Chapter 8
Chapter 8
Shen Qingyuan went to the restroom halfway through, and when she came back, Ye Chuyang had already left.
This is not hard to understand; passersby had already started peeking out from outside the private room, probably because they had heard something.
If this drags on any longer, obsessive fans will probably swarm over like flies drawn to carrion. Ye Chuyang has tens of millions of fans. It's unimaginable; that's more than the population of a small country.
The boy started drinking and rambled on for a while about Ye Chuyang, talking about his success and some little things from his high school days.
There are always people who pay attention to these anecdotes about celebrities. If you collect them, you can publish a book, and it's guaranteed to sell well.
Song Ting had thought Shen Qingyuan wouldn't be able to stay still, but she saw her slowly eating her food while listening intently to the other students' chatter. She didn't seem to find it boring at all.
She winked at Shen Qingyuan, "Want to go out for some fresh air?"
They went downstairs and stood on the sidewalk by the road.
Song Ting took out a pack of cigarettes, pulled one out, and put it in her mouth. Just as she was about to take out her lighter to light it, she heard Shen Qingyuan say, "Give me one too."
"Shen Qingyuan, didn't you say you don't smoke?" Song Ting said, still handing her the cigarette pack. She knew it had been a tough day for Shen Qingyuan. "You even advised me to quit smoking. If you get addicted later, don't blame me for dragging you down with you!"
"I want to try it." Shen Qingyuan reached for a cigarette. Everything forbidden is alluring.
Song Ting lit a lighter and brought it close to Shen Qingyuan's cigarette butt, "Take a slow puff."
Shen Qingyuan did as she was told, and after taking a smoky, fiery breath, she couldn't help but cough.
“You,” Song Ting sighed, somewhat amused, “are you starting to learn to be a bad kid now? Isn’t it a bit late?”
Shen Qingyuan imitated Song Ting, tentatively inhaling through her nose. She tried a few more times, but wasn't in a hurry to learn it immediately.
The smoke drifted slowly away. People and cars bustled along the streets, neon lights flickering. Though small, the town had everything it needed. Occasionally, it was nice to come out and enjoy the night view like this.
She used to hate the smell of smoke; as a medical student, she instinctively disliked any habit harmful to her health. Now, looking back, what was the point?
Song Ting smoked half a cigarette and said, seemingly casually, "Actually, you don't need to clarify what Han Dong said. Old classmates are just people you once crossed paths with. Most of them are unrelated now, so why bother talking to them so much?"
Shen Qingyuan frowned, trying to inhale some of the nicotine from the smoke. She remembered that it reached the brain within seven seconds of being inhaled.
"Irrelevant," Shen Qingyuan pondered the word.
Shen Qingyuan: "If you tell one lie, you have to tell more lies to cover it up. I'm too lazy to do that."
As expected of Shen Qingyuan, she is upright and immune to all poisons.
Song Ting laughed a few times and said with emotion, "Shen Qingyuan, you are actually quite strong. I can't do what you do."
Honesty is the greatest virtue of mankind.
"If my blind dates could be less pretentious and as honest as you, we could both save a lot of time," Song Ting chuckled. "But I'll pretend too." They're both weighing their chips, trying to guess each other's cards.
The more people pretend, the more precious those who don't are.
"Oh, right," Shen Qingyuan suddenly remembered something, "Why is Yu Miaomiao being so sarcastic and distant, like she's targeting me? Did I offend her back in high school?"
Song Ting glared at Shen Qingyuan, incredulous. "You really don't know?"
Shen Qingyuan honestly replied, "I don't know."
"Yu Miaomiao likes Ye Chuyang, and Ye Chuyang likes you. Your love triangle forms a snake pattern."
"She...likes Ye Chuyang?" Shen Qingyuan suddenly realized. No wonder.
But ten years have passed, and now everyone goes their separate ways. Is it really necessary to be so competitive?
"You're still itching to make a move now, didn't you notice?" Song Ting was speechless, doubting whether she and Shen Qingyuan went to the same high school. Thinking about how Yu Miaomiao toasted Ye Chuyang earlier, she said with a hint of satisfaction, "But Ye Chuyang looked down on her ten years ago, and now he doesn't even give her a second glance. Yu Miaomiao went up to her, only to make a fool of herself. People shouldn't be so blindly confident!"
The amount of information was overwhelming, and Shen Qingyuan was a little confused. "I didn't think so. Ye Chuyang is very polite to everyone."
Song Ting clicked her tongue twice. "It's different, it's different. I think the way he looks at you is different from how he looks at others. What you can't have is always more alluring, so why don't you..." Song Ting glanced at Shen Qingyuan mischievously and laughed, "Sister, why don't you try to get everything at once? You're free anyway, why not try to seduce a big star?"
Shen Qingyuan choked, unsure whether it was from the smoke or from Song Ting's words.
A surge of pride welled up in Song Ting's chest. "What's there to be afraid of? The world has always been such that the bold get rich and the timid starve."
Shen Qingyuan waved her hand helplessly and said, "No, no, I don't want to make a fool of myself."
-
When they returned to the private room, several classmates had already left, since most of them now had families to support. Han Dong, for example, had to go back to take care of his child.
When Zhang Chi went to pay, he found that someone had already paid. The cashier said it was the gentleman in the wheelchair.
Zhang Chi sent a message in the high school group chat: Hey, Ye Chuyang, you're so generous! You're really magnanimous! Next time you go back to Chenyang, let us know, it's my treat! @Ye Chuyang
Ye Chuyang: You're welcome. It's so nice to see everyone today! Be careful on your way back!
Of course, I was happy to be treated, and all the classmates who attended sent a thank-you message.
Shen Qingyuan also copied and pasted it, and posted a message.
A while later, she received a friend request. The profile picture was the same as Ye Chuyang's in the group. Looking at the nickname, it read: Ye Chuyang.
"There probably won't be any more contact," Shen Qingyuan thought, but still clicked "accept."
-
Shen Jing'an skillfully maneuvered around the situation, and for the sake of his daughter, he took the first unconventional route in his life, finally managing to arrange a meeting with the leaders of the city hospital next Wednesday.
Shen Qingyuan agreed to meet him.
Shen Jing'an and Nan Lan exchanged a glance, both surprised and delighted.
Nan Lan suddenly realized that her strategy of trying different methods to urge Shen Qingyuan to return to Jicheng over the past six months might have been wrong.
Jicheng is nice, but the city is too big and there are too many people; just thinking about it is incredibly stressful. Shen Qingyuan kept making excuses, saying she was tired and needed to rest for a while. It seems she has no intention of going back to work at all.
If you can become a doctor at the city hospital, you'll be considered part of the city's upper class; you can find all sorts of talented young people there.
Although it's a little disappointing, seeing our daughter perk up and get back on her feet makes us parents very happy.
Nan Lan felt that class reunions and the like might have actually worked.
On the day of the interview, Shen Qingyuan unusually wore a light blue suit and put on light makeup.
Just before leaving, Nan Lan handed her a brown paper envelope. Shen Qingyuan weighed it in her hand; it was heavy. Nan Lan told her to find a time when no one was around and quietly take it out to give to the interviewing manager.
You know what's inside without even opening it.
Shen Qingyuan: "Mom, we don't need this."
Nan Lan: "Chenyang is not Jicheng. Good jobs are limited in small places. If you want to secure a job, this is the standard procedure. Don't worry, your dad and I are prepared! We were originally planning to find you a job after graduation, but you managed to find one on your own in Jicheng back then, so we never had to use it."
Shen Qingyuan hummed in agreement and put the envelope into her bag.
"Mom, I'm leaving."
Nan Lan quickly walked over and tidied up the stray hairs on Shen Qingyuan's forehead.
"Yuanyuan, do you really not need your dad to come with you? Or should I go?"
Always full of enthusiasm and ready to charge into battle, Nan Lan is an impeccable mother. Although vain, she didn't hesitate to fabricate stories with Zheng Meijuan about Shen Qingyuan going abroad to study.
Shen Qingyuan knew that Han Dong would tell his mother, Zheng Meijuan, what she said at the class reunion. Zheng Meijuan might not confront Nan Lan immediately; she would probably be smug for a while and speak sarcastically to Nan Lan.
However, if Shen Qingyuan gets a job at the city hospital, Nan Lan will have won another advantage.
Shen Qingyuan felt sorry for Nan Lan and Zheng Meijuan, wondering why they had to do it. However, she was sure they were enjoying themselves.
"No need." Shen Qingyuan opened the door. "Let's go, Mom!"
The interview went smoothly. Shen Qingyuan was, after all, a top student from Jicheng University, mentored by renowned professors, and possessed rich clinical experience; her professional abilities were undeniable. After only a few questions, the leaders of the municipal hospital showed expressions of delight, their eyes revealing a thirst for talent.
"Miss Shen, I have another question. What is the reason you left the big hospital in Jicheng and came back to work in Chenyang?"
Shen Qingyuan had considered that the interviewer would definitely ask this question.
"...There are some personal reasons."
This isn't a perfect answer, but it might prevent a sensible interviewer from probing further.
Director Wu didn't dwell on the issue and readily replied, "The hospital is short-staffed, especially lacking someone like Miss Shen! I have no problem with her. The HR department will do a background check, and we should be able to finalize the decision soon."
If the leader said that, then it's basically a done deal. Shen Qingyuan hesitated, wondering whether to hand him the envelope now, since the leader was the only one in the office.
Nan Lan repeatedly instructed her to give the red envelope first, no matter what feedback she received: "If the money isn't given properly, everything will be overturned."
Shen Qingyuan reached into her bag and felt a bulging kraft paper envelope. Next to it were her resume folder and collection of papers.
Finally, I made up my mind and took two things out of my bag.
"Director Wu, please keep a copy of my resume for your records! Feel free to contact me anytime if you have any further questions!"
Shen Qingyuan left her resume on the leader's desk. There was something covering the resume.
Director Wu nodded and said with a smile, "Okay."
After she left, Director Wu removed the resume folder, revealing a thick booklet of papers underneath.
These two things were accumulated by Shen Qingyuan over ten years, starting when she was eighteen, day after day, with painstaking effort.
In Shen Qingyuan's mind, nothing, and should be, more convincing than these two things.
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