Chapter 21 Sharing a Cup of Water

Lin Zaoyi broke out in a cold sweat.

Fortunately, Uncle Tan spoke up at this moment, "Zhaojing, why are you asking Zaoyi? She doesn't know."

Tan Zhaojing glanced at the trembling hands without showing any emotion. If he continued talking, he would be beaten to a pulp.

She slightly curved her lips into a smile. "Rumors."

Snap—

What was that sound?

The sound of chopsticks hitting the ground.

It was Lin Zaoyi who made it in a panic.

She frowned, wondering why he was so impatient.

They've already denied it, yet they still lost their composure like this.

"Feel sorry."

As I bent down to pick it up, the person sitting next to me made the first move.

"No need, no need."

In the process of stopping him, the chopstick with the food on it accidentally touched the back of his hand, leaving a faint oil stain.

He turned around to grab a tissue, but he pulled too hard, and the tissue box fell to the ground with a 'thud'.

Zao Yi was quite annoyed. She wasn't usually clumsy, so why did she keep making mistakes with Tan Zhaojing?

"It's alright," Wen said in a deep voice. "I can do it myself."

"Brother Zhaojing, I'm sorry..."

"It's alright."

Tan Zhaojing gently wiped the back of her hand with a tissue, glanced at the aunt standing nearby, and said, "Could you please bring me another pair of chopsticks?"

"Okay."

Mingxian found it somewhat amusing. "Zaoyi, are you afraid of your brother Zhaojing?"

Lin Zaoyi really wanted to roll her eyes at her mother.

"No."

Bury your head and eat.

Tan You's voice came through, continuing the conversation, "Rumors? I heard Jin Xi say—"

"Eat your food."

She interrupted him directly, "Didn't you say you were hungry? Why are you still talking about it?"

"This isn't out of curiosity." Tan You guessed that Zao Yi didn't want to reveal Jin Xi's identity.

Going along with it, she said, "Okay, okay, I won't say anymore, I'll shut up."

Tan's father chuckled. Apart from those few bloodline-suppressing individuals, he had never seen Tan Youshun do anything.

He swept his fingertips across the two of them and said, "Are you secretly dating? Don't deny it, I have eyes. You're even wearing matching outfits."

Both parties involved simultaneously: "..."

Before Lin Zaoyi could even prove herself, her mother started worrying unnecessarily, saying, "Then you should be careful not to get photographed by the media."

“Don’t worry,” Uncle Tan replied, “Zhaojing will handle removing the trending topics.”

With a tap of his knuckles, he confirmed it was true. "Zhaojing, pay more attention to this trending topic. Consider it an early wedding gift from your older brother to them."

Zao Yi's face darkened.

Tan You was beyond speechless. His gaze inadvertently wandered and he caught his cousin staring at him expressionlessly.

His eyes showed no emotion, but it felt like he was looking at... an inanimate object.

My eyelids almost twitched involuntarily. "Brother, just say what you want to say, don't look at me like that..."

He panicked.

Tan Zhaojing remained silent, took out his phone, and sent a message to the director in charge of Xingyao's marketing department.

[Let Tan You join the crew tonight]

The boss's order was delivered in just five minutes.

Tan You was feeling down after hanging up with his agent. He wolfed down a few mouthfuls of rice and said, "I'm leaving."

Lin Zaoyi: "So urgent?"

Tan You retorted indignantly, "Absolutely!"

Muttering curses, he drove away from Xiyuan.

That night, Tan You knew who the vengeful ghost was. He made a phone call, but no one answered. He kept calling.

They didn't answer until the fourth one.

She had intended to be defiant, but when she spoke, her tone unconsciously softened by three points, "Brother, have I offended you?"

The other end casually replied, "You're too noisy."

He protested, "How was I being noisy???"

Beep beep beep—

A cold, busy tone came through.

After hanging up the phone, Tan Zhaojing walked towards the terrace. Just as he got close, a clear and melodious voice entered his ears.

"It's not Zhaojing, it's probably the director."

He glanced around, and even through the green trees, he could still catch a glimpse of that slender figure. The girl was wearing a pink georgette nightgown, leaning casually against the wicker chair, her phone pressed against her face, a smile playing on her lips.

Lin Zaoyi was completely unaware that she was being watched, while Tan You on the other end of the phone was furious, "Whose side are you on? Would saying something comforting make you fat???"

She laughed, "On your side."

Taking advantage of the fact that it was late at night and no one was around, he spoke freely, "Tan Zhaojing is a scoundrel. He looks like someone owes him eight million. When you come back, we'll set him up. We'll poison him first and then cheat him. We won't release him until we've swindled several hundred million!"

Tan You chimed in, "Okay, take some more explicit photos of him. He can use those photos to pay for things later."

The two of them made the decision happily.

The rant lasted for almost three minutes before ending, and Lin Zaoyi was still unaware of it until she heard a soft laugh.

His calm breathing suddenly stopped.

Even though I had a premonition, the next second when I looked up, goosebumps broke out all over my body, like a startled cat jumping up from the wicker chair.

What did she just say?

Not a thing?

A setup?

Scam?

Someone should just send her to euthanasia...

His expression, which had been cracking, stiffened into a forced smile. "Hey, still awake?"

Tan Zhaojing stood on the third floor, his gaze sweeping down with a hint of disdain. "Luckily I didn't sleep, otherwise I would have lost hundreds of millions."

Lin Zaoyi: "..."

She was so embarrassed she wanted to disappear. "I was just joking..."

He said, "I took it seriously."

Lin Zaoyi was on the verge of tears, "Brother Zhaojing, I—"

He abruptly interrupted her, "You were calling her name quite fluently just now."

Embarrassment forced her brain to work at high speed, and she blurted out, "That's because I feel close to you. You may not know, but in just a few days, I've developed different feelings for you."

He responded with interest, "Oh, what kind of feelings?"

"Brother," she said in a clear but feigned voice, "it's so good to have a brother!"

Such enthusiasm was met with silence, and even the slight curve of the man's lips vanished.

She wasn't puzzled, after all, this man had never intended to treat her like a younger sister.

I'm not sad. If I don't want to do it, I don't want to do it. It's not like I'm losing anything.

She subtly took a deep breath and gave a forced, emotionless smile. "Sorry."

...

When Lin Zaoyi woke up, she remembered everything clearly, not forgetting how rebellious she had been the night before.

Thinking that one should avoid trouble for as long as possible, I asked my mother to bring me breakfast under the pretext of finishing my manuscript.

I was planning to do the same at noon, but then I remembered that the car keys were still with Tan Zhaojing, so I had no choice but to bite the bullet and face it.

But he wasn't home for lunch. I found out indirectly that he went to the company.

I saw him return from outside around 2 p.m., followed by his assistant. He strode upstairs and reappeared with a document in his hand.

She handed him a glass of warm water that she had poured in advance, saying, "Brother Zhaojing, have some water."

Tan Zhaojing didn't answer, but glanced at her with a half-smile, "Did you poison her?"

Lin Zaoyi: "..."

She made some inappropriate remarks last night.

To prove his innocence, he drank half a glass in one gulp, then opened his mouth and said, "No."

Tan Zhaojing suppressed the smile on his lips. "What do you want?"

"Car keys." Lin Zaoyi extended her right hand, palm up. "Thank you, Brother Zhaojing."

Tan Zhaojing remained unfazed. "If it's not with me, the company will lose face."

Assistant Shao, standing to one side: ?

He remembered putting the key in his pocket when he gave it to the boss.

Looking down, you can see that there is indeed a bulge in the pocket of the trousers.

As if to offer a reminder, Mr. Tan glanced over.

Having worked for the boss for almost five years, he instantly understood and smoothly changed the subject, saying, "Mr. Tan, the video conference is forty minutes long, it's about time I left."

Lin Zaoyi dared not delay, "Then Brother Zhaojing, you go ahead with your work."

As soon as his hand was empty, the man took the cup, tilted his head back slightly, and brought the rim of the cup to his lips.

Her pupils dilated in shock. "This is me..."

A clear, crisp voice covered hers, "Wasn't this for me?"

Her face flushed, and she became quite dramatic, "But I've already drunk..."