fierce
It seems I'm still bewitched by the fragrance.
Aunt Meng came alone, not with Aunt Da. Today is a weekday, not Aunt Da's usual day, so it seems like Aunt Meng came secretly.
The last time I saw Aunt Meng, she was dressed casually. This time, however, she looked like she had put a lot of thought and money into it, looking exquisite from head to toe.
In comparison, Ye Jia and Chu Nian were dressed like islanders.
Chu Nian didn't want to dress up; she thought it was too much trouble. She came to see handsome men and drink, not to take photos.
Ye Jia's wardrobe is full of similar clothes, all prioritizing comfort: black, white, gray, and denim blue. The only bright color is a light pink T-shirt from her former boss, which she didn't throw away even after leaving the company because it's very comfortable to wear.
"Welcome." Gu Anzhou walked up to the two of them and looked at Ye Jia, saying, "Is your wound healed?"
"Okay, thank you." Ye Jia was genuinely grateful, as she had asked him to help dispose of the wrecked car that day, causing him a lot of trouble. "I'd like a 'Double Ink' and a snack platter."
Chu Nian also ordered drinks. Ye Jia said she was treating today, so she wouldn't be polite.
The two didn't chat at first, waiting to see what Aunt Meng would talk to Gu Anzhou about.
But after waiting for a while, I found that Aunt Meng didn't say a word. She just drank her wine, and after finishing her drink, she would tap the bar counter and then have another drink.
They said they wanted to be sweet-talking and gain emotional value, but now they've fallen for it; they're finding beauty in staring at people.
Gu Anzhou didn't seem inclined to chat with customers. He was busy mixing drinks, serving drinks, and tidying up the table. When he had a moment to spare, he would have a drink from his glass.
After a glass of wine, Ye Jia and Chu Nian chatted for a while, deciding to stay a little longer before going back.
"My new car arrived this afternoon, but!" Chu Nian raised an eyebrow at Ye Jia, "I don't need you to teach me, I've found a tutor."
"Who?" Ye Jia asked curiously, "And 'little teacher'?"
"The young man who delivered the goods to me was fair-skinned and delicate, which is my type. I asked him if he could teach me when he had time, and he said OK."
"Good heavens," Ye Jia exclaimed, "Have some decency! You're even targeting young boys."
"I mean relatively small, not absolutely small. She's an adult and working." Chu Nian snorted at her. "You'll see when you see her. She really is cute."
Ye Jia had a feeling that she had heard this conversation somewhere before.
"What, you don't like guys younger than you?" Chu Nian took the second glass of wine and asked, "Do you only date guys older than you? Or the same age?"
Ye Jia took the second cup from her, her gaze falling on Gu Anzhou's well-defined hands, and she hesitated to speak.
"What's wrong?" Chu Nian noticed her strange reaction and quickly asked, "Don't you want to talk?"
“It’s not that I don’t want to talk, it’s that I don’t know how,” Ye Jia said, looking at her. “I’ve never been in a relationship before.”
"I see. So, do you have someone you like?"
Ye Jia's lips curled downwards, her face clearly showing her answer: yes, but she didn't want to talk about him at all.
But Ye Jia still answered, "Yes, I have."
Part of the reason she chose to leave Beicheng was because of him. She had come to Lingfeng Island to recuperate and made friends she could confide in. If she kept quiet about it, she would only feel depressed. It would be better to talk to Chu Nian.
Gu Anzhou finished mixing all the drinks for the guests, sat down, and drank the whiskey in his glass, Laphroaig 10-year-old, which tasted like disinfectant and had the flavor of the sea. He never got tired of it.
Ye Jia and Chu Nian were chatting very casually earlier, speaking freely without controlling their volume. Now that they were talking about something unpleasant, and also because they didn't want Gu Anzhou behind the bar to hear them, they lowered their voices.
“He’s my senior,” Ye Jia said.
Chu Nian nodded: "A senior from university? By the way, did you also go to university in Beicheng?" She only knew that Ye Jia's hometown was in the mountains of a southwestern city, and that he worked in Beicheng before coming to Lingfeng Island, but she didn't know any other information.
"Yes, Peking University."
Chu Nian couldn't help but exclaim "Wow!" She knew Ye Jia was definitely a top student, but his Peking University background still surprised her: "Then he must be a very outstanding person too."
Ye Jia wanted to laugh, but nodded: "Yes, he is not only very outstanding, but also very gentle to me. He would defend me in front of others, and he even helped me get a referral after graduation."
Chu Nian could hear the bitterness in Ye Jia's voice, and cautiously replied, "But...?"
“But I don’t know if he changed after we started working, or if he was always like this.” Ye Jia took a deep breath. “He was in the marketing department, and I was in the technical department. He asked me to go out to dinner with clients a few times. The last time was when the boss asked me to sit on his lap and drink, and he just watched from the side.”
Ye Jia immediately realized that he would not help her, and that from the beginning, his purpose in bringing her here was probably to make her a sacrifice.
Actually, Ye Jia had vaguely sensed something was wrong several times before, but because she trusted him enough, she went to these social events again and again. In fact, she didn't provide any technical information at the dinner table.
Upon hearing this, Chu Nian's anger flared instantly: "Does he know you like him?"
Ye Jia nodded: "I know, I confessed to him."
Chu Nian slammed her hand on the table: "That's just too awful! He knew you liked him and he still did that?"
"Whether you know it or not, you shouldn't have done it."
“Yes, it’s wrong to know or not, but it’s even worse to know!” Chu Nian finished speaking and then realized who had said that. She looked at Gu Anzhou, somewhat surprised. They weren’t even talking that loudly, so how could he have heard everything clearly?
Ye Jia was also surprised. Gu Anzhou not only heard them talking, but also joined in. What was the point of her lowering her voice?
"Sorry," Gu Anzhou said, seeing that he had interrupted their conversation. "I'm just a little angry."
Ye Jia was taken aback, then smiled, shook her head and said, "It's nothing."
I don't know why, but the frustration I felt when talking about those things just now has disappeared, and I even feel a bit relaxed.
"And then?" Gu Anzhou asked. "Although I don't know you well, I don't think you'll just leave like this."
Upon hearing this, Chu Nian immediately looked at Ye Jia with curiosity.
Ye Jia laughed even harder: "After all, it was a very important deal to discuss that day, and all I could do was leave. But he chased after me and pulled me aside to say all sorts of nonsense, so I slapped him."
When she got into the taxi, the man was still sitting on the ground, completely stunned by her slap.
He knew Ye Jia's background; she had done farm work since she was a child, physically carrying heavy loads. He knew she was naive and innocent, and now he also knew how strong she was.
"Yes, well done."
“I also think I did a good job.” Ye Jia took a sip of wine. “Unfortunately, this incident affected the client’s ability to sign a contract, so I can’t stay in the company any longer.”
"And what about him?"
"He's still here."
"That's outrageous! There's no point in staying at a company like that in the first place." Chu Nian was furious. "Heh, to protect employees who sign deals in such disgusting ways, they're abandoning technical staff like you. I don't think this company will collapse anytime soon!"
Ye Jia raised his glass: "Thank you for your kind words."
"I'm always right!" Chu Nian also raised her glass.
Just as he raised it, another cup containing a light golden liquid approached; it belonged to Gu Anzhou.
"Congratulations on escaping your misery and getting away from rotten people!" Chu Nian shouted.
The sound of clinking glasses is particularly crisp and pleasant.
Ye Jia looked at Chu Nian and smiled. She had never had any friends to talk to about these things before, but now that she had talked about it, she felt much more relaxed. No wonder everyone loves to complain to others.
She looked at Gu Anzhou again. He had already withdrawn his hand and was drinking. She saw his beautiful jawline and Adam's apple bobbing, which made her swallow hard even before she took a sip.
Gu Anzhou put down his wine glass, noticed Ye Jia staring at him, paused, and asked, "Did you say something?"
Ye Jia shook her head and looked away.
Just then, someone came over to order drinks, and Gu Anzhou got up to mix drinks for the guest.
Aunt Meng, who was standing nearby, actually chimed in, "I just heard you talking. It's actually quite normal. Who hasn't liked a few bad guys when they were young?"
"How many?" Ye Jia chuckled. "I'm already feeling exhausted with just one. I can't handle any more."
"But you're still young, and you should experience these things. How will you know what's good if you don't experience them? As someone who's been there, I suggest you date more, but if you feel something's wrong, you should leave immediately and not linger."
Once Aunt Meng starts talking, she can't stop. She talks about her youth, how she was deceived by men, how she was cheated on, and her romantic experiences are quite extensive.
"In short, I won't fully commit to a guy now. I think a guy either has to be sweet-talking or so handsome that just looking at him makes me feel good."
Both of them saw Aunt Meng glance at Gu Anzhou after saying the second half of her sentence. But Gu Anzhou was busy chiseling ice, seemingly oblivious to what she had heard.
As Ye Jia was drinking her third glass of wine, her phone vibrated.
This was the first time she had felt a vibration since she got the phone, and she didn't react for a moment. When she opened it, she found that someone had called her.
An unfamiliar number.
Ye Jia answered the phone, but found the voice on the other end a little hard to hear, so she got up and walked outside.
"It's me, Lao Wang." The person on the other end of the phone sounded friendly and familiar. "Where are you? It's so noisy."
"Is there something you need?" It was Wang Jun. Ye Jia's tone unconsciously softened, revealing an undisguised wariness. She didn't feel there was anything worth talking to him about.
"Look at you, can't you ever check on your old colleagues?" Wang Jun laughed, then his tone became more serious. "But I do have something important to discuss today. How's the job search going?"
"Still looking at it," Ye Jia replied briefly.
“That’s perfect.” Wang Jun’s voice was filled with enthusiasm. “Here’s the thing, I’ve been thinking of starting my own business. I’ll handle the platform, operations, and fundraising, but for the core technology, I need an absolutely reliable expert to oversee it. You’re the first person I thought of.”
Ye Jia frowned. Starting a business? The risks were too great. Besides, it involved Wang Jun, so she could guess who else was involved.
"Thank you, but I might not be a good fit."
"Don't be so quick to refuse!" Wang Jun said, his tone becoming more urgent. "It's not just the two of us, there's also Chuanzi, who is mainly in charge of the market and external relations."
Hearing Han Lanchuan's name, Ye Jia's heart sank. Just as expected.
"Did he know you came to see me?" Her voice lowered. "Or did he send you to see me?"
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, followed by a faint scraping sound, as if someone had covered the receiver. Soon, Wang Jun's voice rang out again, more candid than before:
“Xiao Jia, Chuanzi is right next to me. He asked me to tell you that he’s very sorry about what happened before. He was in an awkward position, and he couldn’t do anything about it. If he didn’t cater to the client’s preferences, how could he get the contract? To put it bluntly, it’s a matter of circumstances.”
Ye Jia wanted to curse, but seeing several customers walking by, she held back. She couldn't let Gu Anzhou's business be affected, so she walked to the side.
There was a dark alleyway nearby with only a large trash can, and it looked like no one passed by.
Wang Jun continued, "But this is a serious business. The three of us are a perfect match. Your skills, my management, and his resources are all indispensable. Can we put aside our personal grudges for now? How about this, let's meet first and I'll have Chuanzi apologize to you in person."
"Give him your phone, I have something to say to him."
Hearing the familiar yet hesitant voice on the other end, Ye Jia took a deep breath and blurted out, "Han Lanchuan, you couldn't make it at the company, so you wanted to drag Wang Jun away, right? And then you remembered me because you were short of a tech person? Have you no shame?!"
Before anyone could reply, Ye Jia yelled "Get lost!" and hung up the phone.
I must say, flip phones are really useful. They snapped shut with a "snap," perfectly putting an end to her anger.
She took two deep breaths to calm herself down, and turned to leave, but was startled by something that appeared beside her. She then realized that there was a door in the alley leading to the bar's kitchen.
There was a person standing at the door, Gu Anzhou, carrying a bag of trash.
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