Birth, aging, sickness, death—four words that encompass an entire human life.
Could it be that Future Mother-in-Law was worried no one would take care of Department Head after she was gone, and that's why she did this?
Highly suspicious. Flagging it for later.
I just don't know what kind of illness Future Mother-in-Law has.
Speaking of illness, Jiang Linyuan couldn't help but think back to that Haile Biotech pharmaceutical company.
Department Head, Future Mother-in-Law, illness, mysterious shareholder girl...
It all felt connected somehow.
I've figured it all out!
"Come on, it's getting late."
Shen Guoguo turned back and said.
The sky had darkened, and lights were beginning to flicker on along the roadside.
The two walked side by side, heading toward the subway station.
Shen Guoguo skipped ahead, bouncing along:
"So, are you coming to play with me again tomorrow?"
Jiang Linyuan replied:
"Nope, I'm leaving."
Shen Guoguo froze for a moment, then let out a long "oh" before asking:
"So... will you come again later?"
"Definitely."
"Pinkie promise."
Shen Guoguo held out her pinkie.
What kind of childish behavior is this?
Jiang Linyuan bent down, extended his own pinkie, and linked it with hers.
"Promise. Whoever doesn't come has to eat a hundred Pocky sticks."
Shen Guoguo shook their joined hands, her expression dead serious.
"Shouldn't it be a hundred needles instead?" Jiang Linyuan laughed, teasing her.
"A hundred needles would kill someone. Pocky is just fine."
Shen Guoguo withdrew her hand, clasped both behind her back, and walked ahead like a little grown-up, shaking her head.
That's barely even a punishment.
Jiang Linyuan just smiled. As they passed a phone store, he bought her a new phone.
"You actually bought it."
Shen Guoguo hugged the phone, a bit surprised.
"I promised I would. Just use my secondary SIM card for now."
Jiang Linyuan said.
"Don't let Department Head find out."
"She won't. And if she does, I won't say you gave it to me!"
Even if you don't say it, I'd still be screwed if she finds out.
The two returned to the Courtyard House and found someone standing at the entrance.
Oh, it was Future Father-in-Law.
"Now that you're back, come with me."
Shen Pingyan glanced at Shen Guoguo.
"Well... goodbye, Brother Jiang."
Shen Guoguo waved at Jiang Linyuan.
Jiang Linyuan looked at Shen Pingyan, wanting to tell him to take better care of Shen Guoguo.
But then he thought again—this was family business, and it really wasn't his place to interfere.
When Guoguo becomes his Future Sister-in-Law, he'd cut Future Father-in-Law out of the picture entirely!
...
The next day, Jiang Linyuan and Su Muzhi landed at the airport, arriving in Xiao Yilin's hometown.
It was drizzling when they got there. Xiao Su didn't want to brave the rain and rush, so they found a hotel to stay at first.
Su Muzhi lay on the bed, scrolling through travel guides on her phone with keen interest:
"Southern Fujian has a local festival coming up. Country bumpkin, do you want to beg me to go together?"
This Xiao Su—if she wanted to go herself, she could just say so.
"Let's go find Xiao Yilin first. It'll be a lot easier with a local guide."
Jiang Linyuan said, sending Lin Yilin a message.
[Young Ah Jiang]: Little Yilin, just arrived at my destination. Someone stole my luggage. Requesting emergency aid.
[Magic Stone and Binary]: I heard from Department Head that you had a great time in Yanjing, Senior. Why didn't you share any of it with me?
Gah! Whose little jealousy jar is leaking over here?
"Give me the phone. Let me pretend to be you and chat with her for a bit."
Su Muzhi had crept up beside him at some point, grinning as she reached for his phone.
"We can talk however you want when we meet in person."
Jiang Linyuan didn't hand over the phone and typed back instead:
"Little Yilin, are you jealous of Department Head? Be careful—she might give you a hard time when school starts!"
[Magic Stone and Binary]: Who's jealous! I'm not! And if I do get a hard time, it'll be your fault, Senior!
Oh ho, slandering me, are you? If I don't actually pile on some work for you, won't I have been slandered for nothing?
"Private First Class Yilin, get ready to face the music when school starts!"
"I'm not afraid of you! If you bully me, I'll tell Department Head!"
Great, just great. A two-person ensemble. I'll bully both of you at once.
I'm the bully here!
The two chatted for a while before Lin Yilin finally came to her senses and asked again:
"Where are you now? I'll have Dad come pick you up."
I wonder what Third Future Father-in-Law would think if he saw that message.
Jiang Linyuan sighed:
"Don't worry about it. I'll just take a cab when the time comes."
"Cabs are expensive."
"It's fine. I brought Xiao Su along. She's paying the fare."
Lin Yilin paused on her end before slowly typing back:
"Xiao Su... is that Senior Su?"
"Yes, it's your cute and charming Senior Su."
Cute my ass!!
Lin Yilin, who was lying on her bed in her room, bolted upright when she saw the reply:
"How... how did she come along?"
"Xiao Su wanted to visit Southern Fujian, so she just came along."
What kind of excuse is that!
Lin Yilin was fuming, but she didn't even know why.
She had just assumed that when Senior said he was coming to visit her, he was coming alone.
It wasn't like she had any right to say anything about him bringing a friend.
He traveled all this way to see you—that's already really good of him.
Lin Yilin's heart was tangled up, feeling deeply uncomfortable, yet she couldn't quite articulate why. In the end, she could only type back:
"So... can you make it here tonight? I'll have Mom and Dad set up a room for you."
"Don't worry about it. It's still raining outside and it's late, so we're staying at the hotel for the night."
"Oh."
Lin Yilin felt a little gloomy. She put away her phone and stared up at the ceiling.
Why is it always Senior Su?
Come to think of it, are Senior and Senior Su really that close?
Hmm...
Lost in thought, she buried her face back into her pillow.
Don't think about it, don't think about it. It's perfectly normal for Senior to have a good relationship with her.
She just came along for the trip. I'll talk to him when I see him tomorrow.
Speaking of which, Juntang is coming tomorrow too.
Alright, let's tidy up the guest room.
Lin Yilin decided to stop dwelling on Jiang Linyuan. Overthinking would only lead to trouble.
Senior came to visit me. Senior Su is just tagging along for the trip.
Nothing to get worked up about. She's just passing through.
"Ugh, why do I keep overthinking everything?"
Lin Yilin couldn't stand it anymore. Hugging her pillow, she groaned into it.
...
"Done chatting with her?"
Su Muzhi looked at Jiang Linyuan with a sly smile.
"Yeah, I..."
Jiang Linyuan nodded.
Why did Xiao Su have that weird look in her eyes?
"Sleep with me."
Su Muzhi patted the bed.
What could he say?
Jiang Linyuan lay down and turned off the light.
"Go easy on me."
At that moment, Xiao Su became a Time Thief, stealing away his entire night.
ps: Completely spent.