Chapter Twenty-Five: My Dad's in Love, But Not My Mom?
Jiang Sui also saw the person at the elevator entrance and gave a knowing "oh".
"That's... President Luo? And the person next to him... doesn't she look like your mother?"
"Do you need to tell me!"
Luo Yan gritted her teeth, took out her phone, and decisively called Luo Muyang.
"Hey? Lao Luo! Where are you right now?!"
Luo Muyang's voice, clearly tinged with laughter, came from the other end of the phone: "Yanyan, Dad's out... discussing a project, what's up?"
"Really? What kind of project requires you to carry a women's handbag and smile as brightly as a sunflower? If you don't tell the truth, I'll call Ms. Xu right now and tell her I saw you and her sister holding hands, about to go to a hotel!"
"No, no, no! My little darling!" Luo Muyang's voice panicked instantly. "I just happened to run into your aunt and we had a meal together... Where are you?"
"What a coincidence? What a match made in heaven! I'm at Wanda Plaza, just finished watching a movie, and right now I'm standing next to the giant macaron stand in front of the dessert shop by the elevator, watching you two walk by chatting and laughing! I'm giving you two choices: one, stand still and wait for me to come over; two, I'll give Ms. Xu a live broadcast right now!"
“Underground parking lot, section B, parking space D128.” Luo Muyang’s voice carried a weak, manipulated quality.
Luo Yan hung up the phone and said to Jiang Sui, who had been quietly watching the drama unfold, "President Jiang, a family drama has suddenly broken out. Perhaps you should..."
"Let's go." Jiang Sui walked towards the elevator. "I need to go to the parking lot too."
Luo Yan: "..."
Your desire to gossip is barely noticeable!
The underground parking lot was dimly lit.
Luo Muyang and Xu Jinglan stood next to a Land Rover, with enough space between them to fit two more people, completely devoid of their previous familiarity and intimacy.
It seems that Luo Muyang was indeed successfully "threatened" by Luo Yan's phone call.
Xu Jinglan was still dressed in her usual sharp and capable style, arms crossed. When she saw Luo Yan and Jiang Sui appear together, she raised her slender eyebrows and looked at them with amusement. Luo Muyang, on the other hand, seemed a little flustered and had an awkward smile on his face.
"Yanyan, what a coincidence... uh, Xiao Jiang is here too?" Luo Muyang tried to change the subject.
Jiang Sui nodded politely: "President Luo." He also nodded to Xu Jinglan, his attitude neither humble nor arrogant.
Luo Yan didn't have time for pleasantries. She grabbed Luo Muyang and pulled him behind a car. "What's going on between you and my aunt? You couldn't get Xu Jingfei, so you turned your attention to her sister? What, are you just making do with someone from the same manufacturer? Comrade Luo Muyang, is your moral compass made of clay?"
"Yanyan, don't say things like that!" Luo Muyang slapped his thigh anxiously. "My relationship with your aunt is purely platonic!"
"So innocent that she looks at you with a smile like she's looking at her year-end bonus?"
“That was a smile that hid a knife… no, it was a smile of relief!” Luo Muyang struggled to organize his thoughts. “To tell you the truth, your aunt is now Dad’s strategist. She’s helping me come up with ideas to win your mother back. Don’t you want a family with both parents intact?”
Luo Yan felt like she had heard the coldest joke of the century: "You two are perfectly healthy, okay? Xu Jinglan helped you pursue Xu Jingfei? Lao Luo, are you alright? You know she and Xu Jingfei have never gotten along since they were kids. She's already showing restraint by not stabbing Xu Jingfei with a knife. And you're helping you pursue her? You're just speeding your way to the crematorium!"
"You're being too narrow-minded, aren't you?" Luo Muyang proudly puffed out his chest. "As the saying goes, your enemy knows you best. Jinglan said Feifei is all bark and no bite, so I have to be strategic! Lately, I've been doing what she said, posting more on WeChat Moments to showcase the charm of a mature man, and occasionally showing concern for her. It's been very effective! Feifei replied to my WeChat message yesterday in just fifteen minutes. Although it was just a 'get lost' message, that's still interaction, and it's a huge improvement!"
"Mr. Luo, may I ask how you've managed to survive in the cutthroat world of business for over twenty years?"
Looking at her father's conspicuous baggy appearance, Luo Yan's disdain was palpable.
"But she calls me brother-in-law."
Luo Muyang clearly enjoyed the title and had lost himself in Xu Jinglan's repeated calls of "brother-in-law".
Luo Yan patiently continued to persuade her: "How can we coax a fool like you into eating enemy shells without coating them with sugar?"
“Your aunt isn’t that kind of person!” Luo Muyang’s expression was as resolute as a turtle determined to eat a weight.
Luo Yan: "..."
On the other side, Xu Jinglan was also sizing up Jiang Sui.
“Jiang Sui? Vice President Fei Yang, you’re really young and quite handsome…” Xu Jinglan smiled. “I often hear my brother-in-law mention you, praising your competence and saying you’re his right-hand man.”
"Mr. Luo, you flatter me. It's just my job," Jiang Sui said calmly.
"Are you very familiar with Yanyan?" Xu Jinglan's tone shifted, her gaze sharpening.
"Feiyang took on a project from the Bureau of Culture and Tourism, and Comrade Luo Yan is the contact person."
"That's all? You went to the movies together, your relationship must be more than just that."
"You've misunderstood; we're just business partners."
Xu Jinglan tossed her hair and smiled sweetly.
"Yanyan is simple-minded and easily gets stuck on things. She used to be obsessed with that Wu family boy, following him around every day, saying she wouldn't marry anyone but him... Sigh, it's not a good thing for a girl to be too sentimental, she's easily hurt."
Jiang Sui smiled faintly and remained silent.
Seeing that she couldn't get any information out of him, Xu Jinglan smiled again, "I heard that Yanyan dragged you to Wu Yuzhou's wedding? That kid has always been like this, she acts recklessly when she gets anxious. Back then, she could have gone to a better university, but she insisted on applying to the same one as Wu Yuzhou, which almost made my sister go to the hospital..."
As Xu Jinglan spoke seemingly casually, she glanced sideways at Jiang Sui to observe his reaction.
Jiang nodded, his tone polite but distant: "She didn't drag me there that day; I went to find her on my own. Everyone has a period of youthful ignorance, and people always grow up. Comrade Luo Yan is very serious about her work now, and she has her own opinions and drive. Without her, the project wouldn't have progressed so smoothly."
The answer was calm and understated, yet perfectly avoided all the pitfalls.
A hint of surprise flashed in Xu Jinglan's eyes, but she quickly regained her smile, turned her head to look in Luo Yan's direction, and muttered to herself, "You little brat, you have good taste."
At this moment, Luo Yan returned, dragging Luo Muyang with her. Xu Jinglan gave her a meaningful smile.
"Yanyan, if there's nothing else, we'll be going now. Brother-in-law, please take me home."
"Alright!" Luo Muyang replied eagerly, winking at Luo Yan and mouthing the words: See, there's hope!
Luo Yan rolled her eyes at him without any politeness.
There's no hope, the person is beyond saving, just bury them!
On the way back, Luo Yan thought it over and decided to just ignore it. But what if Xu Jingfei found out herself? Wouldn't that lead to a family bloodbath? It was better to give her a heads-up first.
So, I sent Xu Jingfei a WeChat message:
-I just bumped into Luo Yonghao and your sister at Wanda Plaza. According to Luo Yonghao's one-sided confession, Comrade Xu Jinglan is currently his strategist, instructing him on how to win you over. I'm just letting you know, you can decide for yourself.
The phone rang less than a minute after the message was sent.
The moment the call connected, Xu Jingfei's voice, octaves higher, pierced through the receiver, making Luo Yan's eardrums buzz: "That idiot Luo Muyang! He wants Xu Jinglan as his strategist? Does he think he's got too long to live?! And Xu Jinglan, what is she trying to do?!"
Luo Yan held the phone a little further away: "Calm down, Ms. Xu... what exactly is the grudge between you and your sister?"
"Hmph!" Xu Jingfei sneered, "Back then, that silly boy Luo Muyang's family was dirt poor, but he had good grades and was also quite handsome. Xu Jinglan had a crush on him but didn't dare to say it. I couldn't stand it, so I went to help her confess. But Luo Muyang said he liked me. When she found out, she was even more furious, thinking I had stolen her! Then later, Luo Muyang suddenly became rich, and I got pregnant. She went around saying I was love-struck and would be dumped sooner or later... Now she's pretending to be a good person? A strategist? More like collecting corpses!"
Luo Yan was stunned, what a ridiculous old soap opera: "Then why did you..."
"I don't care! Let them do whatever they want, just leave me alone!" Xu Jingfei said angrily and slammed the phone down.
Luo Yan looked at the blacked-out phone screen and pouted.
Stubborn! If she really didn't care, would she be this angry? Xu Jingfei is probably frantically scrolling through Xu Jinglan's WeChat Moments right now, trying to find more evidence of their "affair".
Before she could hear anything else, Luo Yan herself saw Xu Jinglan's WeChat Moments. The photo was of a high-end coffee shop. The person opposite her wasn't visible, but the mole on the middle finger of the man holding the coffee cup was clearly Luo Muyang. The caption read: "[Chatting with interesting people is very rewarding [smile]]".
At this moment, Xu Jingfei's voice message bombarded me again: "Give me Xu Jinglan's WeChat! I'll give her a piece of my mind!"
"You don't have her WeChat?"
"We deleted each other after our last argument!"
"How did you see her WeChat Moments?"
"She posted on WeChat Moments too?! Is she planning to declare war on me?!"
"Huh? You didn't know?"
"I saw Luo Muyang!"
"..."
Luo Yan stared silently at the car roof, then deftly pushed Xu Jinglan's business card over.
This looks like war is about to break out. Stand back to avoid getting blood splattered on you.
Are you alright?
Jiang Sui suddenly spoke and looked at her.
"Sigh, that's just how my house is..."
When their eyes met again, Luo Yan's mind inappropriately flashed back to the unexpected "throwing herself into his arms" in the movie theater, and her face began to burn again.
Was he provoked by Luo Muyang and Xu Jinglan? Has he lost his mind?!
Men are all heartless bastards, and handsome men are even more poisonous! Wasn't Wu Yuzhou's lesson profound enough? He finally climbed out of that fire pit, got a stable job, and vowed to be loyal to the Party. How could he possibly want to fall into another pit? Besides, Jiang Sui is a complete disaster!
Although he's somewhat good-looking, even more so when he's working, and has a pleasant voice, and occasionally shows a tiny bit of humanity that's quite endearing... Hold on! What happened to the saying that only the Party and the people can test you? If you can't even resist the test of beauty, how can you expect to make progress?
Luo Yan decisively changed her phone's screen saver to the bold red text: "A wise person does not fall in love, and a resentful person repeats the same mistakes."
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