Chapter 117: People from Four Years Ago
When Song Youning found out that she was blocked by Ji Siyun, she felt a surge of anger in her chest, making her upset and confused.
After the initial anger and grievance, a feeling that something was wrong began to emerge.
Based on her understanding of him, Ji Siyun's personality was indeed a bit paranoid, and he often acted in extremes, like an untamable beast, sometimes showing his fangs, and sometimes being fragile and vulnerable.
But Song Youning never doubted Ji Siyun's true love for her. If it weren't for this sincerity mixed with humility, madness and recklessness, she would not be moved.
How could Ji Siyun, who cared about her so much, be angry because she lied to him about "drugging" him, and even less would he treat her like this?
So what went wrong?
She frowned, thinking, but had no clue. However, she changed her mind and realized that it was not the first time she had made him angry before, and every time, he would find some lame excuse and come back to her again.
Thinking of this, I felt a surge of energy.
Song Youning thought angrily: Men should not be spoiled too much, otherwise they will take advantage of her in the future.
However, although the decision has been made, it is not so easy to implement it.
All day the next day, Ji Siyun's distant tone and the fact that he hung up on her last night kept popping into her mind at inopportune times, even the busy tone that blocked her call seemed to still echo in her ears.
This uncontrolled recollection made her restless and irritable all day long. Her face felt like it was covered in frost, and a gloomy, unapproachable atmosphere permeated her. Throughout the CEO's office and even on the floors she passed, her subordinates were on edge, keeping their reports brief and concise, fearing any potential setbacks.
I was busy in an inexplicable anxiety until dark. When the lights came on, there was a bright night scene outside the window.
Song Youning rubbed his swollen temples, looked at his slightly tired face reflected in the glass, and thought: It's been a whole day, he should be... angry now, right?
Even if it hasn't completely disappeared, based on his usual temperament, there should be some movement.
She pressed the intercom, trying to keep her voice steady: "Gao Jing, come in."
Gao Jing came in as expected, looking normal.
Song Youning tapped the table unconsciously with his fingertips and asked calmly, "Is there any news from YNING?"
Gao Jing reported seriously, "The other party's response to Song's cooperation intention is not very strong at the moment, and their attitude is relatively calm. This is understandable. After all, there are many large companies lining up to cooperate with YNING, and they do have the capital to choose..."
Song Youning raised his eyes and looked at her silently without saying a word.
Gao Jing paused under her calm gaze, then suddenly realized something and said, "Oh!" She immediately changed the subject and continued smoothly, "As for Mr. Ji Siyun, he hasn't been out since Mr. Fang picked him up from the airport and brought him back to the company last night."
She glanced at Song Youning again and continued, "...There's no sign of anyone contacting us."
"From what we've learned, his top-floor studio comes with a complete living room, so he's probably been living in the company."
Song Youning nodded. No wonder he couldn’t find out where he lived. It turned out he lived in the company?
But—coming back from the airport?
Why did he and Fang Li come back from the airport at that time last night?
"Gao Jing." She closed her pen. "Go check Ji Siyun's schedule for yesterday, especially anything related to the airport."
"yes."
Gao Jing was extremely efficient and came back with the information he had found in just half an hour.
"Boss, I've checked. Mr. Ji Siyun bought a last-minute ticket to fly to City L yesterday afternoon. But strangely, not long after landing, he bought a return ticket and took the very same flight after you."
L City?
Song Youning's heart skipped a beat.
He also went to L City? What did he do there?
The only reason Song Youning could think of was that Ji Siyun saw the news about her going to L City yesterday, and Meng Jiaxin happened to be there too.
With his petty and jealous nature, he must have thought that she was going to find Meng Jiaxin to develop a relationship, so he chased after her and tried to stop her from meeting Meng Jiaxin to assert his sovereignty.
No wonder his voice was so cold when I called last night. He must have been jealous.
Thinking of this, Song Youning felt a little proud.
I knew he couldn't help himself, and he couldn't sit still just by seeing the rumors of her being with someone else.
But before the corners of his mouth could even curl up, they froze - that wasn't right. Since he had chased her all the way to L City, why didn't he come to see her, but instead immediately bought a return ticket?
Song Youning looked up and asked Gao Jing: "What time did we arrive at the airport yesterday?"
Gao Jing said without hesitation: "Around five o'clock."
Song Youning asked again: "What time did Ji Siyun land in L City?"
"Four-thirty."
Song Youning covered her forehead. Adding the time she got off the plane, it almost coincided with her return time...
At that time, she met Meng Jiaxin by chance at the airport. In order to make the show more effective, they acted more familiar and closer than usual... Could it be such a coincidence that Ji Siyun, who had just landed, saw them?
The more he thought about it, the greater the possibility became. He had misunderstood what he saw, so he was disheartened and returned without even showing his face.
She quickly asked Gao Jing: "Did you notice Ji Siyun at the airport when we came back?"
Gao Jing thought carefully and shook her head. "There were a lot of people there at the time, and my attention was mainly on you and Mr. Meng. I didn't pay much attention to the surroundings. But..." She remembered something, "Xu Shangyan was always paying attention to the crowd. I'm not sure if he saw it."
"Ask Xu Shangyan!" Song Youning said immediately.
Gao Jing quickly dialed Xu Shangyan's number and turned on the speakerphone. "Shangyan, do you remember the person I met at the L City Airport yesterday?"
Before Xu Shangyan could answer, Song Youning couldn't wait to interrupt, his tone filled with an urgency he didn't even notice: "Have you seen a tall, fair-skinned, black-haired man who is...extraordinarily handsome?"
Xu Shangyan mused on the other end of the phone: "Black hair, tall... There were too many people yesterday, I'm not sure, boss."
Gao Jing remembered that when she was investigating Ji Siyun's background, she found an old photo of him when he was fifteen or sixteen years old in the file. She hurriedly said, "I have an old photo of him here. I'll send it to you!"
She quickly found the investigation materials and the photo.
Although Ji Siyun was still young at the age of fifteen or sixteen, her facial features were already clear and her stunning beauty had begun to take shape.
She quickly sent the photo.
"Let me see..."
The sound of Xu Shangyan operating the phone came from the other end. After a moment of silence, Xu Shangyan suddenly raised the volume with disbelief and surprise.
"Damn it! Boss, you didn't... sleep with him again?"
These words were like thunder from a clear sky, exploding in the quiet office.
Song Youning and Gao Jing were both stunned. They looked at each other subconsciously and saw surprise in each other's eyes.
An unnatural blush instantly crossed Song Youning's face, but she suppressed it forcefully. She coughed awkwardly and said calmly, "Cough! What nonsense are you talking about? Don't talk nonsense!"
"I'm not talking nonsense!"
Xu Shangyan enlarged the photo and looked at it carefully again. He said firmly, "Although he looked a little darker and thinner then than in this photo, I couldn't mistake such a beautiful face! This is the kid you asked me to send away a few years ago."
Song Youning couldn't recall when he had asked Xu Shangyan to do this before, and he hesitated: "When did I... let you..."
"That was four years ago!" Xu Shangyan helped her recall, "When you got drunk, Gao Jing happened to be on a business trip abroad, so I went to deal with it."
Four years ago? Drunk?
Song Youning couldn't believe what he heard.
That person four years ago... was Ji Siyun?!
Four years ago, it was Song Youning’s 25th birthday.
Su He organized a birthday party for her, booking a private room on the top floor of a high-end club. She wasn't in a good mood that night. The family feud was stressful, and she'd unknowingly drunk a bit too much, and her consciousness was starting to blur.
Su He was also drunk. He leaned close to her ear and smiled ambiguously: "I have prepared a surprise for you. I guarantee you will be satisfied."
Although Song Youning's brain was still swollen from the alcohol, he knew Su He hadn't held her fart well when he saw her expression, so he pushed her away in disgust: "No need."
Su He curled her lips and said disapprovingly: "What era is it now? Are you still so pretentious? It's okay to relax once in a while and try something new."
As the alcohol took over, Song Youning barely managed to maintain a trace of sobriety, saying with her usual arrogance, "I don't lack men."
Su He smacked his lips and teased, "Yes, yes, our Miss Song is so charming..."
The music in the box was deafening and the voices were noisy. Song Youning felt a tightness in his chest and stood up. "It's too noisy. I'm going to go out for some fresh air and use the restroom."
When I came out of the bathroom, the alcohol was completely taking over.
Song Youning felt like he was stepping on cotton and he staggered a little when he walked.
The lights in the corridor were dimmed to create an atmosphere. Song Youning felt dizzy and could only walk by holding on to the wall. When he turned the corner, his feet went weak and his body fell forward uncontrollably.
The expected pain did not come, and she fell into an embrace with a refreshing scent. The clean scent smelled very comfortable, and her chaotic mind had a moment of clarity.
"Thank you..." Song Youning thanked him in a daze, but after she finished speaking, she found that the other person's hands on her waist and arms had no intention of letting go.
She looked up in confusion. Because she was dizzy, her vision was filled with overlapping shadows. Although she couldn't see the other person's face clearly, she vaguely felt that the other person's outline was very beautiful.
Song Youning tilted his head and uttered a drunken nasal sound: "Hmm?"
The arm around her waist tensed slightly. Then, a low, nervous, and even trembling young man's voice rang out overhead: "Miss Song..."
He knows her.
Song Youning squinted her drunken eyes and tried hard to focus. Her brain, paralyzed by alcohol, could only react in the most primitive way. In her trance, she only knew that he was very handsome.
Especially the pair of black eyes that were looking at her so closely, filled with overly complicated emotions that she could not understand, like tension, like expectation, and like a long-suppressed heat, which inexplicably attracted her.
Song Youning remembered the surprise Su He mentioned.
Oh, so this is what Su He was talking about.
Looking at the other person's eyes, which were particularly dark and bright in the dim light, an idea came to my mind: Su He is right, it's okay to relax occasionally...
After the young boy called her, he pursed his lips, as if he had mustered up the courage to say something else. Just as his lips opened slightly,
Song Youning had lost his patience.
She suddenly reached out and grabbed the fabric on his chest and pulled it down hard. The man was caught off guard and lowered his head.
The next second, a kiss with the scent of alcohol and jasmine tea domineeringly blocked all his unspoken words.
What happened later happened naturally and smoothly.
Song Youning suddenly pulled himself out of his memories, his face gradually turning paler.
She vaguely remembered that he seemed to want to say something at that time, but she was in no mood to listen to it. She just relied on her physical impulse and rudely blocked his mouth.
I still remember waking up in her hotel room the next day. The pounding headache from the hangover felt like a hammer hitting her temples. Then, all the chaotic and passionate memories of last night suddenly rushed into my mind - her proactive kiss, the entangled bodies, the unfamiliar room, and the even breathing beside me...
It's over.
This scene made her completely sober in an instant, and cold sweat soaked her back.
At that time, several half-siblings were fighting fiercely, each keeping a close eye on the other, waiting for someone to make a mistake so they could deliver a fatal blow. Song Youning absolutely could not allow any scandalous news to surface at a time like this, especially one involving a one-night stand of unknown origin.
With intense regret, she quickly put on the clothes scattered on the ground, not even bothering to look at the person lying next to her. Her mind was filled with only one thought: she had to leave as soon as possible.
As soon as she left the hotel, she took out her phone and called Xu Shangyan: "The surveillance cameras of the places I went last night have been cleared."
She paused and added, her voice devoid of emotion, as if she were simply handling a discarded item: "And the person in the room, give him half a million, make him sign a confidentiality agreement, shut up, and disappear from my sight forever."
"Five hundred thousand...sign a confidentiality agreement..."
On the other end of the phone, Xu Shangyan was still chattering about the handsome boy's suddenly pale face and broken eyes when he saw the check. Every word was like a poisoned needle, piercing Song Youning's heart.
The belated feeling of guilt that came four years ago came roaring down like a tidal wave. Song Youning leaned back in his chair, his face pale without a trace of blood, and even his fingertips were trembling slightly.
That's why Ji Siyun said that he was abandoned by her again and always said some self-deprecating words, because, in his opinion, she really did such a cruel thing to him.
Not only did she treat him as an "object" that could be used at will, but she also trampled all his sincerity and courage underfoot in the most insulting way.
In reality, she had never responded to his sincerity, and in reality, it turned out that she had caused him deep harm time and time again.
Song Youning slowly covered her face with her hands.
What on earth did she do?
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