Chapter 93 - 73: Inverted Mountain

Chapter 93: Chapter 73: Inverted Mountain

But her young miss was shy, probably too embarrassed to admit it.

"Alright, if you say you’re just hanging out, then you’re just hanging out," Xu Jing said with a smile, deciding not to get hung up on the wording.

"Sister Jing..."

"What is it?"

"On Thursday, I saw a guy come looking for you," Song Jianye said in a hushed voice.

Xu Jing gathered her hair, tucking her bangs behind her ear.

"That’s my boyfriend. He came to have dinner with me."

"Do you two go out on your days off, too?"

"Of course. We can’t just text each other all day, every day," Xu Jing said with a laugh.

"Where do you guys usually go?"

"Um..."

Xu Jing was at a loss for words. Nowadays, dates involved... well, *that*. She couldn’t say it so bluntly to the young lady.

"We go all sorts of places. Shopping, movies, dinner, hiking... there’s plenty to do," Xu Jing said, recalling her past dating experiences.

"What about at night?"

"At night?"

"Yeah, you can’t waste the nighttime, either."

"Well..." Xu Jing paused. "There’s not much to do at night. Sometimes we go home, and sometimes we go to a hotel."

"A hotel?"

Song Jianye froze for a second before her cheeks flushed red, like cherry blossom paper stained with rouge. A delicate blush bloomed beneath her porcelain skin, looking as if the slightest touch would spread it into a translucent crimson haze.

"I... I get it..."

Xu Jing’s expression remained calm, but inside, it was like fireworks were going off.

’The Young Miss is so cute!’

’We’re all adults, how can she still blush when talking about this kind of stuff!’

’Young love is just so sweet to watch.’

Song Jianye’s face felt like it was on fire.

’That’s something you should only do after getting married, right...?’

’Even though Sister Jing isn’t married, she and her boyfriend seem to have been together for a long time, maybe even at the point of discussing marriage. So I guess that’s okay...’

’But Chen Yuan and I...’

’No, no, no!’

’We’re just friends. We don’t need to do that at night.’

’We can do other things at night. I need to think carefully about this...’

"President Zhao, President Zhang..."

Just as Xu Jing was secretly watching the girl blush, she saw Zhao Lin and Uncle Zhang walk in from outside.

Song Jianye turned her head and saw her aunt and Uncle Zhang enter together.

Her fair, delicate face instantly tensed up.

’Why is Auntie here?’

’She didn’t even tell me she was coming.’

’What if she wants to take me shopping? Then I won’t be able to hang out with Chen Yuan today...’

It wasn’t just Song Jianye who was a little nervous; the staff members present were, too.

Dressed in a sharp suit, wearing high heels, and sparkling with jewelry, Zhao Lin radiated an aura far more powerful than Uncle Zhang’s.

"Auntie, what are you doing here?" Song Jianye’s expression was a bit stiff, as if controlled by an AI.

"What, not happy to see me?" Zhao Lin asked with a smile.

"No, no, no, I just didn’t know you were coming."

"I was here on business last time and had some loose ends to tie up. The client suddenly had something come up and rescheduled, so I came over here," Zhao Lin said.

"Since you’re here, I’ll take you shopping. Let’s buy you some new clothes."

Xu Jing and the other staff members stood to the side, looking like they were watching a drama unfold.

"I... I..." Song Jianye’s words got jumbled. "My stomach hurts a little. I don’t feel like going."

’I have to get out of here fast. I can’t let Auntie drag me away.’

"Stomachache? Is it bad? I’ll take you to the hospital to get it checked out."

Zhao Lin knew Song Jianye’s ailments like the back of her hand. Her stomach would hurt when she got her period, and her blood sugar was also a bit low.

"No, no, it’s fine. I’ll be okay if I go back and lie down for a bit."

Grabbing her bag, she took small, hurried steps toward the hotel entrance. "Auntie, I’m leaving now. When my stomach feels better tonight, I’ll come shopping with you."

In a great hurry, Song Jianye left the hotel, moving so quickly that Zhao Lin didn’t even have time to react.

’It’ll stop hurting tonight?’

’Can she predict the future now?’

The two followed her to the entrance and saw Song Jianye jogging all the way to the nearby Overlord Tea shop.

"She’s running faster than me. How does that look like she’s not feeling well," Zhao Lin muttered.

"She didn’t even offer to keep me company for a bit. Just grabbed her bag and left. What is she up to?"

"She made plans with Chen Yuan to hang out today. If you take her shopping, she won’t be able to go out with him," Uncle Zhang said with a smile.

"Chen Yuan? Is that the boy who took her to her teacher’s house for dinner last time?"

"Yes, that’s him."

"Look at her. It’s just as they say, ’a daughter married is water spilled.’ And it’s not even serious yet, but she’s already ditching me."

Zhao Lin’s chest heaved with anger. "It doesn’t matter how nice I am to her. When she had a 40-degree fever as a child, who was it that took her to the hospital in the pouring rain? Now, for some boy, she’s forgotten all my kindness. I guess I’m just an outsider after all."

No matter how old a woman gets, she can’t seem to shake the habit of grumbling.

’I’m so mad I’m shaking!’

"President Zhao, please calm down. The Young Miss does care about you," Uncle Zhang said with a smile.

"In all these years, this is the first real friend the Young Miss has made, so she’s taking it very seriously. If you had come tomorrow, or even yesterday, it probably wouldn’t have been like this."

"You just keep spoiling her. All these bad habits of hers, they’re all your fault."

Uncle Zhang just smiled and said nothing.

"I’m a grown woman, and I’m her aunt! Do I really have to schedule my visits around some little boy? Who’s more important here, him or me?!"

"But the Young Miss’s condition has been quite good recently. She’s been going to bed earlier, and it seems she’s not taking her medication as much."

His explanation, far from helping, only made her angrier.

"That’s no excuse! The bottom line is, she’s not close to me anymore..." Zhao Lin sighed incessantly. "What kind of love potion did he give her? She doesn’t even want her own aunt anymore."