Compatibility - Chapter 62

Chapter 62

The phrase "off work" was heavenly music to anyone who had been toiling all day. Desks piled high with documents were cleared off, and the little snacks that had sat in drawers all day without ever being eaten finally found their moment to shine.

Colleagues who got along well would lean against the desks and chat at this hour, and once someone suggested going for a drink, most people were sure to chime in.

At the busy hour of 5 p.m., neon lights cast their glow over all kinds of people: the weary, the hurried, the wistfully lost. Every emotion gathered into a multihued dye vat, splashing across the city called life.

Song Nanyin was one of them, her mood rising and falling, her feelings unclear. It wasn't until a message came through and landed in her phone that it was decided what mood she would end the workday in.

"Nanyin, I have things to deal with tonight. Go home first. For dinner, you can order from that restaurant we usually use."

"Okay, got it."

Song Nanyin tapped at her keyboard, replying listlessly, while counting in her head how many days in a row Liu Zhaoran had been working late now.

At the start of February, most people had already shaken off the laziness of the New Year and thrown themselves back into "tense and thrilling" work. Of course, for a team leader like Song Nanyin, hands-on busywork wasn't all that common; most of the time, things were fairly relaxed.

The whole of WCRR was busy with the big deal at the start of February, except for the Planning Department, which was like a derailed carriage. No work had fallen on their heads yet, so they had been enjoying one last stretch of slacking off before the rush.

Song Nanyin knew exactly how busy Liu Zhaoran had been this week. Word had it that the partner company was one of the top ten enterprises in the world, and the person in charge of the cooperation was the heir of some major family.

Every employee in the company could feel how much WCRR valued this partnership; even the old chairman had come to the office several times. In that atmosphere, Song Nanyin felt somewhat out of place.

Because the thing she cared about most had nothing to do with work. It was that Liu Zhaoran wasn't coming home to cook again tonight, and she herself couldn't be bothered to order takeout. Maybe she would just grab whatever there was to make do.

In the car, Song Nanyin had already settled on her perfunctory dinner. She started the engine and was about to drive off when she unexpectedly caught sight of a familiar figure. It was Liu Zhaoran, who had said she was working late, and at that moment she was getting into a car with a tall man, one after the other.

Song Nanyin was no stranger to the man. He was the person in charge of this cooperation, the one most mentioned recently on the forums and in colleagues' conversations.

Liu Zhaoran was wearing a white pantsuit, an outfit Song Nanyin had specially chosen for her a while back. She did have good taste; Liu Zhaoran really did look wonderful in it.

Of course, she knew the finer details of the ensemble too, like what color underwear Liu Zhaoran had on underneath.

The woman who had said she was working late was now getting into a car with someone else, and by the look of it, she had even taken the trouble to touch up her makeup in the restroom. Her light nude makeup was flawless, and her skin was in good condition as well.

The man walking beside her was about 1.9 meters tall, with medium-length coffee-brown hair, neatly styled. He wore a simple casual suit and had the typical build and features of a Westerner.

Song Nanyin suddenly understood why the female colleagues in the company had been so hyped whenever this cooperation came up lately, and why this cooperation manager kept showing up on the forums.

The dishonest way to say it was that the man was passable-looking. Of course, to be more frank and truthful, Song Nanyin had to admit that when it came to looks, he had a certain appeal, let alone the family background behind him.

The company was a seedy pond, full of gossips and loose tongues, all kinds of people. Since Liu Zhaoran was in full charge of this cooperation, some rumors about her had been circulating in the company too.

Like how she and this Luo Ning had known each other long ago, or how Luo Ning was pursuing Liu Zhaoran. Song Nanyin basically skimmed past such news. She wasn't in the habit of being suspicious, and she couldn't be bothered to ask.

Still, seeing the two of them get into a car together now, she couldn't help feeling a little uncomfortable.

"How pathetic." Song Nanyin muttered under her breath, unable to stop herself from scolding herself. In frustration, she raised a hand and flicked the swaying ornament in the car.

It was a somewhat simpleminded lion, with a messy golden mane and chubby paws; no matter how you looked at it, it seemed a bit foolish. When Liu Zhaoran had first wanted to put that thing in her car, Song Nanyin had been firmly against it.

But she couldn't outfight Liu Zhaoran, couldn't outtalk Liu Zhaoran, and couldn't outlast this damned Black-Hearted Lotus either. In the end, the silly lion ornament had been placed at the front of the car, occasionally facing off with Song Nanyin across the space, as if to say: when you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes back at you.

What the hell. So annoying.

Song Nanyin cursed inwardly, tried hard to ignore the scene she had just seen in the parking lot, and drove home alone.

The house was cold and empty. Probably because Liu Zhaoran hadn't been coming home to cook lately, it felt like much of its warmth was gone. Song Nanyin changed her shoes, tossed her bag onto the sofa, and took a bottle of cold water out of the fridge.

She rarely drank cold water, but today she couldn't be bothered to boil any. Most of the time, once you let yourself go enough, you get used to it.

Sitting on the sofa gulping down cold water, Song Nanyin inevitably thought of the image of Liu Zhaoran and Luo Ning sitting in the car. She knew Zhang Kai liked Liu Zhaoran, but compared with Luo Ning, Zhang Kai clearly didn't measure up. Even making the comparison at all was a bit of an insult to that "heir."

These past few days, Song Nanyin had told herself not to dwell on all this nonsense, but she couldn't help opening the forums or hearing bits and pieces from other people.

Her mind had been in a tangle ever since, and it still hadn't settled. Song Nanyin felt awful. She didn't understand what Liu Zhaoran was thinking. Had she really known Luo Ning before? Did the two of them have another relationship besides work?

But Liu Zhaoran had indeed been coming home with the same men's cologne scent these past few days...

These questions circled in her head like mosquitoes that didn't bite but kept buzzing, annoying Song Nanyin to the point of being unable to think. She thought that if she simply asked Liu Zhaoran directly, she wouldn't be this troubled. But on what grounds could she ask?

What was she to Liu Zhaoran anyway? Not a lover, not even a romantic prospect, right? At most a long-term bed partner?

Song Nanyin hung her head in dejection, losing even the desire to eat. She simply took a shower, lay down in bed, and thought she'd just sleep. After a while, fine beads of sweat seeped from her forehead. Frowning, Song Nanyin pressed a hand to her stomach and curled up.

Song Nanyin slowly opened her eyes, feeling like her whole body was working against her. It was probably that bottle of cold water's fault. She turned over and got out of bed, found a few stomach pills, and put them into her mouth.

As she moved, cold sweat slid down her temples. A sharp pain suddenly flared up, so intense that Song Nanyin had to arch her back to keep from falling to the floor.

"Damned Black-Hearted Lotus, it's... it's all your fault, making me feel so awful. Ugh... it hurts." Song Nanyin curled up. She didn't have the strength to go upstairs, so she simply huddled on the sofa. Her hands were ice-cold, and all she could do was grab the cushion nearby and press it against her stomach, praying the medicine would take effect soon.

Maybe it was that needy, fussy mood that crept up when a person was sick. Song Nanyin felt utterly miserable, and the worse she felt, the more she missed Liu Zhaoran.

She unlocked her phone. The message feed was blank; no one had sent her anything. Her conversation with Liu Zhaoran was still stopped at the end of the workday. That woman was always the first to end the conversation.

Song Nanyin thought for a moment, then instead of sending a message, she called directly. The ringing didn't last long before the call was picked up. The other side seemed to be in a Western restaurant; the background music was a piano piece. Song Nanyin listened, frowning.

Ha, quite good at enjoying herself.

"Team Leader Song? What's wrong?" Liu Zhaoran asked in confusion, seeing that Song Nanyin had called but wasn't saying anything. Hearing that she wouldn't even call her by name, just "Team Leader Song," Song Nanyin felt her stomach hurt even more.

"Nothing. Just asking what you're doing. Working late with a piano piece playing?" Song Nanyin didn't deny that her tone was a bit sour. Liu Zhaoran was taken aback for a moment before speaking.

"Team Leader Song, I'm having dinner with Mr. Dis. Have you eaten?" Liu Zhaoran's tone was perfectly natural, with no trace of guilt at being caught. Song Nanyin felt a lump in her throat. She was about to say something when a man's voice suddenly came through from Liu Zhaoran's end.

"Liu, would you like some wine? They have the one you like here."

So he knows what wine she likes too, does he. Hearing that, Song Nanyin's eyes grew hot and her nose stung unbearably. She let out a soft laugh and hung up before Liu Zhaoran could answer.

Maybe it was a case of poison fighting poison, or maybe the medicine had taken effect, but Song Nanyin felt her stomach hurt less and her body regain a little strength. Phone in hand, she slowly walked upstairs.

Only this time, she didn't go back to Liu Zhaoran's room. Instead, she went to the spare bedroom she hadn't slept in for a long time. Song Nanyin went to the trouble of changing the sheets and duvet covers, then threw herself onto the bed.

Good night to everyone except Liu Zhaoran.

"What's wrong? Was it an important call?" On Liu Zhaoran's side, she had been somewhat distracted ever since Song Nanyin hung up. Noticing her unusual behavior, Luo Ning asked offhandedly.

"It's nothing. It was the roommate I live with looking for me. This has the proposal documents for the cooperation." Liu Zhaoran took a USB drive out of her bag and handed it to Luo Ning. The latter clearly hadn't expected Liu Zhaoran to take such a businesslike attitude, and he looked visibly disappointed.

"Liu, in my view, you're not someone who talks about work during a meal. I know you care a great deal about the electronic chip being developed this time. May I know the reason?"

Luo Ning still remembered that back then, the reason Liu Zhaoran had approached him was her interest in the chip energy developed by the Dis Family. At the time, Luo Ning had tried to ask her the reason, but she only said she was curious. Of course, Luo Ning didn't quite believe that excuse.

"About that, I have my personal reasons. Luo Ning, I don't want to brush you off." Liu Zhaoran said softly, choosing a phrasing that would satisfy Luo Ning.

Two years ago, the reason Liu Zhaoran had chosen to be with Luo Ning was, besides his family background, the Dis Family's professional field: the development of New Energy chips. In this world today, that was extremely advanced technology that only a few companies could touch, and it was top secret.

The reason Liu Zhaoran was interested in it was that she had once tried to make contact with the chips, and these chips could actually form some kind of connection with the communicator called the "Light-Brain" from her original world.

Liu Zhaoran had imagined that if the chips could power up the Light-Brain, perhaps she could use them to find a link between the two worlds and work out a way to return to her original one.

To put it plainly, even if she had gradually adapted to this place, Liu Zhaoran was still an Omega after all. Here, she was far less at ease than in her original ABO world.

She wanted to go back, to see her family and friends. Even after all these years, Liu Zhaoran had never abandoned the idea of returning.

And now, two years later, she once again had a chance to come into contact with the chips. That was why Liu Zhaoran was especially invested in this job.

After dinner with Luo Ning, Liu Zhaoran called a ride home. The lights in the house were on. She took off her shoes and walked upstairs barefoot. There was no familiar figure in the house, and Liu Zhaoran panicked for a moment.

Then she noticed that the door to Song Nanyin's room was closed, so she walked over and pushed it open.

The room was dark; only the faint glow of a phone screen let her make out the person lying in bed.

Only then did Liu Zhaoran realize that her heart had been beating fast just now, when she hadn't seen Song Nanyin.

That panic left her with a lingering dread.

Get instant access to all chapters now.

Previous Table of Contents Next