Chapter 34 034 "Long time no see."
This was a kiss so gentle it was unlike anything Chen Sulin had ever done.
His slender fingers still gently supported her chin, and his lips slowly and repeatedly caressed hers.
He didn't rush to deepen the kiss, but Meng Ran had the illusion that she was being swallowed up by him step by step.
Her dry lips became moist, and her breathing became completely erratic.
Chen Sulin patiently sucked on her lips, as if he wanted to taste every flavor of them.
A faint blush rose to Meng Ran's cheeks, her tense body gradually relaxed, and she unconsciously reached out to hook her arms around his neck.
Just as she was about to lose her balance from his kiss, a strong arm caught her waist.
Immediately afterwards, a slight feeling of weightlessness came over her, and with a cry of surprise, Meng Ran was picked up by Chen Sulin and placed on his desk.
The perspective instantly reversed; the man who she used to have to look up at because of the height difference was now someone she had to look down at.
Chen Sulin didn't give her time to adjust.
He spread her legs apart, forcefully invading her space, and kissed her again.
The second hand of the clock on the wall has silently traversed countless circles.
...
Back in her room, Meng Ran couldn't bear to look closely at the woman with a flushed face in the bathroom mirror.
She raised her hand and patted her burning cheeks, her mind involuntarily flashing back to the mess on the desk after their kiss.
The documents were scattered haphazardly on the table, with a few lying on the floor, which she had accidentally brushed against when he kissed her passionately.
She accidentally knocked over the mug on the table. When Chen Sulin picked her up from the desk, her arm bumped into him, and he almost rolled to the ground, but the man caught him with quick reflexes.
Fortunately, the cup was empty; otherwise, the scene would have been even more unimaginable.
After lifting her down, Chen Sulin noticed Meng Ran glancing back at the table several times. With a smile in his eyes, he told her not to worry, he would take care of the aftermath.
Meng Ran was extremely grateful that Chen Sulin usually tidied up his study himself, and only had the family staff clean it once a week.
Otherwise, if people saw her desk in such a mess, she wouldn't know how to face them.
What frustrated Meng Ran the most was that, because of kissing Chen Sulin, her chest and even her back were covered in sweat.
She wasn't a germaphobe, but she couldn't stand going to sleep feeling sticky all over, so she had to take another shower no matter what.
It's all Chen Sulin's fault!
After taking a shower and stepping out of the bathroom, I finally felt refreshed and invigorated.
After a long day of running around, I was exhausted both physically and mentally.
Meng Ran went to bed early that night and slept soundly.
The next afternoon, Meng Ran went to pick up Chen Miaoying from kindergarten.
This is the compensation she promised her daughter. Yesterday, due to an accident, she was unable to pick up Chen Miaoying as promised, so she will have to pick her up for two consecutive days on Wednesday and Thursday.
Chen Miaoying is a child who values promises very much and has a strong sense of fulfilling her commitments. If she promises something, she has to do it, and if she fails to do it, she has to pay a "penalty".
Although Chen Sulin did not say it explicitly, Meng Ran vaguely sensed that Chen Sulin seemed to be intentionally cultivating his daughter's management awareness and business acumen.
Perhaps one day in the future, the title "General Manager Ying" will no longer be a joke.
As soon as she came out of kindergarten, Chen Miaoying ran into her mother's arms, just like every time.
The chubby cheeks rubbed against Meng Ran's chest: "Mommy, I love it when you pick me up!"
"Oh, no!" Chen Miaoying corrected herself very carefully, "My favorite thing is when Mom and Dad come to pick me up together, and my second favorite thing is when Mom comes to pick me up!"
Meng Ran pinched Chen Miaoying's round face: "Dad has been busy with work these past few days. Once he's done with this, we'll come pick you up together."
Chen Miaoying blinked: "Mom, how about we go to Dad's office and wait for him to get off work today? It's been so long since the three of us went home together!"
While Meng Ran was still hesitating, Chen Miaoying had already run to the car to get her tablet and contacted her father via WeChat.
After receiving her father's affirmative answer, Chen Miaoying boasted to her mother, "Mom, Dad said it's okay, we can go to his office and wait for him to get off work!"
The car pulled up in front of the Hengyue Group building.
Practice makes perfect, and this time when Meng Ran visited Chen Sulin's company, she was much more at ease than before.
As before, Assistant Zhou dutifully came downstairs to greet him at the company's main entrance.
As he led his wife and daughter upstairs, Assistant Zhou remarked, "The boss and his wife are so loving. It's only been a little over a week, and the wife is already bringing their daughter to the company again."
As before, Assistant Zhou led Meng Ran and Chen Miaoying directly to Chen Sulin's office.
Chen Sulin was in the conference room downstairs, listening to several senior executives report to him.
"Mr. Chen said he'll come over as soon as he's finished with his work," Assistant Zhou said. "Madam, is there anything else I can help you with?"
Meng Ran said no need, and told Assistant Zhou to take care of his business.
This was my second time visiting Chen Sulin's office, and my state of mind was quite different from the last time.
However, she was still somewhat reserved. In contrast, Chen Miaoying had long since regarded her father's office as part of her own home.
Chen Miaoying, wearing small leather shoes, surveyed the office. Her eyes lit up when she saw something on the desk, and she ran over to it.
"Mom, look!" Chen Miaoying held up the colorful pencil holder on the table. "Dad is already using the birthday present I gave him!"
Meng Ran smiled and said, "It means the pen holder you made is really good, and Dad really likes this gift."
In teaching his daughter how to express love, Chen Sulin is a role model. Even though he rarely says it, everyone can see his deep fatherly love for Chen Miaoying.
No wonder Chan Miu-ying has such a cheerful and generous personality; she's clearly a child who has never lacked love since childhood.
Chen Miaoying chuckled a few times, held the pen holder with satisfaction for a while, and then put it down. Her round eyes looked around the desk again.
Meng Ran: "What are you looking for, baby?"
Chan Miu-ying: "I'm looking for the gift my mom gave me!"
Meng Ran's curiosity was piqued by what she said, and when she gave Chen Sulin the fountain pen, she thought that he might need it for his work.
Chen Sulin's desk was very tidy, the surface was spotless, and there were no miscellaneous items on it. The only bright spot was the pen holder that Chen Miaoying had made.
After looking around carefully, I couldn't find the pen she had given me.
Chen Miaoying suggested from the side, "Could it be in Dad's drawer? Mom, why don't you open it and look for it?"
Meng Ran hesitated for a second: "I think I'd better not."
She had opened Chen Sulin's office drawer before, but that was by accident. She still felt it wasn't right to rummage through someone else's office.
Moreover, she felt that it was unlikely that a commonly used stationery item like a fountain pen would be stored in a drawer.
In particular, there was a pen holder on the table, and Meng Ran saw that there was actually a fountain pen inside, which he probably used often when signing documents.
Chen Miaoying: "Oh... okay then."
Meng Ran: "Mm."
Admittedly, she felt a little disappointed.
After all, Chen Sulin immediately put the pen holder his daughter gave him into use, and placed it in a prominent position on his desk.
However, adults don't get upset over such a small thing, and she quickly calmed down.
Chen Miaoying's attention shifted even faster, and she was already attracted to something new.
"Mom! Come quick!"
Meng Ran: "Coming, coming!"
When her mother came over, Chen Miaoying pointed excitedly at the filing cabinet and said, "Mom, look, these are the photos we took that day!"
Meng Ran walked over and found that it was a photo booth picture she and Chen Miaoying had taken at the mall that day, which Chen Sulin had put in a frame and placed on the cabinet.
She reached out and took the photo frame down.
The photos printed directly from the photo booth machine are very small, but the one in the frame is noticeably larger, so Chen Sulin must have printed a digital copy separately.
That day, thanks to Chen Miaoying's enthusiasm, they took many photos. Chen Sulin chose the one he told his daughter was his favorite.
In the photo of Meng Ran and Chen Miaoying, Meng Ran is in the center of the picture, while Chen Miaoying is hiding behind her making a peace sign.
Meng Ran had no idea when he went to print the photos.
Moreover, why didn't he choose the group photo of the three of them?
As Meng Ran thought this, her fingers unconsciously stroked the photo frame.
A thought suddenly popped into her head: she remembered the Polaroid photo she had found in Chen Sulin's drawer that day.
The Polaroid camera was later given to her by Chen Sulin and now lies in the bedside table drawer in her room.
Meng Ran thought of that Polaroid photo because she remembered the words on the back of the photograph.
After thinking for a moment, Meng Ran turned the photo frame over.
Chen Miaoying asked curiously, "Mom, what are you doing?"
Meng Ran: "Prepare a little surprise for your dad."
Chen Miaoying loves surprises the most, and upon hearing this, she immediately cheered, "Great, Mom!"
“However, this surprise might not be discovered by your father for a very long time,” Meng Ran added. “Can you promise not to tell your father beforehand?”
Chen Miaoying patted her chest and said confidently, "Mom, I've always said I'm the best at keeping secrets! I can definitely do it!"
Meng Ran smiled and said, "Okay."
She opened the small mechanism on the back of the photo frame and took out the photographic paper from it.
Then Meng Ran walked to the desk and took out a ballpoint pen from the pen holder.
After a moment's thought, Meng Ran wrote a line on the back of the photograph, and finally signed the date and time.
Seeing her mother writing on the back of the photo, Chen Miaoying excitedly joined in: "I want one too! I want one too!"
Meng Ran smiled and handed her the photo paper and pen: "Okay, then you write it, sweetheart."
Chen Miaoying asked in a dilemma, "But I don't know how to write many of these characters, what should I do?"
Meng Ran chuckled. Chen Miaoying usually acted so cleverly that Meng Ran often forgot she was a child who hadn't even gotten a kindergarten diploma.
“Tell Mom what you want to write, and Mom will write it for you.”
Chen Miaoying thought about it seriously for a long time.
“I’ve got it!” she said. “Let’s write, ‘Dad, Mom and I love you so much!’”
Meng Ran agreed without thinking too much, but only after writing half of it did she belatedly realize that she felt a little uncomfortable.
Although it was clearly written in Chen Miaoying's voice, Chen Sulin could tell from the handwriting that it was written by her.
I've already promised my daughter, I can't go back on my word.
Meng Ran couldn't take advantage of Chen Miaoying's illiteracy and scribbling; she couldn't do such a thing.
Having no other choice, Meng Ran had to write down the words "I love you so much" stroke by stroke.
After finishing writing, he handed it to Chen Miaoying for review. Although Chen Miaoying's literacy was limited, she still looked at it seriously for a long time before approving it: "Okay!"
Meng Ran carefully placed the photo back in the frame, avoiding smudging the ink, and then put the frame back in its original position.
Chen Miaoying muttered to herself, "I really hope Daddy finds out soon."
Meng Ran looked at her daughter with amusement.
From a common-sense perspective, few people would open a picture frame that has already been set up, so the probability of those words being seen is very small.
She didn't expect Chen Sulin to find out; it was just a sudden thought that she remembered doing the same thing in this office years ago.
This was Meng Ran's own little secret, just like how, during her difficult youth, she often found joy in small things that only she knew about in that house that didn't belong to her.
Not long after the photo frame was placed, the office door was pushed open.
As soon as Chen Sulin walked in, Chen Miaoying rushed over and grabbed his leg.
"Dad!" Chen Miaoying exclaimed, "Mom and I missed you so much, so we came to pick you up from get off work!"
Chen Sulin gently hummed in agreement and patted Chen Miaoying's hair.
Then the man looked at Meng Ran: "Wait a few minutes, I have one last bit of work to finish."
Meng Ran nodded understandingly: "Okay."
After all, he's the boss of such a big company; it's impossible for him to immediately drop everything and go home just because she and her daughter came to pick him up.
Chen Sulin sat down at his desk.
This wasn't the first time Chen Miaoying had come to her father's office. She knew he didn't like being disturbed while working, so she went to the sofa to play on her tablet.
Meng Ran naturally followed Chen Miaoying, but upon seeing the man's actions, she involuntarily paused.
Chen Sulin took a stack of documents from the file rack, then took a pen from the inside pocket of his suit.
Meng Ran recognized it at a glance; it was the fountain pen she had given him yesterday.
So he not only used it the very next day, but he also carried the pen with him when he went to listen to his subordinates' work reports.
Noticing her gaze, Chen Sulin turned his head to look at her.
Meng Ran's heart skipped a beat, and she felt inexplicably guilty, as if she had been caught peeking. She quickly said, "It's nothing, you're busy! I'm going to keep Miao Ying company!"
Chen Sulin's eyebrows twitched slightly: "Hmm."
Meng Ran quickened her pace to find Chen Miaoying.
"Mom, you're here!" Chen Miaoying said. "Look, this is a new pinyin game that my teacher taught me. I've already reached level three. Mom, do you want to try it?"
Meng Ran: "Huh? What? Oh... okay, Mom will take a look."
Chen Miaoying blinked and looked at her mother.
What's wrong with Mom? She seems a little strange.
Did Dad make Mom angry?
That doesn't make sense either, Chen Miaoying thought, staring at her mother's slightly upturned lips.
Mom seems quite happy.
...
Two days passed in the blink of an eye.
Meng Ran arranged to pick up the goods with the timber store owner on Friday morning, confirming the arrangement with the owner in advance via WeChat.
The boss told her there was no problem; the materials she requested had already been cut, polished, and coated with a layer of moisture-proof and insect-proof environmentally friendly wood wax oil.
On Friday morning, after having breakfast at home, Meng Ran set off for the lumber store.
The boss has a great memory; he recognized Meng Ran as soon as he saw her. She was the customer who had ordered materials for a cat tree before.
After inspecting all the goods, Meng Ran was very satisfied and readily paid the balance.
Boss: "How do you plan to transport these back?"
Meng Ran: "I can just call a car myself."
Uncle Dong had some family matters to attend to today and took half a day off.
Meng Ran wasn't used to bothering drivers from other companies, so she said that Uncle Dong could take her there, and she could handle the rest herself.
The boss suggested, "If you're not in a hurry, I happen to have a delivery order this afternoon. The customer lives not far from you, so I'll have the driver deliver yours as well."
Meng Ran thought for a moment and said, "Okay, that'll save me the trouble. Thanks."
The boss waved his hand: "It's nothing."
After saying goodbye to her boss, Meng Ran planned to wander around the neighborhood, have lunch, and then go back.
Today, she and Chen Sulin had arranged to pick out a new wedding ring. They agreed to meet at 2 PM, and Chen Sulin drove her to the store.
It's only a little past 10 a.m., so there's plenty of time.
There's a pedestrian street nearby, and Meng Ran plans to go check it out.
When I arrived at the pedestrian street, I had only walked a few steps when a girl who looked like a college student came over with a stack of flyers.
Meng Ran looked up at the girl, smiled at her, and took the flyer.
To earn living expenses during her university years, Meng Ran did various part-time jobs, including handing out flyers in commercial streets.
She knew this kind of part-time job was hard work, often requiring her to stand for most of the day, so Meng Ran was usually quite friendly to young people, especially girls, who were handing out flyers.
Seeing Meng Ran smile at her, the girl seemed to be taken aback for a moment before saying, "Um... this dessert shop is having a promotion right now, single-serving sliced cakes are 40% off, would you like to check it out, miss?"
The girl seemed a little guilty as she spoke, lowering her voice slightly: "It's fine to just come and browse the store without ordering..."
Meng Ran looked at the girl.
She knew that some of these part-time jobs had performance evaluation criteria, such as having to successfully bring a certain number of customers to the store each day in order to receive the full amount of wages.
Since she happens to have some free time right now and loves sweets, it wouldn't hurt to go and help the girl boost her sales.
Meng Ran nodded: "Okay, I'll go take a look."
The girl pointed out the direction to Meng Ran; the dessert shop sign was just ahead, a few dozen meters away.
Meng Ran walked along the road, unaware that the girl behind her seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and put down all the remaining flyers in her hand after watching her leave.
The dessert shop was simply decorated, and probably because it was a weekday morning, there were no other customers in the shop.
Meng Ran entered and sat down by the window.
Soon a waiter came forward: "Miss, this is our menu. What would you like to order?"
Meng Ran: "I heard your company has a promotion on your sliced cakes recently?"
The waiter answered fluently: "Yes, 40% off."
Meng Ran glanced at the menu: "Then I'll have a classic cheesecake slice."
Waiter: "Would you like a drink?"
Meng Ran: "I'll just drink water."
Waiter: "Okay, please wait a moment."
Meng Ran nodded, picked up the water glass beside her, took a sip, and then took out her phone to look at it.
After scrolling through social media for a while, the waiter came over and placed the cake on the table.
After watching the video on her phone, Meng Ran looked up and realized that what was on the table was not a sliced cake, but a whole large cake.
She wanted to call the waiter, but stopped halfway through raising her hand.
The cake in front of me looks all too familiar.
A creamy white square cake with a ring of rose petals around the side.
The cake features a whole rose in the center, with the words "love you" written next to it.
Meng Ran's fingertips curled unconsciously.
She remembered this style.
When Zhao Yanzhou confessed his feelings to her at the restaurant, she accepted his proposal, so he asked the restaurant staff to bring up the same cake as a surprise.
Her heart suddenly raced, and Meng Ran looked around in disbelief, her lips pressed together.
A familiar figure came into view.
Upon seeing that long-unseen face, Meng Ran froze.
In fact, ever since she discovered that she had traveled seven years into the future, Meng Ran had imagined countless times that she might one day reunite with Zhao Yanzhou.
Beicheng has tens of millions of people, but the circle of the wealthy is only so big, especially since Chen Sulin and Zhao Yanzhou are childhood friends.
She thought that one day they would meet, perhaps at a high-society banquet that she had to attend, perhaps by chance in a Western restaurant, or perhaps in an airport waiting room.
Meng Ran had even mentally rehearsed more than once what expression she should make if she saw Zhao Yanzhou again someday.
But when he suddenly saw that face, all the pre-planned reactions failed him.
Meng Ran stared blankly as Zhao Yanzhou approached and then sat down opposite her.
Of all the scenarios she had envisioned, none were quite like this—
Just like when they were dating, they sat in a small, unremarkable shop, with no one else around, just the two of them facing each other.
"Ranran," Zhao Yanzhou said, "long time no see."
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