Chapter 27, the apology, felt like an ice pick stabbing into his skull, blood splattering everywhere. ...
Their eyes met.
She was nervous and uneasy, while he had a cold and indifferent expression.
Yu Wu paused, her eyes filled with hope, wishing he would answer the phone.
Air suspension.
Yu Wu saw Cheng Yi seem to smile disdainfully, or perhaps she was seeing things.
The next moment, a cold, mechanical female voice came from the phone: "Hello, the number you dialed is currently busy, please try again later..."
Cheng Yi called her.
Yu Wu took a deep breath and walked towards the group of men who were smoking.
Someone noticed her and looked at her with puzzlement, "Miss Yu, what brings you here?"
Yu Wu went straight to Cheng Yi and faced the mental pressure head-on.
"Mr. Cheng, I'd like to speak with you privately."
Everyone's gaze turned to Yu Wu, and they began to scrutinize him one by one.
Cheng Yi, with a cigarette still in his mouth, turned and walked out.
Ignored by him in front of so many people, Yu Wu's ears turned red. She strode after him in her high heels, blocking his way. "Let's talk!"
Cheng Yi didn't even glance at her, continuing on his way past her without stopping.
"Chengyi!" Yu Wu called his name angrily, "Don't you think you've gone too far? Just because I offended you, you used such despicable means to steal the project we've worked so hard for! And you even deliberately mentioned it was my fault in front of Sister Ling! How can you be so petty?"
Cheng Yi stopped, turned around, and sneered, "It's outrageous and despicable, what can you do about it?"
“I…” Yu Wu had never met someone who so openly admitted to being despicable before. She was taken aback and glared at him, her face flushed red.
Cheng Yi glanced at her indifferently, then turned and walked forward again.
Yu Wu was so angry at his nonchalant attitude that she felt like her lungs were about to explode. She got into the car with him, slammed the passenger door shut, and then glared at him.
Cheng Yi looked completely unconcerned, glanced at her, shook a cigarette out of the pack, and lit it, his fingertips glowing crimson.
When he lowered his eyes to light a cigarette, his linear eye arc drooped slightly, his handsome appearance was undeniable, a natural good-looking face.
"Speak," he said, exhaling a puff of smoke, his gaze fixed on the distance.
Yu Wu took a deep breath, intending to apologize properly, when she was interrupted by a thumping sound outside the window. She looked in the direction of the sound and saw Director An of Xingyu outside the window.
The car window slowly rolled down, and Director An of Xingyu held up the gift with a beaming smile. When he noticed Yu Wu's presence, his smile froze for a second before quickly returning to normal.
"Mr. Cheng, this is top-quality tea from Linlan City, extremely rare and expensive. I was lucky enough to get a few boxes, so I brought them to you as a gift."
Cheng Yi leaned back lazily in his chair and glanced at it: "No."
"Our General Manager Liu—" Director An's voice was cut off by the slowly rising window.
He smiled obsequiously again outside the window, made a gesture to leave, and then departed.
The car fell silent again.
......
In several encounters with Xingyu, Director An appeared to be upright, reliable, and decisive; I had never seen him adopt such a humble and subservient attitude.
The acrid smoke made Yu Wu's throat itch and she wanted to cough, but she held it back. She mentally rehearsed what she was going to say before speaking softly.
"I apologized for my tone before, and I've reflected on it. I hope you'll forgive my rudeness and not hold it against me. I sincerely apologize again. To show my sincerity, let me treat you to dinner!"
Cheng Yi turned his head with interest, his thin lips slightly upturned, exuding a thoroughly roguish charm.
Yu Wu asked cautiously, "Are you free tonight?"
"Yes, but I'm afraid you won't want to go to the places I want to go."
Yu Wu quickly replied, "I'm fine with anything."
“Oh,” he said slowly, taking a puff of smoke, “then let’s go to ‘Desire Paradise’ here.”
"Okay!" Yu Wu smiled, thinking that as long as he agreed, their conflict could be resolved.
"Invite both CEO Changsheng and CEO Xingyu, as well as Director An."
Upon hearing this, Yu Wu thought that since all the attendees were CEOs, she might as well invite Sister Ling as well; perhaps they could even reach an agreement on some kind of cooperation.
She readily agreed, "Okay! Then I'll invite Sister Ling along too."
Cheng Yi glanced at her and said calmly, "It's not appropriate. That's a place for men."
A place for men?
Yu Wu frowned slightly and thought for a moment, then her face instantly turned bright red!
"you!"
Cheng Yi chuckled, flicked off his cigarette ash, and said with a slight smile, "Didn't you say anywhere was fine?"
"That kind of place won't do!" Yu Wu's face flushed red. "Indecent places won't do!"
She felt a little shy and turned her head to look out the side window. Through the tinted window, she could vaguely see her flushed cheeks.
She touched her cheek to calm herself down and said in a low voice, "I really want to apologize. I was angry at the time and spoke a bit harshly. I hope you won't be angry anymore."
After he finished speaking, only wisps of smoke drifted slowly inside the car; it was extremely quiet.
He didn't react, and Yu Wu felt a little unsure, so she cautiously turned her head to look at him.
He remained indifferent, staring into the distance while smoking, not even glancing at her.
The atmosphere gradually became stagnant as the fog thickened.
"Are you done talking?" he asked.
Yu Wu pursed her lips and said, "Mmm."
The car was cramped and the air was thin, with a faint, cool scent of tobacco mingled with the man's fragrance wafting from below. Outside, the sun shone brightly, and the sky was a clear, azure blue. Several tall sycamore trees stood straight beside the vehicle, casting dense dappled sunlight through their branches.
Such clear weather naturally brings a sense of comfort and joy. However, Cheng Yi's next words shattered all of Yu Wu's illusions.
"It's easy for me to calm down. Miss Yu, you said I was arrogant and contemptuous back then."
Yu Wu pursed her lips tightly and looked at him.
He chuckled softly, his tone dripping with sarcasm.
"I want to tell you that those in positions of power are arrogant because they have the capital and confidence to be arrogant. There's no need for much more. Miss Yu, just have President Ling say a few flattering words to me, and we'll be even."
"I have faith in Miss Yu's abilities."
His words were like a bucket of ice water poured over his head, refreshing him from head to toe, sending chills down his spine in the mid-June weather. Though it was just a few light, casual words, Yu Wu felt as if ice picks were stabbing into his brain, splattering blood everywhere.
She snapped out of her daze, took a deep breath, gritted her teeth, and stared at him with undisguised disgust. Because of his superpower of turning the world upside down, she swallowed the words "You disgust me" back down her throat.
"Then let's never be even."
Cheng Yi quickly replied, "I would be more than happy to."
After Yu Wu finished speaking, she turned around, got out of the car, and slammed the door shut.
The car door had barely closed when the Audi RS behind them launched itself away from the scene, kicking up a cloud of dust.
*
Yu Wu followed Sister Ling back to Nanhai City.
Just as they entered the territory of Nanhai City, they received a call from Xia Hongmian. She had returned from abroad and asked Yu Wu to bring Sister Ling home for dinner.
Sister Ling declined, citing the fatigue of her journey, and finally said indifferently, "I won't be attending your family dinner."
Yu Wu said goodbye to everyone, hailed a taxi, gave them her address, and leaned back in her seat, lazily watching the scenery pass by outside the window.
She was exhausted, both physically and mentally, and leaned there as if she had no bones.
Upon arriving at her destination, Yu Wu got out of the car and saw Yu Jianting standing on the lawn outside the villa gate, waiting for her.
At seven o'clock in the evening, the entire European-style villa was enveloped in a gentle twilight. The lawn outside the villa stretched out neatly, and the orange lights in the courtyard were on, creating a warm and tranquil atmosphere.
Yu Wu, pulling a small suitcase, smiled and waved, calling out, "Dad!"
Yu Jianting agreed, smiled gently, and took the suitcase from Yu Wu's hand, asking, "How was the business trip? Did it go smoothly?"
Yu Wu forced a smile. "It wasn't too smooth. Oh well, let's not talk about that today. How are you guys? Is Switzerland fun? And the Netherlands! Did you see the Northern Lights?"
Yu Jianting smiled gently and led Yu Wu into the house, saying as they walked, "It's alright. Your mother and I have been so focused on our work all these years that we've never felt this relaxed. Your mother has been worrying about you a lot while she's out there. How are things going with that boy?"
Yu Wu entered the room, slumped onto the sofa, and blushed slightly: "It's...okay, isn't it?"
"What do you mean 'not bad'?" Xia Hongmian stood at the kitchen doorway, walked over, and carefully examined Yu Wu's face. "Such a beautiful girl, and he still doesn't like her?"
"Oh dear, you can't always tell what's going on with relationships!" Yu Wu hugged her cushion, trying to change the subject: "Tell me about your fun out there! Did you see the aurora borealis?"
"I saw her." Yu Jianting tidied up Yu Wu's luggage, sat down, took a sip of tea, and said, "Let's go together again next time."
"Great! Great!" Yu Wu clapped her hands.
"Go where are you going!" Xia Hongmian glared at Yu Jianting, then put her hands on her hips and looked at Yu Wu. "Don't change the subject! What's going on between you and that kid from the Ke family!"
Yu Wu lowered her head, thought for a moment, and said, "Well, we're still in contact." She quickly added, "I'm very proactive! I'm definitely not leaving him hanging! We're both quite busy with work."
Xia Hongmian nodded thoughtfully, "That's true, I'll talk to Ling Xiao about it another day."
"Alright, alright!" Yu Jianting smoothed things over. "Our daughter hasn't had dinner yet! We'll talk after she eats!"
Xia Hongmian nodded and pulled Yu Wu to the dining table.
The meal went fairly smoothly. After finishing, Yu Jianting returned to his study, while Xia Hongmian pulled Yu Wu aside and started nagging incessantly again.
“You’re twenty-six this year. After two years of dating, you’ll be twenty-eight. If you get married, you should wait at least a year before having kids. By then, you’ll be almost thirty!” Xia Hongmian handed an orange to Yu Wu, who was sprawled on the sofa. “Here you go!”
Yu Wu reluctantly took it, and sighed, "I'm really full, I can't eat anymore."
"It's just some fruit. Look how skinny you are, eat it!" Xia Hongmian commanded forcefully, then started nagging again, "The Ke family is really good, with a good family tradition. I've met Ke Yanchen's mother; she's a very gentle woman. They won't make things difficult for you if you marry into the family. You'll have a happy family, and our Ke and Yu families will be a powerful alliance. You can't find anything better than this!"
"She might become a wicked mother-in-law after you marry into the family!" Yu Wu pretended to scare Xia Hongmian: "That's how it's always portrayed in TV dramas! They have all sorts of ways to torment their daughters-in-law!"
"Yu Wu! What are you thinking about all day long?" Xia Hongmian scolded.
Yu Wu shrank back, forcing a smile: "I won't say anything more, hehe..."
Xia Hongmian snorted coldly and began brainwashing again.
Yuwu chose to listen with her left ear and let the sound out of her right.
Around nine o'clock, Xia Hongmian urged Yu Wu to take a bath.
Yu Wu refused, "I'd better go home. I have a lot of things at home. I'm used to using the same makeup remover and skincare products at home."
Xia Hongmian: "What's missing in this house? Besides, this is your home!"
Yu Wu went to get her luggage. "It's nine o'clock. I should go back. It'll be even later if I go back now."
“Yu Wu!” Xia Hongmian glared at her.
Yu Jianting came out of the study and advised Xia Hongmian, "Alright, if the child wants to go back, let her go back."
"Thank you, Dad! Thank you, Mom! I'm off!" Yu Wu said goodbye and ran off in a flash.
Xia Hongmian watched Yu Wu's departing figure and sighed, "The child is still not close to us."
Yu Jianting patted Xia Hongmian on the shoulder, "Alright, we've been away from home for so many years, we haven't been able to give the children enough attention. Let's take it slow."
Xia Hongmian glanced at Yu Jianting with a worried expression and nodded.
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Author's Note: I'm running out of chapters, so I might not be able to update daily anymore.
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