Chapter 40: Understanding the difference between younger and older men spending money and older men spending money on themselves.

"Why would you think that?" Liao Zhengqing looked at her with an incredulous and innocent expression. "I just wanted to thank her. After all, she doesn't even want me to pay compensation now, so of course I want to repay her as much as I can."

"Besides, I heard from Sister Qingqing that the car actually belongs to you, Brother Minghe, right? Speaking of which, I have to thank you for your tolerance and understanding, otherwise I would definitely have been scolded half to death by my parents."

Liang Minghe looked at him with a half-smile: "Young Master Liao? Is it alright to address you like that?"

Upon hearing the familiar address, Liao Zhengqing's humble expression froze for a moment before he smiled again: "Brother Minghe, stop teasing me."

His words were somewhat probing, but Liang Minghe didn't say much, only hinting, "Alright, get out of the car and call the driver from home to pick us up."

Liao Zhengqing was now certain that the other party truly recognized him.

Actually, they didn't really know each other. Liang Minghe went abroad when he was fifteen or sixteen and later severed ties with Liang Zongqiang, so he didn't really know much about business relationships in China.

In addition, he was five or six years older than Liao Zhengqing, so they were not in the same age group and had no chance to play together, so it was unlikely that they would meet.

He could guess the other person's identity because of their respective fathers.

When Liang Minghe first graduated, his painting style was too childlike and did not quite meet market tastes. So, apart from the collaboration with Tongle Group recommended by Kang Na, he didn't have many professional jobs available.

At that time, Liang Zongqiang intended to ease tensions with him, so he privately reached a cooperation agreement with a certain sports brand. Liang Minghe was unaware of how much land Liang Zongqiang had given up for this matter, but in any case, he, a nobody who had just started out, received an invitation from the sports brand to design the season's sneakers.

Although Liang Minghe ultimately did not accept the job due to the inherent aloofness of an artist, he still met the brand's owner, surnamed Liao, who resembled Liao Zhengqing by six or seven points and was also not good at acting. It was because of this that he realized that this was a trap set up for him by Liang Zongqiang.

Zhou Jinqin also had doubts about Liao Zhengqing's identity.

She asked Xiang Ziqing, who was humming a tune in a good mood, "Don't you think Liao Zhengqing is a little strange?"

Xiang Ziqing sent out the new leave application and replied slowly: "I know he's lying. How could a kid dressed in luxury goods only take two thousand yuan for living expenses?"

"Then why..." Zhou Jinqin hesitated, unable to finish her sentence.

"If he wants to act, just go along with it and tease him a bit." Xiang Ziqing smiled and hugged her. "You don't have much experience, so you might not understand. When it comes to relationships, you have to push things forward a little."

Zhou Jinqin's eyes widened slightly: "You've already fallen for him?"

"I wouldn't call it that, just a crush." ​​Xiang Ziqing shrugged frankly. "You know, I only date older men and younger women, because the former conquer me and the latter submit to me, they are two completely different extreme experiences."

“It seems a bit boring now.” She laughed frankly. “I see a combination of these two traits in Liao Zhengqing, a big bad wolf in sheep’s clothing. I haven’t tried it before, so it seems quite novel.”

Xiang Ziqing has a very open-minded view on relationships, focusing on enjoying the present moment and never talking about the future.

Although she was worried, Zhou Jinqin knew she wouldn't suffer in the relationship, and besides, both parties were adults with the ability to make judgments. As an outsider, she shouldn't interfere, so she stopped commenting.

Xiang Ziqing rested her head on her shoulder and asked with a smile, "By the way, didn't you ask me about the gift?"

“Yes,” Zhou Jinqin nodded, “Liang Minghe’s birthday is coming up soon, and I still don’t know what to give him. I thought you have more experience, so maybe you can give me some advice.”

Xiang Ziqing raised an eyebrow: "I only have two principles when it comes to giving gifts: spend money during the New Year, and spend money on yourself during the New Year."

She teased with a mischievous smile, "Clearly, Liang Minghe isn't short of money, so you might as well just offer your body to him."

In the cold, air-conditioned room, Zhou Jinqin's face suddenly flushed. She said in a low voice, embarrassed, "Can this really be considered a gift?"

"Why not? Didn't Liang Minghe ever tell you tenderly that you are the most precious treasure in his heart?" Xiang Ziqing asked.

Zhou Jinqin remained silent, but her increasingly flushed face betrayed her.

However, she thought that even if it weren't Liang Minghe's birthday, she would still be willing to give herself to him...

Xiang Ziqing had no idea about her little schemes. All night long, she enthusiastically shared all sorts of veiled advice with her, making Zhou Jinqin blush with embarrassment and unable to stay still even in her dreams...

When she woke up, she realized that Liang Minghe was wrong. In her life, which was divided into three parts, he had clearly taken up one part as well.

Fortunately, she had specifically told Liang Minghe not to take her to work yesterday, so she was able to calm down and sit at her workstation again.

Jia Yang placed a bottle of milk on her desk and asked, "What happened to your hand?"

He was referring to the bloodstain Zhou Jinqin had been scratched on last night. It was only half a centimeter long, and she couldn't understand why everyone else could see it clearly, while she herself was completely unaware of it. Was it just because the wound was on the outside of her arm?

Zhou Jinqin explained, "It was an accidental scratch, it's nothing serious, judging from the way it looks, it would probably heal by now if it hadn't been left any longer."

Jia Yang chuckled at her words: "I trust your professional intuition."

Zhou Jinqin smiled, thanked him for the milk, and asked, "Is there any work involved?"

Jia Yang nodded: "There's a medical education event at S University tonight, a lecture about developing teaching materials. Iris and I were originally working on this project..."

Iris was the colleague on maternity leave. She had to start her leave early because of premature birth, and the unfinished work was distributed in bits and pieces. This project was temporarily assigned to Amanda, who was in the same position. Amanda complained that the workload was too much, and after Zhou Jinqin joined the company, she forcefully threw the project away. Naturally, this work should have been handed over to Zhou Jinqin.

This would normally be a normal thing, but the problem is that Amanda had never talked to Zhou Jinqin about this project before, so she knew nothing about it.

Jia Yang was also having a headache, because he only found out that Amanda had already negotiated with her superiors to delegate the work when he contacted her that morning to coordinate his work.

He suppressed his bad mood and gently comforted her, "Actually, you don't necessarily need to attend this lecture, but I think with your abilities, you will most likely learn something from this session, which should make it easier for you to take over this project or other work later."

He said, "The notification was rather last-minute, and it's okay if you're busy. I just thought I should at least come and ask you."

Zhou Jinqin shook her head: "I do have time. Thank you for always thinking of me, otherwise I really wouldn't know what to do."

Amanda's betrayal this time was entirely intentional; her smile seemed somewhat forced.

Jia Yang pursed his lips and said, "We're all classmates, it's only right."

"I'm sorry, but there's probably not much I can do to help." Zhou Jinqin said apologetically.

Jia Yang said, "It's okay, there's really no need to do anything. We came to you with the purpose of learning, and they don't usually participate in these kinds of activities."

Zhou Jinqin knew that he had done this entirely for her sake, so she thanked him again.

Jia Yang's role as a medical liaison officer also requires him to organize regional medical education activities and invite relevant guests.

The lecture started at 7 p.m., and because he had to prepare for the reception, Jia Yang rushed to the school as soon as he got off work without even having dinner.

The school has designated parking areas, and it's about a ten-minute walk from the parking lot to the academic hall.

Taking advantage of the break, Zhou Jinqin slipped Jia Yang a piece of bread: "Have something to eat first, you'll probably be busy tonight."

Jia Yang accepted it: "Thank you."

Because it was still summer vacation, there weren't many students left at the school; only a few people were walking around, making the campus seem rather quiet.

Tall, lush trees line both ends of the road, and the sky is bathed in the gradually darkening glow of the sunset, giving people an inexplicable sense of ease.

Zhou Jinqin sighed, "It's been so many years since I've been to school."

Jia Yang smiled faintly: "To be honest, I don't really miss campus life."

"Hmm? Why?" Zhou Jinqin looked at him curiously.

Even though she cried repeatedly after medical classes because of her deep empathy, she never truly hated school, because it was her only utopia at the time, a place to escape her family.

He said softly, “I come from a single-parent family. My mother supports me and it was very hard for her to send me to school, but she still insisted on sending me to graduate school. People in the village call her stupid. Sometimes I also think she is stupid. She could have asked me to repay her for three years earlier, but she resolutely sent me to succeed.”

Medicine and pharmacy are closely related, and studying pharmacy is not a simple matter. Zhou Jinqin's dormitory at the time had a girl majoring in pharmacy, who was always leaving early and returning late, spending most of her time in the laboratory.

Studying was already very busy, so there wasn't much time to think about how to earn money to supplement the family income. At that time, Jia Yang's situation was probably very difficult.

Zhou Jinqin smiled at him: "It turns out that you are your mother's best investment. She's never been stupid."

Jia Yang smiled and said, "I hope so."

Most of the people attending the lecture were academic experts, with a few students who stayed on campus to audit the class. Zhou Jinqin found a corner near the door to sit in, partly so as not to disturb others and partly so that she could take photos and notes.

As the event neared its end, she suddenly felt a warm current surging in her lower abdomen, unsure whether it was strong vaginal discharge or a heavy menstrual flow.

Zhou Jinqin hesitated for a moment, but decided to go to the restroom first.

When he returned, Jia Yang had already adjusted his seat and sat down in the chair next to her. Seeing her somewhat embarrassed face, he asked with concern, "What's wrong?"

Zhou Jinqin pursed her lips, feeling somewhat awkward. Although it was a normal physiological phenomenon, it didn't feel quite right to talk about it with her male colleague.

Seeing her hesitant expression, Jia Yang roughly guessed her situation. His expression remained unchanged, and he simply handed her his unused suit jacket: "Since we are involved in the inseparable relationship between medicine and pharmacy, as a pharmacy student, I should have the same correct understanding as you medical students."

Her abdomen was still cramping slightly, and Zhou Jinqin's mind was a little fuzzy. She just stared at him blankly with her big, watery eyes and asked, "Hmm?"

Jia Yang met her beautiful eyes, then quickly looked away. He coughed lightly and said, "Just look at the body's physiological state normally."

As he spoke, he pushed the coat forward a little further: "You can wear it if you need it; it's very clean."

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Author's note: When will the fight start? [sunglasses]