Song Qingcheng lifted her eyelashes that were wet from the rain. Gu Jiazhi, who was holding an umbrella, entered her field of vision. The girl held her stomach and stood up. "Maybe it's because of the rain, my stomach feels a little uncomfortable."
"You look very pale." Gu Jiazhi appeared concerned. "Why don't you go to the hospital?"
Song Qingcheng forced a smile. "It's fine. It's not a big problem."
As soon as she finished speaking, the driver's door swung open.
With the Land Rover between them, Song Qingcheng saw Yu Tingchuan get out of the car. He was holding a dark-colored long umbrella. Although he was careful getting out of the car, half of his right shoulder was drenched nevertheless. She lowered her eyes. Then, she heard Gu Jiazhi say to the man, "This child seems to be feeling unwell. Why don't we send her to the doctor first? Anyway, Jason just called."
Yu Tingchuan looked at the drenched Song Qingcheng and said calmly, "Get in the car first."
However, Song Qingcheng said, "No, it's okay."
The man looked up at her.
She, on the other hand, only smiled weakly at Gu Jiazhi and said quietly, "It's just a normal physiological condition."
Gu Jiazhi didn't take long to realize and whispered, "You're having your period?"
Song Qingcheng nodded in silence.
"Then, you can't stay drenched like this. The cold is a menstruating girl's worst enemy." With that, Gu Jiazhi looked at Yu Tingchuan. "Tingchuan, don't you have a lounge in your office? We'll go back to the office to get some things and let this child go to your place to change."
When Gu Jiazhi said 'a menstruating girl', she spoke in a rather loud voice. It would've been impossible that Yu Tingchuan did not hear her.
He was not a clueless youth; of course, he understood what they were referring to.
He retracted his gaze from Song Qingcheng and turned to look at Gu Jiazhi. "The building is just across the road. Walk over; I'll park the car in the basement garage."
"Okay." Gu Jiazhi nodded and said to Song Qingcheng, "Let's cross the pedestrian lane first."
Song Qingcheng did not take another look at Yu Tingchuan and followed Gu Jiazhi to the traffic lights.
…
When they were crossing the road, Gu Jiazhi took the initiative to talk to Qingcheng. "Are you guys sitting for your final exams soon?"
Song Qingcheng replied, "This week."
"I heard from Yu Jing the last time… that you've always had good grades. This sort of exams should be a small matter for you." Gu Jiazhi smiled. Her gentle voice rang out over the background sound of the rain. "Speaking of which, we are really quite fated. Just then, Tingchuan and I were on our way to the hotel. On the way, we realized that we were missing a data report so we had to turn back. And then, we saw you huddled over by the roadside."
Song Qingcheng smiled back faintly. "I thought you went on a date with Mr. Yu…"
"No, we were going to a business meeting. I followed along because I'm familiar with the other party." Gu Jiazhi also noticed the way Song Qingcheng addressed Yu Tingchuan. "Tingchuan is a man of few words. He's actually not as serious as he looks. You can address him as Uncle like Yu Jing."
Song Qingcheng smiled and did not reply.
As they spoke, the two of them walked into the building. With Gu Jiazhi around, they had smooth access.
The elevator stopped on the 17th floor.
Gu Jiazhi seemed to be familiar with the place. After greeting the employees they met on the way, she turned to Song Qingcheng and said, "Let's wait in Tingchuan's office. He should be coming up soon."
The CEO's office…
Gu Jiazhi turned the doorknob and led Song Qingcheng in.
After shutting the door behind them, Gu Jiazhi placed her bag on the sofa and said half-jokingly, "Su Ying is on leave today. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to come in so easily."
Song Qingcheng returned the smile. She sized up the interior of the office. It had a wide view, but the layout was very simple. There were no fancy decorations on the walls or corners. In the entire huge office, other than the sofa area for the reception, there was only a large desk that caught the eyes. It was clean and in a solid dark color, just like the feeling Yu Tingchuan gave people.
At this point, the office door opened with a click.
Gu Jiazhi's cheerful voice sounded from behind her. "That's pretty fast. I was just hesitating if I should go to the Finance Department to rush them."
"Xu Dong is already there. It will take at least another 15 minutes," Yu Tingchuan said in his deep voice.
He used a tone of familiarity as though there was a tacit understanding between them that no one else had.
Song Qingcheng did not interrupt. Hugging her own arms, she stood by the side like she was invisible.
After Gu Jiazhi was done talking about work, she changed the topic and asked Song Qingcheng, "Are you feeling very cold? The entire building is outfitted with central air conditioning. Why don't you take a hot shower…? As for your clothes…" She turned to Yu Tingchuan and said, "Tingchuan, don't you spend the night here sometimes? You should have a spare change of clothes around? "
Yu Tingchuan's gaze rested on Song Qingcheng who had not spoken since he entered the office. She was standing there quietly with her head lowered and her wet T-shirt clinging to her body, looking a far cry from the sharp-tongued girl in the lobby earlier on.
Draping his suit jacket over the back of the sofa, he said to Gu Jiazhi, "Weren't you heading off to the Finance Department? Go ahead."
Gu Jiazhi was stunned.
However, immediately, she broke into an elegant smile and said, "I'll go over then."