Chapter Forty-Nine: Pitiful

Yuan Zhong followed inside. On the entryway cabinet by the door, there were two stacks of books; on the coffee table in the living room, there were two more piles; even the sofa was scattered with five or six volumes.

"Over there, the kitchen," Qi Leyu pointed.

Carrying the chicken soup and fruit, Yuan Zhong entered the kitchen, only to find two more open books spread out on the counter.

Truly, this was a person who never parted from their reading! Yuan Zhong marveled; good literature was indeed hard to come by.

Thinking it best to serve the soup while hot, Yuan Zhong found a bowl and spoon in the cupboard, ladled out a serving of chicken soup, set it on the table, and called Qi Leyu over to drink.

She hadn't had much appetite since morning, but as Qi Leyu leaned in, at last, she caught the aroma of the broth.

"This place makes great soup, you should try it. The chicken soup has had the fat skimmed off," Yuan Zhong explained.

Qi Leyu took a couple of sips; it was quite good.

Yuan Zhong returned to the kitchen and, after a while, brought out a small bowl with vinegar. "Eat the chicken leg. It's nutritious, boosts your immunity, and you'll recover from your cold faster."

Qi Leyu muttered a quiet thanks.

Then Yuan Zhong went back to the kitchen again. Qi Leyu heard the sound of running water, and after a while, Yuan Zhong emerged with a large glass cup. Inside were two peeled kiwis, with a stainless steel spoon tucked into the gaps.

"These are golden kiwis, very sweet. I eat one every day. You're sick, so have two," Yuan Zhong said, and then, yet again, returned to the kitchen.

Qi Leyu was a bit speechless and thought, Have you forgotten why you came here? Still, as a patient, it was nice to be cared for.

This time, when Yuan Zhong didn't return for a while, Qi Leyu finished her chicken soup and went to the kitchen to check. She found Yuan Zhong making fresh orange juice.

Seeing Qi Leyu enter, Yuan Zhong said, "I thought I'd make another glass of orange juice. Your juicer is really top-notch."

"I can't drink anymore."

"I saw you have a vacuum-sealed cup. You can save it for later," Yuan Zhong replied. "I just figured out how to use it; it'll be ready in a moment."

Since she needed a favor and saw how Qi Leyu looked, Yuan Zhong felt a bit sorry for her. For such small things, she was happy to help.

"I bought some cold medicine—Chinese herbal, non-drowsy. Do you need any?" Yuan Zhong asked.

Qi Leyu shook her head. "It's not serious. Medicine or not, it'll take seven days to get better either way."

"It's not the same. You'll feel a little more comfortable if you take it," Yuan Zhong said.

"It doesn't matter."

Not wanting to insist, Yuan Zhong finished the orange juice, tidied up, and finally asked, "Can I have the contract?"

Qi Leyu nodded and led her into the study.

Yuan Zhong was a little stunned. The study was huge, far beyond her imagination, facing the sun, with bookshelves covering two walls, packed to the brim, and piles of books even on the floor.

When entering the complex earlier, Yuan Zhong had already noted how nice the environment was—most of the buildings were only five or six stories high, with wide gaps in between. Each floor had two units, and Qi Leyu lived on the sixth. She hadn't thought the apartment was so large until now, seeing the study—it felt like a small mansion.

"Be careful," Qi Leyu reminded.

Yuan Zhong looked down, avoiding a hefty, unknown dictionary, its script round and unfamiliar.

"They're all in this pile. Look for yourself," Qi Leyu said, pulling open a cabinet.

Yuan Zhong glanced inside—it seemed packed with documents.

"Contracts, authorizations, agreements—anything of that sort, I just toss them in here," Qi Leyu added.

"Alright, I'll look." Yuan Zhong felt that it was already generous for Qi Leyu to let her search herself; she certainly couldn't ask her to do it.

There were indeed quite a lot of documents. Yuan Zhong pulled out a stack, sorting them by type and then by date to make future searches easier.

Qi Leyu sat behind her desk, writing for a while. Glancing over, she saw Yuan Zhong had pulled over a cushion and was sitting on the floor, organizing files.

Was this some sort of compulsion to organize? Let her be, then.

Among the documents were some manuscripts—character sketches, outlines, even relationship diagrams. They were rather interesting, and Yuan Zhong couldn't resist glancing at them a little longer.

Time passed quickly; more than an hour had gone by. Qi Leyu saw Yuan Zhong still engrossed, not sure what she was looking at, but she seemed wholly absorbed.

---

"Tap, tap," Qi Leyu knocked on the desk; there was no response. So she called out, "Hey?"

Yuan Zhong looked back. "Were you calling me?"

"Did you find it?"

"Oh, almost," Yuan Zhong said, quickening her pace.

Qi Leyu observed—only a third was sorted. "Why don't you go make dinner first? There's so much chicken soup, I can't finish it alone." Then, as an afterthought, "Of course, that's only if you don't mind catching my cold."

So that was an invitation. Yuan Zhong looked at the remaining work and decided to "work overtime." "It's fine, this isn't a viral cold; it's not that contagious. Just remember to use serving chopsticks at dinner."

Opening the fridge, she found just enough to put together two stir-fried dishes, reheat the chicken soup, and cook up some rice.

While Yuan Zhong busied herself in the kitchen, Qi Leyu went back to her writing.

After about half an hour, Yuan Zhong poked her head in. "Dinner's ready."

On the small kitchen table were two dishes, a soup, and two bowls of rice, the chopsticks neatly arranged. The scene did indeed evoke a sense of home.

Qi Leyu herself rarely sat at that table for a proper meal, usually just ordering takeout and eating at her desk.

"Sorry to trouble you. I'll look for the documents a bit more after dinner. If I find them today, I won't bother you again tomorrow," Yuan Zhong said.

Qi Leyu nodded indifferently. Having someone cook was nice; it made no difference to her.

At the table, they sat fairly close. Yuan Zhong stole another glance at Qi Leyu—her face was pale, stubble prominent, eyes shadowed, hair disheveled, the picture of dejection. She seemed thinner than the last time they'd met; perhaps her lack of energy was taking a toll.

Single people really did have it rough. Yuan Zhong couldn't help but feel another pang of sympathy.

After the meal, Yuan Zhong poured out the orange juice, handed it to Qi Leyu, and couldn't help but ask, "Don't you usually eat fruit at home?"

"Not really. It's a hassle."

"Fruit is healthy. If you find it troublesome, you can order a fruit platter; the supermarket delivers them. And things like milk or yogurt—you could keep some in the fridge, too," Yuan Zhong suggested. The only thing Qi Leyu's fridge was stocked with in abundance was beer, which Yuan Zhong found baffling.

Qi Leyu lowered her head and drank her juice.

Yuan Zhong sighed inwardly. She wasn't his mother; best not to nag.

After dinner, Qi Leyu reminded Yuan Zhong that there was a dishwasher.

Oh, so that was a hint to tidy up. Yuan Zhong complied without protest.

In truth, Qi Leyu figured that with her compulsive need to clean, she'd insist on washing the dishes by hand, so the reminder was just to spare her the trouble.

Yuan Zhong even brewed a cup of Chinese herbal tea, setting it nearby in case Qi Leyu wanted to drink it.

Then she resumed her search among the documents. Another hour passed before she finally found the contract. She hurriedly flipped it open and scanned it—identical!

Still not quite believing it, she pulled out her own copy and compared them carefully. Still the same!

Qi Leyu came over. "What's the matter?"

Yuan Zhong didn't know how to explain.

Qi Leyu glanced at the two contracts, one original, one copy. "There's no difference."

"But there is, isn't there? The date on your contract is wrong," Yuan Zhong pointed out. "You do write fast, but not that fast. And this contract has extra terms for overdue delivery—see, about copyright ownership."

Qi Leyu nodded. A rookie, perhaps, but a conscientious one.

"The date is wrong, off by a year. I have no idea how your people managed that. I hadn't looked closely at the overdue terms before, just assumed they were fine. Lesson learned."

Yuan Zhong couldn't make sense of it.

Did Wang Shanshan make a mistake? She was so experienced; how could she make such a rookie error?

Or was it done deliberately to cause Qi Leyu trouble, perhaps because of some embarrassment at a previous event? But the timeline didn't fit—the contract had been signed before the event.

According to Chen Yue, Wang Shanshan liked Qi Leyu, maybe even wanted to pursue her; she cared about everything, so it was unlikely she would set her up.

Unable to make sense of it, Yuan Zhong turned her mind to other matters. Since the facts were set, there was no use agonizing over the past—better to see if a solution could be found.

---

"Can this be amended?" Yuan Zhong asked.

Qi Leyu looked at her as if she were an idiot. "You're asking me?"

"Yes."

"I could say yes," Qi Leyu replied. Seeing Yuan Zhong didn't get it, she added, "But would it matter if I did? That's up to your side."

"Ah?" Yuan Zhong frowned. "But that's the head office's official seal..."

Not wanting to make things harder for a newcomer, Qi Leyu shrugged. "Forget it, let's not talk about it. I'll just try to rush it."

Rush it? Yuan Zhong looked at the contract date again—was it even possible to make the deadline?

Qi Leyu returned to her desk and set about working in earnest.

Was there truly no other way? Yuan Zhong racked her brain.

Seeing it was getting late, she decided to head home and try to think of a solution at the office tomorrow.

As she was about to leave, Qi Leyu suddenly asked, "How did you get here?"

Yuan Zhong, distracted, replied absent-mindedly, "What do you mean, how?"

"Your mode of transportation." Such slow reactions and poor comprehension—no wonder she got bullied.

Yuan Zhong quickly answered, "Oh, I drove. It's easy, you don't need to see me out."

Qi Leyu rolled her eyes. "Who said anything about seeing you off!"

Was this not the classic case of burning bridges after crossing? She'd just cooked dinner, and now the attitude was so cold. Yuan Zhong took a quiet breath. I'm not angry, she told herself, he's just pitiful.

But Qi Leyu persisted, "Where did you park?"

Earlier, Yuan Zhong hadn't called her, nor had the property management called to inquire, so her car couldn't have entered the underground garage.

"I parked in the lot at the supermarket nearby."

As expected, Qi Leyu frowned. "If you'd called me, you could've parked inside."

"I didn't want to trouble you." It was true—she avoided imposing on others wherever possible.

"Now it'll be more trouble." Qi Leyu took a pair of sneakers from the shoe cabinet.

Yuan Zhong looked down—what did that mean?

Qi Leyu regarded her coolly. "Why are you just standing there?"

"I—I don't need to change shoes. Mine are comfortable for walking."

"Do I look sick to you?" As if he would lend her his shoes!

"You do, you have a cold," Yuan Zhong replied.

Hopeless. Qi Leyu changed shoes herself, walked out the door, and turned to the dazed Yuan Zhong. "You coming or not?"

"Coming, coming!" Yuan Zhong hurriedly grabbed her bag. As Qi Leyu closed the door, she asked, "Where are you going, anyway? Don't you need to work on your draft?"

"Just go," Qi Leyu couldn't be bothered to explain.

Yuan Zhong walked ahead, with Qi Leyu behind her, feeling as though a blade were at her back, all the way out of the complex, where he was still following.

"Are you heading to the supermarket for groceries? If you're not feeling well, you could have things delivered," Yuan Zhong suggested. Running errands with a cold wasn't considerate toward others, after all.

Qi Leyu said nothing.

After a while, Yuan Zhong couldn't stand it and stepped aside. "You—you go on ahead." Being followed was unnerving.

"Just hurry up already!" Qi Leyu snapped. If it weren't for seeing how pitiful she was—and the fact that she had been somewhat useful today—he wouldn't bother.

---

End of section.