Chapter 18
After Nan Guo Ji closed, the three of them were exhausted and had a quick dinner at a nearby restaurant. They didn't have the energy to go shopping anymore, so they went to the SPA for a full body massage.
Xi Miao's apartment was in the same direction as Zijin Bay, so it was convenient for them to go there. She sent her driver away and planned to take a ride back with Wen Zhenni.
As soon as he got in the car, Xi Miao saw the female driver in the driver's seat. He was surprised and gossipy. "Nibao, your family has different shifts for picking up and dropping off people. A male driver in the morning and a female driver in the evening."
If she hadn't said it, Wen Zhenni wouldn't have noticed that the driver had changed.
It was a bit sudden, but she simply thought it was just a change of driver. "Maybe it's a day off."
Hearing this, the driver glanced in the rearview mirror and explained with a smile, "Madam, my husband specifically asked me to come here, and from now on, I will be the one to pick you up at night. You can call me Xiao Su."
"Ah, why?" Wen Zhenni seemed to have a puzzled mind and didn't react for a long time.
Xi Miao tsk-tsks. "Even though I can't stand Ciheng having his eyes on his forehead, it's fair to say he's still better than most men. He deserves the money, I'm not jealous."
Thinking about the couple working on the same floor, Xi Miao's curiosity piqued. She leaned closer, lowered her voice, and asked with a smirk, "How's work going for Taihua? Is your role-playing as an urban white-collar worker going smoothly?"
"Just barely enough to muddle through."
Wen Zhenni's voice was drawn out, revealing a sense of laziness. "The people in the office haven't noticed anything yet, so I guess we can get away with it."
"I give up. You really managed to fool me with this face."
Xi Miao almost suspected that the employees of Taihua were like their boss, with eyes on top of their heads, and everyone looked like they had only one nose and two eyes, making it impossible to tell who was who.
"Let me interview you. What's it like to have an office romance at your husband's company?"
This sounds weird.
Wen Zhenni muttered, "What office romance? I'm tired of organizing documents and making spreadsheets every day."
"No way, that bastard Ciheng actually asked you to work."
Xi Miao frowned, his voice rising several degrees, "I take back my praise for him just now. His charm value has dropped to negative points."
Wen Zhenni looked at Xi's angry expression and poked her cheek with her index finger. "Alright, how come you are more excited than me, the person involved?"
"Which side are you on?" Xi Miao spat at her angrily, "You have no conscience. I'm speaking for you."
Wen Zhenni chuckled and quickly held her arm, "Of course she's on my side, my eldest daughter."
Xi Miao snorted in a hard voice: "You're smart."
The driver first took Xi Miao home, and then took Wen Zhenni back to Zijin Bay.
The weather has warmed up by the end of May. The catalpa tree in front of the courtyard is covered with flower buds, and a faint fragrance floats in the evening breeze.
Wen Zhenni stood under the tree, took a deep breath of the fragrance, hummed a song, and walked briskly into the house.
Under the soft light of the living room, Ciheng was sitting on the sofa. When he heard her come in, he just raised his eyelids, glanced at her indifferently, and then his eyes fell back on the phone screen.
It’s this late, he must be waiting for her.
Wen Zhenni muttered to herself, handed the bag to the servant, and unconsciously slowed down her pace as she tiptoed towards the sofa.
Just as he sat down next to Ciheng, two fingers tugged at his sleeve. Before he could say anything, a short and stocky figure suddenly jumped out from the shadows in the corner.
"Xingxing!" She exclaimed in surprise, squatting on the ground and holding the robot's titanium alloy head with both hands. "Xingxing, why are you here?"
Xingxing twisted her arms and raised her head, her electronic eyes turning into two pink hearts. "Because this is Xingxing's home."
The mechanical child's voice is soft and sweet, and it's so cute that it makes people's face bleed.
No one, no one can resist a soft, cute creature.
Although it has a metal shell, it doesn't feel plush to the touch. But you don't have to take care of the fur, clean the poop, or take it for a walk, so it's less troublesome than a cat or dog. At most, if a part breaks down, you can just take it back to the company for repair.
Wen Zhenni really liked this little thing, hugging it, kissing it and rubbing it.
"You don't mind it being dirty." Ciheng's cold voice came from behind, with obvious disgust.
Wen Zhenni retorted, "The stars are not dirty."
"The stars are not dirty."
The star repeated Wen Zhenni's words and raised its mechanical hand awkwardly, "The star has been disinfected."
Wen Zhenni was so adorable that she was speechless. She held the little one in her arms and took out her cell phone to take a photo.
After taking enough photos, I turned to look at the man on the sofa and asked him, "Why did you think of bringing the stars back?"
Ciheng raised an eyebrow, "It was originally given to you by Ciyu, but it has been undergoing optimization and upgrading for some time."
Speaking of Ciyu, Wen Zhenni looked around and found that no one was there. "Is Xiaoyu asleep?"
"The old lady called the people back."
As he spoke, Ci Heng lowered his crossed legs and reached out to pull up Wen Zhenni, who was sitting cross-legged on the floor. "We've had enough fun, let's go upstairs and sleep."
Xingxing glided over and wanted to follow him, but he stretched out his legs to block her. "Go back and recharge yourself."
Xingxing accepted the command and tilted his head, as if digesting the information. After a few seconds, he walked back to the charging cabin with a gurgling sound.
The next day was a sunny day. The morning sun was warm and soft, silently streaming through the gauze curtains. The person deep in the quilt turned over comfortably.
However, the mobile phone on the bedside table was so inappropriate. It always disturbed people's sleep early in the morning with the constant buzzing sound.
After the first round of ringing and no one answered, the phone kept ringing for the second time.
"It's so noisy... Who is that?" Wen Zhenni turned over, buried her face deeper into the soft pillow, covered her ears, trying to block out the annoying ringing sound.
Ci Heng grabbed the phone, rubbed his brows, and answered the call, his tone quite helpless, "Old lady, it's six in the morning. If you don't get enough sleep, you will die."
The elderly are light sleepers and don’t care whether the person on the other end is sleeping or not. They have to answer the phone when it rings.
"Pah, so unlucky so early in the morning."
The old lady scolded her grandson and said straight to the point, "Ni Ni volunteered to work at the company. You have such a great opportunity, but you don't know how to cherish it. Take this opportunity to cultivate your relationship. You are thirty years old, and if you are not anxious, I am anxious too."
I thought it was something urgent.
"Just to say this?"
Ciheng was both amused and angry. Rubbing his trembling forehead, he hid on the balcony, phone in hand.
"Grandpa, the company is a place to work, not a place for romance. If employees have time for romance, it only means that the work force is seriously undersaturated."
"nonsense!"
Grandma Ci spat at him in disgust, "You're just as clueless as your father. If I hadn't called your father back, you wouldn't have been able to find a wife before the sun rose in the west."
Ci Heng felt a headache coming on, pinching his brows and saying perfunctorily, "Yes, yes, it's all thanks to you, old man. If you hadn't stepped in, how could I have brought my ancestors back?"
Faced with his indifferent attitude, the old lady was furious. "Just kidding, that Qiu family's only son appears gentle and easy to get along with, but he's actually very cunning. I heard that he and Ni Ni are going to work together on a film. You should be more careful. If he steals your girl one day, you'll have nowhere to cry."
The smile on Ciheng's face froze, "How can he be compared to me?"
Grandma Ci: "At least younger than you."
Ciheng: "Just two years."
"Two years is still younger than you! I'm too lazy to argue with a jerk like you." The old lady got straight to the point. "I'll have Secretary Lin bring lunch to work today. Invite Ni Ni to eat with you at noon."
Ciheng didn't understand why she went to the trouble of delivering food. "The company cafeteria has everything you need, why bother?"
For every one she said, he had ten sentences waiting for her. He had a completely rebuttal personality.
He has a personality that can choke people to death with just one sentence. If it weren't for his good-looking face, no girl could stand it.
"The biggest stupid thing your grandfather ever did was building that lousy cafeteria."
After the call, the old lady was so angry that she said, "It's settled. I'll have Lin Nuo deliver lunch at noon."
He didn't even have time to refute. After two busy beeps, the old lady hung up the phone.
When Wen Zhenni finished washing up and came downstairs for breakfast, Ciheng had already finished. He sat at the dining table, looking intently at the news minutes compiled by Lin Nuo.
"What did grandma say on the phone?" She pulled out a chair and sat down, holding up a cup of warm milk and asked casually.
"Nothing." Ciheng didn't tell her that grandma was going to deliver food, but just told her, "I'm going on a business trip to another city at the end of the month."
Wen Zhenni yawned, her mind completely focused on the delicious breakfast. When she heard what he said, she just said "Oh" lazily with a long tone, not paying attention to the key point of his words at all.
Ci Heng raised his eyes from the screen and squinted at her, "Oh what?"
"It means I know." Wen Zhenni answered as a matter of course, not thinking there was anything wrong with it.
"Yeah." Should I say she is too carefree or too indifferent?
When this conclusion came to mind, the inexplicable expectation in my heart disappeared completely in an instant.
Ciheng suddenly felt bored and stopped watching the news. When he stood up, the chair he was carrying made a soft noise. "I'll wait for you in the car."
“…” What’s wrong? Someone made him unhappy again, and he suddenly looked so sullen.
Wen Zhenni bit the shrimp cake and looked at Ciheng's departing back, feeling confused.
After finishing her breakfast in no time, she went to look at the stars before going out.
The little robot stayed in the charging cabin, still in silent charging mode, with its breathing light flashing.
When it senses the owner approaching, the electronic eyes on the display screen are awakened, flashing heart-shaped and kiss emoticons.
"Good morning, Mommy. I wish you good luck at work."
Wen Zhenni also waved and said goodbye to it.
When she got on the bus and just sat down, she heard a mocking remark, "You have more feelings for robots than for people."
"How could that be?" Wen Zhenni curled her lips and spoke sweetly, "My feelings for my husband are evident to all."
Another casual response to his words. Ciheng had learned from her mistakes and decided to be tough this time and not be swayed by her sugarcoated bullets.
"Hmph." He tightened his face and turned his gaze to the window, as if refusing to communicate.
Wen Zhenni hit a snag and was too lazy to coax this moody young master.
She took out her cell phone from her bag, opened the photo album, and sorted through the photos she had collected over the past few days. After she had collected 18 photos, she posted a plog.
A few seconds later, the phone in Ciheng's palm vibrated.
When the notification popped up from the banner, he intended to ignore it, but his hand reacted before his brain and clicked on the post.
As I swiped from the first photo to the next, my thumb suddenly stopped.
Zoom in on one of the pictures, and then zoom in again until you can lock onto the three gold rings on the ring finger.
After a few seconds of silence, Ciheng's tense face relaxed, a smile creeping into the corners of his eyes. The depression that had been hanging in his chest dissipated unconsciously.
The car drove to the subway station as usual. Before getting off the train, Wen Zhenni remembered to ask him why he was in a bad mood, but when she turned around, she saw the curve of his mouth still there, and suddenly felt that she was being too suspicious.
A sour face can only express his momentary dissatisfaction, not his mood for the whole day...
The short weekend is over, and Monday workers are dying, with yawns everywhere in the office.
Wen Zhenni was busy as a top, and the whole building was filled with her running around.
After connecting with the department and organizing some forms, I looked at the time and it was almost noon. Everyone in the office tacitly started to work.
Lucy asked about the cafeteria's dishes today and asked Wen Zhenni, "Today we have dry pot spicy shrimp and hot and sour beef. Do you want to go together?"
Wen Zhenni turned on her phone and saw the WeChat message that Ciheng had sent her a few minutes ago, asking her to go to the office for lunch.
It was the first time that someone took the initiative to invite her to dinner.
She replied and told Lucy, "I already have an appointment at noon. I can't go. Let's get together next time."
"Okay then." Lucy could only call other dining companions.
Wen Zhenni turned off the computer and waited for everyone in the office to leave before quickly slipping into the president's office.
The door to the president's office was closed, the blinds were all drawn, and not a shadow could be seen inside.
Worried that there might be other people inside, Wen Zhenni put her ear against the glass curtain wall to listen for any movement. Then the door opened with a "click" and a tall and thin man walked out.
"Madam Boss?" Lu Fangyang recognized Wen Zhenni at a glance. "Madam Boss, you're here for dinner, right?"
Wen Zhenni looked at his unfamiliar face and was sure that she didn't know this person. At the same time, she began to doubt her disguise skills again.
"Who are you?" she asked.
Lu Fangyang replied respectfully, "I'm Mr. Ci's chief assistant, Lu Fangyang. Madam Boss, you can call me Little Lu."
Wen Zhenni was a little embarrassed. "Hello, Assistant Lu, but I have a small request... Can you please not call me that when we're at the company?"
I'm afraid you might say it too easily and let it slip in front of others.
"I understand, Miss Qianqian."
Lu Fangyang had an expression that said, "I understand everything," and pointed inside, saying, "Boss Ci is waiting for you to eat. I won't bother you two any longer."
He considerately stepped aside, waited for Wen Zhenni to come in, and then considerately closed the door, leaving the two of them some space to be alone.
Wen Zhenni entered the house and smelled the fragrance of food. "Wow, it smells so good. What delicious food did you make?"
The delicious dishes were placed in insulated lunch boxes, and Ciheng was opening the lid of the last lunch box.
The food looked delicious and mouth-watering at first glance. Wen Zhenni stretched out two fingers to pick up the crispy spareribs, but Ciheng quickly took away the lunch box.
"My hands are dirty."
Wen Zhenni rubbed her hands and sat down obediently, "Why did you think of asking someone to deliver food?"
Ci Heng handed over the chopsticks, "The old lady asked Lin Nuo to send it here, worried that you wouldn't eat well at the company."
"Grandma is so nice to me." Wen Zhenni picked up a piece of pork ribs with rich sauce and put it in his bowl.
Ci Heng didn't move his chopsticks. He wiped his hands with a tissue and asked casually, "Did the CEO's office assign you a lot of work?"
"It's okay today. I'm much faster now than before."
She gnawed on some chops while unlocking her phone with her clean fingers.
The Weibo posts I posted this morning all had familiar IDs in the top comments.
I swiped down a few times and my fingertip touched a photo in the comment section. It looked somewhat familiar.
She enlarged the photo and saw a robot with a black shell. Apart from the color, its appearance design was exactly the same as Xingxing.
Isn’t this the account that I used to take the photo of her back last time?
Default profile picture, initial nickname, gender male, IP address is from the same city. His comment style is very obvious, each time with a photo.
Moreover, the scenes in the photos all correspond to her photos, so it's hard not to notice.
Perhaps because of this reason, this account received a lot of attention in just a few days.
The pearls didn't know what to call him, so they just called him Mr. Garbled.
Some fans chased him and asked him if he was an insider in the industry, while others questioned whether he was a sasaeng fan and tagged his studio to handle the matter.
The more Wen Zhenni looked at it, the weirder it seemed, and her facial features were almost wrinkled.
"What's wrong?" Ciheng asked.
Wen Zhenni pointed her phone at him and said, "Look at this! A very strange account has appeared recently. Its behavior is very much like that of a stalker."
After seeing the account clearly, Ciheng coughed, "...Not necessarily. Maybe he was just sharing it."
Wen Zhenni stared at him suspiciously, "How do you know?"
"Guess."
Afraid that she would continue to ask questions, Ciheng pushed all the dishes in front of her and said, "Just eat, don't look at your phone."
Wen Zhenni was interrupted by him and her mind was stuck. He successfully changed the subject, "My dad doesn't care if I look at my phone."
Ciheng smiled coldly, "So I'm not your father."
Wen Zhenni: "..."
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