Chapter 29
Thanks to Shen Yiqiu’s brown sugar ginger tea and her soothing nagging, Qin Qianrou luckily avoided catching a cold. After being drenched in the downpour, she managed to ward off illness with her exhausted body.
The next day, when Qin Qianrou appeared at the office looking refreshed, Li Wan specifically came over to scrutinize her.
“You’re in my office right after arriving at work? Are you planning to help me with my workload?”
Seeing that she was in good spirits, Li Wan teased, “I called you so many times yesterday, and you didn’t answer. I was almost worried sick.”
“I had an important meeting yesterday afternoon, you know that.” Qin Qianrou turned on her computer, preparing to start her day.
Li Wan leaned back in her chair, casually stroking the armrest, and said nonchalantly, “I know, that’s why I’m talking about after you got home. I couldn’t reach you then either. Shouldn’t I be worried?”
Qin Qianrou looked at her, her eyes questioning, You looked for me?
“I called you twice, but you didn’t answer, so I called Shen Yiqiu.”
“Why would you call her?”
“Hello, she’s practically your roommate now. If I can’t reach you, shouldn’t I ask her?”
It sounded reasonable, the logical thing to do. However, Qin Qianrou’s mindset hadn’t completely shifted yet. She still considered Shen Yiqiu’s stay temporary.
“She’s only staying at my place temporarily. Don’t bother her too much.”
“Temporary or not, she’s still living there. Besides, if you went missing, wouldn’t she be worried? So, making a call to confirm puts everyone at ease.”
Qin Qianrou could never win an argument against Li Wan and didn’t want to waste her breath. After chatting with Shen Yiqiu last night, she had felt much better and had fallen asleep early and soundly.
A good night’s sleep, thanks to Shen Yiqiu.
Li Wan insisted on dragging Qin Qianrou out for lunch, saying that constantly working long hours would severely impair her health.
“So, this is your excuse to drag me out to bask in the sun and sweat with you?”
“Mm-hmm, the experts all say it’s good to get more sunlight, lots of benefits.”
“Which experts?”
“Health experts! Don’t you look at anything online besides work-related stuff?”
Qin Qianrou rolled her eyes and quickened her pace, entering the mall first.
There were a few decent business casual restaurants in this mall, popular among their colleagues. However, Qin Qianrou didn’t like to waste time and usually ate at the cafeteria.
“Let me see what kind of nutrition you need.” Li Wan carefully studied the menu.
“I’ll have set meal A and a lemon tea, thanks.”
Before Li Wan could decide, Qin Qianrou had already made her choice.
Li Wan sighed and handed the menu to the waiter, “The same for me.”
Set meal A, a balanced mix of meat and vegetables, was quite good. More importantly, it was simple to prepare and served quickly. Sipping her lemon tea, Li Wan contemplated how to bring up the important matter.
After Qin Qianrou left yesterday afternoon, Lin Shuangzhi had called Li Wan to her office to discuss the station’s upcoming program proposals. In short, they were not allowed to produce any programs related to Dongsheng Group for the time being.
Qin Qianrou would receive the official notification by this afternoon at the latest, but both Lin Shuangzhi and Li Wan were worried about how she would take the news, so they wanted to give her some time to prepare.
“Qianrou, how did things go yesterday? Did you meet that person?”
Qin Qianrou wiped her mouth, took a sip of lemon tea, and shook her head.
“I see. So, there’s no progress on the Dongsheng matter for now?”
“Not exactly. Actually, yesterday…” Qin Qianrou wanted to mention He Chao, but she felt their suspicions were premature and not yet fully formed.
“Not meeting them might not be a bad thing. Perhaps the timing isn’t right yet. Forcing the issue might backfire.”
Li Wan’s words lacked conviction and were hesitant, which was unusual.
This wasn’t like her. Qin Qianrou put down her glass and unconsciously fiddled with the coaster.
“Xiao Wan, you came to my office as soon as you arrived at work today, and now you’ve specifically dragged me out for lunch. Is there something you want to tell me?”
As expected of longtime friends, their understanding of each other was impeccable. Qin Qianrou had noticed Li Wan’s unusual behavior from the start but hadn’t expected her to hold it in for so long.
“Yes, there’s something I’m very reluctant to tell you, but I have to.”
After listening to Li Wan, Qin Qianrou remained calm and composed, showing no signs of agitation.
Li Wan looked up at her in disbelief. What’s with Qianrou?
“Don’t be discouraged. The team leader told me this is only temporary. She’s also looking forward to the Dongsheng Group program.”
Li Wan’s attitude remained unchanged; she had always supported Qin Qianrou. However, with the station directors explicitly forbidding it, they couldn’t access the necessary resources.
“I know, Dongsheng is a big story. Waiting a little longer won’t hurt.”
Huh? Why is Qianrou comforting me now?
Li Wan blinked, until Qin Qianrou’s calmness convinced her that her friend had truly accepted the news naturally and calmly.
Secretly relieved, Li Wan then felt that Qin Qianrou was a little different than before.
After lunch, with the weight off her chest, Li Wan no longer needed excuses. She wanted nothing more than to return to the office and enjoy the cool, comfortable environment.
Qin Qianrou’s phone rang. It was Shen Yiqiu.
“Hello?”
“Are you free now?”
The urgency in her voice made Qin Qianrou slow down.
“Did something happen?”
“There’s a situation. Can you come to the university?”
“I’ll be right there.”
Li Wan guessed that it wasn’t good news, and hearing it was Shen Yiqiu, she naturally became concerned.
“Was the little one bullied at school again?”
“No, it’s something else. I’ll go get my car keys. Please tell the team leader I’ll be out this afternoon.”
**
Following the address in the message, Qin Qianrou found Shen Yiqiu by the circular track behind the teaching building, sitting with someone near a row of spherical stone benches.
“Shen Yiqiu.”
Hearing her name, the girl with shoulder-length hair immediately turned around, while the long-haired girl beside her remained with her head down.
“Qin…” Shen Yiqiu realized she still didn’t have a proper way to address Qin Qianrou.
“It’s okay, tell me what happened first.” Sensing Shen Yiqiu’s hesitation, Qin Qianrou went straight to the point.
In truth, she hadn’t figured out a suitable way for Shen Yiqiu to address her either.
Shen Yiqiu turned back and whispered a few words to the other girl. The long-haired girl finally looked up, her face streaked with tears.
Qin Qianrou immediately guessed that this must be the senior student Shen Yiqiu had mentioned last night.
“This is Zhang Meng, the senior I mentioned. She was dumped this morning.”
Dumped? Qin Qianrou looked at Shen Yiqiu, puzzled. Relationship problems, while complicated and heartbreaking, why had she been called here?
Shen Yiqiu comforted the senior while explaining, “Her boyfriend suddenly sent her a lot of messages this morning, saying some very harsh things, and now she can’t contact him at all.”
Breaking up and then disappearing.
Very immature, but also quite common. But Shen Yiqiu, why exactly had she been called here?
Qin Qianrou’s expression grew serious. Shen Yiqiu couldn’t speak freely in front of the senior, so she pulled Qin Qianrou aside.
“I just looked at her phone, and I suddenly had a… feeling.” Shen Yiqiu pointed to her chest.
“What did you sense?”
Shen Yiqiu glanced back at the senior, who was still hanging her head in sadness, seemingly oblivious to their conversation.
“I saw her boyfriend standing on the rooftop, one foot already dangling over the edge, probably about to…”
Before Shen Yiqiu could finish, Qin Qianrou already knew the answer. “Jump.”
“I didn’t dare to tell her, I was afraid of scaring her, and I didn’t want to reveal my secret.”
Qin Qianrou nodded in understanding.
“Her boyfriend is in Hai City, and we don’t know when your premonition will come true. It’ll be difficult to stop him.”
Shen Yiqiu’s face was creased with worry. “That’s why I asked you for help, to come up with a solution.”
Shen Yiqiu didn’t want to be seen as a freak or a monster, so she didn’t want others to know about her special ability. But at the same time, she wanted to be a good person, to help those who were helpless and powerless.
“I think we need to go to Hai City immediately.” Qin Qianrou hesitated, glancing at Shen Yiqiu before voicing her decision.
To her surprise, Shen Yiqiu only hesitated briefly before nodding in agreement.
“Aren’t you…?”
Shen Yiqiu knew Qin Qianrou’s concerns and smiled. “With someone accompanying me, returning won’t be so difficult.”
With that, Qin Qianrou had no further reservations.
She called Li Wan, briefly explained the situation, and then bought plane tickets for Hai City with Shen Yiqiu.
By the time their flight landed, the information she had asked Li Wan to investigate had already been sent to her phone.
Qin Qianrou didn’t hesitate, taking a taxi directly to Hai City University.
Shen Yiqiu had been quiet and subdued since arriving in Hai City. Qin Qianrou wanted to offer some comfort but was afraid of making things worse, so she remained silent.
“We need to find Gu Chao as soon as possible and talk to him.”
The senior’s boyfriend was named Gu Chao, a second-year graduate student in Biological Sciences at Hai City University, studying under the renowned Professor He Chao.
“The senior still can’t reach him. She asked his roommates, and they said they haven’t seen him today.”
“Can you sense where he is?”
Shen Yiqiu spread her hands. “No, I can’t even clearly picture his face.”
This was tricky. So close, yet so far.
Every second counted, and they couldn’t afford to make any wrong moves. They weren’t afraid of failure, but they were afraid of missing the chance to help.
Arriving at Hai City University, they seemed to have lost their way. He Chao’s laboratory was here, but he also had several companies outside the university. Shen Yiqiu had only learned about this after her inheritance was swindled in her past life.
“Should we ask at the lab?”
Qin Qianrou shook her head. “If he’s already reached the point of taking that final step, he probably wouldn’t waste time at the lab.”
According to Zhang Meng, Gu Chao didn’t really like this major. He had been handpicked by He Chao due to his outstanding undergraduate grades. Being chosen by Professor He was a dream for many.
Gu Chao had been blinded by this vanity and followed without hesitation. Who knew that two years into his graduate studies, he would be on the verge of a breakdown.
“Let’s go to his dormitory. Perhaps I can sense something through his belongings.”
Shen Yiqiu wasn’t sure of the extent of her current abilities, but since they were already here, they couldn’t leave any stone unturned.
She wasn’t afraid of wasted effort, only of being too late.
She had been fortunate enough to be reborn, but not everyone had that opportunity.
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