Chapter 85: Kinship
Chapter 85
When Ji Nian returned to Bright Pearl Garden, it was already 7:30 in the evening. Pei Yuchen parked the car, and the two of them took the elevator together.
"Which floor?" Pei Yuchen asked.
Ji Nian suddenly froze, which floor was it again? She had only been here once before and couldn't remember the floor number, nor did she recall which button she had pressed for the elevator...
"I think... I've forgotten," Ji Nian said, perplexed.
"Huh?" Pei Yuchen was taken aback. Did he hear that right? How could she forget that?
Ji Nian felt disoriented. She had not been in this world for long and realized she hadn't even memorized her own apartment number. Her phone was also not with her at the moment...
"Well, it's my first time here today, and I didn't really get familiar with the place before rushing to the hospital... you know," Ji Nian said awkwardly.
Pei Yuchen shook his head in resignation and chuckled, "Miss Ji is quite the talent."
Ji Nian could hear the sarcasm in his words, and innocently suggested, "Why don't you call Miss Shen Shuyao and ask her assistant to give me the password and floor number over the phone..."
Pei Yuchen considered it and realized that was the only option. He raised his eyebrows and took out his phone to make the call.
At that moment, the elevator dinged, indicating someone had pressed the button outside.
Ji Nian looked at the person who entered and, although he was wearing a mask, she still recognized him. Her eyes widened in surprise as she exclaimed happily, "Mr. Yu! What are you doing here?"
Yu Luobai had been looking anxious moments ago, but upon seeing the people before him, the uneasiness in his heart instantly dissipated. He asked, "Where were you today?"
Ji Nian was momentarily confused but answered, "Didn't I... take a leave of absence from you to move houses today..."
"Your phone wasn't going through," Pei Yuchen commented from the side, glancing at the man before them and finding him somewhat familiar.
Yu Luobai noticed the other person in the elevator, briefly stunned and looking surprised, he said, "Brother Yuchen? You're back in the country?"
Pei Yuchen then recognized who it was, smiling and nodding, "I've been back for a while."
"Brother Yuchen?" Ji Nian was puzzled again. What did that mean? Did these two know each other?
Yu Luobai then realized the situation and also looked bewildered. Ji Nian knew him?
"You two know each other?" Ji Nian asked, perplexed.
Her mind raced. Previously, when she accompanied Shen Shuyao to sign the contract, she noticed that Yu Luobai and the male lead, Ye Jingzhan, seemed to have an unusual relationship, and now Yu Luobai was calling the antagonist "Brother"?
"Yes," Yu Luobai nodded and explained, "He and my cousin are good friends. We played together when we were young."
What a complicated relationship! Ji Nian was even more confused, "Your cousin?"
"It's Ah Zhan," Pei Yuchen answered from the side.
So Ye Jingzhan was Yu Luobai's cousin! Ji Nian couldn't believe it. This wasn't written in the original novel! She tried to recall when she accompanied Shen Shuyao to sign the contract before.
It seemed like Yu Luobai had said something to the male lead like, "Did my mother go looking for you again?"
"Oh my god," Ji Nian couldn't help but mutter. The plot was getting more and more confusing. It didn't seem like this hidden character relationship was written in the original book.
Yu Luobai was also surprised, asking, "Little Nian, how do you know Brother Yuchen?"
Ji Nian felt she needed to process this carefully. She had known that Yu Luobai and the male lead had a good relationship, but she never expected it to be a cousin relationship.
"Haha, we just happened to meet..." Ji Nian said awkwardly.
Pei Yuchen stood by and asked the woman who was barely chin-high to him, "No one is answering the phone, what should we do now?"
Right, the topic was back to the main issue - which floor was her apartment on?!
"Mr. Yu? Do you have the company's number? Can you help me call," Ji Nian asked the man.
"Why call the company?" Yu Luobai asked.
"You might not believe it, but I forgot which floor I live on," Ji Nian said sheepishly.
Yu Luobai paused, then laughed out loud, naturally reaching out to ruffle the woman's hair, "How can you be so silly?"
Ji Nian felt indignant at being called silly, "It's normal to forget since this is only my first time here today."
Pei Yuchen didn't know why, but seeing that hand on the woman's head felt somehow irritating.
Yu Luobai chuckled and nodded, "No need to call. It's on the 20th floor, right below mine."
Ji Nian froze, suddenly realizing that she shouldn't have been surprised at the company's generosity in providing such a nice place.
It turned out that the reason she could live in such a nice apartment was all thanks to Yu Luobai's help.
Yu Luobai extended his slender hand and pressed the button for the 20th floor. Then, looking at the man beside him, he said in surprise, "Oh, I just remembered, Brother Yuchen, you also have an apartment on the 20th floor, right?"
"Yes, the 20th," Pei Yuchen replied calmly.
Ji Nian suddenly froze. What luck was this? What karma! Back when they were in the Pineland Villa Area, they lived close by, and now after moving, they ended up as neighbors again? The workings of fate...
They soon reached the 20th floor, and Ji Nian and Yu Luobai stepped out of the elevator. Pei Yuchen also exited.
"Goodbye, Dr. Pei," Ji Nian smiled awkwardly but politely.
Pei Yuchen nodded in response, then turned and walked towards his apartment door, pressed his fingerprint lock, and went inside.
As soon as he entered, his usually elegant demeanor instantly became somewhat stern. It was strange, seeing the woman's intimate gestures with another man made him feel an uncharacteristic sense of irritation.
Meanwhile, after seeing Pei Yuchen close his door, Ji Nian turned to the person beside her and said sheepishly, "Mr. Yu, it doesn't really matter where I live. You didn't have to..."
Yu Luobai looked at the woman's disheveled hair from being ruffled earlier and smiled slightly, "The environment here is more comfortable to live in."
Ji Nian paused, lowering her head in embarrassment, "Thank you, Mr. Yu."
"The company's initial password should be the same for everyone. Let me open the door for you first, and if you want to change it later, you can do it yourself," Yu Luobai said with a smile.
Ji Nian obediently nodded, "Okay."
As he spoke, the man's slender hand entered the password on the lock, and soon, with a twist of the doorknob, the door opened.
Yu Luobai raised his eyebrows, "There you go, go on in."
Ji Nian felt a bit awkward, as if she was troubling him too much, "Thank you."
"We're so familiar with each other now, why are you being so polite?" Yu Luobai laughed.
"Then I'll go in first. Goodbye, Mr. Yu," Ji Nian smiled.
"Okay," Yu Luobai reached out and ruffled the woman's hair again, finding that her hair felt quite nice to the touch.
After closing the door, Ji Nian sighed and tidied her slightly disheveled hair. Looking around the empty apartment, it was luxurious but still an unfamiliar place, and she would need some time to get used to it.
Walking into the bedroom, she picked up the phone she had dropped earlier. To her surprise, she had quite a few missed calls.
There were also many messages on WeChat, all from the same person. She opened the app and called them back.
The person on the other end quickly answered, teasing, "What's this? We just saw each other, and you miss me already?"
Ji Nian knew he was joking, "Mr. Yu, I went out without my phone this afternoon, and I just realized you had called me so many times. Was there something urgent you needed me for today?"
"These days, who still goes out without their phone?" Yu Luobai laughed through the phone.
"Special circumstances call for special measures. Let's not get into the details," Ji Nian awkwardly changed the subject.
"I originally wanted to ask how your move went, but you never replied to my messages," Yu Luobai said, his tone becoming slightly stern. "I was worried about you, and since you weren't answering my calls, I rushed back as soon as I was done with work to see if you were home."
"I'm sorry..." Ji Nian felt more embarrassed, not expecting Yu Luobai to care so much about her, a warm feeling welling up in her heart.