Setting up a scheme

After leaving the New Times building, Gu Nan glanced back at the tall buildings, feeling utterly disheartened.

The shortest-serving vice president in history has set a record for the New Times.

It's a pity, Wu Feng will probably be smug for a while.

After thinking about it, I sent a message to Sudi.

Stay away from the advertising department for now. I'll talk to you when I get back.

Sudi didn't reply to the message for a long time. Gu Nan waited for a while, and just as she was about to leave after putting away her phone, Sudi called. When she answered, the other end remained silent.

Gu Nan stared at the call screen and tentatively called out again, but only a low sob came from the other end of the line, barely audible.

She sighed.

Difficult to understand.

The fame for bravely fighting Master Wan went to Su Di, the headlines went to Su Di, and the huge sum of money from the press release also went to Su Di. She bore the brunt of the Wan family's anger herself.

What's there for Sudi to be sad about?

If she were Sudi, she might even set off firecrackers to celebrate.

She wasn't Sudi after all, so she could only tap her phone in frustration and spout nonsense.

“Baby, I know you’re reluctant to leave me, but if others find out you’re heartbroken and despondent because of my departure, we’ll easily become the subject of gossip. You know our relationship was already terrible, and now you’re suddenly crying in the office for me, tsk, this love-hate drama is exactly what those old rascals in the editorial department love.”

Are you crazy?!

Sudi's voice was thick with nasal congestion. She let out a loud wailing that wiped away all the sentimentality in her heart. She said irritably, "Who can't bear to part with you? I can't wait for you to leave."

Gu Nan shrugged: "Oh."

"Hearing you cry like this, I thought I had left this world, not just the New Times."

"Can you please stop saying such unlucky things!"

Gu Nan smiled but didn't respond. She instructed, "I've discussed it with President Ji. You will be in charge of all the vice president's affairs for the time being. Wu Feng will most likely cause trouble. Whether he makes a scene in front of you or not, you don't need to worry about it. Just do your job well."

"I..."

"If you really can't stand it, write it down in your diary. I'll come back and play with you." Gu Nan raised her hand to hail a taxi, and said, "Bye."

"Hey, wait a minute," Sudi said hurriedly, as if afraid she would hang up, "I...you..."

Gu Nan held up her phone, waiting for her to speak, and casually replied to the driver, "Airport...anything else?"

"You're not with my senior brother."

"Huh?" Gu Nan asked, puzzled. "Me and him? Together? Who said that?"

"You said it yourself!" The out-of-control voice sounded somewhat exasperated.

Gu Nan propped her head up and recalled, and it seemed that there really was such a thing.

She was used to talking nonsense and would blurt out whatever came to mind, only to forget about it afterwards. No one had ever questioned her about it before, so she was quite unaccustomed to being asked about it all at once.

"So, are you happy or unhappy?"

Sudi muttered to herself, "Whether you two are together or not, what do I have to be happy about?"

He added, "It's obvious that my senior brother doesn't dislike you. I'll go and beg him; maybe he can help you fend off Master Wan out of consideration for our shared sect."

Gu Nan chuckled, lazily adjusting her posture, tilting her neck back to relax her shoulders and neck, and said nonchalantly, "Then how can you be sure I don't dislike him?"

She didn't even want to say that her trip to Beicheng was just to cause trouble for Lu Yushi.

"Don't be ungrateful. If my senior brother is willing to help you, Master Wan will give him face."

"Don't."

Gu Nan clutched her chest and reflected on herself. Although she wasn't a good person, she couldn't bring herself to ask someone for a favor to their face and then stab them in the back.

Of course, simply stabbing someone in the back is fine; she doesn't feel that much psychological pressure.

"How can you not appreciate kindness?" Sudi said angrily.

"I still have a conscience."

Although not many.

But her face was full of piety.

This face is extremely alluring; when her eyes are closed and her long eyelashes droop, she truly exudes a reverence for serving the gods.

Opening my eyes, all that remains is the carefree spirit of playing around in the world.

Ye Xu often sighed as he looked at this face, lamenting that Nuwa had added the wrong ingredients. This face could have been born into a capitalist's little princess, or into the youngest daughter of a loving couple in an ordinary family. In short, she should have been pampered and spoiled by everyone as she grew up.

Instead of Gu Nan...

Ye Xu stared intently at Gu Nan, racking his brains for adjectives.

Gu Nan took a bite of chicken leg meat, slowly wiped his mouth, looked up at her, and said seriously, "Please stop bullying my face with your eyes, thank you."

"Big idiot." Three words were enough to sum it up, so Ye Xu gave up looking for an adjective.

Gu Nan tossed the chicken leg onto the bone plate with a "thud" and pursed her lips: "I don't understand."

Ye Xu picked up another chicken foot and stuffed it into her mouth, coaxing, "It's okay, I was just praising you."

"Thank you for the compliment." Gu Nan lowered her head and began to devour the chicken feet. After finishing her meal, she finally remembered her business.

She cannot attend the dinner in the West End.

but……

She looked up at the person opposite her.

“What will happen between us if I don’t go to the dinner with you?” He gestured back and forth between the two of them with his right hand.

"You will lose your most loyal friend." Ye Xu raised his glass.

Gu Nan silently raised his glass and clinked it against hers from a distance: "A toast to our friendship that is about to be lost."

With a rustling sound of tables and chairs scraping against the floor, she and Ye Xu got up together, and she ran away.

Five minutes later, they took a detour back to the back entrance of Xingzi Building. Ye Xu was nowhere to be seen in the restaurant. Looking at the time, he should have already gone back to work.

Not long after, a man strode out of the door.

"Sister Nan."

Gu Nan nodded and handed him the contract.

The man casually flipped to the cover, his brows furrowed.

"Do we really have to make a move on the West District?"

The contract price was much higher than expected, but overall, it was just barely breaking even, not to mention the more than two years he spent monitoring the progress and making plans.

If the West District proceeds smoothly with its business plan, its profits will be at least 10 percentage points higher than those of Xingzi Building.

Just when things were about to blossom and bear fruit, he had already planned how to celebrate, but then Lu Yushi suddenly appeared, and all his previous efforts were in vain.

There's always a sense of resentment.

"Or else let it get moldy?" Gu Nan glanced at him, as if she had guessed what he was thinking, and smiled mischievously: "The ancients said that you should never open champagne halfway through the event. See, you're getting excited too early."

The man's anger turned into mixed emotions, and he said helplessly, "Sister Nan, it's your money after all."

Gu Nan nodded solemnly: "So I plan to wait until Lu Yushi is walking alone at night and then give him a good whack."

The man's partner was speechless with anger; he opened his mouth but no sound came out.

While there's no pressure in dealing with an unserious boss, sometimes it's just too much to bear.

Gu Nan glanced at him, and seeing that the anger in his eyes had subsided, she smiled and said nothing more.

Their eyes met unintentionally, and the man was stunned. His heartbeat suddenly stopped. He belatedly realized that Sister Nan was trying to calm him down, and he couldn't help but hate Lu Yushi even more.

In fact, the feud between Xingzilou and Lu Yushi can be traced back even further.

At that time, Xingzilou was just a barren piece of land, and Lu Yushi's only method of acquiring it was by throwing money at it. Later, something happened to the Lu family, and Lu Yushi had no time to pay attention to this area, which allowed him to successfully acquire it.

After several years of development, Xingzilou has driven the development of the surrounding business district, and it has gradually become a bustling area outside the city.

The owner of Xingzilou also became a figure on par with the five major families.

Everyone knows the true nature of the relationships between the five major families behind the scenes. To avoid trouble, Xingzilou never contacts the five major families, and the five major families, in turn, are proud of their status and refuse to associate with Xingzilou.

We've gotten along peacefully until now, but I never expected to offend the person I should have offended first.

The man lowered his voice: "I'm afraid that if I offend Lu Yushi, the Lu family might take action against our other sectors."

Gu Nan patted his shoulder lightly and said with a smile, "He's probably busy, he probably won't have time."

"ah?"

Gu Nan didn't bother to explain: "Sign the contract in the West District?"

"Yes, the signing is tonight, and the banquet is on the 13th. Will you be attending?"

Gu Nan smiled and said, "I'm not going."

She has more important things to do.

—Look at Lu Yushi, he lifted a stone only to drop it on his own foot.

It's going to be amazing.

He sighed slowly, "Paparazzi don't make a living easily. Don't be stingy. Just do them a favor. Taking a few photos and videos won't cost us anything, right? Speaking of meat, it's been a long time since I've had foie gras. What's the name of that restaurant in the West End again?"

The topic shifted inexplicably.

The man was puzzled; the man was confused.

"You mean kaiseki? Then I'll make the arrangements, tonight or later?"

"The Huai Shi tastes good. After signing the contract, invite someone to try it tonight." She instructed, "But don't let the paparazzi eat too much; they don't like being photographed without their consent."

Man: "I understand."

Gu Nan patted his shoulder. "But you can be patted, understand?"

Without waiting for the man's reaction, she pulled up her mask and strode away.

On my phone, a friend who had only been a few days old was unusually enthusiastic and sent me almost all the top-ranked restaurants in the entire northern part of the city.

She swiped up a few times, but couldn't see the end. Her patience ran out, and she started typing.

[7 o'clock, Kaiseki.]

The other end kept sending messages, and Gu Nan's phone kept ringing. She tried to hold back, but couldn't resist sending a voice message.

Is this the first time in your life you've ever had the chance to speak?

The message was sent, and the other end remained silent until 7 p.m.

As the clock hands completed their final rotation, footsteps sounded at the door. Then, the waiter opened the door to the private room, revealing a man with delicate features, a slightly pointed chin, and a pair of fox-like eyes that curved into a beautiful arc, beaming with a smile.

"Young Master Shen is really punctual." Gu Nan pouted and looked away.

"Gu Nan." Shen Ming called her name softly, standing in front of the table and chairs, staring intently at her.

Gu Nan took a sip of tea, looked up, and was still reading.

He took another sip, looked up again, and his gaze remained fixed on the scene.

The third time we drank tea, he looked up as he spoke: "Did you leave your brain at home, or is this the first time you've brought your eyes out with you, afraid you won't be able to use them properly?"

Shen Ming paused, then rubbed his nose sheepishly. "Sorry, that was rude of me."

As he spoke, he pulled out the chair opposite Gu Nan and, before sitting down, gentlemanly poured tea for her.

Gu Nan stared at his movements as he poured the tea, without saying a word.

“I looked at a lot of restaurants before, but you didn’t agree to any of them. I thought you didn’t want to eat with me. It seems I was negligent. I should have asked about your taste preferences first.”

Gu Nan silently raised her eyes.

The correct answer has already been given, so why is it being ruled out?

She murmured, "Back when you were in school, you must have really enjoyed changing your answers before handing in your papers, right?"

"What?"

"fine."

Shen Ming looked around and nodded in praise: "Although this restaurant is not very famous, it is quite elegant."

He glanced down at the dishes and commented casually, "The food is indeed a bit lacking. The foie gras would have been more flavorful if it had been pan-fried a little more crispy, and the beef tongue... should have been both tender and crispy." He touched it lightly with the tip of his knife and smiled, "It's so overcooked, the chef has ruined it."

Gu Nan shoved a piece of beef tongue into his mouth with his fork, but out of politeness, he didn't utter those six words.

Eat if you want, or get out if you don't.

"What do you want?"

Shen Ming smiled and said, "Let's be friends."

Gu Nan glanced at her phone, then put down her chopsticks regretfully: "It might not work."

"Um?"

"I like foie gras that isn't burnt and beef tongue that's overcooked."

I looked down and another message came in on my phone.

[The photos are taken; we can leave now.]

"I'm done eating, goodbye."

Ignoring Shen Ming's gloomy expression, she hummed a song and quietly left through the side door.

As if afraid the fire wouldn't ignite, she switched systems to send a message to Lu Yu.

[Hypnosis session number 13, Mr. Lu, don't forget.]