Chapter 48
Chapter 48
When Shen Qingyuan woke up, the alarm clock on the bedside table was already pointing to 10. Hmm, could the alarm clock be broken?
Low-probability events don't happen frequently, and what happened last night was already low enough. She immediately had a bad feeling.
I checked my phone and it was indeed past 10 o'clock. I was so tired last night that I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the bed and forgot to set an alarm.
Two messages popped up on WeChat.
Xiao Chao: Sister Chen, are you feeling better?
Xiao Chao: Yang Ge and I are leaving first, you can sleep a little longer, don't rush.
?
Based on the context, it can be inferred that Ye Chuyang explained her absence by citing her physical discomfort.
Well, at least he had a conscience and let her rest for half a day.
Normally, she wouldn't need to participate in these kinds of events; an hour on stage wouldn't immediately worsen her back injury. Ye Chuyang insisted on bringing her along each time, ostensibly "just in case."
Following this, Shen Qingyuan replied: I'm feeling much better. Thank you for your concern. How is the situation on site? Do you need me to come over?
Xiao Chao didn't reply immediately; he probably went to consult Ye Chuyang. A few minutes later, a message popped up:
The organizers treated Yang Ge to lunch, and the staff could come along. Sister Chen, Yang Ge asked me to ask if you'd like to come over?
Shen Qingyuan: I'm not going, you guys eat.
She doesn't like crowds by nature, let alone having dinner with a bunch of strangers.
Shen Qingyuan put down her phone, got up, turned on her computer, and opened the latest issue of Spine Journal.
On the table was a fruit platter provided by the hotel on the day of her check-in. Not very hungry yet, Shen Qingyuan took an apple and ate it for breakfast.
When she finally felt hungry, she checked her phone and it was already 2 p.m.
The hotel offers a buffet lunch, but at that price, I'll pass. After washing up and changing her clothes, Shen Qingyuan planned to go downstairs to find something to eat and stretch her legs.
She wasn't particularly interested; she wasn't very curious about the unfamiliar city. But before she'd even walked a few steps from her room, she ran into a colleague.
Xiao Chao came running over excitedly and said, "Sister Chen, it's such a pity you didn't go. You have no idea how generous the organizers were; you could eat as much Boston lobster as you wanted! But don't be too sad, hehe!"
He waved the takeout box in his hand, "We packed one for you!"
Shen Qingyuan's gaze fell on the takeout box. The box was a wooden box wrapped in a layer of cloth, unlike the common plastic takeout bags.
Shen Qingyuan stood still.
Ye Chuyang stepped forward and added, "It's not leftovers."
Xiao Chao quickly replied, "Yes, yes, Yang Ge ordered this new thing. We asked the waiter to pack it up."
"Thank you!" Shen Qingyuan took it; it was heavy, and she wondered if there was a lobster inside. Something like a Boston lobster.
This saved her the trouble of foraging for food herself.
She went back to her room and opened the takeout box. It was indeed a serving of steamed shrimp with garlic, still warm, and the aroma was irresistible.
What a huge shrimp!
The word "only" is no longer sufficient to describe its size.
Shen Qingyuan immediately grabbed a shrimp tail and began to eat with gusto. When it comes to eating, she was anything but shy.
Boston lobster again, and letting her rest—his apology was alright, Shen Qingyuan was somewhat satisfied. Anyway, it was all a misunderstanding; Ye Chuyang wasn't some immature teenager, he wouldn't be that bored.
After finishing her meal and tidying up, Shen Qingyuan went to Ye Chuyang's room as it was almost time for his afternoon physiotherapy.
The luxury suite has a huge floor-to-ceiling window. The spotless, transparent window reflects the afternoon clouds, small and neatly arranged like a square formation.
In a metropolis where land is incredibly valuable, and banquets overflowing with delicacies, Shanghai exudes a sense of opulent wealth, making it more suitable for those who can afford large lobsters. Like Ye Chuyang, for example.
Not long after Shen Qingyuan entered the house, Ye Chuyang asked Xiao Chao to go downstairs to buy coffee.
Xiao Chao took out his phone and checked the map. "I'll order takeout. The place Yang Ge usually drinks at is a bit far."
Ye Chuyang remained calm and said, "I need to buy some other things. You can go yourself."
"Others?"
"I'll send it to you on WeChat in a bit."
Xiao Chao said "Oh," and went downstairs. Something felt off.
Why can't we say what to buy in person? Who are we avoiding? Sister Chen? Well, there's a difference in closeness. He's been following Brother Yang for several years and is a distant relative, so of course he's closer to him.
After Xiao Chao left, Ye Chuyang glanced at the door subconsciously. He then looked back and carefully observed Shen Qingyuan's expression.
"Is it to your liking, Dr. Shen?"
Shen Qingyuan said, "It's delicious, thank you." One should know one's place; it's wrong not to.
Her expression remained unchanged, calm and undisturbed.
A smile flickered in Ye Chuyang's eyes. He should be all better now, right? This was their first argument since they reunited. He'd been so anxious while chasing after her to explain that he hadn't even put on a mask or sunglasses.
I only remembered halfway there that I was a public figure and that being photographed would be troublesome, so I calmed down. I didn't want to seem too subservient, but I was also afraid she would really get angry. Sigh, I was conflicted for quite a while.
Suddenly, I felt like I had masochistic tendencies. I didn't like pretty, cheerful girls; I preferred this lukewarm type. Of course, she did have reason to be angry last night.
Shen Qingyuan asked, "Are we leaving for Hengdian tomorrow?" Xiao Chao didn't mention leaving, so he probably wasn't in a hurry to go back today.
"I'm meeting a friend tomorrow, and I'll leave the day after tomorrow morning."
Shen Qingyuan said "Oh" and went over to adjust the physiotherapy machine.
"You must have worked so hard yesterday, did you get enough rest?" He brushed off the topic of the swimming pool. Neither of them mentioned it again.
"I'm fine," Shen Qingyuan asked casually, "How about you?"
"Not good." Ye Chuyang shrugged. He was too excited and didn't fall asleep until the early hours of the morning. He was having trouble sleeping alone.
Of course, Ye Chuyang only dared to say these things in his heart. If he dared to use them to tease Dr. Shen, he would probably be pushed back into the pool by her.
He recalled the scene in the pool, and a strange smile rose in his eyes, a hint of slyness in it.
The infrared therapy lamp was adjusted, and Shen Qingyuan pointed to the bed, "Alright, lie down!"
Ye Chuyang unbuttoned his short-sleeved shirt, revealing a white, tight-fitting vest underneath. His waist and abdomen were lean but not skinny, and his pectoral muscles were partially visible.
His pectoral muscles were quite well-developed, making it difficult for a girl to bend them over with her arms. Fortunately, Shen Qingyuan had longer arms, and she could wrap her arms around more than half of his chest with one hand. She half-hug, half-embrace him, her hand gripping the muscles behind his armpit.
Looking back now, her little hands were quite soft...
-
Shen Qingyuan didn't press him about why he hadn't slept well; she didn't like to meddle in other people's business.
Luckily, he brought his laptop. He's going to see his friends tomorrow, so he shouldn't need her to come with him. He can relax and do his own thing at the hotel.
A voice call came in. Ye Chuyang was lying face down on the bed, so it was inconvenient to use the receiver. He turned on the speakerphone and placed it on the bed next to his ear.
Business broker Lei talked to him about the live stream data for a while, and Ye Chuyang listened attentively, responding occasionally.
The voice on the other end of the phone was very excited, praising Ye Chuyang's excellent live broadcast results, saying that the market would soon reassess his business acumen.
Shen Qingyuan continued operating the instrument, passively listening to several numbers, such as the number of real-time online users exceeding one million and pre-sales exceeding 19 million.
Although the two people on the phone were excited, there was no surprise in their tone. These statistics were just typical performance for top-tier celebrities.
With 19 million yuan, Shen Qingyuan thought, "I can build a township hospital."
Not long after Lei Ge hung up, Xiao Chao called again. "Yang Ge, what else do you want to buy? You haven't sent me any WeChat messages yet?"
Ye Chuyang hummed in agreement, blinked, thought for a few seconds, and said, "Let's buy a watermelon, I want to eat one."
Xiao Chao: "..."
They thought it was some kind of secret treasure, tsk!
-
The next day.
Shen Qingyuan spent the morning looking at documents, and around three or four o'clock in the afternoon she felt sleepy and didn't want to sleep, so she decided to go downstairs for a walk.
Some people are naturally energetic. During her student days, Shen Qingyuan only needed five or six hours of sleep a day and was full of energy the next day; she never took a nap. Taking a nap actually affected her sleep at night.
There are few opportunities for her to enjoy such large blocks of free time. In terms of workload, the job is indeed not heavy, except for the occasional tiring and troublesome business trips, which require accompanying her.
She took the elevator down to the first floor and brushed past two middle-aged women through the hotel's revolving door.
Shen Qingyuan was wearing a hat and walking with her head down, not noticing anything amiss. But just as she was about to leave, a voice called out from behind, "Qingyuan, Shen Qingyuan—"
She subconsciously turned her head, feeling that the voice was familiar, but she couldn't quite place it.
The moment Shen Qingyuan saw the caller's image through the curved glass, she froze. After a moment, she stammered, "Professor Dai..."
Professor Dai Ying was Shen Qingyuan's on-campus master's supervisor. When Shen Qingyuan chose her clinical specialization, determined her thesis topic, and defended her dissertation, she received her earnest guidance.
Shen Qingyuan retreated through the revolving door and re-entered from the right side.
"Professor Dai, what are you doing here...?"
Both of them were quite surprised. In such a vast city as Shanghai, with tens of millions of people, to meet here felt like a wonderful coincidence.
Dai Ying turned to the lady accompanying her and said, "Professor Sun, please go up first. I'll chat with my students for a while."
The latter nodded, smiled at Shen Qingyuan, and left first.
Dai Ying was quite pleased. "I'm here to attend an academic conference. This hotel was arranged by the organizers. I didn't expect to run into you here." She glanced at her watch. "Xiao Shen, it's been a long time. Would you like to have afternoon tea with your teacher?"
Shen Qingyuan, of course, could not refuse. Still a little dazed, she followed the teacher upstairs again.
The two of them went up to the fifth floor. There's a coffee shop on the fifth floor, but it's not open to the public; it only caters to hotel guests, so it offers more privacy.
-
Professor Dai glanced at the coffee and dessert menu from his seat, his brow furrowing slightly. "One hundred and eighty yuan a cup of coffee. I should have known better than to come."
The female professor was as straightforward as ever, her emotions written all over her face. She had been teaching and researching for decades and wasn't exactly poor, but she still felt it wasn't worth spending so much on a cup of coffee.
However, the coffee shop has a nice atmosphere; it's not crowded and very quiet, making it suitable for quiet conversations.
Shen Qingyuan tentatively suggested, "Should we go somewhere else?"
Dai Ying: "Fine, this is fine. The environment is alright. I'll also try this expensive coffee and see what it tastes like."
“I was wondering why you didn’t come to the alumni reunion last week. Turns out you were in Shanghai.”
The coffee was served in a very high-end cup, and it was accompanied by two small pastries.
After thinking for a moment, Shen Qingyuan finally told him everything: "Professor Dai, I've taken on a short-term job to accompany my employer on a business trip here."
Dai Ying gave an "oh," her brows furrowing slightly. She took a sip of coffee, not finding it particularly delicious. She didn't touch the snacks, instead pushing the plate towards the student. "These snacks are all yours. My blood sugar's been a bit high lately, so I can't touch these things!"
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