Are you following me?
"You're quite adept at being sarcastic and sarcastic."
Jin Yanzhi was not displeased by the sarcastic remarks coming from the passenger seat; on the contrary, he wanted to laugh so much that he could only lower his head and bite his lip. After a while, he managed to control his emotions and retaliate.
Compared to the woman's awkwardness and politeness towards him in front of everyone last night, he was much happier now by the dissipation of this sense of distance and her attack and mockery.
"Uncle misunderstood, I just regret it."
I should have put your leg in a cast and bandages on the same day and brought you over, so as not to delay your treatment. You were worried sick for days. Now that you're better, I'll get off here."
The woman who hurriedly got off the bus with her bag didn't say goodbye, but the man, whose eyes were fixed on her, keenly noticed the big eye roll she gave as she got off the bus, and the impatience in her eyes as she slammed the door shut.
The office building in front of them also belonged to the group, and inside was a small film and television production company that was barely surviving on a few small projects. No wonder Lin Zhen'er was sticking with that playboy, her nephew, if she wanted to stay here.
"She's from nearby Xijiang County and stayed in the city after graduating from university. Her mother is a primary school teacher, and her father either ran away from home or went to work elsewhere; nobody around them has mentioned him."
This company recently laid off staff, and everyone has to secure investment for short dramas to stay. I imagine she's having a tough time staying.
Xiao Xie continued driving with focused attention, casually introducing the woman who had just gotten out of the car. After all, she had been with him for many years; she must have sensed his intentions last night and had been waiting for an opportunity to report back.
"Chaosheng and she dated for about half a year, I think they met at the company's annual party. That guy is even more of a womanizer than your uncle. I heard he's currently entangled with a young woman he met in college, and he's been throwing money at her. I wonder if she knows about it or not?"
Each piece of news pleased Jin Yanzhi. Hearing that his nephew had secretly cheated on him, he felt a surge of excitement. The scenery outside the window was gradually approaching the office building. Overjoyed, he secretly bit his thumb, his arms crossed. The pain in his fingertip seemed unable to suppress his joy. Just before getting off the car, he answered in a hoarse voice:
"Let her know today that someone has leaked the information and no one is allowed to do any public relations."
Everyone in the company greeted him respectfully, but Mr. Jin, who was secretly overjoyed, unusually strode into his office and hurriedly lowered the blinds. He ran around the office several times before finally reaching the floor-to-ceiling window and whispering "Yay!"
The tall building beneath his feet is his, the family business is his, and the woman who was smiling sweetly beside his nephew last night must also be his.
As night fell, Mr. Jin, who had been busy all day, rushed to the gym. He had peeked at her typing that morning and noticed that she had booked a class. Sure enough, as soon as he entered the gym, Lin Zhen'er, wearing a lemon yellow top, was warming up not far away.
Two hours before I left work, the internet was already in an uproar. The news of a well-known up-and-coming director having an affair with a married woman had climbed to the top of the trending searches on several platforms. My phone was also flooded with hundreds of messages from my family group chat and my nephew pleading for help. Although I didn't know why the public relations department was standing idly by this time, they were very cooperative and remained silent from the moment the news broke until now.
Unfortunately, the woman who was focused on stretching showed no emotion on her face. She was like a detached spectator, as if nothing had happened that day.
It seems he was right; she really didn't like the sound of the tide.
Jin Yanzhi, pretending to bump into her by chance, absentmindedly worked out on a few weight machines before casually stepping onto the treadmill next to her, clearing his throat and saying:
Did you see today's news? Are you alright?
The person next to her was completely engrossed in the video playing on their phone and didn't hear her at all. It wasn't until the man, unable to contain himself any longer, reached out and pressed the pause button on her device that she took off her headphones and turned to look at her flushed face, flushed from exercising.
"I saw it. Is there anything else, Uncle? If not, focus on your workout and don't get injured again."
Lin Zhen'er's expression remained indifferent. She wiped her sweat and turned to walk towards the bathroom. She completely avoided the question, as if she were someone who had been caught cheating and was completely unrelated to the topic.
Jin Yanzhi, having suffered a setback, was truly unwilling to accept it. After such an incident, the seemingly stubborn woman would immediately become a laughingstock. Her stubbornness wouldn't shield her from the impact of the breaking news on her life.
The bright yellow figure had already entered the bathroom. He stood there stunned for a moment, then took out his phone and asked Xiao Xie to leave the car behind and leave. Standing by the water dispenser, too afraid to shower or continue practicing, he drank several cups of water before he caught a glimpse of the woman with the bag walking towards the door out of the corner of his eye.
Nervous, he sprinted into another elevator as fast as he could, like a thief, and hurriedly caught up with her electric scooter. The scooter looked a bit old, and the rider seemed oblivious to his presence, wearing a helmet and focused intently on riding forward.
Jin Yanzhi looked at the small figure wearing the round helmet and began to worry. Things were developing as smoothly as he had expected; the public outcry, his nephew's outburst, and the relatives' concerns were all under his control. But Lin Zhen'er's calmness and numbness were beyond his expectations.
If she wasn't truly calm, and instead calmly went mad in this senseless disaster, what would happen to an ordinary person who got caught up in such a storm, stunned and then couldn't think straight at home?
Before he could ponder the answers to these questions, a dull thud interrupted his train of thought. The person lying on the ground ahead, struggling to get up, was the very person from his mind.
Fortunately, he wasn't going very fast, so Lin Zhen'er wasn't seriously injured, but she did scrape her wrist. After the traffic police finished processing her case, he reached out to help her up, but she stubbornly refused.
"Jin Yanzhi, were you following me?"
Those doe-like eyes had lost the cunning of last night and the helplessness of this morning. Those eyes, which had been on his mind for days, were now brimming with tears and grievances, staring fiercely at him.
"Great, she finally stopped calling me 'uncle'." This thought flashed through his mind, and then, feeling both happy and worried, Mr. Jin stammered:
"I...I wasn't stalking you, I was just afraid you might do something rash..."
The reason was far-fetched, but he had suddenly appeared behind the other party and rear-ended it because he was distracted while driving. For a moment, he couldn't think of any other excuse.
"You're his uncle, aren't you worried about him cheating and getting caught? Why are you worried about me?"
The small figure, clutching her helmet, took two more steps forward. Her face was dirty from the fall, and her hair was completely disheveled, hanging messily over her shoulders. The expression on her face was the same as last night, a mixture of smugness that seemed to know everything, and resentment that her life had suddenly been ruined.
Before he could answer, the woman had already opened his car door and gotten into the back seat.
"You should buy me a new car and take me home."
This was the first thing Lin Zhen'er said after he got into the car. The old neighborhood where the fitness records were kept finally came into view, even more dilapidated than he had imagined. Small motorcycles and bicycles were parked everywhere, and the garbage on the ground was not cleaned up, making it difficult for people and vehicles to find a place to step.
When they arrived downstairs, the woman who got out of the car and was about to go upstairs still didn't say goodbye. Jin Yanzhi, who had haphazardly parked his car and chased after her, had a kind of "what the hell" courage. He rushed up the stairs ahead of her and, under her puzzled gaze, stammered, "I need to use the restroom. I drank too much water while I was working out."
The person standing there, stunned, moved their lips a few times, as if swallowing a lot of words. Only then did they squeeze past him and walk to the front. The old building's floorboards creaked and the handrails were worn smooth. The soft, gentle voice mixed in with the noise, succinctly expressing their agreement: "Third floor."
The first thing he noticed upon entering was a pair of slippers on the floor. Good, it seemed his nephew didn't come often. The house wasn't large, but it was decorated very warmly. Under the warm yellow light, Mr. Jin finally entered the bathroom with its pink-tiled walls.
When he came out after washing his hands, Lin Zhen'er had already changed into a pink bathrobe, casually tied her hair to one side, and was squatting in the small living room mixing dog food. In the orange light, her butterfly-like shoulder blades seemed to emerge through the thin, soft fabric, and her long eyelashes cast a dark shadow on her face.
Thankfully, there was that chubby dog, giving the man who squatted down to interact with it a reason to linger. He didn't like dogs, or any creature that shed fur, but that didn't matter; the little bundle of warmth in his arms gave him an excuse to sit down.
“It’s not safe for you to live here. I’ve heard that drunk people often cause trouble around here, and you’re a girl all alone…”
The woman who had put the bowl down suddenly turned around, knelt down in front of him, looked him straight in the eye, and asked, "Heard? Heard from whom? With Mr. Jin's wealth, who would tell you about the conditions in this old apartment?"
Last night's rhinestone-studded dress was beautiful, and this morning's business attire was also very appropriate, but Lin Zhen'er, sitting in her loose robe with her knees drawn up, looking at him now, was even more captivating. The distance and lighting were ambiguous, and she, like a lazy kitten, coquettishly stretched out her pink paws, grabbing his restless heart in one go.
"Lin Zhen'er, let's be frank."
"You're with him because the tide can lift you up? But things are different now. After something like this happened, I'll immediately sideline him. If you're keeping him around for resources, those things will soon vanish..."
After saying this, he nervously swallowed. The person who had been squatting didn't speak immediately. Instead, he got up and walked to the door. His bare feet reached the door, took out a few pages of paper from his bag, and then came back and placed them on the carpet in front of him.
The words on the paper were glaringly obvious: Employee Optimization and Layoff Plan. He didn't even need to open it. His nephew, who had gone viral, was now in dire straits himself, and it was uncertain whether his struggling subsidiary could even survive the year. After today's incident, it was only natural that Lin Zhen'er would be the first to be laid off.
The woman who had retreated and was sitting on the ground loosened her arms from hugging her knees, spread her hands in front of him, and shrugged with a wry smile:
"Uncle, not everyone has a choice."
The burning sensation in his throat, mixed with heartache, swept away all reason from his mind. Jin Zixiao, who had been sitting obediently on the ground, aggressively moved forward, cradling the face he had longed for with his large, well-defined hands:
"Lin Zhen'er, you have a choice. You can choose me now. If you choose me..."
He didn't have a chance to finish his sentence before those raised eyes suddenly struck him sharply in the heart. The woman's face turned slightly, and she answered him decisively, with a wildfire of ambition and a penetrating allure:
"good!"
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