第二天早上.
沈明比他醒得早.
她上了当天的第一节课,需要赶回学校.从这里开车到校园,即使没有交通,也至少需要一个小时.由于高峰时段正在进行,时间可能会更长.
黎明的第一缕曙光一出现,她的闹钟就响了.她小心翼翼地将他的手臂从她的身体上移开,爬下床,尽量不打扰他,但她的举动还是把他吵醒了.
他的手臂伸过来,把她拉回床上,不让她起床.
"一大早,去见什么情人吗?"
"哈!好像,"她反驳道,翻了个白眼."我要见我们家的'荣大人'.现在,放手吧!我得起来.我今天早上在学校有事.
"就打电话请病假,多睡一会儿."他的声音因睡意而浑厚,但他的话语很聪明,试图把她迷惑回床上.
她笑着说:"你趁我不在的时候打电话给我,如果你打电话,我会在这里陪你一整天.
几句话,他差点就把她拉回床上,但她翻了个白眼,把他的胳膊从她身上推开,跳下床,直奔灯光.
现在,他无法入睡,灯光让他的眼睛清醒.
他坐起来,靠在床头板上,揉着眼睛,试图强忍着睡意.就在这时,他的电话响了——又是个电话,不是闹钟.
是他的妈妈.
"赵南,马上回家.你爷爷又一次头痛了.
荣兆南听到这话,脸色一紧.
"爷爷又不舒服了?"
"不,他现在很好,但如果不解决,情况可能会变得更糟.他的高血压突然发作.只是你爷爷年纪大了,他承受不了压力,"他的母亲解释道,声音里带着紧迫感.
在东交通大学.
忙碌了一天后,沈明发现自己突然打电话给荣兆南,讨论他的家庭事务.
"你爷爷怎么样?他还好吗?"她问道,声音中带着明显的担忧.
"他没事.但如果这个问题不尽快解决,它就会变成一个持续的问题,"荣兆南回答道.
"他有高血压发作.老头子还好,但在他这个年纪,他无法忍受不安.
"谁敢惹你爷爷不高兴?"沈明问道,真心好奇.她从来没听说过有人有胆量惹恼荣家的家主.
荣兆南轻笑一声,笑声却是空洞的."宁家出现了.他们想和苏荣儿的婚事平息.既然是我家的老人家安排的,他们就来向他道歉了.显然,他们现在正打算宣布你与宁芝仙的婚约.
婚约?她和宁知仙?
她一定听错了.或者也许是一些扭曲的误解.
"他们为什么要道歉?宁家...说真的,他们现在连道歉的体面都没有?
荣兆南叹了口气."他们很绝望.显然,苏荣儿这边的交易一切都分崩离析了,现在他们正试图让你同意嫁给宁芝仙.
"我说清楚一点,我和苏家根本没有联系.我不在乎他们的意图是什么.在嫁给宁知仙和与荣天齐订婚之间,我更喜欢后者.
她说得如此随意,几乎让他措手不及.这几乎就像是事后才想到的.
"顺便说一句,"她又说,"我不在乎宁家或魏家.他们想玩他们的游戏吗?好.我不会参加这个派对.我现在挂断了,以后再跟你说.
At that moment, Shen Ming felt herself getting irritated. The Ning family was really making their move, trying to manipulate everything in their favor.
She set the phone down and, just as she was getting back to work, someone knocked.
"Shen Ming, your office's ready. Do you want to come take a look?" someone called.
Her new office was being prepared, as she had been sharing an office with other professors. They told her that once the previous project leader returned, they'd officially transfer the space to her. So, now she wondered, was Jiang Tian back?
"Is Jiang Tian back?" she asked, curious.
"Yes, he's back. We're thinking of going out for dinner tonight to celebrate and send him off properly."
Jiang Tian had always been well-liked on campus. The moment he returned, all the students he mentored rushed to greet him.
As she approached his office, she saw several tall male students standing around his desk, talking animatedly.
Jiang Tian stepped out of the office, carrying a storage box. When he saw Shen Ming, he paused.
To be honest, at that moment, Shen Ming had a hard time recognizing him. The man before her was so different from the one she remembered. When they first met, Jiang Tian had been bright and full of energy. Now, he looked sunburned, his face peeling, and his hair had been cut into a flat buzzcut.
The students noticed Shen Ming and greeted her. "Shen Ming!"
Jiang Tian, however, was focused on his students, and didn't seem to acknowledge her immediately.
"Shen Ming, I've already called a cab. I won't join you guys for dinner tonight," Jiang Tian said, explaining his absence.
"Wait, you're not going to the farewell dinner?" Shen Ming asked.
He turned to her and explained, "I won't be going. Actually, I had already planned not to attend."
Shen Ming smiled, noticing how different he seemed. "You don't seem too happy to see me," she teased, poking fun at him.
Jiang Tian was straightforward and blunt, "I'm not upset with you, Shen Ming. I'm upset with the project. The way this project's being run—just focusing on short-term profits without following the original plan—will lead to a disaster sooner or later."
Shen Ming listened to him attentively and replied calmly, "People say I took your position, but I know it was you who wanted to leave. You couldn't get along with Professor Ge, and that's why the project stalled. I'm just stepping in to handle things now. In a way, I'm taking over, or, in harsher terms, I'm picking up the pieces."
Jiang Tian paused, looking at her with a thoughtful expression. "I guess I can't argue with that. And, by the way, don't disappoint these students. They're counting on this project for their graduation."
"Of course," Shen Ming nodded, understanding the weight of his words.
At that moment, someone from the distance called out.
"Jiang Tian!"
It was a woman, walking toward them. Shen Ming instantly recognized her: Qu Cha, the cousin of the Wei family siblings. She was known for her beauty, but her temper was also notoriously bad.
As Qu Cha approached, Jiang Tian completely ignored her, even though she kept calling his name. He simply climbed into the taxi, leaving quickly.
"Jiang Tian!" Qu Cha shouted, her voice trembling in frustration.
Shen Ming, though recognizing Qu Cha, was unaware of the past history between her and Jiang Tian. After watching Jiang Tian leave, she turned to leave as well.
But just as she was about to walk away, Qu Cha yelled after her, "Stop!"
Shen Ming paused, not because of Qu Cha's shouting, but because she noticed a car pulling up across the street. It was Su Yuyan.
He got out of the car.
Qu Cha continued to shout behind her, but Shen Ming didn't look back.
She turned to Qu Cha, her voice cold. "I have nothing to do with Jiang Tian. If you want to make a scene here, go ahead, but don't expect me to care."
With that, she walked away toward the campus, leaving Qu Cha fuming in her wake.
Behind her, Qu Cha stomped her feet in frustration. "I don't believe you and Jiang Tian have nothing going on. Find out who she is!"