Transmigration: On the Gossip Front
Chapter 172: Brother-in-law is the Ex 72_1

Chapter 172: Chapter 172: Brother-in-law is the Ex 72_1

It must be said, having a few cans of beer with Xia Ke, getting a good vent out, and then having a beautiful sleep, really made me feel a lot better.

Huang Jing the next day couldn’t be said to be fully revived, but at least she was feeling a lot better.

With her spirits up, her work performance naturally improved, much to the relief of her concerned boss.

The boss had been smoking in the stairwell the day before, contemplating some matters, when unexpectedly he overheard Huang Jing’s phone call.

He knew about Huang Jing’s breakup with her boyfriend, but he had no idea that the boyfriend had ended up with her own sister, which was shocking enough.

Yet, what he didn’t expect was an even more terrifying twist; aware that Huang Jing needed to be alone at that time, he felt that stepping in would be inappropriate.

However, letting her continue like this wasn’t good for her health, and her work would likely suffer too.

Just when he was uncertain about how to proceed, he spotted Shen Lan, and the company forum post from the beginning of the month came to mind.

Initially, he had been curious if Shen Lan liked any of the women involved.

But to his surprise, it wasn’t long before he saw Xia Ke and Fan Chen become a couple.

Everyone then realized that both Huang Jing and Shen Lan had been playing wingman for the young couple all along.

They also understood why, although the four of them lived in the same neighborhood, it was only Huang Jing and Shen Lan who would go out to shop in the evenings; aside from being neighbors, they had been unwittingly left behind as tools.

The boss, who had wanted to ask Shen Lan for help, suddenly felt that Shen Lan might not be willing to assist, so he remained silent and instead saw him sending a text message.

At first, the boss didn’t think much of it, assuming it was just a work-related discussion with a subordinate.

But after sending the message, Shen Lan, instead of continuing up the stairs to unwind, actually started a chat with him, discussing work-related matters.

This flattered him immensely, for although they both led project teams, their status within the teams wasn’t the same.

For example, the team led by Shen Lan could easily be considered one of the top three in the company, while his own team wasn’t terrible, it was still no match for Shen Lan’s, utterly overwhelmed.

So here was this impressive high-flyer actually chatting with him, which was indeed a huge surprise.

After a brief conversation, the big shot left, leaving him puzzled and with the sensation that the visit had been fleeting.

But he didn’t ponder it too much, thinking perhaps the high-flyer had come up with a sudden idea he wanted to speed home to execute; sometimes he did the same.

It never crossed his mind that Shen Lan was worrying about Huang Jing, suspecting that she would likely go straight home, and indeed, he guessed right.

Xia Ke also indicated that he had received the message, so what would happen next was no longer his concern, and he could leave assuredly.

To his surprise, he ran into Shen Lan at lunch and couldn’t help but pause to say, "Thank you."

If he hadn’t known about the situation, it would be one thing, but knowing, of course, he had to express his gratitude.

Shen Lan hummed softly in response and said no more, making Huang Jing also breathe a sigh of relief.

Fan Chen looked puzzled at Shen Lan and Huang Jing, wondering what had happened between them; otherwise, there was no reason to suddenly say thank you.

And Shen Lan wasn’t the type to eagerly help out others; he didn’t seem to be someone who would take the initiative to help.

Yet, no matter how much he wanted to know what had transpired, he was left without a clue, which naturally aroused his curiosity.

Turning to Xia Ke, thinking perhaps his girlfriend would be curious, he was surprised to find she had no curiosity at all and continued eating quietly.

Fan Chen nudged Xia Ke gently, "Aren’t you curious?"

Curious? She was one of the people involved, what was there to be curious about, "It’s just some simple stuff, nothing major."

"It’s just a small favor."

"Really."

There was no way around it, she didn’t want to bother, but faced with such pitiful eyes, what could she do? "I’ll tell you about it later."

Alright, as long as she knew what happened, that would be enough. Of course, she would hide a large part of it, and just say that Huang Jing wasn’t in a good mood yesterday.

Xia Ke had, of course, given Huang Jing a heads-up beforehand, and she had no objections.

"Don’t worry, I won’t talk, and Shen Lan probably won’t either."

"I’ll just say you encountered something upsetting yesterday," Xia Ke added.

She wasn’t afraid of what would happen if Fan Chen found out. After all, he was just a friend’s boyfriend. If they could get along, great; if not, so be it.

Since Xia Ke had said this, she naturally had no objections.

Just as Xia Ke thought, Fan Chen couldn’t care less about what made Huang Jing unhappy. What he was curious about was, "You’re saying just because you heard Huang Jing was feeling down, that’s why you messaged me?"

Fan Chen was indeed very curious. In his heart, he never considered himself a particularly warm person.

Even though they had been friends for so many years, as far as he could recall, he had never seen this friend be so enthusiastic, especially not towards Huang Jing.

The more Fan Chen thought about it, the more he felt something was off. Seeing her boyfriend still tangled up in this matter, Xia Ke asked, "Is there a problem?"

"I don’t see a problem," Xia Ke really felt Fan Chen was overthinking it. "I happened to hear about it, and since our relationship is decent, I thought to give a little support where I could."

Was he really overthinking it? Fan Chen’s questioning made Xia Ke also start to hesitate a bit.

Xia Ke said irritably, "Of course you are overthinking it. Usually, when Xiao Jing and I run into Shen Lan while eating, we just nod our heads and say hello."

"We hardly ever speak."

"So I really think you’re just overthinking it," Xia Ke made her final summary.

"If you knew Huang Jing was feeling down, wouldn’t you inform me?"

That sounded right to Fan Chen. If he knew Huang Jing was in a bad mood, he wouldn’t go to comfort her himself, but he would inform Xia Ke. That’s exactly what Shen Lan did.

With that thought, Fan Chen confirmed once more that he was overthinking, "Right, shall we have hotpot tonight?"

Fan Chen had been eyeing a nice hotpot restaurant for a while. Many colleagues had tried it and said it was good, offering the flavors of Sichuan Province.

Hotpot tonight? Xia Ke thought that was a good suggestion, but after thinking for a moment, "Let’s go on the weekend instead."

Why wait for the weekend? Fan Chen’s first thought was whether Xia Ke had to work overtime that day?

"Hotpot tastes best when there’s a crowd. When Xiao Jing and I had hotpot before, it always felt like something was missing."

"It’ll be perfect to invite Xiao Jing and Shen Lan to unwind together this weekend."

Xia Ke knew that if Huang Jing wasn’t going out with her on the weekend, she would just be cooped up at home alone.

Staying home alone can be so boring; it’s better for four people to dine together and have a lively time. "We can order more food and not worry about leftovers going to waste either."

Listening to Xia Ke’s plans, all Fan Chen could verbally say was okay, but in his heart, he was already cursing.

Anyone would know that turning a cozy dinner for two into a group of four, adding two third wheels, would rarely leave anyone in a good mood.

But what could he do? One was his girlfriend’s friend, the other his own friend. Really, he had no choice but to endure.