Chapter 29 Dream

Midway through the meal.

Zhou Xu was having a bad start and called Xie Siyan. Xie Siyan went outside to the corridor and answered the call.

"Your little beauty is indeed very charming. Lin Nuo said he doesn't want to work anymore and is planning to get a doctorate. He doesn't need an olive branch."

"Bones are tough enough."

Xie Siyan commented indifferently.

"Do you need me to contact Professor Lu again?" Zhou Xu played with his lighter and offered to help him analyze the situation. "I think he wants to study for Lu Wenxu's doctorate. They've been communicating quite closely recently.

Hooking up with Professor Lu Wenxu and then dating Mu Jia is indeed a good plan. Now I have both a mentor and a wife, which is not worse than the path you arranged..."

Xie Siyan's eyes turned cold.

But he didn't say anything, just said "No need".

Unless he plans to never look for a job.

Otherwise, sooner or later he will understand that in this world, those who allocate resources have the final say.

——

At night.

Mu Jia turned over.

The scent of sandalwood mixed with sulfur wafted up from the bedding.

She stared at the wood grain of the ceiling.

The sound of water in the hot spring pool came through the bamboo curtain.

The man was half-submerged in the milky white steam, the scar on his waist reddening from the heat. He scooped up a handful of water, letting it trickle through his fingers. "Miss Mu, you even had to come all the way to the hot spring hotel to look at the information?"

Mu Jia felt that this was a naked mockery.

He could be selfish and just come here to enjoy a short holiday in his long life.

She has to report on her business trip when she goes back.

The cell phone on the bedside made a soft "ding" sound.

There's a text message.

Mu Jia turned over, put down her laptop temporarily, picked up her phone, and saw the sender's name -

Lin Nuo:

【Jia Jia, have you arrived at the hotel in Kyoto? 】

Mu Jia held the phone and suddenly felt a strong sense of guilt.

It feels like I'm having an affair.

Mu Jia sat up.

I glanced at the bamboo curtain again and was about to reply to the text when I saw a mottled silhouette standing outside the door. The person's fingertips were pressed against the grille.

"The snow in Kyoto," Xie Siyan said, having risen from the hot spring, his voice seeping in with the night wind, "melts as soon as it falls on my shoulders."

She clutched the corner of the quilt and her heart skipped a beat.

The cell phone fell into the quilt.

——

A peaceful night.

Xie Siyan wasn't such a bad person that he would do anything to her outside. He didn't touch her.

The two people live separately at night.

The next morning.

Mu Jia, Xie Siyan and their group stepped into the low-key and elegant headquarters of a Japanese company in Kyoto.

The light in the conference room is soft, and a touch of green is refreshing on the long wooden table.

The other executive was dressed in a neat suit and greeted politely and cautiously.

The topic quickly got to the point——

Regarding China Construction Xie’s acquisition proposal for this century-old fast-moving consumer goods company.

Mu Jia sat next to Xie Siyan, tapped the tablet with his fingertips, and called up a set of data.

When discussing the difficulties of technology integration, she interrupted in fluent English, pointed out a risk that was not clearly disclosed in the other party's financial report, and compared alternatives in the Southeast Asian market.

The Japanese representative was visibly startled, then pushed up his glasses. "The question Ms. Mu raised is very pointed."

Mu Jia raised the corner of his lips slightly, "Thank you."

Mu Jia had thought about this earlier, this trip is not just a simple tour -

Before leaving, she stayed up late to study the company's information, paying special attention to the background of the merger and acquisition.

For China Construction, this is a key opportunity to enter the Japanese market.

The Japanese president's eyes shifted subtly between Mu Jia and Xie Siyan for a moment, as if he was spying on their relationship. Then, he lowered his head and looked through the data she had just shared.

The shadows of the bamboo outside the window cast swaying dark patterns on the rice paper screen.

"Ms. Mu has conducted systematic research on the Southeast Asian market." The president slowly closed the document, his gaze sharp behind his glasses. "But have you ever considered that Japanese consumers' loyalty to local brands is irreplaceable by Southeast Asian brands?"

Xie Siyan tapped his knuckles twice on the sandalwood tabletop and was about to speak——

"certainly."

Mu Jia's fingertips drew an arc on the tablet.

The projection screen switched to a consumer research chart. "That's why we recommend retaining your company's 'Wa Takumi' production line." She paused for a second, then suddenly switched to Japanese. "After all, Osaka housewives even care about the origin of their miso, don't they?"

Amidst the astonishment of the entire room, an elderly director laughed out loud.

The tense atmosphere in the conference room dissipated.

Xie Siyan raised his eyebrows unconsciously, and suddenly realized that she was much more interesting when she was working seriously than when she dressed poorly and tried to attract men's attention.

"It seems we need to re-evaluate the cooperation framework." The president stood up and summarized the discussion.

——

On the way back in the car, Xie Siyan casually played with the Kyoto folding fan that the other party had given him as a parting gift: "Did you take Japanese as an elective in college?"

The two never talked about their college days.

Mu Jia felt that he probably didn't even remember her as a passer-by in his life.

"I took finance as an elective. I learned Japanese while watching anime."

Oh, finance is still because of him.

Later, as fate would have it, she entered the financial industry.

The sound of the evening bell of Kiyomizu Temple happened to arrive.

Xie Siyan hummed a low "hmm", lowered his eyes but said nothing, as if he was concentrating on thinking about this merger and acquisition.

Mu Jia also turned his head and looked out the window.

I think he really doesn't remember me.

That night, Mu Jia had a dream.

In the dream, I returned to college days.

The darkness receded like a tide.

Inside the library, sunlight slanted in through the gaps in the blinds.

Dust particles float in the beam of light.

——It was five years ago.

She lowered her head, clutching a stack of sheet music. Across from her, Xie Siyan lazily leaned back in his chair, twirling his pen between his fingers. "Is this what you call 'integrating commercial elements'?"

Mu Jia's ears burned, and he said stubbornly, "What's the problem?"

“The triplets were too abrupt.”

Xie Siyan's voice is like the sound of bells and chimes.

He made an exception today and didn't wear his gold-rimmed glasses. His gaze fell on her more brazenly than usual, following the curve of her sweater. "Commercial melodies should be like the curves of a woman's body... ups and downs..."

Mu Jia's voice became weak and his body became limp.

She deliberately straightened her back, trying to dodge, but this action only made the girl's figure more easily visible to the hunter.

A bony hand grasped her hand.

He came up from behind.

Fingers clasped together.

The pen was pressed into her palm.

His thin breath sprayed on her ear, "I will teach you to compose music."

"Need not……"

Mu Jia heard his own voice rejecting him.

The library is very quiet, so quiet that you can hear each other's breathing.

Mu Jia straightened her back nervously and avoided his approach.

But the moment someone approached him, he suddenly opened his eyes.

"Xie Siyan!"