Chapter 24 Chapter 24
The night is thick, the lights ablaze. P City slips seamlessly from its relentless daytime bustle into the vibrant nightlife, its offices and bars alike working through the night.
The light strips winding along the bay's coastline shimmered with vibrant colors. Spotlights from sentry towers gently swept across the dark sea, disturbing the quiet dreams of the fish in the shallows. The seagulls and egrets that had gathered here during the day had already returned to roost in the mangroves. At the end of the forest, the few high-rise private residences remained tranquil, harmoniously coexisting with the birds.
Yue Hui pressed the switch at hand, and the gauze curtains of the floor-to-ceiling windows slowly unfolded, covering most of the colorful night scene of P City.
She rarely cooks, but sitting across from the table of delicious food is a man and a woman with their own thoughts.
In fact, she'd had a vague feeling something was amiss the moment she entered. They were both exceptionally silent, unmoved by her culinary display. Braised kelp short ribs, roast duck glutinous rice sushi rolls, shrimp and anchovies, pea and tofu soup, and jasmine milk jelly. Liang Sinan helped her carry the bowls and arrange the dishes. An Jiyue politely and gracefully said, "Thank you for your hard work," but nothing else.
She glanced sharply at the two people who were eating silently. On ordinary days, An Jiyue could drink two bowls of tofu soup with satisfaction before dinner.
An Jiyue's experience was even more limited, and she blushed unexplained for half the afternoon. Sometimes, when he asked her questions too urgently, the girl couldn't even speak coherently. Yue Hui had no choice but to give up.
And Liang Sinan, the most cheerful and cheerful person, also had a heavy heart today. His open-minded eyes were filled with an insoluble depression, and the corners of his mouth, which were always upturned, were pulled into a flat line.
Yue Hui has a decisive work style and considers himself the most serious of the three. However, today he became the one who created the atmosphere, throwing out topics one after another but only giving a few responses.
Unable to bear it any longer, she put down her chopsticks, leaned on the table with both hands, and took a deep breath. "What's wrong with you guys? You're like you've lost your soul after going to City G."
An Jiyue's bright cheeks flushed again. She didn't dare to meet Yue Hui's panicked eyes, so she quickly threw them to Liang Sinan: "Brother Nan, speak first!"
Liang Sinan was speechless, looked at her with contempt, and said calmly: "Okay, I'll tell you. Let me tell you about the incident today where Director An and her male guest No. 3 were hugging each other on the street..."
"Ah!" An Jiyue dropped her bowl and chopsticks and covered Liang Sinan's mouth with one hand, fearing that he would reveal even a word.
Liang Sinan almost choked, dodging and begging for mercy: "Okay, okay, I'll say it again!"
He picked up a few more pieces of food with his chopsticks, stood up with the bowl in his hand, and glanced at An Jiuyue's nervous expression. His heart, which had been heavy all day, finally felt a little happy.
"G City is truly a blessed place. Today, the emerging brand Any reached a long-term contract manufacturing and logistics partnership with two owners in G City. The behind-the-scenes CEO of Anshi Capital and the youngest CEO of Company Z also reportedly reached a significant settlement in G City..."
Yue Hui repeatedly chewed over this sentence that was stuffed with too much irrelevant information. After realizing the key point, he suddenly stood up like a bolt from the blue.
"An Jiyue, you and that Lu Ye..."
An Jiyue, who had already rushed towards the whistleblower, didn't hear her follow-up question. However, this time Liang Sinan was well prepared. His nearly two-meter tall body was as steady as a rock. He raised his hands and brought the bowl of rice steadily to his mouth, and he ate it without any problem.
Yue Hui stepped forward and pulled her away from the complacent Liang Sinan, waiting for her explanation with an unbelievable and questioning expression on his face. An Jiyue was at a loss, blinking her tearful almond eyes again and again, and saw that the little pearl was about to fall in the next second.
Yue Hui snorted coldly, "Stop pretending. When have you ever cried about something like this?"
The watery almond-shaped eyes forced back the tears. An Jiyue, who was exposed, simply sat back in the chair and picked up some food for herself.
"Hey, please make yourself clear first!"
An Jiyue didn't even raise her head: "I'm going to die sooner or later, and you won't let me finish my last meal."
Yue Hui paused, realizing she'd overreacted, and quickly dropped her fierce expression. She pulled out a chair and sat next to An Jiyue, personally adding a piece of eye-catching boneless short ribs to her meal.
"You're not a child anymore, it's normal for you to have a relationship." Yue Hui was as kind as a benevolent elder. "If this Mr. Lu really suits your taste, bring him back and let Brother Nan and I check him out..."
“Stop, stop, stop!”
An Jiyue couldn't eat, nor did she understand, so she simply put down her bowl and chopsticks. "Why are you talking like you're meeting the parents? Besides, who's in a relationship?"
Liang Sinan was in a good mood and clarified for her with bad intentions: "We didn't talk about it, we just hugged each other in the street."
An Jiyue was furious, and she was even more furious when she saw him eating with gusto. She grabbed Liang Sinan's shoulder and tried to take his bowl again, but Liang Sinan tried hard to pout and continued to add fuel to the fire for Yue Hui.
"Here, that's what happened. She was lying on Mr. Lu's chest, tsk tsk."
…
The soft, white bed held her aching body. An Jiyue lay there motionless and content, feeling like she could sleep forever.
In just one day, the first day of suspension, she felt more exhausted than when she was working.
An Jiyue rolled over, the shrimp, pork ribs, and tofu soup in her stomach swirling. The scent of jasmine filled her nostrils. She suddenly felt incredibly distressed for Yue Hui.
When she inherited Anshi Capital, although she knew almost nothing at first, she eventually figured it out and was able to contribute. Now that she was determined to pursue a career as a director, Liang Sinan was living a free and easy retirement life, leaving Yuehui to single-handedly support the business.
Looking at projects, meeting teams, and listening to roadshows have become commonplace. Sometimes I also have to personally pull in resources and do some post-investment work for the entrepreneurial team, which inevitably requires contacting various bosses.
Perhaps Yue Hui was living the same life today as she did today, but she never complained to herself.
There are also some differences. Yue Hui does not have someone like Lu Ye by his side to protect him from drinking and socializing.
Aren't you the one who should be in love? With tears in his eyes and a sour nose, An Jiyue typed this line into the chat box and sent it to her.
"An Jiyue, what do you mean? Explain it to me!" Yue Hui's voice came muffled from the next room. The wall was very soundproof, so she pretended not to hear anything. After a while, there was no movement from the other side either.
Lu Ye. Thinking of him was like pulling apart a ball of wool, tangling it into a tangled knot.
This time it wasn't a chance encounter nor was it work. Lu Ye seemed to have forced his way into her world on his own initiative. And throughout the entire day, she hadn't had the slightest thought of sending him away.
It seemed as if he was meant to be here. Or rather, because he was here, her world had become more than a little better.
Even though she was suspended because of him, An Jiyue sighed deeply.
Aimlessly scrolling through social media, she noticed the Any brand suddenly appearing more frequently. She clicked on a random post where a female university student with a small following enthusiastically shared her experience trying on Any brand's new bra material.
"I'm a bit larger in size, and many large-size bras have thicker sponge pads. This can indeed provide support and look good, but the overall visual effect is larger and it can be very stuffy."
"Actually, many clothes look better on smaller busts. The sponge Any uses has very strong memory resilience and breathability. A thin piece can flatter all bust shapes. You can give it a try!"
An Jiyue flipped to the comments section under the post and saw a highly praised comment refuting the poster:
"This blogger must have been paid. Any product just failed the random inspection! I just bought it last month, and the material is completely different. Don't fall into this trap!"
Another highly praised comment on the post: "You're in luck, sister! Any has announced that if you buy this batch of defective items, you can not only return or exchange them for free, but you will also receive a set of the latest designer styles! I have the styles released by this brand on my homepage, and they are so beautiful that I can't help but want to eat them!"
An Jiyue clicked on the enthusiastically responded user profile of "Sea Salt Soufflé." Several pinned posts were all promoting the Any underwear clarification. The latest one, posted an hour ago, included a photo of the new Any underwear in a deep sea blue with a thin outer layer of shantung silk.
"Sea Salt Soufflé" also appeared in another sharing post. Starting from unboxing, she fully tested several of the most concerned features such as skin-friendliness, wrapping, and rebound plasticity.
Guan Haifu in the video is full of energy, her voice is high-spirited and confident, sincere and patient, and her eyes are so sincere that they seem familiar.
He looks 70% like Zhan Nianqing.
It seems that Hai Fu is helping Zhan Nianqing. Maybe he also wrote these copywritings. Mr. Zhan is really popular. An Jiyue sighed a few words, clicked the red heart, and left a message of support.
Zhan Nianqing was kind and honest, and had his own character. Guan Haifu must have approved of his personality. It seemed that Haifu and she were somewhat similar, both willing to help Zhan Nianqing and both fascinated by Lu Ye.
Thinking about it this way, it's not surprising that Guan Haifu is attracted to Lu Ye. Even she herself almost fell in love with him at first sight. An Jiyue felt a little embarrassed. After so many years, she should have been desensitized to him long ago.
But at that moment in the rain, she almost softened her heart, and she even felt reluctant to let him go when he held her in his arms.
Lu Ye said that he wanted to coax her, no matter how long it took this time.
She curled up alone in her bed that night, and she could actually taste a bittersweet worry among her complicated emotions. She was worried that he was just joking with her.
She rarely got angry before, and when she was feeling down, all she needed was a few kind words from Lu Ye to put her smile back on. She was always easy to coax, and back then, her classmates all envied Lu Ye for having a good-tempered girlfriend.
But this time, even she herself didn't know the result.
Consciousness lingered on the edge of dreamland. The faint hum of the central air conditioner faded away. An Jiyue sank into her pillow, drowsily holding her phone upside down. The dim light on the screen gradually dimmed.
Perhaps if she had the chance to do it again, she would grab his collar in the afternoon rain of cicadas and ask him if he had really thought it through.
An Jiyue let out a long sigh and fell asleep. Perhaps because she was exhausted from the whole day, she had no dreams that night.
The next morning, the tranquil Mangrove Bay was illuminated by the crisp chirping of birds. An Jiyue rubbed her eyes. 7:00, her usual wake-up time. She suddenly felt grateful for her suspension, allowing her to sleep in without restraint.
The next second his expression suddenly froze, and the new message on the screen was from 6 hours ago.
Lu Ye: Seriously. Every word.
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