After that day, the relationship between the two seed to have hit rock bottom. Jiang An, using her thesis as an excuse, moved back to the school dorm, and Gao Chuan didn’t say much either, continuing his routine of going to and from work. After returning ho at night, he would fit in a quick workout, finish his work, and then go to sleep as usual.
It was as if the scenes of their ti together had suddenly ceased to exist, and he seed to have reverted back to being single. Unless it was for sothing special, he naturally wouldn’t contact Jiang An, and although they were legally husband and wife, they had not seen each other for a week.
But occasionally, facing the vastness of his room, the mory of the girl’s chattering presence from the past few days would unintentionally resurface, as if the absence of one person had indeed made the ho a lot quieter.
Living together for a long ti inevitably creates a sense of dependence, which Gao Chuan attributed to habit.
They each carried on with their lives, ignoring each other as if in silent resentnt. Only Jiang An knew she was trying to minimize damage to prevent herself from doing sothing over the line.
In this marriage that was in na only, they were like two chess players caught in a stalemate, fearful with every move they made.
After finishing his work, Gao Chuan returned to his office, exhausted and planning to rest, when he received several calls from Shen i. As he finally had so downti, he answered them, listening to her inform him that she had cooked and sent Jiang An over with the food.
After hanging up, Gao Chuan opened his WeChat to find that Jiang An hadn’t sent any ssages. Recalling that their last encounter was a week ago, he felt a twinge of unease and massaged his temples.
In the quiet office, he sat in his chair resting, and sure enough, within two minutes, his phone screen lit up just as he had expected, a ssage from Jiang An.
Jiang An: Dr. Gao, Ms. Shen asked to bring you food. Are you available to co down and collect it?
Gao Chuan glanced over, picked up his phone, and saw the girl’s polite words. It gave him a headache, and he typed back: "I’ll co down to get it now."
Just as Gao Chuan was about to leave his office after replying, he received a ssage about a patient having an unexpected post-surgery reaction. He rushed back to the operating room without delay, unable to wait for Jiang An downstairs, imdiately instructing the nurse to prepare for an ergency surgery.
anwhile, Jiang An, sitting in the Gao Family driver’s car, had waited for quite so ti without seeing Gao Chuan co down. She sent several ssages, and the driver, seeing that Gao Chuan hadn’t appeared for so long, beca anxious as well. Looking at Jiang An through the rearview mirror, he suggested with a steady tone: "Second Young Madam, you should take it up to the Second Young Master directly. He might be busy right now!"
Jiang An lowered her head and saw that Gao Chuan still hadn’t replied. Thinking that he must have so urgent work, she followed the driver’s advice, got out of the car, and headed upstairs. Following her mory, she reached the departnt where Gao Chuan worked and bumped into the nurse who had previously taken care of her mother, right out of the elevator. Recognizing Jiang An, the nurse greeted her with a smile, and Jiang An smiled back and waved in acknowledgnt.
The nurse looked curiously at the lunchbox in Jiang An’s hand. Noticing her gaze on the lunchbox, Jiang An spoke up first: "I’m here to bring a al to a friend."
The young nurse seed to rember freeloading a few als off Jiang An during her hospital stay, chuckled with her hand covering her mouth, and said, "Your friend is in our departnt, huh? Which ward? I’ll keep an eye out for them."
Jiang An maintained a strained smile awkwardly, it seed an instinctual reaction, not wanting the people in the departnt to know about her relationship with Gao Chuan. She shook her head and refused, "No need, thank you though."
Having finally ended the small talk with the nurse, Jiang An sidestepped the crowd and headed towards Gao Chuan’s office. Realizing no one was around, she pushed the door open and went in. She had planned to just leave the lunchbox and go, but Gao Chuan, who had just finished surgery, ca in and was startled to see Jiang An in his office. Today the girl was wearing a light blue denim dress, which made her skin look particularly fair.
Jiang An was equally startled when he walked in, and after a mont, she finally rembered she was here to deliver a al. She stepped aside and pointed at the lunchbox on the table, whispering softly, "Dr. Gao, I’ve put the food on the table."
Gao Chuan, whose mind was clouded from the surgery, finally rembered saying he’d co down to get it half an hour ago, but the procedure had delayed him once more. He frowned and stepped in, intending to explain to Jiang An, when suddenly there ca a knock at the door. Both of them were startled, with Jiang An, in particular, gripping her handbag nervously for no apparent reason.
"What is it?" Gao Chuan called towards the door. It was a nurse from the departnt, saying that she had organized the postoperative data for the patients for him. Hearing that the person at the door was the nurse she had just bumped into at the elevator, Jiang An instantly panicked, grabbed Gao Chuan’s arm, and looked sowhat distressed, while Gao Chuan, seeing her react so strongly, looked puzzled.
Who would have thought that the next second, Jiang An, in a frantic hurry, looked around quickly and scurried under the gap of the office desk, not forgetting to pull Gao Chuan down to sit as well, making a silent gesture towards Gao Chuan as the nurse was about to walk in.
Gao Chuan sat down on the swivel chair, looking down at the anxious girl and letting her hide inside. The nurse had already approached the office desk to hand him the well-organized file, and she reported briefly on the condition of several patients. Gao Chuan sat there pretending to listen, but his mind quietly wandered to the girl crouching at his feet.
Jiang An squatted under the table, daring not to breathe too loudly, hugging her legs and keeping rigid.
After the nurse finished reporting, she suddenly noticed the lunchbox on the table, felt it looked familiar, and as if she rembered sothing, she started a conversation with Gao Chuan, "Dr. Gao, guess who I saw today?"
Gao Chuan, while flipping through the data in his hand, looked up upon hearing this and saw the normally reticent nurse excitedly saying, "Do you rember Fang Qing, the patient who died last month? I just saw her daughter, that A University girl who said she’s here to deliver food to a friend."
Hiding under the table, Jiang An’s face turned red when she heard herself ntioned, burying her head in embarrassnt. Gao Chuan glanced at her, seemingly understanding why she hid, and simply responded with, "Hmm."
"She seems to be doing okay, we were worried about her at that ti..." The nurse continued talking but was cut off by Gao Chuan. Hearing Gao Chuan ntion he needed so rest, she quickly left the office.
Only when the noise completely faded did Gao Chuan look down at the tense person beneath him, the corners of his mouth curling into a smile that was not quite a smile, he commanded, "Co out, they’re gone."
Jiang An t the man’s towering gaze and felt sowhat humiliated for a mont, her face blushing profusely. She struggled to get to her feet, but because her legs were numb, she ended up squatting down even further, and as she tried to get up, she bumped her head on the office desk. A vague pain shot to the top of her head, and like a hurt little lamb, Jiang An cried out in pain.
Gao Chuan: "..."
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