"This minor injury is nothing," Pei Jiangmu's voice was deep and steady, showing no signs of emotion.
"I've got nothing better to do. Besides..." He paused, his gaze sweeping over the rag snatched by her and the much tidier workbench. "Didn't I come here to work for you, Sister?"
There was a hint of cautious flattery in his words, yet also a sense of justification.
"You..." Meng Ruozhao was left speechless by his words, both angry and helpless.
She threw the rag in her hand aside, then turned around and opened the small refrigerator beside her. Taking out a can of chilled Coke, she pulled the tab with a "pop" and stuffed it into his uninjured left hand without a word.
"Hold this! It'll cool you down," she said irritably. "There's no rush to work. Your wound is so badly split. What if it gets infected? That would be even more troublesome!"
She pointed at his hand, her brows knitted tightly. "Sit down and take a rest right away. Don't make things worse!"
The cool sensation seeped through the soda can into his palm, instantly dispelling some of the summer heat and the dull pain in his hand.
Pei Jiangmu looked down at the can of Coke that was emitting cold air. Then he glanced at Meng Ruozhao's pouting face that couldn't hide her concern. After a few seconds of silence, he obediently sat down on the barstool beside him.
He took small sips of the Coke. The cold liquid slid down his throat, seemingly soothing the turbulent emotions in his heart a little.
The workshop fell silent for a moment. All that could be heard were the faint sounds of traffic outside the window and the soft fizzing of the Coke bubbles.
The unpleasant experience at work just now and the sight of Pei Jiangmu working with an injury flashed alternately through Meng Ruozhao's mind, making her feel even more annoyed.
Suddenly, as if remembering something, she looked up at Pei Jiangmu, her tone becoming serious.
"By the way, I need to remind you of something."
Pei Jiangmu raised his eyes to look at her, indicating for her to continue.
"If... I mean if," Meng Ruozhao carefully chose her words. "You happen to meet Zhou Zhou, Mrs. Chen's daughter, in this neighborhood or anywhere else, try to stay away from her as much as possible."
"That girl is not very old, but she's been spoiled by her family and has become a bit lawless. I heard that last year at school, she got into a big fight with another girl over a boy. She even beat the girl up so badly that the girl was hospitalized and ended up with a lifelong disability. In the end, her family had to spend a fortune to settle the matter."
"The girl has a very overbearing and unreasonable personality. Anyway, don't provoke her, or you'll only end up in trouble."
Pei Jiangmu listened quietly, showing no special expression on his face. Only the fingers holding the Coke can tightened slightly, and a complex glint flashed in his deep-set eyes.
His Zhaozhao never spoke ill of others behind their backs. It seemed that this Zhou Zhou was indeed a troublemaker.
"Has she ever made things difficult for you, Sister?" he asked.
Meng Ruozhao was taken aback for a moment, then shook her head. "No."
Every time Zhou Zhou saw her, she would only sweetly call her "Sister Meng." But that didn't mean she hadn't caused trouble in the store. It's just that the target wasn't her.
Zhou Zhou had come to the store a few times. Every time she saw Ai Gao and Xu Lin, she would act superior. She even once asked Ai Gao to serve her on his knees. Another time, when Xu Lin was adjusting her clothes, she accidentally pulled out one of Zhou Zhou's hairs. Immediately, Zhou Zhou slapped Xu Lin.
Meng Ruozhao had stopped Ai Gao from kneeling to serve, but she hadn't been able to block that slap in time. Maybe noticing Meng Ruozhao's bad expression, Mrs. Chen had acted as a peacemaker at that time, scolding Zhou Zhou a few times. She also offered to compensate Xu Lin.
In the end, Meng Ruozhao respected Xu Lin's wishes and demanded an apology from Zhou Zhou. Zhou Zhou had been a bit unhappy at that time. She didn't know what Mrs. Chen had said to her privately, but Zhou Zhou had finally reluctantly said sorry.
Later, they didn't accept the compensation. Instead, Meng Ruozhao gave Xu Lin a bonus as compensation for the mental damage. Of course, it wasn't because they were stupid not to take the money. It was to show the customers that the employees of [Fuyunxuan] couldn't be humiliated at will just because they paid.
In the following few times, when Zhou Zhou and Mrs. Chen came, they didn't cause any more trouble. But Meng Ruozhao still didn't like this girl very much. She always charged Mrs. Chen the highest price. So just now, she had noticed that Mrs. Chen was unhappy, but she didn't back down. She asked Pei Jiangmu to serve them.
However, it wasn't appropriate to tell Pei Jiangmu all these things directly. After all, those two were customers in the store. So she just said vaguely, "Anyway, don't think she's young and not take her seriously."
Pei Jiangmu knew there must be something behind this, but he didn't ask any more questions. He just nodded and replied, "Okay, I know. Thank you for the reminder, Sister."
He would have been happier if it was because of her possessiveness that she didn't want him to have contact with others. Unfortunately, Meng Ruozhao's eyes were as clear as ever, showing no hint of affection.
After giving these instructions, Meng Ruozhao concentrated on looking through the design sketches of Miss Liang's order.
Just then, her phone suddenly vibrated. The name "Wu Qian" flashed on the screen.
Meng Ruozhao's heart sank suddenly. A sense of foreboding instantly seized her. She glanced at Pei Jiangmu, who was sitting quietly beside her. Then she picked up her phone and quickly walked to a relatively quiet corner outside the workshop.
Taking a deep breath, she pressed the answer button.
"Miss Wu?" Her voice was tense without her even realizing it.
On the other end of the phone, Wu Qian's voice was very low and her speech was very fast. It was filled with solemnity and a hint of imperceptible helplessness.
"Miss Meng, there's a result regarding the matter at the hospital."
Meng Ruozhao held her breath. Her fingers tightened involuntarily, and her fingernails almost dug into her palm.
"But it's not a good result." Wu Qian's voice showed a hint of fluctuation when she said this. "We've used all our connections and even found the hospital director who retired last year. But the result is very clear. There's no record of your operation at all."
Meng Ruozhao's heart skipped a beat.
"What?"
"Not lost. It was never created in the first place," Wu Qian said in a solemn tone. "The director said he remembered that the hospital had indeed arranged a highly classified operation at that time. All the procedures went through special channels. After the operation was completed, with your 'consent'—of course, this consent form can't be found now—all the immediate records, anesthesia records, postoperative observation records... all paper and electronic traces generated during the operation were immediately and thoroughly destroyed on the spot under the supervision of a special person. The destruction was so thorough that not even a fragment was left in the backup server. It's as if this operation never happened."
Meng Ruozhao felt a chill run from the soles of her feet to the top of her head, making her shiver all over. She leaned against the cold wall to barely support herself.
"What about the doctor? Who was the chief surgeon?"
"That's the even more mysterious part," Wu Qian's voice was full of confusion. "The director said that the chief surgeon wasn't from their hospital. He was a 'flying knife' specially invited from outside through your connections. His identity was extremely confidential. He wore a mask and a hat throughout the operation. Even the nurses in the operating room didn't see his face clearly. They only knew he was a man. As soon as the operation was over, he immediately left through a special channel without leaving any registration information. All the clues about this doctor's identity were also deliberately wiped out completely."