Chapter 32 See you next time, little brother.
The moment Shen Mengqing stepped into Yu Xin's room, she smelled the scent of fresh wood after the rain on him, which enveloped her completely.
She subconsciously searched for the source of the scent, and after looking around the room, she spotted an indoor fragrance diffuser by the window.
Shen Mengqing took a few steps over, lowered his head and sniffed lightly, confirming that it was the same scent.
[The Missing Piece]
The missing piece.
There's a sense of melancholy in this young man.
Shen Mengqing tried to identify the picture she had taken on the shopping app, but couldn't find any similar products. It seemed she would have to ask Yu Xin how she bought it next time.
She lifted a corner of the blanket, snuggled along the edge of the bed, and slipped under it. Yu Xin's bed was long and wide, and the bedding was made of soft, smooth fabric. Shen Mengqing turned over and quickly fell asleep.
Yu Xin remained in the living room, glancing at the closed door of the master bedroom for a while, the surroundings completely silent.
After confirming that Shen Mengqing must be asleep, he slowly stood up, walked to the refrigerator, took out a bottle of water, and drank a few mouthfuls.
Just then, the washing machine beeped to indicate that the cycle was finished. Yu Xin paused, walked over to the washing machine, took out the clothes Shen Mengqing had washed, and put them into the dryer.
He then picked up the water and went into the guest room closest to the master bedroom.
No one ever stays overnight at his house. Occasionally, Zhu Shaoming will stay there for a few hours during the day. The guest room has only the simplest furnishings on the bed.
Fortunately, there was still the blanket that Shen Mengqing had used on the sofa, so he went to get it and used it as a blanket.
The guest room window overlooks the road, and even with the curtains drawn, the bright lights can't shine in, but the muffled sound of whistles and horns can be heard from time to time.
The sound wasn't actually that loud, but for some reason, Yu Xin was unusually sensitive to these minor things that disturbed her sleep tonight.
Perhaps he wasn't used to sleeping in the guest room, he thought.
Yu Xin didn't sleep well throughout the night, tossing and turning many times. When morning came, he glanced at his phone; it was eight o'clock.
He sent a few messages, then picked up the blanket, got up, and went to the sofa to catch up on his sleep.
When Shen Mengqing came out of the master bedroom, she saw a figure curled up on the sofa facing the back of the sofa, looking rather pitiful.
There should have been some wontons left in the fridge yesterday. She planned to cook a few for breakfast to tide her over. After taking the wontons out, she turned on the stove's exhaust fan, only to have it turned off with a snap.
Yu Xin stood behind her and said in a low voice, "Don't cook."
Shen Mengqing turned her head and asked him in confusion, "Why?"
Yu Xin: "I'm afraid you'll be in pain."
Shen Mengqing: "..."
"I'm fine now." Shen Mengqing leaned back on the stove, looked up to meet Yu Xin's gaze, and said, "Besides, I'm very hungry now."
Yu Xin reached out, grabbed her wrist without saying a word, and pulled her to sit down on the sofa.
He said, "I'll order takeout. You should have a cup of brown sugar water to tide you over."
His tone was slightly cold, as if brooking no argument, and Shen Mengqing sighed speechlessly.
The clothes that had been washed yesterday were already dry and neatly folded by Yu Xin and placed aside. She got up, took the clothes, and went into the room to change.
Yu Xin probably thought she was too hungry, so he specially chose the store with the fastest delivery. Shen Mengqing had just finished drinking the brown sugar water when breakfast was delivered.
While eating breakfast, Yu Xin noticed that she had changed her clothes and asked her with her eyes lowered, "Are you leaving soon?"
Shen Mengqing nodded: "I haven't packed my luggage yet, I have to go to work tomorrow."
He hadn't put away the things he bought for Shen Mengqing last night. Yu Xin glanced at the overflowing coffee table and asked, "What about all those things?"
"I'll take it back later."
It seems Yu Xin has no use for these things, so she can only take them with her.
Yu Xin put down his bowl and said, "Let me help you carry it."
Shen Mengqing bit her chopsticks, her eyes clear and bright, and looked at Yu Xin from afar, letting out a soft "oh".
After filling her stomach, Shen Mengqing had no reason to stay any longer. She was afraid that Yu Xin would be busy with something and that her presence would be a distraction, so she packed her things and prepared to leave.
Yu Xin followed behind her, carrying a large bag of things he had bought the night before. The two walked out of the residential building. The weather outside was much better during the day than at night. The sun was high in the sky, bright but not scorching, and the sunlight felt warm and comfortable on their skin.
Upon entering the residential complex where Shen Mengqing rented an apartment, she pointed to the bushes below and said to Yu Xin, "Those little yellow wildflowers have all withered; not a single one is left."
Yu Xin glanced at it sideways and said, "If you want it, I'll give you the one in my car."
"No, that was a gift from me, how could I take it back?"
Shen Mengqing looked down at his toes for a moment, then turned around and walked backwards facing Yu Xin.
She smiled and said, "Then that flower in your car is the last little yellow flower of the year."
"Um."
Yu Xin responded to her in a low voice.
At this time, there was almost no one downstairs. Apart from the chirping of birds and insects and the whistling of the wind, there was only the sound of two people talking in hushed tones.
Upon reaching the top of the stairs, Shen Mengqing opened the door and went inside first.
After putting on her slippers, she turned around and saw Yu Xin standing at the door with no intention of coming in.
"Won't you come in and sit down?" Shen Mengqing said.
"No, thank you."
Yu Xin reached out and handed the shopping bag in her hand to Shen Mengqing.
Shen Mengqing took it and smiled at him, saying, "Thank you, I'm so grateful for your help these past two days. You..."
Before she could finish speaking, she made eye contact with her neighbor who opened the door diagonally across the street.
She couldn't say too much in front of outsiders, especially since the neighbors were looking at Yu Xin with a mixture of scrutiny and gossip. Shen Mengqing immediately felt a little guilty and waved her hand to cover it up, saying, "See you next time, little brother."
As soon as she finished speaking, she quickly closed the door.
A neighbor happened to be passing by her door and saw Yu Xin heading towards the elevator, so she struck up a conversation with the tall, handsome man: "Are you Shen Mengqing's younger brother?"
Yu Xin glanced at him, put his hands in his pockets, and remained silent with a sour face.
The neighbor felt a little awkward, but the handsome guy seemed too aloof, so he didn't dare to ask any more questions and kept quiet.
...
afternoon.
After finishing lunch, Shen Mengqing finally emptied the suitcase she had brought back, making the house much tidier.
As midday drowsiness crept in, she went into the bedroom and drew the curtains completely shut, leaving the room pitch black—perfect for a midday nap.
She always feels like she doesn't get enough sleep during her period. She feels like she just closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, the number on the screen had already jumped to five o'clock.
Jiang Yu sent her several messages and even missed calls, but she had muted her phone and couldn't answer them.
When Shen Mengqing opened the message, she saw that Jiang Yu had sent her an audio file. She pressed the play button while scrolling down the message.
Liang Jun's voice came through the phone's speaker, echoing in the quiet room, but it wasn't very clear, fluctuating in volume, making it obvious that Jiang Yu was secretly recording.
Liang Jun was probably on the phone, his tone carrying a familiar, flattering quality.
"He's been doing very well lately, don't worry, I'll reserve a promotion spot for him this year... You don't need to worry about that person, how could she possibly compare to Zhang Tu? She won't pose a threat, I guarantee Zhang Tu's development in the sales department won't be hindered in any way... Sigh, I sent her to liaise with Guo Bin back then, originally to drag down her performance... No matter who the new director is, I will definitely side with you..."
Only a few sentences were clearly heard in the entire recording. Jiang Yu said that she was originally going to find a client to get some documents for Liang Ruwei. She went to the wrong office and had to go down one floor. She waited too long for the elevator, so she thought she would just take the stairs. As it turned out, Liang Jun happened to be at that client's company and was smoking in the hallway.
Jiang Yu was only going down one floor and wouldn't pass Liang Jun. She walked very quietly, and Liang Jun's voice on the phone gradually became clearer. The more she listened, the more she felt something was wrong, so she pressed record.
"That's disgusting!"
Jiang Yu commented.
Shen Mengqing gripped her phone tightly. After listening to the recording, she felt more cold-hearted than angry.
She had anticipated everything else, but what she didn't expect was that Liang Jun had deliberately arranged for her to meet Guo Bin.
She still feels a lingering fear when she thinks about what happened that night. If Guo Bin had really succeeded, it would have been an indelible trauma for her for the rest of her life. Moreover, she may never know that Liang Jun was the biggest instigator behind the harm she suffered.
After calming down, Shen Mengqing called Jiang Yu back.
The first thing Jiang Yu said after answering the call was, "You listened to the recording?"
"Mmm." Shen Mengqing's voice still trembled slightly.
Jiang Yu was also seething with hatred, and asked Shen Mengqing through gritted teeth, "What are you going to do?"
Shen Mengqing thought it over carefully. Regardless of the purpose of the recording, she would have to wait until she confirmed whether to stay or leave before making a decision.
She said in a deep voice, "Keep it for now, we can use it later. Even if I confront Liang Jun with this recording tomorrow, or send it to a higher leader, it won't make a difference. He has a major shareholder backing him up, and this recording isn't a substantial mistake. He won't be punished much."
“You’re right,” Jiang Yu said. “Okay, then let me know if you need any help.”
Putting that aside for now, Jiang Yu knew that Shen Mengqing had gone for an interview at Santong before the holiday. To lighten the mood, she jokingly asked, "How did it go with Santong? Did President Shen like it?"
Shen Mengqing smiled at the opportune moment and said, "It's pretty good, I'm a little tempted."
Jiang Yu said, "If it were me, I would be tempted too. That's Assistant Dong, you're second only to the leader. Isn't that much better than doing this lousy sales job at Yusheng? And you don't have a brain-dead boss like Liang Jun."
“What do you mean by ‘second only to the emperor’? Where do you put all the shareholders, general managers, and directors? They’re just errand boys who are closer to the emperor. If something really happens, the emperor will be furious, and the first person he’ll lash out at will be Assistant Dong,” Shen Mengqing said. “However, the boss does seem to be much better than Liang Jun.”
Jiang Yu: "No matter what, I think you'll definitely pass the interview with your abilities, so congratulations in advance on getting the offer!"
Suddenly, Jiang Yu's tone became several degrees sad, and she said with a heavy heart, "If you go back to Chucheng, what will I do? I don't have any good friends in this company. No, I don't have any in Beicheng. How come Chucheng is so far away from Beicheng? I can't even have a long-distance relationship."
"I can't discuss it either."
Shen Mengqing's eyes, which had been smiling, faded after she said those words.
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Author's Note: Xinzi: No more cooking! (Domineering CEO style)
Aqing: You're sick!
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