E-Ladies: Navigating the Wired World
Chapter 149 All Work and No Romance

Chapter 149: Chapter 149 All Work and No Romance

"Hm? Xiaojing? Wait a minute, I’ll come to your desk in a while. I’m a bit busy right now..." Zhou Xueyin was sorting through the previous day’s reports, "Taotie, these quotation forms, send them to these companies, don’t mix them up!"

"Jixiang, have the clients in Sichuan confirmed that they were not affected by the earthquake?"

"Hehe, are there any forum members from the Wenchuan area? Double-check again..."

Zhou Xueyin was busy in the office, holding the phone with her shoulder.

Wei Jingzhu was quietly listening to the busy sounds of Zhou Xueyin, feeling reassured. It seemed she still had no idea what he had just experienced. If he told her, she would definitely be startled.

"Hello? Xiaojing, I’m really sorry. There was an earthquake in Sichuan yesterday, and I’ve got a lot to deal with here... Let’s talk when I’m less busy."

"I am in Chengdu right now, about to take a train back to Beijing! I just wanted to hear your voice... that’s all," Wei Jingzhu said calmly.

But Zhou Xueyin was not calm, "What? Why are you in Chengdu? What happened? Are you hurt? Is the situation there serious?"

"Everything is fine, don’t worry! I’ll be in Beijing tomorrow morning!" Wei Jingzhu tried hard to stay calm, but his voice began to tremble after hearing Zhou Xueyin’s worried tone.

"Alright! Tell me your train number! I’ll come pick you up tomorrow morning!" It was somewhat comforting that he had only informed her after the earthquake, for if she had known he was in Chengdu beforehand, Zhou Xueyin would have been too worried to sleep.

Even now that she knew, she still felt her heart racing, her hands and feet cold, immensely concerned about him, wishing she could send a plane to bring him directly to her.

Perhaps it was only in such a situation that she truly realized she might care about Wei Jingzhu more than she had thought.

But when she recognized that she might truly care about him, Zhou Xueyin subconsciously reassured herself that even if they were just ordinary friends, she would be extremely concerned if they had experienced an earthquake.

However, the true emotions can’t lie. Throughout the day, Zhou Xueyin was totally preoccupied. Every time her phone rang, she thought it might be Wei Jingzhu calling.

"Ah..." She didn’t know how many times she had sighed. They were supposed to be having a meeting, but she hadn’t paid attention to anything that was said.

[Yinyin, what’s the matter with you? You’re absent-minded? You asked the same question twice. This isn’t like you at all.] Li Jiniang was sending texts to Zhou Xueyin.

[I... might not have noticed. We can talk about it after the meeting.] Upon seeing the text, Zhou Xueyin realized she had indeed been very distracted.

"That said, always remember, no one, nothing, should make light of the lives of the disaster victims! We must help if we can! All right, that’s it for the meeting..." Zhou Xueyin concluded, "Xixi, Jixiang, stay behind..."

Watching everyone leave the meeting room to resume work, Zhou Xueyin breathed a sigh of relief, "Xixi, send me the meeting summary by email later... I’m feeling a bit ill; I wasn’t really paying attention to what everyone was saying earlier. Thanks for your hard work!"

"Are you okay? We’ve just been acquired, and there’s a lot going on. You have to take care of yourself!" Ji Xiaoxi asked with concern.

"No worries, I’m fine. You get back to work. I need to talk to Jixiang..." Zhou Xueyin smiled slightly, reassuring Ji Xiaoxi.

"Yinyin, are you really okay?" After Ji Xiaoxi left the meeting room, Li Jiniang quickly pulled Zhou Xueyin aside into a corner of the room.

She instinctively felt that Zhou Xueyin was very vulnerable, teetering on the brink of collapse, desperately needing to vent.

"I don’t know why I’m feeling so restless..." Zhou Xueyin said with tears welling up in her eyes, looking to Li Jiniang for help.

"Take your time, don’t rush. You sprung this on me so suddenly, I don’t even know what’s happened," Li Jiniang said, helplessly searching her person for something with which to wipe Zhou Xueyin’s tears, but the tissues were on the table, not on her.

"Xiaojing told me that he was in Sichuan during the earthquake," Zhou Xueyin choked out.

"Ah? Is he alright? Was it severe there? Did he get hurt?" Li Jiniang asked, also very worried.

"No, nothing like that, there was just a strong sense of the quake there, but nothing serious..." Even though she knew the other was safe and sound, Zhou Xueyin still couldn’t hold back her tears.

"Isn’t it good that he’s alright? Stop worrying... When is he coming back?" Li Jiniang gently shifted Zhou Xueyin’s focus.

"He said tomorrow, early tomorrow, I’ll go pick him up..." Although she hadn’t truly cried her heart out, having spoken her pent-up words, Zhou Xueyin felt much better at this moment.

"Got it, as long as he’s safely back. It’s okay now~" Li Jiniang, using her usual method of comforting Zhou Xueyin, pulled her into an embrace and patted her head.

"Alright, I’m not a kitten." Zhou Xueyin pushed her away before she could pat twice more, "Should I really not be so concerned about Wei Jingzhu?"

"Why not? He doesn’t have a girlfriend, you don’t have a boyfriend, it’s normal to care about each other." Hearing Zhou Xueyin say this, Li Jiniang immediately began to gossip, "Besides, hasn’t he always been ready to help you? I think, he must have liked you from the start!"

"Stop joking... If I were a man, I wouldn’t like someone like myself, all clumsiness, focused solely on work..." Zhou Xueyin said modestly.

"Each to their own, what if he just likes your type?" Li Jiniang raised an eyebrow, smiling at Zhou Xueyin, "Why not have a good talk sometime? Actually, don’t wait, do it tomorrow."

"Forget about it... Tomorrow at most I’ll just safely bring him back to the office. The disaster relief is still not settled, how could I be in the mood for romance..." Zhou Xueyin pouted.

Yes, with everything going on in the company, big issues and small, and constantly busy hands and feet, who has time for romance?

Moreover, having to handle internal relationships within the group was already headache enough; wouldn’t it be counterproductive if romance further complicated things?

Wei Jingzhu? Forget it, for now, just staying as best friends, buddies, might be better.

Romance? She truly had no heart to nurture it...

Though she thought this way, the next morning, at the train station exit, the moment Zhou Xueyin saw Wei Jingzhu, she couldn’t help but rush to him...

However, Wei Jingzhu, without thinking, said, "You sure? You didn’t rush the wrong person?"

Absurd, right? Besides him, who else did Zhou Xueyin know there? How could she possibly rush the wrong person?

It was also a reminder by this remark; Zhou Xueyin realized she had acted impulsively, and quickly let go, saying with a flushed face, "...Welcome, welcome back safely!"