Chapter 87: A Guilty Feeling, Like Being Caught by a Boyfriend

Su Jinshi’s face grew increasingly cold. “I think it’s best if you head back to the company now.”

“No need to rush, I can give you a ride,” Mo Jizong offered.

“My ride is arriving shortly,” Su Jinshi said bluntly.

Mo Jizong shook his head. “Jinshi, there’s no need to be so distant. We’re classmates, and there’s nothing wrong with me giving you a lift. You don’t need to feel like you owe me anything.”

Su Jinshi: “…”

Not really.

“Besides, how long have you been waiting?” Mo Jizong continued. “It would be faster if I took you. Don’t be stubborn, just cancel your order.”

As he spoke, Mo Jizong even reached out, seemingly intending to take Su Jinshi’s phone to cancel the order himself.

Su Jinshi quickly stepped back, hiding her phone behind her. “Mo Jizong, you need to know your boundaries! What you’re doing is interfering with me, and you’ve overstepped. Even as classmates, we’re just ordinary classmates. It’s not your place to take my phone and cancel my order, nor to tell me how I should handle things.”

Su Jinshi was so frustrated that she almost laughed. “I bet you’re the type who often says, ‘Do you know what this means? Let me quiz you,’ aren’t you?”

Mo Jizong’s face darkened at being so directly called out, and he felt embarrassed, for that was exactly his tendency, especially with women.

“Jinshi,” Mo Jizong said, trying to suppress his anger, though his expression was painfully strained. “I’m only looking out for you. You spend all your time at home writing these unrealistic stories and playing these impractical games. It’s made you seem particularly naive and out of touch with reality. You cling to your two-dimensional boyfriend and pay attention to nothing else…”

Su Jinshi was too annoyed to listen further and cut him off. “Should I be looking at you instead?”

Mo Jizong’s face flushed red with frustration. “What… do you mean by that?”

At that moment, a white electric car with a green license plate pulled up beside Su Jinshi. She checked the plate – it was the one she had called.

“Mind your own business,” Su Jinshi said tersely before getting into the car.

After confirming her phone number’s last digits, the driver took off.

Sitting in the backseat, Su Jinshi was still riled up from her encounter with Mo Jizong and couldn’t calm down.

“Jinshi?” Shen Shilang sensed her anger and approached cautiously, not wanting to provoke her further.

Su Jinshi quickly looked at her phone, realizing she had forgotten to mute the communication box during her conversation with Mo Jizong.

“You heard all that just now?” she asked, feeling a bit embarrassed.

“Yes,” Shen Shilang nodded.

Su Jinshi asked him first, “How are you feeling?”

“I’m doing well, and you haven’t been gone long,” Shen Shilang said with a smile. “Mi is here keeping me company, and the doctor checks on me every hour. Didn’t you leave me some medicine to stop the bleeding? I showed it to the doctor, saying I brought it from the capital.”

“The doctor said it also contains pain relief powder, and since the military conditions are limited, your medicine is more effective than what they have. So they’ve switched me to using yours,” Shen Shilang explained. “At least now I can openly use the medicine you gave me.”

“You pretended to break ties with Wei Zhaoxian and the others. The Northwest Army must believe you’re causing trouble for the Wei family. Have they given you any problems because of that?” Su Jinshi asked. “Like not coming to check on you now that you’re injured?”

“If the Northwest Army doesn’t come, General Quan’s people are here,” Shen Shilang said reassuringly. “He’s made arrangements for someone to look after me. There’s no need to worry. After all, I’m here as an inspector monitoring the army, and General Quan has to ensure I get back to the capital safely.”

Su Jinshi felt somewhat relieved to hear that. “That’s good.”

“So…” Shen Shilang asked gently, “who is this Mo Jizong?”

Su Jinshi knew this question was coming; she had expected Shen Shilang wouldn’t let it slide.

“He’s a classmate from university,” Su Jinshi explained, having told Shen Shilang before about the educational system in her world, where the state ensures everyone has access to schools.

Even in remote mountain areas, there are schools for children to study.

Some may not continue their education past primary school, but at least they can read, write, and grasp basic principles.

Shen Shilang had been amazed by this and grown increasingly curious about Su Jinshi’s world.

“He graduated and went to work elsewhere. He just recently came back and got promoted to headquarters. He’s organized a few class reunions, but honestly, I find him quite annoying, so I try to avoid him when I can,” Su Jinshi said. Although she had been angry earlier, sharing this with Shen Shilang somehow eased her irritation.

“I didn’t expect that while discussing a script at the company today, I’d run into him again – he’s actually the project manager in charge of this collaboration,” Su Jinshi said with a scoff. “But after how I confronted him just now, knowing his personality, he’ll probably retaliate by refusing to work with me.”

“Wouldn’t that affect you?” Shen Shilang frowned.

“Not at all,” Su Jinshi replied with a smile. “I have a strong reputation in this industry. Multiple companies are interested in my scripts at the same time. I evaluate their offers comprehensively before deciding who to collaborate with.”

“So even if Mo Jizong doesn’t want to work with me, I’m not worried about selling my script,” Su Jinshi said confidently.

Shen Shilang was captivated by Su Jinshi’s self-assurance.

She truly shone brightly in her own field.

“Mo Jizong likes you,” Shen Shilang suddenly said.

The comment came so unexpectedly that Su Jinshi didn’t know how to respond at first. She blinked, feeling a bit guilty, like someone caught by her boyfriend.

“You could tell just from that brief exchange?” Su Jinshi asked weakly, a hint of guilt in her voice.

Shen Shilang chuckled softly. “He wasn’t even trying to hide it. He was showing off too much in front of you. Anyone not completely oblivious could pick up on his feelings.”

“When he first came back and organized a reunion, he tried to ask me out alone. I never agreed because I didn’t like him,” Su Jinshi continued. “Later, he contacted me through WeChat.”

“WeChat?” Shen Shilang asked curiously.

“It’s like sending letters. Didn’t I tell you before that in my world, we can communicate in real-time regardless of distance?” Su Jinshi explained. “WeChat is one of those methods – as long as there’s an internet connection, we can chat live, one-on-one or in groups, through text, voice, or even face-to-face video.”

“Just like now – even though we’re in different times and spaces, I can see you and talk directly to you. You can’t see me, but you can hear my voice.”

….