Chapter 9 Negroni, accompanied by a few low gasps
New York, John F. Kennedy International Airport.
The person who came to pick them up was Xiao Tang from the New York branch of Guangyi. He had been waiting there all morning, and upon seeing Jiang Shiyu and Fu Cheng, he immediately stepped forward to greet them: "President Jiang, President Fu, you must be tired from your journey."
Although the first-class service was excellent and the environment was quiet and comfortable, the two had been flying for more than ten hours straight, and had also had a three-hour video conference with their counterparts back home, so they could hardly hide their fatigue.
There was no work scheduled for today, so Xiao Tang first took the two of them back to Jiang Shiyu's house in the United States to settle in.
After getting into the car, Jiang Shiyu leaned back in the seat, closing his eyes to rest. The buttons on his shirt cuffs were undone and rolled up twice. He stretched out his long, strong hands and pressed his temples.
"Xiao Tang, what's the schedule for the next few days?"
Suddenly, Jiang Shiyu's voice rang out in the quiet car.
Before picking him up from the airport, Xiao Tang heard from his boss that General Manager Jiang from headquarters was very mysterious and almost never appeared in public. He would only attend the company's core meetings, while other meetings, big and small, were handled by General Manager Fu next to him.
The boss also said that President Jiang is a complete workaholic, and it is precisely because of his high standards in his work that Guangyi Technology has become an industry leader in just a few years.
As for the private rumors about President Jiang, Xiao Tang had heard quite a bit. It was said that President Jiang was as cold as ice, and countless socialites and heiresses flocked to him, but none of them could even see him once, simply because President Jiang had a white moonlight who he loved but could not have in his youth.
There are even rumors that the game "Summer Echoes" is related to Jiang's white moonlight.
Seeing that Xiao Tang was in a daze, Jiang Shiyu called out again, "Xiao Tang?"
Xiao Tang snapped out of his daze and said, "Sorry, Mr. Jiang." With that, he took a tablet from the passenger seat and handed it to Jiang Shiyu and Fu Cheng.
The tablet displayed a schedule. Jiang Shiyu and Fu Cheng were in New York primarily for the global simultaneous launch of "Huaxia Fengyun". Their work schedule wasn't full; in fact, Xiao Tang had specifically cleared two days for Jiang Shiyu and his group, allowing them to spend two days at their leisure in New York.
only--
Jiang Shiyu quickly scrolled to the bottom of the tablet and saw that the schedule was to return to China on the 21st.
He frowned almost imperceptibly and handed the tablet to Fu Cheng: "Take a look."
Fu Cheng glanced at Jiang Shiyu's expression. Based on his understanding of Jiang Shiyu, he knew Jiang Shiyu was definitely not satisfied with this schedule. He took the tablet and browsed through the daily arrangements on the screen.
Sitting in the driver's seat, Xiao Tang was genuinely nervous, his eyes constantly glancing at the two people in the side mirror. However, he saw that Fu Cheng didn't seem dissatisfied at all, and even handed the tablet back to Jiang Shiyu, saying, "I think it's alright."
Then he asked, "What are you dissatisfied with?"
What a terrible father… Fu Cheng thought to himself.
Jiang Shiyu pointed to June 19th and said, "The 19th is Shen Cen's birthday."
Fu Cheng: "..."
Xiao Tang: "??!"
Fu Cheng clicked his tongue: "Then we can't let that interfere with your important business."
Just as they reached a traffic light, Fu Cheng handed the tablet back to Xiao Tang: "Xiao Tang, the schedule can be made more compact. Try to arrange to return to China on the 18th."
Xiao Tang already knew too many secrets and wanted to minimize his presence, so he quickly took the tablet and replied, "Okay, Mr. Fu."
After saying that, he quietly turned down the music in the car, then stared straight ahead without looking back, pretending to drive seriously.
However, he had already mentally reread the few words the two had just exchanged several times.
President Jiang actually got married? Is the person he married the rumored "white moonlight"?
However, even though Xiao Tang had a thousand guesses in his mind, he dared not ask, let alone tell anyone else. He could only swallow this secret silently.
"By the way, did you tell Wanqi you came to New York?" Fu Cheng, sitting in the back row, pondered for a moment and asked Jiang Shiyu next to him.
Jiang Wanqi is Jiang Shiyu's younger sister, and she is studying design in New York.
"No." Fu Cheng's words reminded Jiang Shiyu, who took out his phone. "But I did need to talk to her about something."
As he spoke, Jiang Shiyu dialed Jiang Wanqi's WeChat video call.
After the phone rang for four or five seconds, a sweet female voice came from the other end: "Brother!"
Jiang Shiyu noticed the scene in Jiang Wanqi's video: a beach and coconut grove in the background, and she was wearing sunglasses and leaning against a beach chair.
He asked Jiang Wanqi, "Aren't you in New York right now?"
"I'm on my graduation trip!" Jiang Wanqi picked up a glass of fruit wine and took a big gulp. "What's up? You didn't come to New York, did you?"
"Yeah, I'm here for a meeting, and I also need to talk to you about something. When are you coming back?"
"Hehe, I don't know~" Jiang Wanqi deliberately dragged out the last syllable, "Come back when you've had your fun."
Jiang Shiyu knew his younger sister's temper; she loved to go against him. If he asked her to go back to New York, she would definitely wait until he returned to China before coming back herself. But if he asked her to stay abroad for a few more days, she would be eager to fly back and bother him immediately.
He first tried to entice you: "I heard from my parents last time that you took a liking to a bag..."
Jiang Wanqi chuckled and took another big gulp of juice: "I forgot to tell you, my parents still bought it for me in the end."
Jiang Shiyu: "...Okay, we were thinking that since Fu Cheng is also in New York, we could treat you to a meal."
"Ahhhhh, you mean Fu Cheng is here too?" Jiang Wanqi sat up abruptly from the recliner. "Jiang Shiyu, why didn't you say so sooner!"
"You haven't had enough fun yet, so I won't bother you anymore. I'll hang up now." As he spoke, Jiang Shiyu looked like he was about to hang up the phone immediately.
"Wait, wait, don't hang up!" Jiang Wanqi was so anxious that she wished she could jump out of the screen and stand in front of Jiang Shiyu. "Wait for me, I'll book the earliest flight back."
After hanging up the phone, Fu Cheng, who hadn't spoken until now, smiled and said, "Wanqi is still the same as when she was a child."
Jiang Shiyu snorted coldly: "Yeah, you're still following behind me and calling me 'brother' every day, just like when we were kids. I, your own brother, should make room for you."
Just then, Fu Cheng's phone rang twice.
Jiang Shiyu said sarcastically, "Your younger sister sent you a message, hurry up and take a look."
Fu Cheng opened his phone and, sure enough, it was a message from Jiang Wanqi:
"Brother Fu Cheng, please let me know in advance if you come to New York next time!"
"I wish I hadn't gone to Hawaii."
"There are some great restaurants in New York, I'll take you to try them all in the next few days!"
"Oh right, don't call me brother, Fu Cheng, you can come by yourself."
...
The news keeps popping up.
After replying to each message, Fu Cheng closed his phone. "Wanqi said she'll arrive tomorrow morning."
Jiang Shiyu nodded: "Okay, it should be over in an afternoon."
Fu Cheng didn't understand Jiang Shiyu's meaning and asked, "What?"
Jiang Shiyu: "Help me pick out a birthday gift for her sister-in-law."
Fu Cheng: "...So that's what it was about."
Jiang Shiyu raised an eyebrow: "What? Isn't this the most important thing?"
-
During Jiang Shiyu's time in the United States, Shen Cen did not play "Conquering the Central Plains" with Jiang Shiyu again.
Because of their different time zones, Jiang Shiyu would just be waking up while Shen Cen was about to go to sleep, so they could only chat for a few minutes.
Chen Shili has been playing other games lately and hasn't been online much for "Conquering the Central Plains," so Shen Cen has to play it by himself. But it's not as fun as playing with the two of them before, so he's been playing it less and less.
On the night of the 18th, Shen Cen complained to Wen Jie on the phone, "Honey, I'm so bored lately!"
Wen Jie remembered the dating simulation game she had recommended to Shen Cen before, "Did you download 'Summer Echoes' that I asked you to download last time?"
Wen Jie's reminder brought Shen Cen back to reality: "Yes, I downloaded it, but I haven't logged in yet."
The game was downloading slowly, so she temporarily put it to download in the background.
I've been playing "Conquer the Central Plains" for a while now, so I've completely forgotten about this game and haven't registered or logged in at all.
Seeing that Shen Cen had already downloaded it, Wen Jie hurriedly urged, "Hurry up and log in to take a look!"
Shen Cen exclaimed, "Ah!" and then asked, "Now?"
"Hmm." Wen Jie teased, "Your husband is far away in a foreign country. If you're not going to admire handsome men in the game now, when are you going to? Shen Xiaocen, don't think I don't know you love looking at handsome guys. I remember back in high school, there was a rumor that there was a school heartthrob in the international department. For days after school, you dragged me to walk around the international department area..."
"Stop, stop!" Shen Cen said shyly, covering half of her face with her hand under her chin, revealing only a pair of bright, doe-like eyes. "Okay, okay, then I'll go up and take a look."
Shen Cen minimized the video call window, found "Summer Echoes," and opened the game.
The opening animation is a compilation of several story clips from the game, with a Japanese manga style that perfectly matches Shen Cen's aesthetic.
Wen Jie was worried that Shen Cen wouldn't be able to figure out the game interface at first, so she explained from the side: "Look at the button in the lower right corner of the game. Clicking it will take you to the main storyline."
Shen Cen did as instructed, clicked on the link, and saw ten chapters of the main storyline. At the top of the page was written: "After reading the main storyline, players can freely choose from the side storylines."
Although Wen Jie had given a brief explanation before, Shen Cen still couldn't quite remember, so he asked again, "What's the difference between the main storyline and the side storylines?"
Wen Jie patiently explained, in more detail than last time: "The main storyline is about how you meet the male leads, and the story is set in high school. After completing the main storyline, you'll have a general understanding of the male leads. But then—"
Wen Jie raised her voice a few decibels: "Your relationship with the male leads is more than friends but not quite lovers, so you need to choose the male lead with the highest affection level, enter the corresponding branching storyline, and then start your sweet romance!"
"Once you enter the side story, you can unlock many new features, such as watching movies and going on dates with the male lead."
That sounds quite interesting.
After hanging up the phone, Shen Cen began playing the first chapter of the game's story.
The story takes place during the summer before she started high school. She had just been accepted into the best high school in the city from her town and moved to the city a month early.
It was at this time that she accidentally discovered that the person living across the hall was the neighbor's older brother, with whom she often played when she was a child. He had also been admitted to the same high school, but a year earlier than her, and would soon be a senior in high school.
Her neighbor's older brother is mature and steady. Although he doesn't talk much, he shows her care in a subtle and gentle way, and even tutors her in her first year of high school.
Shen Cen recalled that when Wen Jie introduced several male leads to her, she mentioned that one of them was a "mature man with a strong sense of being a married man." If she wasn't mistaken, this should be the one.
The story continues.
One evening, the air conditioner in her house broke down. She fiddled with it for a long time, but instead of fixing it, it went completely out of order with a "whoosh".
How can we live without air conditioning in the sweltering summer!
Helpless, she could only ask her neighbor for help.
She knocked on the door: "Brother, are you home?"
She heard a deep male voice, but couldn't make out what he was saying.
"Brother, my air conditioner is broken, can you take a look at it for me? I'm coming in."
Inside, a low male voice murmured again. She took it as his consent and quickly entered the password on the door.
The living room was dark, with the lights off. Only the bedroom door was ajar, and a dim yellow light shone from it, casting a small patch of light.
Could it be the neighbor's older brother doing his homework?
But the lighting is too dim; it's bad for your eyes!
She walked towards the bedroom.
"..."
Her neighbor's deep, resonant voice came again. But this time, she clearly heard him shouting…
Her name?
It was accompanied by a few low gasps.
When the plot reached this point, Shen Cen's face flushed red.
She reads a lot of novels, so it wasn't hard for her to guess what her neighbor's brother was doing.
However, in the game, she didn't seem to know what was happening; she thought her neighbor was really calling her.
"I'm here," she replied softly, placing her hand on the doorknob.
Shen Cen, watching from outside the screen, held his breath, no longer daring to continue watching.
But driven by curiosity, she didn't pause the story; instead, she turned down the screen brightness and lowered the volume to the lowest setting.
With a "click," the bedroom door was pushed open...
Just then, Shen Cen's phone suddenly redirected to the WeChat page.
It's Jiang Shiyu's call!
A note from the author:
----------------------
Mr. Jiang, you scared our teacher, Ms. Cen! [doge emoji]
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