Inextricable

The next day, upon seeing Xu Xingxing arrive at the company, Chen Wanwan, who had been reading a document, put it down before getting up to walk towards her. Xu Xingxing had just sat on her seat and was arranging her things on the table when she saw Chen Wanwan approach her with a frustrated look. 

“Xingxing, Li Miaoxue, she looks like she is going to lean completely against him…” Chen Wanwan leaned on her desk as she frowned and looked in another direction. Puzzled, Xu Xingxing followed Chen Wanwan’s gaze to see Li Miaoxue and Huang Qiansong laughing and talking with each other. 

As the head of the translation department, Huang Qiansong’s work standards were under no doubts, but in terms of attitude, there was indeed some problem. It was frequently spread around that his marriage had failed because he cheated. 

Although there was some ambiguity present in their professional relationship, Li Miaoxue was a competent person who did not spend much time with Huang Qiansong during work hours. However, today, as Chen Wanwan said, her whole body was about to lean into him.

Retracting her gaze, Xu Xingxing asked in a curious tone, “Are they together?” 

“I don’t know,” Chen Wanwan sneered, “Lord Zhong can’t come back this time, and the position of the deputy team leader is vacant. So you can understand her intention behind this, right?”

Xu Xingxing could clearly see that Chen Wanwan was trying to suppress her anxiety.

Chen Wanwan and Li Miaoxue had joined the company around the same time. Although both are competent and skilled, Chen Wanwan paid more attention to workability. She was one of the most conscientious people in the translation department,, and her workability was also one of the best. Now that Zhong Yujun’s position was vacant, according to seniority, these two would be the strongest competitors for it.

Chen Wanwan clenched her fingers tightly, making her blue veins and bone joints on the back of her hand bulge. Seeing this, Xu Xingxing held her hand and said, “After work today, let’s go see Lord Zhong together.”

Chen Wanwan’s eyes trembled slightly, then she nodded and said, “Okay.”

When it was time to leave work, Chen Wanwan called home to let her family know she would return late before accompanying Xu Xingxing to the hospital. The human resources division had reported this afternoon that Zhong Yujun was out of the ICU and in a regular ward now.

When the two arrived at the hospital ward, Zhong Yujun’s wife was wiping his face with a sorrowful look. However, she seemed to have adapted to the sudden situation more than yesterday.

Zhong Yujun was usually very popular in the company, and his room was full of gifts, probably from friends and colleagues.

When they pushed the door open, Zhong Yujun’s wife looked up and after seeing that it was Xu Xingxing, her eyes lit up slightly, and she gave a slight smile.

“Hi sister-in-law.” Xu Xingxing and Chen Wanwan greeted Zhong Yujun’s wife.

Mrs. Zhong nodded back in reply, saw the things in their hands, and said politely, “Thank you for your trouble.”

“Sister-in-law, you are too polite. Master Zhong usually helps us a lot,” said Chen Wanwan  as she put down the things. Walking to the bed, she saw that Zhong Yujun had opened his eyes and was looking at them. Chen Wanwan moved her eyes and greeted pleasantly, “My lord, are you awake?”

“He just woke up. The doctor explained that because he was hospitalised quickly, there was no delay in the rescue process. Ms. Xu, thank you very much…” Mrs. Zhong said after giving Xu Xingxing a grateful look.

Zhong Yujun had been resurrected from the brink of death. However, the medical care and rehabilitation were very expensive, and since both Zhong Yujun’s mother and wife were unemployed, there would be a significant financial burden on them in the future.

Zhong Yujun’s consciousness was clear, his eyes and lips could move, but he couldn’t speak yet. He simply smiled at the two of them, but fell asleep again after a while.

Afraid of delaying Zhong Yujun’s rest, they did not stay for long. After saying goodbye to Mrs. Zhong, the two left the ward, just to run into Mother Zhong who was carrying a food box.

Xu Xingxing was able to detect that Mother Zhong had become haggard than yesterday. Her hair had turned white overnight. After seeing this, Xu Xingxing’s heart began to ache.

“It’s really like that saying, sickness comes like a mountain. With Mr. Zhong’s illness, his family is in disarray,” Chen Wanwan said with emotion as she walked.

Xu Xingxing sighed and added, “His treatment will cost a lot of money.” 

Chen Wanwan also sighed, looked up at her and said, “Isn’t that so? It seems that ordinary people don’t get sick, but when they get sick, they have to empty their pockets. So…”

“So we still need to make more money.” Xu Xingxing completed Chen Wanwan’s sentence.

Chen Wanwan smiled, patted her on the shoulder and said, “That’s right.”

After Zhong Yujun fell ill, Xu Xingxing felt a lot of trepidation. Since she was doomed to be alone, she understood that she had to prepare more money to take care of herself.

“I want to make some investments.” Xu Xingxing still had some money. Of the two million she had gotten in her divorce with Wang Shunsheng, she had deposited one million in an account in Huaicheng, and kept the other one million with her.

She had no intention to move the one million in Huaicheng, in case Lin Meihui got sick or there were other unexpected situations in the future, they should have money. For the other one million, she thought about investing it. 

After hearing Xu Xingxing’s words, Chen Wanwan stopped in her tracks. With an expression of approval on her face, she pointed at Xu Xingxing and said, “Yes, yes, your idea is correct. Do you have a direction you want to invest in now?” 

Shaking her head, Xu Xingxing said, “Not yet. How about you? What is there? Any suggestions?” 

Chen Wanwan’s husband Zhan Liangting was from Xiacheng, she had been married here for many years, therefore she should have many friends here who knew about investments.

Chen Wanwan thought for a while before suggesting, “Mmm… Don’t invest in a big project for the time being, it is too risky. But you can try to invest in a small business first. Our family has no extra money to invest, but Lao Zhan has many rich friends who have shops on the  commercial street. You can invest in small businesses like milk tea shops, or dessert cafés. And there are a lot of office buildings located in the commercial street, so the business there is pretty good.”

After hearing Chen Wanwan’s suggestion, Xu Xingxing became interested, and she inquired further, “Oh~is it that popular? What will happen if it is not easy to manage?” 

“Hey, hey,” Chen Wanwan gave Xu Xingxing a smile before continuing, “Don’t worry, since it was me who asked you to come here, I’ll definitely help to solve any difficulties you have. I’ll ask Lao Zhan to find time to inquire about it, and I will let you know if there is any news.”

Chen Wanwan’s words made Xu Xingxing’s heart feel warm. She looked at her friend and was grateful from the bottom of her heart. “Thank you.”

“Why are you being polite to me?” Chen Wanwan pouted, and hugged Xu Xingxing’s arm as she said, “In terms of thanking, I should be the one thanking you for taking me to see Mr. Zhong today.”

Huang Qiansong and Zhong Yujun had been working together since the IO Jewelry Group had been established. The two of them had been friends for many years, and Zhong Yujun was also the former deputy team leader. Therefore when Huang Qiansong wanted to determine the candidate for this position, he had to come and ask for Zhong Yujun’s opinions as well.

The interesting fact was that now Xu Xingxing was Zhong Yujun’s benefactor. Xu Xingxing brought Chen Wanwan here today for a few reasons, first to meet Zhong Yujun, and second, when Zhong Yujun and Huang Qiansong would discuss the candidate for vice deputy leader in the future, she hoped that Chen Wanwan would get a fair chance. Xu Xingxing wanted Zhong Yujun to hand over the favour he owed her to Chen Wanwan.

Chen Wanwan couldn’t help but admire Xu Xingxing’s thoughts. She stood at the entrance of the hospital, looked at the sun above her head, and then looked at her friend and sighed.

“When you graduated, if you had stayed in Xiacheng without getting married, you would be in a better position than me now.”

When Chen Wanwan brought up the past, Xu Xingxing grinned while pulling her finger and turned to face her. “The moment I graduated and decided to get married rather than work hard for my own career, I lost to you.” 

After hearing her friend’s words, Chen Wanwan shook her head, looked at Xu Xingxing’s face, and regretfully said, “That bastard Wang Shunsheng is blind. With your current conditions, you can find anyone who is better than him.”

Xu Xingxing was a little embarrassed by Chen Wanwan’s praise. She knew that Chen Wanwan only cared about her because she was close to her. 

As for what she said… Is there anyone better than Wang Shunsheng?

After the two arrived at the parking lot together, Chen Wanwan went to open the car door, and Xu Xingxing received a WeChat message on her phone. She took out her phone, and when she saw the message content, her eyes tightened.

“Let’s go, I’ll take you home,” Chen Wanwan put the bag in the car and called out to Xu Xingxing.

“No need. You go home,” Xu Xingxing said under her breath. 

“Huh? But you followed me all the way down to the parking lot,” Chen Wanwan said with her eyes wide open.

“I’ll just take a taxi myself.” Putting the phone away, Xu Xingxing didn’t add much, told Chen Wanwan she would see her tomorrow, and walked towards the entrance of the hospital.

“Hey!” Chen Wanwan yelled in disbelief, watching Xu Xingxing take a taxi and leave. She got into her car speechlessly, and after starting her, muttered something “Are my driving skills that bad?”

Xu Xingxing hurriedly entered her apartment building after getting out of the taxi. She lived in building 8 in the apartment complex, and it was at the end of the complex. The community’s street lamps suddenly snapped bright, emitting the sound of a filament just beginning to ignite. The lights appeared to burn holes in the darkness, illuminating the surroundings.

Hefeng apartment complex was a high-end residential area. The buildings in the residential area were very spacious. 

Xu Xingxing hurried her steps, and when she reached the last two apartment buildings, her eyelashes trembled slightly, her steps gradually loosened up, before she finally came to a stop.

Huai Jing was sitting on the row of chairs next to apartment building 8.

A street lamp that was as straight as a poplar stood next to the row of chairs. The thick magnolia branches encircled the white lamp pole. Only a few openings in the leaves allowed the dusky light to shine through, casting a brilliant spot on one side of the man’ face. 

Huai Jing was leaning slightly on the back of the chair, with his legs crossed. His profile was as delicate as a finely crafted one, and under the mottled light, it seemed to be plated with a layer of gold. In those light brown eyes was a layer of tenderness that Xu Xingxing had never seen before. His palm was wide open and there was cat food in the shape of a hill there. There were several kittens in different colours around him. 

Xu Xingxing’s eyes moved slightly, and her heart became warmer on seeing such a scene. She was also reminded of a picture she had seen on the Internet before— A blind boy was feeding pigeons in a London park. Netizens had commented that it seemed to be a 2D image, and Xu Xingxing got that exact same impression now.

But such silence and appreciation did not last long.

It seemed that Huai Jing must have felt Xu Xingxing’s presence, for he suddenly looked in her direction.

The man’s gaze seemed to be unintentional. The corners of his lips raised slightly, and he lifted the cat food by his legs and put it beside him. The kittens around him meowed in a milky voice, and continued to eat.

He didn’t seem to be a cat lover, otherwise it would have been impossible for him to live with Mimi for half a year without developing a relationship. And what is he doing now? Xu Xingxing walked over while thinking about what she had seen just now.

After she went near them, Huai Jing patted the seat beside him, and she lowered her head slightly before taking a seat a little away from him.

“There are a lot of stray cats here.” Huai Jing handed the bag of cat food to Xu Xingxing.

It was a big bag of cat food.

She hugged the bag, took out some cat food and fed it to the little milk cat who came to her side. Its fur was soft, and when its small tongue licked her palm, Xu Xingxing’s eyes curved slightly, and the corners of her lips pulled up. “Yeah.” 

She poked the little cat’s belly lightly with her finger to prevent it from eating too much. She then looked up at Huai Jing and asked, “Why do you suddenly like cats?”

“Do you like cats?” Huai Jing asked. 

Xu Xingxing didn’t understand why the question turned around and came back to her again,, but she still replied, “I like them.”

“That’s right.” Huai Jing smiled and looked at Xu Xingxing, his eyes covered with a layer of black shadow, as he said, “Isn’t there an idiom ‘Love the house and its crow’?”

[TL Notes: ‘Ai Wu Ji Wu’, which translates to ‘love the house and its crow’ is a Chinese idiom used to express that if you love someone, then you also love their family, friends, etc.]

Huai Jing said this quote in quite a careless tone, and Xu Xingxing noticed a faint smile in his gaze when she looked up, though still not understanding the meaning behind his words.

Even so, her heart started beating slightly like a bead on a string as she lowered her head once again. A faint heat passed from the base of her ear to her cheeks, and this unclear blush got covered by the shadow cast by the tree she was sitting under.

“This kitten is really cute.” Huai Jing looked down at the little thing going back and forth at Xu Xingxing’s feet. “Now I regret giving Mimi to you.” 

Holding the bag of cat food tightly, Xu Xingxing’s jaw shook when she glanced at him in shock, only to see the man stare at her with a smile on his lips.

“You want to take Mimi away?” She asked nervously.

“Do you want to take something away if you like it?” Huai Jing looked at the woman’s nervous expression, his eyes swept over her shadowed earlobe, before his gaze fixed on her slender neck.

The corners of his lips raised again, and the smile in his eyes deepened as he declared, “If that was the case, I would have taken you away long ago.”