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Shen Nanzhi glanced over at Jiang Jinnian and, without hesitation, answered honestly, as a sister would when asked by her brother,
“A senior from the research group.”
“Do you interact often?”
Shen Nanzhi shook her head. “I only see him occasionally.”
Upon hearing this, Jiang Jinnian didn’t ask any further questions.
The car fell silent again.
As the vehicle moved with the flow of traffic, waiting at a red light, Shen Nanzhi finally broke the stillness and asked the question that had been on her mind since unexpectedly seeing Jiang Jinnian today.
“When did you come back, Elder Brother?”
Jiang Jinnian leaned back in his seat; half of his features shrouded in shadow. Perhaps due to the cover of night, the distance he usually maintained seemed to lessen slightly.
“Today,” he replied. “I landed at five o’clock in the afternoon.”
As he spoke, he turned his head to look at Shen Nanzhi.
Shen Nanzhi hadn’t yet pulled her gaze away.
As Jiang Jinnian turned his head, their gazes locked for a brief moment.
The darkness in his eyes was too intense, and Shen Nanzhi instinctively wanted to look away, but before she could, he asked,
“I heard that you haven’t been home for almost half a year, Nanzhi?”
The green light turned on, and the cars in front began to move one by one.
Jiang Jinnian diverted his gaze, looking ahead as he pressed down on the accelerator.
He didn’t ask Shen Nanzhi at that moment why she hadn’t returned to the Jiang family in half a year. It seemed as if his previous statement was just a comment, and he continued to explain his own situation.
“There are some matters at headquarters that require my personal attention. Huaihai University is very close to the company, and with the Mid-Autumn holiday tomorrow, I just thought I’d bring you home.”
Shen Nanzhi politely thanked him.
Huaihai is a city that never sleeps, becoming increasingly vibrant as night falls.
‘Sheng Ye’ is the largest entertainment venue in Huaihai, and as the night deepens, this prosperity reaches its peak.
Amidst the dazzling neon lights, the Maybach drove into the parking lot of ‘Sheng Ye.’ Shen Nanzhi unbuckled her seatbelt and was about to tell Jiang Jinnian that she would go in to get something for her friend and then come right back.
Before she could say anything, she saw Jiang Jinnian unbuckle his seatbelt and get out of the car.
She hurriedly called out, “Brother, I’m just picking something up for a friend. I can go in by myself—”
Jiang Jinnian didn’t pause his steps, leading her inside. “The crowd at ‘Sheng Ye’ can be unpredictable at night. I’m not comfortable letting you go in alone.”
Entering through the revolving door, Jiang Jinnian directly led Shen Nanzhi through the VIP entrance.
The elevator doors slowly closed. He looked at the girl beside him, whose attire seemed out of place in the dazzling, decadent atmosphere of ‘Sheng Ye’. Before pressing the floor button, he asked her,
“What floor?”
Shen Nanzhi glanced at the floor buttons in front of him.
Abandoning her intention to press the button herself, she obediently replied,
“Eight.”
The elevator had just reached the third floor when a sudden ringing sound shattered the silence in the enclosed space.
Shen Nanzhi stood still, but her clear, bright eyes unconsciously glanced at Jiang Jinnian’s phone.
An English note was flashing on the screen.
Jiang Jinnian lowered his head, glanced at the screen, and didn’t answer.
But he didn’t hang up either.
The elevator for the VIP entrance of ‘Sheng Ye’ moved quickly. After just a few rings, the elevator doors opened with a “ding.”
Shen Nanzhi stepped out of the elevator before Jiang Jinnian and said, “Brother, you go ahead and handle your business. I’ll just grab something from the private room.”
Jiang Jinnian responded with a casual “mm,” his long fingers sliding across the screen as he answered the call, but his gaze remained fixed on the girl in front of him, searching for the private room along the corridor.
He didn’t linger near the elevator.
Instead, he followed Shen Nanzhi at a leisurely pace, listening to the report from the other end of the phone.
Upon reaching the end of the corridor, she found the private room 8A02. Shen Nanzhi pushed the door open and stepped inside. She turned around two or three times in the room before finally spotting the USB drive that Gu Qinghe had dropped, nestled in the gap of the soft sofa.
Holding the USB drive in her hand, Shen Nanzhi quickly walked out.
As soon as she exited the private room, she saw Jiang Jinnian leaning against the wall opposite the room, waiting for her.
When he saw her come out, he turned off his phone and looked over.
His calm gaze swept over the white USB drive she was holding. “Did you find it?”
Shen Nanzhi nodded.
He stood up and led her back, saying, “Then let’s go home.”
The corridor of ‘Sheng Ye’ was designed in a semi-circular shape, and room 8A02 was at the end of the corridor. Retracing their steps would take longer, so walking through the other side of the curve was closer.
Shen Nanzhi followed Jiang Jinnian in silence the entire way.
As they reached the middle of the corridor, passing by a partially open private room door, a familiar voice drifted out from inside:
“Nanzhi? Such a good girl.” The voice carried a slight scoff, laced with an almost imperceptible indifference, difficult to distinguish between mockery and coldness. “But being too good makes it hard to feel any excitement.”
Having grown up together, Shen Nanzhi immediately recognized who the voice belonged to.
However, her expression remained unchanged. Aside from a brief moment where her footsteps paused, she continued walking as if nothing had happened, ignoring the remark entirely.
Inside the private room, smoke wafted through the air, and drinks covered the table.
Hearing the latter half of the comment, Fang Zhilin, sitting on the opposite sofa, furrowed his brow and interjected:
“Tingxu, that’s a bit too much. Nanzhi has grown up with us, and for all these years, she has always been closest to you and enjoys being around you. Besides, there is still a marriage agreement between the Jiang and Shen families.”
Jiang Tingxu let out a derisive laugh.
His thin eyelids half-closed, partially concealing the mockery in his eyes, but unable to completely hide the sarcastic curve of his lips.
Close?
She was close to him because he was part of the Jiang family.
Because he carried the Jiang surname, because he was chosen to marry her.
If he hadn’t been born into such a fortunate position, how would that closeness have ever fallen to him?