The trip to the company was a bit long. Tang Nannan originally planned to take a shared bicycle, but with Hu Jiasheng now accompanying her, they had to take a taxi.
Hu Jiasheng didn't believe she usually took taxis, thinking it was too extravagant for someone with her income.
Seeing her about to hail a cab, he lightly touched her arm.
Tang Nannan turned her head. Hu Jiasheng asked, "How do you usually get to work?"
Tang Nannan didn't hide anything. She pointed to a shared bicycle by the roadside, "I usually ride one of these."
"Then why not today?"
The question amused her. Tang Nannan glanced at his polished, elite appearance and the heavily bandaged hand tucked into his sleeve, and couldn't help but chuckle.
"Because your hand is injured, it's not suitable for us to ride together."
She wasn't wearing a mask today. Although her hair was tied in a simple ponytail and she wore a plain black t-shirt, bathed in the sunlight, she seemed to glow with paleness.
She was so fair that the faint blue capillaries on her forehead and neck were visible.
Her features were so soft and delicate, and when she smiled, it was as if the surrounding scenery brightened with her.
Hu Jiasheng glanced at her, then silently averted his gaze, changing the subject.
"How far is the company from here?"
"Not very far, just three stops."
"Then let's go. Help me scan one too."
"But your hand..."
"I used to ride bikes a lot. Not just with one hand, I could even ride with no hands better than you."
It had been 48 hours since she met him, and this was the first time she heard him joke. Tang Nannan couldn't help but smile again.
Although his slacks looked a bit out of place, his white shirt was indeed quite suitable for cycling.
As Tang Nannan scanned the bike, she couldn't help but picture the scene in her mind: a middle-aged man in white riding a bicycle would be quite interesting.
They walked side-by-side, and there was still plenty of time.
The soft sunlight filtered through the gaps in the tree canopy along the road, casting dappled patterns on them.
A gentle breeze blew, and cycling at a steady pace, she felt that going to work wasn't such a hardship after all; life felt beautiful.
The wind blew into the gaps between Hu Jiasheng's shirt buttons, making the fabric billow. His hair lifted slightly, not much different from the image of a young man in white she had imagined.
Stealing glances at his handsome profile, her mood was exceptionally good.
Today was truly a wonderful day.
They arrived at the company in less than 20 minutes. Hu Jiasheng waited outside while Tang Nannan brought the car over.
Getting in, Hu Jiasheng gave her the address. Tang Nannan drove, and he rolled up his sleeve to check his injury.
Tang Nannan then remembered she hadn't applied medicine that morning.
"Did it get sweaty? Does it hurt? If we're not in a hurry, should we go back and put some medicine on it?"
Although they weren't in a rush, Hu Jiasheng disliked being late. He could endure this minor injury.
He opened the bandage, blew on it twice to cool it, and then covered it again.
"It's fine. You go ahead."
But Tang Nannan was still worried.
They hadn't brought the medicine they were supposed to take. If she spent the whole day out, sweating and not treating it, it would surely get infected by evening.
She knew Sicheng's traffic situation. There was still half an hour before the morning rush hour, so it should be enough time.
Without Hu Jiasheng's consent, she secretly turned the car around.
Hu Jiasheng was checking his work plan on his phone. Feeling the car stop, he looked up and found they were back at their apartment building.
Confused as to what Tang Nannan was doing, he saw her open the car door and get out.
"Wait for me two minutes, I'll be right down."
Then she dashed upstairs as if her feet were on fire.
Hu Jiasheng checked the time: 07:16 AM.
Before 07:18 AM, Tang Nannan had already rushed back down.
She handed him a packet of medicine prescribed by the doctor the previous night, placed it in his arms, fastened her seatbelt, swiftly released the handbrake, and started to turn around again.
After all these actions, she didn't even seem out of breath, which spoke volumes about how fit she had become in the past two years.
In a way, it was for her own good, so Hu Jiasheng didn't say much.
At the community entrance, Tang Nannan stopped again to buy him a bottle of water before they set off.
Hu Jiasheng took the medicine, and Tang Nannan drove attentively, chatting with him.
"New energy vehicles are a major trend for the future, aren't they? For such a large project, why are they sending just you?"
Hu Jiasheng naturally didn't tell her the truth: it was because no one else was willing to work with him.
"There's cooperation from the local department. I'm just responsible for coordination, and one person is enough. Other colleagues are handling other districts."
"Oh."
Tang Nannan was a good driver. Although they ran into the morning rush hour, she weaved through the traffic, and they arrived at the power company Hu Jiasheng needed to go to before 8 AM.
Hu Jiasheng meticulously reviewed his work content in the car and tidied his appearance before getting out.
"Wait for me here."
Tang Nannan agreed, and also asked, "How long do you think it will take?"
"It's hard to say."
The first time Hu Jiasheng started this work, he encountered a very irresponsible person in charge at that power company.
Taking advantage of the fact that they were outsiders, they deliberately delayed his matters. Hu Jiasheng waited in the office for a whole morning before finally meeting the person.
He treated them to a lavish lunch, and only then did they agree to allocate staff for him.
However, the leader he met last time was much easier to deal with, and the technicians were very cooperative.
He hoped for good luck this time.
Alas, fate was not on his side.
Hu Jiasheng successfully found the leader's office upon entering, but the person was in a meeting.
Similar to the first situation, he was left in the office with no definite timeframe.
He detested encountering such passive resistance.
They didn't directly refuse to cooperate with his work, nor did they agree, but instead, they left him hanging in an indifferent manner, making it impossible to express anger.
Hu Jiasheng waited from eight o'clock until nine o'clock, and the other person still hadn't returned.
He patiently walked to the window and lit a cigarette.
From this vantage point, he could see the conspicuous taxi parked in the company's lot.
Tang Nannan was getting quite anxious waiting.
Having been a taxi driver for a long time, she placed great importance on time.
An hour was enough for her to pick up two customers, even during slow business. Why was Hu Jiasheng not in a hurry?
She waited impatiently until nine o'clock. The sun was already quite hot.
Tang Nannan couldn't bear to turn on the air conditioning, and the car felt like a steam cooker.
She wanted to push open the door for some fresh air. As she looked up, she saw him standing by the floor-to-ceiling window of an office on the building, smoking.
Tang Nannan had excellent eyesight. She could tell from his smoking posture and general silhouette that he was in a bad mood.
Could his work not be going smoothly?
Coming from a family background where her parents were accustomed to flattery and had seen all sorts of sycophantic faces since childhood, Tang Nannan was adept at gauging people's moods and interacting with all kinds of individuals.
Therefore, seeing Hu Jiasheng like that, she immediately guessed what had likely happened.
In this world, every dog bites strangers.
After sympathizing with Hu Jiasheng for a few seconds, she pushed open the door, got out, and walked towards the security room.