It fell from his fingertips

After that day, Tang Luoqing found that her mindset seemed to have changed a bit.

I used to think Zhou Jinbai was too cold, but after that I discovered that Zhou Jinbai also has a warm side.

Over the next few days, Tang Luoqing gradually discovered that with more guidance from Zhou Jinbai, she seemed to be able to see some problems, although she didn't see them as clearly as Zhou Jinbai.

Regardless, Tang Luoqing was still very pleased with this progress.

That evening, she was painting when a sudden downpour began outside.

The rain pounded against the windowpane, making a loud, pattering sound.

Tang Luoqing was quite satisfied with the painting when she realized that Naitang hadn't come to linger around her at all.

So she went out of the study and into the living room, squatted down next to the cat's bed, and then realized that the little guy who had been jumping around and rubbing against her palm that afternoon was now curled up listlessly.

She quickly touched Naitang's ear; it was burning hot. Then, Tang Luoqing noticed that Naitang seemed to want to vomit but couldn't. She was extremely anxious. Then, Naitang vomited a mouthful of yellow liquid and collapsed listlessly on the ground.

Tang Luoqing became even more anxious. She quickly grabbed her coat, wrapped it around Naitang, picked up her umbrella, and rushed downstairs.

The rain was too heavy, and it was nighttime, so it was difficult to hail a taxi. Tang Luoqing waited in the security room and was number twenty or so in the queue on the ride-hailing app, but no driver accepted her order for a long time.

Seeing that Naitang was getting more and more uncomfortable, she became so anxious that her eyes turned red.

Left with no other option, Tang Luoqing dialed Zhou Yanchen's number, which rang several times before being answered.

"Baby, what's wrong?"

Zhou Yanchen's concerned voice came through.

"Yan Chen, Naitang suddenly got sick; she has a fever and vomited."

Tang Luoqing's voice was trembling with barely suppressed sobs: "I can't get a taxi at the entrance of the residential area, the rain is too heavy."

"Don't rush,"

Zhou Yan paused slightly before speaking: "Okay, I'll have Lao Zhang come pick you up. You wait in the security room, don't get wet in the rain. I'll call him."

"good……"

Tang Luoqing breathed a sigh of relief and pulled the cat closer to her chest.

Meanwhile, at the Zhou family's old house, Old Zhang had just hung up the phone with Zhou Yanchen when he rushed into the garage.

He was walking in such a hurry that he almost bumped into Zhou Jinbai, who had just returned from a business trip.

"What's the matter? Why the rush?"

Zhou Jinbai stepped aside, carrying a briefcase, his black suit jacket damp with rain, his brows slightly furrowed.

Old Zhang quickly stopped and bowed apologetically: "I'm sorry, young master, this is Miss Tang, the young master's girlfriend. Her cat suddenly fell seriously ill, and the young master asked me to come and pick her up to take her to the vet. The rain is too heavy, and Miss Tang can't get a taxi. She's very anxious."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Jinbai hummed in response, his gaze falling on the car keys that Old Zhang was gripping tightly. After a moment,

"The roads are slippery in the rain, drive slowly."

"it is good."

Old Zhang agreed and quickly ran into the car, which soon drove out of the underground parking lot and disappeared into the heavy rain.

Zhou Jinbai withdrew his gaze, returned to the villa, and went straight to the second floor, entering the study.

He placed his briefcase on the desk, took out the project report, and spread it out in front of him. The dense financial data covered half the table, but he stared at the top line for a long time without reading a single word.

The rain outside the window was getting heavier and heavier, hitting the French windows with a dull thud.

Zhou Jinbai raised his hand and pinched the bridge of his nose, forcing himself to bring his attention back to the documents.

Three hours later, the sound of a car could be heard downstairs.

Zhou Jinbai found himself standing by the French windows of the study, watching Old Zhang's car slowly drive into the garage.

Soon, the sound of servants chatting could be heard downstairs.

"Uncle Zhang, how is it? Is the future young mistress's cat alright?"

"It's nothing, it's nothing. The doctor said it was acute gastroenteritis. He gave me an injection and prescribed some medicine. He said to observe for two days and then come back for a follow-up check-up in a few days."

At the door of the study, Zhou Jinbai's fingers, hanging by his side, loosened slightly.

He turned and walked back to his desk, closing the study door behind him.

On the other side, Tang Luoqing returned home with Milk Candy in her arms, gently placed the kitten in its cat bed, and watched it curl up and slowly fall asleep before finally letting out a sigh of relief.

She slumped onto the sofa and took a while to recover before remembering to let Zhou Yanchen know she was safe.

The phone rang once and was then hung up.

His message popped up on the screen: [Busy, will talk later.]

Tang Luoqing stared at the screen for two seconds and then sighed.

Knowing that Zhou Yanchen was busy with his project, she didn't think much of it. She got up to make warm water for Naitang, then sat on the carpet next to the cat bed. Seeing Naitang's listless appearance, she lost her interest in drawing.

I don't know how much time passed before my phone rang. It was Zhou Yanchen calling.

"Baby, how's the milk candy?"

Zhou Yanchen's voice sounded a little breathless, but the background was much quieter, with the faint sound of wind.

"It's nothing serious. The doctor said it was gastroenteritis, gave me an injection, and said I just need to come back for a check-up in a few days."

Tang Luoqing said softly, her fingertips tracing Naitang's ear: "Uncle Zhang has already gone back to the old house. I feel bad for troubling him to make the trip in the middle of the night."

"It's good that you're alright. Thank you for your hard work."

Zhou Yanchen paused slightly, his tone softening with a coaxing tone: "When I go back this weekend, I'll take Naitang for a follow-up checkup."

Tang Luoqing felt a warmth in her heart and hummed in agreement, "Are you really coming back? Aren't you busy with your project?"

"certainly,"

Zhou Yanchen smiled sweetly: "No matter how busy I am, I'll spend time with my baby and milk candy. Don't worry, I'll definitely be there this weekend."

After hanging up the phone, Tang Luoqing felt much more at ease.

She lowered her head and nuzzled Milk Candy's head, whispering, "Did you hear that? Your brother will be back this weekend to take you for your follow-up checkup."

Two days later, the rain stopped and the sky cleared up completely.

Tang Luoqing tidied up, and seeing Naitang back to her lively self, she felt much more relaxed.

"Knock knock~" A knock sounded on the door. Tang Luoqing went over to see what it was and found that it was a deliveryman bringing a package to her door.

After the courier left, Tang Luoqing opened the door, unpacked the package, and found that it was a sample of the "City Image" series of cultural and creative products sent by Lu's Cultural and Creative.

On the off-white canvas bag was printed the little cat she had drawn on the windowsill, curled up in the sunlight. The colors were soft and warm, and the texture was even better than she had imagined.

Next to her was a stack of postcards, each one a painting of a small scene from Qinyuan Garden, depicting a lotus pond in midsummer, a corridor with shadows falling on it, and flowers climbing the wall at the entrance of her studio—delicate, soft, and full of life.

Tang Luoqing examined the sample from all angles, a smile playing on her lips.

She immediately took a close-up photo of the kitten canvas bag and sent it to Zhou Yanchen: [Look, the sample is finished! Isn't it super cute?]

After waiting a few minutes without a reply, she figured the other person was busy. She then sent a message to her best friend, Shen Baiyan, who replied instantly with a string of exclamation marks, insisting that she save one set for her so she could show it off to her colleagues.

Tang Luoqing smiled and replied with a "Okay."

Then, I chose a photo of a postcard and a canvas bag together, captioned it "First physical sample," and posted it on my WeChat Moments.

After finishing all that, Tang Luoqing put down her phone and went to tidy up her things.

After packing up, I noticed that my WeChat Moments post had received a lot of likes, one of which was actually... Zhou Jinbai's?

·

Before we knew it, it was time for Milk Candy's follow-up check-up.

Tang Luoqing got up early and neatly packed Naitang's cat carrier, put out its favorite freeze-dried food, and sat in the living room waiting for Zhou Yanchen.

I waited from morning until noon, then from noon until 2 pm, until the time for the follow-up examination was almost here, but my phone remained silent, without any activity.

Tang Luoqing looked at the time on her phone, and her heart sank.

She tightened her grip on the phone, but still dialed Zhou Yanchen's number.

The phone rang for a very long time, so long that just a second before it automatically hung up, Zhou Yan's drowsy voice came from the other end, as if he had just woken up from a dream.

"Feed? Luo Qing? What's wrong?"

Tang Luoqing's heart sank.

"Where...are you?"

Tang Luoqing tried to keep her voice calm: "Naitang has a follow-up appointment today, at 3 pm."

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone, followed by Zhou Yanchen's voice, a mixture of realization and regret: "A follow-up examination? Sorry, I forgot."

The man explained in a slightly hurried tone, "I'm sorry, Luo Qing. The project is wrapping up so smoothly that we had to add a celebration banquet and a client briefing. I really can't get away today and won't be able to go back until next weekend. I'm so sorry."

Tang Luoqing sat on the sofa, holding Xiao Naitang in her arms, gripping her phone so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

"But you said you'd come back last week."

Tang Luoqing's voice was very soft, tinged with a barely perceptible grievance.

"I know, something came up unexpectedly."

Zhou Yanchen coaxed him for a couple of minutes, his tone light and casual: "I'll try my best to come back next week, and then I'll apologize to you and Naitang properly, okay? You can take it there yourself first, thank you for your trouble."

Tang Luoqing fell silent.

After what seemed like an eternity, she took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down: "You go ahead and get back to work."

Before Zhou Yanchen could say anything more, Tang Luoqing hung up the phone.

The living room was quiet, except for Milk Candy meowing once in Tang Luoqing's arms.

Tang Luoqing lowered her head, touching Naitang's drooping ears, her voice soft, as if talking to a kitten, or as if comforting herself: "It's okay, I'll take you to get a taxi."

Before I even left the house, I found it was raining again.

Tang Luoqing felt melancholy; it was difficult to hail a taxi again, and she hoped it wouldn't delay her follow-up examination.

Meanwhile, not far from the Yujingwan residential area, an inconspicuous black sedan was parked on the roadside.

Zhou Jinbai sat in the back seat, holding an investigation report in his hand, his brows furrowed, and the atmosphere around him was frighteningly oppressive.

Assistant Shen, sitting in the passenger seat, turned around and reported in a low voice: "President Zhou, Young Master Zhou wasn't with the Haicheng project team last night. He flew to Xinwei Mountain with Miss Su and Old Chen to celebrate the project's completion. They said it's a few days to relax as the project wraps up, and they won't return to Beijing until next weekend."

Zhou Jinbai's eyes were slightly cold.

Just then, Assistant Shen's cell phone rang.

He answered the phone, listened for a couple of minutes, his expression changed slightly, and after hanging up, he reported to his supervisor: "President Zhou, there's a problem with the supply chain at Xinwei branch, and we need you to fly over there today to handle it."

Zhou Jinbai frowned slightly.

A casual glance revealed Tang Luoqing walking out of the main gate of the residential complex, carrying an umbrella and a cat carrier.

The girl was wearing a light beige dress, her hair was a little messy from the wind, and she was carrying a cat carrier in her arms. She was walking towards the roadside and looked very anxious.

Zhou Jinbai's prominent Adam's apple bobbed slightly.

A moment later, he instructed the driver in the front seat, "Drive the car over there first."