Chapter 27 Teasing the "Hidden Truth"
What Qiao Yunzheng didn't know was that just as Uncle Zhang parked the car in front of the Qiao residence, before he could even turn off the engine, the car door was suddenly pulled open.
Before Uncle Zhang could react, the tall, long-legged man had already crouched down and sat in the back seat.
He acted as if he were at home, and even waved to him, saying, "Hey! Uncle Zhang, what a coincidence!"
Uncle Zhang's face turned green with anger. Even after five years apart, this man still acted the same way he did back then.
Wen Hong put her hands behind her head and gave a slight smile: "Uncle Zhang, it's been so many years, and you still have such a temper. That's not a good habit..."
Uncle Zhang, unable to contain himself any longer, asked, "What are you doing up here?"
Wen Hong: "Just like you, I'm going to work!"
There was already some noise coming from the courtyard; Qiao Yunzheng and her daughter had come downstairs.
When Wen Hong caught sight of Qiao Yunzheng, a smile involuntarily crept onto her lips. However, she feigned reluctance and teased Uncle Zhang, "Ah, it seems Uncle Zhang isn't too happy to see me. Shall I leave then?"
As he spoke, he reached for the car door.
Qiao Yunzheng and Yao Jing had already left the courtyard and were only a few meters away from the car.
Uncle Zhang's brow twitched. He knew that as long as this man appeared, the mother and daughter would inevitably have a fight. After a mental struggle, he finally lowered his voice and scolded, "You'd better sit down properly!"
Wen Hong, having succeeded, sat back down with a clear conscience.
Just then, Qiao Yunzheng opened the back door of the car.
Wen Hong sat in the back seat of the van, near the door, right in Yao Jing's blind spot.
What are you doing here?
Qiao Yunzheng was surprised to see Wen Hong, who was supposed to return to Shencheng, suddenly appear here. After a moment of astonishment, she looked at him with bright eyes.
With his hands on the armrests, Wen Hong easily leaped from the back row to Qiao Yunzheng's side. His eyes were full of smiles as he gestured towards Uncle Zhang in front of him, "Ah... Uncle Zhang is so kind as to offer me a ride. I can't refuse his kindness!"
Qiao Yunzheng glanced at Uncle Zhang's pale and ashen face in the rearview mirror and couldn't believe a single word he said.
She moved aside to give him some space: "Didn't you say you were going back to Shencheng?"
Wen Hong didn't care at all: "That's what you said, I didn't agree to it."
Qiao Yunzheng: "Didn't you say you were going to work?"
Wen Hong chuckled lightly, adopting a serious demeanor: "As your exclusive legal counsel, it is my duty to serve you," he said, drawing out the last syllable to emphasize, "24 hours a day."
In just a few hours, his face showed no signs of fatigue, and he looked radiant.
Qiao Yunzheng was greatly surprised. She stared at his face for a few seconds and then answered seriously, just like him, "That's not wrong."
Wen Hong laughed out loud. He leaned forward and tapped the back of the passenger seat with his long arm: "Uncle Zhang, see, I didn't lie to you, did I?"
Uncle Zhang pretended not to hear, only letting out a heavy "humph" through his nose, without giving him a second glance.
The car quickly stopped in the Qiao family's parking lot.
Fortunately, there weren't many people in the elevator lobby in the afternoon.
Under Uncle Zhang's worried gaze, Qiao Yunzheng and Wen Hong closed the elevator doors and pressed the button for the floor leading to her office.
When appearing in such an occasion with Wen Hong, Qiao Yunzheng always felt an inexplicable sense of nervousness, like a cat caught stealing fish, afraid of being caught red-handed.
She was wearing business attire today, which was unusual for her. The top button of her silk shirt was undone, revealing the collarbone chain on her fair neck.
Wen Hong suddenly took a step closer to her and reached out his hand.
Qiao Yunzheng almost instinctively flinched, only relaxing a little when she realized there were only the two of them in the elevator.
His hand brushed against the stray hairs hanging by her ear, slowly adjusting the silk scarf draped over her shoulder: "It's a little crooked..."
He was very serious, and through the thin silk fabric, every unintentional touch seemed to be magnified infinitely.
"I can do it myself."
She frantically tried to stop him, and as she reached out, she unfortunately grabbed his fingertips.
My already tense heartbeat seemed to inexplicably stop for a moment.
Wen Hong looked up at her, drawing out his words meaningfully: "Qiao Yunzheng... what are you doing?"
Qiao Yunzheng then realized what was happening and abruptly pulled her hand away. Because of her sudden movement, the already loose knot of the scarf was accidentally torn open.
"Tsk," Wen Hong seemed to be in a good mood, even the corners of her eyes were filled with laughter, "In public, can you be a little more restrained?"
His tone, tinged with helplessness, made it seem as if he were an innocent, pitiful victim being groped by a female CEO in an elevator.
Qiao Yunzheng's tense nerves were relieved perfectly by his shamelessness. She rolled her eyes at him, then decided to put on her CEO airs and lower her voice: "Attorney Wen, be mindful of your status."
Wen Hong couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"Okay, Mr. Qiao."
He turned her shoulders toward him, picked up the two hanging ribbons, and tied them into a pretty bow.
Just then, the elevator arrived at the sixteenth floor.
To get to the office, you have to walk through an administrative office area.
Qiao Yunzheng regretted wearing high heels today. The "clack-clack-clack" of her heels on the floor made it hard for anyone not to notice her.
She took a deep breath, held her head high, and tried to ignore the curious glances from her employees as she walked straight to her office.
Wen Hong, who was half a step behind him, was much calmer than her.
With his hands in his pockets, tall and long-legged, he followed behind the slightly flustered Qiao Yunzheng with a leisurely pace. Just before reaching the office, he took a long stride to overtake her by half a step and opened the office door first.
"Mr. Qiao, please."
His voice wasn't loud, but it sounded particularly out of place in the quiet office area.
Qiao Yunzheng caught a glimpse of a head peeking out from a cubicle, craning its neck to look at her.
She glared at Wen Hong and rushed into the office first.
Seeing Wen Hong still standing there, he chuckled softly with his fist clenched to his lips, then grabbed his collar and pulled him inside.
Close the door, close the window, and lower the blinds.
Wen Hong was pulled into the house by him, and leaned casually against the door, her smile growing even wider: "President Qiao, how come I never noticed before that you were so eager?"
As he spoke, he bent down again, bringing his gaze level with hers: "However, I'd be happy to help."
Qiao Yunzheng was utterly fed up with his nonchalant attitude. She reached out and pressed her hand against his face, pushing his smug grin away from her. "Wen Hong, can't you be serious for once? This is the company..."
Wen Hong neither dodged nor avoided the situation, but instead leaned back against the door, saying jokingly, "Do you know what you're doing right now?"
Qiao Yunzheng was pressing down the shutter grille with one finger, looking out, and casually asked, "What's it called?"
Wen Hong knocked on the closed door, then pointed to the lowered blinds, and said slowly and deliberately, "There is no silver here, not three hundred taels."
Qiao Yunzheng was stunned, and slowly turned her head to look at him.
Wen Hong nodded: "Yes, it's obvious," then added quietly, "Besides, am I really that...unpresentable to you?"
Qiao Yunzheng then realized that she had indeed been too tense.
She coughed slightly, looking away from him, and said, "Don't mention it. Attorney Wen's professional competence is well-known. How could he be lacking in skill?"
After saying that, he slowly walked back to his desk and sat down.
Wen Hong lowered her eyes and said nothing more.
A moment later, the assistant knocked and came in. His gaze first swept over the man sitting on the sofa before placing the coffee he was holding in front of Qiao Yunzheng.
The assistant hesitated for a moment, then asked, "This gentleman..."
Qiao Yunzheng's hand, which had just settled on the coffee, trembled slightly. She quickly replied, "This is our company's new legal counsel. If you have any related business in the future, just contact him..."
The assistant glanced over and saw the man lounging casually against the back of the sofa, as relaxed and at ease as if he were in his own home. His eyes were fixed on his boss, and the look in his eyes...
The gossip radar activated instantly, and the assistant suddenly remembered the rumors that had been circulating in the company recently—that the boss's boyfriend had attended the shareholders' meeting and had even made Vice President Qiao Zhenhuai faint from anger. However, those who attended that meeting were all senior executives, and the employees had only heard about it.
After a long while, the man seemed to notice her furtive gaze, raised an eyebrow and looked over, his questioning intent quite obvious.
The assistant snapped out of her reverie and naturally picked up where Qiao Yunzheng left off, asking, "What would this gentleman like to drink?"
Wen Hong moved her lips, but before she could speak, Qiao Yunzheng answered directly, "He doesn't drink."
She didn't want people coming in and out repeatedly, looking at her with those scrutinizing eyes.
Only when two pairs of eyes turned to her did Qiao Yunzheng soften her tone: "Give these documents to Attorney Wen!"
Qiao Yunzheng solemnly took a stack of documents from her desk and handed them over.
The assistant took it and placed it on the table in front of Wen Hong.
Qiao Yunzheng looked at Wen Hong with a standard professional smile: "I hope you can finish processing these documents before you leave work. I need a clear result tonight, is that alright?"
Wen Hong looked at her meaningfully for a few seconds before slowly sitting up straight: "Okay, no problem. Boss..." He observed the subtle changes in her expression before slowly finishing his sentence, "Boss."
Qiao Yunzheng secretly breathed a sigh of relief, secretly rejoicing that Wen Hong, that troublemaker, was finally willing to let her go.
He glanced up at his assistant: "Is there anything else?"
The assistant paused for a moment before whispering, "The project in the north of the city is restarting the day after tomorrow. Would you like to go and take a look?"
Normally, each project has its own person in charge to follow up, so there's no need for Qiao Yunzheng, the person in charge, to make the trip herself.
Wen Hong keenly sensed something was amiss and looked up, only to see that Qiao Yunzheng's face had turned deathly pale.
Wen Hong had already investigated a lot of information about the North City project, and his knowledge was almost as extensive as that of those in the know. However, he didn't want Qiao Yunzheng to think he was overstepping his bounds, so he pretended to be completely unaware and asked in a low voice, "Is there a problem with the North City project?"
He stared intently at her face, his hopes soaring.
He hoped she could move a little closer to him and be willing to tell him about the past he had missed.
Qiao Yunzheng lowered her eyes and pressed her lips tightly together.
After a few swallows, he finally spoke with difficulty, his voice hoarse: "My father... had his accident there."
Author's note: Thank you "Sunshine" for the nutrient solution! Mwah!
I've been shipping a couple with pure hatred these past few days, it's been so intense, I love this pairing so much!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
