That evening, Su Yanyi left work on time, which was rather rare for her or, more precisely, she left somewhat anxiously, catching her assistant and secretaries, who were working outside, completely by surprise.
In her previous life, Su Yanyi was quite the model workaholic, rarely indulging in other forms of entertainment and not very fond of going home. Sometimes she would even rest in the office if she worked late. Assistants and secretaries often had to stay late with her, and there was virtually no concept of leaving work on time. So when Su Yanyi left, it immediately sparked discussions among everyone.
"Did President Su have something to do today? I didn't hear about any plans," said one of the secretaries from the president's secretarial pool, clearly surprised.
"You're just out of the loop then. The president didn't have no plans, she cancelled all her plans. Supposedly, she was to attend a business cocktail party, but President Su didn't go and sent Assistant Kang instead," revealed the second secretary, who was evidently more in the know and quite proud to share this tidbit, which she had gotten from Kang Zhong.
"Then what was President Su doing instead?" the curious secretary asked, blinking her eyes.
"…" another secretary blinked, indicating she was just as clueless and curious.
What was Su Yanyi doing? Naturally, she was going home. The System's task was to get Qin Jiran to genuinely smile. Although she had accomplished it once, the thought that he had given such a whole-hearted laugh only because he was laughing at her left her feeling both conflicted and slightly resentful!
So all the way home, Su Yanyi was thinking about how to make Qin Jiran smile. When she arrived home full of enthusiasm, she discovered that the only person at home besides the maid Sister Wang was missing Qin Jiran—he hadn't come back at all!
She was back; how could Qin Jiran not be? It was utterly illogical!
Su Yanyi was somewhat annoyed. She had always felt that this man should be waiting for her, available whenever she wanted to see him; how could it be that she had come home and he wasn't there!?
Perhaps it was a habit crafted on her sickbed in her previous life; unless necessary, Qin Jiran would always be by her side, accompanying her twenty-four hours a day, as if scared of leaving her alone, which had made her deeply accustomed to his presence. She was also used to the immediate consciousness of this man the moment her mind was clear.
"Miss, you've come back so early. Are you going to have dinner at home?" Sister Wang was very surprised. Having come from the main Su Family Mansion to take care of Su Yanyi for three years, this was the first time she had seen Su Yanyi come back before dinner.
Su Yanyi glanced at Sister Wang with a hint of disdain, not for Wang herself, but because she didn't want to eat the food Wang prepared. It wasn't that Wang's cooking was bad, but simply that Su Yanyi did not want to eat it; she had pushed aside the cocktail party to come home, expecting to be greeted with a meal cooked by Qin Jiran. Instead, she was left all alone, which was utterly unacceptable!
The home of Su Yanyi and Qin Jiran was a small villa located halfway up a hillside, a wedding gift from Mother Su. Although referred to as a "small" villa, that was in comparison to the Su Family Mansion. With two floors plus front and back gardens, a swimming pool, a tennis court, and a very delicate flower room, the villa was actually quite substantial.
Because Su Yanyi didn't enjoy the company of many people, there were only three house staff in total: Sister Wang, who was in charge of cleaning and cooking indoors; Uncle Liu and Aunt Zhao, who took care of everything outside. They usually lived in a house outside the flower room, and even when they cooked, they did so in the small kitchen outside the flower room. From her memories, Su Yanyi rarely dined at home, only occasionally eating a few bites when Qin Jiran had cooked and she happened to be around.
And now that Qin Jiran wasn't at home, Su Yanyi didn't even feel like making an effort.
Picking up the phone, Su Yanyi dialed Qin Jiran's number directly. After three rings, the call was answered, but before she could speak, the person on the other end began to talk.
"President Su, are you looking for Brother Qin? He's currently doing a reshoot for an advertisement. Do you need him to answer the phone right now?" The person who answered was Qin Jiran's assistant, Jiang Xiaobin, who also grew up in the same orphanage as Qin Jiran. Five years younger than Qin Jiran, he had a lively personality and was the only person who knew about Qin's marriage to Su Yanyi, as well as the only one aware of Qin Jiran's affection for her.
Jiang Xiaobin's tone was respectful but carried a hint of nervousness, and there was even a slight tremble, which made Su Yanyi want to frown. Was she really that frightening?
Su Yanyi was familiar with Jiang Xiaobin. In her past life, Jiang Xiaobin had done many things for her, and she was very understanding of the brotherly bond he shared with Qin Jiran. In this life, since Su Yanyi had decided to take Qin Jiran under her wing for protection, the young man who Qin Jiran considered a brother naturally became one of her charges.
"When will he be done?" Su Yanyi tried to make her tone sound gentler, but her speech always came off cold, causing Jiang Xiaobin on the other end of the line to feel a chill all over.
"It should take about half an hour more. Should Brother Qin call you back after he finishes his work?" Although Jiang Xiaobin didn't know why Su Yanyi was looking for Qin Jiran, he certainly wouldn't think she called without a reason.
It's true that Jiang Xiaobin was quite afraid of Su Yanyi, but he also had his grievances. With such an outstanding man like their Brother Qin, why wouldn't Su Yanyi like him? Watching from the sidelines always left him feeling sour, thinking that loving someone could be so difficult that it made him not want to love at all.
"Tell him to come straight home." After saying that, Su Yanyi hung up, leaving Jiang Xiaobin somewhat stunned on the other end of the line.
Why did that sound so odd? It was as if a wife was waiting for her husband to come home! Ah! Could it be that President Su called Brother Qin because she wanted him to come home sooner?
Jiang Xiaobin's eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at the phone as if trying to see through it. Realizing the call had already been disconnected, he turned his gaze to Qin Jiran, who was not far off, finishing up the advertisement shoot.
Qin Jiran had been doing a reshoot for an advertisement, which took less than twenty minutes. The moment it was over, Jiang Xiaobin rushed over with his phone, his voice filled with excitement, "Brother Qin, President Su called for you, telling you to hurry home. It sounded like she was waiting for you at home. Come on, give it to me straight, have you guys made some progress? It really sounded like a wife waiting for her husband to return home."
In contrast to Jiang Xiaobin's excitement, Qin Jiran's response was very cautious. He certainly didn't think Jiang Xiaobin's guess was right, rather reflexively assuming that Su Yanyi needed him for something. However, he didn't refute Jiang Xiaobin's words but instead quickly dismissed Jiang Xiaobin and drove home at top speed.
No matter what it was, the thought of Su Yanyi waiting for him at home made him feel that there was nothing more important than that.
...