Chapter 54 "Then let me ask you again..."

"What did you say! Lin Chaoyue, are you crazy?"

Li Cong's scream came directly from the phone. When he called Lin Chaoyue's name, the last syllable exploded, and his voice was distorted.

Lin Chaoyue lay on the large bed in the hotel, her legs crossed and swinging back and forth.

After being disturbed, I put my phone away, but after a while, I calmly picked it up again.

Lin Chaoyue: "Why are you so agitated? Are you that surprised?"

"No... Lin Chaoyue, ask around the world, among the people in the circle who know you, who wouldn't be surprised to hear this?"

"What's gotten into you? Stockholm Syndrome? You've actually fallen for Pei Shuwen? If you've been abused by him, blink twice. Wait... this guy hasn't learned some kind of shady magic, has he put a love spell on you?"

The more they talk, the more outrageous it gets.

Lin Chaoyue quickly stopped her: "Alright, don't apply what you see in movies to me. Anyway, here's the thing. Give me some advice. What do you think I should do?"

She had little experience when it came to liking someone. It was always the other person who took the initiative to show her affection.

This was the first time she had ever been so certain of liking someone and wanted to get closer, yet she felt a little timid.

"How would I know! No, Yuebao, let me process this first. I haven't fully processed it yet."

"Next time, I'll give you some advice next time. I'll go first..."

"Wait a minute." Seeing that Li Cong wanted to leave, Lin Chaoyue quickly asked, "How did you pursue that elite sister of yours? Did you chat with her every day? I remember you gave her quite a few gifts. Should I give her gifts from time to time? But I don't have any money right now, so I probably can't give her anything too expensive."

That's it. Li Cong's first thought was that Lin Chaoyue had gone mad.

But now he thinks she's finished.

Based on his understanding of Lin Chaoyue over the past twenty-odd years.

He knew she was serious this time.

"You really like him that much? What's so great about him? So many people pursued you before, but you never gave them a kind look. You finally got encouraged by everyone to start a relationship, but you broke up after only a few days. Are you sure you really like him?"

"Yes, I like him. He's really a good guy. As for why... I can't really say for sure. When you go back to China, I'll introduce you two, and then you'll know."

"No, no, please don't." Li Cong thought to himself that there was no need for Lin Chaoyue to introduce him; Pei Shuwen had left a very deep impression on him when he was a child.

He's still shaken by the experience.

Li Cong calmed down and changed his question: "Then let me ask you again, do you want to pursue him, or do you want to sleep with him?"

That's a very direct question.

Lin Chaoyue wasn't guilty when she dialed the phone to say she liked Pei Shuwen, nor was she guilty when Li Cong screamed in surprise. But now, feeling guilty, she jumped off the bed, pulled the doorknob, and made sure the door to the suite was closed tightly.

fine.

She locked the door as soon as she got back in the morning; the soundproofing in each room of this presidential suite is quite good.

Lin Chaoyue sat back on the bed, this time not lying down, but picking up Pei Shuwen's rainy night photo from the bedside table, and asked absentmindedly, "What's the difference?"

Yes! That's perfect!

"If you want to sleep with him, I suggest you don't go looking for something so far away. Just go directly to Mu Qiao. She has countless big, good men at her disposal. If you want, you can definitely find one that satisfies you."

What if I want to pursue him?

"If you want to pursue him, I advise you to give up now. In our circle, arranged marriages are arranged, but how many people actually get married based on feelings? It's too expensive. Besides, things are different now. I just heard a few days ago that the Pei family seems to be doing well on the surface, but behind the scenes, things are chaotic and there's a lot of trouble going on. Right now, even if your parents want to set you two up, they'll have to put it on hold."

"What do you mean?" Lin Chaoyue raised her eyebrows, somewhat surprised.

Li Cong sighed and said with exasperation, "You were on a business trip to Yuntai with Pei Shuwen recently, didn't you know?"

"What's going on? Stop keeping me in suspense."

Li Cong really couldn't do anything with his childhood friend. When she urged him, he could only compromise and say, "Okay, okay, I'll tell you. Pei Shuwen is nominally a partner at Juntian Liangmu, but he secretly invested in a cloud platform company. A while ago, he secretly stole his father's business. No one had found out before, but recently someone did. Pei Shuwen is the largest shareholder of that company."

"That's really ruthless, even stealing his own father's business."

"I've heard of couples fighting over business before, but I really don't understand why a father and son with the same surname would do the same thing."

Lin Chaoyue fell silent.

The sudden silence made Li Cong belatedly realize he had said the wrong thing: "No... Yuebao, I wasn't talking about your parents. Your aunt and uncle had no choice back then. They've been a model couple in our circle for so many years..."

Lin Chaoyue said calmly, "It's alright, it's all in the past, please continue."

After confirming twice that Lin Chaoyue was really not angry, Li Cong continued gossiping for a while longer.

I hung up the phone.

Lin Chaoyue lay on her back on the bed.

My feelings are mixed.

Her parents were in an arranged marriage, and until she was 17, she always thought that although they didn't get together because of love, they had a very good relationship.

Some things happened afterward that shattered her lifelong beliefs, making her very sad. She even had a car accident because of it.

Until this trip back to China, she had no expectations for this arranged marriage and even felt some resistance to it.

But despite all her calculations, she hadn't anticipated that before her family could fully clarify the matter, she would already have fallen for Pei Shuwen.

Pursue him, or do you want to sleep with him?

Lin Chaoyue felt that neither was the case.

But she hasn't figured out exactly what it is yet.

--

On the last day of her business trip to Yuntai, Lin Chaoyue booked a spa treatment at the hotel that evening. She hadn't slept well the night before, and she was flying to Nancheng early the next morning. Pei Shuwen hadn't contacted her since he returned.

She very consciously found a way to relax and unwind.

After finishing her spa treatment, it was already dark. She hadn't seen Pei Shuwen all day and had planned to use the excuse of having dinner together to call and ask him where he was.

Pei Shuwen called first.

"Come to the restaurant on the third floor. I've sent you the private room number."

Lin Chaoyue looked up at the wall clock; the hour hand was approaching eight o'clock.

Lin Chaoyue: "How did you know I hadn't eaten dinner yet?"

Pei Shuwen glanced at the newly appeared bill on the table: "Your recent hotel expenses are all on my bill. You selected the real-time bill delivery service, so the fragrant essential oil spa package you just had, as well as the extra cost of the red wine, are all in front of me now. I think you probably haven't had time for dinner yet."

"Come over now?"

"Coming, coming right away."

--

"Why did you call Lin Chaoyue here? Why is it so hard to ask you out for dinner alone?" Mu Fenglin was dressed in a fitted suit, her hair meticulously styled, looking very formal. But she still couldn't hide the captivating charm in her eyes.

She leaned against the dining table next to Pei Shuwen's chair, arms crossed, watching her.

Pei Shuwen sipped his tea indifferently, glancing at the bill on the table occasionally, without ever lifting his eyelids.

"I don't think I ever agreed to keep our appointment. Didn't you insist on coming together?"

Pei Shuwen's words were practically accusing her of being shameless.

But she just smiled and changed the subject, saying, "It seems I've disturbed your time together. But even if Lin Chaoyue comes, I'm not going to leave. I love being a third wheel."

"what ever."

He's flying to Nancheng tomorrow; the final agreement on his continued cooperation with Mu Fenglin is still pending. Even if she doesn't come today, he'll find time to go to Ningcheng to confront her later.

Pei Shuwen was well aware of this; he didn't like wasting time on the same thing over and over again, so he let her have her way.

Seeing that Pei Shuwen was completely unmoved and indifferent, Mu Fenglin was a little annoyed. Although she was not a stunning beauty, she was definitely one of the most beautiful women in a crowd.

The man in front of her seemed to have more affection for that tattered receipt than for her.

Mu Fenglin bit her lower lip, casually snatched the bill from in front of Pei Shuwen, and sat down with a cold snort: "I've already spoken to the hotel manager. All your expenses at the Grand Hyatt this time will be charged to my account, and this bill is mine too."

Pei Shuwen finally glanced at Mu Fenglin this time.

"Look, I'm useless to you. Otherwise, you can pay me back the money I spent clearing out the hotel and helping you find a partner."

"Or I can just ask Lin Chaoyue for it; I'm doing this to help both of you anyway."

This is about being a rogue.

Mu Fenglin did it with ease.

She told Zhu Qian last time that she would book all the empty hotel rooms to create a space for the two of them to be alone together.

Pei Shuwen didn't know about this at the time, but she found out later.

But he acquiesced.

Mu Fenglin bet that Lin Chaoyue didn't know yet, and that Pei Shuwen, that old fox, didn't want his little white rabbit at home to know either.

Mu Fenglin spoke confidently and loudly. Coincidentally, the door to the private room was slightly ajar. Lin Chaoyue had just reached the door when she heard something about 'dating' and 'Lin Chaoyue'.

The woman's voice was familiar; it belonged to Mu Fenglin.

Are Pei Shuwen and Mu Fenglin talking about themselves?

The hotel manager helped open the door, and Lin Chaoyue couldn't help but ask curiously, "What are you talking about? What do you mean by dating? Who? Me?"

Mu Fenglin, who had been so 'arrogant' just moments before, has now fallen silent.

Threatening Pei Shuwen is one thing, but laying things out on the table is another.

"You misheard me. Um, please sit down."

It seems that Mu Fenglin is hosting this meal, but if Mu Fenglin is going to invite someone, she should invite Pei Shuwen instead of waiting for her to join.

Pei Shuwen hadn't said a word since he entered the room, and she gave him a questioning look.

"Wasn't this meal your treat?"

Pei Shuwen usually sits upright and exudes a strong aura when she's working; but today she's only wearing casual clothes, and even sitting there drinking tea, she looks a bit lazy, not so formal.

He spoke slowly: "The food here is very fresh, Mr. Mu is treating us."

He paused for a moment, then added, "Let's also talk about work."

"I'll treat you, I'll treat you." Mu Fenglin was very tactful. Seeing that Pei Shuwen had agreed, she acted as if she wasn't the one who had just 'threatened' Pei Shuwen.

"My men were ignorant, I apologize to you both. Don't worry, I've sent them away, and they definitely won't be in your way next time you come."

Lin Chaoyue spent a night in the mountains and almost forgot that someone was talking badly about her behind her back.

Anyway, they weren't anyone important. She was upset for a while when she first heard it, but she was actually fine afterwards.

"Ah, you mean them? I'd forgotten about them if you hadn't mentioned them."

Mu Fenglin snapped her fingers: "You're so generous, unlike your boss."

"What about me?" Pei Shuwen glanced at her, clearly not thinking that his previous 'calculation' and 'joint punishment' were not magnanimous behavior.

Mu Fenglin and Pei Shuwen have been interacting so frequently lately.

I've roughly figured out his current temperament.

This man is intelligent, proactive, and decisive; once he sets his mind on something, he's a man of his word, and he has a deep-seated protectiveness towards his own.

Making a few jokes is fine, but if we go on to talk about other things, we'll be at a disadvantage.

"You're so generous, you're so perfect, and you're still the kind of man I, Mu Fenglin, can't handle."

"It's too challenging for me, I can't do it, how about you give it a try, Yueyue?"

Mu Fenglin then shifted the focus to Lin Chaoyue, directly addressing her concerns.

Lin Chaoyue didn't even have time to react before she blurted out, "How do we try it?"

The question silenced everyone in the private room, including Lin Chaoyue herself.

Mu Fenglin coughed lightly: "Um, we have top-grade grouper tonight. I'll go pick out a good one. You guys chat, you can chat slowly."

Mu Fenglin disappeared.

The huge private room was now empty except for her and Pei Shuwen.

Lin Chaoyue rubbed her hands together, trying to change the subject: "Um, what were you talking about when I came in? I think I heard you talking about me."

A fleeting emotion crossed Pei Shuwen's eyes, but it vanished in an instant.

He picked up the bill that Mu Fenglin had put down and handed it directly to Lin Chaoyue this time: "Give me the bill."

It would have been better if they hadn't brought it up, because the mention of it only made Lin Chaoyue more embarrassed.

"I didn't mean for you to pay. I'll transfer the total amount I've spent on you recently to you." She used to swipe her card to pay for her purchases and habitually assumed that all her spending was deducted from her own account.

A few days ago, she noticed that the balance in her account hadn't changed much, which she found a bit strange.

Pei Shuwen was amused by Lin Chaoyue's confused look: "I'll have the finance department stop your salary next month."

"Why should I!"

Do you remember how much salary you received this month?

"Did you get paid this month?"

Lin Chaoyue knew about this, and with some skepticism, she opened her account. There was indeed an extra entry in the income section, the remittance account being Jun Tian Liang Mu's—it really was her salary. Although it wasn't much, it was enough to cover her spa expenses for the past few days.

She didn't feel anything when Pei Shuwen gave her her salary card last time.

Seeing the numbers in her account this time gave her a strange sense of satisfaction.

Strictly speaking...

This should be considered her first paycheck in her life.

She had never earned money on her own before, and it felt somewhat unreal.

Then, when she looked at Pei Shuwen, her eyes lit up.

"Is this really my salary? It seems to be a bit more than before."

This is significantly more than the amount Pei Shuwen had in her salary card last month.

Pei Shuwen said calmly, "There are so many extras, and you still haven't noticed. If I didn't pay you a salary, you probably still wouldn't have noticed either."

"You're breaking the law by withholding wages from working people. Surely a lawyer as big as you wouldn't knowingly break the law! I'll set an alarm and come see you on time next month! You're not allowed to not pay."

Lin Chaoyue never asked for money, yet she asked for it now with a perfectly justified attitude.

Pei Shuwen nodded seriously: "That's good. He's not stupid. I guess my teaching wasn't in vain."

"Now that you've received your salary, you should continue to work diligently."

"I've had Feng Xiao send you the work for the next week to your email. Familiarize yourself with it in advance. The workload in the next few days will be heavier than at the gimbal, so be prepared."

The joy came quickly and went just as fast; Lin Chaoyue instantly became dejected.

"No...wasn't the work at Yuntai supposed to be the main focus? I asked Feng Xiao before I went up the mountain yesterday, and he said that the work in Nancheng was just some due diligence and nothing important..."

Pei Shuwen frowned slightly.

Lin Chaoyue very tactfully slid to her knees: "I was wrong, due diligence is important too, but there are two of us, and with you here, this work will definitely be a piece of cake for you..."

“It’s not just the two of us, it’s just you; you’ve been learning about due diligence before the IPO for a while now, and I’ll be checking the progress tomorrow. You should be fine with that, right?”

There's a problem, a really big problem.

She's been at the law firm for almost a month.

But she was just coasting along for a long time, and didn't really study for many days. This was the test of her learning results, and she wasn't afraid that she would ruin her project.

"I have a question..."

I believe you can.

Pei Shuwen is undoubtedly strict at work, but when he affirms someone, his voice is like a leisurely Western musical instrument, both pleasant and alluring.

Lin Chaoyue's heart skipped a beat. She couldn't bring herself to refuse. In a moment of impulsiveness, she wanted to prove that she really could do it and that she wasn't so bad after all.

"Hmm, I'll give it a try. I should be able to do it."

After saying this, she cursed herself for being love-struck and bewitched. Pei Shuwen also raised an eyebrow in surprise.

Lin Chaoyue's face flushed, and she tried to salvage the situation: "Anyway, I've already taken the money you gave me, and you wouldn't agree even if I said no, so I'll give it a try."

"Okay, let's give it a try."

Pei Shuwen looked at himself with a leisurely air, but Lin Chaoyue always felt that when he said "give it a try," he wasn't referring to work.

But there is no evidence.

I could only make an excuse to go to the restroom to wash my face and cool myself down.

She was so focused on washing that she even looked at herself in the mirror for two minutes, completely unaware that Mu Fenglin was walking out in front of her.

Mu Fenglin was angry and didn't see Lin Chaoyue.

"What did you say? Say it again? The contract has already been signed?"

Zhu Qian on the other end of the phone swallowed hard: "President Mu, it's not what you said... that we need to finalize the cooperation with President Pei as soon as possible."

"You said it yourself, it's President Pei, Pei Shuwen. Who did you sign? Zhao Huai'an! Do I need to go to all this trouble for Zhao Huai'an? Have you lost your mind? When did you sign this? Didn't you notify me beforehand?"

Zhu Qian had come to claim credit, but instead he was subjected to a severe scolding.

In his eyes, they were all Juntian Liangmu anyway, so there wasn't much difference between Pei Shuwen and Zhao Huai'an.

He didn't understand why his boss was so persistent.

His voice was low: "Just now, Secretary Pei faxed it over. I tried calling you three times but couldn't get through, so I signed it first."

"Damn!" Mu Fenglin glanced at her phone; it was indeed in silent mode.

She's been driven crazy by that crazy woman Mu Fengyue lately, and doesn't want to answer her calls, so she keeps her phone on silent when it's not for work.

She was 'bothering' Pei Shuwen right when she signed the contract.

No wonder he was so easy to talk to tonight.

He didn't believe that he, as the boss, wouldn't know that his secretary had signed a contract with her.

So all I did was watch her make a scene the whole time.

"Okay, I'm hanging up."

"Mr. Mu, wait a moment..."

Mu Fenglin impatiently put her hands on her hips: "What else do you want to say?"

Zhu Qian said weakly, "The finance department asked me to ask you when the hotel payment will be settled."

Zhu Qian didn't dare to waste any more words and directly gave a number.

Mu Fenglin exploded again: "What hotel costs so much? Is it a palace or a castle? I didn't spend this much last quarter! I'm a rich kid, not an ATM!!!"

Zhu Qian wanted to explain, but just as Mu Fenglin turned off her microphone, the voice of the Grand Hyatt Hotel manager came through.

Zhu Qian wisely hung up first, not wanting to see his boss make a fool of himself.

"Ms. Mu, this is the cost included in the hotel clearance during this period, and the specially customized dinner tonight is also included."

"As you instructed, the bill was not delivered to the private room. You can check it now."

Mu Fenglin glanced at the bill before remembering.

It turns out it was the cost of this hotel.

She was so angry she almost fainted.

She even helped Pei Shuwen out; now that she thinks about it, she really regrets it.

Just then, she caught a glimpse of Lin Chaoyue coming out of the restroom.

She strode over and grabbed her, startling Lin Chaoyue, who was wiping her hands with her head down: "Since you heard it, I won't lie to you anymore. The hotel does have vacant rooms, but they've been booked out."

"What did you hear? I didn't hear anything. What do you mean?" Lin Chaoyue looked completely bewildered.

Mu Fenglin didn't mind. She spoke a few words to the hotel manager and then asked him to call Pei Shuwen. In the meantime, she made a 'shh' gesture to Lin Chaoyue.

"Wait, you'll find out soon enough."

Pei Shuwen answered the phone quickly, and a familiar voice soon came through.

"Hello."

"Hello Mr. Pei, I am Chen, the manager of the Grand Hyatt Yuntai Hotel. I found that you booked two room types on your check-in date: a presidential suite and a standard twin room. Due to our recent shortage of rooms, we have not been able to provide the standard room. We are very sorry about this."

"Is there anything else?"

The hotel manager and Mu Fenglin exchanged a glance, and the manager continued, "We currently have a sufficient number of rooms available. We can arrange a complimentary standard twin room as compensation."

"Do you need anything now?"