Chapter 3 [03]

justice

When Xiao Xie received Lu Mingxiao's call, he had just driven his car into the park.

Sitting in the back row was Cheng Wang, Lu Mingxiao's partner and vice president of Mingyue.

Cheng Wang represented the company to receive the "Major Taxpayer" medal at the provincial level and was received by the leaders.

His assistant had taken a temporary leave, so Lu Mingxiao sent Xiao Xie to the airport to pick him up.

Xiao Xie greeted Cheng Wang and answered the phone.

Lu Mingxiao cut to the chase, his voice icy: "There's a video. Contact the platform to take it down. It'll be resolved within half an hour. I'll send you the link on WeChat."

The phone was connected to the car's infotainment system via CarPlay, and the content was played aloud, which Cheng Wang also heard.

The company has a public relations department that conducts almost 24/7 carpet searches. Any content that is untrue or damages Mingyue's image will be directly contacted by the public relations department to disappear quickly, without any room for negotiation.

What video requires Mr. Lu's personal direction?

Cheng Wang was quite curious, so after Xiao Xie parked the car, he asked him to forward the link.

Cheng Wang walked into the office building with his phone in hand, and while waiting for the elevator, he opened a video.

Lu Mingxiao's black SUV was familiar to him, even if others hadn't seen it before.

It's a custom-made car for Mr. Lu, with top-notch quality in everything from the exterior and interior to the infotainment system, and is valued at over two million.

If I remember correctly, it was only a week old. Before that, at the beginning of the month, he was rear-ended by a female driver while waiting at a traffic light because she stepped on the accelerator instead of the brake.

Cheng Wang stepped into the elevator and went straight to the twentieth floor.

He didn't go back to his own office, but went to wait for Lu Mingxiao to return.

Xiao Xie made himself a cup of coffee and sat on the sofa to play mobile games.

Two hours later, Lu Mingxiao appeared, his brows furrowed as the intense sounds of the game's external speakers rang out.

Xiao Xie closed the door from the outside, and Lu Mingxiao walked in, reminding the instigator without further ado.

"Go outside to fight, or put your headphones on."

Just then, his eyes started to feel sore, so Cheng Wang consciously put his phone into the back pocket of his jeans.

Upon inquiring about the open day and learning that it had concluded successfully, he cast a sympathetic glance at Lu Mingxiao regarding the incident that occurred the previous night.

"Getting hit twice in one month, Mr. Lu is really unlucky. But if you look at it from another angle, falling for two girls in a row proves that you've been very lucky with women lately."

"How dare you say that?"

Lu Mingxiao took off his coat and hung it on the upright coat rack. "Don't ask me to feed the cats anymore. The car broke down and I got covered in cat hair."

Cheng Wang's business trip was on a flight last night.

When she arrived at the airport, she realized she had forgotten to put out cat food, so she called Lu Mingxiao.

It was precisely to answer this call that Lu Mingxiao stopped his car on the side of the road and rushed over as soon as the accident was dealt with.

“My son only likes you; if someone else goes, he’ll get stressed.”

Ultimately, he did bear some responsibility for this, and Cheng Wang didn't shirk it. "Starting tomorrow, I will personally pick up and drop off President Lu to and from get off work, and I will accompany President Lu to the temple on weekends to pray and exorcise evil spirits. I don't need to fix the car, right? The video shows that the other party is fully responsible. Did you settle privately or go through her insurance?"

Lu Mingxiao replied to the latter, rejecting Cheng Wang's proposal.

"As a car manufacturer, I'm not going to become a nervous wreck just because of a car accident."

"Then why did you take the video down?"

Cheng Wang stretched and yawned. "I've seen a lot of people praising the Mingyue's durability. That's a huge free advertising opportunity."

The two things you mentioned are not necessarily related.

Lu Mingxiao replied, "All I know is that Mingyue's traffic has never been obtained by sucking the blood of others."

Cheng Wang roughly understood; it was based on some false rumors. He gossiped, "So it was because of that girl."

Lu Mingxiao sat down at his desk, his gaze sharp: "You might as well say I'm doing this for justice."

Cheng Wang stood up, sat down opposite Lu Mingxiao, and smiled slightly.

"I guess she must be a good girl who takes responsibility proactively, a world of difference from last time, otherwise you wouldn't be so concerned."

Lu Mingxiao: "Do you want to make a big fuss, with drums and gongs, and even send a brocade banner to the girl? If there's any trouble, your son's life will be hanging by a thread."

"I never realized it before."

Cheng Wang sized up Lu Mingxiao, "Our CEO Lu is just as rumored in the industry, a great entrepreneur with a strong sense of morality and responsibility."

Lu Mingxiao rolled his eyes at him, and Cheng Wang stopped teasing him.

"By the way, Lao Liu messaged me asking when you're free. We arranged an interview before, but we've been putting it off."

Lao Liu is the editor-in-chief of "Car Rider" magazine and is acquainted with Cheng Wang.

The interview was scheduled for last month, but Lu Mingxiao's schedule was too full to make time for it.

These next two days shouldn't be too busy.

Lu Mingxiao opened his laptop to check his schedule and selected tomorrow afternoon.

——

Because Lu Mingxiao handled the situation promptly, Luo Qingyue did not see the video.

Right now, she's at Hi Coffee & Car, eating a matcha mille-feuille, and recalling last night's experience, a feeling of tightness in her chest.

"How could there be such a person? Adding me on WeChat was like the death of him. His determination to sever ties with me was as firm as if he were joining the Party. Am I not good-looking enough? Definitely not. The only reason is that he's playing hard to get."

Luo Qingyue is caffeine intolerant, so Jingxi specially made her an avocado yogurt smoothie and handed it to her.

"Playing hard to get means adding you on WeChat and then deliberately ignoring you until you're almost forgetting about it, then suddenly reappearing and flirting with you. After that, you block me on your phone, clearly telling me it's just a fleeting affair, don't even think about me, it won't lead anywhere."

"I wasn't thinking about it, I just felt annoyed."

Luo Qingyue held the milkshake cup, looking annoyed. "From childhood to adulthood, no one has ever refused me. This guy surnamed Lu really knows how to find ways to get my attention."

Jingxi picked up a piece of white paper and a black pen and placed them in front of Luo Qingyue, adopting the posture of a strict teacher.

"The man you meet in the car accident is an ominous sign. Write this sentence a hundred times."

Luo Qingyue picked up the pen without the slightest hesitation.

After writing it for the fifth time, he suddenly raised his head and said, "Actually, he's a pretty good person. After the accident, he taught me step by step what to do. I offered to pay for a new car, but he refused and insisted on going through insurance."

Jingxi: "But he looked down on you for not knowing the insurance company's phone number and even wrongly accused you of buying your driver's license."

"That's right."

Luo Qingyue's expression was solemn. "They're absolutely wicked."

She carefully wrote it down from memory, stroke by stroke, and after finishing the fifteenth time, she looked up again: "If it wasn't me who hit him—"

Jingxi was holding her phone, listening to a WeChat voice message.

Luo Qingyue fell silent, and after a while, she heard her say, "My uncle wants to pay three times the turnover to rent my shop for a promotion."

Jingxi has a unique interior design style, with high ceilings and a large area.

Previously, a film crew had inquired about filming here, but Jingxi declined because she felt that the movement of machines and people would cause damage.

My uncle should be able to make an exception, right? Besides, the money can be arranged properly.

Luo Qingyue asked her if she had agreed, and Jingxi thought for a few seconds before pressing the keypad on her phone: "I'll ask how many people from their magazine will come first."

Jingxi's uncle is the editor-in-chief of a car magazine.

When Luo Qingyue was choosing a car, Jingxi asked her uncle for his opinion.

Her uncle told her not to overthink it and to just pick the one she liked best in terms of appearance, which is how she ended up with this Panamera.

Luo Qingyue was drinking her milkshake when Jingxi held up a finger and made a two.

"If I hesitate for even a second, it would be disrespectful to three times the amount."

Luo Qingyue asked in confusion, "Do two people really need to book the whole place?"

"It's an exclusive interview."

Jingxi sent the quote to her uncle. "My uncle said that the interviewee likes quiet and is very fond of coffee. He also asked me to bring out the best coffee beans so that he could make them himself."

The editor-in-chief personally conducted an exclusive interview with him and even booked out the entire venue to make him coffee.

Luo Qingyue guessed that the interviewee must be someone of considerable status.

Feeling utterly bored, Luo Qingyue stirred her straw with one hand and asked her when.

Jingxi replied that it would be tomorrow afternoon, a look of joy on her face: "The money has already arrived in my account. I won't tell my uncle that I added an extra zero."

Hi Coffee & Car has been open for more than half a year, and Jingxi hasn't had a single day off.

Taking advantage of a rare moment of leisure, Luo Qingyue suggested, "Let's go shopping tomorrow afternoon."

Jingxi hung her head and let out a long sigh.

"I don't go to bed until the early hours of the morning every day. Look at my dark circles. I can't walk around anymore. I just want to catch up on my sleep."

The next afternoon, Luo Qingyue went to the M&D flagship store.

Regarding the bag, she sat on the sofa in the VIP lounge area, and the manager brought her snacks, drinks, and fruit, personally apologizing.

Everyone makes mistakes, and Luo Qingyue understands that.

But she had already waited half a month for this package, and having to wait even longer was very unpleasant.

Her patience wore thin, and the bag became optional for her, and she didn't like it as much anymore. In the end, the result of the discussion was to exchange it for a dress and leather shoes of the same price.

Many new shops have opened in Wanheng Plaza. After leaving M&D, Luo Qingyue planned to continue shopping for a while.

On WeChat, Jingxi sent a voice message: "When I'm busy, I'm in great shape, but when I'm free, I get a high fever that goes up to 40 degrees Celsius. Guess where I am right now? In the hospital's infusion room."

Jingxi's voice was weak and listless. At the end, she sent a photo of a needle sticking out of the back of her hand and a crying emoji.

Upon reaching the central garden, Luo Qingyue stopped and asked with concern, "Are you alone? Do you need me to come with you?"

Jingxi sent a message saying her mother was there.

Luo Qingyue had just breathed a sigh of relief when a new message arrived. She tapped play, and Jingxi's wailing came from the other end.

"I'm really impressed with my uncle. He was in the shop and told me he didn't know how to use the coffee machine. I told him there were plenty of tutorials online, but he said they were too complicated to understand. I have serious doubts about how someone with that level of intelligence became an editor-in-chief."

"In comparison, emotional intelligence is more important."

Luo Qingyue said, "What does Uncle plan to do? He can't expect you to drag an IV drip over there to help him, can he?"

"They are my own flesh and blood; I can't just stand by and watch them die."

Jingxi came up with a solution: "I'll ask Li Hua if he's free; we can always give him a raise."

Li Hua is a barista at the shop. He lives in a neighboring city and has arranged to go hiking with a friend.

She then asked the pastry chef, adding that she couldn't be disturbed when she went back to meet her girlfriend's parents.

Jingxi was in a state of panic, so Luo Qingyue volunteered: "I'll go."

"you?"

Jingxi was surprised, "You're someone who doesn't even drink coffee."

"Even if you've never eaten pork, you've still seen a pig run."

Luo Qingyue said casually, "I've watched you make coffee many times. I'm at Wanheng Plaza, which is close to the industrial park."

"good."

Jingxi agreed, "I'll talk to my uncle and ask him to give you a big red envelope."

On the night of the accident, Luo Qingyue's car was towed to a 4S shop.

The parts need to be shipped from overseas, and the waiting time is at least one month.

Still shaken, she didn't ask the store for a car and instead had her family driver pick her up and drop her off when she went out.

The industrial park is a ten-minute drive from Wanheng Plaza.

In front of Hi Coffee & Car, Luo Qingyue got out of the back seat of a black Maybach.

Upon entering, the interviewee had not yet arrived; only Jingxi's uncle was in the coffee shop.

"Xiaoyue, thank you so much."

“You are Jingxi’s uncle, which makes you my uncle too. We’re family, there’s no need for any trouble.”

Luo Qingyue walked briskly towards the bar.

My bag and phone were set aside when I suddenly heard someone next to me say, "It seems like Boss Lu has arrived."

Mr. Lu?

The interview guest invited by my uncle?

Luo Qingyue followed the sound and looked out the French windows.

A stylish and cool black sports car pulled up in an empty parking space next to the Maybach.

"You said two points, and you were right on time, not a minute off."

The uncle glanced at his watch and frowned slightly. "There's no time to teach you. Xiaoyue, you go ahead. Please, my career advancement depends entirely on you."

Luo Qingyue clenched her fist with one hand, striking a "do or die" stance.

"Don't worry, Uncle, I've got it covered."

Her uncle went out to pick someone up. The car door opened, and a face that was all too familiar came into Luo Qingyue's view.

Wearing a light blue long-sleeved shirt and white casual pants, her slender figure shone brightly in the sunlight.

His uncle exchanged a few pleasantries with him and then gestured for him to enter.

Then the glass door was pushed open, and the sound of wind chimes echoed throughout the space.

Lu Mingxiao. So this is President Lu.

Luo Qingyue's lips parted slightly, a hint of surprise in her eyes, as she watched Lu Mingxiao stride towards her with his long legs.

Lu Mingxiao must have noticed him too, but his expression didn't change at all. He stopped slowly in front of the bar, as if he were facing a complete stranger.

Okay then. The first meeting wasn't very pleasant.

He didn't even remember himself, and Luo Qingyue was too lazy to recall.

When you're out in the world, you give yourself your own identity.

Her gaze met Lu Mingxiao's in mid-air, and she spoke with a smile.

"Welcome, Mr. Lu, to Hi coffee&car. I am Luo Qingyue, the head barista here. What would you like to drink?"

The blackboard above the bar features a hand-drawn menu.

Luo Qingyue raised her hand in greeting, and Lu Mingxiao glanced over at her.

"A pineapple sparkling Americano."

The man's voice was as cold as he remembered.

As soon as she finished speaking, Luo Qingyue looked at her uncle Jingxi beside her.

"Please lead the way to a seat, Mr. General. I'll bring it over to you when it's ready."

The location was chosen by Lu Mingxiao; it was the closest round table to the bar, only one meter away.

As Lu Mingxiao faced her, Luo Qingyue suddenly remembered that although she knew how to use the coffee machine, different coffees had different preparation methods, and she would have to ask Jingxi for the recipe.

Her expression froze, Luo Qingyue lowered her head, and reached for her phone.

Help, sister! She crouched down, opened WeChat, and tapped on Jingxi's chat box.

After editing the text and sending it out, Jingxi didn't reply.

She looked up to observe Lu Mingxiao's movements. Her uncle placed the interview outline on the table and asked him if he was satisfied with the place he had carefully chosen.

Lu Mingxiao said that the environment and atmosphere here are very good.

The following text, introduced by the transitional word "however," made Luo Qingyue's ears perk up—

"Thirteen minutes have passed since I ordered."

"I want to drink it before dark, preferably by myself."

"Old Liu, aren't you right?"

[Author's Note]

Xiao: Head Barista? Ha!

Moon: Here, do it yourself.