Chapter 49 "Until I get tired of it."...
A flurry of footsteps came from inside the door, and someone called out towards the door, "Brother Yu, what are you doing standing at the door?"
Tang Ci's heart tightened when she heard the voice, and she moved her feet towards the door, distancing herself from Sheng Yu.
As Sheng Yu turned her head, she released her hand from the back of Tang Ci's neck. Several men approached and came face to face with Tang Ci outside the door.
Jin Ming, who was walking ahead, suddenly stopped and stared at her in disbelief: "What are you doing here?"
Sensing the anger in his tone, the guests looked at each other, puzzled, and then whispered among themselves as they looked at Tang Ci.
Zhou Yiyang walked over to Jin Ming, patted him on the shoulder, took out a pack of cigarettes, and said to Sheng Yu with a smile, "Want to go out for a smoke?"
Sheng Yu nodded, walked past Tang Ci, and went out the door.
When Zhou Yiyang and the others passed by her, their gazes did not linger on her, as if they were seeing a stranger.
Tang Ci was the only one left at the gate. She slumped her shoulders as if deflated, lifted the cardboard box upside down, and carried it into the house.
Jiang Zheng was sorting through gifts in his study when he saw her carrying a cardboard box in, and he quickly reached out to take it from her.
"What gift is so valuable?" Jiang Zheng asked with a smile as he placed the cardboard box on the table.
“It’s worthless, it’s Zong Yue’s flower and bird painting,” Tang Ci explained. “I remember you said you liked it before.”
Although Zong Yue's painting wasn't particularly valuable, it was certainly not cheap. Tang Ci usually seemed frugal, so this gift was indeed expensive for her.
His smile deepened: "Thank you, that's very thoughtful."
"If anyone should be thanking someone, it's you," Tang Ci said earnestly. "I've asked you for help quite a bit."
“Speaking of which—” Jiang Zheng glanced outside the door: “President Sheng is here today too.”
Tang Ci's smile froze slightly: "I saw it when I came in."
"Didn't you exchange business cards at the last meal? Did you talk privately?"
Tang Ci shook her head, her tone firm: "They were just being polite."
Jiang Zheng had no doubts: "Don't be discouraged, there will always be another opportunity."
Tang Ci smiled and nodded.
Jiang Zheng's phone screen lit up; the butler had sent him a message that the party was about to begin.
"Come with me to the banquet hall," Jiang Zheng said, gesturing towards the door.
Tang Ci looked at him with difficulty: "The company still has drawings to finish, so I won't go to the party."
"It won't take much time, will it?" Jiang Zheng said. "At least have a piece of cake with me."
Thinking that nothing unexpected would happen while eating a piece of cake, Tang Ci didn't refuse anymore.
A cake and a champagne tower were laid out on the long table in the center of the banquet hall, which was already surrounded by many guests.
Upon seeing Jiang Zheng, many people raised their glasses to offer their blessings. Jiang Zheng returned the toast with a cup of tea and also handed one to Tang Ci.
Someone with sharp eyes noticed his movements and asked with a smile, "Who is this?"
“Tang Ci,” Jiang Zhengchao turned to Tang Ci, “is a designer at Jianchuan Design Studio.”
The man had clearly heard of Jian Chuan; his eyes lit up, and he called out to the crowd, "President Sheng, aren't you worried about not having a suitable hotel design? This designer is Jian Chuan."
The group of people who were talking by the window fell silent for a few seconds, and their expressions were somewhat strange as they looked at Tang Ci who had reappeared.
Tang Ci swallowed hard and instinctively hid behind Jiang Zheng.
Sheng Yu put his hands in his pockets and glanced at him sideways: "Young Master Jiang, Mr. Li certainly knows how to fawn over you."
Li Cheng could easily detect the displeasure in his tone, and assumed that he disdained dealing with unknown designers, so he stopped trying to connect with him.
Tang Ci, who is 1.63 meters tall, was wearing flat canvas shoes and was not conspicuous at all among the guests who were dressed up.
But the surrounding crowd of people clinking glasses didn't give her much of a sense of security. Tang Ci huddled next to Jiang Zheng, nervously finished a slice of cake, wiped her lips with a tissue, and then said goodbye to him.
She was in a daze and didn't notice the man following behind her.
Pushing open the door, stepping out of the courtyard, and reaching the manor's fence, Tang Ci finally let out a heavy sigh.
Lush green leaves pushed their way out of the fence, and the white gardenias were still in bloom, but they drooped their heads and huddled together listlessly.
Tang Ci took two steps toward the subway station when she suddenly heard someone call her from behind.
"Tang Ci!" She paused without turning around, her voice growing louder: "Tang Ci—are you really not hearing me or are you pretending?!"
She turned to look at the furious Jin Ming: "Is there something you need?"
"That's what I should be asking you," Jin Ming sneered, taking two steps toward her. "You humiliated Brother Yu so much in the past, and you still dare to come to him today?!"
“I just came to deliver a gift to Jiang Zheng,” Tang Ci frowned. “I didn’t know Sheng Yu was here too.”
Jin Ming looked her over suspiciously: "Are you telling the truth? You're not using work as an excuse to deliberately get close to him, are you?"
Tang Ci's throat tightened. She had indeed done that before, but that was because she didn't know that the president of Yunqi was Sheng Yu.
If she had known earlier, she would never have gone to that dinner party.
“I had considered taking over Yunqi’s project before,” Tang Cikong said in a low voice, swallowing hard, “but I haven’t thought about it since I found out that Yunqi was his company.”
"Don't worry, I will never appear in front of him again," Tang Ci said to Jin Ming, as if warning herself, "Absolutely not."
Jin Ming's tense face relaxed, as if he had punched the air, and for a moment he didn't know how to end the situation.
Tang Ci suppressed her slightly rapid breathing: "Can I go now?"
Jin Ming moved his lips, then uttered a warning: "You'd better keep your word."
Tang Ci slung the tote bag over her shoulder, and before she could turn around, she heard Jin Ming, who had reached the front door, ask in a panic, "Brother Yu, when did you arrive?"
Tang Ci's fingers tightened suddenly as she looked up and saw Sheng Yu standing in front of the manor gate, a cigarette between his fingers, slowly smoking.
The dry smell of tobacco masked the fragrance of flowers, and the air felt like it was on fire. Tang Ci turned around and quickened her pace, leaving the manor.
My chest felt like it was burning, with a dull, aching pain.
/
With the major project for Mingsheng lost, Tang Ci had no choice but to frantically take on small projects and work day and night to ensure the performance of her team members.
Fortunately, Zidane benefited from the situation and didn't cause her any more trouble, so her work went relatively smoothly.
It was another morning after working overtime late into the night. Tang Ci, with light dark circles under her eyes, went to the tea room to make tea.
Xiao Jing was in even worse shape than her. She crawled into the tea room like a zombie with stiff limbs, grabbed a bag of food from the refrigerator, and started stuffing it into her mouth.
After replenishing their energy, the two ate breakfast in the break room, waiting to continue working in a little while.
Halfway through his rice ball, Qi Zu came in on the phone, beaming and showering the receiver with compliments: "This time, we really owe it all to Manager Yu. I never thought you could actually get Yunqi, such a big shot, to come..."
Tang Ci subtly lifted her eyelashes and continued eating her rice ball.
Xiao Jing watched Qi Zu walk away before indignantly leaning close to her ear to gossip: "I heard he asked someone to meet with President Sheng of Yunqi, and they arranged to have dinner tonight. President Fu is also going. How did he get the news?"
“Such a big project, the news will spread sooner or later,” Tang Ci said softly. “Before him, I guess many companies had already contacted Yunqi.”
"What a pity, you were clearly the first person to contact them." Xiao Jing said with a gloomy look, "That bastard Zidane really got off easy."
Tang Ci shook her head and said softly, "Zizou might not be able to win him over. His design style is old-fashioned, and he is arrogant and proud. He always insists on doing things his own way when it comes to design and doesn't listen to the client's opinions much."
“But he’s authoritative enough,” Xiao Jing whispered. “His clients usually entrust him with all the responsibilities.”
Tang Ci took a sip of tea: "But that President Sheng is not someone without his own opinions."
Xiao Jing opened her mouth and teased, "You seem to know a lot about that President Sheng."
Tang Ci glanced at her, feigning boredom, but the fingertips holding the mug curled slightly.
The next day, Zidane came to the company looking completely different from the smug man he was the day before. His chubby cheeks were practically touching the floor. As soon as he entered, he kicked over a trash can and didn't even bother to pick it up. He then slammed the office door shut as he entered.
The design department was in a state of panic, with everyone glued to their computers trying to meet deadlines, barely daring to breathe.
The only active chat group is the employee group chat.
"Is he crazy? He came to the company acting like a madman first thing in the morning!"
"I guess it's because the project with Yunqi didn't go through. The last time he got this angry was when he failed to get a promotion."
"Whose fault is that?! He always takes his anger out on us because of his own problems!"
...
"That's what happens when he's the major shareholder's cousin..."
"As you've probably noticed, Mr. He has been dissatisfied with him for a long time..."
The conversation grew increasingly intimate, and the gossip soon came to an end.
Tang Ci didn't participate in the discussion; she was focused on rendering the design. Suddenly, the president's office sent her a message asking her to go to President He's office.
The office door was half-closed. Tang Ci knocked on the door and waited for He Xiao to say "Come in" before pushing the door open and entering.
He Xiao sat behind his desk reading documents, then gestured to the chair opposite him: "Xiao Tang, have a seat."
Tang Ci sat down and waited patiently. He Xiao looked at her after signing the documents and asked, "Little Tang, do you know President Sheng of Yunqi?"
"I've met you before."
He Xiao said "Oh," and got straight to the point: "You should have heard that President Sheng didn't adopt Qi Zu's design proposal."
Tang Ci couldn't pretend to be stupid, so she nodded.
He Xiao continued, "Yesterday I also brought your previous drafts with me and showed them to President Sheng. He said we could talk about it."
He paused, crossed his arms meaningfully, and said, "But he wants you to go to him in person."
Tang Ci paused for two seconds before realizing that Sheng Yu must have overheard her conversation with Jin Ming that day, which was why he wanted to take revenge on her.
Tang Ci couldn't understand why he did this.
Her mind was still foggy, and He Xiao urged, "Make a draft this afternoon, and go see President Sheng tonight."
Remembering Sheng Yu's warning, Tang Ci instinctively refused: "My abilities are limited, and I'm afraid I'll mess up such a big project as Yunqi."
He Xiao smiled and said, "This is not like you. The Mingsheng project is much bigger than the coffee shop project you took on before. You were eager to take it on back then."
Tang Ci swallowed hard and insisted, "Why don't you ask the leaders of the other groups?"
"Tang Ci, you should think this through," He Xiao's face darkened, his tone carrying a subtle pressure: "The Mingsheng project could be Qi Zu's fault, or it could be your fault."
"If you can't even keep an eye on a project, be careful you won't even be able to keep your position as team leader."
After the incident of Ming Sheng, Tang Ci realized that He Xiao's promotion of her was not out of appreciation for her talent, but rather as a pawn to counterbalance Qi Zu.
She also knew that if a chess piece didn't obey, it would eventually become the one kicked out of the game.
She thought for two seconds and said softly, "I understand."
/
After get off work, Tang Ci left the office building, took out the business card He Xiao had given her, and called Xiang Wen.
Xiang Wen must have already received Sheng Yu's notification, because as soon as the call connected, he said, "Miss Tang, President Sheng wants you to come to Binzhou Prefecture tonight."
Tang Ci gripped her phone tightly: "Why do we need to talk at a hotel?"
“Don’t worry,” Xiang Wen said patiently. “Our company hasn’t set up a branch in China yet. President Sheng is currently working in Binzhou City.”
Tang Ci asked in a low voice, "What time should I arrive?"
Xiang Wen paused for two seconds before saying, "President Sheng has a business dinner tonight. When you arrive, just go to the front desk to get your room key and go upstairs to wait."
"Okay." Tang Ci said no more.
After hanging up the phone, she didn't rush to Binzhou Prefecture. Instead, she went back to her rented room, placed her bank cards and passbooks on the table, opened online banking, and started keeping track of her expenses.
Sheng Yu left behind a card with 3.62 million yuan before she left.
Her surgery cost 390,000 yuan.
I spent 10,000 yuan in bits and pieces during college.
After thinking for a moment, Tang Ci converted the expensive gifts that Sheng Yu had once bought for her into 20,000 yuan.
Over the years, apart from daily expenses, Tang Ci has saved all her money. Now, she calculates that she only needs 50,000 yuan more to pay off the money she owes Sheng Yu.
Even if I can't stay at this company now, there are always other companies I can go to.
She put her bank card in her bag and took the subway to Binzhou Prefecture.
/
The bar was bustling with noise. As usual, Jin Ming, the owner, invited a group of close friends to a private room to drink and play cards.
Sheng Yu sat calmly at the card table, glancing at his phone screen every now and then.
No call came from the hotel.
The people around him were making a lot of noise, so he made an excuse to go out for a smoke.
After finishing his cigarette, he returned to the private room and heard Jin Ming, who was drunk and holding a bottle of liquor, loudly lamenting how he had been cheated on by a woman in high school.
Sheng Yu's temples throbbed with anger. He pulled the person out of the crowd and dragged him out of the private room: "Go home."
"No way!" Jin Ming, who was drunk, was very loyal and insisted on going with him: "I have to keep an eye on you so you don't get fooled by that bookworm again."
Zhou Yiyang also pushed open the door and came out, kicking Jin Ming with disgust, and said to Sheng Yu, "We've both been drinking, so please take it back for us on your way."
The phone remained silent, and Sheng Yu nodded with a cold expression.
When we got to the parking lot, two more friends who were smoking outside squeezed in.
Sheng Yu was somewhat absent-minded. The navigation system started automatically, and he followed it to Binzhou Prefecture.
Jin Ming rolled down the car window and looked out, surprised: "This isn't my house."
Zhou Yiyang glanced at the floor-to-ceiling windows of the hotel lobby and paused, "That's... Tang Ci?"
"Who?!" Jin Ming's eyes widened immediately as he stared at the woman inside the floor-to-ceiling window. "I knew she wouldn't give up; she actually came all the way to the hotel to pester me!"
The two friends in the back seat also realized that the woman was the one who had tricked and betrayed Sheng Yu in high school.
Emboldened by alcohol, the two joined Jin Ming in their mockery, even using words like "shameless."
"Shut up, all of you." Sheng Yu suddenly spoke, his voice as cold as iron. The three people who were talking in the middle of the conversation shivered and shut their mouths.
"Call a designated driver," Sheng Yu said to Zhou Yiyang, then deftly unbuckled her seatbelt and got out of the car.
Zhou Yiyang's expression was grave: "Brother Yu, you—"
"I know what I'm doing." Sheng Yu slammed the car door shut before he could finish speaking and strode into the hotel lobby.
The lobby manager once again turned his gaze to the woman sleeping on the sofa. After much hesitation, he stepped forward to ask her to leave.
Just as I approached the sofa, a series of steady footsteps sounded.
He subconsciously looked up and immediately bowed: "Mr. Sheng."
Sheng Yu made a shushing gesture and walked to the sofa before him.
He stood there stunned for a moment before bending down to pick the woman up from the sofa, his brows immediately furrowing.
The person in my arms had icy arms; I wondered how long they'd been sitting in air conditioning.
The manager was shocked for a second before realizing what was happening and told the employees who were all glancing at Sheng Yu to press the elevator button.
The elevator slowly ascended, the air conditioning inside the car was ample, and the slender arm in Sheng Yu's hand was still rather cold, only the breath spreading over her collarbone was warm.
He instinctively tightened his grip, and after realizing what he had done, he cursed himself inwardly.
Tang Ci woke up as soon as her head hit the pillow, staring at the ceiling for a few seconds before realizing that this was not her rented room.
She slightly raised her head and met Sheng Yu's indifferent face under the bright light of the bedside lamp. Her heart skipped a beat, and she instinctively shrank back, only to find that her wrists were already held in his palm and she could not move.
"You came to discuss work but didn't bring any materials?"
Tang Ci felt his cold eyes staring at her and hurriedly lowered her own eyes, taking out her bank card from her bag with her free hand and handing it over.
"I'm here to return the money."
"What money?"
“I used some of the money you left with Dr. Zhang, and I also converted the things you gave me in high school into cash to pay you back…” Tang Ci’s throat tightened: “But I still owe you 50,000. I will pay you back when I have saved enough.”
Sheng Yu glanced down at the bank card, a sneer escaping his throat: "Trying to cut ties with me completely?"
Tang Ci hesitated and remained silent.
“Okay,” Sheng Yu said without any emotion, “but since you’re going to repay it, don’t forget about the emotional debt.”
Tang Ci suddenly lifted her eyes and looked at him, puzzled.
Sheng Yu narrowed his eyes: "Don't be surprised. You should have thought this day would come when you were playing me."
Tang Ci's mind was a complete blank, and she stammered, "What do you want?"
“Tell me yourself,” Sheng Yu gently brushed her messy hair behind her ear, “Do I need to get my revenge?”
Tang Ci's upper body trembled almost imperceptibly, and after a long while, she choked out, "How...when are you going to stop playing?"
"Until I get tired of it." Sheng Yu cruelly curled the corners of her lips: "Or until I find someone I like, like you did."
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