Zhan Jiayi said unhurriedly, "I know. I just contacted your media company, and they said you were suspended. I'd like to hire you privately, and I'll transfer the fee directly to you."
"Then tell me about the fast-food restaurant. What kind of food do they mainly sell?"
"How about this, I'd like you to see the fast-food restaurant for yourself. Let's meet and talk," Zhan Jiayi suggested.
Reporter Wu, thinking he had nothing to do and was just idling, agreed.
Zhan Jiayi casually mentioned a fast-food restaurant and arranged to meet Reporter Wu.
...
The next day, Tianyi noticed that An Jing hadn't come to pick up Xiaoxiao.
They had agreed for Xiaoxiao to stay with him for one night, but An Jing's phone was turned off and unanswered.
Both he and Susu had to rush to work, and Xiao Xingxing had to go to school. They had to ask Xiaomei to look after Xiaoxiao first.
Tianyi went to the group and asked An Jing's secretary.
The secretary said that An Jing hadn't come to the group that morning, and some matters that required his handling or signature were pending. They couldn't reach him.
"Bring all the documents that need his signature to my office," Tianyi said, striding into his own office.
He felt that something big must have happened between An Jing and Lan Yu, otherwise, he wouldn't have turned off his phone and wouldn't have failed to show up at the group.
There were too many things to deal with at the group today, so Tianyi had to handle the urgent official business first. If An Jing's phone was still off later, he would go find him.
Tianyi was so busy that he didn't even have time to rest. All the work that An Jing should have done was done by him.
By the time he finished, it was already dark outside. He called An Jing's phone again, but it was still turned off.
He had to send a message to Susu, saying he would go to An Jing's place tonight and not to wait for him for dinner. He also asked Susu to take good care of the children at home.
With Xiaoxiao added to the household, he was also worried that the children would be too noisy and Susu would be very tired. He thought he should go back early after finding An Jing.
After leaving the group, he first went to An Jing's house, but no one responded when he rang the doorbell for a long time, and all the lights in the house were off.
It seemed An Jing wasn't home, so he went to the club and bar that An Jing frequented. He searched around but still couldn't find him.
Just as he was wondering where else An Jing might go, he suddenly remembered the elegantly decorated bar they had visited recently.
He drove to that bar. As soon as he entered, he saw An Jing slumped over the small table where they had sat last time.
The waiter and the female singer from before were standing beside him, talking about something.
"You can't drink anymore. Where do you live? I'll call a designated driver for you," the female singer said, nudging him.
An Jing mumbled, "No need, I can go back myself. Bring me two more bottles..."
The waiter said, "Sir, you haven't paid for the drinks you've already had. Could you settle the bill first?"
"Okay, I'll pay... I'll pay." An Jing was so drunk he couldn't even lift his head. He was fumbling for his wallet, but after searching all his pockets, he couldn't find it.
The waiter, with a look that said "I knew this would happen," said, "Sir, if you don't have cash or a card, you can pay by phone."
"My phone? Where's my phone?" An Jing couldn't find his phone either and said hazily, "I forgot to bring it..."
"You didn't bring anything, and you dare to come out and spend," the waiter said angrily. "Call the police."
"Wait a moment," the female singer intervened. "I've seen this customer before. He doesn't seem like a scoundrel. How about we wait until he sobers up?"
The waiter said, "Look how drunk he is. If we wait until he's completely sober, it'll be tomorrow morning. Who will pay today's bill? Are you going to pay for him?"
"Alright, I'll pay for him first," the female singer said without hesitation.
"The drinks he ordered are all very expensive. Do you have that much money?" the waiter asked, showing her the bill.
She thought about the balance on her phone, which was indeed not enough. "How about I pay some of it first, and I'll talk to the boss later..."
"He's my friend. I'll pay the bill," Tianyi said, having seen everything. He walked over, took out his bank card, and handed it to the waiter.
The waiter saw it was a globally limited diamond card and respectfully accepted it, then immediately went to settle the bill.
The female singer recognized Tianyi and said, "It's great that you're here. Your friend has been sitting here drinking since midnight yesterday. The waiters have cleared several rounds of empty wine bottles from his table. Why don't you take him to the hospital directly? With this kind of drinking, I'm afraid something might happen to him."
"Okay, thank you." Tianyi forcefully helped An Jing up, trying to get him into the car.
The female singer quickly helped him, and both of them sweated profusely before finally managing to get An Jing, who couldn't even walk, into the car.
Tianyi thanked the female singer again and was about to drive away.
The female singer quickly asked, "By the way, sir, what's your surname? My name is Xi Xianya. If you come here to drink again, mention my name, and you can get a discount."
Tianyi felt that this female singer was quite decent, compassionate, and righteous. He replied, "My surname is Qin. My friend's surname is Xiao. Goodbye."
As for whether he would come here to drink again, he didn't know, so he didn't care about any discount. He drove to the hospital at full speed.
Xi Xianya firmly remembered that Tianyi said his surname was Qin. She even drew the character "Qin" on her palm, smiling and murmuring to herself, "So his surname is Qin... Mr. Qin."
Upon arriving at the hospital, Tianyi directly informed the emergency doctor about An Jing's condition. The doctor quickly administered an IV drip to An Jing and tested his blood alcohol concentration.
"Your friend's blood alcohol concentration is extremely high. Fortunately, you brought him to the hospital in time, otherwise, it would have been truly dangerous."
Tianyi breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that bringing him to the hospital was the right decision.
An Jing underwent a stomach lavage and received an IV drip. He was still unconscious.
Tianyi couldn't leave the hospital and stayed to look after him. He called Susu to inform her about An Jing's condition.
Susu told him to take good care of An Jing, saying that the children at home were all well-behaved and she wasn't tired, so he could rest assured.
After finishing the call with Tianyi, Susu had initially not wanted to interfere in An Jing and Lan Yu's family affairs. However, seeing An Jing tormenting himself like this, she felt compelled to understand what exactly had happened between Lan Yu and An Jing.
She went back to her room and called Lan Yu's phone, but it was unreachable. It seemed Lan Yu was also angry and didn't want to answer anyone's calls.
She tried calling a few more times, but the other party was still unreachable.
Susu had no choice but to give up trying to contact Lan Yu for now. She went to Xiao Xingxing's room and chatted with Xiaoxiao, who was playing, before asking, "Xiaoxiao, do you know why your father and mother are arguing?"
Xiaoxiao, who was playing with LEGO bricks with Xiao Xingxing, dropped the brick in her hand and froze, saying softly, "I don't know. They argue often."
Susu could tell that Xiaoxiao wasn't telling the truth but didn't expose her lie.
"Okay, you guys play. It's almost time for bed," Susu said and left Xiao Xingxing's room to accompany Tiantian and Hengheng in the children's room.
Only after Tiantian and Hengheng fell asleep did she go to call Xiaoxiao to sleep.