The night was cold and windy, and the surrounding late-night snack shops were bustling and noisy. Song Nuan was all alone, and the contrasting atmosphere made her figure appear lonely and frail.
One of the younger girls felt sorry for him and advised, "We don't know what happened, so let's not judge. Maybe that girl doesn't know he has a fiancée?"
Aren't there plenty of people who get cheated on these days?
Her outspoken defense of justice immediately drew sneers from her colleagues.
"If you speak up for her like this, don't try to compete with us for the commission if Miss Zhong's order comes through."
The girl huffed and puffed, "Why shouldn't I take it? It's what I deserve."
Her colleague smiled and looked her up and down, then urged, "Then go ask her who the man from earlier is to her, and whether she knows Miss Zhong."
Why bother them for no reason?
She's just young, not stupid. She can tell that her colleagues are unhappy with her speaking up for Song Nuan, or rather, they're annoyed by her contradicting them and are now making fun of her.
"If you don't go, you can forget about commissions and bonuses."
The one speaking was the girl's team leader, who really knew how to manipulate her bonus. She was furious but helpless.
Old, ugly, and always causing trouble!
The girl cursed inwardly, but without hesitation, she walked straight towards Song Nuan, patted her on the shoulder, and said, "Hello."
Song Nuan turned around to look at her.
"Is the man you were just with your boyfriend?" the girl asked bluntly.
Song Nuan frowned. She hadn't heard their conversation; she simply found the question offensive. She was in a bad mood, her face cold and somewhat fierce. "Isn't it inappropriate to pry into other people's private affairs?"
The girl choked, suddenly at a loss for words.
Just then, Li Jingchen returned from buying the medicine and called her name from afar. Song Nuan glanced at the girl in front of her, walked past her, and headed towards Li Jingchen.
Li Jingchen hugged her tightly.
He was a little angry. "Didn't I tell you to wait for me where you are? Who told you to run around like that?"
Song Nuan lowered her eyes and explained absentmindedly, "It's too cold to sit still, so I got up and walked around."
With a perfectly valid reason, Li Jingchen couldn't bear to be angry with her anymore. He silently suppressed his anger, tore open the heat pack, lifted her coat, and placed it on her lower abdomen and lower back.
"Let's go home."
Song Nuan nodded and let him lead her away.
As she walked past the girl, she could feel the girl's gaze following her intently, filled with curiosity, but even more so with hesitation and despair.
Song Nuan had no time to think about what she was despairing about; she didn't need to be responsible for other people's emotions.
Besides, she was probably the one who served Zhong Qingya today.
She hated her because of that.
Staying up late and coinciding with her period made Song Nuan feel that her body had reached its limit. After a quick shower, she lay down on the bed and fell asleep quickly.
However, she was not a deep sleeper and vaguely sensed someone constantly going in and out of the room.
The footsteps were very light, but she still heard them.
After that, she fell into a deep sleep and drifted into a dream.
Li Jingchen hid in the study, clutching his phone. The caller ID on the screen kept flashing. Afraid of disturbing Song Nuan, he put it on silent. Besides, it was four in the morning, so it was understandable that he didn't answer the phone.
Answer or not answer?
While I hesitated, the twelve-second ringing time had passed, and the phone returned to a black screen.
You can dodge the first day of the month, but you can't dodge the fifteenth.
Li Jingchen pursed his lips, closed his eyes, as if making a difficult decision, and flicked his long finger back.
The call connected instantly.
"It's so late, you're still awake?" Li Guanyu wasn't surprised, but he raised his voice slightly.
Li Jingchen frowned, having no patience to play the father-son charade with him. "Speak your mind."
There was a few seconds of silence over there.
"You didn't keep your promise to me."
"What, who did Zhong Qingya go to complain to this time?" He scoffed. "Instead of spending time questioning me, why don't you send someone to the wedding dress shop to check the security footage?"
Li Guanyu ignored his sarcastic tone.
Of course he knew that Li Jingchen had secretly accompanied Zhong Qingya to try on wedding dresses without Song Nuan's knowledge. Fearing something might happen, he had people watching him the whole time. Not only him, but Song Nuan was also under surveillance.
"You really think I asked you to accompany me to try on wedding dresses?"
"Otherwise?" Li Jingchen glanced at him.
"Trying on wedding dresses is a small matter. What you need to do is make Zhong Qingya happy. Do you think you don't know something so simple?"
He said "Oh," and then added, "I don't know."
Li Guanyu didn't believe a single word he said. During these years of strained relations, with Jiang Jieting around, Li Guanyu was constantly forced to receive all sorts of messages from Li Jingchen.
After all, they are father and son. He understands Li Jingchen's style of handling things, his methods of doing things, and his personality.
On the contrary, it was Li Jingchen.
Li Guanyu felt that his son didn't understand him at all.
Or rather, they are unwilling to understand him.
Li Guanyu sighed softly. It was the middle of the night, and he wasn't making this call to argue. He said, "You don't want to marry her. You can't even act well after a few days. Do you not want the group's projects anymore?"
"Don't forget, I still hold shares. I won't force you to marry if you don't want to, but the group is my bottom line. If the Spring Sprout project is affected, as your father, you will have to go through with this marriage whether you want to or not."
Li Jingchen's eyes were cold.
Threaten him with the company? With the few shares Li Guanyu holds, what can he possibly accomplish?
He sneered inwardly, not taking it to heart at all. "If you hadn't leaked the news that the Li family was going to participate in the Spring Bud bidding to Zhong Guan, the Li family wouldn't be facing obstacles at every turn now."
Are you blaming me?
Li Jingchen was too lazy to waste his breath arguing with him.
Just as the call ended, Li Guanyu's voice rang out again, "If you appease Zhong Qingya, the Zhong family naturally won't hold up the Li family's data review. Now you're relying on them, yet you're going against Zhong Qingya. You're really out of your mind..."
"beep--"
He hung up without any expression.
The Spring Sprout Project is a government project jointly initiated by 88 cities. If the Li family wins the bid, their industries can quickly expand to all provinces across the country.
With government support, many hidden costs can be saved.
Moreover, Li Jingchen had another, more important reason for wanting to win this project.
The Spring Sprout Project involves personnel bureaus in various regions. Although the information may not be as complete as that of the public security organs, it might be possible to find Du Fanyu's whereabouts through this project.
He had promised Song Nuan that he would help her find Du Fanyu.
As for Zhong Qingya...
Leaning against the sofa cushions, Li Jingchen rubbed his brow bone. Working non-stop had made his eyes dry. He closed his eyes to rest, but his brain kept turning and thinking on its own.
He was thinking about his upcoming wedding with Zhong Qingya.
Consider the Zhong family's relentless pressure and the project that is crucial to the Li family's development over the next ten years but has stalled.
She wondered if Song Nuan would be snatched away by Ouyang Zhoujing.
...
About fifteen minutes later, Li Jingchen opened his eyes, his whites bloodshot. He glanced at the time, then picked up his phone and called An Sze.
After a few rings, An Si-ze answered the phone.
"Brother, are you keeping an eagle awake?" he asked loudly, probably because he was in a bad mood after being woken up.
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