One Year After Her Sister-In-Law Was Widowed - Chapter 58

The call was disconnected once again. Ji Zhuozhou set her phone down.

She hadn’t been able to extract any useful information from either of the two people she spoke to. When she asked if Xiao Shuangyu was with them, one avoided the question while the other flatly denied it. When she asked if they knew where Xiao Shuangyu was, they both claimed ignorance.

Yet, she felt certain they were together.

And she was certain Xiao Shuangyu was with them.

But Xiao Shuangyu hadn’t picked up her calls, nor had she replied to any messages.

A message notification popped up, but it wasn’t from Xiao Shuangyu.

It was from the Chief Secretary.

Before Ji Zhuozhou’s true identity had been revealed, this secretary, assigned to the General Manager, had been operating under the arrangements of Director Li. Now that the General Manager had appeared, the secretary had come to coordinate directly with her.

The Chief Secretary said that the headquarters still wanted to meet with people from Shengjing and hoped to discuss it over dinner tonight.

After the domestic branch of Huarui confirmed its restructuring, the people at headquarters became increasingly desperate to finalize a cooperation deal with Shengjing—under the name of the parent company.

This had been part of her initial plan to keep the headquarters in check, but now, she increasingly felt that something was wrong.

Things needed to be resolved quickly.

She told the Chief Secretary to decline the dinner invitation from headquarters, sent messages to Director Li and several others, then stood up and left the laboratory.

Heading down, Ji Zhuozhou reached the first floor.

At the entrance, Wang Ran had just arrived for her shift. Seeing her, she immediately smiled and spoke up, “Hello, President Ji. Lianlian still hasn’t come to work today; I hope everything is alright?”

Ji Zhuozhou froze for a moment, then suddenly asked, “Sister Ran, have you been in contact with Lianlian?”

Wang Ran shook her head. “I asked her before and she just said she was fine. You know how young people are, it’s not good to keep bothering them.”

Wang Ran was on the afternoon shift this month, so her information wasn’t very timely. She was just surprised to see Ji Zhuozhou heading out and mentioned Xiao Shuangyu in passing.

Seeing Ji Zhuozhou question her back, Wang Ran didn’t find it strange, thinking to herself that perhaps the two had quarreled. However, she showed nothing on her face and simply said, “That child Lianlian doesn’t like to talk about her problems. It’s quite worrying; you need to show her more care.”

Ji Zhuozhou’s green eyes darkened slightly. She nodded, said nothing more, bid farewell to Wang Ran, and walked straight toward the underground parking lot.

Entering the car, she turned on the navigation.

Around five o’clock, Ji Zhuozhou appeared outside the TH Bar.

It was a bit early; TH Bar hadn’t started its business hours yet, but it wasn’t far off. Quite coincidentally, the door was open.

Ji Zhuozhou pushed open the unlocked door and stepped inside. Her gaze swept the interior and landed on a woman behind the bar.

The woman had flamboyant, charming red hair. Under the dim lighting of a few small lamps, she looked somewhat ethereal. She didn’t look like an ordinary employee as she casually mixed a drink.

Sensing someone’s arrival, the woman lifted her eyelids and glanced over. “A drink?”

Ji Zhuozhou walked to the bar and sat on a stool. “Sure.”

Before the woman could say anything else, Ji Zhuozhou’s gaze shifted to the stage on the other side. “Will there be a performance?”

The woman was indeed Ji Xunxia, who happened to be present today. She handed the drink she had just prepared to Ji Zhuozhou. “A special blend. Try it. If you want to see a performance, it’s every day from 9:00 PM to midnight.”

She added, “The Rain Band has no performances recently.”

Ji Zhuozhou looked back. “Where did they go?”

Ji Xunxia countered, “Is President Ji here to find someone?”

Ji Zhuozhou narrowed her eyes slightly. “You know me?”

Ji Xunxia thought to herself: Who do you think I am? Who else would look out for my juniors if not me? Naturally, she had been paying attention to the people around Xiao Shuangyu ever since Xiao Shuangyu inexplicably took a security job and seemed to enjoy it.

To be honest, she was also quite shocked by Ji Zhuozhou’s trajectory—hiding her identity as General Manager for years to start as an assistant perfumer, then rapidly rising to senior perfumer and securing the restructuring of a subsidiary.

She held an equal level of respect for anyone who was exceptionally good at making money.

Respect aside, Ji Xunxia said nothing of it, only replying, “I just happen to know.”

Ji Zhuozhou didn’t dwell on it. Her story had been written about in reports; if one looked into it, the information was certainly out there.

Furthermore, not only did Ji Xunxia know her, she also knew Ji Xunxia—likewise knowing her reputation as a “know-it-all.”

Rather than being confused about Ji Xunxia knowing her, she was more puzzled by the fact that Ji Xunxia had revealed it so openly.

But since that was the case, Ji Zhuozhou became more straightforward. “I’m looking for Lianlian. I want to know where she is.”

Ji Xunxia had already quickly mixed herself another drink. She took a light sip, found it satisfactory, and happily snapped a photo before looking back at Ji Zhuozhou. “What are you to her?”

Ji Zhuozhou paused abruptly. After a moment, she said, “Her sister.”

Ji Xunxia let out a scoff and opened a photo-editing app to start retouching the picture she just took. “That won’t do. President Ji, you have no idea how popular Lianlian is. If people could dig up info on her just by claiming to be a sister, a sibling, or a friend, there would be trouble.”

She then raised her charming eyes. “Ah, and being a girlfriend wouldn’t work either. I’ve never heard Lianlian mention having a girlfriend.”

“As for confessions, those aren’t accepted either.”

Ji Xunxia simply adjusted the colors to restore the original hue of the glass and the liquid, then sent the photo to someone unknown. “If President Ji really were Lianlian’s sister, there’s no reason you wouldn’t know where she is. Please don’t waste my time.”

Ji Zhuozhou’s expression darkened, and the irritation in her heart deepened.

She suppressed her emotions. “Then… let’s talk business.”

Ji Xunxia paused in the middle of lifting her glass. “President Ji doesn’t look like someone who would do business with a bar.”

Ji Zhuozhou leaned back slightly. “What does ‘looking like it’ have to do with anything? I doubt Boss Ji would refuse money delivered to her door.”

Ji Xunxia raised an eyebrow and glanced at Ji Zhuozhou’s posture. It seemed Ji Zhuozhou had researched her before coming. Given that stance, she looked very confident.

“I don’t just take any kind of money. Why don’t you tell me about it, President Ji?”

Ji Zhuozhou stared directly into Ji Xunxia’s eyes. “I haven’t seen the Rain Band perform yet. How about adding a session today? Right here. Any price is fine.”

Not a private show, not a buyout—simply having the Rain Band return to TH Bar to perform as usual.

It sounded very tempting.

Indeed, Ji Xunxia couldn’t refuse.

But, “The bar and the band only have a cooperative relationship. I can relay President Ji’s conditions to them, but I can’t guarantee they will accept or that they can rush here immediately.”

Ji Zhuozhou pondered the meaning behind Ji Xunxia’s words and felt there was a high probability that Xiao Shuangyu was not nearby.

She immediately spoke up, “Boss Ji can call them right now. I want the full lineup of the Rain Band. If not today, then tomorrow. Name any condition.”

The calculations were practically hitting Ji Xunxia in the face.

Ji Zhuozhou wasn’t trying to hide her intent. Ji Xunxia could see it, but she didn’t object. After all, the leader of the Rain Band had always been Nie Siyu; she would only be contacting Nie Siyu anyway.

Ji Xunxia called Nie Siyu, but to her surprise, the call was hung up the moment it connected.

The two consecutive calls from Ji Zhuozhou an hour ago had put A-Nan and Nie Siyu on high alert. Especially now that Xiao Shuangyu was almost finished with her IV drip, both of them were right beside her and were now in a state of completely refusing calls.

They didn’t tell Xiao Shuangyu about receiving Ji Zhuozhou’s calls. After all, Xiao Shuangyu wasn’t fully recovered yet; what if she got triggered again and couldn’t get well?

Instead, Nie Siyu sent a message asking Ji Xunxia what was going on.

Ji Xunxia didn’t know about the events that had transpired earlier. She just flashed her phone screen toward Ji Zhuozhou. “They might be busy. Not picking up.”

After saying that, she opened Nie Siyu’s WeChat and sent a voice message: “There’s a big boss who specifically wants to see you perform. Are you free? Come over and add a show. Extra pay!”

Nie Siyu only replied with two words: Not free.

Ji Xunxia relayed those two words to Ji Zhuozhou.

She then went back to the interface, pulled up her own business card, and handed the phone to Ji Zhuozhou. “Looks like business won’t be happening today. President Ji, why don’t you add me on WeChat? We can stay in touch if anything changes.”

Ji Zhuozhou lowered her eyes to glance at the phone Ji Xunxia was holding and saw a message flash by.

Nie Siyu: We have to stay for another day.

Ji Zhuozhou’s heart stirred. She took out her phone and scanned the QR code on the screen. “In that case, I’ll await news from Boss Ji.”

Ji Xunxia had also caught a glimpse of Nie Siyu’s message. Her brow twitched, and she quickly pulled her phone back. “Alright.”

Ji Zhuozhou stood up and turned to walk out.

Ji Xunxia looked at the untouched glass on the table and couldn’t help but say, “President Ji, you haven’t touched your drink.”

Ji Zhuozhou didn’t look back, acting as if she hadn’t heard.

She was elegant, yet cold.

Tuesday, 10:00 AM.

Xiao Shuangyu woke up. After finishing her IV drip yesterday, she had gone back to the hotel and had a long, deep sleep. Now, she felt her spirit was excellent.

After arriving in I-City, the pain in the back of her neck had become infrequent; the occasional twinge was hardly noticeable.

And after a trip to the hospital, that slight pain had vanished entirely. Even her head, which had felt heavy and dull for days, was much clearer.

Nie Siyu, in the adjacent bed, had woken up at some unknown time and was not in the room.

Xiao Shuangyu got up and drew back the curtains. Bright sunlight instantly flooded the room, bathing her entire body in warmth, including her neck which was still wrapped in gauze.

She suddenly felt a strong urge to move her body—for example, to play the drums.

In the week or so since leaving Nancheng, she felt like she hadn’t played much, and she really missed it.

She raised her arms high for a long stretch, then turned to walk out of the room.

She decided to discuss it with A-Nan and Nie Siyu; it was time their training camp was put into action.

Xiao Shuangyu knocked on the door of the next room, which was A-Nan’s.

Soon, A-Nan walked out, her short bob messy from sleep. “Morning.”

Xiao Shuangyu said good morning and asked if Nie Siyu had come over.

A-Nan shook her head and turned back into the room to grab her phone. “Maybe she went to the gym? I’ll ask.”

Despite not being able to do strenuous exercise due to the high altitude, simple stretching was fine, and Nie Siyu was the type who would actually go.

A-Nan didn’t ask why Xiao Shuangyu didn’t just check WeChat herself; Xiao Shuangyu had been using her phone very little lately.

Over the past few days, they hadn’t heard Xiao Shuangyu mention that “Sister” at all. Whether it was on her own or through their hints, Xiao Shuangyu seemed to have cleared that person from her mind with a single click.

Of course, they knew that was unlikely; it was more like she was deliberately ignoring it.

But if she didn’t want to use her phone, then so be it. A breakup required time to move on from.

Neither of them told her about receiving Ji Zhuozhou’s call yesterday. Xiao Shuangyu also didn’t know that Ji Zhuozhou had, at some point, noted down A-Nan and Nie Siyu’s numbers from her phone.

In fact, it wasn’t just their numbers.

Tuesday, 10:00 AM.

During a meeting, Ji Zhuozhou’s mind kept wandering, calculating the list of people she could call to inquire.

She felt like something was spiraling out of control.

Where exactly… did Xiao Shuangyu go?