Chapter 48 "If there's a next time, I won't let you off the hook..."
Sheng Yu lifted her eyelids and asked in a very flat tone, "Are you very familiar with her?"
Xiang Wen choked: "No."
Sheng Yu raised a hand to run his fingers through his hair, his expression inexplicably irritated. It was unclear whether it was because of his untimely suggestion or something else.
Xiang Wen dared not guess any further, and hurriedly turned away without saying another word.
A moment later, the gate of the workplace, not far from the car, opened automatically, and the sound of high heels clicking on the floor tiles began, growing louder and louder.
Xiang Wen turned his head to look, and a woman holding a black umbrella and wearing a suit dress was waving at him from outside the car.
He looked surprised and quickly greeted her, "President Qin, what brings you back to China? Weren't you going on vacation with your fiancé?"
Qin Nong folded her umbrella, opened the back door of the car and sat down, tidying her long hair as she said, "The old man insisted on waiting until I returned to China to celebrate his 80th birthday, and we also discussed a cooperation while we were at it."
Xiang Wen smiled and said, "You and your grandfather have a really good relationship."
Qin Nong smiled, took out a contract from her platinum bag, and handed it to Sheng Yu: "The beverage supply contract with Vanke."
Xiang Wen immediately turned on the lights.
Sheng Yu took it and flipped through it casually.
Qin Nong, as the largest shareholder of Yunqi, is also Sheng Yu's college classmate. Having grown up abroad, she is incredibly open and enthusiastic, and she directly approached Sheng Yu to look at the documents with him, explaining the terms and conditions.
Sheng Yu casually pushed her outwards.
Qin Nong pouted and complained, "You still haven't gotten rid of that habit of not letting women get close."
Sheng Yu tapped the chair: "Stop talking nonsense."
After Qin Nong finished explaining the terms, and after waiting for two seconds, Xiang Wencai cautiously asked, "President Sheng, should we take President Qin to the hotel first?"
Sheng Yu hummed in agreement and glanced at the car window in front of him.
Xiang Wen started the engine and saw that Miss Tang, who had been getting rained on for a while, had finally gotten into the car by the roadside.
She bent down to open the car door, but slipped as she stepped into the door frame. Her slender back snapped against the hard car body with a loud thud.
She didn't seem to feel any pain, didn't even rub it, and entered the car while holding onto the door.
As soon as the door closed, the taxi's taillights lit up, looking like two red fish in the rainy night, and then it swam away in an instant.
Xiang Wen then asked, "Are you staying at a hotel tonight too?"
Sheng Yu pinched the bridge of his nose hard: "Go back to Zizhuyuan."
/
The car was freezing cold, blowing the icy air into my soaked clothes, making them stick to my skin and causing me to shiver.
"Driver, could you please turn off the air conditioning?" Tang Ci nodded toward the driver's seat.
The mechanic turned around, saw her disheveled appearance, nodded, and turned off the air conditioner.
The air in the dimly lit carriage gradually seemed to solidify.
Tang Ci leaned back in her chair, her cold hands twisting together, the scene she had just witnessed replaying uncontrollably in her mind's eye.
Under the bright lights, a stunningly beautiful woman leaned against Sheng Yu, whispering something. Sheng Yu, who had been wearing a cold expression all night, finally softened, listening attentively with a relaxed and contented demeanor.
This was in stark contrast to his cold attitude towards her.
Tang Ci looked out the window at the city blurred by the rain and silently curled the corners of her lips.
It seems you're doing well.
When Tang Ci returned to her rented room, she remembered that the ceiling light had burned out the night before.
She stood in the dark room for two seconds, then finally decided to go downstairs to buy a light bulb.
This neighborhood is old, but the rent is cheap, and it's full of migrant workers from other places, so the commercial street stays open very late.
The hardware store at the alley entrance was open. Tang Ci took the light bulb handed to her by the owner, took her phone out of her pocket, and suddenly stopped.
Seeing her pale face, the boss asked anxiously, "Was your phone stolen?"
Tang Ci shook her head, took out her phone to scan the QR code to pay, and hurriedly left without saying a word of politeness.
She gazed at the neon-lit street and checked her pockets again; the business card that had been lying quietly in her pocket in the taxi was indeed gone.
Tang Ci tightened her throat, ignoring the puddles on the ground, turned on her flashlight, and bent over as she searched back.
The rain stopped sometime ago, and the air got warm again. My knitted sweater felt warm from my body and clung to my skin, half-damp and not quite dry.
Tang Ci searched all the way back to the door of the rented house, her nose covered in fine sweat, but her hands were still empty.
She gripped her phone tightly, as if turning back to look for it again, but her steps downstairs became slower and slower until she stopped.
What are you doing.
Tang Ci asked herself, her chest heaving.
Sheng Yu's meaning couldn't be clearer—she was afraid of being bothered by her, so she was only willing to give her assistant's business card.
Even so, it's probably just polite talk in business.
Even if she does find the business card and calls it, she will only be met with a rejection.
This might be the right way.
She has already seen Sheng Yu's free and happy life.
Her wish had come true, so there was no reason for her to be greedy and ask for anything else.
As for the money she owes him, she can simply repay it through Yunqi once she has saved enough.
Thinking of this, Tang Ci breathed a sigh of relief and carried the plastic bag back to her rented room.
/
Monday morning.
Several employees were standing in Jianchuan's break room. Tang Ci and Jing Yan stood by the window, making coffee and talking quietly.
"Sister Xiaoci, is there really no chance for us to win the Yunqi project?" Xiao Jing slammed her fist on the table in anguish. "Was the president of Yunqi absent that night?"
"I went," Tang Ci said, taking a sip of water from her mug. "But I didn't get a chance to speak to her."
“Yeah, that’s true,” Xiao Jing said wistfully. “A rising star in the hotel industry, I heard he’s very young.” She paused, then asked gossipily, “What does he look like? Handsome?”
Tang Ci swallowed the warm water and mumbled a soft "uh".
"Is he handsome or not?" Xiao Jing persisted.
"Well enough."
Xiao Jing wanted to say something more, but caught a glimpse of a figure out of the corner of her eye. She put her fist to her mouth and whispered to Tang Ci, "Zizou is here."
Tang Ci placed the mug on the table and greeted the portly Zidane, "Manager Qi."
Qi Zu glanced at the two of them: "You've already started slacking off this early in the morning, huh? You've already finished all your work, haven't you?"
"Tang Ci, now that you've become the team leader, you need to set a good example and stop leading your subordinates to mess around every day."
His reprimand drew sidelong glances from the other employees in the break room. They wondered what was wrong with Zidane getting angry as soon as he returned to the country, and for a moment no one dared to speak up.
Xiao Jing clenched her teeth in anger, and a squeaking sound came from between her lips.
Tang Ci could easily tell he was deliberately picking a fight, and calmly showed him her phone screen: "There are still five minutes until check-in. Did you forget to check the time?"
Her voice was gentle and her attitude polite. Zidane pursed his lips, snorted coldly, and went back to his office.
As soon as he left, the other colleagues gathered around to comfort Tang Ci: "Don't take his words to heart. He's notorious for bullying people by relying on his power."
Xiao Jing said through gritted teeth, "He stole our project, and then he dared to provoke us first?!"
"Is that so?" The other colleagues stared wide-eyed, indignantly cursing Zidane in whispers.
Just then, Lü Qing from the administration department walked over. She had obviously overheard their conversation and said in a low voice, "As soon as General Manager He arrived, he called Manager Qi into his office and gave him a severe scolding. You didn't see it; when Manager Qi came out, his face was as black as charcoal."
“It must be because of the promotion,” Xiao Jing said with a smile. “Serves him right. I knew President He would scold him.”
Tang Ci listened to everyone's lively discussion, stroking her mug without saying a word.
The conversation continued until it was time for work to begin. Just as everyone was about to return to the office area, the elevator at the main entrance dinged as it arrived at its stop.
He Xiao came downstairs himself, a gentle smile on his face, and took two steps toward the tea room: "Xiao Tang, come to my office with me."
“Okay, Mr. He.” Tang Ci finished speaking and glanced sideways at the office of the design department manager.
The door wasn't closed, and Qi Zu was staring at her with a dark expression.
Tang Ci's heart tightened, and she quickly followed President He into the elevator.
“Your team suffered a great injustice this time, and I have already dealt with Zidane.” As soon as the office door closed, He Xiao said to her earnestly, “You should have realized that I value your abilities and intend to cultivate you for a higher position.”
“Thank you for your appreciation,” Tang Ci looked him straight in the eye. “I can only try my best to improve my skills; as for the rest, I’ll just let nature take its course.”
He Xiao smiled, asked some more work-related questions, and then asked Tang Ci to come downstairs.
Just then, a department meeting was being held, and when Qi Zu saw her returning from the president's office, he couldn't help but make a few sarcastic remarks.
Tang Ci could only sigh silently in her heart.
/
Life went on uneventfully, and in mid-May, the gardenias in Nanling bloomed in profusion.
Jiang Zheng's birthday is this Sunday. Tang Ci received an invitation and went to the calligraphy and painting market on Saturday to pick out a freehand flower and bird painting as a birthday gift for him.
Flower and bird paintings are already large in size; once framed and packaged in a cardboard box, they become enormous pieces in Tang Ci's hands.
The birthday party was held at a suburban resort. Tang Ci carried this huge gift, took the subway three times, and after getting off the train, she still had to walk nearly a kilometer.
The suburbs are lush with greenery, and gardenias are in full bloom all over the streets. As Tang Ci walks along, the tips of her hair and the hem of her skirt are covered with a faint fragrance, and she feels particularly relaxed.
She arrived early; only a few guests had come to the courtyard. Judging from their attire, they were all from wealthy families. Tang Ci didn't recognize any of them and didn't greet them rashly. She carried the calligraphy and painting towards the gate.
The resort is uniquely decorated, with grape trellises on the veranda in front of the gate, the branches and leaves entwining the carved pillars, and transparent wind chimes hanging from the beams, which tinkle from time to time when the wind blows.
The openwork wooden door is painted in a pale yellow-green color, and when it is illuminated by the sunlight, it is both eye-catching and warm.
Because of her work, Tang Ci has a habit of taking photos to record events, so she took out her phone and snapped a few pictures of the scene.
After taking the photos, she looked down to examine them with lingering interest, and while looking at them, she hugged the cardboard box and rushed into the door.
She was so engrossed in her phone that she tripped over the door frame, but quickly regained her balance. However, she pushed the door open a little too hastily.
The door was wide open, and Tang Ci bumped straight into a broad chest.
"I'm sorry—" Tang Ci froze before she could finish her sentence.
The person who had resolved to stop fantasizing actually appeared before her again.
Sheng Yu was wearing a light blue shirt without a tie, and the top three buttons of his shirt were undone, revealing his straight and deep collarbone. He squinted in the sunlight, looking quite languid.
But when he lifted his eyelashes and saw the face of the person who bumped into him, his eyes slowly turned icy.
Tang Cixin panicked and tried to back away while holding the cardboard box.
Sheng Yu reached out and grabbed the back of her neck.
Upon feeling the slightly cool touch on her skin, Tang Ci immediately froze on the spot as if under some kind of spell.
Do you remember what I said before?
Tang Ci hugged the cardboard box tightly and thought for a while before realizing that he was referring to the harsh words he had said to her outside the small hotel.
She moved her lips and said, "I remember, I remember."
The sun shone tirelessly, but Sheng Yu's expression returned to that night before the storm, and she looked at her with a sinister look, saying, "The second time."
Unable to face Sheng Yu like this, Tang Ci lowered her eyes and asked tremblingly, "What..."
“This is the second time you’ve barged in front of me,” Sheng Yu tightened his fingers on the back of her neck, forcing her to look up and meet his gaze. “If there’s a next time, I won’t let you off the hook.”
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