The commute to the company was a bit long. Tang Nannan had originally planned to cycle there, but with Hu Jiasheng now accompanying her, they had to take a taxi.
Hu Jiasheng didn't believe she usually took taxis, as it seemed too extravagant for someone with her income.
Seeing her about to flag down a car, he gently touched her arm.
Tang Nannan turned her head. Hu Jiasheng asked, "How do you usually get to work?"
Tang Nannan didn't hide anything, pointing to the shared bicycles by the roadside. "I usually just scan one and ride it."
"Then why not today?"
The question made Tang Nannan look at his sharp, professional attire and his hand, which was wrapped in thick gauze and tucked inside his sleeve. She couldn't help but smile.
"Because your hand is injured, it's not suitable for riding a bike with me."
She wasn't wearing a mask today. Although her hair was tied in a simple ponytail and she wore a plain black t-shirt, she looked luminous in the sunlight, her skin appearing to glow.
Her skin was so fair that the faint blue capillaries on her forehead and neck were clearly visible.
Her features were soft and elegant, 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, about three stops."
"Then let's walk. Scan one for me too."
"But your hand..."
"I used to ride bikes frequently. Don't talk about one hand; I could ride more skillfully than you even with my hands off the handlebars."
It had been 48 hours since she'd met him, and this was the first time she'd heard him joke. Tang Nannan couldn't help but smile again.
Although his dress pants seemed 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 imagine the scene in her mind: a middle-aged man in a white shirt riding a bicycle would probably be quite amusing.
The two walked side-by-side. It was still early.
The soft sunlight filtered through the gaps in the tree canopy along the road, casting dappled patterns on them.
A gentle breeze blew as they pedaled their bikes at a steady pace. It surprisingly didn't feel like a chore to go to work; life suddenly seemed beautiful.
The wind blew into the gaps between the buttons of his shirt, puffing it out. His hair was slightly lifted, not much different from the image of a young man in white that Tang Nannan had imagined.
Stealthily glancing at his handsome profile, her mood was excellent.
Today was truly a wonderful day.
They arrived at the company in less than twenty minutes. Hu Jiasheng waited outside while Tang Nannan brought the car around.
Once inside, Hu Jiasheng gave her the address. Tang Nannan started driving, 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 the wound hurt? If we're not in a hurry, should we go back and apply the medicine?"
Although they weren't critically pressed for time, Hu Jiasheng disliked being late. He could endure this minor injury.
He opened the bandage, blew on it a couple of times to cool it, and then covered it again.
"It's fine. You go ahead."
But Tang Nannan was worried.
They hadn't brought the medicine they had. If they were out all day, sweating and not treating it, it would surely become inflamed by night.
She knew Suzhou's traffic well. There were still half an hour before the morning rush hour, so there should be enough time.
Without Hu Jiasheng's consent, she secretly turned the car around.
Hu Jiasheng was checking his work schedule on his phone. Sensing the car had stopped, he looked up and found they were back downstairs from his apartment.
As he wondered what Tang Nannan was doing, she opened the car door and got out.
"Wait for me for two minutes, I'll be right down."
Then she ran upstairs with surprising speed.
Hu Jiasheng checked the time: 07:16 AM.
Before 07:18 AM, Tang Nannan rushed back down.
She handed him the packet of medicine prescribed by the doctor the previous night, placed it in his arms, fastened her seatbelt, briskly released the handbrake, and began to turn the car around.
After all that, she didn't even seem out of breath, which spoke volumes about how much she had been through in the past two years.
In a way, it was for her own good, so Hu Jiasheng didn't say much.
At the entrance to the residential complex, Tang Nannan stopped again to buy him a bottle of water before they set off.
Hu Jiasheng took his medicine, while Tang Nannan drove attentively and chatted with him.
"New energy vehicles are a major trend for future development, aren't they? For such a large project, why were you sent alone?"
Hu Jiasheng naturally wouldn't tell her the truth – that no one else wanted to work with him.
"There's cooperation from the local department. I'm just responsible for coordination, and one person is perfectly sufficient. Other colleagues are responsible for other districts."
"Oh."
Tang Nannan's driving skills were excellent. Although they ran into the morning rush hour, she weaved through the traffic, arriving at the power company Hu Jiasheng needed to visit 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 casually asked, "How long do you think it will take?"
"It's hard to say."
The first time Hu Jiasheng started work, he encountered a very irresponsible person in charge at the power company.
Taking advantage of their being outsiders, they kept delaying his matters. Hu Jiasheng had to wait in the office for an entire morning before meeting him.
At noon, he treated him to a lavish meal, and only then did the person agree to allocate employees to 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 after entering, but the person was in a meeting.
Similar to the first situation, he was left waiting indefinitely in the office.
He hated dealing with such passive resistance.
They wouldn't directly say they didn't want to cooperate with his work, nor would they agree to cooperate; they just left him hanging in an indifferent manner, making it difficult to express anger.
Hu Jiasheng waited from eight o'clock until nine o'clock, and the 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 entrance lot.
Tang Nannan was getting quite anxious waiting.
Having worked as a taxi driver for a long time, she placed great importance on time.
An hour, even with poor business, was enough for her to pick up two fares outside. Why was Hu Jiasheng so unhurried?
Anxiously waiting until nine o'clock, the sun was already quite hot.
Tang Nannan was reluctant to turn on the air conditioning, and the car felt like a steamer.
She wanted to 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 very good eyesight. She could tell from his smoking posture and general silhouette that he wasn't in a good mood.
Could his work not be going smoothly?
Having grown up in a family where her parents were accustomed to being flattered and had seen all sorts of fawning faces, Tang Nannan was adept at understanding people's thoughts and knew how to deal 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 feeling a moment of sympathy for Hu Jiasheng, she pushed open the car door, got out, and walked towards the security office.