A Reprieve VIII

Despite having been told off by Tang Shi, Su Nianhua was feeling all right about it because he had witnessed Lu Ran being snapped at as well. Immediately and without any reservations, he shared with Siyue, "This morning, Qingqing sprained her ankle on her way to deliver the cooperation agreement to our bro. Although he was dying inside with worry, our bro pretended that it was no big deal and called me to take Qingqing to the hospital.

"After we'd seen the doctor and had the prescription filled, Qingqing and I were about to leave the hospital when Bro and Elder Brother Ran turned up. When I asked Bro what he was doing there, you'll never guess how he responded..."

Full of curiosity, Siyue asked, "How? How?"

"Shi had obviously gone there because he was worried about Qingqing, but, instead of acting concerned or considerate, he took an official stance and said that he had gone there to pick up the cooperation agreement."

At that point, Su Nianhua started laughing merrily as he added, "Bro had already canceled that meeting and killed that collaboration. So the cooperation agreement was as useful as paper in a wastebasket. When he used that as an excuse, Ran burst out laughing."

"Nianhua, before you have a laugh at my expense, what about you? Bro was clearly trying to talk to Qingqing, asking her where the cooperation agreement was. But you, with your motor mouth, interrupted and said that the cooperation agreement was in the car. Because of you, our bro, who had abandoned his official duties and rushed to the hospital, only heard Qingqing say one thing."

"What was that?" Siyue asked.

"CEO Tang."

"Mua, ha, ha!"

"Ha, ha, ha, ha!"

"After all these years, our bro has still managed to maintain his persona of aloofness and arrogance."

...

Gu Qingcheng stayed home to rest the following day as well.

She had originally planned to go to work, but bright and early, at seven o'clock that morning, she got a call from Cheng Xieyi, who said, "CEO Tang has asked me to call you and say that, to prevent you coming into the office and inconveniencing everyone else, you should just stay at home today and rest."

On the third day, the swelling on Gu Qingcheng's ankle had fully subsided.

Since it was Tang Shi's birthday party that evening, the secretarial department was empty by 4:30 p.m.

Gu Qingcheng had sprained her ankle because her shoes had had stiletto heels. So, when she went home to change into her party dress, she paired it with medium-heeled shoes this time.

Tang Shi's birthday party was scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m.

Gu Qingcheng arrived at the venue at 7 p.m. It was already packed with guests, all from the upper echelons of society in Beijing.

Tang Wan, who had been in charge of the arrangements for the party, had gone for luxurious decor.

At 7:10, Siyue and Su Nianhua arrived together. Since Gu Qingcheng's return to the country, Siyue had only managed to speak with her once on the phone because she had been overseas for work. So, Gu Qingcheng and Siyue would be seeing each other for the first time tonight.

The two women had been close since they were kids. Meeting again after three years, they immediately hugged each other tightly.

And, because they hadn't seen each other for a long time, the two women naturally had a lot of catching up to do. Right away, Siyue dragged Gu Qingcheng away to find a quiet place where they could sit and talk.