After a phone call, she packed her things and headed out, wandering the streets, suddenly curious if Chen Dongyang would keep his word.
What if giving him a bit of kindness led him to slack off again?
With that thought, she turned the steering wheel and drove to Wushuang's apartment complex.
It was a newly developed area, with few residents who had moved in, making the overall atmosphere quite quiet.
She took the elevator up, and to her surprise, the lights were on inside.
Accompanied by coughs, someone was actually working overtime.
Suddenly, she felt small-minded. Coming so late to peek at someone's work progress, what would she say when they met?
Trying to slip away unnoticed, she accidentally stepped on a stone.
With a "swish," Douya, like a nimble mouse, darted out.
Seeing her, his face registered surprise: "Miss Jiang, why are you here so late?"
Tian Tian felt a bit embarrassed and waved at him: "I, I lost something and thought it might have fallen here. I came up to look. Why aren't you off work yet?"
The coughing stopped, and Douya glanced inside, saying.
"It's just the two of us. Our progress was already slow, and Brother Chen said he was delayed a bit during the day, so we wanted to catch up on the workload."
"What did you lose? I cleaned the entire floor today and threw out the trash. I wasn't paying too much attention, could I have accidentally thrown it away?"
Douya was an honest person. Seeing him work so diligently, she felt a pang of guilt at deceiving him.
Tian Tian said, "That's okay. It's not anything particularly important. If I can't find it, I can't find it."
"Then I won't come in. Don't work too late yourselves, finish up and go home early."
As she was speaking, Chen Dongyang also appeared behind Douya.
Whether it was the glare of the fluorescent lights or his actual complexion, he looked unwell.
His rugged features were devoid of color, and a blueish stubble covered his chin, making him look much more worn than he had that morning.
Tilting his head, he coughed a couple more times before gently nudging Douya.
"Alright, you don't need to stay here any longer. Let's go home. I'll leave shortly."
Although Douya was half a head shorter and just as thin as Chen Dongyang, his face was ruddy, his lips had color, and his voice was strong. He looked much more like a healthy person than Chen Dongyang.
"I'm not leaving. You haven't slept for 40 hours and you're still standing here. How can I abandon you alone?"
"If anyone's leaving, it's you. You really have a fever, go back and rest, buy some medicine. Otherwise, you won't be able to get up tomorrow."
Chen Dongyang opened his mouth to retort, but his throat tickled again.
He turned his head and coughed twice more, then lightly punched Douya on the shoulder.
"Stop talking nonsense, just go when I tell you to. Since when did you learn to talk back? I'm not working overtime either, let's go, let's all go."
"But remember, the electric bike hasn't been charged for two days, it won't be enough to carry you. Figure out how to get home yourself."
Hearing that he wasn't going to work overtime, Douya seemed to have heard the best news, grinning widely.
"It's okay. It's still early. I can run home in a few minutes. Let's go together then."
Tian Tian entered the elevator first. Seeing that the two were also leaving, she waited for a moment.
A moment later, the three stood together. Douya chatted enthusiastically with her.
"Miss Jiang, I'm really sorry for making you come here for nothing. I genuinely didn't notice."
Tian Tian replied, "It's not your fault, it was my carelessness. Have you guys eaten?"
"Not yet. We'll grab something on the way. Brother Chen, you must get some medicine. What are you eating tonight?"
Chen Dongyang didn't want to engage in this pointless conversation. Suppressing the itch in his throat, he looked ahead and said.
"Eat your own food, don't worry about me. Where's your jacket?"
Douya: "It was so hot working, I didn't need a jacket at all, I didn't bring one."
As they spoke, they arrived downstairs, and the three exited together.
Tian Tian unlocked her car, and Chen Dongyang went to get his electric bike.
Douya said goodbye to Tian Tian: "Miss Jiang, I'll be going now. Drive carefully. See you tomorrow."
After saying that, he started to run.
Tian Tian looked at his thin clothes and small frame, and couldn't help but call out.
"Wait a moment."
"What is it, Miss Jiang?"
"Get in, I'll give you a ride for a bit."
Douya didn't recognize her car's logo or know how fancy it was, but he instinctively refused.
"No, no, I live very close to here. I can run home in a few minutes."
Tian Tian offered him a way out: "Don't overthink it. I haven't eaten either, and it's no fun eating alone. I was hoping to find someone to eat with. We can eat whatever you're having. Let's go."
She phrased it in a way that he couldn't refuse, so Douya could only say goodbye to Chen Dongyang again.
Chen Dongyang watched the gleaming black car disappear into the night, lost in thought for a moment. He took out a cigarette, wanting to smoke, but the intense itch in his throat flared up again.
He had to put the cigarette back.
On the way, Tian Tian chatted with Douya, asking where he lived. Douya said he lived with Brother Chen.
"It's not far from here. Binjiang South Road."
"You live with him?"
"Yes. It's Brother Chen's place. I only came to Nancheng recently and didn't know where to find a suitable place to rent, so Brother Chen let me share the apartment with him."
Tian Tian looked astonished: "Your Brother Chen isn't married?"
"No," Douya replied, also surprised. "Who told you he was married?"
Tian Tian realized.
He was allowed to have siblings, but wasn't it possible for others to have them too?
Just because someone was of the opposite gender didn't mean they were his wife.
Good heavens, thankfully she hadn't said anything inappropriate, or it would have been awkward today.
"Oh, I didn't hear that. The other day I saw him taking a child to the hospital, and I thought it was his child."
Douya suddenly understood: "Oh, you mean Doubao? That's not his son."
Just as Tian Tian was about to ask what Doubao was to him, he added, "But he's pretty much like a son."
What was that supposed to mean? If he was his son, he was his son. If not, he wasn't. What did "pretty much like" mean?
Douya scratched his head and said, "Brother Chen is tight-lipped. He doesn't talk about his personal matters with others. I actually heard it from the boss."
"Once, the boss advised him not to be so stubborn, putting all his effort and money into others. That's when I learned that Sister Huihui seemed to be the wife of Brother Chen's friend."
"I don't know what happened, but now the mother and son are in a rather pitiable situation, so Brother Chen puts all his salary and energy into them."
"Otherwise, with his income, he wouldn't be sharing an apartment with me."
Tian Tian was truly enlightened.
He took in his friend's wife and child to take care of them? What was all this?
However, it had nothing to do with her, nor with Wushuang.
A man wouldn't be nice to a woman for no reason, especially if she was married and had a child.
How much must he love her to be willing to give so much?
Douya couldn't afford anything fancy, so he pointed to a noodle shop by the roadside. They each ate a bowl of noodles.
After the meal, he wanted to pay for Tian Tian, but she refused.
"Let's split it. I was just giving you a ride, there's no need to be so polite."