The office had a strange, somber air throughout the afternoon. Xia Manxi was new there, so she could not properly ask. All she knew was that Shen Xiaofei and Liang Meirong were at the hospital for some reason, and she had to help Liang Meirong finish her work for the day.
She had already been working for weeks, so covering for Liang Meirong was not difficult. She was also able to do it with ease because Liang Meirong was a genuinely sweet person. Xia Manxi was skeptical at first, but had decided to trust her character. The main reason for her doubt was, of course, Liang Meirong's best friend Sun Lanshan.
Sun Lanshan was thoroughly loved by many people in the Foundation, and she was an inspiration to many of the girls the Foundation helped. She had not done anything wrong so far, but their first conversation lingered in Xia Manxi's mind and caused her to be wary.
To be fair, Sun Lanshan was also wary of her and even subtly told her not to mention anything about their conversation during the tour. Xia Manxi did not care at all about her and went about her business while Sun Lanshan stuck to hers.
The friendship between Liang Meirong and Sun Lanshan was a topic of discussion among the workers here, and she had heard the envy dripping from their gossip. Their closeness caused her distrust of Sun Lanshan to slightly alter her impression of Liang Meirong, believing that her amicable nature was also a front. This had changed however, after working with the young lady for a couple of weeks. They got along well, and Xia Manxi let go of her biases.
She was carrying a stack of files to Liang Meirong's office when someone bumped into her. The files were scattered on the ground, and the woman began apologizing profusely.
"I am so sorry, Miss Xia. Let me help you pick them up."
It was a woman named Bai Xia.
Unlike her, who was just interning sporadically until she graduated, Bai Xia was an employee there and even older than her by a few years.
But....
She was a timid and awkward woman, even treating Xia Manxi, who was under her, like a superior.
"Miss Bai, you look nervous. Is everything okay?"
Bai Xia picked up all the documents with trembling hands and gave them to Xia Manxi. She then looked at her strangely.
"Miss Xia, may I ask what your blood type is? I mean no harm, please, you have to believe me. It is for an urgent matter."
"Okay, I am type B. What is the problem?"
"It is exactly what is needed! You see, Miss-
She did not complete her sentence, and her face went pale. "I am so sorry, I am nervous and speaking rubbish."
Xia Manxi frowned deeply. "What is going on? What were you trying to say?"
Bai Xia took a deep breath and held Xia Manxi's shoulders. "You see, my sister's son just had an accident at school, and he was given the wrong blood. His condition is critical, but the hospital does not have enough of his blood type to save him. I am so desperate, I don't know what to do! Miss Xia, could you help?"
Xia Manxi was conflicted. On one hand, she had a gut feeling that Bai Xia was lying, but what if it was the truth, and an innocent child was fighting for their life? That thought made her uneasy. Despite the discrepancies, Bai Xia was truly nervous, so there must be someone who truly needed it.
"Okay. I will help you. Let me inform-
"No, no. Leave that to me. Thank you very much, Miss Xia."
"...Alright."
In less than thirty minutes, they were in the hospital. Bai Xia immediately made a phone call, then led Xia Manxi to a place where two nurses were waiting. They ran some quick tests, and when no issues were found, they began to draw her blood. The nurses apologized for needing more of it than usual due to the situation at hand. Xia Manxi even asked about the patient, and it was indeed a little boy, which made her relax and throw off the nagging feeling she had.
After her blood was taken, she went to look for Bai Xia, who had been waiting outside. She looked a lot more relaxed than she was earlier.
"Miss Xia, thank you so much for everything you have done. I am sure his mother will be here to see you shortly."
"It is no issue, as long as the child is alright."
As they stood there, Bai Xia's face lit up, and she moved behind Xia Manxi. This made Xia Manxi turn too. She was, however, shocked when the person Bai Xia went to was Sun Lanshan!
Xia Manxi spoke up first with a blank expression on her face. "What's going on here?"
Bai Xia spoke excitedly. "Miss Sun, it was Miss Xia who donated blood for your son."
Sun Lanshan's face twitched, then she smiled.
"Miss Xia, I am grateful for your help today. Had it not been for you, my son's situation would have been fatal."
The feeling she had discarded only minutes ago came back with a vengeance. Why did Bai Xia even need to lie in the first place? She knew Sun Lanshan and would have probably helped anyway.
Xia Manxi forced a smile. "You are welcome. I have a few things that are not adding up here. Could Miss Bai help me understand?"
Bai Xia's face went pale. "Miss Xia, I did not mean to lie to you. It's just that Miss Sun-
"I originally did not want anyone in the office to know about it. It was only Bai Xia who knew. Finding out about such a thing could disrupt things in the office."
"I understand. I will be leaving now." Xia Manxi responded without emotion and turned to leave. Sun Lanshan grabbed her arm.
"Xia Manxi, you look pale. I will talk to Meirong so that you get a few days off. What do you think?"
Xia Manxi nodded irritably. "Yes, thank you. Let go of my arm, you are hurting me."
Sun Lanshan looked at her fingers which had dug into Xia Manxi's arm and jumped.
"I didn't mean to do that! I am a little jumpy because of today's events. It is best that I leave you so you can go and rest. However, I need a favour from you. Could you keep it a secret that you helped my son. You will be duly, compensated, but please don't mention it."
Xia Manxi was angry and exhausted. She did not care about anything and just wanted to leave. She moved two steps away.
"Miss Sun can keep her money, I don't need it. Not to worry, what happened today will only be between the three of us. Have a nice day."
Xia Manxi turned away and left.
Sun Lanshan turned back to Bai Xia. "You really are such a good friend. Let me treat you to something delicious as a thank you for today."
Bai Xia's face lit up. "Thank you so much, Miss Sun, let me go and grab my bag."
Sun Lanshan watched her turn away with a stormy expression on her face.