Jiang Shiyan spoke calmly, but the corners of his eyes held a faint trace of tenderness…
The assistant felt as if he had just witnessed an intimate scene, his back tensing as he floored the accelerator, speeding past the hospital.
At the outpatient building of the hospital.
In a private ward, it was so quiet that one could hear the hustle and bustle from the streets below.
The room contained a bed, a table, and one person. On the small square table lay a file and a blue cookie box.
Zhou Zisheng, with an IV drip in his arm, was flipping through another file while eating raisins from the cookie box. “Tang Yang voluntarily applied to transfer back to A City? It wasn’t a rotation?”
“No, I asked,” the secretary replied. “There was also a vacancy in the credit review department in B City, but Deputy Tang is from A City, so I thought it might be for convenience in taking care of her parents.”
“You and I are not Tang Yang,” Zhou Zisheng smiled, switching to another file.
The secretary watched Zhou Zisheng’s movements, his eyes flickering.
He glanced outside the door, making sure it was locked, before stepping forward and speaking in a low voice: “Director Gan has taken a half-month leave, saying he broke out in hives.”
“He called me last night,” Zhou Zisheng said.
“But I just passed by the emergency department and saw Director Gan…” the secretary whispered a few words in Zhou Zisheng’s ear.
Zhou Zisheng burst out laughing, then quickly composed himself and said indifferently, “Bandaging a few wounds is nothing. With all the dirty things he’s done, even if someone stripped him naked and tied him to a bus to circle the city, it wouldn’t be enough.”
However, the possibility of that happening was almost zero. First, the bus hadn’t done anything wrong, and second, who told him to have such a powerful father-in-law?
The secretary wanted to laugh but didn’t.
“Oh, right,” Zhou Zisheng remembered something, “Contact Biishui Bay, mention my name, and have them delete the surveillance footage of Jiang Shiyan and Gan Yiming watching the scenery together on the balcony.”
The secretary made a note: “Should we inform President Jiang?”
After all, it could be considered a favor.
Zhou Zisheng said, “Doing favors just to get something in return takes all the fun out of it.”
The secretary realized he had spoken out of turn.
The two continued talking for quite a while. The sun came out, but there was still a slight breeze outside.
“Is Amo still not answering my calls?” Zhou Zisheng’s face rarely showed such elder-like affection.
It was an obvious question, so the secretary remained silent.
Zhou Zisheng sighed, his gaze falling on the cover of one of the files.
In the ID photo, the woman had a likable, gentle appearance, with a smile that was both warm and determined.
“Do you think,” Zhou Zisheng mused, “Amo might be like Jiang Shiyan…”
Liking Tang Yang, just like liking the best sunshine.
Tang Yang was completely unaware that she had been so kindly inquired about by the bank president behind her back.
She had thought she would have a restful weekend, but after a call from Fan Linlang, Tang Yang went from wearing pajamas and drinking rice porridge in the morning, planning to laze around all day, to standing in a suit and skirt in the top floor office of Huishang Bank by the afternoon.
Zhou Zisheng also had a background in economics and management. He was capable, amiable, and modest – a well-respected figure throughout Huishang Bank.
Tang Yang entered and respectfully greeted, “President Zhou.”
“Sit down, don’t be formal,” he replied.
Tang Yang sat on the nearby sofa. Zhou Zisheng came over to pour her tea, which Tang Yang politely declined, but Zhou Zisheng pushed the paper cup towards her and asked gently, “Deputy Tang, you know about Director Gan’s leave, right?”
Tang Yang replied, “Yes, I do.”
Zhou Zisheng said, “Your performance since joining the branch has been excellent. The case of Zhang Zhilan from South Jin Street was also handled beautifully – transferring to social security, reducing the loan amount, then resubmitting the materials for approval.”
Zhou Zisheng’s praise was quite heartfelt, and Tang Yang felt a warm sense of recognition.
Noticing Tang Yang’s subtle expression, Zhou Zisheng continued, “So the branch wants to promote you to acting director. Have you received the notice?”
Tang Yang was surprised, then said, “I’ll familiarize myself with Director Gan’s work and processes as soon as possible, striving to get up to speed quickly.”
“There’s an even more important matter I called you here for today,” Zhou Zisheng gave his secretary a look, and the secretary handed over some documents. Zhou Zisheng said, “Jiujiang and Huishang have been cooperating for over a decade. Every year, when their loan applications come to the credit review department, we form a special team to follow up.”
Tang Yang indicated she knew this; the special team was currently being organized, and barring any unexpected issues, Gan Yiming should be the team leader, with her as deputy leader.
Zhou Zisheng said, “If Deputy Tang has no objections, the other bank presidents and I hope that you can take charge of this case.” He paused, “What I mean is, even if Gan Yiming returns and the position of credit review department director is handed back to him, you will still be the team leader for this project.”
This meant being primarily responsible, as well as bearing the main responsibility.
Next, Zhou Zisheng praised Tang Yang some more. Tang Yang’s expression remained calm, but privately she felt like she was sitting on pins and needles.
As it was nearly mealtime, she smiled and took her leave.
If Zhou Mo hadn’t previously invited Tang Yang to dinner, and considering Jiujiang had been borrowing from Huishang for over a decade, the higher-ups would certainly show some consideration. Tang Yang felt this was a plum assignment for promotion.
But Zhou Mo’s words at Ziwei Ge indicated that the Jiujiang case needed some artificial maneuvering. She had rejected Zhou Mo, so why was the bank president still appointing her?
As she left the building, a gloomy wind wrapped in coldness swept towards her face.
At 6 PM, the setting sun’s radiant glow gilded the entire car. Tang Yang sat in the driver’s seat, deep in thought.
She wasn’t thinking about Jiang Shiyan but felt that the only person not in the same field who she could discuss this issue with was Jiang Shiyan.
With sufficient reason, Tang Yang sent a WeChat message that seemed perfectly natural.
[ty: Want to come out for dinner? I’m still hungry.]
Ten minutes passed, and Jiang Shiyan didn’t reply.
[ty: Something came up, I want to talk to you about it.]
Another ten minutes passed, and Jiang Shiyan still hadn’t replied.
Tang Yang continued typing on her phone – What are you doing? Was I really that out of line last night? Everything seemed fine when you left this morning, why suddenly no reply…
Didn’t he always reply to me instantly before?
Wait, he replies quickly because he’s good-natured, he’s not obligated to reply instantly. A man and woman spend a night together and nothing happens – isn’t the meaning obvious enough?
Thinking of this, Tang Yang tugged at her lips, deleting the unsent message in the input box word by word.
Her energy seemed to be drained along with the increasingly shorter message. After deleting the last word, she slumped over the steering wheel, like a wilted cabbage.
Tang Yang silently chanted: Yan-dog is a friend, not a boyfriend.
Yan-dog is a friend, not a boyfriend.
Yan-dog is a boyfriend, not a friend…
Deputy Tang suddenly pushed open the car door, clutching a USB drive as she sped towards the office.
Passing by colleagues on duty who turned to ask, Tang Yang’s high heels clacked “tap tap tap” as she replied: “Forgot to take some files.”
Her colleagues all expressed that Deputy Tang was dedicated to her work.
Deputy Tang returned to her office, turned on the computer, plugged in the USB drive, and in a particularly professional manner, downloaded a world-famous piece of music… “The Clear Heart Mantra.”
Tang Yang thought Jiang Shiyan would reply after a while, even if he was catching up on sleep, he should be done by now.
But Tang Yang didn’t expect that Jiang Shiyan’s “after a while” would last until the next day.
Jiang Shiyan had been busy for a week before. After returning from Tang Yang’s place, he fell asleep immediately, sleeping from Saturday afternoon until Sunday morning.
His phone had long since run out of battery.
Jiang Shiyan got up and took a shower. He had just changed into clothes and hadn’t found his charger when his assistant knocked on the door, calling him to the company to handle some urgent matters.
Jiang Shiyan had just arrived at the office when Cheng Siran came in with a hard drive: “Do you remember that video from before the New Year? The one with Sister Yang and Zhou Mo, at Ziwei Ge, the cookies,” Cheng Siran reminded him of the key points, “The video we recorded in the live stream room and later reconstructed.”
“Mm,” Jiang Shiyan said, “She told me about it.”
So he hadn’t watched it again, just kept it as a backup.
Jiang Shiyan looked at Cheng Siran, hesitating: “Why do you look like you’ve been haunted by a nightmare?”
Cheng Siran didn’t want to say much to him. He connected the hard drive and opened the stored content with a few clicks: “There’s a Youran Residence branch next to Ziwei Ge. Your residence has 360-degree surveillance cameras outside with no blind spots. When I went to that store to check the surveillance at the beginning of the year, the manager showed off, saying he saw me. Guess what I saw?”
Jiang Shiyan looked at him.
Cheng Siran clicked on the video file and fast-forwarded.
On the screen, Zhou Mo got into a black sedan with four other men. Zhou Mo sat in the middle of the back seat. The car stopped at an intersection, and then Jiang Shiyan and Tang Yang embraced, Jiang Shiyan got into Tang Yang’s car, and Tang Yang’s car left.
Pulling the camera back a bit.
Zhou Mo sat in the black sedan eating cookies.
Zhou Mo put the black gold card and car keys into his briefcase.
Zhou Mo made a phone call, seemingly reporting the situation. The surveillance was too far away to see clearly, only blurry lip movements were visible.
Jiang Shiyan’s eyes darkened slightly. He cut out the part where Zhou Mo was talking and dragged it into a software program.
Cheng Siran said: “I took it to TAXI for lip-reading recognition.” What Cheng Siran said matched exactly with the results displayed on Jiang Shiyan’s computer: “Tell Director Wei that Deputy Tang really enjoyed the chicken soup at Ziwei Ge, and the pastries, she accepted them too.”
The pastries, she accepted them too…?!
Cheng Siran said: “I don’t know if I should tell Tang Yang, but I had to tell you.”
Jiang Shiyan didn’t speak. He took a cowboy candy from the drawer and threw it to Cheng Siran, unwrapping one for himself and chewing slowly: “Zhou Zisheng has no children, and is closest to two people – one is his secretary Xu Ke, the other is his nephew Zhou Mo.”
Jiang Shiyan sat in the swivel chair, casually saying: “Zhou Mo used to be a big shot in the School of Economics and Management at Jiaotong University, and had a bright future at Huishang Bank.” But last June, he suddenly resigned and had a falling out with his uncle.
Cheng Siran leaned against the corner of the desk, pressing his tongue against the candy stuck in his teeth: “I was playing with some guys yesterday who knew Zhou Mo. They said he’s the type to think three steps ahead. One car and one card aren’t much, but it’s not little either. If Zhou Mo is that capable, the possibility of him lining his own pockets is low, so…”
“Send me the surveillance footage, thanks,” Jiang Shiyan suddenly said.
Cheng Siran: “Should we tell Sister Yang?”
Jiang Shiyan: “We’ll see.”
Cheng Siran: “Sister Yang is steady in her work, I think we can tell her.”
This time, Jiang Shiyan didn’t respond.
After a long silence, Jiang Shiyan looked up.
He gazed lazily at the screen, his thin lips parting half-jokingly, half-seriously: “More than whether she knows or not, I care more about the fact that within the range of my protection, no one should be able to touch her.”
Jiang Shiyan was a person who disliked trouble. Because he disliked trouble, he even left an impression of being easy-going.
He rarely showed an attitude of caring or mind, with only two exceptions.
Once, when Tang Yang had her first dinner with colleagues at Youran Residence, whether by coincidence or accident, others had left her seat next to Gan Yiming’s.
Once, when Tang Yang herself didn’t know, she had been set up by Zhou Mo with a single sentence: “The pastries, Deputy Tang accepted them too.”
Both times were about Tang Yang…
Cheng Siran was stunned for a moment, then snorted with laughter.
Jiang Shiyan naturally understood the meaning in his laugh but didn’t deny it this time. He just kicked out with his foot: “Get out.”
After Cheng Siran left, only Jiang Shiyan remained in the spacious office.
He saved the surveillance file and then searched for detailed information on Zhou Mo. From an outstanding graduate of Jiaotong University to an outstanding graduate of No. 1 High School, he saw Zhou Mo’s photo with every No. 1 High School background and could imagine a certain person walking through those places with him.
When Feng Weiran first brought up “Do you like Tang Yang?”, Jiang Shiyan’s heart rejected it.
The reason was simple – he was someone who believed in love, at first sight, more than love that grows over time. For example, Chang Xinyi, the senior he had a crush on in high school, and his Taiwanese girlfriend, were opposed to Tang Yang.
Admitting he liked Tang Yang, admitting he liked someone who had been by his side for so long…
It was tantamount to admitting that he, Jiang Shiyan, had been an idiot for the past decade or more.
So Jiang Shiyan had once strongly rejected it, rejected it saying they were too familiar, rejected it by flatly denying it, rejected it by hanging up the phone, rejected it by…
Jiang Shiyan scrolled through the list of outstanding graduates from No. 1 High School and clicked on Chang Xinyi’s photo.
Moving up a grade, he encountered the senior’s photo.
Then searching for Taiwan University, he found his Taiwanese ex-girlfriend’s photo.
Finally, from a locally hidden folder, he pulled out a photo of Tang Yang at her doctoral graduation cap ceremony.
Four frames, four people.
Chang Xinyi was beautiful, the kind of beautiful that all boys liked.
The senior was beautiful, the kind of beautiful that all boys liked.
The Taiwanese girlfriend was also beautiful, the kind of beautiful that all boys liked.
All with almond eyes and willow brows, personalities so gentle you could squeeze water from them.
And a certain someone?
Tang Yang had always been someone else’s child, motivated and excellent. In high school, she was called “Yang-bro” casually by others, being both the teacher’s good class monitor and covering for his gaming console, scolding him for being stupid and dumb while poking his forehead with a pen to explain problems. In university, she won scholarships year after year in front of others, speaking and acting steadily and firmly. Behind people’s backs, she often threw little tantrums at him, confronted him, mocked him, and liked to jump up with both feet to step on him.
Yes, yes, yes, just like the smile in the photo.
Jiang Shiyan wanted to look at the other three, but his eyes kept disobediently looking at Tang Yang. She would smile when she confronted him, smile when she mocked him, and smile especially brightly when she stepped on him, just like in the photo, her eyes curved like crescent moons…
Ah…
Jiang Shiyan collapsed into the swivel chair, covering his eyes with both hands. He couldn’t look anymore.
His hands blocked Tang Yang’s smile, and Jiang Shiyan let out a long sigh.
Phew…
On the top floor of the building, the swivel chair was sturdy with its durable leather and gleaming metal. The man slouched on it wore a well-fitted suit, his posture exuding grace.
In front of him on the screen was only a photograph of a young girl, dressed in a doctoral gown and cap, her smile clear and gentle.
He covered his eyes with a languid gesture, not wanting to see anymore, not wanting to look at her again… His heartbeat seemed to slow a bit.
In the silence, the grandfather clock ticked away with a steady “tick-tock.”
Jiang Shiyan, with his eyes covered, let a small gap open between the ring and middle fingers of his left hand.