Jiang Jingyu knew that it was the wine she gave him and Lu Jiaying yesterday that caused them to lose control. Although Jiang Jingyu knew she had ill intentions, without concrete evidence, it was difficult to fall out with her on the spot.
Falling out would be tantamount to admitting to the outside world that something had happened between him and Lu Jiaying, and they could not afford the public fallout.
Moreover, he had not yet figured out what to do in the future and wanted to see Lu Jiaying's reaction. So, he cast a cold glance at Xu Lei, turned around, and returned to his room.
Xu Lei knew what had happened to Lu Jiaying last night and was eager to see her current state, so she impatiently pressed the doorbell.
Lu Jiaying's entire body ached. She propped herself up to sit, intending to get out of bed. As she moved, a certain area sent a sharp pain through her, making her gasp.
Fragments of last night – Jiang Jingyu's deep breaths by her ear, the comfortable feeling of nesting in his chest – suddenly resurfaced...
Embarrassed and awkward, she felt agitated. She closed her eyes and shook her head in frustration.
At that moment, the sound of the doorbell rang outside, one after another, incessantly.
Lu Jiaying knew that her current state was not suitable for receiving guests. No matter who it was, she wouldn't go out. So, she pretended not to hear.
After a while, enduring the pain, she found her phone. After much hesitation, she dialed Jiang Jingyu's number.
Jiang Jingyu was sitting on the sofa, staring into his phone. When he saw her call, he answered immediately.
"Hello."
"You go back with them. Change my flight ticket. I'm not feeling well and will take two days off."
Jiang Jingyu was startled and quickly stood up.
He had just experienced this for the first time, and it had been rough and impetuous, leaving him feeling unsatisfied. Yesterday, he had indeed gone too far.
Had Lu Jiaying been hurt?
"What's wrong? Do you need to go to the hospital?"
Lu Jiaying would die before going to the hospital for something like this.
"It has nothing to do with you. Don't overthink it. Do as I say. If they ask, say I have a stomachache. Don't call me if it's nothing."
After speaking, Lu Jiaying turned off her phone and lay back down under the covers.
Jiang Jingyu soon came out of his room with his phone. Seeing Xu Lei still pressing the doorbell outside her door, he said irritably,
"Ms. Lu isn't feeling well with a stomachache. Can you please not disturb her so early? You know where the restaurant is. Can't you go eat by yourself?"
Heh, of course, people with connections are different. Look at how concerned he was, daring to speak to her like that!
Xu Lei raised an eyebrow and was about to scold him when Jiang Jingyu disdainfully bypassed her.
He went straight out of the hotel, took a taxi, found a pharmacy, and described the general situation to the doctor, omitting unnecessary details. The doctor prescribed him some anti-inflammatory and topical medication.
Then he was instructed.
Avoid strenuous activity, wear loose clothing, avoid high heels, and get plenty of rest.
Thinking of the professional attire and high heels Lu Jiaying wore every day during her visit, he took another taxi to the mall.
He bought her a set of casual clothes and sneakers, and returned with large bags.
Fortunately, Xu Lei had already left. He called Lu Jiaying to ask her to open the door, but her phone was turned off.
He rang the doorbell again, but there was no response after several rings.
Although she was a few years older than him, she was still a woman and was shy. Jiang Jingyu understood that she didn't know how to face him for a while.
Just then, a cleaning aunt pushing a small cart passed by. Jiang Jingyu handed her the items, gave her some instructions, and turned to go downstairs.
Vice President Li, Vice President Wang, and Xu Lei had finished breakfast and were waiting downstairs. They saw him as soon as he got off the elevator and waved to him.
"Xiao Jiang, over here. Why are you alone? Where's Ms. Lu?"
"She changed her flight. She's not feeling well and is taking two days off. We're leaving first."
Everyone exchanged a knowing glance and asked as if they didn't know.
"What happened? Is she feeling that unwell? Is it okay to leave her alone? Does she need to go to the hospital?"
Jiang Jingyu swept his cold gaze over the three of them. "It's all waiting anyway. I'll head to the airport first."
With that, he gave them a disdainful back view and strode away.
The others watched his retreating back and sneered.
"Pretty boy. Thinks he's so great because he's hooked up with Lu Jiaying? Daring to show us a bad face, let's see how long you can stay arrogant!"
"Exactly. If Mr. Hu knew about your little affair, he'd skin you alive. So ignorant of the world!"
"Ah, no. Lu Jiaying isn't leaving with us. If we don't check out now, and her phone is still in her room, what do we do?"
Xu Lei had a plan.
"I'm still here. I'll stay and keep her company while you guys leave first. We'll find a chance to get into her room eventually."
The three men left first. Lu Jiaying slept until the afternoon.
The discomfort had eased somewhat, and her stomach was rumbling with hunger. She couldn't wear yesterday's clothes again. She found a clean set to change into, washed up, opened her door, and prepared to go to the pharmacy to buy emergency medication.
As she reached the staircase, a cleaning aunt pushing a small cart called out to her.
"Miss Lu, going out?"
Having stayed there for a few days, she interacted with the aunties daily, and they all knew each other.
Lu Jiaying gave her a faint smile. "Yes."
"Your assistant gave me two bags to give to you before she left this morning. She said they were medicine and clothes. Please don't leave yet, I'll get them for you."
The aunt went to the innermost workroom on each floor to retrieve the items for her.
Lu Jiaying took them and saw that one bag contained clothes, another contained shoes, and a third contained medicine.
There was also a note inside, detailing the time and dosage for taking the medication.
That's good. Since he had already bought everything, she didn't need to go out anymore. It was perfect, as she didn't want to see anyone right now.
Lu Jiaying didn't know how Jiang Jingyu had described things to the staff, but he had bought everything...
After taking the medicine, Lu Jiaying endured the embarrassment and applied the ointment. Then, she turned on her phone to call Hu Jiasheng to request leave.
In her many years of employment, she had never taken leave except for normal holidays.
She hadn't even taken her paid annual leave; this was her first time requesting personal leave.
Hearing that she was unwell, Hu Jiasheng urged her to rest well and not to rush back.
After hanging up, she opened WeChat. Xu Lei had sent her several messages, all expressing concern about her health. She also mentioned that she was staying at the same hotel for a few days and would love to go out shopping with her once she felt better.
Hypocritical.
Lu Jiaying thought to herself: for such a small work-related matter, she had played such dirty tricks behind my back. I've completely made an enemy of you.
Xu Lei, don't think you can bully me just because I'm being polite. When we return to Nancheng, if I don't make you fully realize who Lu Jiaying is, then I'm a pig.
Lu Jiaying stayed indoors for two days. She slept when she was tired and ordered food when she was hungry. It was also a good opportunity for her to rest.
During her rest, she thought about many things calmly.
It wasn't a big deal.
Women her age were either unmarried but had dated several boyfriends, or were married with children.
It was almost unheard of for someone like her to be single since birth for 26 years.