I Want to Be Your Mrs. Jiang - Chapter 9
Chapter 9:009
Su Xiaomi and Putao were as busy as ever that day, their feet barely touching the ground.
The report they rushed to complete overnight about the girl who jumped from a building had successfully been published and indeed garnered significant attention from readers.
However, perhaps influenced by Jiang Yi’s words the previous evening, Su Xiaomi felt the article was far too superficial.
She wanted to dig deeper into the story while respecting the girl’s privacy.
As Jiang Yi had said, choosing to be a journalist means striving relentlessly to uncover the truth.
Even if the truth is harsh, only by tearing open the darkness can sunlight shine through.
After lunch, Su Xiaomi and Putao headed to the fire station and found the firefighter who had attempted but ultimately failed to rescue the girl the previous afternoon.
The tanned man remembered Su Xiaomi and Putao, so he didn’t refuse their interview.
He told them that this wasn’t the first time the girl had tried to end her life.
Previously, she had attempted suicide by taking sleeping pills, but each time her family had discovered it early and rushed her to the hospital, saving her life.
This time, however…
“She’s the same age as my daughter. My daughter is 20 this year, too.”
As the firefighter spoke, he buried his face in his hands, unable to say another word.
Su Xiaomi could see he was trapped in a spiral of guilt, but she couldn’t think of anything to console him.
When they left the fire station, the image of the firefighter silently weeping with his face in his hands remained vivid in Su Xiaomi’s mind.
Deep down, Su Xiaomi was grateful to him.
His presence made the recounting of the incident not entirely bleak.
In a sense, he was the only bright spot in this tragedy.
Because for every indifferent bystander in the world, there are firefighters like him who remain warm-blooded and compassionate.
It was this that kept Su Xiaomi from losing all faith in humanity.
With admiration for the firefighter, the two women rushed to the girl’s home.
The family, still grieving the loss of their child, had already endured rounds of visits from the media—some well-meaning, others not.
Exhausted, they slammed the door shut as soon as Su Xiaomi and Putao introduced themselves and stated their purpose.
No matter how much the pair pleaded, the family refused to open the door.
As a result, their interview attempt was far from successful that day.
But it wasn’t entirely fruitless.
At the very least, the firefighter’s two bouts of weeping and the cold indifference of the onlookers could provide plenty to write about.
Since Putao had other matters to attend to, Su Xiaomi took on the task of drafting that evening’s report alone.
Compared to her previous report on the traffic accident, this one was significantly more challenging.
So, she had a quick dinner at the company cafeteria and sat down at her computer to get to work.
When Su Xiaomi focused on a task, she tended to forget everything around her.
By the time she typed the last word, she realized she was the only person left in the office.
Back when she worked at Hongyi, working late and finding herself alone in the office was a common occurrence.
So Su Xiaomi didn’t mind, nor did she feel afraid.
She even leisurely reviewed her draft, correcting a few typos and punctuation errors.
After ensuring everything was perfect, she sent the piece to Putao and began packing up her things, turning off the lights, and leaving.
By this hour, the subway and buses had stopped running, so she had to take a taxi back to her dormitory.
Luckily, the company wasn’t far from her dorm, so the fare wouldn’t be too high.
Fortuitously, she quickly hailed a cab.
She didn’t pay much attention as she got in, but halfway through the ride, she glanced back and noticed Jiang Yi’s car following at a distance.
At first, she wasn’t entirely sure it was Jiang Yi’s car.
After all, there were more than a few white Maseratis in Songcheng, and while she’d ridden in Jiang Yi’s car twice before, she didn’t remember his car plate number.
However, the car behind her maintained a consistent distance, mirroring her taxi’s speed.
When she asked the driver to go faster, the car behind sped up; when she asked the driver to slow down, it slowed as well.
By this point, Su Xiaomi was about 70–80% certain.
Though she kept telling herself not to overthink or be self-absorbed, convincing herself that Jiang Yi might just be going the same way or acting out of some sense of humanitarian concern—or perhaps gentlemanly manners—her mind couldn’t help but conjure scenes straight out of a youth romance drama: a dashing male lead secretly riding a bicycle to follow the girl he liked home.
And compared to a male lead on a bicycle, a Maserati-driving one was undeniably more heart-throbbing.
Su Xiaomi felt her heart flutter.
In her youth, she had always been the one secretly following Jiang Yi, watching him from a distance as he returned to the boys’ dormitory—a pitiful sight.
She’d never experienced anything like this moment, where she was the one in front, and Jiang Yi was the one chasing behind.
Even if it was just wishful thinking, Su Xiaomi felt as though her life had become a little more complete.
Because of that little interlude, Su Xiaomi found her steps noticeably lighter when she returned to the dormitory.
To avoid disturbing Ruan Tian, Su Xiaomi deliberately softened her footsteps as she entered.
But when she opened the door, she was surprised to find that even at such a late hour, Ruan Tian was still under her bed canopy, reading by the glow of her desk lamp.
Su Xiaomi marveled quietly at Ruan Tian’s diligence, though she could understand why she was working so hard.
After all, Yihang Media’s recruitment process was notoriously strict, and like Su Xiaomi, Ruan Tian had passed multiple rounds of tough selection to secure her position.
However, before she could even showcase her abilities, she had injured her foot and been forced to rest for several days.
It was only natural that Ruan Tian felt an immense amount of pressure now.
So her determination was understandable.
Not wanting to interrupt, Su Xiaomi gathered her toiletries and pajamas, took a shower, brushed her teeth, and got ready for bed.
Before climbing into bed, she said a quick “Goodnight” to Ruan Tian.
As she drifted off to sleep, a hazy thought crossed her mind: with how determined Ruan Tian seemed, she’d probably insist on returning to the Social News Department tomorrow.
Sure enough, when Su Xiaomi woke up the next morning, she found Ruan Tian already dressed and sitting at the desk with a cheerful smile, waiting for her.
Ruan Tian’s return was met with a warm welcome from the Social News Department.
To accommodate her, Putao consulted everyone and decided to order takeout for lunch.
The whole team gathered in their small conference room, chatting and eating together in a lively atmosphere.
Over the past two weeks at Yihang Media, Su Xiaomi had gotten familiar with her colleagues in the Social News Department.
While everyone was usually too busy with work to chat about personal matters, today’s lunch provided a rare chance for casual conversation.
Curious, someone asked Su Xiaomi, “Where are you from? And where did you go to university?”
Without giving it much thought, Su Xiaomi replied, “I’m from Ying City, and I went to university here in Songcheng.”
“…Ying City?” someone repeated, puzzled, before suddenly clapping their hands in realization.
“Oh, I remember now! Our President Jiang is also from Ying City! Wow, Xiaomi, you’re from the same hometown as President Jiang!”
At these words, everyone turned to look at Su Xiaomi.
Internally, she panicked, but outwardly she forced an awkward smile and said, “Really? What a coincidence, hehe. I never thought President Jiang and I would have such a special connection…”
Putao leaned closer, staring into Su Xiaomi’s eyes.
“I heard that President Jiang was a big deal back in school, with tons of girls chasing after him. Since you’re from Ying City, you must’ve studied there, right? Did you ever hear about him? Or maybe you two knew each other?”
Before Su Xiaomi could respond, Ruan Tian answered on her behalf, “How could it be such a coincidence? Ying City might not be as big as Songcheng, but it’s still a city. It’s not like people randomly bump into each other and just happen to know each other.”
Putao thought for a moment and agreed it made sense.
Although she looked a bit disappointed, she dropped the topic.
Su Xiaomi poked at the rice in her bowl with a guilty and relieved expression, thinking: If they found out that not only are President Jiang and me from the same hometown, but we were also high school classmates, they’d probably kill me on the spot.
Then she considered another possibility: I might not even get the chance. President Jiang would probably “take care” of me himself first.
Either way, Su Xiaomi realized that exposing her connection to Jiang Yi would lead to certain doom.
Resolving to stay under the radar, she became even more determined not to reveal her identity in front of Jiang Yi.
In the world of survival, keeping a low profile is key!
