Chapter 589: Bad Friends Online

Chapter 589: Chapter 604: Bad Friends Online

The top dog of the pharmaceutical industry!

That was undoubtedly the title of respect for Luo’s Pharmaceutical within the industry.

Mrs. Luo nodded politely and said graciously, “We only look good because our peers make us.”

An Ning was amused by such “humble” words and wanted to laugh. Hua Cheng, in bed, also wanted to laugh, but his wound started to hurt before his mouth could even crack a smile. He didn’t dare laugh anymore.

“An idiot is still an idiot, even when he’s injured.”

“It’s not like he hurt his head. How could it change his IQ?”

Jiang Xia and Cheng Jun chimed in one after another. His trash-talking friends were officially online, but it was clear Hua Cheng was completely used to their roasting and sharp tongues.

Lying in bed, Hua Cheng suddenly looked at Jiang Xia and Cheng Jun with a moved expression.

“I knew you guys loved me. You must have been scared to death when you heard I was hurt.”

That one word, “love,” made Jiang Xia and Cheng Jun take several steps back, vigorously rubbing the goosebumps on their arms.

Jiang Xia said, even more dramatically, “I feel so dirty!”

“I’m going to disinfect myself when I get home.”

Cheng Jun chimed in right after. But Hua Cheng, still in bed, didn’t mind at all. He even gave the two grown men a lecherous look, scaring them into taking another step back.

Hua Cheng was definitely doing it on purpose. The way these three interacted was quite interesting.

Banter was banter, but they still had business to discuss.

Next, the doctor examined Hua Cheng and confirmed that he was not in any serious danger for the time being, but he needed plenty of rest. The doctor urged the group to leave soon and not disturb the patient.

The four of them readily agreed, saying they would leave right away.

“I have a house nearby. It’s very private. How about we go there to talk?”

Jiang Xia made the suggestion, and the others agreed. They left while Hua Cheng, knowing nothing, was consumed by frustrated curiosity.

“Hey, hey, hey! You guys are being totally unfair! What’s going on? At least give me a hint!”

A second later, a head popped back through the doorway. Jiang Xia asked cheekily, “So what if we tell you? Can you get out of bed? What can you even do about it?”

Hua Cheng was left speechless by Jiang Xia’s questions, but then it was time for his counterattack.

“You’re right, there’s not much I can do. Except maybe expose someone’s secret crush—MMMPH—”

Jiang Xia had clapped a hand over Hua Cheng’s mouth. Cheng Jun, who had come back in from the doorway, calmly walked to the bedside and asked, “What’s this? Does our plan require a dead body?”

Hua Cheng rolled his eyes speechlessly and slapped the back of Jiang Xia’s hand. Jiang Xia removed his hand with a look of disgust and wiped it on Hua Cheng’s blanket.

“Aren’t you disgusting!”

“It’s fine, it’s fine.”

The three of them burst out laughing, with one on either side of Hua Cheng.

Jiang Xia briefly explained An Ning’s plan to Hua Cheng. The more Hua Cheng listened, the more energized he became, wishing his wounds would heal instantly so he could take part.

“Don’t get too excited. Even if you healed up, you couldn’t participate. Your status isn’t high enough.”

Cheng Jun’s words earned him an eye roll from Hua Cheng, who said, “Do you have to put it like that? Can’t you just let me dream a little?”

“Nope. I’m afraid you’ll dream too big and get carried away. I’m just keeping you grounded.”

It seemed impossible for the three of them to say a single nice thing to each other. It was always one person roasting another or trying to gross someone out. They were so used to this way of talking that whenever someone got sentimental, things would get genuinely awkward.

After talking for a while longer, Jiang Xia and Cheng Jun really had to leave.

As Hua Cheng watched the two of them reach the door, he suddenly shouted, “Wait a minute! So you two didn’t come back to see me after all!”

“Ah! My heart! My lungs!”

As he postured to start his act, Hua Cheng received a one-word, mouthed blessing from Jiang Xia and Cheng Jun: “Scram!”

Jiang Xia and Cheng Jun left, and Hua Cheng didn’t stay awake for much longer before falling asleep.

When Jiang Xia and Cheng Jun arrived at the address Jiang Xia had mentioned, Cheng Jun shook his head and said, “Corrupt merchant!”

“How am I a corrupt merchant?”

Jiang Xia parked the car, and Cheng Jun unbuckled his seatbelt and got out. “If you weren’t a corrupt merchant, how could you afford so many houses? Hell, I haven’t even been assigned a single apartment yet.”

“Oh, that? Easy. Call me ‘big bro,’ and I’ll give you one.”

“Big brooo~”

That drawn-out, sing-song “big bro,” delivered in a tone that could rival a plea to the Jade Emperor, made Jiang Xia lose control and chase after Cheng Jun to beat him up.

“What are you doing? You told me to say it! Don’t forget to make good on that house!”

Cheng Jun ran ahead with a mischievous grin. Seeing An Ning open the door, he pointed accusingly at Jiang Xia behind him and said, “He insisted on chasing me around to play. So childish.”

Jiang Xia, trailing behind, was framed in front of An Ning for the first time. Although this was a game the three of them often played, right now, it was more than a little awkward.

“Um, I… it’s not—”

“No need to explain. I get it. Come on in.”

Jiang Xia looked touched. ‘An Ning really is the best,’ he thought.

“Everyone’s a big baby sometimes.”

An Ning’s next words nearly made Jiang Xia drop to his knees at the doorway. Inside, Cheng Jun, who had already changed his shoes, slapped his thigh and laughed so hard he almost couldn’t breathe.

Looking pleased with herself, An Ning walked in without hiding her satisfaction. She invited Cheng Jun to have a seat, leaving Jiang Xia to put on his shoes, close the door, and walk in by himself.

‘Something feels off. Whose house is this, anyway?’

The four of them sat down and made a series of arrangements for what was to come.

Once they had more or less finished their discussion, Cheng Jun and Luo Li left first. Jiang Xia also got on the phone to start arranging work matters.

By the end of all the hustle, An Ning was the only one left with nothing to do.

She was getting a little hungry. ‘Maybe I’ll cook a bowl of noodles?’

‘Cooking noodles shouldn’t be that hard, right?’

While Jiang Xia was distracted, An Ning slipped into the kitchen. After rummaging around for a bit, she found some dried noodles.

Boil water, cook noodles.

Once the water was boiling, An Ning took a bundle of dried noodles and put a little bit in. It looked like too little.

‘A little more.’

She tossed in another small handful. Still looked like too little. She tossed in a bit more. It still didn’t seem like a lot.

‘There aren’t that many strands, really. It definitely won’t be enough to eat.’

WHOOSH! The entire bundle of noodles went in.

An Ning held the noodle wrapper, stared at the noodles in the pot, gave them a stir with her chopsticks, and waited.

When she left and came back a moment later, the lidded pot of noodles was already sputtering water everywhere. The flame underneath flickered, on the verge of going out.

“Whoa, whoa—what’s happening?”

An Ning quickly snatched the lid off. The heat made her touch her earlobe, hissing and blowing air from her mouth.

When Jiang Xia came in, he was greeted by the sight of An Ning in a flustered panic.

He spoke into his phone, “Get things moving. Handle this as a top priority.”

After hanging up, Jiang Xia stepped forward.

“Let me.”

Those two words, “Let me,” calmed the slightly panicked An Ning. She obediently took a few steps back and watched as Jiang Xia added a little cold water to the pot.

“You don’t need to keep the lid on the whole time when you’re cooking noodles. It’s fine with a big stove at home, but with a small pot like this, especially when you’re cooking so many noodles, you don’t need it. The water will boil over.”

An Ning stood behind him, nodding vigorously.

She asked a question.

“Will these noodles be enough to eat?”

Jiang Xia looked at the pot, which was overflowing with noodles, and said with certainty, “It’s enough.”