Chapter Forty-Four: Another Plan

Cheng Jiu suddenly felt that the way Xin Gan ate was strangely familiar. He thought about it for a while—oh, like a cat.

A little kitten, delicate and refined.

When he inadvertently leaned closer, he could see a tiny, faint mole on the bridge of Xin Gan’s nose. She was fair-skinned, and the mole stood out clearly on her face, though only if you were close enough.

Suddenly, a cell phone rang. It was Xin Gan’s phone.

Cheng Jiu withdrew his gaze and said, “Aren’t you going to answer?”

Only then did Xin Gan pick up her phone and look—it was Shen Ruxin calling.

Xin Gan got up and went outside to take the call.

Shen Ruxin had just coaxed Keke to sleep, so her voice was soft, afraid to wake the child. She asked, “When did you get back? Why haven’t I heard from you?”

Xin Gan replied, “It’ll be a few more days.”

“What happened? Did something come up again?”

Not wanting Shen Ruxin to worry, Xin Gan didn’t tell her the truth. “It’s nothing, I just couldn’t get a ticket, so I’m delayed a few days.”

“You couldn’t buy one? Should I ask a friend to help you book one? It’s off-season for travel, there are flights to Beiyu almost every day. Or you could buy a connecting flight, transfer in another city and come back.”

Xin Gan answered, “No need, I’ve already got one. I’ll be back in a few days. By the way, cousin, was there something you wanted to talk about?”

Shen Ruxin hesitated, then said, “Actually, there is something I wanted to mention—it’s not a big deal.”

“Just say it, cousin.”

“You just graduated, right? My husband’s company is still hiring, so I wanted to ask if you’d be interested in working there. But I haven’t talked to him about you yet. If you’re interested, I can ask him.”

Xin Gan declined gently, “Thank you, cousin, but I don’t need it for now. I have other plans.”

Shen Ruxin chuckled. “I haven’t even told you the details and you already know what I’m thinking?”

“Yes, I guessed some of it.”

Shen Ruxin decided to be honest. “You just graduated. If you don’t follow your parents’ plan and go teach at a university, and instead want to work at a company, they worry about you. That’s why they asked me to talk to my husband. After all, we’re family, and it would be nice to look out for each other.”

Xin Gan lowered her head and kicked a pebble by the roadside. “It’s okay, I’m grown now and can take care of myself. I’m not in a hurry to find a job. I’ll sort things out here first.”

“That’s fine. Are you outside right now? I hear cars.”

Xin Gan said, “I had something to do outside.”

“Are you by yourself?”

“Cheng Jiu is here too.”

“If he’s with you, I can relax. Otherwise, I’d really worry about you going out alone. It’s not that safe there. Be careful and come back as soon as you can. We’ll talk more when you get back.”

Xin Gan agreed.

After hanging up, Shen Ruxin still felt uneasy and went to talk to her husband about Xin Gan’s job.

Song Chen said, “If your cousin is interested, I can arrange for her to intern at the company, but I’m not the only one in charge.”

Shen Ruxin sighed. “I don’t know if she’ll agree. She seems gentle and obedient, but she’s very strong-willed deep down. Take her engagement with the Cheng family, for example—before she even went to Beiyu, she’d already decided to talk to Cheng Jiu in person and end the arrangement. She didn’t give me the slightest hint, kept it all to herself.”

“It was only after she talked to Cheng Jiu in Beiyu that she told me she wanted to break off the engagement.”

Song Chen wrapped an arm around her waist and said softly, “Isn’t that a good thing? She has her own ideas—it saves you from worrying.”

“She’s so headstrong, that’s exactly why I’m worried!”