Chapter 38. Mr. Zhou's tone... could he be joking...?
Chen Yun was Shen Ci's high school classmate, and they were quite close during their school days. Back then, their families had a lot of business dealings, and their elders were somewhat inclined to match them up, but since both Shen Ci and Chen Yun were still students at the time, no one brought it up.
After graduating from high school, Chen Yun went abroad to study. If Shen Ci hadn't gotten sick, she would have gone abroad to study as well. However, before the college entrance examination, she discovered her unconscious suicidal tendencies and ultimately did not go abroad as her family had arranged. Instead, she insisted on staying in China to study at university, choosing a major she liked.
Because of this incident, she had a major falling out with her family. After graduating from university, she didn't go to her family's company but instead joined Pupu Paradise to start a business with Wu Junnan.
After Chen Yun went abroad, she lost contact with him, and Shen Ci had almost forgotten he even existed. To be honest, she was quite surprised to see him suddenly downstairs at the company building today: "Chen Yun? When did you come back?"
“Just a few days ago, I decided to come back to China to develop my career.” Now Chen Yun was wearing a suit and tie, and he looked very different from the boy Shen Ci remembered. But when he smiled, he revealed a dimple, which reminded her of him a bit.
Chen Ci smiled at him and exchanged pleasantries: "It's good to be back in China. The country is developing very fast now."
"Hmm." Chen Yun nodded, looking at Chen Ci in front of him. "You've become more and more beautiful over the years."
"Haha, not at all, you're not bad either."
"Since we've finally met, why don't we go out for dinner together?" Chen Yun had come here specifically to see Chen Ci, and he had already made reservations for the restaurant for dinner in advance.
Chen Ci wasn't surprised that he invited her to dinner, since it was obvious he had deliberately come here to wait for her: "I'm afraid I can't today. My boss's wife just gave birth, and I'm on my way to the hospital to see them."
Chen Yun was clearly taken aback by Chen Ci's words. He paused for a moment, then said, "What a coincidence."
"Yes, how about we reschedule for another day?" Chen Ci smiled politely twice, then looked at him and asked, "By the way, how did you know I work here?"
Not to mention that the two of them haven't been in contact for a long time, even her classmates who are still in contact with her might not know where her company is, let alone the fact that they moved buildings once.
Chen Yun didn't try to hide anything and told her the truth: "Actually, after I returned to China, I first visited Uncle Shen and Aunt Lin. They told me that you work here."
Chen Ci's eyes flickered, but she remained silent. When they were in school, their elders had intentionally tried to match them up, and both of them were well aware of this. Later, when they were asked to study abroad together, they made their intentions even more explicit.
If it weren't for her illness, she might actually be with Chen Yun now, just as both families hoped.
But so many years have passed since she graduated from high school, and she has moved out of her family home. They rarely keep in touch. They probably don't still expect her and Chen Yun to be together.
"I heard from Auntie that you had some disagreements with your family?" Chen Yun asked tentatively when she didn't speak. Chen Ci came back to her senses, looked at him and smiled: "You're being too tactful. We almost became estranged forever."
Chen Yun: "..."
He remembered that when Shen Ci was in school, her relationship with her family was relatively harmonious. Perhaps due to too much pressure before the college entrance examination, Shen Ci had some psychological problems and ultimately did not go abroad with him. He thought that the two of them might have missed their chance, but this time when he returned to China, he found that both families still hoped that they could rekindle their relationship, so he took the initiative to find Shen Ci.
“Who can really cut off all contact with their family members until death? After all, you’re connected by blood. If something happens to them, you can’t just ignore it, can you?” Chen Yun smiled, seemingly wanting to play peacemaker. “How about we arrange a time to have dinner with your aunt and uncle another day?”
"No need," Chen Ci declined his offer. "You've been gone for so long, you don't know anything about my family. I don't know what my parents said to you, but I hope you won't get involved. Eating is fine, we can invite a few more classmates, and treat it as an old classmates' reunion."
Her attitude surprised Chen Yun. When they first met, he thought that Chen Ci hadn't changed at all over the years and was still the same as before. But now he felt that she seemed to have changed a lot.
Zhou Shilin's car pulled up at some point, stopped by the roadside, and honked twice. Hearing the sound, Chen Ci turned around and said to Chen Yun beside her, "My friend is here to pick me up. We need to get to the hospital. Let's talk another day."
"Okay." Chen Yun replied, watching Chen Ci run towards the roadside, then opened the car door and got in.
The car owner never got out of the car, but it was a Bentley, and you could tell at a glance that the person inside was no ordinary person.
Chen Ci's family was well-off, so it wasn't surprising that she knew people who drove Bentleys, but for some reason, Chen Yun felt something was off.
After getting into the car, Chen Ci said to Zhou Shilin, "I still need to go buy some gifts for my sister-in-law. I can't go empty-handed."
Zhou Shilin said, "No need, I've already had Tian Xu buy it."
"Huh?" Chen Ci glanced at Tian Xu sitting in the front row. "But Assistant Tian only bought yours, right?"
“He bought quite a lot, so let’s just say it was a gift from both of us.”
"Isn't this inappropriate?" Shen Ci said it was inappropriate, but she couldn't suppress the upturned corners of her mouth.
Zhou Shilin turned his head to look at her: "Take off that smile first, or you'll say something inappropriate."
Chen Ci coughed lightly to cover up her embarrassment, then looked at Tian Xu in front of her and said, "Assistant Tian, you're quite capable. You prepared the gift in such a short time?"
Tian Xu said, "I prepare most of the gifts the president gives away. I know the ins and outs of gift-giving very well."
"As expected of you." You're practically the chosen one for part-time work.
After a moment of silence in the car, Zhou Shilin's voice suddenly rang out from beside him: "Who was that person talking to you downstairs at the company just now? They didn't look like a colleague."
Chen Ci immediately gave Zhou Shilin a thumbs up: "President Zhou is indeed insightful. He is not my colleague, but my classmate."
Zhou Shilin's eyes flickered slightly: "Classmate?"
"Yes, it's a high school classmate. He just came back to China a few days ago and came to have dinner with me."
"Oh, so you two have a good relationship. He came to have dinner with you as soon as he returned to China."
"..." Shen Ci finally realized that something was wrong. Could it be that President Zhou's tone... was he jealous?
No way, really?
Chen Ci turned her head to observe his expression. Perhaps his gaze was too direct, because Zhou Shilin frowned slightly and turned to look at her: "What are you doing?"
"It's nothing." Chen Ci smiled at him, "I just wanted to see if you were jealous."
Zhou Shilin: "..."
Tian Xu, sitting in the front row, couldn't help but cough, but under Zhou Shilin's silent gaze, he became as quiet as a chicken again.
A moment later, Zhou Shilin's voice rang out in the carriage: "I wouldn't be jealous just because you're talking to a man."
Tian Xu: "..."
So, is this a rebuttal? Shouldn't the rebuttal be that I wouldn't be jealous of her at all?
"Oh." Chen Ci gave a meaningful "oh" and didn't say anything more, after all, President Zhou also had to save face.
After a while, Zhou Shilin asked her, "What's your classmate's name? What does he do?"
Tian Xu: "..."
Mr. Zhou, you care about this a lot!
Chen Ci blinked and looked at him, saying, "His name is Chen Yun. His family is in business. He should work for his family's company after he returns to China."
Zhou Shilin then asked, "When did you agree to have dinner?"
Chen Ci said, "We haven't made an appointment yet. He originally wanted to invite me to dinner tonight, but since my sister-in-law just gave birth, I have to go see her first."
"Yes." Zhou Shilin nodded. "Giving birth is indeed very hard work."
He should have prepared more gifts.
He didn't say anything more, but Chen Ci twitched her nose, as if she were smelling something in the car.
Zhou Shilin narrowed his eyes and glanced at her: "What are you smelling?"
Chen Ci sniffed in his direction and asked him, "Don't you think there's something smelling in the car?"
"..." Zhou Shilin's eyes held an even stronger warning. "You're not trying to say there's a hint of jealousy in your eyes, are you?"
"Hey, can you smell vinegar? I can't smell it."
Zhou Shilin: "..."
Chen Ci opened her big eyes, looking completely innocent: "I meant to say that there's a really nice perfume scent, it smells like the one I gave you before."
“…” Zhou Shilin turned his face away and responded with an “Mm,” “It is indeed the one you gave me before.”
Tian Xu in the front row: "..."
The case is solved! It turns out this perfume was a gift from Chen Ci to the CEO! No wonder the CEO has been using it for a week straight!
Chen Ci leaned closer to Zhou Shilin, her eyes crinkling with a smile: "This perfume I carefully selected really smells wonderful, especially on President Zhou, it smells even better."
Tian Xu: "..."
This is blatant flirting!
He felt that Ms. Shen had become increasingly lawless in front of the president lately!
...But it seems like the CEO is the one who indulges them. :)
The location Wu Junnan sent to Shen Ci was a private hospital. After the car stopped downstairs, Zhou Shilin and Shen Ci got out. Tian Xu also quickly got out of the car, opened the trunk, and took out the gifts inside.
Chen Ci stared at the large and small bags he was carrying in his hands, somewhat dumbfounded: "So many?"
Tian Xu said, "The time is too tight, otherwise I could have prepared more."
Chen Ci: "..."
Seeing that Tian Xu was carrying so many things by himself, she went over to offer to help him carry some: "Let me help you carry them."
"No need." Tian Xu took a step back while carrying the things. "I can carry them. You and the president can go upstairs first."
“…Alright.” Since Tian Xu didn’t want her help, she didn’t insist and went upstairs with Zhou Shilin.
Because it's a private hospital, there are far fewer patients than in public hospitals, and the inpatient conditions are much better. Chen Ci and Zhou Shilin found the ward Wu Junnan had mentioned, walked to the door, and knocked: "Senior Brother Wu, Sister-in-law, we've come to see you."
Wu Junnan was talking to Pupu by the hospital bed when he heard Chen Ci's voice and looked towards the door: "Junior Sister, President Zhou? You're here too?"
"Yes, I heard from Chen Ci that your wife just gave birth, so I came here specifically to see her."
"President Zhou also bought you a lot of gifts." Chen Ci said, quickly making way for Tian Xu behind her so that he could go inside and put down what he was carrying.
Wu Junnan was surprised to see Tian Xu carrying so many things: "President Zhou, you're too kind. Why did you buy so much?"
Wu Junnan quickly stepped forward, took the things from Tian Xu's hands, and placed them on the cabinet next to him.
"This is a sentiment from both Shen Ci and me," Zhou Shilin said, walking in with Shen Ci from the doorway. Upon hearing this, Wu Junnan's gaze towards Shen Ci changed: "Oh, so it's a sentiment from both of you."
Chen Ci: "..."
She knew that President Wu liked to spread rumors about President Zhou, but could he please restrain himself in front of President Zhou?
She ignored Wu Junnan and changed the subject: "Sister-in-law, how are you feeling?"
Pupu was leaning back on the hospital bed, looking in Zhou Shilin's direction: "I'm fine. This must be President Zhou. I've heard so much about you."
Zhou Shilin nodded to her: "Hello."
"Hello, hello." Ever since Zhou Shilin came in, Pupu's eyes have been glued to him. "I've always heard our old Wu mention you, and seeing you today, you really are a handsome man! No wonder even our junior sister likes you so much!"
Chen Ci: "..."
Sister-in-law, you seem to like her more! Your eyes are practically sparkling!
"Um, why don't you two sit down first? I'll go get you some water." Wu Junnan started to feel awkward in front of Zhou Shilin again. He turned around, grabbed two paper cups, and poured water for Chen Ci and Zhou Shilin.
Chen Ci sat down by the bed and asked Wu Junnan, "Senior brother, are you the only one here taking care of your wife?"
"No, my parents just left. They've been here all day, so I told them to go home first and come back tomorrow morning."
"oh oh."
"Drink some water, drink some water." Wu Junnan walked over and handed water glasses to Chen Ci and Zhou Shilin, then remembered that Tian Xu was still there, "Assistant Tian, let me pour you a glass of water too."
"No, no, I'm not thirsty."
"Oh..." Wu Junnan rubbed his hands together, thinking about what he should talk to President Zhou about next. "Um, would you like to see the baby?"
"Oh right." Chen Ci suddenly remembered; she had forgotten to check on the baby after coming in. "The baby is so quiet, is he sleeping?"
“Yes, she just fell asleep not long ago.” Wu Junnan walked to the crib, glanced at her, and said, “Her mother thinks she’s ugly, but I think she’s quite pretty.”
"Pfft." Chen Ci chuckled and leaned closer to the crib to take a look. "Not bad. I've seen uglier ones on my WeChat Moments."
Wu Junnan: "..."
You didn't let her off the hook either.
Zhou Shilin said, "Babies are like this when they are first born; they will grow out of it."
“Yes, I think so too.” Seeing that Zhou Shilin agreed with him, Wu Junnan became even more convinced that his daughter would definitely be a great beauty when she grew up.
Pupu's gaze swept over Shen Ci and Zhou Shilin, and she asked them, "You're the first to visit her today. Since you're so destined to meet, why don't you become her godparents?"
Wu Junnan: "..."
It has to be his wife; that's how she managed to get on Mr. Zhou's good side.
Pupu's only thought was to bring together a couple.
Chen Ci glanced at Zhou Shilin standing next to the crib and said to Pupu, "I have no problem with that, but I don't know if it's convenient for President Zhou."
Zhou Shilin looked down at her and said, "I'm not in any way inconvenienced."
"That's great!" Pupu laughed happily. "From now on, you'll be her godparents."
Standing in the corner, Tian Xu: "..."
Is it settled then? Don't we need to ask the chairman and the others if they agree to this marriage?
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