Growing Fond of You, Mr Nian

“I have so much hatred pent up in me.” Ji Nuanyi laughed. “Remember to edit that clip and send it to Yi Jingxi later. Let him know exactly who he was with. I don’t care if they were acting or pretending, he did raise her to her popularity today.”

Luosang nodded. It was a bummer to think about those things. Too bad she was such a terrible judge of character.

The driver took her to the hotel. “Have fun, you guys!” Luosang waved goodbye to them before leaving. Back in her room, she called Nian Junting after her shower. “What are you doing?”

“Still working,” he swiftly replied.

It was already nine o’clock. “You’re still at the office?”

“Yup,” Nian Junting replied. He addressed someone else in the background, “How many times must I tell you to review our company shares when the yearly audit rolls around?”

“But I thought that this was already sufficient…”

“Am I the boss, or are you the boss?”

Luosang only spoke when it got quiet at the other end. “Why do you make your workers work overtime, too?”

“I am the boss, so of course I must have a lackey around to perform the required tasks.”

“So how many people are there at the office tonight?” Luosang asked curiously.

“Not many, just the supervisors of each department, about ten of them.”

“…”

Luosang said a silent prayer for all of them trapped in the office that night. “What’s the rush?”

“Of course we need to rush. How can I go off on our vacation if I don’t finish the work? There are a lot of things to take care of at the end of the year.” Nian Junting continued, “I’m planning to stay over at the office since you’re not around.”

Luosang thought that most of his colleagues must feel like breaking down after hearing what he was saying. “You shouldn’t be that way. You should be more considerate of others.”

“I have to pay their salary and consider their feelings? I’m not Saint Maria, you know,” Nian Junting said coldly.

Luosang sighed and changed the topic. She was excited to share some gossip. “Xiao Si is out tonight having supper with Ji Nuanyi.”

“I’m kinda hungry right now as well.” He sighed. “I really miss your cooking.” Nian Junting sounded frustrated over the phone.

Luosang soon realized that it was no fun sharing gossip with this monotonous man. “Come on, Xiao Si is your brother, after all. Do you really have zero interest in his affairs? I think they look good together. Maybe we can help bring them together.”

“Uninterested.”

“…”

“Well, that’s enough, goodbye.” Luosang was going to tell him about her brother, but he was killing the conversation every second it carried on.

“Ok.”

After she hung up, she regretted it a little bit. She wished that she had reminded him not to stay up too late.

…

The next morning, the sun was bright and shining. Luosang called a taxi to go to the An City prison. The ride there took about an hour, and the guards weren’t on shift yet when she arrived. She had to wait for a while longer before she registered as a visitor.

She waited another five minutes in the visiting area before Xu Zhengxuan emerged with his handcuffs and ankle cuffs. After two years, his hair had turned gray, and he looked thin and malnourished. He looked like he had aged ten years.

“Dad…” Tears rolled down her cheeks immediately, and she felt herself choke up with emotion before she could say anything more.

“Hey, my Sangsang is still as beautiful as ever. You’ve grown up.” Xu Zhengxuan smiled. His eyes were red, too.

“I’m sorry, dad. It took me so long to come to see you,” Luosang said guiltily. “I’ve been in Xia City these two years. Professor Ma used his connections to get me into the Ximei Academy.”