The Female Lead Keeps Forcing Me to Take My Meds [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 24

Chapter 24: Let Me Treat You to a Meal

The wrinkled pajamas were smoothed down. The door clicked shut. Xi Congshuang had left, leaving behind only a few final instructions and the scent unique to her.

Cheng Zhishu picked up the phone she had forgotten about a long time ago. It was filled with messages from Shangguan Yin.

Only then did she have a chance to reply to Shangguan Yin’s questions, answering them one by one, and informing her that the other students would be expelled.

After thinking for a moment, Cheng Zhishu typed out a question: How did you call my sister over?

When asked about this, Shangguan Yin had a lot to say and immediately sent several long voice messages.

[Little Grass Yin Yin]: It was easy! I just shouted at my phone to tell Siri to call my sister, and it connected! I was worried she wouldn’t answer, but she picked up right away.

[Little Grass Yin Yin]: After connecting, I wasn’t sure if it was Xi Congshuang, and then she immediately asked why I had your phone and told me to talk.

[Little Grass Yin Yin]: I was practically scared to death. You don’t know how terrifying her tone was. It was like I had kidnapped you.

[Little Grass Yin Yin]: (Big cry.jpg)

Cheng Zhishu lay in bed, her face buried in the soft pillow. The phone was tossed aside, its screen still lit, displaying Shangguan Yin’s transcribed words.

She stared at the page for a while, then couldn’t help but smile, burying her entire face in the pillow to suppress her overwhelming joy.

After waiting a while without a reply, Shangguan Yin couldn’t resist sending another message.

[Little Grass Yin Yin]: Where are you? Where did you go? Why aren’t you saying anything?

She didn’t know that on the other side of the screen, Cheng Zhishu, now in her pajamas, had fallen asleep, a smile still lingering on her lips.

…

Simultaneously, a red apple flashed before Xi Congshuang, who was on a call with Director Xi.

It flapped its wings and congratulated Xi Congshuang: “Congratulations! Heroine corruption value -2.”

“Current corruption value 22.”

Xi Congshuang’s eyes were fixed on it. Her slender fingers held the phone as she spoke to the other end: “Yes, I’ve thought it through. I don’t want to continue being depressed. I want to shift my focus.”

“Even if my legs can’t walk, I don’t want to be stuck in this wheelchair forever.”

Her tone of voice sounded lonely, but her eyes suggested otherwise.

The red apple landed on the table in front of her, next to the silver-gray laptop: “Solving the heroine’s psychological trauma is indeed an excellent approach. It has been included in my database.”

“As expected of an elite. You thought of this, too.”

Director Xi was always busy, but she generally cared about Xi Congshuang. The rest of the younger generation were left to fend for themselves, rarely receiving a direct inquiry.

Every time Xi Congshuang went out, Director Xi would be notified. This was the second time she had gone out because of Cheng Zhishu, and she was curious enough to call and ask personally.

The person on the other end of the phone seemed to say something.

Xi Congshuang lowered her gaze, staring at the red apple as she replied: “No, I will handle my emotions properly.”

“Yes, Grandma. I am indeed upset about what happened tonight, and I don’t want to just let it go with a light punishment. Are you going to try to talk me out of it?”

The conversation between the two was not going to end anytime soon. The red apple, finding no amusement, rolled around next to the laptop.

It then quietly vanished, leaving a slight, non-critical scratch in Xi Congshuang’s heart.

They talked for half an hour. Only after listening to Xi Congshuang’s plans did Director Xi end the call.

It was late now, nearing midnight. Wen Hai was quiet inside and out.

Xi Congshuang stared at the computer screen for a long time, then shifted her gaze to the spot where the system had disappeared. After a moment, she closed the laptop.

Just as she told the system, she could manage her own emotions, as she always had.

And the reason was perfectly suitable. Director Xi was completely convinced and told her: No matter the reason, as long as she was willing.

…

In the morning, Cheng Zhishu woke up, washed up, and went downstairs. One person was already seated at the dining table.

She rubbed her eyes and saw clearly who it was: Xi Congshuang.

Cheng Zhishu was surprised: “Sister? You’re up so early.”

Xi Congshuang: “I have some things to do lately. I need to finish my rehabilitation early, then go take care of them. Don’t stand there. Come and eat together.”

Cheng Zhishu put her school bag aside. With the exam just finished yesterday, she had little homework, and the bag felt light.

She walked up to Xi Congshuang and sat down. The loose collar of her uniform dipped, revealing a graceful, delicate section of her collarbone.

Xi Congshuang noticed it. Seeing her neck was bare, she thought for a moment, realizing that Cheng Zhishu’s neck had always been bare; she wasn’t wearing the necklace.

She recalled Xi Hanran mentioning that No. 1 High School didn’t restrict students from wearing accessories, as long as they weren’t too flashy.

Xi Congshuang asked: “Why aren’t you wearing that chain?”

Cheng Zhishu subconsciously touched her neck. It was empty. She then realized: “The silver chain’s clasp broke. I haven’t had a chance to replace it, so I haven’t worn it.”

Xi Congshuang: “It broke?”

Seeing Xi Congshuang curious, she proactively took her pencil case out of her school bag, pulled out the necklace, and pointed at the clasp: “Right here. It’s a bit warped and won’t hold shut. I’m afraid I’ll lose it if I wear it, so I haven’t.”

The cherished necklace was held up for Xi Congshuang to see. She leaned in curiously to look, their heads nearly touching.

Cheng Zhishu fiddled with the clasp. It was still loose: “My grandmother got this for me at a temple when I was little. It’s just a cheap piece of Hetian jade, bought for a few hundred yuan at the time, but I really love it.”

She still remembered the origin of the chain.

At that time, her younger brother had just been born. Her adoptive mother bought him a gold lock for his neck and posted a picture on her social media. The grandmother saw the photo and brought a necklace home the next day, saying it was a gift for Cheng Zhishu.

Recalling the past, a smile touched Cheng Zhishu’s eyes: “Grandma said that I should have what others have. She looked for a long time and chose this Safety Clasp (Ping’an Kou), hoping I would be safe and sound.”

Reaching out, Xi Congshuang pinched the broken clasp and held the necklace up to examine. Cheng Zhishu had worn the necklace close to her body for a long time, rubbing it countless times, and it had become smooth and lustrous.

The necklace was placed back in Cheng Zhishu’s hand. Xi Congshuang said to her: “It’s a very beautiful necklace.”

…

After Cheng Zhishu left for school, Xi Hanran arrived late, rubbing her eyes and asking: “Why are you up so early? Is there any breakfast? I’m starving.”

Xiao Liu stepped aside with the medicine box. Xi Congshuang: “Bad timing. There’s no breakfast left. I’ll have someone make you something. Didn’t Wencan prepare you breakfast?”

Xi Hanran chuckled: “It’s too disgusting. I can’t eat it.”

Seeing Xiao Liu approach, she spoke up: “Just give me some porridge and some small side dishes. If there are any fried dough sticks (youtiao), bring me some of those too.”

The chef was in the kitchen, so Xiao Liu simply had to relay the message. She acknowledged it and went to busy herself.

Xi Hanran didn’t have Xi Congshuang’s habit of eating in silence. She spoke while eating: “I mean, are you really planning to go back to the company?”

To be honest, Xi Hanran initially felt a surge of satisfaction when Xi Congshuang was absent, feeling nothing could stop her. But after hearing she adopted her cheap brother’s adoptive daughter, she couldn’t resist running over to take a look.

Afterward, it was as if she were possessed. She didn’t want Xi Congshuang to just stay here alone. She felt it was a waste.

She wasn’t being cruel to a disabled person; she genuinely felt… Xi Congshuang shouldn’t be like this.

Xi Congshuang held a tablet, reading the news: “I plan to.”

Xi Hanran: “Seeing you idle at home every day, don’t you feel… Wait a minute, what did you just say?”

Xi Congshuang didn’t look up, her finger sliding on the screen: “I said I plan to return to the Xi Group.”

“…”

The sudden silence. Xi Congshuang looked up. Xi Hanran repeatedly wanted to speak but stopped: “You, you’re not doing this because of… what happened yesterday, are you?”

Xi Congshuang didn’t deny it. That was the reason she gave Director Xi anyway.

For some reason, Xi Hanran rubbed her arm, wearing a strange expression: “Ugh—I can’t stand you.”

Xi Congshuang: “?”

What’s wrong with her?

…

Even after returning to the company, Xi Hanran was still thinking about which nerve she had hit to steal Xi Congshuang’s driver’s job and take her to the Xi Group headquarters.

It wasn’t until the black G-Wagon drove into the underground parking lot that the reality of Xi Congshuang returning to the company truly hit Xi Hanran.

And she was the one who personally brought her back. Xi Hanran looked at her hands gripping the steering wheel, and a thought welled up from the bottom of her heart.

—Could it be that the person who went crazy wasn’t Xi Congshuang, but someone else?

Xi Hanran parked and looked in the rearview mirror, asking: “Is anyone coming to meet you?”

She wondered if Xi Congshuang had only come because of her provocation.

Xi Congshuang looked up from her phone and answered honestly: “I notified my assistant. I need to see Director Xi first.”

In the company, regardless of personal closeness, everyone had to be addressed by their title.

Xi Hanran: “Fine.”

All the way, she mentally cursed herself eight hundred times for not being a nanny, but seeing the person in the wheelchair, she couldn’t help it.

Finally unable to convince herself, she dumped Xi Congshuang on her assistant and fled, her steps toward the elevator much faster than usual.

The assistant who came downstairs to pick up her long-unseen superior: “?”

Watching the person disappear into the elevator, the assistant nervously asked: “Boss, are you alright? Why did Manager Xi bring you here?”

The assistant actually wanted to ask if her boss was hurt.

The two had been practically fighting tooth and nail, what the company group chat called a ‘dogfight.’ It was hard to imagine them sitting down and talking peacefully.

She assumed her boss, sitting in a wheelchair, must be weak. If she was targeted, she wouldn’t know how to fight back. Her boss, being so competitive, surely couldn’t tolerate that.

Xi Congshuang didn’t know what her assistant was thinking. She shook her head: “She just gave me a lift because it was on her way, repaying a favor for a meal.”

Assistant: “Huh?”

Xi Congshuang didn’t explain further. She operated the wheelchair toward the elevator. The assistant, recovering her senses, quickly followed and personally escorted her to Director Xi’s office.

Unbeknownst to them, Xi Congshuang’s return to the company caused a huge stir in the company group chat, leaving the assistant stunned while she was secretly relaxing in the pantry.

…

It was only the first day back at the company. Even Director Xi, as much of a workaholic as she was, didn’t exploit her granddaughter. She chatted with her for a long time, then told her to go to her own office and catch up on the company’s current status.

Xi Congshuang was not taking it overly seriously anyway, so she readily agreed and stayed in her office for the entire day.

The long-empty office suddenly welcoming its owner, the Xi Congshuang who had almost died in a car accident, naturally sparked curiosity.

But for some reason, Xi Congshuang had completely changed her style. She didn’t leave the office, even having her meals delivered and eaten right there.

This drove the headquarters staff crazy with curiosity. They desperately sought excuses to enter Xi Congshuang’s office to check her current state.

It wasn’t out of deep concern, merely the trivial curiosity that surfaces during busy times.

Of course, Ni An, as Xi Congshuang’s assistant, would never reveal her boss’s current situation. She smiled politely in the face of all the subtle and overt probing.

However…

Ni An brought coffee in, closing the door to block the curious glances outside. The thick carpet swallowed the sound of her footsteps.

A woman’s voice, full of agony, emanated from the office. Xi Congshuang sat behind a wide computer screen, staring intently at the scene.

“Have you ever thought that I’ve been lying to you all along, that I don’t love you at all?”

“No, I won’t believe it. I don’t believe you came to find me in the rain to lie to me. I don’t believe you saved me from those hooligans to lie to me. I don’t believe you took a red-eye flight just to come back for my birthday to lie to me. Fine, do you dare to say you don’t have a single bit of sincerity for me in your heart? Look into my eyes and say it.”

Ni An walked to the desk, leaned over to set down the coffee, and just happened to see two women on screen tragically embracing and kissing.

People outside were worried about what schemes her boss was plotting in the office. Her fourth aunt had already sent several people to lurk nearby.

In reality, Xi Congshuang was doing nothing at all. She wasn’t fiercely scrutinizing the company’s recent business, nor was she angrily analyzing the status of competitors.

Instead, she was openly slacking off while on the clock.

Watching dramas, eating, drinking coffee, taking medicine, playing on her tablet, and occasionally lifting dumbbells while watching a drama.

Then Xi Congshuang put down the dumbbell and said to Ni An: “I’m tired. Let’s go home.”

“…?”

Ni An, who had expected a busy day, thought she had misheard. She looked at her wristwatch. It was only 4:30 PM!

And her boss hadn’t done anything today!

Ni An felt her boss was utterly foreign to her right now, but she had to escort the early-departing boss downstairs to the car.

Xiao Li was already downstairs. The two long-unseen colleagues met in the parking lot. Ni An felt a little mixed, having thought she would never see him again, yet here he was.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Ni An got into the car, letting out a long sigh of relief.

She had actually prepared her resume, planning to send it everywhere if Xi Congshuang fired her. She never expected to see her return.

My job is safe. I’m a little moved.

My boss’s first day back at work was spent completely slacking off. I’m even more moved.

Although she felt something wasn’t quite right, she was too busy being moved to remember what it was.

Xiao Li had received a message from his boss before arriving. As usual, he drove Xi Congshuang and Ni An in the direction of the pre-notified destination.

Thirty minutes later, the Rolls-Royce finally emerged from the rush-hour traffic and stopped at the lively school gate.

Seeing the scenery outside, Ni An: “…Wait a minute. No, where is this?”

Her cursed muscle memory made her automatically sit in the passenger seat of her boss’s car. By the time she realized it, they were already near a school.

This was the umpteenth time today Ni An had her three-question loop: Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?

Just as Ni An was racking her brain for an excuse to tell Xi Congshuang that she needed to leave, an even more shocking sight awaited her.

She saw a student walk out of the crowd. She was tall, looked completely unfamiliar, yet she smoothly opened the car door, enthusiastically slid in, and reached out to hug Xi Congshuang’s arm.

“Sister, why did you come to pick me up today?” Cheng Zhishu said happily.

Ni An instinctively gasped: “Ah! What are you doing!”

Cheng Zhishu was startled too: “Ah!”

She thought she had gotten into the wrong car and hugged the wrong person, but after a careful sniff, it was definitely Xi Congshuang’s scent.

Ni An instantly turned her head: “You, you, you…” Where did you come from? How dare you hug the boss’s arm directly!

She stuttered for a long time, the nervous Ni An unable to form a coherent thought. Cheng Zhishu didn’t recognize her. Instead, she moved closer to Xi Congshuang and looked at Ni An confusedly.

Xi Congshuang only then realized there was an extra person in the car and asked with confusion: “Hmm? Why are you still here?”

Ni An: “…”

For some reason, at that moment, she felt like she was glowing.

After a long pause, Ni An’s slow-witted brain finally recalled the news that had shocked her this morning: [I heard Young Miss Xi adopted a child and is very fond of them!]

At the time, Ni An scoffed, thinking her boss, who found even raising a turtle too much trouble, couldn’t possibly raise a child. The news must be a pure rumor.

It was real! I never expected it to be real!

A living, breathing child was sitting right in front of her. Ni An was mentally fracturing.

Cheng Zhishu felt Ni An’s gaze creeping her out and shrank closer to Xi Congshuang: “Sister, what’s wrong with her?”

Xi Congshuang: “She’s my assistant at the company, Ni An.”

Xi Congshuang wasn’t sure what was wrong with her assistant either; it was her first time seeing this behavior. She could only say: “She might be a little shy. Just bear with her.”

Cheng Zhishu nodded, treating her like a second, but quiet, version of Xi Hanran.

The shy Ni An forced a smile: “Hello.”

…

Over the next few days, the shy Ni An regularly appeared in the passenger seat, watching her boss slack off all day at work and then go pick up someone from school in the evening.

Since Ni An’s home was in the same direction as the Xi residence, Xiao Li used to simply drop her off along the way. She would then take a two-yuan bus with a bag full of charged power banks to her doorstep.

Since Xi Congshuang hadn’t come to the company recently, Ni An had to temporarily assist in other departments, and her commute home was time-consuming on the subway.

Today was the second day of returning to her usual life. Ni An curiously looked out the window. She easily recognized Cheng Zhishu in the crowd.

She hadn’t dared to look closely yesterday, but now she did: the child was quite pretty.

She had somewhat defined features. At first glance, her outline resembled someone of mixed heritage, but up close, she had distinct East Asian features. She stood out beautifully among the students, like the morning sun.

Xi Congshuang was also looking out the window, watching Cheng Zhishu say goodbye to her classmates and quickly run toward the car.

The energetic figure cut through the crowd, reaching the car in seconds. The scent of citrus mixed with the smell of ink rushed in, followed immediately by her voice.

“Sister, my exam results are out! Guess what place I got?”

Xi Congshuang pondered for a moment: “What place did you get? Let me think…”

Cheng Zhishu was eager to show off, unable to suppress her smile. After a while of silence from Xi Congshuang, she anxiously asked: “Am I that hard to guess?”

Xi Congshuang pretended to be deep in thought and shook her head: “For you, I want to be more careful.”

Cheng Zhishu had to forcibly restrain herself, waiting eagerly for the answer.

Unable to resist Cheng Zhishu’s gaze, Xi Congshuang smiled: “I’ve guessed the answer. Why don’t you tell me the real answer, and we’ll see if I’m right.”

Cheng Zhishu pulled her arm: “It’s first place! Was your guess right, Sister?”

“First place on your very first exam after transferring? That’s incredible.”

Listening to the conversation in the back, Ni An thought: My boss skipped grades growing up, yet here she is, genuinely praising someone else.

Cheng Zhishu was delighted. Clear joy sparkled in her amber eyes.

“Sister, after I get my scholarship money, can I treat you to a meal?”