Chapter 21 He probably will never get married in this lifetime…
After that day, Xu Jialan seemed to have given up on the idea, but Chen Yaoan didn't care at all, and life continued peacefully.
On this day, Xu Jialan surprisingly appeared in the company office. Zhang Ting asked in surprise, "What are you doing here today? Did the sun rise in the west?"
It's no wonder Zhang Ting was surprised; since Xu Jialan came to Dai County, she has only appeared at the company a handful of times.
Xu Jialan sat in the swivel chair behind her desk, completely ignoring his words, and instead said to him, "This year, we're ordering two sets of work uniforms for each of our company's employees as an employee benefit."
Zhang Ting looked puzzled. "Our company has never had such a benefit."
“It’s available now.”
Zhang Ting: "..."
He is the chairman's son, so he is the eldest.
"Then I'll contact the factory now."
"No need, let Yuno Studio do it."
"A studio? Studios usually don't take on these kinds of jobs."
"Chen Yao'an will answer."
"Chen Yao'an?"
Zhang Ting searched his mind for the name, and after a long while, he remembered that Chen Yao'an was the girl he had invited to his house last time.
Xu Jialan's ulterior motives were obvious.
So, he looked at Xu Jialan with a composed expression, "Did you run into a snag with Chen Yao'an?"
"What do you know? I'm just playing hard to get."
Zhang Ting couldn't help but laugh, "Playing hard to get?"
"Do you think you don't have enough work?"
Xu Jialan was annoyed by his words, "You call her."
"I'll go call right away."
Zhang Ting turned to leave, but then felt uneasy and looked back at Xu Jialan, saying, "Let me say something outside of work."
"What?"
"Although I've only met Chen Yao'an once, I can tell she's a good girl. I think you shouldn't go and ruin her life."
As soon as Zhang Ting finished speaking, something flew right in front of him. He instinctively turned his head to the side and successfully dodged it.
He glanced down at the object on the ground; it was a pen.
What are you upset about?
"You're talking too much nonsense, hurry up and make the call."
Zhang Ting had no choice but to call Chen Yao'an.
When Chen Yao'an received Zhang Ting's call, she didn't recognize his voice at first, until he introduced himself.
Zhang Ting was a colleague of Xu Jialan's whom she had met before. She wondered why he would call her.
"Is there something you need?"
"Here's the thing, our company is planning to order two sets of work uniforms for our employees. I heard from Mr. Xu that you work in this industry, so that's why I contacted you."
"Oh, I see. But why did you contact me? Aren't work uniforms usually made by factories?"
"Well... that's right. Our CEO, Mr. Xu, has high standards. He wants everything tailored to his individual needs, so it's more reliable to hire a studio like yours."
"So that's how it is."
"Of course, our compensation will also be in place."
Chen Yao'an was somewhat tempted. "Then how much is the reward?"
"We'll offer double the market price."
!!
"It's just that the construction period will be quite tight."
"how long."
"If each person gets two sets in two weeks, that's sixty sets."
Only two weeks?
The deadline was indeed quite tight. Chen Yaoan hesitated for a moment, but finally steeled herself and agreed, "Okay, I'll take it."
If all else fails, I'll just stay up all night and work overtime to finish it.
Hearing her agree so quickly, Zhang Ting was taken aback. He thought she would at least consider it first.
"So...it's settled then?"
"Okay, what style do you want? And what kind of fabric do you want?"
"Mr. Xu didn't give any instructions, you'll need to discuss this with him yourself."
Should we consult with Xu Jialan?
"………All right."
Chen Yaoan was extremely reluctant to contact Xu Jialan, and kept putting it off, but in the end, she had no choice but to make the call for work.
"Hello."
Xu Jialan answered the phone in a lazy and languid voice.
His words made Chen Yaoan extremely uncomfortable.
"Missing me?"
Chen Yaoan held back.
Can't you speak properly?
"How can you speak properly?"
She straightened her expression, not going along with his words, and said in a slightly serious tone, "I want to talk to you about work."
"Oh? What kind of job?" he asked, his tone still unhurried.
This is clearly an act of feigning ignorance.
Chen Yaoan had no choice but to patiently explain, "General Manager Zhang said that your company needs to order work uniforms for its employees, and asked me to discuss the style and fabric of the clothes with you."
"Oh, okay."
The discussion went relatively smoothly. Xu Jialan didn't make a fuss and quickly sent her the design of the clothes and the fabric to be used.
Chen Yaoan ordered the fabric as quickly as possible and then spent a day taking measurements at Xu Jialan's company.
When Chen Yao'an went to their company, she learned that Xu Jialan was actually the heir of Qingbang Real Estate.
However, she didn't care about any of that.
Next, she used her spare time to efficiently complete the pattern.
Making sixty sets of work uniforms in the style of suits is not difficult; it's just that it takes a lot of time and effort and the production period is short.
What follows is a huge project.
Chen Yaoan only slept for four hours that night.
The next morning, not long after she arrived at the shop, Xu Jialan unexpectedly came to her door with several aunties.
Chen Yao'an was confused and naturally didn't welcome him.
What are you doing here?
"Supervisor".
Chen Yao'an: "..."
Her gaze fell on the two aunties beside her.
Xu Jialan noticed her question and explained, "This is the helper I found for you."
Chen Yao'an frowned. He offered to help her find a helper?
This whole thing seems really weird no matter how you look at it.
If that's the case, why don't they just find a larger factory to take this order instead of going to all the trouble of finding her helpers?
Xu Jialan probably didn't do it on purpose.
She stared at him for a long time. "You did this on purpose?"
He specifically handed the form to her.
Xu Jialan smirked, looking smug and confident. "You can back out now."
Chen Yao'an: "..."
"Then I won't do it."
"Okay, then you'll have to pay for the fabric yourself."
Chen Yao'an: "..."
Xu Jialan really knows how to manipulate her.
Qingbang Real Estate has deep pockets; although the fabric he and she agreed on wasn't the highest grade, the cost was still considerable.
Her studio rarely uses fabrics of this quality; ordinary people find them too expensive, and wealthy people don't even consider them.
If she doesn't take this order, it means that the fabric will just gather dust in her shop.
Xu Jialan was determined to trick her. She should have been more careful when she finalized the fabric deal with him!
Chen Yao'an was extremely annoyed.
But forced by circumstances, she could only grit her teeth and agree, "but I won't hire help; the cost is too high."
She took this job to make money, so hiring two more aunties to help out wouldn't be worthwhile at all.
Hearing her say that, one of the older women couldn't hold back any longer and stepped forward to persuade her: "Boss, don't worry, we're not expensive. This boss has already paid us part of the money."
She pointed at Xu Jialan.
Chen Yaoan looked at him.
"You're welcome," Xu Jialan said.
Chen Yao'an wanted to roll her eyes at him, but she held back.
"Come in."
I learned that both of the ladies were tailors who had been in the business for many years and were very experienced, so they learned quickly.
After giving them a few brief instructions, Chen Yaoan started working. One person was responsible for cutting, and the other was responsible for operating the sewing machine.
As for Xu Jialan, he has always been thick-skinned. Even when Chen Yaoan told him to leave, he still refused to go.
He would hover around Chen Yao'an from time to time, striking up conversations with her and asking trivial questions that she couldn't avoid even if she wanted to.
The two aunties had witnessed their interaction; being experienced themselves, they understood immediately.
One of the gossipy aunties nudged her companion and started gossiping, "Do you think this Mr. Xu has taken a liking to this Mr. Chen?"
He glanced at the two of them as he spoke.
Another person chimed in.
"The two are a perfect match, but it's a pity that Boss Chen doesn't seem to be interested in Boss Xu."
I think so too.
"This Mr. Xu is obviously a rich second-generation who doesn't do anything productive; he's not someone who lives a proper life."
"Judging from his appearance, he doesn't seem to be from around here."
"Mr. Xu, where are you from?"
"Beijing."
"Wow, that's a big city! What do your parents do?"
"I have no parents."
There was a moment of silence in the workroom. The two women realized they had said the wrong thing and dared not utter another word.
Chen Yao'an was puzzled. Wasn't he the heir of Qingbang Real Estate? As far as she knew, Xu Qingbang, the chairman of Qingbang Real Estate, was still alive. She had even gone online to check that day.
As for his mother, she didn't know.
She looked at Xu Jialan; his expression was much more serious than before, and the smile had vanished from his eyes.
Seeing Chen Yao'an looking at him, he turned around and said, "I'm going outside for a smoke."
That day, Xu Jialan didn't go back; she left directly.
He reappeared the next day.
The two aunties stayed here for a few days, and Xu Jialan stayed at Chen Yaoan's shop for a few more days.
A few days later, Aunt Sun, who was always looking for trouble, finally couldn't resist and took advantage of a break to get close to Xu Jialan.
"Mr. Xu, are you interested in Mr. Chen?"
"Yes," Xu Jialan answered naturally and frankly, which surprised the aunt. How could this young man not know how to be shy at all?
What the aunt didn't know was that he had always been thick-skinned.
"This Boss Chen is quite good; she's beautiful and capable."
"Why don't you, Auntie, play matchmaker for us and get her to agree to be my girlfriend soon?"
Um?
The young man was really proactive.
My home is a bit far away.
Are you going back to northern Beijing?
"Of course, I'm just here to work for a while."
"If you two get together, what are you going to do? Take her to northern Beijing?"
Aunt Sun's question stumped Xu Jialan.
"To northern Beijing?"
"Yes, if you get married, you can't live apart."
"Marriage?" Xu Jialan couldn't help but laugh. "I've never thought about marriage."
Not getting married? Is he trying to get something for nothing?
Aunt Sun's face immediately turned very ugly. "Don't want to get married? Dating without marriage in mind is just being a scoundrel!"
Xu Jialan: "..."
Aunt Sun continued, "Boss Chen is handsome and capable, while you look like... a rich second-generation. Besides being rich and handsome, that's about it..."
At the end, she said something in her dialect, which Xu Jialan didn't understand.
But does that mean he's bad?
Xu Jialan stood at the door of the workshop, looking at Chen Yaoan. She was giving instructions to the two aunties on how to handle the details of the clothes better, taking care of every little thing.
Her neck was slender, with a few strands of hair falling on her neck and cheeks, making her neck appear even whiter and more delicate, exuding a sense of both fragility and a cool, resilient strength.
Xu Jialan thought that he would probably never get married in his life.
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My upcoming novel, "A Joyful Rain on an Autumn Night," is available for pre-order.
Marriage of convenience to love
Freedom and independence × Group tycoon
Qiu Yan was suffocating from the pressure from her family to get married, and Di Zheng was her fifth blind date.
She took a sip of coffee with an impatient look and said, "I have marriage syndrome."
Di Zheng: ?
What is marriage syndrome?
"Marriage syndrome is anxiety and irritability after marriage, and in severe cases, it may lead to violent tendencies towards one's partner."
Di Zheng pondered for a moment, then slowly said, "One million."
Qiu Yan: "Hmm?"
Di Zheng: "Add a house worth one million."
Qiu Yan: "Huh?"
Di Zheng: "Add another million."
Qiu Yan: "I think my marriage syndrome is cured."
-
The contractual marriage with Di Zheng was entirely a monetary transaction.
In public, the two are a loving couple; in private, they do not interfere with each other.
Di Zheng remained indifferent, and she remained perfunctory.
Until the day the contract expired, she couldn't find Qiu Yan anywhere, only to turn around and find her in Di Zheng's hands.
"What are you doing with my contract?" she reached out to grab it.
Di Zheng dodged away abruptly, locking her hands behind her back and saying, "I'll give them to you, but the marriage will continue."
Didn't we agree on a six-month period?
Continue what?!
Note: Marriage syndrome is not a formal medical or psychological diagnostic term.
Synopsis for "Li Li":
Zhou Luqi and Li Li are completely different kinds of people.
Zhou Luqi was cold and ruthless, and the women around him were like passersby, coming and going.
As an inheritor of intangible cultural heritage, Li Li is gentle, quiet, and conscientious.
No one would associate the two of them together.
Until one day, Li Li stood in front of Zhou Luqi and asked him, "Can I be your girlfriend?"
Looking at the unremarkable Li Li in front of him, Zhou Luqi sneered, "What makes you think you're worthy of being my girlfriend?"
Later, on the day they broke up, Zhou Luqi grabbed Li Li by the back of the neck with one hand, forcing her to look up at him, and asked her with the last bit of self-respect, "Do you love me or him?"
Li Li's voice choked with emotion, yet remained calm: "I'm sorry, I lost my mind."
Later, he saw a man standing next to her who looked somewhat like him.
He caught up with her, grabbed her arm, and whispered, "If you want to find a substitute, you can come to me. I look more like him than he did."
In the end, he lost in this relationship.
Warning: The male lead has a long romantic history, but both leads are virgins.
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