Chapter 98 Exclusion [VIP]

Chapter Summary: Mr. Gu, do you have time to talk?

Fu Xianyin felt she hadn't been this flustered in a long time.

She looked at Gu Linzhao.

This was perhaps the first time since returning to China that she had looked him in the eye so directly, openly, and without any pretense.

She opened her mouth, wanting to explain, but no matter how many times she opened and closed her lips, she couldn't utter a single word.

The sound was stuck in her throat, unable to come up or down.

"President Gu."

A voice came from behind. It was Hu Chengcheng. She nodded to Fu Xianyin, then held up her umbrella and went to Gu Linzhao's side.

"Yin, Yin?"

Alex was calling her too, tugging at her sleeve. Fu Xianyin turned around, and saw Alex take out an umbrella with his free hand, smiling and saying, "The umbrella is here, I found it."

With the umbrella open, Fu Xianyin stood alone under one of the umbrellas.

However, when they looked up again, the place was empty.

In the taxi, Alex excitedly told Fu Xianyin about his experiences during this time: "You know what? I've been to so many places and visited so many museums. I sent photos to Andrew and Mia, and they said they want to come too."

Fu Xianyin looked at the raindrops sliding down the car window, forced a smile, and asked, "Are they coming too?"

Alex said, "They don't have time."

Raindrops fell one by one onto the car window, then gathered together in small groups, and when they could no longer cling to the glass, they merged into a stream and flowed down.

Fu Xianyin felt her heart was in complete turmoil.

The scene from just now flashed through her mind again and again: Gu Linzhao's slightly cold smile, his unfathomable eyes under the umbrella, and the fleeting mockery on his face when he looked at her.

She sighed, turned to Alex and said, "Let me know in advance before you come to see me next time."

Alex exclaimed "Ah," looking somewhat bewildered, "Did I bother you?"

It wouldn't be considered a disturbance.

Fu Xianyin said, "No, I made plans with someone else tonight."

She really did have a date with someone else tonight.

Chen Nianke and Cheng Zhaozhao are still pursuing their master's degrees. Since school holidays start a few days earlier than company holidays, the two of them, who had already started their winter break, made plans to come to Beijing to find Fu Xianyin.

Alex wasn't too disappointed. He said optimistically, "I knew you wanted to go to the airport. I'll go with you. I can pick you up and help you with your luggage."

Fu Xianyin casually thanked her.

Alex is very talkative, the kind of person who could talk non-stop with Fu Xianyin even on the drive from New York back to Boston.

Throughout the journey, Fu Xianyin felt that her ears hadn't had a moment's peace.

At the airport exit, Chen Nianke and Cheng Zhaozhao had already met up, each carrying a large suitcase that shocked Fu Xianyin.

She pushed open the car door and got out, waving at the two of them. Before she could say anything, Cheng Zhaozhao's eyes reddened, and she rushed over and hugged her tightly.

"Waaaaah, Yin Yin, waaaaah."

Tears streamed down Fu Xianyin's neck. Ignoring the stares from the passing crowd, Cheng Zhaozhao hugged Fu Xianyin and began to wail, "Waaaaah!"

Fu Xianyin patted her back and said helplessly, "Oh, come on, it's not like we haven't seen each other for six years, why are you crying like this?"

She grabbed Cheng Zhaozhao by the back of the neck, forcibly creating a distance between them.

Cheng Zhaozhao was about to cry again when Fu Xianyin stopped her: "Hey, hey, hey, don't cry, don't cry. It's so cold. If you cry now, you'll ruin your face. How many face masks will you have to use to fix it?"

Chen Nianke chimed in with a sarcastic remark: "That's right, Cheng Zhaozhao is over twenty now. We don't have the same resilient skin as we did when we were teenagers."

Having finally managed to stop her tears, Cheng Zhaozhao was provoked by these words, and with a pout, she started wailing again.

Fu Xianyin's gaze fell on the two enormous boxes, and she hailed a large truck.

She said, "Why are you two carrying so much luggage? Aren't you going to school after the semester starts?"

She didn't have this much luggage when she came back from the United States.

Cheng Zhaozhao sobbed, "We...we...we plan to go straight back to Beichuan from here."

The car arrived quickly, and Alex very considerately helped the two with their luggage and even opened the car door for them.

Cheng Zhaozhao was sobbing, but she still couldn't help but glance at Alex. Her voice was still trembling as she whispered to Fu Xianyin, "Hey, Yinyin, is this Alex? He's quite handsome."

Alex grinned from the front row, then turned to introduce himself to the two men.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Cheng Zhaozhao suddenly pointed to the front row and asked Fu Xianyin, "What's he eating for dinner?"

Fu Xianyin said, "I don't know."

"That piece, I guess," Cheng Zhaozhao said. "It's the same whether there are three people or four."

She made her move immediately after she finished speaking, and Alex's eyes lit up: "Really? That's great!"

So they took all four of them to the restaurant in one car.

When it came time to order, Chen Nianke was the one who could order. Alex looked at the menu, eager to try, but his thoughts were stopped when Fu Xianyin casually said, "The food she orders is delicious."

Having been in Beijing for two weeks, Alex has already suffered quite a bit because of his terrible ordering skills.

Fu Xianyin watched as Alex withdrew his eager hand and then looked at Chen Nianke seriously as she ordered food, and finally couldn't help but laugh out loud.

They made a round trip to the airport, and by the time they arrived at the restaurant, it was already quite late.

The busiest evening rush hour at the restaurants has passed; more people are leaving than entering.

As the food was served, Cheng Zhaozhao pulled Fu Xianyin to wash her hands. Alex and Chen Nianke had already figured out the location of the restroom when they arrived at the restaurant, and now they pointed out the way to the two of them.

Cheng Zhaozhao linked arms with Fu Xianyin and asked mysteriously, "Hey, so, how about it?"

Fu Xianyin glanced at her.

Cheng Zhaozhao chuckled and said, "I'm just curious. I would have to consider whether it's appropriate to ask other people, but we're like family."

Fu Xianyin thought for a moment and said, "It's alright."

Cheng Zhaozhao was not satisfied with this answer: "Tsk, what do you mean by 'not bad'? Fine, let me ask you another way: how do you feel now when you mention him?"

Fu Xianyin sighed and said, "Annoying."

Cheng Zhaozhao asked, "What's bothering you?"

Fu Xianyin remained silent.

Yeah, what's there to worry about?

Is it because I'm annoyed that my ex-boyfriend and I are going on a business trip and have to live under the same roof and work together?

I'm still annoyed that I can no longer vent the emotions I used to be able to, and that the closeness I used to take for granted has turned into estrangement.

Or perhaps, he was annoyed by that bright yellow glass of wine that afternoon, annoyed that it ended up in the trash can by some twist of fate, only to be discovered by him.

Fu Xianyin couldn't quite put her finger on what was bothering her.

She opened her mouth, just about to tell Cheng Zhaozhao about the mango pomelo sago dessert, when a door beside her was suddenly opened, and a familiar voice came from inside: "President Gu, slow down."

Fu Xianyin was stunned.

Cheng Zhaozhao was also stunned.

She pulled Fu Xianyin aside, away from the opening and closing door, her gaze fixed on the person coming out of the door.

The moment those long legs stepped out of the door, Cheng Zhaozhao gripped Fu Xianyin's arm so tightly it almost dug into her flesh.

Gu Linzhao was wearing a gray suit with a black overcoat draped over his arm. His brows were slightly furrowed, as if he was somewhat irritable.

Cheng Zhaozhao was shocked.

No, this is too much of a coincidence.

Speak of the devil and he appears; what a coincidence!

She glanced at Fu Xianyin beside her and decided to take the initiative to break the somewhat strange atmosphere.

Anyway, Gu Linzhao is her high school classmate, so even if Fu Xianyin isn't here, she'd still have to say hello if they bumped into each other.

Cheng Zhaozhao chuckled twice and waved her hand, saying, "What a coincidence."

Gu Linzhao gave a soft "hmm" and said, "It is quite a coincidence."

The air froze.

Cheng Zhaozhao frantically tried to find a topic to talk about: "Oh, you're... having a social engagement? You're really busy, hahaha."

Gu Linzhao said, "No, it was a project team dinner."

Gu Linzhao's gaze swept over Fu Xianyin and Cheng Zhaozhao before he asked indifferently, "Any arrangements made?"

Before Fu Xianyin could speak, a sudden cell phone ringtone sounded.

Gu Linzhao picked up his phone and glanced at it, his brows furrowing even deeper. He whispered "Sorry" and left with his phone.

Fu Xianyin watched his figure disappear at the end of the corridor, then pulled Cheng Zhaozhao to leave.

However, as if they heard the noise at the door, the person inside opened the door and tried to walk out. Before they could say "President Gu," they ran right into Fu Xianyin.

It's Hu Chengcheng.

Cheng Yu stood beside her.

Behind the fully open door of the private room, Fu Xianyin could clearly see every member of the project team.

Before Fu Xianyin could speak, Hu Chengcheng spoke first, laughing, "Teacher Fu's friends who invited her to dinner tonight are also here. What a coincidence! If I had known, I would have invited everyone to join us."

Even Cheng Zhaozhao, who had never been corrupted by the workplace, could sense the hidden meaning in those words.

First of all, the time she and Chen Nianke chose to come to Beijing to find Fu Xianyin was after they specifically asked her if she had any other plans.

Secondly, Fu Xianyin seemed completely unaware that the project team had a meal together here.

Finally, this person, who appeared to be the project leader, was deliberately pointing out that Fu Xianyin had something to do that evening.

Combining the three factors, Cheng Zhaozhao understood.

Their project team had a dinner party, but they didn't invite Fu Xianyin. However, they publicly claimed that Fu Xianyin had something to do that evening.

Without needing to think any further, Cheng Zhaozhao was already able to arrive at a conclusion that was beyond question.

Fu Xianyin was ostracized within the project team.

If this were in high school, Cheng Zhaozhao would have rolled up her sleeves and gone up there long ago.

But this is the workplace, specifically Fu Xianyin's workplace.

Cheng Zhaozhao didn't dare to stand up for Fu Xianyin rashly. She was just holding back her anger and found everyone inside and outside the house displeasing, including Gu Linzhao.

Fu Xianyin sensed Cheng Zhaozhao's resentment and gently patted her hand.

Cheng Zhaozhao guessed what she meant and made an excuse to leave.

Fu Xianyin looked at Hu Chengcheng and said calmly, "No one informed me about the team dinner, so why is Manager Hu putting such a big accusation on me?"

Hu Chengcheng was stunned by her words.

She hadn't expected Fu Xianyin to so ruthlessly tear apart the facade of peace right in front of her.

Hu Chengcheng maintained her smile and said, "I told Gao Ning I would inform Teacher Fu, but Gao Ning probably forgot. She was quite busy at work today, so it's understandable that she might have overlooked something."

“However,” Hu Chengcheng’s tone changed as she looked at Fu Xianyin and said, “I know that Teacher Fu may not have experienced this kind of work before and still has some student mentality. But since you’ve already started working, Teacher Fu should adapt as soon as possible and at least not bring your personal emotions into your work.”

Fu Xianyin looked at Hu Chengcheng's face and suddenly smiled.

There was no hint of excitement or anger in her words; she simply stated, "How much has Manager Hu been drinking? What kind of nonsense is he spouting?"

"I see Manager Hu is not young anymore, how can he still resort to such despicable and disgusting tactics? Bringing something so low-class into the open as a dish, Manager Hu, you..."

Fu Xianyin paused, thought for a moment, and then swallowed back the sentence, "Manager Hu, have you never eaten four dishes in your life, so you have to find a way to put together one?"

That statement seems a bit too vulgar.

People should still be polite.

So Fu Xianyin changed her tune to, "Manager Hu, have you only ever eaten rotten vegetable leaves in your life? Is it really necessary to serve up this kind of garbage?"

Hu Chengcheng was so speechless that she couldn't find a suitable reason to refute her.

Fu Xianyin's gaze then passed over Hu Chengcheng and fell on Gao Ning in the private room.

Her tone was calm and unhurried, but her words were sharp and cutting: "Whether I bring my personal emotions into my work is a very subjective matter. But it is a very objective matter that Gao Ning's work is not even as good as the dishes that Manager Hu served."

She said, "I don't know what Xingfan Technology's hiring criteria are, or whether Gao Ning is putting her personal emotions into her work, or whether her brain is just so scattered that it can't be pieced together and needs to be held in her hands to make it whole."

"But anyway, if it's the former, I hope Gao Ning can correct her work attitude next week and stop disgusting me with that bunch of stuff. Otherwise, at this crucial moment when you're about to give out your year-end bonuses, I don't really believe my evaluation will have no impact on Gao Ning's final year-end bonus share."

"If it's the latter."

Fu Xianyin said, "I admire Gao Ning's strong will despite her disability, and I sincerely suggest that she go to the hospital to get a certificate of intellectual disability, so that she might be able to receive some welfare benefits."

"It's not like he's getting yelled at by me every day. People who don't know better would think he has some kind of weird fetish."

When Fu Xianyin scolds someone, it's not in a tone that's so agitated that she'd want to fight you. She's very calm and gentle, delivering those piercing words to you slowly and deliberately.

Fu Xianyin glanced at the other members of the project team, chuckled, and said, "I'm not blind or stupid, I can see through your schemes. But I'm too lazy to care, because it's unnecessary. But 'unnecessary' is based on my comfortable life. Now I'm not comfortable."

She looked at everyone and said, "Then I won't let anyone have an easy time either."

Having said that, Hu Chengcheng had lost even the last shred of dignity.

Fu Xianyin looked at Hu Chengcheng, who was already struggling to maintain her composure, and patted her shoulder, saying, "Manager Hu has been in this business for so many years, so you must understand the ways of the workplace much better than I do. Your fondness for rotten vegetables is just a matter of being a jerk, and has nothing to do with anything else. But since we're on the topic, I'd like to have one last thing to say to Manager Hu."

Hu Chengcheng is shorter than her, to the point that even when she wears high heels, she is still a head shorter than her.

Fu Xianyin bent down slightly and whispered in her ear, "Your bag is obviously fake."

She said this in a voice that was neither too loud nor too soft.

It was to the extent that the people inside the room couldn't hear what she was saying, but Cheng Yu, who was next to Hu Chengcheng, could definitely hear what she was saying.

Fu Xianyin could no longer suppress her smile. She politely greeted and said goodbye to everyone. As soon as she turned around, she saw Gu Linzhao standing in the corridor.

The shadow enveloped him completely, and Fu Xianyin didn't know how long he had been standing there.

Fu Xianyin rubbed her heel against the ground and then lifted her foot to walk in that direction.

She didn't know whether Gu Linzhao had seen it or not.

I wonder how much he saw if he did see it.

She just suddenly felt that there was no need to worry about it anymore.

It's easier to change mountains and rivers than to change one's nature.

Six years is enough time to change her, but what's ingrained in her may never be erased in a lifetime.

She knew, and Gu Linzhao knew too.

Since that's the case...

Since that's the case.

She walked up to Gu Linzhao.

He leaned against the wall, his posture casual, and watched her walk towards him step by step.

She stopped and looked up at him.

It seems the lighting was too dim.

She couldn't see his eyes clearly, nor could she discern the emotions hidden within them.

The only thing she could see was her own reflection clearly in those eyes.

There was a lot of noise behind me.

Fu Xianyin heard her own voice echoing in the dimly lit corridor:

"Mr. Gu, do you have time to talk?"

[Author's Note]

Our Yinyin baby is someone who would never allow herself to be wronged!

Writing swear words is so satisfying...it's so satisfying, I really love writing swear words, I love it so much...