Chapter 36 If liking someone means having a girlfriend, then what are we?

Lin Zaoyi picked at her fingers, trying to brush it off, "It's nothing."

Tan Zhaojing asked the question herself, "Does that mean you like me?"

She remained silent.

But that's already the answer.

Tan Zhaojing retorted, "If liking someone means being their girlfriend, then what are we?"

“We…” Lin Zaoyi’s internal organs clenched as she tried her best to think, and then she made a clear decision: “Brother and sister.”

His voice suddenly lowered a few decibels, "From beginning to end, I've only ever had one sister, Jia Ni."

The air was deathly still, but Lin Zaoyi's mind was racing, as if something had exploded, bursting into countless tiny sparks, each representing something incredible.

She seemed to understand what Tan Zhaojing meant...

But then I thought it was impossible.

That's absurd.

The knocking came just in time; it wasn't just Yuan Lai, but also Meng Henian.

Meng Henian simply happened to be passing by and decided to come up for a sit.

"Zaoyi is here too."

Lin Zaoyi forced a smile, "Brother He Nian, Sister Yuan Lai."

Yuan Lai walked in gracefully in her high heels. "What's wrong?"

She stopped very close to Tan Zhaojing. "Did you scold Zaoyi again? What's wrong with you? How can you be so mean to such a cute little sister?"

These words would warm anyone's heart, but Lin Zaoyi's eyes stirred with emotion. Her fingers, hanging by her side, twitched slightly. Before she could even ponder it, the fleeting feeling had already faded away.

Like the evening breeze blowing across the lake, leaving no trace.

Meng Henian chimed in, "Come on, Zaoyi, tell me, how did your brother Zhaojing bully you?"

Lin Zaoyi said something like that, disregarding politeness, "I have other things to do, you two talk."

As soon as the sound fell, the person opened the door and went out.

Meng Henian slowly raised one eyebrow. "Why are you so frightened?"

Tan Zhaojing ignored her and sent a message to her assistant: "Send her back, wherever she wants to go is up to her."

Meng Henian treated his office as his own, wandering around idly. He noticed a logo bag on his desk, picked it up and shook it; it was very light.

"Bought by Zaoyi"

Yuan Lai glanced over and figured that the cufflinks must be in such a small paper bag. She guessed right. Meng Henian pulled open the silk rope with two fingers and took out a small box from it.

A pair of silver cufflinks.

Meng Henian raised his lips and said, "Zao Yi is quite considerate."

Tan Zhaojing walked over and said, "Is it yours? Then tear it down."

As they spoke, he snatched the item, put it in the drawer, and returned to the sofa. He glanced at Yuan Lai standing nearby and asked, "What do you want?"

Yuan Lai was still thinking about the cufflinks; it was a very simple gift, but it made her suspicious.

She paused for a moment, then sat down opposite Tan Zhaojing. "I'd like to hear your opinion on whether to go to the radio station or the newspaper, and maybe try my luck to get an interview with you."

The second half could only be said in a joking tone; it wasn't that I hadn't tried, but I was ruthlessly rejected.

At that moment, she wondered what would happen if Lin Zaoyi spoke up.

His indifferent gaze made it hard to tell what he was thinking. "Each has its advantages."

As for the interview, he didn't answer at all.

It was a polite gesture, a silent refusal.

She chuckled. "Zaoyi is on CBN, right? It's a pity she doesn't have an editor-in-chief position. I'd really like to be her colleague."

He didn't reply, but reached for the cup on the coffee table and brought it to his lips. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a pink lipstick mark on the rim of the cup. "Hey, I picked up the wrong one!"

Whether she was too slow to remind him or the man simply didn't notice, half a glass of milk was gone in no time.

"...You've got the wrong cup. This is the one Zaoyi drank from, isn't it?"

She probed him, observing him intently, but all she saw was indifference; he didn't even furrow his brow unconsciously.

It seemed like a trivial matter.

It was indeed harmless; if it were Jia Ni, she wouldn't have reacted, but that person was Zao Yi.

He hummed in response, his tone cool and indifferent, "I took the wrong one."

Meng Henian smiled faintly and remained silent.

In the car, far from the group's building, Lin Zaoyi did not get into Tan Zhaojing's car, but instead hailed a taxi.

She leaned back in her car seat, tilted her head slightly, and gazed absentmindedly out the window.

Not only is my mind racing, but my thoughts are also in turmoil, like a tangled ball of yarn piled haphazardly in my chest, a mess that won't dissipate even if I try to ignore it.

Not far away, a black Mercedes-Benz was following nearby. Ms. Lin was unwilling to get in the car, so Assistant Shao had no choice but to resort to this method.

Lin Zaoyi wasn't blind, but she managed to turn a blind eye. Subconsciously, she wanted to avoid anything related to Tan Zhaojing.

Upon arriving at Xixi Apartment, he rushed inside without looking back.

On days when she's not working, Xixi is a homebody. When she saw her come back, she shifted her attention from the variety show, stared at her for a few seconds, and said, "I understand."

"What do you know?"

Meng Jinxi: "I understand you didn't manage to win over Brother Zhaojing."

He got up and took a bottle of wine from the wine cabinet. "Drink it. I guarantee you'll feel better after you finish this."

Lin Zaoyi didn't understand where this logic came from. "Why?"

Xi Xi kept everyone in suspense, saying, "You'll know once you drink it."

Whether she could lose heart or not, Lin Zaoyi needed to numb herself for a while. She listlessly rested her chin on her hand and asked, "Aren't you going to drink?"

Xi Niu sighed, but her body wouldn't allow it.

She glanced at her and said, "What's wrong with you?"

“Yes,” Meng Jinxi’s smile faded slightly, “It’s still a serious problem.”

Lin Zaoyi rolled her eyes at her, "Pah, pah, pah, nonsense."

Meng Jinxi stopped the pointless conversation, saying, "Drink yours."

After observing from time to time, when it felt about right, Zaoyi unlocked her phone with her finger and found Zhaojing's nickname in her contacts.

Then, taking advantage of her confused state, he urged, "Zaoyi, do you want to curse Brother Zhaojing?"

Without hesitation, the tipsy girl replied, "Yes!"

She smiled. "I'll grant your wish."

With a tap of the finger, the page redirects and a hands-free call is made. After about three beeps, a low, soft voice fills the air.

"Hello."

"Um?"

Lin Zaoyi, who had been lying face down, straightened up and shook her head, which wasn't very nimble. "Why did I hear Tan Zhaojing speaking?"

Tan Zhaojing was still in a meeting. He raised his hand to signal a pause, and the senior executives sitting below him cooperated by remaining silent.

In the impenetrable conference room, they heard the boss say, "Have you been drinking?"

Lin Zaoyi had too many emotions towards the owner of the voice, and once the brainwaves were confirmed, she vented them without thinking.

"Mind your own business!"

"Tan Zhaojing, you're such a petty person! What's wrong with a kiss? I'm a girl and I don't mind, why are you making such a big deal out of it! I've already apologized to you, and you're still yelling at me, you jerk!"

Tan Zhaojing: "..."

He was almost certainly drunk, and a soft chuckle escaped his throat unconsciously. "Have you had enough of cursing?"

The higher-ups couldn't hear what was being said on the other end of the conversation, but the lenient tone in President Tan's voice was enough to surprise them.

Someone whispered to Assistant Shao, "Who is it?"

Assistant Shao shook his head. As for who it was, it wasn't hard to guess.

They say a rabbit doesn't eat the grass near its burrow, but Mr. Tan is even worse than a rabbit.