Chapter 14: He pinched her face until it burned and went numb.
"No!" Jiang Chuyu was on edge, afraid that their conversation would be overheard. "Wait a minute."
She walked to the door, pulled it open, and sure enough, saw Jiang Lekai standing in front of the door.
Their eyes met, and silence fell.
Jiang Chuyu: "Come in if you want to hear it."
Jiang Lekai scoffed and turned off the phone's recording.
"Who wants to listen to your conversation? It's boring."
"Then stop sneaking around the door."
"You're so narcissistic. I just wanted to remind you to hurry up, I need to eat lunch."
She wanted lunch before 11 a.m., it's really hard for the young master to come up with such a lame excuse.
Jiang Chuyu: "Wait ten more minutes, it'll be your turn soon."
The young master gave a disgruntled snort, which was taken as agreement.
Jiang Chuyu locked the door and turned around.
Gu Zeming leaned back in his seat, staring at her without moving.
Jiang Chuyu had seen him when he was angry.
He had been just as calm, indifferent, and nonchalant when he punished those who crossed his line.
In the few seconds it took Jiang Chuyu to move from the doorway to the table, she considered countless ways to die, but in the end, she decided to try to save her one more time.
"Senior."
"Um?"
"Now let's go back to the relationship between senior students and junior students from the same school, and forget that you are the interviewee and I am the interviewer."
"Oh." Gu Zeming raised an eyebrow. "And then?"
Jiang Chuyu walked up to him and stopped, then began to argue sophistry.
“I emailed you purely because I admire your talent and think this job is a good fit for you. I have no other intentions. And I assure you, it is a very legitimate job. Apart from teaching my brother French, there are absolutely no other conditions attached. Don’t overthink it.”
"I'm overthinking it?" Gu Zeming raised his chin slightly and suddenly laughed. "Then read the email again, and let me hear whether I'm overthinking it or not?"
Jiang Chuyu stammered, "I'm not good at Chinese."
"You're lying through your teeth."
Gu Zeming stood up and strode over to her.
The moment the shadow fell, the air above seemed to thin.
Jiang Chuyu looked up, feeling immense pressure, her eyelashes fluttering slightly.
Gu Zeming stared into her eyes and said leisurely, "If I remember correctly, you are a student majoring in Chinese Language and Literature at A University, right?"
Jiang Chuyu nodded awkwardly, "Yes."
"Tell me your score on the Chinese exam in the college entrance examination. What's wrong with that?"
"I……"
Faced with his relentless pressure, Jiang Chuyu had no way to fool him.
She scored over 130 in the Chinese section of the college entrance exam, so even if she lied, he could quickly see through her lie.
He's making it clear today that he wants to hold people accountable.
A drop of sweat silently slid down Jiang Chuyu's back, a smile playing on her lips.
"Senior, this is my first time recruiting, and I don't have much experience. My wording might have been a bit exaggerated, but every word in the email was true. Please forgive me this time. I swear I'll never do it again. Please don't tell my family. Just erase the email from your memory, okay?"
She clasped her hands together in a pleading gesture, her eyes reddening, her pale face contorted in a pained expression, as if he had wronged her. She looked somewhat pitiful...
Gu Zeming's gaze shifted downwards, his eyes fixed on her lips, which she had bitten until they were bright red and glistening. His voice turned colder. "Even if I forgive you, the other job seekers won't."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Chuyu cleared her throat and laughed, "Then don't worry, I've only ever emailed that senior..."
This remark somehow offended him again.
Gu Zeming suddenly took a step closer, raised his right hand, and forcefully grabbed her chin with the web of his hand.
His movements were ruthless and precise. Jiang Chuyu stared in astonishment, clearly feeling the calluses on his fingertips rubbing against her delicate skin.
"You only sent it to me? You're lying, I don't really believe you, what should I do?" Gu Zeming used his thumb and forefinger slightly to force her to look up and meet his gaze.
Jiang Chuyu's breath hitched, and she subconsciously reached out to grab his arm. Her palm touched the bulging blue veins on the surface, and she felt a tingling sensation from the heat.
She caught her breath and turned the tables: "I really didn't lie, why don't you believe me, senior? Do you have a problem with me?"
She'd wanted to ask that for a long time.
Although Gu Zeming was cold and indifferent to others, he was ten times colder towards her.
Upon hearing this, Gu Zeming gently touched her face.
His hands were large, almost able to envelop her entire face, his index finger and thumb pressing against the sides of her cheeks, kneading them with a gentle yet firm touch, carrying a strange intimacy.
Jiang Chuyu's heart was pounding wildly, and the tips of her ears were burning hot.
"I was wrong, I admit it..." she whispered, her voice slightly distorted as her face was being pinched.
The skin beneath my fingertips was soft, smooth, and almost flawless.
Gu Zeming squinted comfortably and released his grip.
"I'll let you go this time."
"This will not be repeated."
Jiang Chuyu's cheeks relaxed, and she leaned on the table to catch her breath, slowly realizing that her face had just been wantonly played with by him.
But instead of feeling uncomfortable, she felt a little unsatisfied.
Jiang Chuyu gritted his teeth. If he had known, he would have just opened his mouth and bitten it when he reached out his hand!
Her fingers unconsciously touched her slightly flushed cheeks; the skin he had just touched still retained warmth. She quickly composed herself.
"Thank you, senior. Please wait a moment while I go and call my brother over so we can talk."
Jiang Lekai liked to go against her, so she couldn't praise Gu Zeming in front of him.
Jiang Chuyu opened the door, glanced at Jiang Lekai who was standing at the door, lowered her voice, and said disdainfully, "This candidate's French level is average. I suggest you try a few more before making a decision."
Jiang Lekai snatched the resume from her hand. "I'll go for the interview first."
Jiang Chuyu shrugged: "Fine, if you don't believe in superstitions, then go in."
Jiang Lekai glanced at her suspiciously, went into the room, and slammed the door shut.
A few minutes later, Jiang Lekai looked at the man in front of him with curiosity. "My sister said your French is so-so, but I know she's lying."
Gu Zeming: "Oh?"
Jiang Lekai: "She's just jealous that others are better than her. If your grades are too good, she'll definitely eliminate you and not let you teach me."
Gu Zeming: "I see."
"Do you and my sister have some kind of feud? Otherwise, why would she be constantly going against you?"
"Is there?"
"Fine, I know even if you don't tell me. My sister definitely threatened you just now."
Gu Zeming: "..."
The young master chatted with him for more than ten minutes, talking only about "how my sister is," as if he had some kind of sister-hating syndrome but was unaware of it.
Gu Zeming frowned, remained silent for a moment, and then followed up with, "Your sister is quite capable."
"What good is her ability?" Jiang Lekai snorted and said proudly, "I decide who my tutor is, and it's not her place to interfere. Don't worry, I'll have my mom hire you right now."
Jiang Chuyu waited outside the door for a while, and as lunchtime approached, they finally finished their conversation.
Jiang Chuyu saw Gu Zeming to the door, and after he walked away, she turned back to Jiang Lekai to inquire about the situation.
"How is it? Pretty ordinary, right?"
Jiang Lekai rolled her eyes at her, "I think he's great, he's the one."
Jiang Chuyu: "Don't be so hasty, think about it again, okay?"
Jiang Lekai: "What I say goes."
"Alright then." Jiang Chuyu touched her nose, feigning reluctance. "I'll tell Mom tonight."
*
After lunch, I slept in my apartment until evening.
When I woke up, dusk had already seeped through the windowpanes, and the nanny was busy in the kitchen.
Jiang Chuyu yawned, took out her phone, and opened the latest unread text message.
Jiang Shan: [Mom's done with work, she'll come over to have dinner with you now.]
Jiang Chuyu simply replied "okay," put away her phone, and got up to go to the bathroom to wash her face.
When I came out, I watched TV in the living room for a while.
The nanny had prepared the meal when Jiang Shan arrived at the apartment.
The three of them sat around the table eating, and Jiang Shan asked about the day's recruitment.
Jiang Chuyu handed Gu Zeming's resume to her.
Jiang Shan was full of praise after reading it.
"It's good, but..."
Jiang Chuyu asked nervously, "Is there a problem?"
"It's nothing." Jiang Shan smiled, then suddenly asked, "What do you think of his character?"
Jiang Chuyu was about to speak.
Jiang Lekai glanced at her with a gloomy expression, silently mouthing: Don't slander my teacher.
Jiang Chuyu twitched the corner of her mouth. "I think he's alright. He's the student council president of the aerospace institute, has won many scholarships, and his every move has been scrutinized. So far, no negative comments have surfaced."
Jiang Shan nodded, her expression subtly troubled.
After a while, she said, "Wait a minute, Mom will make a phone call first."
Jiang Chuyu couldn't figure out what she was worried about, but she still waited obediently.
Jiang Shan took her phone and went to the balcony. A few minutes later, she returned to the dining table.
“Okay, he’s the one. Find some time to contact him and ask about his expected hourly wage and start date. Make sure to make it clear to him that we can offer the highest possible salary, provide accommodation on Saturdays and Sundays, and if your brother’s French grades are in the top ten of his grade, he will receive an additional commission.”
"OK."
Jiang Chuyu accepted the task given to her by Jiang Shan. After finishing her meal, she found Gu Zeming's contact information in his resume, added him one by one, put her phone aside, and got up to wash up.
This apartment has four bedrooms, one living room, one kitchen, and two bathrooms, which is more than enough for several people. Jiang Shan hopes that she can come to the apartment on Saturdays and Sundays to accompany Jiang Lekai in his studies.
For Jiang Chuyu, Jiang Shan is her biggest sugar daddy, and her job is to be Jiang Shan's "daughter". So most of the time, as long as Jiang Shan's requests are not too outrageous, she will accept them all.
After washing up, Jiang Chuyu dried her hair and turned on her phone.
Three minutes ago, Gu Zeming had already accepted her friend request.
His WeChat name is an English word—Disciple, a believer.
What kind of believers does someone as awesome as him want to be?
Jiang Chuyu didn't understand, but expressed her respect.
After complaining about Gu Zeming's WeChat name, she started to observe his profile picture.
He's hopeless; even his WeChat profile picture is of a desolate garbage dump. Anyone who didn't know better would think he'd been killing fish at RT-Mart for over a decade—his heart is so cold.
However, using trash as a profile picture can actually prevent some harassment. After all, when people see trash, they're unlikely to imagine that the person on the other end is a handsome guy; they'll just assume he's poor.
Jiang Chuyu stared at his profile picture for a few seconds and inexplicably felt that it looked a bit like the back of her high school.
But the memory was so distant that she couldn't be sure.
Jiang Chuyu took a deep breath, clicked on Gu Zeming's profile picture, and enthusiastically edited the first message.
Taro: [Senior, congratulations on your successful application! Our whole family is very satisfied with you. Is now a good time to talk? Let's discuss salary and working hours?]
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