Chapter 42 The Misplaced Gift
"You took the wrong one."
Jiang Sui closed the box, her tone somewhat stiff, "This isn't for you. I'll exchange it tomorrow."
Seeing his instantly changing expression, Luo Yan felt an even stronger unease when he said, "It's not for you." If it wasn't for her, then who was it for? Why buy such an expensive gift?
Just then, Jiang Sui's phone vibrated. He took it out, glanced at it, and his face darkened.
Luo Yan couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong?"
Jiang Sui put away her phone, took a deep breath, and tried to make her tone sound normal: "There's been a bit of trouble with another project, I need to deal with it. It's late, you should go to sleep."
He habitually ruffled her hair, took out his laptop, placed it on the coffee table, and sat down on the floor to start working.
This was clearly just Jiang Sui's workaholic daily routine, but Luo Yan felt empty inside.
He was clearly... hiding something from her!
Seeing Luo Yan return to her bedroom, Jiang Sui got up, walked to the balcony, closed the door, and took out his phone to make a call.
"This necklace is exquisite and unique. It's clear you put a lot of thought into choosing this gift; even the card was handwritten by you..."
Miss Hua's voice was filled with proud sarcasm, "Yanyan? Is that the girlfriend you love so much?"
Jiang Sui calmly explained, "Miss Hua, this was my mistake. You don't mind if I exchange the item for something else, do you?"
Miss Hua chuckled softly, "But I like this necklace better... By the way, I'm going to a girls' party next month, and the dress I prepared would be perfect for it. I'm just missing a suitable male companion. If you agree to spend one night with me, I might consider changing back."
"One night?"
"Don't worry, I'm not short of men, I won't make you do that kind of thing. It's just that today is my birthday, and you embarrassed me in public, so I have to get back at you, right? Unless you don't want this necklace anymore, or you don't care if your father is unhappy."
Jiang Sui understood that this was a threat.
Miss Hua was clearly upset that he had publicly rejected her advances and left halfway through the event. If he said no again, it wouldn't matter if she didn't get the necklace back; she could just buy another one. The important thing was that she would use this to stir up trouble in front of President Hua. If President Hua was unhappy, Jiang Qiming wouldn't be happy either, and in the end, he would be the one who suffered.
After a few seconds of silence, Jiang Sui gritted her teeth and replied, "Okay..."
"Great, I'll send you the time and location." Ms. Hua hung up the phone with satisfaction.
Jiang Sui gripped her phone tightly; the cold night wind blew, and her head throbbed with pain.
The next day at noon, Luo Yan got her food in the cafeteria and headed towards the seats she and Liu Su had reserved. From afar, she saw Wang Qiushi carrying a tray. Instead of sitting in the empty seat in front of him, he went around and placed a fruit yogurt on Liu Su's table. When he looked up and his eyes met Luo Yan's, he quickly lowered his head, his ears turning red, and scurried away.
Wang Qiushi is Deputy Director Zhang's personal driver, but lately he seems to be appearing in the Industry Department's office a little too frequently.
These past few days, Liu Su has been working overtime frequently, and he always happens to stay late as well. Then, he'll give Liu Su a ride home, run errands for his boss by delivering documents to the office, and his eyes will always intentionally or unintentionally glance at Liu Su's workstation. If he's caught, he'll immediately look away like a thief.
Luo Yan thought about these scenes, and Wang Qiushi's guilty look of wanting to do something but not daring to do it openly, how come it was so similar to... the feeling that Jiang Sui had given her recently?
Just before I was about to leave work, Zeng Rong called.
"Yanyan, let's have dinner together tonight! Lao Fang brought back a lot of nice things from his business trip abroad. I carefully selected a gift for you!"
Normally it would be fine, but today Luo Yan really wasn't in the mood to be a loyal spectator of Zeng Rong's lovey-dovey display. She was about to refuse when she suddenly thought that she had no experience with relationships, and thinking about it further would only lead to internal conflict. Perhaps listening to the advice of someone with experience would give her a sudden insight?
"Okay, seven o'clock, the same barbecue restaurant as last time!"
When Zeng Rong arrived, Luo Yan was sitting in a booth eating sunflower seeds.
"Yanyan, you're right on time today."
Luo Yan scattered the sunflower seed shells in her hand, grabbed another handful, and looked at Zeng Rong as he took out a square, rose-red paper box and placed it in front of her: "What is this?"
"Master-crafted, limited-edition chocolates! For you... and for your 'mystery boyfriend' to try."
"I already said I don't have a mysterious boyfriend... Never mind, thank Brother Fang for me, I'll treat him to dinner next time."
Luo Yan didn't look at the box carefully and casually put it into her handbag. Thinking that the important matter was more important, she picked up the tongs and flipped the pork belly on the grill. She asked casually, "Granny Rong, I have a friend... She feels that her boyfriend is hiding something from her. He's very secretive about his whereabouts, comes home late, and when asked, he says he's busy with work. He also bought her some very expensive things, but they weren't for her... Do you think this is normal?"
Zeng Rong perked up immediately upon hearing there was some juicy gossip.
"Is that even a question? Nine times out of ten, something's going on! Once a man starts avoiding you, he's either hiding something or seeing someone else! Tell your friend to be careful, check his phone, check his schedule—better safe than sorry!"
"Well...maybe not? Maybe I'm just really busy with work," Luo Yan weakly defended herself.
"Yanyan, you're still too young!" Zeng Rong said, sounding exasperated. "Listen to me, good men are a rare resource these days, but scumbags are mass-produced! You'd better warn your friend to be careful, lest he get sold out and still be counting the money for them!"
Zeng Rong spoke with absolute certainty, spittle flying from his lips, and even included a "practical guide to catching adulterers," which made Luo Yan's heart pound with fear, and she lost all interest in the barbecue.
Which friend are you referring to? Do I know them?
"Ordinary friends...you've never met them."
"Which of your friends haven't I met? It can't be... yourself, can it?"
"No! How could this be?!"
Luo Yan almost jumped up on the spot, looking at Zeng Rong's suspicious eyes, thinking to herself, "Am I being that obvious?"
"He's...he's my friend, a friend you don't know!"
"Oh, is that guy handsome? Is he rich?"
"He's very handsome and has a high annual salary."
Zeng Rong stuffed the whole piece of pork belly into his mouth with a lettuce leaf, clapped his hands, and began to spout nonsense with a straight face.
Do you know about the "impossible triangle" for men?
"have no idea."
"It's like this... if a man is handsome and faithful, he's probably poor; if he's handsome and rich, he's often a jerk; and if he's rich and faithful, he's probably ugly and short."
"Can't someone be handsome, rich, and... faithful?"
Luo Yan asked cautiously, automatically placing Jiang Sui in the second category, the word "scumbag" making her feel extremely uncomfortable.
"Sure, your father, our CEO Luo, is one, but he's an extremely rare breed!"
"..."
Luo Yan waved her hand, picked up a freshly grilled squid tentacle and ate it. After thinking for a while, she still couldn't give up and continued to ask, "Then if a man is handsome, 1.85 meters tall, can make money, has high emotional and intellectual intelligence, and is also capable, then... what are the chances that he will be faithful?"
"What kind of ability?"
“In all aspects…”
"It's practically impossible for them to be faithful!"
Zeng Rong made a firm conclusion, then suddenly remembered something, "If there really is such a well-rounded man, then... he must be gay!"
Luo Yan: t“…”
It was really unnecessary to ask that question again.
After dinner, Luo Yan returned home with a heavy heart.
Upon opening the door, I saw Jiang Sui lying on the sofa as if she were asleep. Most of the blanket was pulled up and lying on the floor. On the coffee table next to her, the computer was on and there were several project documents on it.
Luo Yan was somewhat surprised. He had said he would be working overtime and would be late at noon, but now he had not only arrived before her, but was also asleep. She walked over quietly, picked up the blanket and covered him with it, then squatted down to look at him, her emotions a mix of feelings.
He was clearly sleeping peacefully right in front of her, within arm's reach, but why did she always feel a vague unease, as if she might lose him at any moment?
Luo Yan sighed softly, stood up and was about to turn around when her wrist was suddenly grabbed. She turned around and was pulled over, falling onto Jiang Sui. He took the opportunity to roll over and hug her in his arms.
"You're back."
Did I wake you up?
Luo Yan looked up. His face was slightly tired, but he was smiling when he looked at her. Her anxiety suddenly eased.
"You weren't asleep." Jiang Sui stroked her hair. "Did you go out for barbecue with Secretary Zeng?"
"Hmm, didn't you say you were going to work late?"
"I'm working overtime... It's already 10 PM, isn't that late enough?"
"I thought you meant working overtime at the company..." Luo Yan smiled. "Have you eaten? Granny Rong gave me a box of chocolates, want to try some?"
Jiang Sui nodded, sat up, and took the box from Luo Yan's hand. "It's not very heavy."
Luo Yan washed her hands in the bathroom, rubbing the foam off her hands as she said, "I guess this is similar to Western food, delicate and small, which makes it seem very high-class."
She dried her hands and came out, only to suddenly see Jiang Sui holding two thin straps, looking at them curiously from left to right as if he were doing some kind of research.
Are you sure it's... chocolate?
It was a sexy black lace lingerie set with an extremely daring design. Not only was the fabric minimal, but the key areas were almost entirely transparent. Moreover, inside the box lay a... an embarrassingly designed new energy rod.
Luo Yan was stunned, her face flushed red to the roots of her neck, and she scrambled over and snatched it away.
"This...this must be...it must be that Granny Rong took the wrong thing! Her husband often brings strange things..."
Jiang Sui smiled slightly, her eyes revealing a subtle hint: "I thought you were planning to give me a surprise tonight."
"Don't think like that!" Luo Yan quickly stuffed the underwear back into the box, slammed the lid shut, and was filled with shame and indignation. "I will never wear this, and of course... I will absolutely not use that either!"
"Actually, this isn't really suitable for you, but..."
Seeing Luo Yan blush and bristle, Jiang Sui reached out and pulled her into his arms, nuzzling her earlobe, his voice low and seductive, "I don't mind you trying it on, as for the other one... judging from my behavior, you probably don't need it, right?"
Luo Yan: "..."
Whether Jiang Sui is a scumbag or not is still unknown, but at least he is not gay.
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