Chapter 73 Chapter 73 It’s only been a while
On Monday, Ye Peixiu returned to the capital from Nanhua.
Upon arrival, I went directly to the group's morning meeting.
At the morning meeting, the general manager explained and summarized the events that occurred at the beginning of the month, and Ye Peixiu added and emphasized the conclusion at the end.
A while ago, the deputy general manager of the group headquarters was taken away for investigation, which shocked the board of directors.
As chairman, in addition to making emergency deployments and initiating contingency measures, Ye Peixiu also had to cooperate in the investigation, during which he was unable to contact the outside world for an entire day.
Writing self-criticisms and reports led to the dismissal of a string of people, followed by a series of internal reorganizations.
The matter is neither a big deal nor a small one.
However, with Old Master Ye having just retired and Ye Peixiu having been in office for less than a year, at such a crucial moment, it's hard not to suspect that someone deliberately sabotaged things.
After being unemployed in Beijing for half a month, Wang Jingzi was appointed as the deputy general manager of the group headquarters after discussions and decisions at higher levels.
Within the group, some people casually remarked, "This is great; Wang Jingzi has reaped a ready-made advantage, his career is soaring like a rocket."
The other person scoffed, "He trained under Chairman Ye in his early years. Do you think he's really just some nobody?"
After writing reports, making rectifications, and holding a large meeting to make self-criticisms, Ye Peixiu returned to the old house to see his grandfather.
Ye Peixiu's father, Ye Tingwen, was too busy with official duties to come home and give him face-to-face guidance. He only called Ye Peixiu while he was chatting with his grandfather, told him to put the phone on speakerphone, and gave him a lecture in a fatherly manner.
Majestic and cold.
Ye Peixiu sat on the sofa flipping through a book, remaining silent throughout.
It was as if they hadn't heard at all.
-
Throughout the latter half of November, Xia Qingwan was busy preparing her application materials for doctoral studies and the first draft of her master's thesis.
I stay in the office until late at night almost every day.
As she said, she was even busier than Ye Peixiu.
Most of the time, I can't even find time to have dinner with Ye Peixiu.
"Today I'm going to have dinner with my senior classmates and discuss our research topics."
That's what she said on the phone.
Having finally gotten off work early, Ye Peixiu was already on his way to school. Upon hearing this, he gestured for the driver to turn around and return to Ye Garden, while saying to the person on the other end of the phone, "What time does the event end? I'll come pick you up."
"About ten o'clock."
Where should we have dinner together?
He asked.
"Right in the office."
That's far too arduous.
"...Okay, what do you want to eat? Send it to my phone and I'll order."
Okay.
After hanging up the phone, Xia Qingwan said to her seniors, "My boyfriend said he'll treat us."
This sparked cheers in the weary office. "Yay! Can I loosen up a bit now?"
"Order whatever you like."
Xia Qingwan said with a smile.
"I want pizza!"
My junior sister said.
The senior student said, "Qingwan's boyfriend is treating, and she hasn't ordered yet, what's the rush?"
Amidst the commotion, a meal was ordered.
It will be delivered soon.
Four people, two boys and two girls, sat around the sofa, eating and discussing something on the computer on the coffee table.
Around ten o'clock, my junior sister said she was tired.
"Qingwan, are you leaving or not?"
Senior Brother Min asked while tidying up the table.
"You guys go ahead, I'll be in a few more minutes."
She didn't even look up.
"We'll wait for you."
"Then I'll hurry up."
As Xia Qingwan spoke, she typed the text as quickly as possible, saved the draft in a document, closed her computer, and tidied up her desktop.
It was a rare occasion for the four of us to get together today, and even leaving get off work was unusually lively, with us almost marching down the stairs in a grand procession.
At the corner of the stairs, Xia Qingwan sent a message to Ye Peixiu, "I'm done with work. Shall I wait for you at the school gate?"
Message sent successfully, reply will pop up instantly:
"I'm downstairs."
Lately, the weather has been getting colder and colder, and the nights are chilly. Senior Brother Min pushed open the glass door and gentlemanly asked his junior sister and another senior brother to go first, with Xia Qingwan at the back. As she passed, Senior Brother Min slowly opened the glass door and walked alongside her, asking, "Is your boyfriend here to pick you up?"
Before Xia Qingwan could answer, she heard her junior sister in front of her lower her voice, barely able to hide her excitement, ask, "Sister Qingwan! Is that your boyfriend?"
Everyone looked in the direction she pointed.
A jet-black Maybach was parked at the other end of the road, and a tall man in a suit and overcoat was walking around the front of the car. The two beams of light from the front of the car illuminated his upper body, revealing his long, slender legs encased in trousers.
The streetlights were dim, and before his face, the first thing the group of students felt was the mature man's aura.
Possessing rich social experience, they are calm and composed.
As I got closer, I could see that he was a very handsome man.
The people in front automatically made way for Xia Qingwan, and she went forward to meet them.
Ye Peixiu naturally put his arm around her, and Xia Qingwan introduced them to the group.
The students were a little uneasy, as if intimidated by his aura, and addressed him as Mr. Ye in a distant and polite manner.
It was clear that both boys were trying very hard to appear confident, but given their vastly different levels of experience, they inevitably appeared clumsy, like children meeting adults.
"Thank you for the dinner!"
It was the junior sister who remembered this and added a comment.
"You're welcome, thank you for taking care of Qingwan."
After exchanging a few polite words and saying goodbye, the driver got out of the car and opened the back door. Ye Peixiu helped Xia Qingwan into the back seat, then walked around to the other side and got into the car himself.
As soon as she sat down, Xia Qingwan turned on her computer, opened the document she had just saved, and frowned.
After checking it twice to make sure there were no problems, she added the document as an attachment and sent an email to Professor Zhao.
"Aren't you done yet?"
"They said they'd leave together, and I didn't want to keep them waiting too long," Xia Qingwan explained briefly, clicked send, closed her laptop, and called out, "I'm done now."
As the car rounded the corner, through the car window, I could see the three people who had taken the shortcut walking towards us, chatting and laughing.
Ye Peixiu followed her gaze to look out his car window and asked casually, "Who are those people?"
"Two senior students and one junior student, all of whom are Professor Zhao's students, and we are currently in charge of the same project."
"Are you in charge?"
"Um."
What's the name of the boy you were talking to?
Ye Peixiu asked, seemingly casually.
Xia Qingwan didn't react for a moment, "...Which one?"
"The one who held the door open for you."
"Oh, you mean Senior Brother Min? He's quite a gentleman and always pays attention to these kinds of details."
Ye Peixiu chuckled and asked unhurriedly, "Is this the conclusion you drew from your observations?"
"No, it was my junior sister who said that."
It wasn't until she got off the bus that Xia Qingwan vaguely realized: Ye Peixiu seemed to care a little? However, seeing his nonchalant expression, she couldn't be entirely sure.
As she changed her shoes in the entryway, she looked up and asked, "Ye Peixiu, is that you?"
She only said half of what she wanted to say, and then gestured the rest with her eyes.
Ye Peixiu put on his slippers and said, "Am I anything?"
Are you jealous?
She followed him toward the master bedroom's walk-in closet.
Ye Peixiu smiled and asked calmly, "Am I that kind of person?"
I don't think so.
She told the truth.
"I didn't care about Ruan Xu before, so why would I care about a guy who's being nice to you now?"
An unknown nobody.
Xia Qingwan immediately seized on the loophole in his words, "Still denying it," she blocked his way, "You even brought up Ruan Xu."
Ye Peixiu stopped, put his hands in his pockets, lowered his eyes, and asked, "What did he say to you by the glass door?"
"...asked me if it was my boyfriend who came to pick me up."
"What was your answer?"
"I saw you before I could even say anything."
Ye Peixiu curled his lips into a smile and took a step forward. She had to back away while trying to continue the conversation with him, "I advise you not to get jealous over this kind of inexplicable jealousy. It's pointless."
Ye Peixiu simply smiled faintly and did not reply.
Xia Qingwan was really a bit confused about him. Her heart was pounding. She unconsciously retreated to the bathroom, where he picked her up and carried her to the shower.
Even with one piece of clothing removed, she still wanted an answer.
Ye Peixiu kissed her neck and whispered reassuringly, "I'm not jealous."
He's not usually that kind of person. Getting inexplicably jealous outside and then coming home to give her a hard time is not his style. However, seeing one boy after another of his age fawning over her, he can't help but feel a little bothered.
He believed that no one could replace the feelings between him and her.
However, even this fleeting feeling of jealousy was enough to make him suffer.
He had once told her: when love comes down to practicality, all the jealousy, joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness are just mundane things. But now, those same words have fallen on him first.
"But you," he said, lingering on her lips, licking them, his voice low and husky, a hint of amusement in his voice, "I've never seen you jealous of anything about me?"
Xia Qingwan took a few seconds to react, and Chen An'an's image suddenly appeared in her mind.
"...Just because I don't say it doesn't mean I don't have it."
Ye Peixiu had been joking, but upon hearing her words, his heart ached. He opened his eyes to look at her, "...What's wrong?"
She did not answer immediately.
Ye Peixiu panicked for a moment. "I only love you. I've never loved anyone else. You know that."
She remained silent, the water from the showerhead slowly cascading down, wetting her entire face, her eyelashes fluttering as she stared at him.
Ye Peixiu panicked, "I've never shown affection to anyone else, as you know."
Seeing her like this, staring at him without saying a word, he was afraid that she had suffered some injustice that he didn't know about.
"Chen An'an".
She said.
Ye Peixiu paused for a moment, not quite understanding at first, then realized what she meant, and heard her say, "I'm just envious, envious that she can be legitimately recommended to you for a blind date."
"There will never be another one like this."
She pursed her lips and remained silent.
"No one can put me on a scale to weigh who is good enough for me."
Ye Peixiu said.
“…I understand the reasoning,” Xia Qingwan said softly, “but it’s all in the past. It was just a fleeting, dark emotion.”
It was just a fleeting thought.
In that situation, no matter how insightful she was, or how clearly she understood her circumstances and position, she couldn't help but have that fleeting emotion.
It's human nature.
Even the most perfect person cannot love with dignity.
Love is inherently a poison of greed, anger, and ignorance.
"I know."
Knowing that her heart is pure and clear, so sincere and innocent, only then can even the smallest emotions be seen so clearly.
I dawdled through the shower and finally got into bed.
Then I moved from the bed to the sofa.
Xia Qingwan nestled against his chest and mumbled softly that she had no strength left.
"You promised to come this time, and it's only been a short while?"
He said in a low voice.
"I don't care."
At this point, she would act like a spoiled little girl and act spoiled.
Say something nice, and I'll do as you say.
Being too shy, she struggled to organize her thoughts for a while, only to blush and be unable to utter a single outrageous word. Just as she was about to look up and beg him, her vision suddenly jolted.
She steadied his shoulders, gazing at him with teary eyes.
Ye Peixiu deliberately teased her, laughing and saying, "Miss Xia is going to reap the benefits again."
Xia Qingwan was both embarrassed and annoyed, and muttered angrily, "Can you shut up?"
He lowered his head to seek her lips, starting with a slow and deep kiss, taking care of every inch, a kiss that was tender and beautiful.
Her breathing grew more and more rapid. She couldn't bear his caresses any longer and arched her back, only to be hit on the buttocks first. Ye Peixiu's mind went blank, only his lips instinctively kept demanding, sucking and kissing as if he wanted to devour her.
The air around me felt like it was soaked with sweat, so sticky you could wring water out of it.
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