Chapter 44 Colleagues
That night, when Tu Hengsha closed the drawer, her heart, which had been tentatively reaching out little antennas, eager to get closer to Su Ronggui, immediately retracted, returning to its usual state of vigilance and defensiveness. As a result, the next time she encountered him at the newspaper office, she was able to be calm and composed, treating Su Ronggui just like any other colleague. When they ran into each other, it was merely a "Good morning," or "Hello," with no further conversation.
Even Hao Ren had noticed something was up.
One day, while Tu Hengsha was sitting alone in the cafeteria having lunch, Hao Ren scooted over with his bowl and quietly asked, "Did you really fall out with Su Ronggui?"
Tu Hengsha’s expression remained unchanged, "How could that be? Do I seem like someone who doesn’t know how to weigh the consequences?"
"Then you... just don’t talk to him anymore?" Hao Ren blinked his eyes.
"No!" Tu Hengsha smiled, "I was never that close to him, to begin with, what’s there to talk about?"
"Well, you..." Hao Ren wanted to mention the rice dumplings she’d given, but thinking about that day’s events made him reconsider and swallow his words back down.
Tu Hengsha understood what he meant, so she laughed and said, "It was because my first assignment had been with him! Plus, we were together in the disaster area, and he helped me out a lot there. I just wanted to thank him."
Hao Ren nodded and added, "But Su Ronggui is a good person; he’s just not the talkative type. He seems cold, but he’s always so gentle with Su Rongxing!"
Tu Hengsha finished her last few bites of rice with a smile and didn’t respond. A younger sister, of course, should be spoiled. If she had a brother, wouldn’t he be good to her too?
"I’m done! Heading back!" She stood up, holding her bowl.