Chapter 23 Attending the Banquet: "Sister Yao's Personal Reserved Goods"
twenty three
The video is short, playing in just a few dozen seconds.
But Meng Yao held her phone for a long time, unable to come back to her senses. The shock in her heart far outweighed the joy: this was completely unexpected.
Her public apology in the live broadcast was a risky move. Her intention was that Lin Yue, being a celebrity, couldn't openly lash out, forcing Lin Yue to maintain a respectable image for the sake of the company and herself, and thus preventing her from relentlessly attacking Lin Yue, who had "taken risks for her loved ones."
However, Lin Yue's personality remains an unpredictable factor.
She had imagined all sorts of reactions from Lin Yue, and even prepared several drafts of how she would respond if Lin Yue, disregarding the fate of her management company, became furious and insisted on accusing her of playing the victim despite all the pressure.
But she never expected that someone as arrogant and selfish as Lin Yue would actually lower herself and take the initiative to forgive her, which was completely different from her usual vengeful style.
Something unusual must be going on.
Meng Yao didn't feel much joy upon receiving the news; her brows furrowed subconsciously as she racked her brains for the reasons.
Just then, there was a gentle knock on the door of the live stream room.
A small head peeked out from the doorway; it was the receptionist, her face beaming with barely suppressed excitement and a mysterious smile. Her gaze lingered on Meng Yao: "Sister Yao, someone's looking for you outside~"
She deliberately dragged out the last syllable, making her tone extremely ambiguous.
Still basking in her joy, Su Xiao asked casually, puzzled, "Who is it? The media? Go talk to the public relations department."
The receptionist shook her head, her eyes constantly glancing at Meng Yao, and gave a mischievous grin: "Of course it's... our company's big shareholder, Sister Yao's handsome husband!"
Meng Yao was stunned. Her original thoughts were instantly interrupted, replaced by an unexpectedly rapid heartbeat.
Even Su Xiao, upon hearing this, quickly adopted a gossipy expression, grinning mischievously as she approached the receptionist and teased Meng Yao with a smile: "Oh my, no wonder you've already captivated our beautiful Meng Yao on your first day at the company. To be honest, you're being a bit unfair, hiding such a handsome guy at home and then pretending you don't know him at the company, tsk tsk..."
Meng Yao's ears, hidden beneath her hair, warmed slightly. She expertly brushed aside the two onlookers, scoffing lightly, "Sister Yao's personal collection, can I show it to you all? Go away, get out of the way..."
The three of them laughed and went out together. As soon as they entered the hall, Meng Yao saw Fang Huaixu standing in the corner.
It wasn't that Meng Yao deliberately sought him out; it was just that Fang Huaixu was too conspicuous.
It was clearly an inconspicuous corner, and he was just wearing an ordinary shirt and trousers, standing there lazily and casually, but his face, which was comparable to that of a star, and his tall and slender figure of 190 cm, made him look like he was shooting a poster no matter where he was placed.
He seemed to have come directly from the company today. He stood there quietly, his posture as straight as a pine tree, exuding an undeniable aura of calm that drew everyone's attention.
He was clearly unaware of the stares around him, or perhaps he had grown accustomed to being looked up at like this, calmly handling his affairs on his phone, completely oblivious to how conspicuous he was.
Even Meng Yao couldn't resist looking at it. All her thoughts, schemes, and plans were instantly overwhelmed by the beautiful scenery before her, leaving only astonishment and a strong heartbeat.
Meng Yao tried hard to recall the words she had prepared to say when she met Fang Huaixu, but her mind went completely blank: Beauty truly leads one astray...
"Mr. Fang, I've brought Miss Meng over," the receptionist broke the silence, gently nudging Meng Yao, who was standing still, with her elbow, and lowered her voice: "Go ahead, Sister Yao."
Fang Huaixu's gaze followed hers, and after locking onto her, he gave her a very gentle smile and strode towards her.
The popularity that originally belonged to Fang Huaixu quickly shifted to Meng Yao, who was thus unwittingly thrust into the center of his field of vision: this damn popular guy.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, she could only steel herself and step forward, ignoring the intense gazes around her, and make her voice sound calm and natural: "Why did you suddenly come here?"
"To pick you up from get off work." Fang Huaixu's tone was matter-of-fact, his gaze lingering on her for a long time before he added with a light laugh, "Thank you for your hard work."
As soon as he finished speaking, Su Xiao and several of his bolder colleagues immediately let out a suppressed jeer.
Meng Yao couldn't stand their teasing any longer. Besides, the situation between the two wasn't what they thought at all—it was just an arranged marriage. If Fang Huaixu found out, she would be incredibly embarrassed.
She glared at Su Xiao reproachfully, signaling her to keep an eye on the people around her: "Tsk... you guys do this as soon as someone comes in, who will want to come to the company in the future?"
Su Xiao rarely saw Meng Yao make a fool of herself, so she couldn't stop laughing and turned to Fang Huaixu with a grin: "President Fang, please don't take offense. We just envy your good relationship. You're so busy, yet you still personally came to pick me up after get off work. No wonder you're 'Sister Yao's personal favorite'..."
"Shut up! Shut up..." Meng Yao didn't expect this big mouth to say everything, so she quickly stepped forward and covered Su Xiao's mouth.
But seeing Fang Huaixu immediately freeze in thought, Meng Yao's vision went black; he had still heard everything.
She wished she could disappear into a crack in the ground. How could Fang Huaixu, that blockhead, possibly understand that she was just joking? Who knows what kind of misunderstanding would arise when they got back?
Unable to think of a solution, she gave up struggling, but Fang Huaixu seemed to suddenly realize something and nodded very honestly under everyone's gaze: "Yes, we're newlyweds, and our relationship is indeed very good."
Another uproar erupted from the crowd, and Meng Yao breathed a sigh of relief only to have it rise again: What kind of thought process does Fang Huaixu have?
She opened her mouth, unsure whether to refute or clarify, but the atmosphere around her made it impossible for her to speak, and all the words that were on the tip of her tongue were swallowed back down.
To avoid further trouble, she acted decisively, grabbing Fang Huaixu's wrist and saying goodbye to those around her in a deflated tone: "That's enough, I'm really tired today, I'm going home now, bye-bye-bye..."
Her colleagues had witnessed her hard work these past few days, so they stopped talking about it and watched them leave. Meng Yao and Fang Huaixu got into the car together.
The two sat down in the back row together, and Meng Yao finally relaxed, leaning back and letting out a long sigh: "My dear President Fang... do you know what you just said? Why did you suddenly respond to them? It startled me. Now they all know we're a real couple. It'll be hard to handle this later..."
Fang Huaixu had just adjusted the window when he looked puzzled: "Isn't this the truth? Our marriage doesn't need to be kept secret. We've been getting along very well lately, cooperating happily, communicating smoothly. Isn't that a good relationship?"
"……All right."
Helpless, Meng Yao chose to concede defeat to Fang Huaixu's unconventional logic and frankness.
But she didn't notice that in the moment she relaxed, Fang Huaixu's eyebrows flickered with a very faint smile in response to her reaction to giving up. However, he didn't give her a chance to notice it before quickly changing the subject with a calm voice: "How was the live broadcast today? Are you tired?"
Meng Yao's eyes lit up instantly, and she sat up abruptly, her voice brimming with uncontrollable joy: "It's wonderful! Much better than I expected! I never imagined it would go so smoothly; I thought I was dreaming!"
"Really?" Fang Huaixu raised an eyebrow slightly: "But you did a live stream for several hours today, which is twice your usual workload, right?"
Meng Yao pouted and playfully shook her index finger: "If the barrage interaction and popularity are like this every day, I'll just live in the live stream room. The revenue from this one session is almost half a year's worth of mine!"
At this moment, there was only the driver and each other in the car. She herself did not realize that, after working together for the past two weeks, she had completely lost the calm and collected demeanor she displayed at the company in front of Fang Huaixu.
She was beaming with joy, expressing her delight without reservation: "And, if you don't watch videos, you probably wouldn't know, but Lin Yue actually sent me a video in response! She actually gave in first!"
Fang Huaixu laughed along with her: "Really? It works so well? But I know about Lin Yue's situation. Lin Tianhai called me today."
"A phone call?" Meng Yao keenly caught the information.
“Yes, he called me this afternoon and said he would have Lin Yue speak up for you on the platform,” Fang Huaixu said calmly. “And besides today’s live stream, I also have some good news for you.”
Meng Yao hesitated for a moment: "What news?"
Fang Huaixu said slowly, "Lin Tianhai invited us to dinner tonight to publicly apologize to you and me for what happened before. It's near my home. Do you have time to join us tonight?"
Meng Yao's eyes widened: Lin Tianhai invited them to dinner to apologize? And right now, right after she had successfully cleared her name?
She couldn't help but frown when she heard Lin Tianhai's name: What kind of good news is this?
Her mind started working again, and she almost immediately connected Lin Yue's unusual generosity with tonight's dinner party.
Public opinion has now turned in her favor. Coupled with the previous conflict at the wedding, from the Lin family's perspective, the best way to salvage the situation right now is to take advantage of Lin Yue's show of weakness, seize the opportunity to make amends with Fang Huaixu, and turn hostility into friendship.
Thinking about this, Meng Yao felt a mix of emotions, but her good mood was suddenly dampened.
Fang Huaixu knew how much she didn't want to see Lin Tianhai, so he specifically mentioned tonight's banquet to ask for her opinion. Was he hoping she would act as a "peacemaker" and forgive the Lin family's previous actions?
This line of thinking quickly came to mind: Yes, the Lin family and the Fang family have intertwined interests, and it's impossible for them to act impulsively based on feelings or emotions.
The conflict at the wedding was something neither side could bring themselves to reconcile. Wouldn't the best solution be for her, the victim, to express her forgiveness, thus giving both sides a more dignified way out?
She wasn't exactly happy, nor was she disappointed. She quickly composed herself and asked, "So... should I go home and change my clothes tonight?"
After spending this time together, Fang Huaixu could quickly see through her subtle attempts to conceal her emotions and realized that she didn't seem happy about the news.
After a moment's thought, he seemed to remember something and offered to explain, "After all, we still have business dealings with the Lin family, so we can't make things too awkward on the surface. But don't worry, if you don't want to talk to him, I'll do it. You can just sit here."
As expected, her suspicions came true. She gave a standard professional smile, but it was hard not to feel a sense of disappointment inside.
Fang Huaixu has helped her a lot during this period, whether it's the investment or this cooperation, she still owes him a favor no matter what.
Moreover, this marriage is essentially a business partnership, and both professionally and personally, she should cooperate with him and play the role of a considerate wife.
Moreover, in a sense, Lin Yue's submission and the Lin family's capitulation were already her first victory in this protracted war with the Lin family, so there was nothing to dwell on.
She quickly understood, and her expression brightened again: "It's okay, I said it's more convenient, without all that trouble."
Fang Huaixu took in her reaction, his eyes flickered as if he wanted to say something but hesitated, but in the end he just nodded and simply replied, "Okay."
As evening approached, the two went together to the private room that Lin Tianhai had booked. Lin Tianhai, Chen Xiang, and Lin Yue were all present. Upon seeing Meng Yao and Fang Huaixu enter, Lin Tianhai immediately greeted them with a warm smile: "Huaixu and Yaoyao are both here! Please have a seat!"
Chen Xiang also forced a few words out, making it seem as if they had always been a happy family.
The atmosphere was warm and cozy, except for Lin Yue, who was still sitting with her legs crossed and her hands clasped in front of her, refusing to get up.
When Meng Yao glanced at him unconsciously, Lin Tianhai also turned his attention to her.
Meng Yao didn't know what Lin Tianhai's expression was, but she saw Lin Yue meet Lin Tianhai's gaze for a moment, then suddenly purse her lips in anger.
A moment later, she snorted and stood up, rolling her eyes and quickly slapping Meng Yao's hand, which was clasped with Lin Tianhai's, saying irritably, "Hello! Hello to both of you! Are you happy now?"
Author's Note: I'm here! I'm late for playing games (hehe)
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