Although her expression was blank every day, and she harbored some gloomy emotions, it was still much better than staying at home.
When she was focused on her work, she could ignore many things. She thought she would get over it quickly, but she didn't expect Zhang Wei to remember her after leaving the competition base.
Half a month after the competition ended, the list of winners was announced: Chen Dongyang was first, and Meng Kai was second.
Although Zhang Wei didn't win any prizes, Meng Kai was her boyfriend, so she was quite happy.
She sent a WeChat message to Tiantian, inviting Chen Dongyang and the other two to dinner.
She didn't know how Chen Dongyang had replied, but Tiantian definitely wouldn't go.
They couldn't see each other anymore.
"I've been very busy with work lately. The company is arranging for me to go on a business trip tomorrow, so I probably can't make it."
Zhang Wei was surprised: "Your foot is still injured, and the company is still letting you travel? That's too inhumane!"
"It's almost healed. People have to live, after all. If they didn't give me work, I'd be worried. Why don't you guys go first, and we can talk about it another time?"
Zhang Wei had no choice but to say okay.
When she got home that evening, Wushuang had gone out on a date again. She ordered takeout, ate it, and then went to take a tired bath, throwing herself onto the bed.
She wanted to sleep early, but she couldn't sleep at all.
She tossed and turned for a long time, then reached for her phone to scroll through Weibo.
Halfway through scrolling, she found it boring and went to look at her Moments.
About ten minutes ago, Zhang Wei had posted on her Moments, with a picture of dining utensils below, along with the address.
She and Meng Kai were sitting together, wearing matching couple rings, with their hands on the dining table. A portion of the other person's hand was also in the shot.
Even though only two fingers were visible, Tiantian's heart couldn't help but clench.
Chen Dongyang had gone to the appointment.
Everyone could stay by his side for a few minutes as they pleased, but she couldn't.
She really wanted to delete Zhang Wei, to stop seeing what bothered her.
However, she greedily wanted to get even a little bit of information about him from her.
Unable to sleep, she simply went back to the living room and turned on a popcorn movie, trying to shift her mood.
Halfway through, her phone vibrated.
She grabbed it and saw it was Zhang Wei again.
She said tentatively: "Did you and Chen Dongyang have a tiff? I feel like he was in a bad state today, and he was very evasive when he mentioned you. I still really ship you two as a couple, don't tell me you broke up!"
Hearing that Chen Dongyang was in a bad state, Tiantian fantasized in her heart, wondering if it was because he couldn't let her go that he was so downcast.
She even felt a morbid sense of happiness.
Even though he belonged to Zeng Hui, she wanted to stay in his heart forever.
"No, maybe he's just been too tired lately."
"That's good. I'm relieved to hear you say that. It's rare to see such a perfect match in real life as you two. I like you both so much. Don't always be busy with work. You're in a long-distance relationship now, and you're always busy. Long working hours can cause problems in a relationship. Spend more time with him."
Tiantian extracted another key piece of information from this sentence.
Chen Dongyang had moved. He had moved to Tongcheng, where the design institute was located.
Yes, he had gone to work at the design institute, so he couldn't commute back and forth every day. Zeng Hui and Dou Bao must have gone with him.
Were they living together?
The fleeting morbid happiness was quickly shattered by her own overthinking, making her extremely upset.
After thinking for a while, she thought of Dou Ya, wanting to inquire about something from him.
But she felt so pathetic. What if he found out...
Sitting uncomfortably for a few minutes, she finally couldn't help it and took the initiative to send a WeChat message to Dou Ya.
"Are you off work yet?"
It was already this late, so he must be off work.
Lying in bed scrolling through his phone after work every day was Dou Ya's most enjoyable time. He replied to Tiantian instantly.
"Yes, I am. It's been a while, Miss Jiang. I didn't expect you to still remember me."
"Of course, I remember. We're friends. Have you been busy with work lately?"
Although Chen Dongyang had gone to work at the design institute, his contract with Old Huang hadn't expired yet, and he still had some business to handle. Therefore, Dou Ya was still working for him.
"It's okay. Actually, there isn't much work. It's mainly that there are few people. Brother Chen doesn't do the work himself anymore, so it's just me and one other person, which is why we have to work overtime every day."
Tiantian pretended not to know: "He doesn't do the work himself anymore? Then what did he go to do?"
Dou Ya said: "Speaking of which, there's great news. Brother Chen might be turning his luck around."
He then recounted how Chen Dongyang had been invited by the design institute.
Tiantian looked at his typed words with a heartache, while also trying to extract information from him.
"Really? That's great. But doesn't he still need to take care of Dou Bao? If he goes so far away, what if something happens to Dou Bao?"
"The design institute assigned an employee dormitory to Brother Chen, and he brought Hui Hui and Dou Bao over too. Dou Bao fell ill again a few days ago, and I heard it was quite serious. He's very attached to him now. They can't be separated."
She shouldn't have been so foolish as to inquire about things she already knew, which made her already bad mood even worse.
Tiantian lost the desire to continue chatting.
She threw her phone aside and lay on the sofa, feeling as if someone was strangling her, unable to breathe, her heart aching terribly.
She really wanted to cry.
After all this turmoil, she realized that she had never let go of Chen Dongyang.
She missed him terribly, longed to be held by him, and at the same time, she hated him.
He said he wouldn't contact her, and he really didn't? Why was he so obedient?
Didn't he say he didn't like Zeng Hui? Then why was he living with her?
Did he have any intimacy with her? He wouldn't be sleeping in her arms every night, would he?
She couldn't think about it. The more she thought, the angrier she became, the more she hated Chen Dongyang, wishing she could see him immediately and grab him to ask for an explanation.
She had never encountered anything so frustrating since she was a child. She felt like she was dying. If she didn't see Chen Dongyang within five minutes and get the answer she wanted, someone would die tonight.
So, she didn't care about face, self-respect, or dignity anymore. She had promised to be a good person and understand Zeng Hui, but she had abandoned all of that.
Only those who have experienced deep sadness can truly recognize the evil in human nature.
In this world, you can compromise on anything, but not on love.
Even if she was condemned by everyone, even if her parents blamed her, she couldn't care about it now.
She only wanted Chen Dongyang, and she wanted him immediately.
While she still had a breath left, while she could still move, she got up from the sofa and dialed his number.
As the phone rang, her heart pounded. Her rationality seemed to have returned a little.
What if he didn't answer? What if Zeng Hui was there when he answered? What if Zeng Hui answered?
Suddenly, she felt cowardly. Her hands and feet turned cold, and she wanted to hang up, but the call connected in the next moment.
The screen started timing, and Chen Dongyang's familiar deep voice came through: "Tiantian."
Tiantian immediately burst into tears, sobbing so hard that she could barely speak, "Chen Dongyang..."
"What's wrong? What happened?"
"I'm dying. Where are you? I can't breathe."
The sound of rapid footsteps came from his end: "Where are you? I'm coming to find you. Don't cry, where are you?"