Although her expression was blank every day, and she harbored some gloomy emotions, it was still better than staying at home.
When she was truly immersed in work, she could ignore many things. She thought she could quickly move on, but she didn't expect Zhang Wei to remember her after she left the competition base.
Half a month after the competition ended, the list of winners was announced. Chen Dongyang came in first, and Meng Kai second.
Although Zhang Wei didn't win a prize, Meng Kai was her boyfriend, so she was quite happy.
She sent a WeChat message to Tiantian, inviting Chen Dongyang and the other two to dinner.
She didn't know how Chen Dongyang's side responded, but Tiantian definitely wouldn't go.
They couldn't meet again.
"I've been very busy with work lately. The company is arranging a business trip for me tomorrow, so I'm afraid I can't make it."
Zhang Wei was surprised. "Your foot is still injured, and the company is still sending you on a business trip? That's really inhumane!"
"It's almost healed. People have to live. I'd be worried if they didn't arrange work for me. Why don't you guys go first, and we can talk about it another time."
Zhang Wei could only say alright.
Back home that evening, Wushuang had gone out on a date again. She ordered takeout, ate it, and then tiredly took a shower and threw herself onto the bed.
She wanted to sleep early but couldn't fall asleep.
She tossed and turned for a long time, then picked up her phone to scroll through Weibo.
Halfway through scrolling, she found it boring and switched to WeChat Moments.
About ten minutes ago, Zhang Wei had posted on Moments with a picture of dining utensils and the address below.
She and Meng Kai were sitting together, wearing matching couple rings, with their hands on the dining table. A portion of someone else's hand was also visible.
Even though only two fingers were visible, Tiantian's heart couldn't help but ache.
Chen Dongyang had gone to the dinner.
Everyone could stay by his side for a few minutes freely, but she couldn't.
She really wanted to delete Zhang Wei so she wouldn't have to see her.
However, she greedily wanted to obtain even a tiny bit of information about him from her.
Unable to sleep, she simply returned to the living room and turned on a popcorn movie, hoping to shift her mood.
Halfway through, her phone vibrated.
She grabbed it and saw it was Zhang Wei again.
She said tentatively, "Did you and Chen Dongyang have a fight? He seemed to be in a bad mood today, and his words were evasive when he mentioned you. I really like your couple's compatibility, don't tell me you've broken up!"
Hearing that Chen Dongyang was in a bad mood, Tiantian imagined, could it be that he couldn't let her go, which was why he was so dejected?
She even felt a morbid sense of happiness.
Even though he belonged to Zeng Hui, she wanted to stay in his heart forever.
"No, maybe he's just too tired lately."
"That's good. I'm relieved to hear you say that. It's rare to see such a well-matched couple in real life. I really like you two. Don't always be busy with work. You're in a long-distance relationship now, and you're always busy. Long working hours can cause problems in a relationship. Spend more time with him."
Tiantian extracted another key piece of information from this sentence.
Chen Dongyang had moved. He had moved to Tongcheng, where the design institute was located.
Yes, he had gone to work at the design institute, so he couldn't possibly commute back and forth every day. Zeng Hui and Dou Bao must have gone with him.
Were they living together?
The fleeting morbid happiness she had just experienced was quickly shattered by her own thoughts, making her extremely agitated.
After thinking it over, she thought of Dou Ya and wanted to inquire about something from him.
But she felt so pathetic. What if he found out...
After sitting on pins and needles for a few minutes, she couldn't resist and took the initiative to send a WeChat message to Dou Ya.
"Are you off work?"
It was already this late, so he must be off work.
Lying in bed and scrolling through her phone after work was Dou Ya's most enjoyable moment. He replied to Tiantian instantly.
"Yes. Long time no see, Miss Jiang. I didn't expect you to remember me."
"Of course, I remember. We're friends. Have you been busy with work lately?"
Although Chen Dongyang had started working at the design institute, his contract with Lao Huang hadn't expired yet, and he still had some business to handle. Therefore, Dou Ya was still working for him.
"It's okay. Actually, there isn't much work, mainly because there are few people. Brother Chen doesn't do the work himself anymore, so it's just me and one other person, which is why we have to work overtime every day."
Tiantian pretended to be ignorant. "He doesn't do the work himself anymore? What's he doing then?"
Dou Ya said, "Speaking of which, there's great news. Brother Chen might be turning his luck around."
He then recounted Chen Dongyang's invitation to the design institute.
Tiantian, while looking at his typed words with heartache, tried to pry information out of him.
"Really? That's good. But he still has to take care of Dou Bao. If something happens to Dou Bao so far away, what will he do?"
"The design institute has allocated an employee dormitory for Brother Chen, and he's brought Hui Hui and Dou Bao over as well. Dou Bao fell sick again a few days ago, and I heard it was quite serious. He's very clingy to him. They can't be separated."
She shouldn't have been so foolish as to inquire about something she already knew, which made her already bad mood even worse.
Tiantian lost the desire to continue chatting.
She threw her phone aside and lay on the sofa, feeling as if someone was strangling her, unable to breathe, her heart aching immensely.
She really wanted to cry.
After all the turmoil, she realized that she had never let go of Chen Dongyang.
She missed him terribly, longed to be held by him, and at the same time, hated him.
He said he wouldn't contact her, and he really stopped? How could he be so obedient?
Didn't he say he didn't like Zeng Hui? Then why was he living with her?
Was he intimate with her? Perhaps he slept with her every night?
She couldn't think about it; the more she thought, the angrier she became, the more she hated Chen Dongyang, wishing she could see him immediately and grab him to get some answers.
She had never encountered such a troublesome matter in her life. She felt like she was dying. If she couldn't see Chen Dongyang in five minutes and get the answer she wanted, someone would die tonight.
So, she decided not to care about face, pride, dignity, or her promise to be understanding of Zeng Hui.
Only those who have experienced heartbreak can clearly recognize the evil of human nature.
In the world, one can compromise on anything except love.
Even if she were blamed by everyone or reprimanded by her parents, she couldn't afford to care now.
She only wanted Chen Dongyang, and she wanted him immediately.
While she still had a breath left, while she could still move, she got up from the sofa and dialed his number.
As the call connected, her heart pounded wildly, and her rationality seemed to return a little.
What if he didn't answer? What if Zeng Hui was there when he answered? What if Zeng Hui answered?
Suddenly, she felt cowardly. Her hands and feet turned cold, and she wanted to hang up, but the call connected instantly.
The screen started timing, and Chen Dongyang's familiar deep voice came through: "Tiantian."
Tiantian immediately burst into tears, sobbing so much that she could barely speak. "Chen Dongyang..."
"What's wrong? What happened?"
"I'm dying. Where are you? I can't breathe."
She heard rapid footsteps from his end. "Where are you? I'm coming to find you. Don't cry, where are you?"