She turned her head to look at the person approaching.
To her surprise, it was Sister Chen, her former supervisor from the broadcasting company.
A hint of surprise flickered across her face. "Sister Chen? What are you doing here?"
Sister Chen, in her forties, had a sharp and professional demeanor—her short, neatly parted hair tucked behind her ears, glasses perched on her nose, and a fitted blazer with a pencil skirt and high heels completing her authoritative look.
At the sight of Si Nian, her usually stern expression softened with delight.
"I was about to ask you the same thing! What brings you here? Qianqian mentioned you married and moved far away?"
When she’d heard about Si Nian’s marriage, she couldn’t help but feel a pang of regret. A young woman with so much promise—how could she just settle down so suddenly?
After all, Si Nian had been her protégé, and seeing her potential go untapped had been disappointing.
Yet now, running into her here, Sister Chen noticed how radiant she looked—even more beautiful than before.
In the past, though pretty, Si Nian had always worn a frown, weighed down by worries.
But now, she practically glowed.
It seemed marriage had been good for her.
Si Nian nodded. "It is quite far, so I don’t come back often. I just wanted to buy some books to take home."
Sister Chen gave an approving nod. "That’s the spirit. No matter how life changes, one should never stop learning. I always admired that about you."
Si Nian: "..." That wasn’t her at all. Honestly, she spent most days wanting to laze around.
She awkwardly rubbed her nose and changed the subject. "So, why are you here?"
Their company was quite a distance away, and as far as she remembered, this should be working hours.
Sister Chen wasn’t the type to skip work.
"We were invited by the school to give a speech. Oh, Fu Qianqian is here too—she’s about to go on stage soon. Would you like to watch? It’s her first time, and the poor girl is so nervous I had to step out to buy her something to calm her down."
Sister Chen sighed.
Their company often took on promotional events—not only for the bonuses but also to build their reputation.
The speakers chosen were always their most talented trainees.
If not for the unexpected turn of events, Si Nian would have been her first pick.
But since Si Nian had left, Fu Qianqian was the only option. Their company had few English speakers—just Fu Qianqian and Si Nian.
And since this was a foreign language school, the speech had to be delivered in English to inspire the students.
Fu Qianqian, being a first-timer, was a bundle of nerves.
Sister Chen had only stepped out to grab a snack for her when she ran into Si Nian.
Si Nian nodded. Fu Qianqian had attended the same school as her back in the day, so it made sense.
Sister Chen then extended an invitation. "If I recall correctly, this is your alma mater too. If you’d like to come, I can have them save you a seat."
Si Nian wasn’t particularly interested and shook her head.
Sister Chen looked disappointed but was about to leave when suddenly, someone came rushing from the school entrance, shouting frantically.
"Sister Chen! Sister Chen! Something’s happened!"
Sister Chen turned—it was Little Yun, one of her subordinates. Her expression tightened. "Little Yun, what’s wrong?"
The girl gasped in panic. "It’s terrible, Sister Chen! Qianqian says her stomach hurts—she can’t go on stage! What do we do? None of us know English, and the school’s leadership is demanding a solution. You have to come back now!"
Sister Chen’s face paled. "What? How did this happen?"
"I don’t know, but you need to hurry! The speech is about to start—students, parents, and officials are all waiting in the courtyard!"
Sister Chen’s expression darkened, but panicking wouldn’t help. She turned to leave but stopped abruptly, her gaze landing on Si Nian.
A spark of realization flashed in her eyes.
"Wait—Si Nian, come with me."
Si Nian blinked. "Me?"
Sister Chen nodded, swallowing her pride. "Yes. You and Qianqian were the only ones in our unit who were good at English. If she really can’t go on… please, do this for me. Consider it returning a favor for all the times I looked out for you."
Si Nian: "..."
She wanted to refuse—after all, Sister Chen’s kindness had been for the original Si Nian, not her.
But thinking of Fu Qianqian, she hesitated before finally nodding. "Fine."
Sister Chen exhaled in relief. Si Nian no longer worked there—she had no obligation to step in.
But this was an emergency.
"Follow me." Sister Chen led the way.
Si Nian, holding Yaoyao, followed her inside.
Backstage was in chaos.
The fact that the principal had invited professional broadcasters to speak at the school meant today’s event was significant.
With students, parents, and city officials in attendance, any mishap would reflect poorly on the school.
The director’s face was stormy.
Unable to vent at Fu Qianqian, he instead berated the rest of the team, who stood with heads bowed under his scolding.
Fu Qianqian sat on a stool, her face ashen as she clutched her stomach in pain.
Seeing her colleagues being torn into, she forced herself up. "I’m fine. I’ll go."
But her unsteady stance and sickly pallor only made the director angrier. Still, remembering her family’s status—her father was seated in the audience—he bit back his words and growled, "Does your unit really not have another English speaker? A whole broadcasting company, and you can’t find a single person who knows English? Ridiculous!"
The team members flushed with humiliation.
In their time, education hadn’t been as accessible—finishing high school was an achievement, let alone mastering English.
They had no defense.
Just as despair settled in, a voice suddenly rang out.
"I can do it!"
Everyone turned in shock—only to see a familiar face.
"Lin Sisi? Is that you?"
"What are you doing here?"
The group stared at Lin Sisi in disbelief, Fu Qianqian included, her brows knitting together.
Lin Sisi had left their unit long ago—why was she here now?
Dressed in a stylish red blouse and pencil skirt, Lin Sisi seemed to have abandoned her previous frilly dresses for a more mature look. Her hair was curled in the latest fashion, her makeup flawless, lips painted red—she looked far more polished than before.
Lin Sisi smiled. "Auntie Fu invited me. She and Uncle wanted to support Qianqian today, so they brought me along to cheer her on."
The director eyed her curiously. "And you are...?"
Hearing her refer to Fu Qianqian’s parents so familiarly, he immediately understood she was someone of importance.
His tone shifted to one of respect.
Fu Qianqian’s face remained sickly.
