Chapter 8
Now that she heard the exact same words, Jin Nian could not help but feel that it was Xin Hui’s professional habit to brag. Xin Hui shook her head repeatedly and explained seriously, “Sister Jin Nian, don’t be angry if I tell you the truth. Director Jiang is very handsome, but your friend just now standing with an ordinary handsome man is simply a blow to his reputation. Just out of curiousity, does he have a girlfriend?”
“I’m not too sure about that,” Jin Nian answered honestly. They had not been in touch with each other for a long time, and their contact was limited to the occasional likes on their Moments and the annual New Year’s greetings. Lu An would say happy birthday to her on her birthday, and she would also give Lu An a red packet on his birthday, but he never accepted it. He would only say thank you lightly, and they were getting more and more distant. Therefore, she did not reply to his group message after that.
Xin Hui thought about it, “He probably doesn’t have a girlfriend. Just now, I saw that other than the watch on his wrist, there were no other accessories let alone a ring. Other than that, I don’t see any signs of him being touched up by a woman. He doesn’t have any matching attire either, which means that at least there hasn’t been anyone ambiguous around him recently.” Jin Nian was in awe. Xin Hui smiled: “You don’t have to worship me. As an assistant, you have to keep your eyes and ears open.” Jin Nian laughed. An hour later, the car stopped in front of Jin Nian’s residential area. Jin Nian had moved out of the house a long time ago. The residential area she rented had just been built less than three years ago. The greenery in the residential area was good, and the transportation nearby was also very convenient. She could not afford a house of her own in Binhai City, where every inch of land was expensive. However, everyone advised her that she did not need to buy a house as she would marry Jiang Qingchi sooner or later. Jiang Qingchi had worked hard for many years and finally moved out of the cramped basement. His savings were now enough for him to buy a luxurious flat in the city center.
After entering her home, Jin Nian sat on the stool at the entrance and spaced out for a while. No wonder people always said that good-looking high heels needed blood sacrifice. Her heel was already a bloody mess and it hurt like h*ll. This day, Jin Nian had been waiting for Jiang Qingchi at home until midnight, but he had not made a single call. Instead, her parents were worried about the engagement party tomorrow and called her a few more times to remind her about the details of tomorrow. The so-called engagement banquet was actually a meal between relatives and friends of the two families. The details of the wedding had long been decided. This time, it was just a formality and could be considered a tradition.
When Jin Nian got home, she made a table full of dishes to celebrate Jiang Qingchi’s welcome. The dishes on the table had been heated up twice, but she did not eat a single bite and did not feel hungry. She was on annual leave during this period of time, so she did not have to go to work or be busy with work. During the day, she was busy with her wedding, but when she was alone at night, she actually felt a little lonely. After a simple wash up, Jin Nian logged into Weibo and saw that the travel blogger, Whales, who she followed and was followed by, had updated a video of a pleasant scenery. She clicked like.
There was an English message in the message bar. It was from Whales: “You must be very busy recently, right?” It was from a week ago. Before that, Jin Nian had shared the good news of her engagement with him. Whales said a few words of blessing.
Jin Nian replied in English, “Very.” W was often not online for a long time. He never posted his photos on public platforms, but every landscape photo had his back. He went to Iceland, to United Kingdom to feed pigeons, and to climb the snowy mountains. All of these made Jin Nian envious. She had already forgotten exactly when she was started following him. It seemed to be three or four years ago. When she saw W’s photo, she could not help but be fascinated and leave a message asking him what this place was.
In the end, W sent her a private message and told her the location in the photo. Back and forth, they occasionally contacted each other, but it was only limited to Weibo. To Jin Nian, W was just a netizen she had never met before. The frequency of their one-to-one chats was not high, and they would often not reply to each other for ten days to half a month. Jin Nian scrolled through Weibo for a while more, but in the end, she felt bored and left.
At midnight, Jin Nian could not help but send Jiang Qingchi a WeChat message: “Are you not done yet?” The message she sent was like a pebble thrown into the sea. There was no response for a long time, and she was already used to it. When he got busy, he even forgot to eat. Jin Nian went to bed and prepared to sleep. The phone on the bedside table suddenly flashed, and the screen showed that she had an unread WeChat message.