Chapter 41 Chapter 41
41.
An Jiyue patiently stepped on the brakes again. The silver-gray Volvo was inconspicuous in the crowded traffic.
The ten-kilometer drive had already taken nearly forty minutes. P City's evening rush hour was unforgiving.
The man beside her was not anxious at all. He calmly replied to various messages he had missed in the past few hours, sometimes typing on the laptop on his lap, sometimes swiping the screen of his mobile phone.
That's when the phone call came in.
Lu Ye glanced at the gloomy girl beside him, paused, and still picked up the phone.
"What's wrong? Why are you suddenly getting so many calls?" Shen Xingyu's labored, long breathing echoed from the other end. "I just finished a meeting."
Lu Ye didn't waste any time talking to him and got straight to the point: "Why did the company suddenly contact the production team of "The Last Days Lovers" and ask me to withdraw from the recording?"
The woman in the driver's seat visibly stiffened and held her breath as she listened to this important call.
She had wanted to ask for a long time, but she couldn't open her mouth when she saw Lu Ye.
"Quit? I don't know. This must be the leader's idea..."
"Don't come on, is there anything in the company that Mr. Shen doesn't know?" He flatly didn't believe it. "Suddenly breaking the contract halfway through the recording. Unless there is a compelling reason to do so, the company will not allow such irresponsible behavior."
There was an eerie silence on the other end for a moment, and then suddenly a steady and experienced male voice spoke, with a kind and calm tone.
"Lu Ye, withdrawing from the show was indeed a decision collectively agreed upon by the company's top management. The new public offering is about to go online, and you still have a lot of things to follow up on. You participated in this variety show to gain popularity and build momentum. Now that your goal has been achieved, you should withdraw."
The man in the passenger seat, though a bit surprised, remained composed. "Boss Qin, if you quit midway without a compelling reason, it'll likely tarnish your image. If a manager in charge of an asset management team has a record of betrayal or unauthorized breach of contract, the competition could make a big fuss about it."
"Don't worry, I've already made a request to the production team. They'll definitely give you a complete storyline and end the show as a single."
After President Qin hung up the phone, he handed it back to Shen Xingyu. The huge conference room fell silent for a moment.
"It seems that Chief Lu is very happy recording the program." A light and delicate female voice broke the silence.
Zhong Xinli wore a light blue silk shirt with matching trousers and a beige padded coat. She sat leisurely, looking capable yet charming.
"Ali, you're thinking too much. He's a serious person. No matter what he's given, he'll do his best to see it through to the end."
President Qin calmly dealt with her mild speculation. Zhong Xinli had grown up under his watch, and the Lijiang Financial Group was a major client for the first-tier department next year, so her subtle thoughts naturally couldn't be hidden from him.
As for ordering Lu Ye to clear his image as a male guest on the dating variety show as soon as possible, it was just a favor.
"However, dating variety shows shouldn't be exposed too frequently; a few episodes is enough. We're counting on this public fund to perform well in the middle of the year. If he does well, we'll let him gain experience in the primary market next year."
Zhong Xinli's eyes flickered slightly, and she smiled gracefully at President Qin, praising him politely:
"Uncle Qin has a wealth of talented people here. Even young talents like Lu Ye and Mr. Shen are willing to work for him. What do I have to worry about in terms of cooperation with Company Z next year?"
President Qin smiled with satisfaction and pride, a huge weight lifted from his heart. Meanwhile, Shen Xingyu, who was mentioned in passing, kept smiling, his cheek muscles nearly stiff.
"Mr. Zhong, I'll see you out." He looked at his watch and stood up to see the guest off tactfully.
"I'm not 'Mr. Zhong' yet, just call me Xinli." Zhong Xinli smiled and shook her head.
She had indeed not yet officially taken over the Lijiang Group, but had only accepted her parents' arrangement to intern in various departments of their own company and had begun to establish important personal connections.
Zhong Xinli walked into the elevator slowly, and Shen Xingyu followed closely behind and pressed the floor button.
“Mr. Shen?”
"Um?"
"Excuse me, why didn't you inherit the family business and instead choose to work in the financial field?"
Shen Xingyu was stunned by the question, scratching his head as he thought, "I've always been a sloppy student, and my grades are just passable. But my family is in the hydrogen energy business... I can't learn that."
"At the time, my family's factory was almost ready to go public. They decided that even if I joined the company, I wouldn't be able to help much. It would be better for me to explore the financial circle so that I wouldn't have to ask for help when I needed financing or bonds in the future."
Shen Xingyu admitted somewhat sheepishly, "Looking at industries and companies isn't actually my strongest suit. Instead, I've been deeply influenced by the culture of drinking and interpersonal relationships. I can make friends wherever I go. I actually enjoy what I'm doing now."
He turned to Zhong Xinli and smiled friendly and attentive: "I heard that Miss Zhong has been studying abroad? You are an expert and must know more about this aspect of the business world than I do. I hope you can give me more guidance on our future cooperation."
"You're very kind," she replied briefly and politely.
Zhong Xinli nodded slightly, pursed her lips and smiled faintly, her drooping eyelashes fluttering, like a confused butterfly.
During her many years abroad, she did not study the glamorous business major, but the art that she loved.
However, at this age, her childless parents felt that their daughter's years of willfulness were enough, so they recalled her from the British Museum and the dazzling exhibition rooms in Paris, and ordered her to gradually take over the Lijiang Group.
Zhong Xinli could not disobey her parents' orders, nor could she bear to give away the family's hard work, so she obeyed.
Learning about corporate affairs and dealing with all kinds of money-grubbing people every day was not what she wanted. Until one day, she saw a cool and detached figure. She suddenly realized that she had listened to his entire roadshow without realizing it.
Although this person talks a lot about economic data and financial indicators, what he says does not have that disgusting worldly quality.
Going against your heart may be wrong, but not knowing how to seize the moment when you meet someone amazing is even more wrong.
-
"I was wrong."
Lu Ye sighed for no reason, then entered an address on the car map and started navigation.
"I was so busy that I didn't tell you the place clearly."
An Jiyue asked doubtfully, "Aren't we going to the hotel? The production team has already booked it."
"No." He put his hands behind his head, a rare leisurely attitude. "Go here. I rented an apartment near your company."
A slender finger raised to her lips, stopping her from speaking. Lu Ye knew An Jiyue's temper too well. Buying a car, renting an apartment, everything touched her sore spot.
An Jiyue simply didn't ask. She was a little afraid of hearing some blushing and heart-pounding answer.
For example, Lu Ye's reason for the car was that it was convenient for picking her up and dropping her off. The same could be said about the apartment, which was to make her live in peace of mind.
Huayi Building stood on the side of Beishan Avenue, and most of the nearby apartments also faced the street, making it particularly noisy. However, the location Lu Ye had chosen was exceptionally well-placed, not only avoiding the hustle and bustle of the main road, but also offering a distant view of the shallow beach trail.
She parked her car downstairs at the main entrance and saw the bright lights in the simple and elegant lobby.
"You go ahead. I'll park the car in the basement. Do you have the spare key?"
"I didn't bring it." Lu Ye answered confidently, waiting for her to make new arrangements.
"...Then I'll get out first and leave the keys with you. You can park it yourself."
Lu Ye grabbed her slender arm and stopped her from getting out of the car.
"In such a hurry to leave?"
An Jiyue looked around and answered irrelevantly: "Aren't you busy today?"
Even if he really didn't have to be busy, she was still a little anxious.
The phone call just now had confirmed his departure from the show. She would discuss with Editor Tang how to send him off in a dignified manner.
An Jiuyue looked up at the man's cold face, pondered for a moment, and gently patted his hand that was holding her forearm.
Lu Ye stared at her deeply, then let go with dejected energy.
She did not leave, but looked into his dark eyes very seriously and asked word by word:
"Lu Ye, do you want to quit "The Last Days Lovers"? "
Lu Ye pondered for a few seconds, his voice cold and tired:
"At first, I didn't want to come; now, I don't want to leave."
An Jiyue's heart trembled when she heard this. Her brown eyes sparkled, silently asking him "why".
Lu Ye thought for a long time, lowered his eyes calmly, and opened his heart to her without any preparation.
"You were so cold back then, always treating me in a businesslike manner, adding some inexplicable drama to my routine, asking me to make sweet eye contact with other people, or even worse, to hold hands or lean on each other's shoulders."
"At first, I was furious. I already knew the program director's information and had been looking forward to meeting you for so long, but I didn't expect you to play you so hard."
"Every week is torture. I never know who you'll assign me to do what with."
His eyebrows were slightly covered by his hair, and his mood calmed down, and the corners of his mouth began to curve again.
"But later, even though the script didn't improve much, you stopped forcing the effect so much and finally calmed down a bit with me."
"Do you know how happy I am after returning from City G? I've been working like a precision gear for so many years, and there's no difference between today and tomorrow. But these days, I feel that life is beautiful and everything is lovely. I even want to take a picture of the sunset and send it to you."
He tapped the screen and showed her the brilliant golden sunset that he had taken at the airport a few hours ago, smiling happily.
"I never wanted to hide anything. Jiyue, these past few years I've been busy working and proving myself, and I've never thought about falling in love or getting married. Even when I knew I was going to meet you, I didn't have any delusions. But when I ran into you again, I still couldn't help but want to give it another try."
Lu Ye's voice trembled slightly at the end. He seemed to be drunk, talking to himself without paying much attention to An Jiyue's expression.
"You said the breakup four years ago was different from the little fights we had before, and I know that. You said things have changed over the years, and I know that too."
"But I just can't accept it. I can't accept that I'll lose you completely just because I messed up that one time."
"No matter how long it takes to coax you this time, I will accept it."
There was a sudden sense of lonely and courageous resignation in his voice, as if he had found that their fates were entangled and they were torturing each other, as if he was willing to give up his true heart without any complaints.
"I don't believe it..." She refuted without any confidence under the fierce attack.
Lu Ye was anxious and helpless, looking eagerly into her eyes, like a gambler who had played all his cards, searching for his chips over and over again:
"What kind of proof do you want? Should I confront the production team and the company leaders right now, or should I get married and register my marriage certificate tomorrow morning?"
An Jiyue shuddered suddenly. The word "marriage" was too sensitive to her recently.
But unlike before, at this moment, she couldn't feel any resistance towards this person.
She looked at him, her eyes filled with tears.
Lu Ye seemed to calm down amidst her tears. He raised his hand to wipe her tears and asked gently, "Don't cry. Do you want to come up and sit for a while?"
An Jiyue nodded, letting her tears soak his shoulders.
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