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Shen Nanzhi looked at Jiang Jinnian, her lips moving slightly as if about to speak. But before she could say anything, a sudden, urgent ringtone pierced through the silence.
She picked up her phone, glanced at the flashing number on the screen, and stood up while saying to Jiang Jinnian,
“Sorry, Brother Jinnian, I need to take this call.”
Jiang Jinnian gave a slight nod.
Shen Nanzhi pressed the answer button and walked toward the balcony.
The apartment was small, and the night was quiet. Though Jiang Jinnian couldn’t hear the voice on the other end of the call, he could clearly make out Shen Nanzhi’s words.
The moment she addressed the caller as “Senior,” Jiang Jinnian’s fingers, which had been lightly tapping the table’s edge, paused. His gaze lowered slightly, skimming over the watch on his wrist.
8:50 PM.
Ten minutes until nine.
Chi Zheng’s call didn’t last long.
Once he finished discussing the research project, Shen Nanzhi tactfully brought the conversation to a close and hung up.
As she walked back, Jiang Jinnian’s gaze fell on her, and he casually asked,
“Was it something urgent?”
“Not really,” Shen Nanzhi replied. “Just something about the research project. I need to process some data.”
Jiang Jinnian asked again, “Do you need my help?”
Shen Nanzhi shook her head. “No need, I can handle it myself.”
Jiang Jinnian didn’t say anything more. He stood up, picked up his coat, and prepared to leave.
As he passed by her, Jiang Jinnian glanced at the obedient and quiet girl before him. Raising his hand, he gently ruffled her hair and reminded her,
“If anything comes up, call me. Or just come directly to Tiancheng Group.”
The tension Shen Nanzhi had been holding onto eased slightly.
She responded softly and walked him to the door.
Just as she was about to press the elevator button, Jiang Jinnian suddenly stopped in his tracks. Caught off guard, Shen Nanzhi nearly bumped into his back. She quickly reached out to steady herself against the door, barely managing to keep her balance. With a hint of confusion, she looked up.
“Brother Jinnian?”
Jiang Jinnian turned slightly, his gaze landing on the password panel of her apartment door.
“What’s the passcode to your apartment?”
“?”
Without thinking, Shen Nanzhi instinctively answered, “0527.”
Jiang Jinnian didn’t explain why he asked for the passcode. He simply reminded her, “Go to bed early,” before stepping into the elevator and heading downstairs.
Shen Nanzhi stood at the doorway for a few seconds, watching the elevator descend. Then, she closed the door and went back inside.
Without lingering on anything else, she grabbed her laptop and headed straight to the study to work on the data.
Just as Chi Zheng had mentioned, the preliminary data needed for this research project was scattered but not too difficult to process.
Shen Nanzhi reviewed the files from Chi Zheng’s USB drive while cross-referencing relevant literature. By the time she had finished processing everything, the clock on the wall pointed to 2 AM.
Pressing her aching forehead, she moved the mouse and clicked the save button.
Without even checking the unread messages on her phone, she went straight to her bedroom.
The next morning, Shen Nanzhi woke up to sunlight streaming through the small gap in the curtains she had forgotten to close properly.
Lying on the warm-toned bed in the duplex apartment’s second-floor bedroom, she rubbed the corners of her eyes, still drowsy, and reached for her phone beside her pillow.
She glanced at the time, instinctively preparing to unlock the screen. But before her fingerprint could press down, her gaze caught a set of bold, unmistakable characters in the unread messages—Jiang Jinnian’s name.
Her fingers trembled slightly, and any lingering sleepiness vanished in an instant.
The screen unlocked via facial recognition, and his message popped up in the chat window. It was brief and to the point:
[Breakfast is downstairs. Don’t forget to eat.]
Shen Nanzhi instinctively sat up and walked out of the bedroom.
Halfway down the stairs, she caught sight of the breakfast spread on the dining table—a mix of both Chinese and Western dishes.
She stood there for several seconds, still groggy, before finally recalling the moment from last night when Jiang Jinnian had asked for her apartment’s passcode.
…
With no morning classes for the first period, Shen Nanzhi didn’t leave for university until 9 AM.
Gu Qinghe hadn’t arrived yet.
After reaching the university, Shen Nanzhi opened the data she had organized the night before to check for any errors.
About twenty minutes later, Gu Qinghe walked in, carrying several takeout breakfast packages.
Instead of sitting down, she remained standing beside Shen Nanzhi, scrutinizing her with a complicated expression, as if they were strangers.
Shen Nanzhi found her behavior puzzling.
She shifted her gaze away from the computer and looked at the young lady in front of her, who was acting strangely.
“What’s wrong? Did I mutate overnight?”
Gu Qinghe clicked her tongue and rubbed her chin thoughtfully.
Then, she pushed two breakfast servings toward Shen Nanzhi, one after the other.
“Here, Senior Chi asked me to bring these for you.”
As she pushed the second breakfast toward Shen Nanzhi, she introduced it casually, “This one’s from me.”
With both breakfasts placed in front of her, Gu Qinghe crossed her arms and looked at her meaningfully, as if expecting her to make a choice. “Two breakfasts, both still warm. Miss Shen, which one are you picking?”
Shen Nanzhi’s lips twitched slightly.
Glancing at the two steaming meals in front of her, she turned to her best friend and asked, “Is delivering breakfast a trend today?”
Gu Qinghe clicked her tongue and sat down. “Didn’t you say you’d be busy with data last night? Knowing how you are, once you get caught up in work, you’re bound to forget to eat. I was afraid you’d starve yourself, so I brought you breakfast.”
“But—”
Her tone suddenly shifted.
She looked at Shen Nanzhi with a knowing gaze, her eyes filled with curiosity. “What’s the deal with Senior Chi Zheng’s breakfast?”
Earlier that morning, the moment she stepped onto the university’s tree-lined path, she had run into Chi Zheng. He hadn’t said much—just handed her the breakfast and asked her to pass it to Shen Nanzhi.
Resting her chin on her hand, Gu Qinghe studied her best friend, then chuckled teasingly. “Xiao Zhizhi, are you attracting admirers? How late did you two chat last night?”