Chapter 49

Are you jealous?

It snowed for a day and a night, with heavy snowfall continuing until late into the night.

It was a bright, sunny day. Early in the morning, the warm sunlight shone on the white snow, reflecting a dazzling light. Bright light streamed gently into the dark bedroom through the gaps in the curtains.

The light in the bedroom startled Josh, who was still half asleep in bed. She slowly woke up and, still sleepy, reached for her phone next to her pillow.

It's getting late, time to get up and go to work.

Josh didn't get up immediately. She slowly turned over, buried her face in the pillow, and sighed helplessly. How annoying, she felt like she hadn't slept well at all, and it was already dawn.

Fortunately, it's Friday today. If I can hold on until tonight, I can get two days off.

Thinking of this, Josh's dormant body began to stir with a desire to revive. He stretched, slowly sat up from the bed, and reluctantly slipped into the bathroom in his slippers.

Washing my face slowly, brushing my teeth slowly.

Just after brushing her teeth, her phone, which was on the sink, suddenly vibrated. Seeing the name "Chen Zhiyu" displayed on the screen, Qiao Xi's lips unconsciously curled up into a smile.

As soon as Josh answered the phone and turned on the speakerphone, Chen Zhiyu's slightly concerned voice came from the other end of the line, "What are you planning to have for breakfast?"

The sound immediately filled the small bathroom, and Josh's heart was also filled with emotion.

"I'm not eating. I'll just grab a bread roll from the convenience store downstairs at the office," Josh replied casually, wiping his face. The partner company was arriving that morning, and they needed to prepare in advance.

“Winter makes people lazy, and eating this all the time will cause internal heat,” Chen Zhiyu said with concern.

Josh retorted, dissatisfied, "How can it be that I eat it all the time? I don't eat it every day."

"Alright, I'll cook for you when I get back today." Chen Zhiyu reluctantly compromised. "We're probably out of groceries at home. What would you like to eat? I'll go buy some when I get home."

"Are you really coming back today?" Josh paused for a moment while wiping her face, lowered her head, hurriedly picked up her phone from the sink, turned off the speakerphone, and held it to her ear.

"I could have gone back yesterday, but it snowed, and I was worried about safety on the road, so I stayed an extra day," Chen Zhiyu explained.

Josh suddenly realized, "Then why didn't you tell me yesterday? Chen Zhiyu, you did this on purpose? You weren't trying to surprise me, were you?"

Chen Zhiyu chuckled softly, "I did have that plan, but seeing that you really don't know how to take care of yourself, you gave yourself away first."

Josh gave a soft hum and walked briskly out of the bathroom to the bedroom to change his clothes.

After hanging up the phone, Josh felt exceptionally relieved. She quickly tidied herself up, checked the time, and, deciding it was about time, went downstairs to the bus stop to wait for the bus.

It's not cold when it snows, but it's cold when the snow melts. Under such a bright sun, the temperature outside is exceptionally low; it feels like my ears could freeze off.

The snow on the road had been cleared away completely, but vehicles were still moving very slowly. The bus Josh was on was no exception, moving in fits and starts, like a snail crawling along.

Many people almost missed their deadlines, but thankfully she arrived at the company safely.

"Good morning!" Xiao Yao, sitting next to her, greeted her warmly and handed her a cup of coffee. "Warm yourself up and get a boost. I'll be counting on you for a bit."

The rich aroma of coffee awakened her weary soul. Josh took the coffee, and the warmth spread from her fingertips throughout her body, warming her from the cold winter day. "Thank you, this coffee came just in time."

Of all the company computers, Josh's is the slowest to boot up. It's not that we're unwilling to replace it, but there's too much data on it, and we're afraid of missing anything. So every time Josh arrives at the office, the first thing he does is turn on his computer, and while he waits, he can do other things.

While her computer was booting up, Josh Hassha sipped her coffee, feeling both refreshed and warmed after each sip. "I was freezing," she complained, pulling a loaf of bread from her bag and taking a big bite.

Once I've recovered, I'll prepare for formal work.

"We're lucky, actually. I heard the underfloor heating downstairs is broken, and it's been frozen like this ever since. The repairmen have been working on it for days, but they still haven't fixed it," Xiao Yao said gossipily. "Now that it's snowing, how are we going to survive?"

"Looks like they're having a really tough time," Josh remarked.

"That's right, the owner bought it directly for four or five million."

They continued chatting until the leader entered the room, at which point they resumed their work.

A new company with cooperation intentions is coming today, and they need to be fully prepared. If they can win this project, their department will be able to do whatever they want in the company, at least until the Chinese New Year.

They arrived around 10 a.m., and after arriving, they went straight to the conference room with Josh and the others to discuss cooperation matters.

During the lunch break, the two teams ate their own meals and, after a short rest, resumed their intense meetings.

This continued until the end of the workday.

The moment the meeting was adjourned, Josh felt as if the shackles binding her body had automatically been released. After a day of sitting with a sore back, she got up to stretch her muscles, hurriedly packed her things, and prepared to leave work.

The two teams left together.

"Josh." Just as Josh was about to leave the conference room, a voice suddenly called out to her.

Josh turned her head and looked at the man walking towards her. She vaguely remembered him; he was the manager sent by the new partner company.

Qiao looked at the well-dressed man in front of her and gave him a polite but distant smile. "Is there anything else about work?"

The man paused for a moment, then laughed and extended his hand to her. "Let me introduce myself. My name is Fang Hong."

Seeing the confusion in Josh's eyes, Fang Hong added, "You might be more familiar with my cousin; her surname is Tang."

Tang? Of all the people Josh knew, the Tang family was unique. And this person in front of her had called her by name and knew she was acquainted with Tang Ning. Josh could only think of one person, and then it dawned on her, "You're Tang Ning's cousin."

Fang Hong nodded.

The atmosphere between the two suddenly became a little awkward. After all, before this, they were just strangers who had never contacted each other on WeChat. It was inevitable that they would feel uncomfortable to meet in person.

Josh was also wondering why Fang Hong had made it clear on the first day. Was it because he was afraid she would seek convenience in order to cooperate?

That was the only reason she could think of right now. But if he hadn't brought it up, Josh probably wouldn't have realized he was Tang Ning's cousin by the end of the day.

Josh was full of doubts.

The two of them rode the elevator downstairs in silence. "How are you getting home? Let me take you," Fang Hong suggested.

"No need." Josh instinctively refused. She felt uncomfortable around someone with whom she had such an awkward relationship. Although it wasn't a real blind date, she still felt uneasy after meeting them.

"Then why don't we eat together..." Fang Hong seemed unwilling to give up, and suggested again with some hesitation.

“Josh”.

Hearing the familiar voice she hadn't heard in a long time, Josh turned around abruptly, but as expected, she couldn't see Chen Zhiyu standing not far away through the crowd.

He tried to suppress his laughter, looking at them with an unfriendly expression, while Josh tried to hold back his laughter.

Fang Hong is both a new business partner and Tang Ning's cousin, so it's best not to make things too awkward. Qiao Xi humbly said to Fang Hong, "Is there anything else I need to add about the work? You can send it to me first, and I'll inform my colleagues when I get back."

Just then, Chen Zhiyu walked up to the two of them and naturally heard what Qiao Xi said.

Fang Hong's gaze swept between the two of them for a moment, then he decided to take the opportunity to back down, "It's okay, let's talk about it next Monday."

After seeing Fang Hong off, Qiao Xi and Chen Zhiyu went to the nearby parking lot together.

Seeing the familiar license plate, Josh teased, "Wow, you're practically using a government car like a private one."

Chen Zhiyu opened the passenger door for Qiao Xi, then turned and got into the driver's seat without saying a word.

Josh got into the passenger seat and fastened his seatbelt.

The car turned out of the parking lot and merged into the traffic.

The car windows were closed, and the car was completely silent. Chen Zhiyu drove very slowly, even slower than Grandpa Li's electric wheelchair. He also made a lot of small movements, tapping the steering wheel every now and then, and his eyes kept drifting towards Qiao Xi.

Josh pretended not to see it, and after a while he struck up a conversation with him, "The snow was quite heavy yesterday."

Chen Zhiyu did not respond.

Josh turned his head in confusion. Chen Zhiyu's profile was bathed in a velvety glow from the setting sun. His jawline was taut, and he stared stubbornly ahead, as if he were struggling with something.

Josh stared at him for a few seconds, then finally couldn't help but ask, "Chen Zhiyu, what kind of trouble are you causing now?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Zhiyu gripped the steering wheel, swerved the car, and veered off course. He found a parking spot, parked the car, and after a long silence, he finally spoke, "Who was that person?"

“That’s more like it,” Josh replied with a smile. “What’s wrong with asking? He’s our new partner.”

Before he could relax, Josh added, "He's also Tang Ning's cousin."

"Your blind date?" Chen Zhiyu frowned, distracted, and turned to ask Qiao Xi.

Josh met his gaze in surprise. "You know all this?" she said. She then explained, "It wasn't really a blind date. We just added each other on WeChat and didn't even ask each other's names." How Fang Hong recognized her was a mystery, but Josh guessed that Tang Ning might have told him.

Chen Zhiyu scoffed, "After adding you in the contact information, we haven't exchanged a single word for so long. But now that I've seen your true colors, you're already rushing to me."

Out of the corner of his eye, Chen Zhiyu saw Qiao Xi open her mouth as if to say something, but quickly cut her off, speaking at lightning speed, "Don't tell me you're being petty. I clearly heard him say he wanted to invite you to dinner. Why didn't he invite the whole company? Why did he only invite you?"

"His intentions are as clear as day."

"Besides, the two companies haven't signed a contract yet, and he didn't even consider you when he did this."

After listening to his long, rambling explanation, Josh chuckled and asked, "Anything else?"

"what else?"

"A grand speech, huh?" Josh thought for a moment and still found it amusing. He reached out and patted Chen Zhiyu's head; Chen Zhiyu's hair was soft and fine, like patting a puppy. "Jealous?"

Chen Zhiyu wanted to say no; he was a rational and mature man. Fang Hong was also Qiao Xi's work partner, which he understood, but he still felt uneasy.

If that person truly admires Josh, likes Josh, and wants to compete with him, he will naturally accept the challenge. It's just that Fang Hong is too superficial. He hadn't contacted him for several months, but as soon as he saw Josh's true appearance, he disregarded the cooperation between the two companies and rushed over.

She doesn't seem to have high emotional intelligence either.

"Didn't I already refuse? In any case, their company will most likely become our department's new partner, so we can't afford to offend them."

"I know," Chen Zhiyu said softly.

"I know that too."

Fang Hong's actions today were indeed inappropriate. The two companies are in a sensitive period of cooperation, as the contract has not yet been fully signed. If the two of them go out to dinner at this time, they will be criticized.

Whoever proposes this meal will be seen as Josh trying to curry favor with him.

Josh represents the company's image, and we cannot allow her to affect our cooperation.

Therefore, Qiao Xi understood the meaning behind Chen Zhiyu's words.

She simply preferred that Chen Zhiyu bring it up first; she didn't want to create any potential problems in their relationship because of an insignificant outsider.

Josh reached across the center console armrest and took Chen Zhiyu's hand, who was resting on the steering wheel. "Finished talking? Let's drive home quickly, I'm hungry."