06. Rice Ball
Although Jiang Nan's life in Chen Yunsheng's home gradually became smoother, her days at Youchuang Advertising were not so smooth.
Her immediate boss, Director Wang, was nicknamed Wang Bapi. He was a middle-aged man known for his penny-pinching and penchant for taking credit and shifting the blame. Recently, the company took on a major maternity and baby product promotion project, and Jiang Nan had pulled several all-nighters to come up with the creative plan. However, at the proposal meeting, Wang Bapi eloquently took all the credit for himself, not mentioning Jiang Nan at all.
The customer was very satisfied and Wang Baopi was also very proud, but he turned around and threw all the subsequent tedious execution work to Jiang Nan, under the pretext of key training.
On this day, when Wang Baopi started talking nonsense again, Jiang Nan endured it again and again and managed to keep a calm expression.
"Xiao Jiang, this project is the focus of our department. You are young, so you should practice more! You must pay attention to the details. If there is any movement on the client's side, report to me immediately." Wang Papi patted Jiang Nan's shoulder, as if entrusting him with an important task.
Jiang Nan was furious, but he still had to force a professional smile on his face: "Okay, Director, I'll do my best."
She looked at Wang Baopi's shiny forehead and wanted to slam the folder in her hand against him. However, she was only a second-tier university student and had only been able to get into Youchuang thanks to the help of an older student. In other words, she didn't have the courage to confront Wang Baopi.
But even more annoying than Wang Baopi was the gossip among colleagues. There was a male colleague named Peter, a close confidant of Wang Baopi, who used this connection to flatter the powerful and bully the weak. Ever since Jiang Nan took over the execution of the maternity and baby project, Peter had been constantly being sarcastic.
"Hey, Jiang Nan, working overtime again? You're really working hard." Pete walked past Jiang Nan's workstation with a cup of coffee and glanced at the pile of documents on her desk.
"However, when it comes to executing this kind of work, no matter how well you do, you are only making things easier for your boss. It's not like some people who can get credit just by talking." He glanced meaningfully in the direction of Wang Baopi's office, looking forward to Jiang Nan making a big scene.
Jiang Nan didn't even look up, his fingers tapping away at the keyboard. "Well, I can't compare to you, Brother Pete. You can get coffee delivered to the director's desk just by talking."
When she and Wenwen first joined the company, Peter liked to send them, a group of interns, to deliver coffee. It can be said that Peter always used the coffee delivery as a way to intimidate the interns.
Pete's face froze as he was choked. He snorted and walked away with his waist twisted.
But Jiang Nan can only satisfy his desire to talk.
For the next week, overtime became almost the norm for her.
Fortunately, Chen Yunsheng's mansion wasn't too far from the company, but the subway was still incredibly crowded during the evening rush hour. However, she had to work overtime, so she barely even experienced the evening rush hour crowds after work.
That night, Jiang Nan worked until almost ten o'clock to finish a last-minute revision requested by a client. By then, she was the only one left in the office, and the office looked empty and a little creepy.
Jiang Nan rubbed her sore eyes, staring at the densely packed text on the screen. Her head felt like it was about to explode, and her stomach growled with hunger. She sighed, saved the document twice more, then shut down the computer, packed up, and went downstairs.
On a night in early May, the wind was warm, but still a little cold when it blew on my body.
Jiang Nan saw that the lights were still on at the convenience store downstairs in the office building, so she walked in and wanted to buy some rice balls to fill her stomach. As soon as she picked up a tuna rice ball, her phone rang.
Yes, smell it.
"Baby! Help me! My computer crashed, and all the plans I need to submit tomorrow are in it! I remember you know a very capable IT lady? Please give me her contact information!" Wenwen's voice was filled with tears.
Jiang Nan held a rice ball in one hand and searched through the address book with the other: "Don't worry, don't worry, I'll look for it... I remember her WeChat is--" Just as she was concentrating on flipping through her phone, a welcome sound rang out at the door of the convenience store.
Jiang Nan followed the sound out of habit and glanced up.
A tall figure walked in.
Although there was a distance between them, Jiang Nan still felt that unique cold aura that kept strangers away - it was Chen Yunsheng.
Is he working overtime too?
But this location is some distance away from both his company and his home.
Jiang Nan was stunned, holding his cell phone and rice ball, like a wooden man with the pause button pressed.
She indulged herself for a moment, then immediately suppressed her chaotic thoughts.
Impossible, absolutely impossible.
When Chen Yunsheng saw Jiang Nan, he slowly stopped and looked at her quietly.
She was wearing the same commuting outfit she wore during the day, with only a thin knitted cardigan on the outside. Her hair was tied back in a messy pattern, and her face was obviously tired.
At the same time, she was holding a rice ball in one hand and a mobile phone in the other, looking a little disheveled after working overtime.
Jiang Nan's uncertain eyes met Chen Yunsheng's calm gaze.
Then, Chen Yunsheng nodded slightly towards Jiang Nan as a greeting.
Jiang Nan finally reacted. She hurriedly said to her phone, "Wenwen, I'll send you that sister's contact information right away." She hung up the phone hastily, looked at Chen Yunsheng a little bewildered, and forced a smile at the same time: "Mr. Chen? What a coincidence?"
"Haven't you had dinner?" Chen Yunsheng didn't answer her question. His gaze stayed on the rice ball in her hand for a second or two, then he moved away and walked straight to the refrigerator.
"It's normal to forget to eat when working overtime." Jiang Nan echoed dryly.
"Have you been busy lately?" Chen Yunsheng opened the cabinet door, revealing only a few rice balls and sandwiches. He frowned slightly, disapproving of the lack of choice. He then grabbed two eel rice balls and a bottle of mineral water and walked to the cashier.
Jiang Nan hurried over. She placed her tuna rice ball on the counter and said to the cashier, "Let's pay together." She wanted to pay quickly and leave.
She immediately pulled up the payment code, gave Chen Yunsheng an awkward smile, and added to the cashier, "Heat it up and take it away."
The cashier agreed and scanned the code skillfully.
Chen Yunsheng opened his mouth, intending to stop Jiang Nan, but the payment confirmation chime had already sounded. He lowered his head to look at Jiang Nan's profile for a moment, then looked away calmly.
Jiang Nan stole a glance at Chen Yunsheng. He still had that expressionless look, but for some reason, Jiang Nan felt the pressure around him was a little lower than usual—had she paid the wrong amount?
After paying the bill, Chen Yunsheng picked up the bag of rice balls and water and glanced at Jiang Nan: "Let's go."
At that time, Jiang Nan was taking the time to push the IT lady's contact information to Wenwen. After noticing Chen Yunsheng's instructions, Jiang Nan hurriedly followed him out of the convenience store.
The cold night wind blew in Jiang Nan's face, making him shiver.
She saw Chen Yunsheng's low-key black car parked on the side of the road. The driver Zhang Lei was standing next to the car. When he saw them come out, he immediately opened the back door.
"Get in the car." Chen Yunsheng said briefly and got in first.
Jiang Nan hesitated for a moment, but then followed him in. There was enough space between them for another person to sit. The familiar cool aroma of cedar mixed with the smell of freshly bought rice balls made the smell inside the car strange.
Then the car started and merged into the sparse traffic at night.
"Why are you so late today?" Chen Yunsheng's eyes were focused on the flowing neon lights outside the window.
Jiang Nan was stunned for a moment before realizing he was asking her. "Working overtime, finishing a project," she whispered, glancing at the convenience store bag in Chen Yunsheng's hand. She didn't dare ask him for the rice balls.
Chen Yunsheng didn't say anything else.
Then the carriage fell into silence again.
But Jiang Nan's eyes glanced to the side again.
However, Chen Yunsheng still looked out the window.
At that time, he was holding the bag containing three rice balls on his knees, and he didn't seem to have any intention of eating them.
After a while, the car stopped at a red light. Chen Yunsheng suddenly turned around and handed the bag to Jiang Nan.
Jiang Nan looked at him blankly: "?"
"Your dinner." Chen Yunsheng's voice was calm and gentle.
Jiang Nan looked at the bag he handed over and smiled a little flatteringly and gratefully: "Thank you, Mr. Chen."
Even though she was paying, she still had to be polite.
Chen Yunsheng ignored her thanks and stuffed the bag directly into her arms, his movements a bit restrained and at a loss: "Don't eat too much, it's not good for your stomach."
"Okay, I understand. Thank you." Jiang Nan looked down at the extra rice ball in her arms, then looked up at Chen Yunsheng. He seemed a little uncomfortable. His eyes quickly moved away from her face and looked out the window again, but Jiang Nan caught a suspicious reddish tint on his ear, faintly visible in the flickering light.
Was it because he felt embarrassed to force-feed her a rice ball, or was it because he cared about her?
This thought made Jiang Nan's heart move inexplicably, as if being gently scratched by a feather.
But then, Jiang Nan immediately warned himself not to let his imagination run wild.
Then she silently took out a warm eel rice ball.
As the wrapping paper is torn open, the rich aroma of sauce and grilled eel instantly fills the air.
She took a big bite. The warm rice mixed with the plump eel meat and the slightly sweet sauce was so delicious that she squinted her eyes in satisfaction.
"Mmm, this is delicious!" She couldn't help but exclaim in a low voice, with joy and surprise in her voice.
Chen Yunsheng next to him was still looking out the window, but his body relaxed a little and was no longer so tense.
Jiang Nan ate the warm rice balls in small bites, and her stomach warmed up, and her body seemed not so cold anymore. She secretly glanced at the silent man beside her, her eyes curious.
He was still like an iceberg, but tonight the iceberg seemed to have cracked a little, revealing a little indescribable warmth.
Jiang Nan couldn't figure out whether it was because of the gentleness of the night or because of a warm rice ball. He just felt that a secret corner of his heart had quietly become a little warmer along with the heat of the rice ball.
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