Chapter 8

Chapter 8

As expected, Lin Ruiyang was scolded at the weekly meeting because he failed to complete the task of interviewing Jiang An.

However, Shu Yao's article about the cultural relics elements in the Treasure Records was reposted crazily by various big accounts inside and outside the circle, triggering a wave of high popularity.

The atmosphere in the office is like the weather outside.

It's gloomy and there's no sunlight.

Lin Ruiyang was the first to walk out of the conference room. The door was slammed against the wall with a loud bang.

Xiao Wang, the assistant following behind him, apologized timidly: "Brother Ruiyang, I'm sorry, I didn't check it carefully." [Read novels on WeChat Official Account: Jiuju Push]

Lin Ruiyang put his hands on his hips, his expression cold: "You can't even do such a small thing! You can't even write nine o'clock as nineteen o'clock, you are not straight!"

Xiao Wang's face turned pale and he trembled: "I'm sorry, Brother Ruiyang, I won't do it again next time."

"Go to HR to settle the bill, and you can leave tomorrow."

As the most senior person in the office, no one had ever seen Lin Ruiyang lose his temper so badly. Except for Shu Yao, almost everyone dared not say a word.

Until Lin Ruiyang grabbed a pack of cigarettes and walked out of the office.

Zhou Yue was still frightened. He patted his chest and said sympathetically, "Brother Ruiyang is so miserable. Actually, I think his article is quite good."

What Zhou Yue said makes some sense. Under normal circumstances, Lin Ruiyang's article would be well above the passing line.

But the problem is that he made big promises at the beginning and raised the editor-in-chief's expectations of the article to the highest level, which resulted in a gap in the end.

The editor-in-chief is probably most angry about this point.

Shu Yao was tidying up the documents on the table without much care.

Zhou Yue was still mumbling, "But Xiao Wang is even worse off. He came in with me and was supposed to be a regular employee next month."

"I'm glad I chose you back then." Zhou Yue took Shu Yao's hand and said with a playful smile, "Soft-hearted God! I've made so many mistakes, and you never held it against me. Sister Yaoyao, thank you."

"Enough." Shu Yaoxu glared at her and pulled his hand back.

A message from Zhao Tiantian popped up on the phone. It was two opened wedding invitations, each with their name on it.

Shu Yao was a little surprised: [Me too? I don't need that.]

Zhao Tiantian: [Why?]

Shu Yao's answer was very realistic: "Because my gift money will most likely never be taken back."

Zhao Tiantian: [Xu Zhaoli isn't great, but he's quite generous in this regard. I'll write about that later. He doesn't accept gifts. We're just going out for fun together.]

Shu Yao pondered for a moment and finally agreed, thinking that since he didn't accept cash gifts, he might as well give him a gift.

*

The wedding was scheduled to be held in a five-star hotel.

In the evening, Xu Zhaoli, who was welcoming guests at the door, saw Zhao Tiantian and his smile froze on his face.

"No, why are you..." He raised his hand hurriedly to report, but was pressed down by Zhao Meir.

Zhao Meier looks like a girl with a strong personality. Traditionally, wedding dresses seem to have to be white, but at this moment, Zhao Meier is wearing a black hollow embroidered wedding dress, with a slender waist and dazzling red lips.

It made her look a bit dark.

Shu Yao glanced at Zhao Tiantian out of the corner of his eye, his heart beating fast. Judging from Xu Zhaoli's reaction just now, it seemed that the invitation letter was not sent by him.

Why did the bride send an invitation to the groom's ex-girlfriend?

Some uneasy thoughts quickly disappeared in the sight of Zhao Meir's calm eyes.

She raised her red lips and shook hands with Zhao Tiantian gracefully, "Hello, my name is Zhao Meier."

"Zhao Tiantian, what a coincidence! We have the same last name." Zhao Tiantian smiled and handed over the gift in her hand. "Since you don't accept cash gifts, Yaoyao and I prepared a small gift together. I hope you like it."

"Thank you." Zhao Meir opened it and took a look. It was a very delicate gold bracelet with a surface hollowed out with gold threads and lifelike petals.

She opened her eyes wide in surprise: "This is much more expensive than the gift money, right?"

"It's okay." Shu Yao explained with a smile, "There's a lily on the bracelet. I wish you a happy marriage."

"It's so beautiful! Thank you." Zhao Mei'er asked, "Is your name Shu Yao?"

Shu Yao: “Yeah.”

"I've seen your class's graduation photos. You two were good-looking back then. I even told Xu Zhaoli that it was a good thing he was so unfashionable back then, otherwise it might not have been my turn."

Zhao Tiantian was so happy about the compliment that she blurted out, "Honestly, if he had been willing to give up those ugly red sneakers, I wouldn't have said goodbye to him."

"..." Xu Zhaoli's eyes widened. "Damn it! Zhao Tiantian! You were clearly crying your eyes out at that time, saying that the teacher wanted to talk to you and that you had no choice but to cut off contact with me!"

"Really?" Zhao Tiantian's mouth twitched. "I'm sorry, I was afraid I wouldn't remember the person, so I said the same thing to every man."

Xu Zhaoli: “…”

Only the world where Xu Zhaoli was injured was achieved.

After the two were brought into the banquet room by the waiter, Xu Zhaoli still looked indignant.

Zhao Meier glanced at him coldly: "Oh, you look quite sad?"

"Sad." Xu Zhaoli touched his chest. "Now that you know such an embarrassing truth, do you think I'm not worthy of you?"

Zhao Meier hit his shoulder and scolded him with a smile: "You're crazy."

Xu Zhaoli took the opportunity to put his arm around her waist. "No, seriously, honey, how come you have Zhao Tiantian's contact information and invited her here? Do you mind?"

"Come on, it happened eight hundred years ago, who cares?" Thinking of the number in the card, Zhao Mei'er's eyes flashed with a satisfied smile, "Besides, if you have money and don't make it, you're a fool."

"What money?"

Zhao Meier turned out the chat history with Chen Ye.

Xu Zhaoli suddenly remembered that night.

Chen Ye went to the subway station for some unknown reason. After he came back, he was leaning leisurely in the corner of the sofa with a lollipop in his mouth, sending messages to people.

According to his previous understanding of Chen Ye, Chen Ye only smoked when he was in a very bad mood or under great pressure. Generally, when he was in a good mood, he preferred lollipops, especially lemon mint flavored ones.

But there are not many times when he can be considered in a good mood.

For example, he hasn't seen it in the past one or two years.

So Xu Zhaoli instantly smelled the scent of a big melon.

As soon as he got closer, he saw Chen Ye chatting with a person with a Crayon Shin-chan profile picture, and the latest message was a period he had just sent.

There seemed to be a short text on it, but as a well-educated person, Xu Zhaoli did not peek, his attention was attracted by the prompt at the top.

[The other party is typing...]

"Hey, you replied immediately! My wife only replies immediately when we're in a flirtation phase. Is she interested in you?"

Xu Zhaoli teased cheerfully, but Chen Ye ignored him, his eyes fixed on the screen, not knowing what he was thinking.

The music outside was loud, but the box was as quiet as an examination room.

The next second, the other party's reply popped up: [Excuse me, who are you? ]

The surroundings suddenly became as cold as an ice cellar.

At that moment, the look Chen Ye gave him made Xu Zhaoli feel that what he was holding in his mouth was not a lollipop, but a 49-meter machete.

From that day on, Chen Ye started to behave abnormally, such as suddenly asking someone to walk the dog, giving Zhao Mei'er money for an extra seat, and even eating lollipops from time to time...

So, Chen Ye doesn't like Zhao Tiantian, could it be that...

"Wife," Xu Zhaoli asked anxiously, "Do you have Shu Yao's cell phone number?"

"Yes, didn't I send her an invitation letter? Why are you asking for her phone number?" Although she didn't understand, Zhao Meir still took out the phone number.

Xu Zhaoli opened WeChat and searched for the phone number. When the Crayon Shin-chan avatar popped up, everything was connected.

"Oh my god."

He stared blankly at his phone until Zhao Meier tapped him: "What are you thinking about?"

Xu Zhaoli woke up as if from a dream, looking at the best man Shen Ye who was talking to others in the banquet hall not far away.

He raised his chin slightly and motioned Zhao Mei'er to look over: "Wife, do you know the name of this man in front of you?"

Zhao Meier was puzzled: "Chen Ye, do you think I'm stupid?"

"No." Xu Zhaoli shook his head. "At this moment, he is called calm and passionate, aka pure warrior, not wild at all."

"..." Zhao Mei'er tilted her head, blinked her charming eyes, and asked curiously, "Husband, have you ever taken an IQ test?"

The psychological trauma of being attacked by Chen Ye not long ago is still there. Xu Zhaoli chuckled: "I know what you mean, I won't go!"

"That's good." Zhao Mei'er touched his chest and breathed a sigh of relief. "The result is easy to guess. There's no need to waste this money."

Xu Zhaoli:?

*

In the banquet hall.

Shu Yao and Zhao Tiantian sat in the corner, and their deskmates were all Xu Zhaoli's high school classmates.

After Shu Yao sat down, a boy across from her quickly greeted her: "Long time no see, I didn't expect you to be here too."

The boy had a shaved head, was tall, and had a wheat-colored complexion. Shu Yao nodded politely, "Long time no see."

A fairly familiar attitude.

However, after sitting down, she immediately tugged at Zhao Tiantian's sleeve under the table and asked in a low voice, "Who is this?"

Zhao Tiantian leaned close to her ear and said, "Qian Haosen, he's from our class! He even pursued you back then, don't you remember?"

Shu Yao shook his head, he really didn't remember.

The banquet hall was bustling with people, and soon Zhao Tiantian was pulled over by the people next to her to start chatting.

Shu Yao looked around boredly and saw photos of the bride and groom from childhood to adulthood playing on the electronic screen.

In the photo, Zhao Meir looks no more than five or six years old. She is held in her mother's arms and standing at the entrance of an ancient bridge.

Shu Yao was very familiar with this place. If she remembered correctly, this should be the thousand-year-old ancient bridge in Lishui Town.

Lishui Town is a thousand-year-old ancient town. In recent years, its economy has developed rapidly thanks to the tourism industry. But at the same time, the number of tourists has exceeded the carrying capacity, which naturally has also caused some problems in the protection of cultural relics and historical sites.

Shu Yao has been tracking this issue for the past few years and has an in-depth report on hand that she has not yet finished. Now when she sees this photo, she is reminded of the fear of being dominated by the manuscript.

She shook her head and decided to give herself a break on this beautiful day.

The photo switched to the childhood of Xu Zhaoli, who was wearing a bright red cotton-padded jacket and smiling like a fool.

The two of them grew up gradually, and when the video played the photos of their high school days, Zhao Tiantian's chat with others also ended.

"Hey." Shu Yao nudged her arm with his elbow. "Did you really break up with him because you thought he was unsophisticated?"

"Not entirely," Zhao Tiantian recalled for a moment, "mainly because I'm obsessed with looks."

"But Xu Zhaoli was quite handsome back then."

"He's fine if he's alone. If you want to blame someone, blame him for being honest. At that time, he always brought Chen Ye with him on dates. After the two of them were put together, the more I looked at Xu Zhaoli, the less I liked him."

"you……"

"Oh! That's right! Chen Ye's temper and that thorny mouth are not my cup of tea, but as for looks, you know, it doesn't stop me from appreciating his beauty." Zhao Tiantian curled her lips and gestured with her eyes, "Look, the three groomsmen, wearing identical suits, two of them look like insurance salesmen, and one looks like a catwalk walker. That's how I felt when I saw them."

Shu Yao couldn't help laughing, but had to admit that what Zhao Tiantian said made some sense.

Chen Ye, no matter where he is, seems to be able to attract others at first sight. In addition to his appearance and figure, there is also the temperament in him. He is cold but not arrogant, lazy but not sloppy. It is a perfect self-confidence and openness.

Maybe he noticed someone was watching him, but Shen Ye suddenly turned his head, and their eyes met from a distance of more than ten meters.

Shu Yao quickly lowered his head, grabbed the cup and drank some water in a hurry, trying to hide the embarrassment of being caught peeking.

The whispers of the two girls next to her drifted into her ears.

"When did Chen Ye return to China? I heard that his career abroad is booming."

"You don't understand. This is a wealthy family. Chapter One: Returning and taking the property from my brother."

"What about Chapter 2?"

“After the marriage between the wealthy families, the domineering Master Shen dotes on her every night.”

“…”

Shu Yao almost choked on the water and felt like he had heard something he shouldn't have.

With a "bang", a spotlight hit the door directly. The two people were forced to stop writing their novels, and the banquet hall became quiet in an instant.

Under everyone's attention, Zhao Meir, without her parents by her side, walked slowly towards Xu Zhaoli on the stage accompanied by music.

Applause broke out, and Zhao Tiantian asked her if seeing this scene had increased her confidence in love.

Shu Yao smiled but said nothing.

She has always believed that there is unswerving love in this world. She has seen it and blessed it.

What she didn't believe was that such a thing would happen to her.

The wedding went smoothly, but it took a little while.

By the end, Shu Yao had three large glasses of orange juice in his stomach.

I feel my stomach is bloated.

She went to the bathroom.

In front of the sink, warm water flowed through his fingers. Shu Yao took a tissue and wiped them slowly.

But suddenly she heard someone calling her name from behind.

She turned around and saw Qian Haosen, who had just sat opposite her.

"Why did you come out? Is it too noisy in the banquet hall?" Qian Haosen asked warmly.

"No, I'm just washing my hands."

"Oh." Qian Haosen said with a smile, "I think this is the first time we've met since graduation, right? You had such good grades back then, so you must be doing well with your job now, right?"

"No, just an ordinary office worker."

"It's definitely much better than us working so hard for commissions, hahahaha——"

In Shu Yao's ears, Qian Haosen's laughter gradually became softer.

She followed his gaze puzzledly and saw Shen Ye walking towards the sink.

Shen Ye glanced at him calmly, without any emotion.

But for some reason, Qian Haosen suddenly stopped talking.

He took out something and stuffed it into Shu Yao's skirt pocket, whispering, "Add me on WeChat when you have time."

After saying that, he slipped away like a gust of wind.

“…” It was clearly just a normal greeting between old classmates, but now it seemed a little strange and ambiguous.

Shen Ye was silent. After washing his hands, he passed by her again, but seemed to remember something and turned to ask her: "After this, Xu Zhaoli and the others will go back to Zhao Mei'er's hometown for a party. I asked you and Zhao Tiantian if you want to join us."

"Let's... not go." Shu Yao smiled awkwardly, "After all, we don't know each other well."

Not very familiar.

Shen Ye nodded: "Okay."

He left without looking back.

Shu Yao secretly breathed a sigh of relief and didn't realize that he had said anything wrong.

The material of her skirt today was thin, and something in her pocket was poking at her waist. Shu Yao remembered Qian Haosen's actions before he left, so she took it out and took a look.

It's a business card.

There are several gold-plated characters printed on the top:

Peace of mind insurance, at your service.

Shu Yao: “…”

*

Shu Yao returned to the banquet hall. Zhao Tiantian was still sitting in her original seat, looking down at her phone with a serious expression.

She walked over worriedly and pushed Zhao Tiantian's arm: "What's wrong?"

Zhao Tiantian looked up, a look of distress on her face: "I feel like you'll have to work overtime tonight."

Shu Yao: "...Don't curse me."

Zhao Tiantian shoved the phone in front of her: "Look for yourself."

Shu Yao lowered his head. On the screen was a video that a tourist had posted on his personal Weibo account. In the video, there were flames and smoke, accompanied by some people whispering and expressing regret.

[Oh my god! The Lishui Ancient Bridge is on fire!]