Chapter Ten: Things Get a Little More Complicated...
Soft music played in the café, filling the air with the rich aroma of coffee beans. Luo Yan, however, felt restless, her fingers unconsciously stirring her latte, almost turning the latte art into a complete mess.
Jiang Sui sat opposite him, his finger tracing the schematic diagram on the tablet. "According to the site survey, this location is the largest signal blind spot. We need to apply for an additional backup base station node. As for the budget, your Culture and Tourism Bureau needs to reconsider..."
"President Jiang!" Luo Yan looked up abruptly, her voice rising a notch due to nervousness, drawing the attention of people at the next table.
Jiang Sui looked up and quietly gazed at her, waiting for her to continue.
Luo Yan took a deep breath and spoke with a look of grim determination: "Please wait a moment about the plan! I have a... personal... favor to ask!" She stammered as she spoke, almost biting her tongue.
Jiang Sui put down the tablet, leaned back slightly, and adopted a posture of "willing to hear the details".
"Well... you know... my damn ex is marrying my best friend..."
Luo Yan braced herself and recounted how Yang Xin had set her up on social media, how she was forced to boast, and how she desperately needed an "elite boyfriend" to save the day. She poured out her story like beans from a bamboo tube, and finally clasped her hands together, her eyes pleading, "President Jiang, saving a life is a great act of merit! Just come over for a meal and leave! I promise there will be absolutely no physical contact, and I won't tarnish your reputation! Just this once, please!"
She blinked, trying to make herself look sincere and pitiful.
After listening, Jiang Sui curled the corners of his mouth expressionlessly and uttered two words in a cold tone: "No."
"Why?! Although I can't afford your hourly rate... within my means, please feel free to make any requests you may have! Would you like to... reconsider?"
“It’s not about the money.” Jiang Sui interrupted her, his tone distant. “First, it’s childish for an adult like you to have someone else pretend to be your boyfriend to show off. Second, your relationship problems have nothing to do with me, and I have no interest in getting involved. Third…” He paused, his gaze sweeping over her instantly crumbling face, “I’m very busy.”
The reasons were so compelling that Luo Yan was unable to refute them.
She hung her head and mumbled weakly, "Sorry to bother you."
My hopes are completely dashed. I can already picture Yang Xin's smug face and Wu Yuzhou's hypocritical concern at the wedding.
The next day at work, Luo Yan, who hadn't slept all night, drifted into the office like a ghost, threw her bag down, and collapsed at her workstation.
Liu Su's desk was piled high with files, and her hands were typing furiously on the keyboard. Across the hall, the hot-tempered director of the Resource Development Department was banging on his desk and cursing.
Luo Yan sighed. Everyone is facing harsh reality, so why should she be allowed to cheat? Oh well.
Director Zheng walked in, knocked on Luo Yan's desk, and instructed her, "There's a Party conduct and anti-corruption meeting at 2 PM this afternoon. Go in my place and remember to sign in!"
"oh......"
Luo Yan agreed, listlessly got up, turned on her computer, and began working on the plan she had checked yesterday.
Just then, the phone rang; it was Zeng Rong.
As if grasping at a straw, she rushed to the bathroom to answer the phone and, with a sob in her voice, told him about how Jiang Sui had ruthlessly rejected her.
Zeng Rong was silent for a few seconds on the other end of the phone, then suddenly slapped his thigh: "It's okay, it's fine if President Jiang doesn't go!"
"How can you impersonate someone if you don't actually go?"
"Are you stupid? Just say that President Jiang had an urgent project and went abroad! Save a few photos of him. If anyone asks at the wedding, show them the photos and casually mention how busy he is and how important his projects are! This way, you can smooth things over and make your boyfriend seem awesome. I'll call you and you can pretend to show off your love. That should be enough to get away with it."
Luo Yan was dumbfounded: "Granny Rong, it's a waste of your talent not to write melodramatic dramas! Yang Xin is bad but not stupid, and Wu Yuzhou is a lawyer who is best at finding loopholes! Okay, even if I fool him, if I parade around with Jiang Sui's photos, won't he sue me for infringing on his portrait rights or reputation?"
"Oh, you're overthinking it. His photo is in the company's HR system and the PR department; it's public information, so there's no way to infringe on it! I'll help you find it!"
Luo Yan wanted to struggle, but thinking that there seemed to be no better way at the moment, she could only weakly agree: "Fine, find something normal, something that doesn't look too much like a funeral portrait..."
Just as I hung up Zeng Rong's call, my phone rang again. I looked at it and it was Luo Muyang.
Luo Yan was immediately at her wit's end and answered the phone irritably, "President Luo, what is it now? You're not accepting transfers!"
On the other end of the phone, Luo Muyang's voice was cautious yet filled with barely suppressed curiosity: "Dad isn't transferring money, he's just checking in on you... Your mom said you have a boyfriend? And he's quite wealthy? Wearing Bottega Veneta?"
Luo Yan was annoyed and her mind was in a mess. She just wanted to get rid of Luo Muyang as soon as possible. Without thinking, she blurted out, "What boyfriend? No way! BV belongs to Jiang Sui! He lent me his clothes, and I took them to the laundry for him. Don't listen to Xu Jingfei's nonsense. She always believes everything she hears... I'm busy!" After saying that, she suddenly realized what she had said and froze instantly.
There was silence on the other end of the phone.
A few seconds later, Luo Muyang's voice suddenly rose, filled with shock: "Jiang...Sui?! Is that Jiang Sui from my company?! When did you...?"
"Stop! It's not what you think!" Luo Yan's scalp tingled, and she quickly interrupted, "It was just a very ordinary accident! He helped me with a very ordinary little favor, that's all!"
"Would a regular colleague's shirt be at your house? Would you send a regular colleague's shirt to be washed?" Luo Muyang's logic instantly became crystal clear. "Yanyan, tell Dad the truth, did you and Jiang Sui...do that?"
"Watch your tone! Don't spread rumors about me... I only have a working relationship with him, we're not close at all in private!" Luo Yan was speechless and wished she could go back a few seconds to cover her mouth.
“That Jiang Sui is very wary. Would he lend you his clothes if you weren’t familiar with him? Yanyan, this is a big deal, you can’t hide it from your father…” Luo Muyang’s voice became serious. “Actually, Jiang Sui is good-looking and capable, but he’s cold and calculating. If you really like him, your father has to give you a good vetting…”
"I told you it's not true! Please, use your time to hold more meetings and sign more contracts. I'm really busy, don't bother me, I'm hanging up!" Luo Yan almost cried out these words, then abruptly hung up the phone and turned it off.
Although every conversation with Luo Muyang made her feel that the world was truly insane, this time it was truly over, completely over.
This father only ever says what he wants to hear; who knows what earth-shattering thing he'll do this time!
On the other side, Luo Muyang suddenly turned around and yelled at his assistant behind him, "Book a flight! I need to go back to Yu'an! Now! Immediately!"
The assistant was taken aback: "Mr. Luo, there's a banquet tonight..."
"It's just a meal, just find any excuse to cancel it for me! Nothing is more important than my daughter's life-changing event!" Luo Muyang paced back and forth excitedly, his expression shifting between worry and excitement. "You, Jiang Sui! You always act like you're indifferent to women and only care about your career, but you've quietly won over my daughter! You're quick! Hmm, you've got something..."
On the way to the airport, Luo Muyang kept thinking about this matter. The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became that it was almost certain. So he immediately made a phone call to Jiang Sui.
At this moment, Jiang Sui was on a business trip out of town. He had just finished a long reminiscing session when he received a call from his boss. Thinking it was a call to inquire about the progress, he went to a quiet corner to answer: "President Luo, I'm here..."
"Jiang Sui!" Luo Muyang's voice boomed, filled with an indescribable warmth, "Still busy?"
"I just finished a meeting with HeTai. What are your instructions?"
"No, no, I trust you to handle things. I was just... checking up on you." Luo Muyang chuckled. "That... smart tourism project, how's the coordination with the Culture and Tourism Bureau going? And it seems to be getting along quite well with my Yanyan?"
Jiang Sui frowned, feeling that her boss's tone was a bit strange: "The project is currently progressing according to plan, and Comrade Luo Yan is also very responsible."
"Great, that's responsible!" Luo Muyang smiled even more broadly. "Young people should interact and communicate more! Not just at work, but also in life, we can care for and help each other! I heard from Yanyan that you lent her a shirt? Oh dear, you don't need to bother with such small things anymore. Just let me know and I'll buy her a dozen!"
"ah?"
Jiang Sui keenly caught the key words, and the look of horror on Luo Yan's face when she saw him in the office that day flashed through his mind, as well as the BV shirt that she had taken home to send for cleaning and had not yet returned.
Did Luo Yan drag Luo Muyang into this mess to cover up her outrageous lie? And even "sold" him out in the process?
Luo Muyang continued earnestly on the other end of the phone: "Jiang Sui, I haven't really taken care of Yanyan since she was little. She has a bit of a temper, but she's a good person at heart. Please bear with her... I shouldn't interfere in your young people's affairs, but... since things have developed to this point, when would be a convenient time for you? Yanyan's mother and I should formally meet with you."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Sui felt a vein throb on his forehead.
"Mr. Luo..." he tried to explain, "I think you might have misunderstood..."
“I understand!” Luo Muyang interrupted directly. “Young people are shy and embarrassed to admit it, it’s okay! I’m an enlightened boss and an enlightened father! That’s all, I’m boarding the plane now, we’ll talk again when we get back to Yu’an, you go ahead and do your work!” After saying that, he didn’t give Jiang Sui a chance to clarify and hung up the phone directly.
As Jiang Sui listened to the busy tone on his phone, he experienced for the first time what it meant to be "sitting at home when trouble comes from nowhere."
Moreover, this blame was personally placed on him by Luo Yan, who treated him like a male model, forced him to sign a "mutual non-prosecution agreement," and now tried to get him to impersonate her boyfriend.
You want to force yourself on me, huh? Very well.
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