Chapter 58 Chapter 58

Inside the hotel room, the heavy curtains blocked out the light from outside, making it impossible to tell whether it was day or night.

It was surprisingly quiet all around, with only the slight hum of the central air conditioner being heard.

Wen Shuo was lying in bed. When he woke up, it was almost six o'clock in the afternoon.

Perhaps it was the retribution for drinking too much at noon, he felt dizzy and had a splitting headache.

He always boasted that he was the king of physical strength, and he had drunk more alcohol than today on many occasions, but he was still able to handle various tasks with vigorous energy, never like today.

The soul seems to be floating in the air, and there is a black hole in the heart, swallowing up all the happiness.

He fumbled for his phone in the dark, turned on the screen, and saw the long list on his schedule. Finally, he got up, went to the bathroom, and freshened himself up.

He changed into a new suit and stood before the full-length mirror, examining himself. Compared to four years ago, he seemed to have changed a lot, yet also seemed to have remained the same. Only the corners of his mouth curved slightly downward, revealing no trace of happiness.

He picked up his cell phone and wanted to call Song Jin, but there was a knock on the door at the right time.

Song Jin stood outside the door, holding a tray with a white medicine box and a glass of water on it.

Wen Shuo knew how attentive he was in his daily life, so he didn't say anything. He opened the medicine box, took out a hangover pill from it, picked up the water glass, tilted his head back and swallowed the medicine in his hand.

Seeing that he had finished eating, Song Jin asked, "Mr. Wen, are you feeling unwell?"

He attended a strategy forum in the morning, and when he returned to the hotel, he heard that Wen Shuo had asked Lu Rendong to go drinking at noon. He also saw him locking himself in the hotel room for the entire afternoon, and he had no idea what had happened.

"Nothing, I just drank too much at noon."

He seemed to have turned back into the cold and flawless Mr. Wen of the past.

Song Jin: "Then how about changing tonight's schedule and going back tomorrow?"

"No thanks," Wen Shuo replied. "I have an important meeting with the SEC tomorrow. There's no need to delay everyone's schedule because of me."

Song Jin nodded and said nothing more.

He has watched Wen Shuo grow step by step over the years to where he is today. He knows how strict he is with himself, and he also knows that once he has made up his mind, he will never change it.

After taking the medicine, Wen Shuo was obviously in better spirits: "By the way, it was you who called Lu Rendong last night?"

"Yes," Song Jin said, "I remember he was your friend, also in Beijing, so I took the initiative to contact him."

Wen Shuo said, "Then you should know the relationship between Ren Li and me."

Song Jin looked at his boss, unable to guess what he was thinking.

But he nodded anyway. He wouldn't hide anything from his boss. "Yes, I noticed you were quite interested in her at the party yesterday. I figured she must be someone you knew, so I asked about her when I was chatting with your friend yesterday."

He was quite surprised to learn from Lu Rendong last night that Ren Li was his boss's "ex-girlfriend".

Although Wen Shuo possessed excellent qualities, he had never been involved in any romantic scandals in his many years in the business world. He was truly a man of few equals.

He originally thought that his boss was a complete workaholic and was not in a hurry despite his young age, but now it seems that this is not the case.

Wen Shuo finally withdrew his scrutinizing gaze: "So what did she do today?"

Song Jin: "Ms. Ren has been staying at the venue the entire day and hasn't gone anywhere."

"Okay. Ask her out tonight for me, in the name of work." Wen Shuo said, "Also, please reserve a table with a view at the restaurant downstairs in advance."

-

Ren Li was so busy the whole day that she was dizzy.

I sent the first version of the report to my mentor, and received several revision suggestions in the afternoon. One of them required revising the data and replacing it with a more authoritative data source.

The machine that can scan these data is only available in the company, so she has to go back to the company again in the evening.

Fortunately, the deadline for this report was postponed for a few days, so she didn't need to be as anxious as before.

She glanced at the memo on her computer and saw that there were still many items on today's to-do list that had not been closed.

She sighed, poured herself another cup of coffee, and continued to work all afternoon until the first day's strategy meeting was over.

After the meeting, she and Cheng Lulu accompanied General Manager Ling to see off the clients who were invited to the meeting, and they could finally go home from get off work.

Cheng Lulu slung her bag over her shoulder, looking at her with eager anticipation: "Bao, are you going back to the company later?"

Ren Li nodded: "Yeah. I want to go back to the company downstairs to have dinner, then go upstairs to work for a while before going back."

"Great! Are you going to update the data?" Cheng Lulu clasped her hands together. "Ren Li, I know you're the best. I just happen to have an Excel file that needs updating. Can you help me find some data when I go back to the company? Please! I'll send you the file later."

She was using her usual tricks again.

Ren Li also knew that it was not a good idea to bother others with data-finding tasks, as it would take up a great deal of time. This wasn't something she should be doing, and after a busy day, she really didn't want to add any extra work to her workload.

"Lulu, why don't you find someone else? I have a lot of things to do tonight..."

"Ms. Ren."

Hearing someone calling her, Ren Li turned around and saw Song Jin walking towards her.

She suddenly had an inexplicable intuition in her heart, and her first reaction when she saw him was nervousness.

He walked up to Ren Li, smiled and said, "Hello, Miss Ren."

"Hello, Mr. Song." Ren Li nodded politely. "What can I do for you?"

Cheng Lulu, who was standing by, never wanted Ren Li to steal the limelight, so she also said, "Yes, Mr. Song, if there is anything we can help with, just let me know."

Song Jin said, "It's like this. Mr. Ling mentioned that you're planning to do a special issue on artificial intelligence companies soon, and he hopes we can provide some materials. Unfortunately, Mr. Wen has to fly back to the United States tonight. Miss Ren, if you have time now, he'd like to treat you to a meal and discuss the materials."

Is Wen Shuo going back to the United States tonight?

Ren Li's thoughts were still on Song Jin's words.

She originally thought that Wen Shuo would stay in the country for a while, and even when she saw him last night, there was a moment in her mind that she felt that Wen Shuo had come back specifically to see her.

When will I be able to get rid of this self-conceited habit?

Since he was leaving again, Ren Li felt there was no need to meet him again.

Although she felt a little sad, she still had a faint smile on her face: "Mr. Song, I have something else to do tonight, so it's not convenient for me to go over. If you don't mind, let Cheng Lulu go with the materials."

"Ren Li, is it so difficult to have a meal with you?"

A familiar voice suddenly came from the side.

Ren Li turned around and saw Wen Shuo.

No matter when or where, even if she had made all the mental preparations, she would still fall in love with him again the moment she saw him.

Stories about youth are often too simple, without a grand ending, and even without complete chapters.

The sunlight danced on the desks in the back row of Class 17's classroom, and the blank draft paper was filled with unspeakable secrets.

The person she likes will always be the 18-year-old boy in a white jersey on the basketball court.

But perhaps, that person is no longer the Wen Shuo of today.

Seeing her in a daze again, Wen Shuo frowned unconsciously: "What's with that expression on your face again?"

Yes, it has been four years. No matter what, the "old friends" who meet again after a long separation should have put aside their past grudges.

She understood the truth, but she just couldn't hide her emotions and couldn't be as calm as him.

She said nothing and bit her lip lightly.

This was a dangerous signal, and Wen Shuo's heart suddenly tightened.

She was still the same as before, with this expression whenever she wanted to cry.

"Come with me." He reached out, grabbed Ren Li's wrist, and led her towards the elevator.

On the side, Cheng Lulu, who witnessed the whole process, covered her mouth.

Song Jin stood aside with his hands behind his back, smiling, and watched his boss leave. Then he turned around and said to Cheng Lulu:

"Ms. Cheng, you may not know this, but Mr. Wen and Ms. Ren are old acquaintances. Mr. Wen doesn't want their relationship to be exploited or distorted by anyone with ulterior motives. So, you should know what to do."

-

Wen Shuo didn't let her go until they entered the elevator.

Ren Li had never expected things to develop in this direction.

But she knew that he was Wen Shuo, and no one could stop him from doing what he wanted to do.

What's more, he is now her client and has legitimate work reasons. Whether for public or private reasons, Ren Li has no way to refuse.

Ren Li: "Where are you taking me? According to what Mr. Song said just now, after dinner, will you give me the materials that Mr. Ling wants?"

Hearing her say this, Wen Shuo finally revealed a different emotion: "It's been so long since we last met, are you really unwilling to even say a polite word like 'long time no see' to me?"

Oh, so he remembered everything.

Ren Li thought, but he clearly looked like he didn't recognize her last night.

Wen Shuo's voice came to my ears.

"Ren Li. I'm leaving now. I don't want to recall our last meeting later, only to find us chatting about meaningless work matters."

So, this is really the last time we meet.

Ren Li thought to herself, and suddenly she wasn't so sad anymore: "Then what do you want me to talk to you about?"

She looked up and met Wen Shuo's gaze.

Do you want to talk to you about why you disappeared after graduation? Or do you want us to be like ordinary "friends", exchanging a few polite pleasantries, chatting about the recent weather, talking about each other's lives, and then wishing you a safe journey and happiness for the rest of your life?

She couldn't do either of them.

But she still retained her professional manners, and was willing to say something decent and polite for the sake of the materials she would use at work tonight.

After all, she was no longer the little girl who was only sad and upset after Wen Shuo left four years ago: "I'm sorry, Mr. Wen. I was too busy yesterday and didn't have time to say hello to you. Thank you, Mr. Wen, for still remembering me as your 'friend'."

Her words were very polite, but Wen Shuo didn't want to listen: "Since we are friends, we should have a meal together."

Ren Li: "No need to eat. Sorry, I'm really busy today. I have an important report to deal with later."

She still likes to refuse as always.

Wen Shuo glanced at the time. He had only an hour and a half left before he had to leave for the airport.

"Did you have dinner?"

Ren Li shook her head.

If it weren't for Wen Shuo, she would have been having dinner downstairs at the company at this time.

Wen Shuo nodded: "Okay, you can treat me to dinner tonight. Remember? You still owe me a meal."

Ren Li didn't expect him to use this trick, and asked back: "When did I owe you anything?"

Wen Shuo said, "Four years ago, I helped a friend of yours who I met at cram school. You promised to treat me to a meal, but you haven't done it yet. So, Ren Li, are all promises so worthless in your eyes?"

He is angry.

Only at this time would Ren Li feel that Wen Shuo in front of her was real.

She remembered the friend Wen Shuo mentioned at the cram school. Her name was Yang Yi. Not long ago, she saw photos sent by her on WeChat Moments.

In the photo, she has her hair cut short, looking energetic. She was admitted to the Public Security University a few years ago and should be doing her internship now.

But she had truly forgotten that she had promised Wen Shuo to treat him to a meal.

Maybe she had already fulfilled her promise, but Wen Shuo had forgotten it.

But it's no use saying anything now. When it comes to memory, Wen Shuo will always be much better than her. What if?

The person she least wanted to owe anything to was Wen Shuo.

"Okay, I promise you." Ren Li finally relented, "I'll treat you to dinner tonight."

"It's settled." Wen Shuo glanced at the time. "There's an hour and a half left. We'll have one hour to eat, and for the other half, I'll accompany you to the company to work overtime."