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Chapter 362: Chapter 362: Tong Yao, is she your cousin?
Tong Yao found out about Song Yu’s disappearance the next afternoon. The foreman, seeing that Song Yu hadn’t come to work for some time, assumed that Song Yu no longer planned to stick around. He thought he’d been kind to Song Yu, even loaning him clothes, but now it looked like Song Yu had simply left without saying a word.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. Before the end of his shift, he couldn’t help but go to Tong Yao’s shop to leave a message for Song Yu.
"Song Yu said he was going to visit his wife yesterday, and it’s been a whole day, and he hasn’t come back. Can you relay a message to him? If he doesn’t come to work tomorrow, I’ll assume he’s quit. He can forget about the salary he earned before."
Tong Yao raised an eyebrow, "You’re saying Song Yu hasn’t been back since yesterday?" Could it be that Song Yu and Si Xiaohui had reconciled, and decided to stay over at the latter’s house?
"Exactly!" The foreman said with an unmistakable anger. Then again, he realized that Tong Yao wasn’t necessarily to blame for Song Yu’s actions, so his tone softened slightly. "Isn’t his behavior harming others? It’s almost time for me to hand in my report to my boss, and now he just decides he’s not coming, without a word of notice! Where am I supposed to find someone else at this time?"
If he had known this would happen, he wouldn’t have hired Song Yu in the first place.
Truth be told, he had hired Song Yu out of pity. But who knew that not only would the man end up being ungrateful, he would also leave without a word, even taking one of his clothes along with him.
Seeing the man filled with resentment, Tong Yao pragmatically said, "He has worked for you for so long, even if he doesn’t come back, you haven’t lost anything."
With these words, the man’s tone instantly softened a bit and he sighed, "That’s true. I’m not just angry. I just feel like he should have at least given me a heads-up. Well, never mind, I guess I’ll have to find someone else."
With that said, he turned and headed back the way he’d come, chalking it up to bad luck and an encounter with an ingrate.
Assuming Song Yu and Si Xiaohui had reconciled, Tong Yao didn’t pay much attention to Song Yu’s absence and completely forgot about it while she was busy.
By the time her shift ended, she slipped accidentally and scraped herself a bit. Just as she decided to visit the hospital to get some medication before Si Chen finished his shift, she came across Lin Man and Zhao Wenkai walking out of the hospital, laughing and joking together. Lin Man was wearing her regular clothes, apparently having finished her shift.
The two were walking so close together it was as if they were a couple. Tong Yao frowned, halted in her tracks, and watched the two approaching.
Upon spotting Tong Yao, Lin Man’s smile froze momentarily and she cast an irritated glance at Tong Yao. She planned to just walk past, but Zhao Wenkai right next to her greeted Tong Yao.
"Miss Tong, are you here to visit Dr. Si?"
Tong Yao ignored his question and deliberately reminded him instead of being mindful, "Mr. Zhao, as a married man, you should be careful with your behavior in public to avoid misunderstandings. If rumors were to reach Achun, it wouldn’t be good."
She said these words not just for Zhao Wenkai, but on purpose to Lin Man as well, hinting at her that Zhao Wenkai has a wife. 𝓃ℴ𝓋𝓹𝓊𝓫.𝒸𝓸𝓂
For someone as outstanding as Zhao Wenkai, it wasn’t surprising that he had many women gravitating towards him. Tong Yao worried that Lin Man might develop feelings for Zhao Wenkai, hurting Wang Chun in the process.
Hearing this, Zhao Wenkai looked at Tong Yao with interest. "Miss Tong, are you misunderstanding something here? I just happened to run into Miss Lin, what is there to be careful about?"
"If I misunderstood, then that’s ok. I have other things to do, I’m going in now." Tong Yao offered a distrustful smile, glanced at Lin Man, and then strutted into the hospital.
Watching Tong Yao’s figure recede, Lin Man expressed her confusion, "Mr. Zhao, do you know her?" She just couldn’t understand how Tong Yao happened to know everyone.
"Not really, she’s a good friend of my wife." Zhao Wenkai didn’t seem to put too much thought into it and continued walking towards the hospital.
Lin Man stood still for a few seconds before she hastened her steps to catch up with Zhao Wenkai. As though she’d had a little drink, a blush appeared on her cheeks. "Mr. Zhao, you said you were inviting me to dinner earlier, does the offer still stand?"
Earlier, while they were at the hospital building, Zhao Wenkai had invited her to dinner. However, Lin Man was a bit upset to learn that Zhao Wenkai was already married during their visit to the ward today and had turned down his invitation. But now, knowing the relationship between Wang Chun and Tong Yao, Lin Man suddenly had a change of heart.
Wasn’t Tong Yao adamant that Zhao Wenkai should stay away from her?
She was resolute to get closer to him. Zhao Wenkai, who was not less attractive than Si Chen and was more capable, was a prime target. Capturing Zhao Wenkai would prove that she was no less than Tong Yao and would also vex Tong Yao; a two birds, one stone situation.
Whether she was finding a rational excuse for herself to approach a married man, or she really wanted to compete and outshine Tong Yao, Lin Man couldn’t tell.
"What made you change your mind?" Zhao Wenkai paused and regarded Lin Man.
"I suddenly remembered that I’ve arranged to meet my friend tomorrow. I must have confused the dates earlier, so... " Lin Man’s eyes sparkled as she parsed, "If you’re worried that my cousin will get the wrong idea and share this with your wife, then let’s forget it."
"Tong Yao is your cousin?" Zhao Wenkai suddenly seemed interested in this fact.
"Yes," Lin Man nodded. "But we don’t get along very well. There has been some friction between our families. We hardly talk to each other. She holds grudges and likes to drag the older generation’s problems into our relationship."
Lin Man described concisely the disputes she had with Tong Yao, but in her description, Tong Yao was presented as a selfish and small-minded person who prioritized personal gain over familial relations.
’Achoo’
Tong Yao, who had just arrived at Si Chen’s office, sneezed. Rubbing her nose, she said, "It must be Lin Man badmouthing me behind my back. I just ran into her and Zhao Wenkai at the hospital entrance. I don’t know how they got acquainted."
Si Chen was attending to her leg wound. Hearing her remarks, he glanced up at her and said, "Lin Man is Zhao Rongwei’s ward nurse."
He was more concerned about Tong Yao’s leg injury than Lin Man and Zhao Wenkai’s affair. "Don’t bathe tonight, the wound can’t touch water, or it might easily get infected. Stay at home and rest tomorrow."
"Does this little scratch warrants a rest?" Tong Yao plainly didn’t consider her leg injury a concern and changed the topic, "Song Yu went to see Xiaohui yesterday, and didn’t come to work today. They are probably back together."
Just as she finished speaking, she winced from the sting of the alcohol on her wound, inhaling sharply at the unexpected pain. Alright, it was more painful than she thought. Si Chen pursed his lips and said, "Bear with it a little longer, it’ll be over soon."
After carefully disinfecting Tong Yao’s wound with a cotton ball and applying some ointment, he finally bandaged the wound with a gauze. Once everything was done, he gently lowered Tong Yao’s trouser leg and advised her again, "Wear loose trousers tomorrow. The snug ones can easily scratch the wound. If you move around, the rubbing can also scratch the wound, so make sure you stay at home and rest tomorrow to aid the formation of a scab."
Tong Yao complained, "Do I look that delicate to you?! This is just a minor scrape. Let me sleep overnight, and it’ll heal up considerably by tomorrow. Even on my way here, I reckon the wound would’ve healed and formed a scab. You’re overreacting."
