Before getting off work, Zhang Yang finally received the restaurant address from Anna.
He was determined to go, so he discussed with Jiang Jingyu beforehand whether he could leave early when the time came.
Jiang Jingyu had no intention of working overtime anyway. Hearing his question, he subconsciously asked, "What's wrong? Something up?"
Zhang Yang told the truth, "The sales department is holding a welcome party tonight, and Tong Anan will be there too."
Jiang Jingyu understood; he was going to pursue Tong Anan.
It should have been a good thing, but perhaps because Tong Anan looked so much like Lu Jiaying, it gave Jiang Jingyu a strange sense of belonging. He felt a slight discomfort with Zhang Yang's honesty and his instant attraction to Tong Anan.
Of course, it might have been caused by other things; he wasn't sure himself.
Not wanting to hear Zhang Yang talk about these trivial matters, he waved him out.
"Go ahead."
After work, colleagues from the sales department gathered in International Marketing, arm in arm, discussing what activities to arrange for the evening.
As they were talking, Zhang Yang walked in with a smile.
Seeing him, everyone screamed.
"Oh, Assistant Zhang! At this hour, what wind blew you here?"
Zhang Yang smiled and said, "I heard you ladies have a dinner party tonight, so I thought I'd take advantage of your generosity and join for a meal. That's why I rushed over as soon as work was over."
"It's rare for Assistant Zhang to want to dine with us. Welcome, welcome!"
Everyone was delighted and started joking with him.
Tong Anan watched Zhang Yang, surrounded by many women and showered with attention, and inexplicably felt a sense of familiarity.
What was wrong with her aesthetic lately? Or were handsome men all similar?
With his handsome features, tall stature, and preference for suits, was she suffering from face blindness?
Why did they all seem familiar?
After greeting everyone, Zhang Yang looked at Tong Anan and realized she didn't recognize him. Her expression was confused, and she didn't mention their previous encounter in front of everyone.
He decided to treat it as if they had just met.
Everyone happily went to the restaurant. Many small games were arranged, and they had a very enjoyable time eating and laughing.
When the party broke up around ten o'clock, Zhang Yang suggested moving to a KTV, offering to treat them to singing. The crowd cheered and left the restaurant.
Tong Anan knew that this gathering was originally organized for the newcomers. Everyone was spending their time for them, and she was the least qualified to refuse.
However, her roommate Ma Weiwei was calling her repeatedly on voice chat for some reason.
Tong Anan only saw the missed calls after leaving the restaurant and quickly called back.
Ma Weiwei was crying inconsolably on the phone, saying that her first startup project had been scammed, resulting in a huge financial loss. The perpetrator had absconded. She had reported it to the police that afternoon and spent half the day giving her statement. She had just returned and was feeling very dejected, wanting to talk to Tong Anan.
Ma Weiwei was her only best friend, and at a time like this, Tong Anan naturally couldn't abandon her. She found herself in a dilemma.
Everyone was waiting for cars by the roadside. Tong Anan was on the side, on the phone for a long time. When she returned, her expression was grim.
Zhang Yang had been paying attention to her the whole time and immediately noticed her unhappiness. He walked over to her.
"What's wrong? Is something the matter?"
After the meal, she found Zhang Yang to have a good personality, be good-looking, and be capable at work in everyone's eyes. She also developed a good impression of him.
Since he asked proactively, she told him the truth.
"What should I do? If I leave, I feel like I'm letting everyone down. If I don't leave, my friend is alone..."
Zhang Yang had some understanding of the women in the sales department, especially in International Marketing.
Relying on their high education, youth, and the fact that most of them were locals from Nancheng, they were generally arrogant.
If someone was willing to lower themselves to befriend a newcomer like her, and she didn't appreciate it, she would surely be criticized later.
The workplace was a science, and he didn't want Tong Anan to be put in a difficult position right from the start. So, after a moment of thought, he slowly rotated his right arm and extended his hand to Tong Anan.
"My arm is uncomfortable, can you help me pull it?"
Tong Anan's eyes went black; she even thought she had misheard.
Zhang Yang rotated his arm again and held his hand out to her.
"You didn't mishear, it really is uncomfortable. Help me pull it. Pull hard, with all your might."
Although she felt embarrassed to hold his hand after only knowing him for a few hours, Zhang Yang's candid attitude made it impossible for her to overthink it.
Tong Anan could only grab his hand and step back.
Zhang Yang said, "Further back, pull harder."
She took another step back.
Zhang Yang urged her to continue, so she stepped back half a step, leaning her whole body back, and pulled with all her might.
Zhang Yang frowned slightly, covering his right shoulder with his left hand.
"Okay, okay, you can let go now."
Since everyone had been drinking and couldn't drive, they needed to hail three taxis to get to their destination.
Two had already been hailed, and everyone was discussing prices and departure times with the taxi drivers, so no one noticed them.
By the time Anna looked over, Zhang Yang was covered in a cold sweat.
"Can you ask the driver to take a detour and go to the hospital first? My arm is dislocated."
"What?"
"You don't know, I've had this problem since I was a child. It's a habitual dislocation. A doctor can just pop it back in, and it won't be a problem. Once it's back in, we can continue drinking."
Even if everyone wanted to continue having fun with him, they couldn't be reckless when faced with such a situation.
Anna didn't hesitate to say she would accompany him to the hospital, and everyone else also said they would disperse and meet another day.
Tong Anan returned home safely.
On the way, sitting in the taxi, she had to admit that her good impression of Zhang Yang had soared to her chest.
So young, handsome, capable, and willing to help her, what girl wouldn't be moved by such a senior?
Since she didn't have Zhang Yang's phone number or WeChat, she couldn't check on him. The next day, Tong Anan went to the company early.
As colleagues arrived one by one, and Anna came in right on time, she learned that Zhang Yang had been right. He did have a habitual dislocation, and it was fixed by the doctor grabbing his shoulder and giving it a couple of shoves yesterday.
Anna joked, "I didn't know Assistant Zhang had such a peculiar problem. It's a good thing Little Tong's unintentional action happened. It's not good for a man to have an arm problem."
Everyone present were experienced "drivers" and chuckled when they heard Anna's words.
Someone chimed in, "Assistant Zhang is so handsome, and he's a favored subordinate of General Manager Jiang. I was thinking it would be great to be his girlfriend. But after hearing you say that, I suddenly feel he's not that appealing. Forget it, whoever wants him can have him. I'm still young and don't want to be a widow so early."
After a round of jokes, everyone dispersed to get back to work.
Even though Tong Anan was inexperienced, she understood that she had harmed Zhang Yang, and her guilt intensified.
Although his arm was fixed instantly, it still needed rest.
Zhang Yang took a day off, using the excuse of being drunk the previous day.