上海安全生产监督局

Chapter 20

"Has your school invited you to go back for the anniversary?" Jiang Lingling asked. Usually, schools would organize grand events for such anniversaries and invite outstanding alumni to visit.

Shen Nian, being an outstanding student herself, could be considered one of those outstanding alumni. "Yes," Shen Nian replied, "The school sent me an invitation a few days ago, and I plan to go back for a visit."

As they reached the fourth floor, the two of them got off the elevator. Instead of taking a direct elevator, they opted for the kind that stopped on each floor. Now on the fourth floor, they needed to circle around and take the elevator from the fourth floor down to the third floor.

The fourth floor was the clothing section, and many famous brands were located there. Shen Nian held two dolls in her hands, lightly tapping them together, a slight smile appearing on her lips.

She looked up and her gaze froze in place. It was as if someone had punched her, causing her figure to sway, and she barely managed to straighten herself up.

"Ack!" With a loose grip on her left hand, the doll named "Xiao Shen Nian" fell to the ground. Although the doll was well-made, the clay was still soft, so when it hit the ground, it deformed.

"Oh no, how did it fall?" Jiang Lingling looked at the doll she had painstakingly made, now turned into a shapeless mess, and instantly felt heartbroken.

She looked up at Shen Nian and noticed that her complexion was somewhat pale. Jiang Lingling asked, "What\'s wrong?"

Then following her gaze, she exclaimed, "Lu... Lu Zong?" Not far away, there was an extraordinary couple.

The man was over 1.9 meters tall, and his appearance was outstanding. Today, he wasn\'t dressed formally, wearing only a white shirt with the top button undone, loosely wrapped around his well-built body, revealing the sleek lines underneath.

The buttons on his sleeves were also unbuttoned, rolled up twice, revealing his attractive wrist bones.

Next to him, the woman had exquisite makeup and wore a white dress that accentuated her elegance. Unlike the other girls passing by, she didn\'t exude excessive allure or an unreal sense of purity. Instead, she had a more artistic temperament.

The man carried a bag from a well-known brand, and the woman stood beside him, creating a striking height difference. At first glance, they looked like the envy-inducing golden couple.

Lu Lingchuan and Liang Jinghe.

Sensing someone\'s gaze on him, Lu Lingchuan raised his eyes and happened to meet Shen Nian\'s pale face, leaving him stunned.

As soon as she caught his gaze, Shen Nian immediately averted her eyes, lowered her head, picked up the broken "Xiao Shen Nian" from the ground, and said to Jiang Lingling, "Let\'s go."

"Ah... " Jiang Lingling, who was experiencing a boss-level date for the first time while out shopping, felt a bit at a loss and said, "But it seems like Lu Zong saw us."

"Today is their day off. Let\'s not disturb them on their date. Let\'s go," Shen Nian hurriedly left, her steps hurried.

"Oh, okay," Jiang Lingling quickly followed.

When they arrived at the elevator on the third floor, there was usually a trash bin placed by the elevator. Without much thought, Shen Nian threw the broken "Xiao Shen Nian" into the trash bin.

She stood in the elevator, descending slowly.

Now she only had a "Xiao Lingrui" in her hand.

Shen Nian stared blankly at "Xiao Lingrui."

Upstairs, Liang Jinghe was still happy about buying something she liked.

She stared at the things in the bag, then looked up at Lu Lingchuan, smiling happily, "I\'ve liked this brand of bracelet for a long time, but the salesperson always said it was out of stock. Thank you for being willing to help me."

Lu Lingchuan was good friends with the regional manager of this brand, so he made a call, and they immediately had the item in stock.

It seemed like Lu Lingchuan wasn\'t listening to her. Liang Jinghe was puzzled, "Lingchuan?"

Following his gaze, she noticed that Lu Lingchuan was staring at something.

But there was... nothing there.

"What\'s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?" Liang Jinghe asked.

"No," Lu Lingchuan withdrew his gaze, handed her the bag, and calmly said, "I suddenly remembered that there are some tasks I need to deal with, so I\'ll go back first."

After speaking, he walked away quickly.

"Lingchuan? Lingchuan?" Liang Jinghe wanted to call him back, but the man walked fast and didn\'t stop.

Liang Jinghe puffed her cheeks, feeling extremely frustrated.

Lu Lingchuan walked to the elevator entrance but didn\'t immediately go down. Instead, he looked at the nearby trash bin and saw a wooden stick sticking out. Lu Lingchuan reached out and picked it up.

The "Xiao Shen Nian" that Shen Nian had dropped was in Lu Lingchuan\'s hand.

Because it had landed face down, even though Jiang Lingling had pinched her face into a small size, it had turned into a pancake face, and the facial features were blurred. It was already ruined and couldn\'t be kept.

He stared at that little thing, and the stick in his hand spun around, but there was nothing on the back.

Lu Lingchuan\'s gaze froze as he looked at the doll\'s dress.

There was a word written on the white dress using a different color.

Nian.

Nian, unforgettable.

He tightened the hand holding the stick, didn\'t say anything, didn\'t take the elevator, and turned to the fifth floor.

After Lu Lingchuan left, Liang Jinghe didn\'t stay long either. She casually entered a store, so she didn\'t see Lu Lingchuan come back, and she even went up to the fifth floor.

After searching the fifth floor for a while, Lu Lingchuan found a DIY handicraft store. He walked in with the doll and asked the shop assistant.

"Excuse me, was this made in your shop?"

The shop assistant looked at the doll in his hand, which no longer looked good, and then looked at Lu Lingchuan\'s handsome face. She was stunned for a moment but quickly nodded.

"Yes, this is made by us."

Lu Lingchuan asked, "Could you tell me how to make it?"

........................................

After parting ways with Jiang Lingling, Shen Nian returned home, unusually quiet all the way.

She found a place to put "Xiao Lingrui" and went into the bedroom to get her pajamas from the closet.

In the bathroom, she let her hair down first and put the hairpin on the sink.

Looking up at her reflection in the mirror, her eye sockets were already red, but her eyes were very dry, and not a single tear could fall.

She sniffled, but Shen Nian didn\'t speak and adjusted the water temperature for her bath.

After taking a shower, she came out with only a towel wrapped around her body.

She took the clothes she changed out of and prepared to wash them.

Looking at the white dress in her hand, the scene in the mall involuntarily flashed through her mind. Liang Jinghe was also wearing a white dress.

She furrowed her brows and bit her lip before tossing her white dress directly into the trash can.

A surge of frustration overwhelmed her as she stormed out of the bathroom and marched towards the walk-in closet. Opening the wardrobe, she took out all the white dresses inside and stuffed them into the trash can!

It wasn\'t until she saw the trash can brimming with her dresses that Shen Nian snapped back to reality.

Sitting on the floor, she hugged her knees and lowered her head in silence.

...