Pei Nian felt a lump in her throat and tried hard to hold back the tears that welled up in her eyes.
Even in front of the person she loves most, she wants to maintain her independence and stubbornness.
Huo Jingnan smiled, ran his fingers across her face, and gently kissed her forehead.
"Jingnan," Pei Nian said softly, "if one day you knew about my past... would you have a different opinion of me?"
"What," Huo Jingnan frowned deliberately, "was your past life a reincarnation of a demon?"
Pei Nian laughed and punched him lightly.
"Even if you were a monster, I would still be willing to be eaten by you." Huo Jingnan rubbed his nose against her forehead.
Why do you trust me so much?
“Because you are Pei Nian,” he answered without hesitation, “because… I trust my judgment.”
*
Lu Ran went to the coffee shop downstairs in the Lu Group building once again. Across from her, Dong Jielin was humble and kept apologizing to her.
Lu Ran's expression was cold, her eyes filled with contempt and mockery, and the corners of her mouth curled up slightly.
"Ms. Lu, I'm so sorry!" If they weren't in a public place, Dong Jielin would have knelt down before Lu Ran. "Last time... last time I was just too eager to close that deal with Ms. Bai! As soon as Ms. Bai came in, I went over to her, but I didn't mean to ignore you! Ms. Lu, I'm just a salesperson, please understand my difficulties!"
Lu Ran gave a soft hum and took a few sips of her coffee.
In fact, she knew what kind of person Dong Jielin was.
Opportunistic, sycophantic, and a fence-sitter.
These words are too conservative when applied to her.
She also knew that Dong Jielin was not sincere towards her. If she were not a shareholder of Lu's Group and not Lu Lishan's niece, Dong Jielin would not have given her a second glance.
Dong Jielin just wanted to use her. After all, the big tree Dong Jielin relied on was often unreliable. That person had a wife and children, and he was just having fun with her. There was no real affection between them.
However, Lu Ran felt that Dong Jielin also had some uses.
“I know all of this, and I understand it all.”
"Miss Lu..."
"I just hope you won't do it again." Lu Ran looked at her coldly. "If you want to improve your performance, I can help you."
Dong Jielin was overjoyed that she passed the test so easily and hurriedly pledged her loyalty.
“Miss Lu, you are truly a magnanimous person! Haha, I knew I hadn’t followed the wrong person! From now on, as long as you have any requests, I will do anything for you, even if it means going through fire and water!”
"It's not that serious," Lu Ran chuckled. "Jacqueline, you're a sensible person; you should be able to tell that I really dislike Pei Nian, right?"
Dong Jielin rolled her eyes and nodded vigorously.
"It's a bit of a shame we couldn't get rid of her last time. So..."
"That's why I'm going to be Miss Lu's eyes and ears!" Dong Jielin said with a smile, "to find fault with Pei Nian!"
Lu Ran glanced at her sideways, remaining silent and cold. After a long while, she whispered, "Not only do we have to find fault with her, but we also have to keep an eye on her every move."
"What?" Dong Jielin was taken aback. "Ms. Lu, what do you suspect her of?"
“I don’t know either.” Lu Ran frowned and muttered to herself, “I always felt she was strange. She clearly had no connection to the Lu family, yet…”
Dong Jielin stared intently at her.
She didn't hear Lu Ran's words clearly, but she could see Lu Ran's expression perfectly.
That was clearly a look of wanting to kill Pei Nian, a look of wanting to tear her to pieces!
What kind of deep hatred exists between these two that would drive her to such a state?
But Dong Jielin didn't have time to think it through; as long as Lu Ran gave the order, she would do it immediately!
"Yes, Miss Lu, don't worry! I will keep an eye on her."
*
That day, Pei Nian brought Jiang Mianmian chicken soup again.
She must have sneaked up during her lunch break, or perhaps she used the side freight elevator to avoid being seen by everyone.
The older sister didn't want anyone to know about their relationship, so she kept it a secret.
Her older sister wanted to drink the chicken soup she made, so she practiced at home every day until she finally mastered making delicious soup and quickly brought it over to Jiang Mianmian.
As soon as Pei Nian entered the office, Jiang Mianmian, who had been listless, immediately perked up and pounced on her like a little sparrow.
"This is the taste!"
Jiang Mianmian couldn't wait to open the insulated box. If Pei Nian hadn't stopped her, she would have picked up the box and drunk the soup directly.
Pei Nian smiled, carefully ladled a bowl for her, and placed it on the table.
"Slow down, it's still a bit hot."
"Mmm!" Jiang Mianmian licked her lips.
During this period, she fully experienced the hardships of being a pregnant woman.
Her morning sickness was quite severe; she almost vomited everything she ate. The chefs from both the Huo and Lu families tried their best to prepare various international delicacies, but none of them could entice her.
She still eats and then vomits, then eats again.
Most women gain weight during pregnancy, but she lost several pounds, her cheeks became sunken, and her complexion was poor, which was heartbreaking to see.
Huo Junyu was extremely anxious.
Just then, he had a sudden inspiration and remembered the "failed product" that Pei Nian had brought that day, so he begged Pei Nian to make another one.
Unexpectedly, Pei Nian succeeded this time.
With Jiang Mianmian unable to eat anything, this bowl of chicken soup successfully stimulated her taste buds and became the only thing she wanted to eat during this period.
Pei Nian was overjoyed, and felt a sense of mission to be needed by her older sister.
"Niannian, I'm so sorry to always trouble you."
"What are you saying?" Pei Nian smiled and took a tissue to wipe the soup stains from her mouth.
"If you like, I'll stew it for you every day."
"That won't do!" Jiang Mianmian looked at her. "Tell my family's chef how to stew it, and have them come!"
Pei Nian chuckled and shook her head.
This is different. If you don't put your heart into it, how can you stew it to this flavor?
Jiang Mianmian drank the whole bowl and ate several pieces of chicken.
After eating and drinking their fill, the two sat on the sofa. Jiang Mianmian was still feeling a bit unwell due to pregnancy symptoms, so she leaned against Pei Nian's shoulder.
Outside the door, two figures stood motionless.
Huo Junyu came to deliver food, while Huo Jingnan came with him to find Pei Nian.
I never expected to see such a scene at the entrance...
Jiang Mianmian leaned on Pei Nian's shoulder, chatting and laughing. Pei Nian looked down at her with a doting expression on his face.
The two men outside looked at each other, both somewhat dumbfounded.
Huo Junyu asked, "Did we see something we shouldn't have?"
Huo Jingnan's face darkened, and he remained silent.
Huo Junyu: "I don't think she needs to eat what I'm holding."
Huo Jingnan remained silent.
"Hey, what are they doing?" Huo Junyu's eyes widened. "Taking selfies?"
A short while later, he received a photo sent to him by Jiang Mianmian on his phone.
It was a selfie she had just taken. The photo showed her and Pei Nian, their heads close together. Jiang Mianmian excitedly told him, "I finished all the soup that Nian Nian brought me!"
Huo Junyu: "..."
Huo Jingnan grabbed the phone, found the camera, and pointed the front-facing camera at himself and Huo Junyu.
"Bald Huo, what are you doing?"
Bald Huo glanced at him calmly and uttered a few words heavily: "Let's take pictures together too!"
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