Chapter 1 A Crusade from Many Years Ago…

Wow...this is such a grand spectacle!

The Florian magazine team landed at Southeast Airport and their eyes lit up when they saw the Mercedes-Benz vans that the sponsors had brought to pick them up.

"Wow, that's extravagant! I thought it was a tour bus coming to pick us up."

"We've already given you access to the VIP exit, how could we not offer something truly special?"

Jiang Nuanyu had been catching up on sleep on the plane and wasn't fully awake yet. As soon as she stepped out of the glass door, before she could even see the "grand spectacle" her colleagues had been talking about, the sunlight overhead made her see colorful stars.

As she squinted to adjust to the light, she heard a loud "bang" at her feet.

Her suitcase was knocked a meter away.

"I'm so sorry, Editor Jiang!"

A quick-moving colleague apologized without turning around and dragged his two suitcases straight to the roadside.

Jiang Nuanyu looked closely and realized that only two cars could park at a time in front of the VIP building. The first car was definitely reserved for the leaders, so everyone was rushing to get the next one.

Come to think of it, with the sun overhead like a giant baking lamp, it's like being in a steam oven mode. Who wouldn't want to get in the car and enjoy the air conditioning as soon as possible?

She retrieved her suitcase, then glanced at her colleagues who were eagerly scrambling for the car—

Never mind, I'll wait a bit.

"Hey, try not to get them mixed up."

The driver was loading luggage into the car piece by piece, reminding everyone in his Minnan-accented Mandarin.

"Everyone who has already boarded the train, what are your suitcases? They're all piled up here, I can't tell them apart."

Jiang Nuanyu shielded her eyes from the sunlight with her hand and sighed.

Whether to seize or not may seem like a fine line, but in reality, the difference is often vast.

Who knows how long this whole process will take?

As she was looking down to find her sunglasses in her bag, her colleague Feng Shasha's eyes lit up and she spotted several cars waiting by the flower bed: "Jiang Jiang, let's ride in that one!" she said, taking Jiang Nuanyu's hand.

"Hey—" Jiang Nuanyu had just taken out her sunglasses and didn't even care about her suitcase. "My suitcase!"

"Put it there for now, we'll take it to the car when it comes!" Feng Shasha said as she jogged across the road.

At the other end of the road, several minivans were parked in an arc around the central flower bed.

Just as the two men rounded the front of the nearest minivan, a black sedan suddenly appeared in front of them.

The Maybach was very quiet when it was driving, and we almost crashed into it.

Jiang Nuanyu's last bit of sleepiness vanished in fright, and she quickly grabbed Feng Shasha's arm and pulled her back. With a flick of her wrist, her sunglasses flew off.

"Click!"

The windshield of the Maybach is in the center.

Then it glides freely and lands steadily in the groove of the wiper drain hole.

The other driver slammed on the brakes. Feng Shasha saw the car logo on the rim and instantly chickened out, muttering, "Sorry..."

Jiang Nuanyu nodded and smiled at the car through the glass, pointing with her finger at the sunglasses that had flown out of her hand.

The glass reflected light, making it difficult for her to see the faces of the people inside the car; she only knew that there were people in the driver's and passenger's seats.

But... there was no response from the other side.

Jiang Nuanyu took this as tacit approval, walked to the car, stood on tiptoe and reached for her sunglasses.

Unfortunately, the distance was just a little too short.

The black car body was as hot as a pan from the sun, and she couldn't hold onto it for support, so she could only smile into the car again, walk around the front of the car to the other side, and reach out again.

It's still just a little bit short.

She glanced at Feng Shasha for help, but Feng Shasha reached out from the other side, also unable to help.

At that moment, the passenger door opened, and a tall man in a suit got out. The man closed the door, reached over, took back the sunglasses, and handed them to Jiang Nuanyu.

"Thank you," she said.

"No need," the other person said, opening the car door and getting in.

The door closed, and the car started moving again.

Jiang Nuanyu took two steps back, creating some distance.

The Maybach slowly drove away, and as it passed in front of her, she could vaguely see a figure in the back seat through the tinted window.

Sunlight streamed into the car, then reflected off the glass, creating a beam that appeared to be the man's wristwatch.

It flashed by in an instant.

Inside the car, after a brief incident, the person in the back seat seemed completely unperturbed. As the car sped past, he glanced at the figure outside the window before looking away.

*

About an hour after departing from the airport, the convoy finally arrived at the Menghe Island Resort on the coast of Lunan.

As a fashion magazine, Florian's trip was essentially a paid vacation, and they also took the opportunity to do a feature article for their new sponsor—the Yunjing Group, which owns the resort.

Looking out the car window, Jiang Nuanyu saw neatly trimmed hedges gliding along both sides of the road, interspersed with landscape stones and ornamental trees of various shapes; looking further into the distance through the greenery, she could also see row houses or detached buildings scattered in a staggered manner.

Under the bright summer sun, the resort is picturesque.

After the fatigue of the journey, facing this scenery, she finally felt like she was on vacation.

only--

As soon as she got out of the car at the reception center, Ji Meng, the editor-in-chief who got out of the car in front of her, approached her.

Although she was on vacation, Ji Meng was still dressed in an elegant blue and white suit. She directly instructed, "I just received news that the head of Yun Jing Group will grant us an exclusive interview. I will conduct the interview, and you will assist me."

I heard they just arrived at the resort too. The exact interview time hasn't been set yet, but it will definitely be during our stay. Please start preparing as soon as possible. Any questions?

Jiang Nuanyu: "..."

She was completely unprepared to be suddenly given such a heavy responsibility.

Her mind went blank for a couple of seconds, but she quickly recovered and nodded hurriedly: "No problem, editor-in-chief."

"Okay. Send the compiled information to Xiao An." Ji Meng said nothing more, tucked her handbag into her handbag, and turned to leave.

Ignoring the excited crowd around her, Jiang Nuanyu stood still, took out her phone, and wrote down the key points of the work that Ji Meng had given her, so as to avoid any memory lapses or forgetting them altogether.

She had just finished writing her memo and put her phone away when a male colleague walked by and said, "Everyone came on vacation with only one task, but now Editor Jiang is really in trouble. Her burden is heavier than anyone else's."

This colleague had competed with Jiang Nuanyu for the position of head of the cultural sector at the beginning of the year, but failed. Since then, he has always spoken with a sarcastic and sour tone.

Jiang Nuanyu didn't respond: "It's alright. If I have one job, I can do two. It's about the same."

Seeing her reaction, her male colleague changed the subject and said, "But to be honest, being the deputy editor-in-chief and interviewing the big boss of the new sponsor is such a rare opportunity. I would want this job too."

Well, you've said both the positive and negative things, haven't you?

Before Jiang Nuanyu could reply, Feng Shasha jumped in, innocent yet earnest: "Huh? Are you being sarcastic or serious? You're really willing to work overtime so intensely on vacation?"

"Sure," the male colleague said with a half-serious smile. "Editor Jiang, how about we switch?"

Jiang Nuanyu laughed and said, "It's not easy to directly change the work assigned by the editor-in-chief. Besides, only you can do the work you're in charge of. I'm not very familiar with that area, and I'm far from being good at it."

The colleague was speechless after being bombarded with her modesty and flattery, and casually said, "I was just saying it offhand."

The other party seemed to be giving up, but Jiang Nuanyu followed up on his words: "Oh, is that so? I thought you really wanted to switch with me."

She seemed to only understand the literal meaning of his words, completely missing the deeper meaning.

The male colleague was caught off guard by her last-minute comeback, gave an awkward laugh, and said nothing more.

After the person walked away, Jiang Nuanyu slowly stopped smiling, sighed helplessly, and hurriedly went to check in and return to her room to work overtime.

Although the interview time hasn't been set yet, in case of a surprise visit and she hasn't prepared...

Then we're definitely doomed!

In recent years, print media has been struggling. Only with new sponsorships can magazines have extra money; only with money can magazines have a future of becoming top-tier publications!

Therefore, this interview with the sponsor is absolutely crucial, and we cannot afford to make any mistakes.

Emerging from the reception center, she quickly found her room number and swiped to open the door. Before her was a charming little courtyard, surrounded by landscaped plants of varying heights, with a small outdoor bathtub nestled on one side.

Having to work overtime when faced with such beautiful scenery is really a downer.

However, although the overtime work came unexpectedly, she did not want to complain about the intensity of her work.

The fashion industry is full of hidden talents and moves at a breakneck pace; leaders don't care whether you're prepared or capable.

Complaining won't solve anything.

Besides, if you don't do it, there are plenty of people who would.

Effort doesn't guarantee a reward, but without effort, even if a windfall falls from the sky, you might not get it.

Without thinking too much about it, she went inside, grabbed her laptop, and started working overtime.

This interview, frankly speaking, is also part of a business collaboration. The other party's purpose is definitely to leverage Florian's influence on lifestyle to endorse their work.

Based on this, Jiang Nuanyu drew up an interview outline, built a framework, and then researched and filled in the content and designed questions.

Although it wasn't a purely personal interview, after outlining the main questions, she still searched for the CEO of YunJing's personal information so she could adjust the pace of her questions and pre-set the atmosphere of the conversation.

It was only after this investigation that it was discovered that Mr. Liang Qi had only officially taken over Yun Jing at the beginning of the year, and many of the latest project strategies were only implemented after he took office.

No wonder, despite the economic downturn in recent years, YunJing, which focuses on the high-end market, has recently gained much higher public awareness.

Going against the tide.

Wow, that's quite a skill.

She scrolled through the webpage for a while, sighing with admiration, and then added a few more questions based on this information. With all that done, the preliminary preparations were finally complete.

After confirming everything one last time, she emailed all the information to Ji Meng's assistant.

Before closing her laptop, she suddenly became curious and wanted to see what the interviewee looked like beforehand. After searching for a while, she finally found a photo of Yun Jing's CEO in a group photo taken at a signing ceremony.

The photo was taken from a distance, so the facial features weren't very clear, but the more she looked at the person's facial contours and figure, the more her heart stirred, and her mind began to feel light and limp.

She felt a sense of familiarity.

The person in the photo looks remarkably like...

She paused, picked up her phone, opened the cloud photo album, and scrolled to the timeline from six years ago.

In the photo taken on Christmas Eve, the background is a wide floor-to-ceiling window, and the bright indoor lights illuminate the porch in the night.

On this side of the glass, a man stood sideways, a cigarette between his fingers, his head tilted back slightly, squinting as he exhaled smoke.

It was snowing outside, but he was only wearing a white shirt. His shoulders were straight, his waist was slender, and his clean and neat figure was particularly eye-catching in the dark night.

Ironically, this photo was taken by Jiang Nuanyu by chance.

That night at the entrance of Tangwan Club, the first time she saw him, it was no exaggeration to say that she felt as if she had been struck by lightning, and her gaze lingered on him for a long time.

Coincidentally, she ran into him several times in one night.

On the last occasion, she mustered the courage to approach him and make contact, only to find that he was already with another girl.

Faced with that scene, she couldn't help but burst into tears.

Looking back, I think her reaction was probably because it was the first time in her 20 years of life that she had ever felt love. She experienced heartbreak so quickly, the whole process moving too fast for her to process.

When it comes to relationships, she's either incredibly devoted and single-minded, or, to put it bluntly, extremely stubborn. And to make matters worse, she's incredibly picky, never giving anyone a chance to flirt with someone she has no feelings for.

But after all these years, she only fell in love with this one person, who was a complete stranger she had only met a few times.

That's the wonder of fate.

Of those fleeting glimpses she caught back then, she only remembered that she was absolutely smitten, but she couldn't quite recall the specifics of that feeling. The only clear impression she had was—

Pity!

The feeling of knowing you like someone but not being able to say it is too painful.

She held up her phone and examined the two photos side by side.

The man in her photo wore a crisp, well-tailored shirt and a neatly fastened tie. However, his hair was longer than that of a typical business professional.

...Could it really be the same person?

*

The next morning, while Jiang Nuanyu was still asleep, Ji Meng's assistant called to say that the interview with Liang Qi was scheduled for that afternoon, and that Jiang Nuanyu should come to the reception center at 1 p.m., where a car would take her to the interview location.

After hanging up the phone, Jiang Nuanyu tossed it aside and let out a long sigh of relief.

Fortunately, the preparations were completed yesterday.

She got up, ate brunch, and got on the bus at the agreed location on time.

On the way, Jiang Nuanyu flipped through the interview outline in her hand, and suddenly thought of the photos from last night, feeling a little uneasy.

Logically speaking, if Liang Qi wasn't the man in the photo, it wouldn't have any impact on her. However, she seemed to have developed expectations.

But what can she do if it really is the same person?

She pondered aimlessly for a while, but her mind became increasingly confused, so she quickly stopped and focused her attention back on the outline in her hand.

The scenery of the resort flashed by outside the car window as the van headed north, finally stopping at a coffee shop.

The café was surrounded by large grassy slopes, quiet and sparsely populated. Jiang Nuanyu guessed that this was probably a private area of ​​the resort reserved for VIPs and not open to the public at other times.

Pushing open the door, the entire gray cement floor was polished smooth and shiny. The interior space was quite spacious, yet it contained only a few low sofas, with a few art paintings hanging on the walls to echo the design.

She glanced at it as she passed by and guessed that it was definitely an authentic piece.

The staff led her to a sofa by the window, and the waiter quickly brought her a coffee and a platter of several delicate tea snacks.

Ji Meng arrived shortly after, and the two quickly reviewed the key points of the interview outline. Just past 1:30, someone came to remind them: "Teachers, Mr. Liang will be here soon."

Jiang Nuanyu, who had just been engrossed in her work, suddenly felt her heart pounding and turned to look at the door.

Not far away, shadowy figures moved about outside the glass door.

The door was pushed open from the outside, and surrounded by several assistants, that exceptionally tall and imposing figure gradually came into view.

In the shadows cast by the backlight at the entrance to the coffee shop, the fabric of his suit seemed to gleam.

Contrary to expectations of formal business attire, he wore a casual suit without a tie, appearing quite relaxed and casual. However, his unhurried pace made it impossible to ignore his understated yet commanding presence.

Jiang Nuanyu stood up with Ji Meng, her gaze firmly held by his, and unconsciously slowed her breathing.

He approached step by step, the sunlight gradually creeping up his figure. Until one moment, the light illuminated his face and his eyes.

Apart from his short hair, his features, expression, and even the subtle distance between his brows perfectly overlapped with my memory.

A strange yet familiar feeling of floating washed over me, and my head was buzzing.

This was a feeling she only had when she saw that person.

There has never been an exception in the past few years.

Ji Meng had met Liang Qi once before. She smiled and extended her hand first: "Mr. Liang, good afternoon. It's a pleasure to interview you today."

"Hello, Editor-in-Chief Ji." Liang Qi extended his hand and shook her hand politely.

His voice was neither too loud nor too soft, calm, clear, and very pleasant to the ear.

Jiang Nuanyu was also hearing this for the first time, and her thoughts wandered for a moment. When Liang Qi turned his gaze from Ji Meng to her, she didn't even realize that she should greet him.

Ji Meng filled in the brief silence: "This is the editor who assisted me with this interview, Editor Jiang Nuanyu."

Liang Qi looked over again.

Jiang Nuanyu met his deep and bright eyes, and for some reason, she still hesitated to make a move.

Liang Qi extended his hand to her first: "Hello, Editor Jiang."

Jiang Nuanyu then hurriedly extended her hand: "Hello... Mr. Liang."

Liang Qi nodded slightly, gently squeezed her hand, and then released it.

A note from the author:

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