careful on the road."
The car quickly disappeared from sight, and Liao Zhengqing said meaningfully, "Your colleague is a pretty good person."
“It’s pretty good.” Zhou Jinqin didn’t catch his implied meaning, but turned to ask him, “By the way, what’s the connection between us?”
Liao Zhengqing said, "I plan to go see Sister Qingqing."
"She agreed to let you go?" Zhou Jinqin asked the crucial question, since Liao Zhengqing had just been yelled at by Xiang Ziqing that morning.
Because of the nature of her work, Xiang Ziqing always keeps her phone on with message notifications to maintain customer relationships. This morning, she was enjoying a nice late sleep when a message woke her up. She managed to compose herself to welcome the generous message, only to find it was from Liao Zhengqing, that brat, asking if she wanted breakfast. Enraged, she called him, gave him a good scolding, and promptly blocked him.
Liao Zhengqing pursed his lips and looked at her pleadingly: "She hasn't spoken to me for almost a day. Could you please ask her for me? Please, Sister Jinqin."
Thinking about the two of them's undeniable feelings, Zhou Jinqin didn't refuse. She unlocked her phone, accessed Xiang Ziqing's contact page, and handed it to him: "Ask him yourself."
Liao Zhengqing held his phone without making a sound, then suddenly asked, "Does she have any taboos? Like how she addresses people?"
He realized that as soon as he opened his mouth, he would inevitably be lectured by the other party, and it was really impossible for him to sit down and have a proper conversation.
Zhou Jinqin thought for a moment and said, "Sister, I guess. She doesn't seem to like being called that."
Liao Zhengqing, who was stepping on a landmine, paused for a moment: "Why?"
"She has several cousins and younger brothers, and every time she's called upon, it's never a good thing."
"So what does she call a man who's younger than her?"
"Cough cough..." Zhou Jinqin was suddenly stunned by his question, and after a long while she managed to stammer out, "Um... Mom, I guess."
"..." Liao Zhengqing was puzzled, but he was prepared to do as instructed.
The call was answered quickly.
The voice on the other end was sweet and cloying: "Hey, Celery, are you off work yet? Wait, I'm coming home right away to sleep with you!"
Liao Zhengqing spoke quietly: "I am Liao Zhengqing."
The connection clearly cooled, and Xiang Ziqing said coldly, "Why is it you everywhere?"
"Is your hand better? Can I come see you?" Liao Zhengqing asked instead of answering, and then added softly, "Mom," as if to be very considerate.
There was a few seconds of silence on the other end. Just as Liao Zhengqing was about to doubt himself, Xiang Ziqing's voice suddenly rang out: "It's not ready yet. Come on if you want to."
Although she wasn't a participant in this sexual game, Zhou Jinqin was the most embarrassed person present.
Liao Zhengqing, still secretly pleased, didn't pay attention and just kept urging, "Let's go, Sister Jinqin."
Zhou Jinqin coughed awkwardly a few times, then pretended to be calm and said, "You're planning to ride this?"
She was referring to Liao Zhengqing's mountain bike, which didn't even have a back seat.
Liao Zhengqing wasn't sure if Liang Minghe had revealed his background, but thinking it wouldn't be a long time, he reluctantly admitted, "I have a car. Actually, my family is quite well-off, and theoretically I can afford the repair costs. It's just that I recently had a fight with my family, and they suspended my credit card, which is why I'm in such a predicament. Otherwise, I wouldn't be staying at school during the holidays..."
Zhou Jinqin wasn't sure how much truth was in his words, but she was too lazy to investigate. She simply said, "Liang Minghe came to pick me up, you..."
"Then I'll ride in your car," Liao Zhengqing made a decisive choice.
The school has strict rules; vehicles that haven't registered in advance aren't allowed to enter, so Liang Ming is still waiting outside the school.
As the two walked outside, Zhou Jinqin asked him curiously, "Do you like Qingqing?"
"Yes." Liao Zhengqing admitted it very readily.
Zhou Jinqin asked in confusion, "But you've only met once..."
"Do you believe in love at first sight?" he said. "When she scolded me, I thought, 'She looks so cute when she's all angry.'"
So it turns out M met S...
Liao Zhengqing countered, "And what about you? Did it take you a long time to decide to marry Minghe?"
Zhou Jinqin's face flushed slightly, and she was too embarrassed to answer. After all, she had only met Liang Minghe three times before they got their marriage certificate, and she didn't even know his name at that time, which was far more inappropriate than what they had done.
She didn't say anything, and simply changed the subject: "Um... I saw Liang Minghe."
She then ran towards the man in two quick steps.
Liang Minghe casually put his arm around the woman's slender waist, smiled, and kissed her forehead: "Did you get tired from running so fast?"
"I'm not tired, I haven't done much." Zhou Jinqin shook her head. "My colleague, on the other hand, has been running around doing chores and has to help me out every now and then. I feel really bad for him."
Liang Minghe gently stroked her fragrant hair and pulled the slender girl closer to his chest: "I think the other person definitely doesn't think that way. If someone is willing to lend you a hand, it's highly likely that your existence has a positive meaning for them. Whether it's social value, networking value, or emotional value, you certainly have your own meaning."
He pinched her jade-like earlobe: "Besides, I don't believe you didn't do anything. I know you'll always find a way to contribute."
Zhou Jinqin fluttered her thick, dark eyelashes: "For example?"
"For example?" Liang Minghe teased her, "The expert is talking eloquently up there, but you are listening attentively down there. He must be very pleased."
Zhou Jinqin muttered, "I'm the only 'bad' student who got to sit in the back row today."
“The back seats must be very happy, so they won’t be so lonely.” Liang Minghe smiled and took her hand, pressing it against his face. “It must feel good to have someone with you.”
Zhou Jinqin playfully punched his chest: "Hmph, you're just teasing me."
Liang Minghe cupped her fist in his palm and chuckled, "Let's put it another way. Did your colleagues thank you or praise you today?"
Zhou Jinqin thought for a moment and said, "He said my documents were very well organized, and that the photos I took at the venue were very good. He also helped correct the mistakes in the documents."
“Right?” Liang Minghe’s beautiful eyes curved into crescents as he pressed against her skin, as if playfully tickling her. “I know you’ve always done a great job.”
He said, "For example, right now, you're standing in front of me, and you've done a great job of making me happy."
Zhou Jinqin buried her blushing face in his chest, her voice soft and almost inaudible: "You always do a great job of making me happy."
"dislike?"
"like……"
"Cough cough..." Liao Zhengqing couldn't help but make a noise.
Zhou Jinqin suddenly remembered that she had forgotten someone, and her already flushed face became even redder.
She hurriedly pushed the man in front of her away and stammered, "Oh right, Liao Zhengqing said he wants to go back with us."
Liang Minghe glanced at him, ignored him, and patted Zhou Jinqin on the back: "Let's go, get in the car."
He reached out to take her hand. It was too dark at night, and Zhou Jinqin had run into his arms without his notice. Only now, as the distance between them closed, did he notice the suit jacket hanging on her arm.
It was clearly a man's size. He looked up at Liao Zhengqing and asked, "Yours?"
"Oh, so you can see me?" Liao Zhengqing smiled meaningfully. "The one around Jinqin's waist is mine."
"As for that suit..." he deliberately dragged out the words, "it belongs to her handsome, gentle, and nice male colleague."
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Author's Note: Regarding the part about stirring up trouble... I originally thought Liao Zhengqing was a world peace ambassador [doge emoji]
Xiaoming is absolutely amazing when it comes to emotional value. [Panda head emoji]
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