I'll Take You Home

The front passenger window rolled down, revealing Song Yihe's cool, aloof face.

"Get in."

"Huh?" An Zhiwu didn't react at first. She pointed at herself. "Me?"

"Mm. Get in. It's hard to get a cab in this residential complex."

An Zhiwu didn't stand on ceremony. Considering that the woman from earlier that day might be his girlfriend, she opened the back door and climbed in.

Song Yihe's car had a faint scent of pine resin that smelled wonderful.

An Zhiwu fastened her seat belt (passengers in the back had to wear them too) and thanked him. "Dr. Song, were you just about to go out?"

Song Yihe gave a noncommittal "Mm."

Was he supposed to tell her that he had watched her entire livestream, then worked out when she would come out, all because he was worried about her going home alone?

An Zhiwu had met with a cold shoulder. She rubbed her nose and said nothing more.

"Where do you live?" Song Yihe suddenly asked.

"Huh? Oh, I live in the South Bank Oasis complex on Hexi Road."

"Mm."

Song Yihe seemed very familiar with the roads. He drove straight ahead without turning on the navigation.

After they had driven for a while, An Zhiwu couldn't help asking, "Dr. Song, where were you originally going?"

She didn't know whether South Bank Oasis was on his way.

Song Yihe named a place near South Bank Oasis.

An Zhiwu thought, That's a relief. Otherwise, it would be too much trouble for Dr. Song.

Thinking of the woman from earlier, An Zhiwu couldn't hold back and asked, "Dr. Song, was that your girlfriend earlier today? She's really pretty."

"You mean Jingwen?"

"Mm."

"No. Her grandfather and mine used to be comrades-in-arms. We lived in the same compound when we were little, so I suppose we were neighbors. She and I aren't in that kind of relationship."

So she wasn't his girlfriend...

For some reason, An Zhiwu felt a little happy. Even the scenery outside the window suddenly seemed much more colorful.

When Song Yihe received no answer, he cleared his throat. "You were busy here until so late. Isn't your boyfriend coming to pick you up?"

"Huh? I don't have a boyfriend."

"Mm."

For some reason, his mood improved considerably too.

When they reached the main entrance to South Bank Oasis, An Zhiwu said to Song Yihe, "Dr. Song, I live in the building just inside the entrance. I can walk in by myself. Drive safely."

"Mm, okay."

An Zhiwu unbuckled her seat belt and got out. She bent down and looked through the window at Song Yihe. "Dr. Song, thank you for bringing me home!"

Looking at the girl's radiant smile outside the window, Song Yihe couldn't help the slight upward curve of his lips. "I've always been very responsible when it comes to my patients."

An Zhiwu laughed and gave him a thumbs-up through the window. "I know. You're a good doctor."

She had known that since the time he performed CPR.

Song Yihe looked at her raised thumb and felt a moment of annoyance. "Go on inside."

"Goodbye, Dr. Song."

"Goodbye."

Song Yihe waited until her retreating figure disappeared from sight before starting the car and heading back to Yihe Garden.

After An Zhiwu finished showering, it was already close to ten at night by the time she soaked her feet.

While soaking her feet, she received a WeChat message from Shen Songqing.

Shen Songqing: [I'm so mad!! My ex-boyfriend already has a new girlfriend!!! That scumbag!!]

An Zhiwu: [But weren't you the one who dumped him because he wasn't romantic enough?]

Two minutes passed before Shen Songqing replied.

Shen Songqing: [Is that what happened?]

An Zhiwu: [...]

Shen Songqing: [Right, that's not the point. I have something important to tell you today.]

An Zhiwu was just about to ask what it was when Shen Songqing called her.

An Zhiwu: "What's so important?"

The background music on the other end was loud. From what An Zhiwu knew of her, Shen Songqing was probably at a bar.

Shen Songqing: "I saw my ex-ex-ex-boyfriend's WeChat Moments today. Isn't he in City A lately too? You know that, right?"

An Zhiwu was completely baffled.

She had so many ex-boyfriends. How was An Zhiwu supposed to know which one she meant?

Luckily, Shen Songqing hadn't expected her to actually know. She continued on the phone, "It's that one, Wang Wenbo. Didn't he start a media company? Their company recently took a job making a promotional video for Zhikang Hospital in City A. They're short a photographer, so I recommended you to him."

An Zhiwu immediately became a hundred and twenty thousand percent alert.

Zhikang Hospital? Wasn't that Song Yihe's hospital?

An Zhiwu: "You recommended me without even asking whether I could handle it?"

Shen Songqing: "Oh, come on, I have complete faith in you. Anyway, I've already told him, and he agreed. I'll send you his WeChat contact later. Add him."

Shen Songqing: "The pay isn't much, but it'll look good. Think about it: if you can pull off a promotional video like this, won't you be able to take honor and disgrace in stride in the future?"

An Zhiwu: "Well, thank you!"

Shen Songqing: "Hehe, all right, I'll let you go. I'm picking up a guy right now."

Then she hung up.

The next second, Shen Songqing sent her a contact card.

After all, he was her good friend's ex-ex... ex-boyfriend.

An Zhiwu still felt a little awkward.

She opened the contact card and sent a verification message: Hello, I'm An Zhiwu, the photographer Shen Songqing recommended.

In less than three seconds, he accepted her friend request.

Wang Wenbo: [Hello, Miss An. Our team will visit Zhikang Hospital for a survey tomorrow afternoon, and the official shoot will start at nine the morning after. Do you have any scheduling problems?]

An Zhiwu: [No problem.]

Wang Wenbo: [All right, then we'll meet at Lufeng Media at one tomorrow afternoon.]

An Zhiwu: [Okay.]

After chatting with Wang Wenbo, An Zhiwu worked out the timing.

Starting tomorrow afternoon, she would be extremely busy until the shoot was over.

That meant she had to finish retouching Xia Qian's photos before tomorrow afternoon.

With that in mind, An Zhiwu poured out the water from her foot-soaking bucket.

She opened her laptop, ready to rush through the retouching that night.

Sigh~~~

When you're out in society, you have no choice but to stay up late.

By the time An Zhiwu finished retouching the photos and sent them to Xia Qian, it was already past one in the morning.

She rubbed her rumbling stomach.

What a sin...

It was so late, and she didn't have the energy to cook anything.

But past experience told her.

If she let her stomach stay this hungry.

She would definitely suffer from insomnia.

So An Zhiwu pulled on a long-sleeved top, ready to go to the 24-hour convenience store to buy something to eat.

It was July, after all. In the middle of the night, the moment she stepped out of the air-conditioned room, it was still like entering a steamer.

An Zhiwu quickened her pace, heading for the convenience store at the entrance to the complex.

At the 24-hour convenience store, she bought a sandwich and a bottle of juice.

As she came out of the store, she saw several people arguing across the street.

There were men and women.