Chapter 29 The past inappropriately brought to mind another pair of eyes…
On the other side, because he had been drinking, Zhang Minglang hired a designated driver to take the car back. He had no choice but to squeeze into the back seat with Cheng He, who reeked of alcohol.
Cheng He was extremely excited the whole way. Ever since they left the bar, he had been secretly wanting an explanation from Zhang Minglang. He finally met a beautiful woman, but how did she become his secretary, and why was she wearing clothes?
Zhang Minglang pretended not to see his brother's expression, absentmindedly scrolling through his phone, but his mind was replaying the unknown side of Secretary Tang from earlier.
He still remembers her dramatic eyeliner, heavy eye makeup, long and curled eyelashes, and the strong but not pungent scent of her perfume.
He was starting to look forward to Monday.
Seeing that Zhang Minglang really had no intention of explaining, Cheng He couldn't help but yell, startling the designated driver in front of her.
Zhang Minglang squeezed towards the door with disgust, not wanting to be next to the embarrassing Cheng He.
"Bro, you're so mean!" Cheng He began his accusation, tears streaming down his face. "We've been best buddies for so long, you do the math! You had such a beautiful... hiccup... sister by your side, and you didn't even tell me..."
Zhang Minglang felt a surge of displeasure upon hearing his words.
He shoved him hard and warned, "Watch your mouth. She's just my secretary; we only have a working relationship for now."
When Cheng He heard that he was serious, she quickly shut up.
A period of quiet,
He couldn't help but mutter under his breath, "It's only temporary, and you're even putting a coat on your secretary?"
"Tsk." Zhang Minglang was furious upon hearing this, looking like he was about to settle accounts with him.
"Fine, fine, fine, your secretary. I won't say anything more, I won't say anything more." Cheng He raised her hands in surrender.
However, a few minutes later, Cheng He's soft voice rang out again: "So, you suddenly learned to apologize from your secretary, huh?"
Zhang Minglang: "......"
In some ways, what he said wasn't wrong.
But Zhang Minglang would certainly not admit it.
“Oh, right,” he remembered something, turned his head to look at Cheng He, who was sitting slumped over like a lump of mud beside him, “when are you moving out?”
Upon hearing this, Cheng He abruptly sat up in protest: "No, Zhang Minglang, you're a group president, what's wrong with letting your brother stay in such a big house for a couple of days? Besides, don't you want to eat the delicious meal I cook?"
He clasped his hands together, rubbing them together, and looked at him expectantly, waiting for his reply.
"Whether you stay or not doesn't matter to you, but it's inconvenient for your sister, isn't it?"
Cheng He lowered his hand: "...That's true. I'll ask her when she gets back from her part-time job tomorrow afternoon. If she doesn't want to, I'll book her a hotel."
"And you?"
"Me? I'm going to stay at your house!"
"I have to go to work." Zhang Minglang was speechless.
"I'll accompany you to work!" Cheng He said with a shameless "I'm sticking with you" attitude, punching his shoulder with his fist.
Zhang Minglang didn't take his words seriously at all and waved his hand, letting him be.
Early Sunday morning, Tang Yi got out of bed, tidied herself up, and went to the Children's Mental Health Foundation in City A to sign a contract.
Ever since she heard about Xixi's experience at Orange City Elementary School, she has been taking the time to learn about the donation details online.
After working for so many years, she had saved up a considerable sum of money. She contacted and confirmed the school's wishes and the foundation's arrangements, and ultimately decided to donate the funds to Orange City Elementary School for a trial.
Another reason is that, as an individual donor, she doesn't have that much money, which isn't enough to support the establishment of psychological counseling institutions in many schools.
Today is the day we agreed upon to sign the contract and confirm the donation with the foundation.
She drove downstairs and entered the foundation's director's office without any problems.
"Hello." As soon as Tang Yi entered the room, she politely bowed and extended her palm to him, and he shook her hand in a similarly friendly manner.
"Ms. Tang, we are very grateful for your personal trust in our foundation and this rural children's mental health project. Please review the information in this contract carefully before signing, and feel free to raise any objections at any time."
Tang Yi accepted it and thanked her.
She used the same meticulousness she had when reviewing contracts at work, carefully reading through it from beginning to end, and only put it down after confirming there were no problems.
"I've read the contract, and there are no problems. I only have two requests."
“Please speak,” he said, extending his palm.
“First, the psychological counseling must be kept confidential throughout. As you know, there are many people in the village who talk a lot, and I don’t want the children’s secrets to be made public. Second, the project must benefit both boys and girls equally. As a donor, I also don’t want to see the psychological counseling room only open to boys or girls.”
Tang Yi placed her hands together on the table and earnestly made her request.
"That's for sure, you don't need to worry about that at all. In addition, we will send you relevant teaching progress every fixed period of time to ensure that the process is open and transparent."
Tang Yi nodded in satisfaction: "Okay, I'll sign the contract now."
The person in charge pulled out a pen and handed it to her. As Tang Yi was reviewing the contract one last time, the person in charge couldn't help but ask, "Ms. Tang, if I may be so bold as to ask, what is your profession?"
Tang Yi seemed surprised that he would suddenly ask this: "I'm the secretary."
"Hiss... May I ask if you are the chief secretary of Junmao Group?"
Tang Yi was surprised that he recognized her. She nodded, and his face instantly filled with respect and joy: "I knew it! Your name sounded familiar. I attended a summit a few years ago, and I even greeted your CEO, Mr. Lin, back then!"
Tang Yi flipped to the signature section of the contract, quickly signed her name, and handed the contract to him, a smile playing on her lips: "That's quite a coincidence."
The person in charge accepted the contract, expressed gratitude, and shook hands with her again. Tang Yi picked up her bag and prepared to leave, but the other party suddenly called out to her from behind.
“Ms. Tang, since you are Junmao’s secretary, I suggest you draft a children’s mental health project and submit a proposal to the company. If we can get the support of Junmao Group, I believe the children will receive better protection.”
His words really reminded Tang Yi that she hadn't thought about bringing her company to invest in such a charity project.
He's right. If she could get the company's support, her stress could be greatly reduced, and the children in the countryside could have a better education.
Tang Yi turned to him and nodded gratefully: "Thank you very much for your suggestion. I will consider it carefully."
On the way back, Tang Yi kept thinking about the feasibility of this matter.
If she could come up with a decent plan that addresses the lack of educational resources in Jushi and countless other rural primary schools, and hand it over to the company, it might actually bring in a large sum of money for the children.
Tang Yi drove home, feeling happier and happier as she thought about it.
She felt that as long as she could help children like Xixi get out of the shadows, she would be willing to exhaust herself and use up all her savings.
After all, she still has many years to work and earn money, but the critical period for children to form their worldview is only these few years.
The car phone rang. Without looking at who it was, she casually pressed the answer button and asked in a somewhat excited voice, "Hello, who is this?"
"Yiyi, what good news has happened? You sound very happy."
Bai Zeyu's voice suddenly rang out, and Tang Yi's fluctuating mood plummeted to rock bottom in an instant.
She reached out to hang up, but the other person seemed to see her every move: "Don't hang up yet, Yiyi."
Tang Yi's outstretched hand paused in mid-air, a few centimeters from the screen.
Bai Zeyu's voice was as gentle and refined as ever. If she hadn't personally experienced his cold-bloodedness, perhaps she would have been deceived by his carefully crafted public persona if she heard his voice now.
"Tell me as soon as possible."
Tang Yi's voice was as cold as ice, completely different from her voice when the call had just connected.
"It's nothing serious. It's just that last time we had dinner, I'm sorry I had to leave early, so I couldn't stay and have a proper chat with you. I have a whole afternoon free today, I've arranged to meet at a coffee shop, how about we sit down and catch up calmly?"
Tang Yi sneered upon hearing this: "Who are you? Just because you have time doesn't mean I have to come and keep you company."
Bai Zeyu's voice was full of helplessness: "You know that's not what I meant."
Tang Yi remained silent for a long time without speaking.
"You're driving, aren't you? I can tell. It's a little past ten in the morning. Did you just finish your errands and are on your way back?" Bai Zeyu once again accurately guessed her movements and offered a new suggestion, "If it's not convenient this afternoon, we can have lunch together. What do you think?"
Thinking that lunch would obviously take even longer, Tang Yi didn't want to spend another second with him.
She recalled what Zhang Minglang had said at the bar yesterday.
Listen to your heart, Tang Yi.
Some things should have been made clear a long time ago.
"See you this afternoon." Tang Yi said these three words and hung up the phone without listening to what the other person was saying.
At three o'clock in the afternoon, Tang Yi arrived at the restaurant that Bai Zeyu had booked on time. He waved to her from the window seat.
Tang Yi straightened her skirt, sat down, and placed her bag on the seat next to her.
"I knew you'd come. You remember this coffee shop, right? We used to come here all the time..."
"Get to the point," Tang Yi interrupted his pointless and tedious reminiscing.
Bai Zeyu was taken aback by her retort, but he didn't show it. He continued to smile, pushed the menu on the table towards her, and gestured for the waiter to come over.
"Just an iced latte, no sugar."
Bai Zeyu looked at her in surprise upon hearing this: "You used to refuse to drink without candy."
Tang Yi lifted her eyelids and glanced at him: "That was before."
After the waiter left, Tang Yi crossed her arms in front of her chest and said in a flat tone, "Speak, what do you want to talk about?"
"We can talk about anything, I'm just happy to see you."
Tang Yi couldn't stand his hypocritical face and his inexplicable display of affection any longer. She turned her head to look out the window and sneered, "We're very familiar with each other, we know each other very well, so there's no need for you to put on an act in front of me, is there?"
"What are you saying, Yiyi? How can this be called acting? I'm serious." Bai Zeyu leaned forward, looking heartbroken.
"I'm serious."
She raised her eyes and looked at the man in front of her.
Through the lenses, she could only see the undisguised hypocrisy and impatience in his eyes.
Tang Yi thought of another pair of eyes at an inopportune moment.
That was the day, at the dinner table, when Zhang Minglang said, "I'm pursuing her," and those sincere and bright eyes...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com