After seeing Young Master Yan off, although it was still early, Zhu Qianying was too lazy to go back to Old Yan's house. She casually found a 24-hour coffee shop to sit down, took out a newly bought novel from her bag, and quietly flipped through it, waiting for the busy day to begin in the morning light.
When Cheng Ye called, Zhu Qianying was reading a particularly moving passage, and her voice was slightly nasal when she answered the phone.
"Shadow, are you feeling unwell?" Cheng Ye was always exceptionally perceptive about Zhu Qianying's condition.
"No, I was just reading a book and I happened to get to a part that moved me."
Zhu Qianying is exceptionally frank, yet her frankness is tinged with rationality.
Zhu Qianying, who was always playful and crazy in front of Yan Shao, basically never showed that side of herself in front of Cheng Ye.
Perhaps, subconsciously, Zhu Qianying never truly saw Cheng Ye as someone she could be herself with. That's why she was always frighteningly rational in his presence.
She never gave him even the slightest bit of affection or hope.
"So early?" Cheng Ye was quite surprised.
"Yes, Yan Han has an urgent matter and needs to rush back to L City early this morning. I'm taking him to the airport. We're in the coffee shop now. What kind of breakfast would you like? I'll get it for you!"
Yesterday, Cheng Ye said he would go to the processing plant at ten o'clock today, but it's still early.
"No need, the hotel has breakfast. Are you coming with me, or will you go directly there?"
"I'll go by myself. I have a driver, so you don't need to worry."
Zhu Qianying's repeated injuries over the past few months have put not only the Zhu and Yan families on edge, but also Cheng Ye on edge.
Even during this trip to the capital, he told Zhu Qianying that it was okay if she didn't come.
But Zhu Qianying was the kind of person who was so serious about her work that she was meticulous to the point of being nitpicky. No matter what Cheng Ye said, she insisted on coming along.
Of course, Zhu Qianying insisted on this entirely because Ke Kai had mentioned that things had been very peaceful recently and there shouldn't be any problems.
Moreover, she's gotten used to having the Yan family's bodyguards with her when she goes out, so she can't bring herself to use her own safety as an excuse not to work.
Zhu Qianying thought that she could stay in the coffee shop until around nine o'clock and then have the driver take her there. Little did she know that Cheng Ye would appear in front of her less than half an hour after she finished her phone call with him.
Zhu Qianying was engrossed in reading when suddenly a dark shadow loomed over the pages. Looking up, she saw Cheng Ye's face.
"Why are you here?" Zhu Qianying asked in surprise.
"I'm so bored being alone in the hotel!"
Cheng Ye sat down opposite her without a care in the world. These days, apart from work hours, he rarely had the chance to be alone with her.
But she is someone you can want to get close to, even if you're just friends with her.
Now that her protector has left, surely he can keep her company?
Of course, Cheng Ye was genuinely worried about her safety, which is why he rushed over as soon as he hung up the phone.
"If you're bored, you'll be bored everywhere!"
Bamboo shadows, sometimes, are frankly not endearing.
"The thing is, with you around, it's never boring."
Cheng Ye took a big gulp of the iced water that the waiter brought over.
Zhu Qianying closed the book and leaned back on the sofa.
"Cheng, can we please stop saying these ambiguous things to each other?"
Zhu Qianying was increasingly unable to understand Cheng Ye. Sometimes, he seemed to have accepted things, but other times, he would say things that left much to the imagination, like he was doing now.
Cheng Ye put down his cup, raised an eyebrow at her, and asked, "Where is the ambiguity?"
Clearly, he does not acknowledge Zhu Qianying's accusations.
"What do you think?" Zhu Qianying asked in return.
“Shadow, you have never been a boring person, whether I consider you a colleague, a friend, or a subordinate.”
What Cheng Ye said seemed to make some sense.
"Okay, I misunderstood what I said earlier, but I don't intend to take it back."
Zhu Qianying dislikes ambiguity and vagueness.
The sticky, messy, and entangled relationship ultimately hurts not only Cheng Ye, but also Yan Shao, and herself.
"Okay, I surrender!"
Cheng Ye raised his hand. "I won't say things like that again. So, could you treat me to breakfast?"
"Didn't you have breakfast?" Zhu Qianying looked at him with suspicion. Didn't he just say that the hotel had breakfast? Did she hear him wrong?
"No, I came right after hanging up your call."
Zhu Qianying waved to the waiter, ordered breakfast, then glared at Cheng Ye and said, "You have free breakfast, but you insist on eating mine!"
Cheng Ye laughed, "Your husband is so rich, do you have to be so stingy?"
Zhu Qianying shrugged, indicating that she had no comment.
She would never tell anyone that she only has a few thousand yuan left in her bank account!
Why is she so poor?
The reason, of course, is something only she knows.
At ten o'clock, Zhu Qianying and Cheng Ye arrived at the processing plant on time.
This is the second time Mr. Qian has met Zhu Qianying. The first time was during the Spring Festival at Lao Yan's house.
"Mrs. Yan, it's an honor to see you again. Where is Mr. Yan?"
Mr. Qian had thought he would see Young Master Yan today, and had even prepared a generous gift for it. But when he only saw Zhu Qianying and Cheng Ye, he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.
"He had something to do and couldn't come with me."
Zhu Qianying certainly didn't need to tell the truth to a stranger.
"How are Grandpa Yan and Grandma Yan doing?"
Zhu Qianying naturally disliked Boss Qian's obsequious attitude, but she understood that she had to adapt to it in order to survive in this society.
After all, the fact that she is the granddaughter-in-law of the Yan family is an undeniable fact. In the future, there will be more bosses like Mr. Qian, Mr. Zhang, and Mr. Chen who will try their best to please her because of her title. All she can do is greet her with a smile, just like she does now.
After smilingly responding to Boss Qian's flattery, Zhu Qianying took the initiative to steer the conversation toward work.
"My boss told me that Mr. Qian's processing plant has advanced equipment and a large scale. I am fortunate to come and see it for myself today, and it is indeed well-deserved."
Once the conversation turned to work, Boss Qian couldn't dwell on the personnel matters of the Yan family any longer. He and several senior executives led Cheng Ye and Zhu Qianying on a tour of the processing plant.
Basically, although Mr. Qian is worldly-wise, it cannot be denied that his processing plant is better than Ying Jewelry's processing plant in the United States, both in terms of facilities and scale.
Lunch and dinner were both arranged by Boss Qian. Lunch was rather simple, eaten in the factory's canteen. Dinner, however, was at a very high-end hotel. During the meal, Boss Qian offered Zhu Qianying a toast several times, but Cheng Ye declined each time with various excuses.
As a result of this obstruction, Cheng Ye ended up getting drunk by Boss Qian and his assistant.
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