Ning Shuang hesitated for a few seconds before sliding her finger across the screen and taking the call.
Tang Huahua quickly sent Ning Shuang's number to Ji Yi's phone. With no hesitation at all, Ji Yi called Ning Shuang.
The call went through, but nobody picked up.
To Ji Yi, this number was the only clue she had of finding He Jichen and it was her one last hope. Even though nobody picked up, Ji Yi didn't give up at all. Every so often, she called Ning Shuang's number again.
With He Jichen gone, the dinner date with her fan was ruined.
Ji Yi ordered a table full of dishes, but she had no appetite after suddenly reuniting with He Jichen. Even though Tang Huahua tried her best since she did have an appetite, there was still a lot of food wasted.
When it was time to pay the bill, Ji Yi called Ning Shuang's number again.
As Tang Huahua entered the passcode, she glanced over at Ji Yi, who had her phone in hand. She couldn't help but ask, "Xiao Yi, maybe the phone isn't by the owner's side. Just wait a little while longer before calling again."
Despite replying with an "Mhm," Ji Yi called the number countless times again during the time it took her to take the elevator down to the underground parking lot and get in the minivan.
Just like her previous calls, the phone rang for a long time but nobody answered it.
The second after Ji Yi hung up the call in disappointment, Tang Huahua got a call from Zhuang Yi.
Tang Huahua was driving, so she put her phone on speaker. As she spoke with Zhuang Yi, she paid attention to the road ahead of her.
The first thing Zhuang Yi called to ask about was how the dinner date with the fan went tonight.
Tang Huahua explained every detail of how Ji Yi bumped into He Jichen, to which Zhuang Yi was both shocked and pleasantly surprised for a while. Then she dived into real business. "My flight's for midday tomorrow, so I'll land in Beijing at three in the afternoon."
Because Tang Huahua mentioned He Jichen, Ji Yi unlocked her phone screen again and checked her call logs. She found Ning Shuang's number and made another call.
"Do you need me to pick you up?" As Tang Huahua talked with Zhuang Yi, she steered the wheel into a corner up ahead.
Before Tang Huahua could finish speaking, someone actually picked up Ji Yi's call.
Ji Yi was so nervous that her heart felt like it was going to leap into her throat.
"That's okay. I booked a ride. I'll have to head back home to unpack, so I'll see you girls the following day." Zhuang Yi paused for a second on the phone like she just thought of something then continued to say, "Oh yeah! A friend just sent me a screenshot of Qian Ge cussing at someone on her WeChat Moments. Without a question, I bet she was cussing at Xiao Yi. Was Xiao Yi in a bad mood and decided to take her anger out on her again?"
As Zhuang Yi said a series of things, Ji Yi heard a voice through the phone, "Hey! Hello, may I ask, who is this?"
It's a woman's voice... Ji Yi instinctively clutched her phone more tightly.
"This time, Ji Yi really didn't go looking for trouble - Qian Ge was looking to get picked on!" At the mention of what happened in the afternoon, Tang Huahua became more excited and was incredibly enthusiastic to tell Zhuang Yi what transpired.
As Tang Huahua talked, the woman on Ji Yi's call had waited for a long time for someone to say something. Then she repeated, "Hello? Is anyone there?"