Lin Shuangshuang saw Jiang Yiyi at the company entrance. She adjusted her expression and smiled a greeting. Jiang Yiyi nodded back, neither warm nor cold.
Being able to maintain this kind of relationship was already beyond Lin Shuangshuang's expectations; at least, she wasn't being excessively targeted anymore.
Lin Shuangshuang had participated in a competition representing the company and won second prize.
This award carried significant weight, as competition among professional designers was exceptionally fierce, let alone what it meant for a novice intern.
Lin Shuangshuang had secured her eligibility for a full-time position, and the tension in her body finally began to ease.
It seemed that because of this award, she was finally recognized by the company.
Jiang Yiyi gave her an opportunity to participate in a project. Although it wasn't a particularly crucial project, it was incredibly rare for an intern to be involved.
She thought their misunderstandings had been resolved.
However, upon joining the team, she realized something was amiss. Although she hadn't worked on projects before, she was still an intern. This team had divided a project into many parts, and she was assigned a portion to be independently responsible for.
She was asked to design it alone.
Everyone else seemed to take it for granted, and her questions were never directly answered. She could only try her best to ignore this feeling.
As the project progressed, she completed her design under immense pressure.
But on the morning of the finalization, the design drafts for her section were leaked and even exposed online.
Her part instantly became obsolete. The incident had significant repercussions, potentially delaying the project and causing the company a substantial financial loss.
At this point, the project leader actually presented a design for her section that they had already prepared.
The company dealt with the matter severely, revoking Lin Shuangshuang's eligibility for a full-time position, which she had already earned, and assigning other interns to take over.
Lin Shuangshuang wasn't foolish enough to believe this was an accident; there were rarely so many coincidences in the world.
For her design drafts, she had even avoided backing them up on a USB drive for safety and had kept them on the company computer. Who else could have accessed them besides the internal team members?
The feeling of betrayal overwhelmed her.
Rather than being manipulated at will, she would rather leave.
She directly submitted her resignation, packed her belongings, completed the handover, and left.
When one is down on their luck, even drinking water can lead to choking. As she walked to a corner downstairs, she bumped into someone. Her box fell to the ground, scattering its contents everywhere.
She crouched down to pick them up, and the person who bumped into her extended a hand at the same time. Their hands brushed against each other.
The more Lin Shuangshuang thought about it, the angrier and more wronged she felt, tears welling up in her eyes.
What had she done wrong? She believed she hadn't done anything to deserve such targeted treatment.
What was laughable was that all of this stemmed from the other person's baseless assumptions, all because of a man.
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. She tightly clutched the fallen file bag in front of her, and then, as she looked up, she saw the culprit.
Yu Yang looked at the person with teary eyes, her gaze seeming to ignite with fire.
Lin Shuangshuang glared at him fiercely, quickly gathered her things, and ran away.
Jiang Yiyi happened to be exiting the elevator. "Didn't I tell you to wait for me in the car? Are you missing me already..."
Before she could finish, she saw Yu Yang looking in a particular direction. In that direction, Lin Shuangshuang was hurrying towards the main gate.
Her eyes were filled with venom, but in an instant, they transformed into a look of triumph.
This woman had finally disappeared from her life.
"So, she just kicked you out like that?"
"I quit on them!"
"Okay, okay, you quit on them. Don't drink anymore, Shuangshuang. You've had enough. It's just a design company; I'll find you a better one!" Ji Tianle sat next to Lin Shuangshuang, who was leaning against the table with her head in her hands, looking depressed.
Lin Shuangshuang's eyes were already beautiful, and now, slightly moist, they appeared even more captivating under the light.
Su Ying stared for a few seconds.
"It's... it's all because I met him..." Before she could finish, Lin Shuangshuang downed another large glass of beer.
Wen Bai, while eating, didn't forget to put a piece of food he found particularly delicious into Su Ying's bowl.
Su Ying ate slowly, and her bowl was already piling up.
Ji Tianle glanced over. Was Wen Bai, who was usually extremely possessive of his food, also giving away his food?
He observed with a subtle "tsk tsk."
"That man hasn't gone back since that day. How strange. Did he get wind of something and run away?" Ji Tianle, while keeping an eye on Lin Shuangshuang, said at a pause.
Lin Shuangshuang, taking advantage of the others' distraction, drank several cups rapidly. Her alcohol tolerance wasn't high to begin with, and she was already showing signs of intoxication. She leaned on Ji Tianle's shoulder with a dejected expression, still reaching for her cup.
Ji Tianle noticed this and gently took Lin Shuangshuang's hands. "Drink less."
Strangely, after Wen Bai had System 001 trace the electrical current, he discovered that the phone was turned off. Therefore, System 001 was powerless for now.
However, since that day, many days had passed until Wen Bai was discharged from the hospital, and no more strange incidents had occurred.
After the meal.
The group walked outside and bid farewell.
"Her school should be closed by now. You should take her home directly," Wen Bai said, looking intently, making a strong hint.
Ji Tianle was taken aback. "That's the only way. She's a girl, and it's inconvenient for her to be out alone when she's drunk."
Wen Bai patted Ji Tianle's shoulder. "Opportunities favor the prepared. Make the most of it."
Ji Tianle widened his eyes. "Taking advantage of someone's weakness isn't gentlemanly..."
Wen Bai nodded with a serious expression, affirming, "You're not a gentleman. Go for it."
Ji Tianle: "..."
Su Ying watched from afar as Wen Bai didn't come over for a long time and looked over with displeasure.
She saw Wen Bai and Ji Tianle walking arm in arm, seemingly giving instructions to take good care of the woman.
Yu Yang finally spoke the words: breakup.
Fortunately, this time Jiang Yiyi was rational and didn't continue to pester him.
She didn't even camp outside his studio or trouble people unrelated to him.
However, as they parted, she confirmed one last time: "Is there really no room for us to salvage this?"
Yu Yang didn't want to drag it out any longer and, with impatience, gave a definitive answer.
He breathed a sigh of relief.
Before he could fully relax, he received a call a few days later. It was from Jiang Yiyi's phone.
Yu Yang truly didn't want Jiang Yiyi to have any further illusions that there was still a possibility between them, so he hung up.
The caller persisted, and he hung up again.
It felt like a tug-of-war.
Yu Yang blocked Jiang Yiyi on all contact methods.
After a brief respite, an unknown number called. He hung up the phone impatiently.
He had overestimated her, thinking she wouldn't pester him anymore.
Outside a residential complex, the piercing wail of an ambulance broke the night's silence.
The vehicle stopped beneath a building, and medical personnel disembarked, moving swiftly and orderly towards the elevator.
"What's the situation?"
"It's a suicide. My sister cut her wrists. Doctor, you must save her..." a gruff voice choked out, a heart-wrenching plea, sounding somewhat humble.
The doctor entered and observed. "Don't touch her. The stretcher..."
Chaos ensued inside.