Chapter 57 Four at a Table, Performing a Grand Drama

Sui Yi looked a bit stifled and said, “Just boiled water with loose tea leaves—doesn’t need any tea ceremony skills…”
Jiang Yunxiu was speechless.
Really, did you have to be so honest? Couldn’t you just let me compliment you for once?
The female assistant, seeing her boss’s aggrieved expression, couldn’t help but laugh.
This was the first time she’d ever seen her boss lose face like this!
Still, despite her frustration, Jiang Yunxiu honestly informed Sui Yi that the old lady’s condition was now under control with medication and she was sleeping soundly.
A weight lifted from Sui Yi’s heart, and her face visibly relaxed as she sincerely said, “Thank you both so much, sorry to trouble you tonight…”
“We’re not strangers, are we? There’s no need to be so polite. Go on in and check on her… I’ll have some more of this casually brewed tea of yours~~”
Clearly, Dr. Jiang still held a bit of a grudge about it.
------
After Sui Yi went inside, she found the old lady lying peacefully in bed, with the faint scent of Western medicine lingering in the room.
She frowned slightly, walked over to check on her, and only after confirming her breathing was steady did she breathe a sigh of relief.
She’d been saved, for now...
But if she could be saved this time, what about next time?
------
When Sui Yi came out, she headed to the kitchen and stumbled upon an extremely bizarre scene.
At the dining table, the handsome and gentle Dr. Jiang was smiling like a spring breeze, while the cool and aloof Ah A was also smiling, the two of them engaged in a harmonious back-and-forth.
But the content of their conversation…
“Ah A, how old are you this year?”
“Eighteen… How about you, uncle?”
“Oh, I’m only twenty-six, you cheeky kid… not an uncle, alright? So, how did you and Sui Yi meet? You seem to get along pretty well…”
“Oh, me and her? Fate, I guess~~”
“Fate, huh~~ You kids are too young to really understand what fate is. Better focus on your studies. If you want to talk about fate, the way I met Sui Yi was real fate~~ The first time I saw her, she was lying in bed looking so frail, unconscious, and there was blood…”
The female assistant was nearly driven mad. Good grief, what kind of fate is that? You really take the cake for heavy tastes!
“…Heh.” That was all Ah A said, and it was impossible to tell if it was a cold laugh or something else.
“Hehehe.” Jiang Yunxiu was grinning too…
So Sui Yi watched these two sit across from each other, exchanging fake laughs.
The moment she sat down, the laughter ceased.
There were five dishes on the table, all beautifully presented and mouthwatering.
Sui Yi was a little surprised and glanced at Ah A. “Where did you find all this food…”
“Don’t you think that’s a strange question, coming from the owner of the house?” Ah A shot her a look, then smiled at Jiang Yunxiu and the assistant. “I just made a few simple dishes, all Sui Yi’s favorites. Not sure if you’ll like them. Oh, and the fish is especially nice—I caught it together with Sui Yi~~”
The truth was, everything he said was true; the ingredients had been prepared by the old lady for Sui Yi, so naturally they were her favorites.
And the fish, they really had caught it together…
So Sui Yi didn’t argue, just frowned slightly.
“I see… hehehe~~” Jiang Yunxiu emitted another strange laugh.

The female assistant felt the temperature drop, and the atmosphere grew stranger still. Internally, she groaned—seriously, it hadn’t been easy following her boss out to this backwater village!
Couldn’t they just let her eat in peace?
At last, the awkwardness was broken by Sui Yi’s cool “Let’s eat.”
After dinner, the assistant stood by her boss, watching Sui Yi do the dishes, with Ah A helping out beside her…
Clearly, Sui Yi was a calm and easygoing person. She had tried persuading Ah A once, but when he insisted on helping, she let him be. She wasn’t at all controlling—she didn’t fuss over the little things. But under the warm glow of the evening kitchen, in that narrow space, the sight of a young man and woman washing dishes together looked rather…
She caught that handsome young man glancing over at them.
Triumphant.
She almost thought she could hear the sound of teeth grinding.
And then, she saw her boss slap the wall in frustration and stomp away, as aggrieved as a jilted bride.
If she’d had a little handkerchief, he’d be dabbing his eyes, leaning on the wall, sobbing his way out~~
In that instant, all the frustration she’d felt about being dragged up into the mountains on a weekend evaporated.
Ha! About time you got a taste of your own medicine!
------
“I’m telling you, that Sui Yi girl is going to be the death of me! She’s gotten so close with that snot-nosed brat! Went back to her hometown together, caught fish together, let him cook a whole table full of food, all her favorites! Give me a break!”
“Just because I can’t cook, does that mean I never could? I just haven’t learned yet! That little punk is so smug~~ Unbelievable~!”
“Why? Why? I get along really well with Sui Yi too, okay…”
Blah blah blah~~
On the other end of the phone, there was a long silence before a voice replied.
“From a medical perspective, at eighteen, he’s long since finished puberty. Your comments make me seriously question your professional competence… Besides, you and Sui Yi have only met twice.”
The calm, logical tone made Jiang Yunxiu want to bang his head on the wall.
Seriously, who does he think I’m worrying about?
With a cold snort, Jiang Yunxiu curled his lips and said icily: “Right, he’s all grown up… At that age, hormones are surging, and any member of the opposite sex within ten meters could set them off. Sui Yi’s not bad-looking herself~… And right now, that kid and Sui Yi are squeezed together in a tiny kitchen, washing dishes… The kitchen’s so small, there’s barely room to stand~~”
Silence from the other end of the line.
He continued, “By the way, there aren’t many beds at Sui Yi’s house… I heard that kid’s staying the night~~”
Click—the call was cut off.
They hung up on him.
Heh, heh, heh!
Dr. Jiang continued to laugh darkly.
The female assistant shivered again, hair standing on end—God, let me go home~~
Originally, Dr. Jiang had planned to head back to the township and stay at an inn after handling things here, but given the situation, he put his glib tongue to work. Engaging Ah A in a debate as fierce as any courtroom battle, he managed to drag Ah A out of Sui Yi’s house, and the two of them crashed at Aunt Wang’s place next door.
The female assistant ended up sharing a room with Sui Yi.
Before bed, she tried tentatively, “Sui Yi, don’t you think… um… Dr. Jiang seems especially upset about you being close to Ah A…”
Sui Yi turned to her. “…What are you trying to say?”
Her tone was gentle, her expression friendly, but the assistant still felt a chill and shivered. “I just mean… did you notice anything? Like, why is he acting like that…?”

Oh, boss, I’m risking life and limb for your orders here—when we get back, you’d better give me a raise! A raise!
Sui Yi was silent for a while, then hesitantly asked, “You mean to say…”
The assistant waited expectantly.
“He likes Ah A?”
“!!!!!”
“No wonder… I thought the way he looked at Ah A was odd, and he seemed annoyed with me too. Just now he was insisting on sleeping with Ah A~~”
Sui Yi’s eyes suddenly sparkled with realization, clear as the moon, as if the moonlight outside was shining straight into her gaze.
The assistant wasn’t sure if she should be crying for her boss in the bathroom, or laughing for herself…
Torn, she heard Sui Yi tentatively add, “So, by letting Ah A go with him, am I pushing him into the fire?”
Sui Yi was genuinely concerned, because it really didn’t seem like Ah A had any romantic feelings for Jiang Yunxiu~~
“…”
“Never mind, it’s just for one night. We’ll deal with it tomorrow.”
“….”
Well, a lot can change in just one night~~
In that moment, the assistant found herself utterly charmed by this beautiful, pure, elegant, and occasionally adorably clueless girl.
Honestly, boss, you and that cocky kid can go ahead and share a bed—there’s no way I’m letting the likes of you corrupt such a wonderful girl!
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At dawn the next day, Sui Yi, her assistant, and even the two men squeezed together in a single bed next door, were all woken by a commotion in the village.
The assistant rubbed her eyes and saw Sui Yi already holding out a clean towel and toiletries for her, “Sister Song Zi, you wash up first, I’ll go make breakfast…”
Last night, after Sui Yi’s gentle persistence, the assistant had already volunteered her name, along with her hometown and family details…
If Sui Yi hadn’t urged her to get some rest, she’d probably have divulged her measurements too~~
Song Zi grinned and thanked her, not the least bit cranky despite being woken up so early—her gentle manner would have given her mother back in the city a headache.
Still, Song Zi was puzzled. Something big had clearly happened in the village—there was even a fight outside—so why was Sui Yi so calm, as if nothing was happening?
Did she not hear it? “Um, Sui Yi, there’s something going on outside… aren’t you going to check?”
“No rush,” Sui Yi smiled at her and left the room for the kitchen.
Song Zi stared after her, then sighed, “So composed.”
With lovely fried eggs, clean and fragrant milk, a bowl of simple vegetable porridge, and Sui Yi’s gentle, perfectly timed smile, breakfast was simple but left Song Zi feeling utterly refreshed.
Just then, Ah A and Jiang Yunxiu entered, both looking pale, with swollen eyes.
Sui Yi glanced at them and asked offhandedly, “Didn’t sleep well last night?”
“…” No kidding!
Jiang Yunxiu snorted and plopped into a chair, grabbing the milk for a gulp. “Two people in one bed… how could we sleep well?”
“I thought so, too…” Sui Yi glanced at them thoughtfully, the corners of her mouth lifting in a subtle smile.
The implication ran deep~~ (To be continued.)