Chapter 40 The Dinner Party

Yu Bai was busy writing the press release in an orderly manner, while Su Yin was in a state of panic. Gao Yuan still refused to meet with her. Miss Su's news career had always been smooth sailing, but this was the first time she had encountered a setback, and she was in such a sorry state.

"Editor-in-chief, could you please give me the contact information for the president of Bai Technology?"

Su Yin went straight to the editor-in-chief Anya's office. She hadn't slept well for several nights, and was anxious about the interview every day. She had asked many friends for help, but to no avail.

Anya twirled the pen in her hand and said tactfully, "Xiao Su, I don't have one either. I think you might as well try other interview assignments."

Su Yin was unconvinced. "Sister An, besides Yu Bai and me, who else in the magazine can take on this interview assignment?"

Although Su Yin disliked Yu Bai, she had to admit that Yu Bai was capable in his work.

Anya smiled and said, "Yes, I want Xiaoyu to try again."

Su Yin frowned. "Why? Didn't she already start working on the charity section?"

“But, according to Tingbai Technology’s president, Yu Bai is the preferred candidate.” Anya had no choice but to tell Su Yin directly.

In terms of looks, Su Yin is superior to Yu Bai; in terms of ability, Su Yin is no worse than Yu Bai, so why is Yu Bai the preferred candidate? Su Yin was indignant.

“Connections are a skill that journalists can demonstrate. You’re excellent, Su, and you can shine in other interviews too. Why worry about this?” Anya comforted Su Yin.

But Su Yin was stubborn. She originally wanted to prove that she could get an interview with the rumored, mysterious president of Tingbai Technology and prove that she was better than Yu Bai. But now the editor-in-chief told her that the president's preferred candidate was Yu Bai. How could Su Yin stand it?

Yu Bai is deaf, so why does he always get the upper hand over me?

Su Yin's face was ashen, but her phoenix eyes still burned with a defiant fire as she said to Anya, "I will get the interview!"

After saying that, Su Yin stormed out of the office, pushed open the glass door, and saw Yu Bai walking towards her. She glared at Yu Bai with annoyance.

Yu Bai was completely oblivious, not knowing what she had done to offend this young lady. She didn't even glance at Su Yin and walked past her, but Su Yin bumped into her hard. Yu Bai was caught off guard, and the documents in her hand scattered all over the ground. Before she could even get angry, Su Yin had already accused her first, "Don't you have eyes when you walk? Are you deaf and blind?"

Yu Bai usually doesn't hold a grudge against Su Yin, just thinking of her as straightforward and spoiled. But Su Yin is really going too far, always attacking people's most vulnerable points and engaging in blatant workplace bullying against her colleagues.

Yu Bai picked up the documents from the ground, stood up, looked calmly at Su Yin, and said, word by word, "I may be deaf, but that's better than your wicked heart."

Su Yin wanted to say something sarcastic, but Anya in the office had already heard their argument and said loudly, "Xiao Yu, come in quickly."

Su Yin snorted coldly and whispered in Yu Bai's ear before leaving, "No matter what, it can't change the fact that you're disabled."

She left with a shrill, piercing laugh. Yu Bai was stunned for a moment, a thought forming in his mind that he didn't want Su Yin to get the interview with Jiang Jizhou.

Composing himself, Yu Bai pushed open the glass door and walked into the office with a smile. "Editor-in-Chief, what can I do for you?"

Anya said, "There's a dinner party tonight, will you come with me?"

"May I ask why I should go, Sister Ya?"

“Aren’t you reporting on the issue of barrier-free infrastructure construction? There’s an industry bigwig at the dinner party; you can get to know him.” Anya explained businesslike, but in reality, someone had specifically requested that Yu Bai attend.

Upon hearing this, Yu Bai's eyes lit up, and she immediately nodded, "Okay, thank you, Sister Ya."

“I’m doing this for the magazine’s benefit. You should work hard on this public service section. If it’s well-received, you’ll be a hero.” Anya smiled.

Yu Bai bowed and smiled, "Okay, I will try my best not to let you down."

This unexpected joy overshadowed the hurtful words Su Yin had just spoken to Yu Bai, and Yu Bai was as happy as the sparrows chirping outside the window.

Nan Kui created a WeChat group with Yu Bai and Su Su as members, and the group name is "Fairy's Little Nest".

Yu Bai shared this good news in the group chat.

Plant a sunflower: Yay! My Bai Bai is truly outstanding!

SuSu: Go go go!

Plant a sunflower: White flowers, if you become rich and powerful, don't forget us, and if you become a top reporter, don't forget us.

Yu Bai was amused by Nan Kui.

White Rabbit Candy: Okay, okay.

Then, Nan Kui sent several photos of herself taking selfies in different outfits.

Planting a sunflower: Sisters, I'm meeting my boyfriend in person next week, which outfit should I wear?

White Rabbit Candy: Which one?

Planting a sunflower: meeting someone who's 185cm tall in real life, and then meeting someone who's 187cm tall the week after next. I'll see how it goes before making a decision.

White Rabbit Candy: Be careful, don't crash.

Planting a sunflower: That's a given, trust in my abilities.

Su Su: Kui Kui, you are still the better one.

Plant a sunflower: ...

While chatting idly with Nan Kui and the others in the group chat, Yu Bai also handled her work. She didn't have anything urgent to do at the moment, and was just waiting to attend the dinner party that evening.

In the afternoon, Anya came to Yu Bai's workstation and told her to dress up nicely and formally.

Yu Bai changed into a beige long dress, looking elegant and poised. She wore light makeup and her hair was styled in an updo, exuding an intellectual and elegant yet capable aura.

Anya was very satisfied after seeing it.

At 6 p.m., we arrived at Champs Elysees. The interior was decorated in a Chinese style. We lit incense, and the fragrance was delightful. A waitress dressed in Hanfu led us around the pavilions and waterside terraces to a private room on the second floor. A light gauze curtain brushed against our faces. We pulled back the screen and found several men sitting around a round golden nanmu wood table.

Jiang Jizhou sat at the head of the table, dressed in a black suit, exuding elegance and refinement.

He glanced up at Yu Bai with a faint smile in his eyes.

Yu Bai stood frozen in place, momentarily stunned.

"Come on, let Xiao Yu introduce you." Anya quietly tugged at Yu Bai, bringing her back to her senses.

"This is our magazine's big boss, General Manager Chu."

This was the first time Yu Bai had met the big boss, and she quickly bowed and shook hands.

"This is Yue Sinian, the famous engineer I mentioned to you."

Yue Sinian was much younger than Yu Baixiang, only in his early thirties. He was tall and thin, dressed in casual clothes, and exuded a free and unrestrained temperament.

"So you are Yu Bai."

His voice carried a hint of playfulness and meaning, leaving Yu Bai somewhat bewildered, wondering if she knew him.

Introduced in turn, with Jiang Jizhou last.

“This is Jiang Jizhou, the president of Tingbai Technology.” Anya lowered her voice. “He rarely shows his face, Xiaoyu, you must seize this opportunity.”

Jiang Jizhou stood up, bowed slightly, and extended his hand first, giving her a gentle yet indifferent smile, "Miss Yu, hello."

"Such a refined scoundrel!" Yu Bai gritted his teeth and had no choice but to extend his hand with a smile, "Hello, President Jiang, I've long admired your name."

She touched Jiang Jizhou's hand briefly and was about to pull it back, but he gripped it tightly. A few seconds later, Yu Bai forced a stiff smile and pulled her hand away.

After taking their seats, Yu Bai had An Ya on her left, Yue Sinian on her right, and Jiang Jizhou opposite her. She kept her head down and didn't look at him, but Jiang Jizhou's gaze kept falling on her seemingly unintentionally.

Yu Bai didn't forget her business. While chatting during the wait for the food to be served, she asked Yue Sinian for his contact information.

Yue Sinian narrowed his eyes slightly, smiled at Jiang Jizhou, and added Yu Bai on WeChat.

Yu Bai smiled broadly and began chatting with Yue Sinian.

Until she felt a cold gaze fixed on her and Yue Sinian, Yu Bai glanced in Jiang Jizhou's direction and saw that his expression was terrible. Yu Bai ignored it and continued to discuss with Yue Sinian the current situation and problems of barrier-free facilities construction in my country. They had a very congenial conversation.

After the dishes were served, Anya asked Yu Bai to toast everyone, but Jiang Jizhou stopped her.

"I don't like this drinking culture; I prefer things to be casual."

When Jiang Jizhou spoke, everyone stopped being polite and urging each other to drink. Yu Bai felt a little less resentful towards him and buried her head in her food, occasionally chatting and laughing with Yue Sinian beside her.

"Sister Ya, I need to go to the restroom first."

As the saying goes, "Everyone has to go to the bathroom," Yu Bai told An Ya, then got up and left the private room to go to the restroom.

As she came out of the restroom, she saw Jiang Jizhou standing in the hallway waiting for her.

He stood against the wall, lit a cigarette, and started smoking.

As they walked past him, the strong smell of tobacco filled the air. Yu Bai frowned, and Jiang Jizhou said softly, "Don't go, Bai Bai."

Yu Bai rolled her eyes at him. "What is it?"

"Please don't be so mean to me, okay?" Jiang Jizhou asked, his expression pained and his tone pitiful.

"Then put out your cigarette, it smells awful."

After she finished speaking, Jiang Jizhou immediately put out his cigarette. "If you don't like it, I won't smoke anymore."

Yu Bai looked up and saw that Jiang Jizhou, who used to be carefree and self-centered, was now unusually humble.

Yu Bai gave a slight twitch of his lips. "Whatever."

Why add WeChat to the list of new users?

"It's necessary for work."

Jiang Jizhou knew it was for work, but he was still annoyed, especially since she had blocked all his contact methods but added Yue Sinian on WeChat, even though he was the one who introduced them. The more he thought about it, the more annoyed he became, and Jiang Jizhou felt suffocated.

"Then add me too."

"It's no use."

Yu Bai's two light words pierced Jiang Jizhou's heart. He forced a smile and said, "Then you should interview me too."

"In no mood."

After speaking, Yu Bai thought of Su Yin's sarcastic and mean manner when she mocked her earlier that day, and she didn't want Su Yin to get Jiang Jizhou's interview as she wished.

"Have you seen Su Yin?" Yu Bai asked Jiang Jizhou.

"Who is she?" Jiang Jizhou asked in confusion.

Yu Bai shook his head. "It's nothing."

It turns out Jiang Jizhou hasn't met Su Yin yet. No wonder Su Yin was so angry. Given Jiang Jizhou's temperament, he probably won't accept Su Yin's interview.

"I'll go in first." Yu Bai left directly and went into the private room.

After a while, Jiang Jizhou came in from outside.

The dinner proceeded as usual. Yu Bai could clearly sense the flattery shown to Jiang Jizhou by the people at the table. Even the big boss of their magazine was fawning over him. An Ya, of course, was also flattering him. Yu Bai truly witnessed another side of the leader who usually acted so arrogantly and domineeringly in front of them.

Yu Bai was just a junior reporter, so she kept a low profile, only occasionally offering a smile in agreement.

But Jiang Jizhou called on her, "Editor-in-Chief An, what do you think of Miss Yu's work ability?"

Jiang Jizhou, that bastard! Yu Bai cursed him in her heart, but on the surface she could only smile tremblingly, because she was just a small reporter.

Anya raised an eyebrow and said seriously, "Xiao Yu's professional skills are excellent, and she is very hardworking. She even got injured when she went to the mountains for an interview before."

Upon hearing that Yu Bai was injured, Jiang Jizhou's expression became somewhat unusual.

"I see. If possible, I would very much like to cooperate with Miss Yu." He smiled slightly at Yu Bai.

Jiang Jizhou was clearly using someone else to do his dirty work. Sure enough, Anya seized the opportunity and said, "We would also like to cooperate with you, President Jiang."

Yu Bai was still in a daze, seemingly out of sorts. Anya nudged her arm. "Isn't that right, Xiao Yu?"

Could she say no? Yu Bai was now in a dilemma.

After a moment of silence at the dinner table, Jiang Jizhou looked straight at Yu Bai. An Ya, the "smiling tiger," also gave Yu Bai a slightly affectionate smile. Everyone's eyes were on Yu Bai, and undercurrents were swirling. Yue Sinian watched the scene with great interest from the sidelines.

A moment later, under the almost piercing gazes of several high-ranking leaders, Yu Bai nodded stiffly.

She couldn't help but glare at Jiang Jizhou. Just now, he had pretended to beg her to accept the interview, and when she refused, he forced himself to do so.

Yu Bai gripped her chopsticks even tighter; the anger in her heart, which had been building up since she first saw him at the dinner party, was now almost bursting forth.

He was a chosen one, powerful and influential. She could only submit to his whims. When he liked her, he would elevate her to the heavens; when he didn't, he would trample her into the mud. Yu Bai hated him even more.