Chapter Seventy-Seven: Testing and Being Tested, First Clues Emerge
When her phone rang, Luo Yan was checking the preliminary bidding plan for the second phase of the smart tourism project. When she saw the name "Qin Ying" on the screen, she paused for a moment before answering: "Yingying? Long time no see. Why did you suddenly think of calling me?"
"Director Luo, I'm getting married next month, will you be my bridesmaid?"
Qin Ying's voice pierced through the receiver, carrying the excitement unique to a bride-to-be.
Luo Yan rubbed her temples, trying to politely decline: "Congratulations, Yingying! But... there's a lot going on at work at the end of the year..."
Qin Ying chuckled: "Don't refuse so quickly. Being my bridesmaid comes with amazing perks! Not only will I be exempt from giving a wedding gift, but I'll also receive a custom-made skincare set! Sister, this is a great deal!"
"But you know about Yang Xin and me, I'm afraid that if she..."
"I know, but the situation between you two right now is that she's afraid to see you! Don't worry, she wouldn't dare cause trouble at my place... Hey, don't you remember? I stood up for you at her wedding. Consider this your way of repaying me."
Luo Yan recalled that Qin Ying was a cheerful and straightforward girl in college. When she was harassed at Yang Xin's wedding, it was Qin Ying who spoke up for her. She always remembered this favor.
"But……"
"No buts, it's settled! Rehearsal Saturday afternoon, I'll send you the address, but don't be late!"
Qin Ying didn't intend to give her a chance to refuse, and hung up the phone decisively.
When Luo Yan got home that evening, she told Jiang Sui about it, and then deliberately teased him: "Look at Qin Ying, her wedding party was star-studded, and she didn't even have to give a wedding gift, she even gave a present, so extravagant... Hey, Mr. Jiang, you're such a handsome and capable young man, how come no one has ever asked you to be a groomsman? Is it because you're a workaholic and have no friends? Your social life is like that of a corporate slave, all you have are colleagues and clients, how pathetic."
Jiang Sui was peeling an orange for her. Hearing this, he looked up and slowly offered her a segment of orange. "First, being a groomsman means giving a monetary gift, and the amount is usually quite large, which doesn't meet my return on investment expectations."
Luo Yan snatched the orange away and mumbled, "Stingy!"
“Secondly,” Jiang Sui handed over another petal, “the best man needs to get up very early, and he also has to block the door, play games, get pranked, and help the groom fend off drinks. It’s high-intensity, low-return physical and mental labor, which doesn’t fit my consistent principle of cost-effectiveness.”
"Nonsense!" Luo Yan pouted. "Nobody's looking for you."
Jiang Sui smiled but didn't say anything more. He wiped his hands and continued peeling oranges.
Luo Yan remembered something, moved closer to Jiang Sui, and looked at him with a grin.
"Granny Rong told me that when Feiyang got married, someone asked you to be their best man so they could make the wedding more exciting. But you stole the show, and even one of the bridesmaids had a crush on you. Is that true?"
"Really?" Jiang Sui frowned and thought for a moment. "I don't remember."
"Trying to fool me?" Luo Yan immediately sat up, glaring at him. "Confess honestly, or you'll regret it!"
Jiang Sui chuckled softly, then suddenly wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her towards him. He used his thumb to wipe away a bit of fruit stain that was stuck to her lips, and then licked it off himself.
"Comrade Luo Yan, I am very interested in this 'life-or-death' project you proposed. Why don't we test it out tonight according to the normal procedure and see if it can achieve a result that satisfies both parties, and then we can talk about the 'explanation'?"
Luo Yan: "..."
That scoundrel! He can turn anything, black or white, into something lewd!
On Saturday afternoon, Luo Yan arrived at the hotel banquet hall on time for rehearsal.
During the break, Qin Ying came over and sat down next to her: "Let me give you a heads-up, Yang Xin will be coming, and she'll be coming with Wu Yuzhou."
Luo Yan paused, holding the water bottle: "You really want to come along?"
"Yes, she also sent a big red envelope of 8,888 yuan, with a fancy cover and the note 'May you have a long and happy marriage.'"
Qin Ying mimicked Yang Xin's deliberately sweet tone, making an expression of unbearable exasperation. "I called to politely ask her to spend money, and guess what she said? 'Oh, we're old classmates, it's just a small token of my husband and me's appreciation.' Everyone knows she and Wu Yuzhou have been separated for months, and Wu Yuzhou moved in with his mistress a long time ago. She's still clinging to the 'Mrs. Wu' persona, posting pictures of 'someone's stewed soup' and 'flowers on the table when I got back from my business trip' every day. It's like a 'perfectly decorated' social media feed of a bare-bones life. Who cares?"
Luo Yan frowned as she listened: "Why did she have to do that? It's already like this..."
"Isn't it just to prove to everyone that Yang Xin is living a better life than you, Luo Yan?"
"I didn't mean to compete with her, so why does she always have to challenge me?"
Qin Ying patted Luo Yan's hand, her eyes filled with complex emotions, "Do you really not know how much people 'hate' you?"
Luo Yan was taken aback: "How did I become hated? Yang Xin brought it on herself!"
Qin Ying chuckled twice and took her hand.
"Look... when you were in school, although your grades weren't the best, you still won quite a few scholarships, right? Back then, you only had eyes for Wu Yuzhou, and you forgot about all the other guys who were pursuing you, didn't you? After graduation, you went to sell cars, but within two or three years you passed the civil service exam and got a stable job..."
"Yang Xin did steal Wu Yuzhou away, and it seems like she won against you, but what was the result? It turns out that something that can be easily stolen away isn't a good thing. So, just as she was getting a little sense of accomplishment, she encountered this mess, and then she looked up and found that you actually have Jiang Sui..."
"You really don't realize how much you've got: a stable job, a great boyfriend. Even though you often complain about how weird and awkward your parents are, they genuinely care about you, right? And then there are your friends who are truly devoted to you. You've become her model home, so who else would she be jealous of if not you? Who else would she compete with if not you?"
Luo Yan fell silent. She had always thought of herself as quite ordinary, even a bit unlucky, but only now did she realize that she possessed so many things that others could only envy.
Then what else does she have to worry about? When she sees Yang Xin, she'll just raise her head, glare at her, and say, "I'm so proud!"
Inside a high-end KTV room in the city center, smoke filled the air and music was deafening.
The table was piled high with empty wine bottles. The young girl in Wu Yuzhou's arms was wearing a tight-fitting t-shirt and short skirt, looking petite and charming with a sweet smile.
"You're not even divorced yet, and we're already like this... Won't your wife be angry?"
"Why bring her up? She's still waiting for me to get revenge for her, she can't cause any trouble!" Wu Yuzhou laughed smugly, swirling the wine glass in his hand. "Once I get the money and the divorce papers are signed, I'll take you to the Maldives for a vacation."
"What money?" the girl asked curiously.
At that moment, the door to the private room was suddenly pushed open from the outside, and Jiang Sui walked in.
"Attorney Wu, you seem to be in high spirits."
"Oh, isn't this President Jiang?"
Wu Yuzhou pushed the girl away from his arms, stood up unsteadily, poured a glass of wine and handed it to her, "A guest is a guest, have a drink first!"
"No need, I have no interest in drinking with a cheating man."
Jiang Sui glanced at the mess in the private room, his face expressionless, and said to Xiao Huang behind him, "Go wait for me outside."
Wu Yuzhou turned off the music, let go of the girl in his arms, and said, "Let's go play next door first."
The girl obediently got up and left, closing the door to the private room behind her.
"It's really not easy to find Attorney Wu these days."
Jiang Sui's gaze swept over the mess in the private room, and she calmly said, "I went to Zhengwang. I didn't know you had already resigned. I spent some time inquiring and found out that Lawyer Wu brought a 'friend' here to relax today."
Wu Yuzhou poured himself a glass of wine and downed it in one gulp. "What, is President Jiang here again to warn me to stay away from Luo Yan?"
Jiang Sui walked to the sofa but didn't sit down. He looked down at him and said, "I'm just here to remind you that Jiang Qiming's promises to you are just for show. If you actually try to take them, you'll choke to death."
Wu Yuzhou sneered: "President Jiang, are you... afraid that I'll reveal something to Luo Muyang and make it impossible for you to stay at Feiyang?"
“You can try.” Jiang Sui’s tone remained calm. “Let’s see if he uses you as a pawn and then throws you away first, or if I make sure you can’t stay in Yu’an first. As for Luo Yan… stop using your ‘childhood sweetheart’ act to disgust people, and don’t try to make trouble for me or her through Jiang Qiming. Unless it’s necessary, I really can’t be bothered to waste a single bit of energy on someone like you. Otherwise, you’ll have lost more than just a third of Zhengwang and a marriage in name only.”
"Jiang Sui, don't be so arrogant!"
Wu Yuzhou flew into a rage, slamming his wine glass down on the table: "You think that besides me and Jiang Qiming, no one else is watching you? Is Feiyang a monolithic entity?" He pointed directly at Jiang Sui, his voice, thick with the smell of alcohol, arrogant and unrestrained: "Vice President Jiang, you've been so loyal to Feiyang, working so hard for that lousy database... In the end, you won't even know how you got kicked out!"
A dark glint flashed in Jiang Sui's eyes, but his expression remained calm and composed.
"Attorney Wu, you'd better watch yourself." With that, he turned and opened the door to the private room, then strode away.
As he came out, Xiao Huang, who was waiting outside, greeted him: "President Jiang, you really guessed right?"
"That's not the most important thing. The important thing is that I just found out that there are traitors within Feiyang."
Jiang Sui nodded, his eyes sharp. "Go through the confidentiality agreements, investigate the core personnel who participated in the project, and continue to monitor Wu Yuzhou and Mingsheng's movements in the period leading up to the bidding."
"Understood!" Xiao Huang quickly replied.
After getting into the car, Jiang Sui sent Luo Yan a message:
- I still have some things to take care of, so I won't be coming over tonight. You should get some rest, and I'll pick you up for work tomorrow morning.
He put down his phone, rolled down the car window, lit a cigarette, flicked off the ash, and didn't start the car until the cigarette burned out.
He kept replaying Wu Yuzhou's words in his mind, tightened his grip on the steering wheel, and picked up his phone again.
"Mr. Luo, there's something I need to report to you in person... Yes, now."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
