Pharmaceutical Negotiator - Chapter 42

After a rain, the color of the sky seemed to have been washed clean, becoming very soft.

Qi An, with a hoarse voice, picked up the video call.

“Why are you feeling unwell? Did you get sick? Did you get caught in the rain yesterday?” Zhang Si Tan fired off a string of questions, looking at the person on the screen and noting that she did indeed look a bit haggard.

Qi An whimpered, “Yeah, I got caught in the rain, I feel terrible.”

Zhang Si Tan frowned, “Did you take any medicine? When did you go to the hospital?”

“Ah.” Qi An hadn’t expected Zhang Si Tan to ask in such detail, and she vaguely replied, “I went this morning and already took medicine.”

“Okay, rest first. I’ll talk to HR about it.”

“Oh.” Qi An thought Zhang Si Tan was about to hang up. Her eyes nervously flickered away from the screen, not wanting her to see her reluctance and vulnerability.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Si Tan then said, “Su Wei will bring you some soup later. Use the phone by the door to tell the gatekeeper to let her in.”

“I’ll be back this afternoon. I’ll bring you something to eat when I return.”

“Li Hua told me about yesterday’s presentation. You did very well.”

Qi An listened to Zhang Si Tan’s instructions one by one. When she heard that she would be returning early this afternoon, she was already pleasantly surprised, and then hearing that her presentation was good made her even happier.

Her nose, which had been stuffed and struggling to breathe, now felt a bit clearer.

Hmm, Si Tan-jie is good medicine.

“Oh, I understand. Thank you, Si Tan-jie,” Qi An said sincerely.

Perhaps because she was feeling so unwell, there was no smile on her face. Combined with the extremely formal message she had sent to Zhang Si Tan, Zhang Si Tan thought she was upset.

Because she hadn’t answered her question directly.

“Uh.” Zhang Si Tan hesitated for a moment and decided to answer the difficult question. “I know why you kissed me.”

“Huh?” Qi An was stunned and looked at Zhang Si Tan uncertainly, almost disbelieving her own ears.

She watched the struggle and a hint of shyness on Zhang Si Tan’s face as she tried to maintain her composure and slowly said, “If… if you want to start a new relationship with me, I would probably agree.”

“But, maybe I wouldn’t agree either. Because I feel I’m much more mature than you, I’ve thought everything through, and you’re just playing house. What should I do?”

“Ah?” Qi An continued to stare blankly, feeling her nose getting stuffed again.

No, she wasn’t playing house. She would treat this relationship very seriously too.

“We’ll talk about it when I get back. You should rest well first,” Zhang Si Tan composed herself and continued, “Your last leave request was approved by HR. This time they might not approve it. Wait for me to take you there to fill out the forms when I return.”

“Ah, okay.”

“Gotta hang up now.”

“Ah, okay.”

Zhang Si Tan chuckled, wishing she could reach through the screen and stroke Qi An’s head.

In the afternoon, outside a certain airport.

Zhang Si Tan pulled her suitcase out. She hadn’t brought much this time, and the suitcase was very light, but she still didn’t take one of the private cars busy soliciting passengers for shared rides by the exit.

Dragging her suitcase, she went to the subway station. She didn’t call Qi An again. Zhang Si Tan smoothly passed security and walked toward the platform, watching a short film playing on the big screen.

The short film showed a woman in Tibetan clothing running in a grassland, stopping under an ancient tree, and looking up. The camera, through her perspective, showed a flock of sheep on the opposite hillside.

The sheep moved slowly, like a large white cloud. Coincidentally, there was also a patch of soft, white cloud lingering on the mountaintop. Looking from a distance, there were two white clouds in the scene.

The subway station was noisy, and Zhang Si Tan couldn’t hear the music of the short film. She wasn’t wearing her glasses and strained to read the subtitles at the bottom.

It seemed to be one of the entries shortlisted in this year’s emerging directors competition.

At the end, Zhang Si Tan saw the director’s name displayed on the screen: Cheng Jue.

Was it the young girl who was the stage assistant at the theater last time? Zhang Si Tan still remembered her dark circles and the sweat beads on her face as she rushed out to buy iced water and rushed back.

She was a very diligent child.

The announcement system sounded, reminding passengers to pay attention to their boarding stations.

Zhang Si Tan stopped dwelling on whether this was the little girl’s work and continued walking toward the front, pulling her suitcase.

She brought Qi An a specialty from Southeast Asia, a lemon chicken with a very wonderful, slightly sour but refreshing taste.

Zhang Si Tan had filtered the soup beforehand and wrapped it very securely, so it wasn’t confiscated at security.

She just wondered if Qi An, with a cold, could still eat something that might cause inflammation or heatiness.

After seeing Qi An’s message, she had asked Su Wei to go and make a light, detoxifying soup for Qi An. She knew Su Wei’s culinary skills, and she also knew how lazy Qi An was she would order takeout whenever possible and completely failed to take care of herself.

Looking at the gradually clearing sky, Zhang Si Tan faintly felt that things might not be so bad after all.

Although her English was fragmented, making communication with the foreign doctor very difficult. Although she still had a pile of reports to write after returning, and many forms to coordinate with different departments. Although the journey was exhausting and laborious, and she had to be back at work on time tomorrow.

However, the lemon chicken in her suitcase, her high ponytail, and the two “clouds” on the hillside shown in the short film earlier seemed to be soothing her restless heart.

At this moment, Zhang Si Tan was very willing to believe that the short film was shot by the little girl named Cheng Jue from the theater.

Pure enough, and hard work had been rewarded accordingly.

Wait for the clouds to part and see the sun, her heart was clear.

She quickened her steps, heading towards where Qi An was.

Su Wei left after delivering the soup. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to stay longer, but she was too busy. Not long after returning from Australia, the hospital had scheduled surgery for her.

Qi An savored the soup Su Wei had given her, finding the taste very fresh and delicious, but she didn’t know if it was a filter, but she still felt Si Tan-jie’s soup was the best.

She was feeling a bit better, nestled on the sofa and scrolling through her phone.

When she heard the sound of the fingerprint lock opening, her thoughts finally gathered. She leaped off the sofa and looked toward the entrance with anticipation.

Zhang Si Tan pushed the door open from outside, pushing the suitcase in first. Before she even looked up, she heard a loud “Si Tan-jie,” and she smiled, closing the door behind her.

Qi An was about to go over and hug her, but Zhang Si Tan stepped aside, “I’ll go wash my hands first.”

After taking a plane and a subway, who knows how many germs were on her hands. As was her habit, Zhang Si Tan went to the restroom to wash her hands first.

Qi An, who was avoided, widened her eyes. Was she being rejected?

Qi An quickly found a mask on the shelf and put it on. When Zhang Si Tan came out, she saw Qi An sitting upright on the sofa with a mask covering her face.

Zhang Si Tan pulled her suitcase over, opening it as she asked, “Why are you wearing a mask at home?”

“I’m afraid of infecting you.” Qi An’s voice was muffled through the mask.

Her nasal voice was already heavy from the cold, and now her voice sounded even rougher, like a rasping sound.

Zhang Si Tan smiled, not knowing what Qi An was up to now, “Are you having a clear runny nose or a thick one?”

“I don’t think I have a runny nose,” Qi An tilted her head.

“Hmm, then it’s a virus that won’t spread,” Zhang Si Tan reassured her.

“Really? Are there viruses that don’t spread to people?”

“Really, hurry and take off the mask. Doesn’t it feel stuffy? When you have a cold, you must keep the air passages open to recover faster.”

“I brought you a local specialty. Should I slice it for you now?”

Qi An nodded and volunteered to go to the kitchen to get a plate.

Seeing Qi An still wearing a mask, Zhang Si Tan chuckled and teased her, “How can I kiss you with a mask on?”

“!” The little one perked up her ears.

She watched Zhang Si Tan, wearing disposable gloves, tear open the golden chicken meat and pour the lemon dressing from the small ingredients over it.

“Why… why do you want to kiss me?” Qi An twisted awkwardly, feeling like she already knew the answer but still asked intentionally.

Zhang Si Tan didn’t stop what she was doing. She looked up at her and said word by word, “Over the phone, I said that if you want to start a new relationship with me, I would probably agree.”

“Well, do you want to?”

“Ah?” Qi An nodded incessantly, “I… I do!”

“Heh.” Zhang Si Tan chuckled again. The plastic gloves on her hands were already stained with the chicken sauce. She raised her hands above her head, leaned forward, and gently pecked Qi An’s lips.

Through the mask, Qi An felt it was somewhat unreal. It was just a warm something touching her mask, and then the mask was pressed down, landing right on her mouth.

She widened her eyes, looked at Zhang Si Tan, and couldn’t help but smile. The more she thought about it, the sweeter she felt inside, and her eyes kept curving.

“Hmm,” she softly hummed.

Zhang Si Tan looked at her, her eyes also curved, and lowered her head to continue tearing the chicken in her hands.

The chicken was pulled into shreds. The meat wasn’t particularly tender, but it was definitely refreshing.

Zhang Si Tan divided it into two portions. There was no rice cooked at home, so she ordered an express delivery and added a green vegetable dish.

Qi An took her medicine first, then sat on the sofa to taste the specialty chicken Si Tan-jie had brought back, chewing and saying, “Delicious!”

Zhang Si Tan poured her some water and asked her what stage the Semburg Pharmaceuticals project was at.

Qi An explained it to her bit by bit, feeling embarrassed because Zhang Si Tan was watching her, and they had just shared an ambiguous kiss.

When both of them had finished eating, Zhang Si Tan wiped her mouth and looked at her very solemnly, saying:

“I am thirty years old. I won’t start a relationship casually based on a momentary impulse. I’m not like you, who can escape back to Qingdao anytime and always have a fallback. My cost of trial and error is very low, even nonexistent. I’ve sacrificed a lot to achieve the career I have today, so I cherish it greatly. I don’t have the courage to start a new job, so I will likely keep doing this job and put all my energy into every negotiation. This job is very open, standing at the world’s forefront and bringing the most innovative and effective medicines to those who need them. But this job is also very conservative, with various rules and regulations creating constraints. Our relationship might face many obstacles and criticisms.”

“You have the capital to retreat anytime, but I still allow myself to fall once. So, I am prepared for my job possibly being impacted, and prepared for you to leave anytime if you get tired of it. Even if you are just playing house, I accept it. Can you believe that I love you no less than you love me?”

“Mhm.” Qi An felt Zhang Si Tan’s seriousness and sincerity. She raised her small hands to cup Zhang Si Tan’s cheeks, feeling that Si Tan-jie was indeed much more mature than her and considered more things.

“We will date secretly, without letting anyone at work know.”

“I won’t leave. I love you a lot too.”

“Just now, it was through the mask; I didn’t feel it. Can we… kiss again?”