Chapter 12 "I heard he took you away, is that right...?"
The two receptionists didn't dare to neglect matters concerning their immediate supervisor. They looked at each other and talked for two minutes before finally reaching a conclusion. One of them spoke with a polite smile just like Xu Shaoting's.
"Okay, Ms. Lü, please wait a moment. I'll make a call to Chairman Xu's secretary now." She then pressed a button on the landline and dialed a short number.
Lin Youzhe was driving when he received the call. Half an hour earlier, Xu Shaoting had just finished playing golf with the CEO of Jiayuan Technology, and the two were on their way back to the company.
The golden sycamore trees along the roadside were reflected in the black Maybach that glided by silently.
Inside the car, Lin Youzhe heard the sudden ringing of the phone and deftly pressed the answer button: "Hello?"
"Secretary Lin, a Ms. Lü just came to the company. She said she has something important to give to Chairman Xu, but she doesn't agree to let us pass it on. She insists on seeing Chairman Xu. What do you think...?"
"Miss Lü?" Lin Youzhe frowned.
He glanced in the rearview mirror to make sure Xu Shaoting wasn't working on his tablet before speaking, "Mr. Xu, the receptionist said a Ms. Lü has come looking for you?"
Xu Shaoting calmly removed his Bluetooth earphones and looked up from his phone screen: "Ms. Lü, who is this?"
To be honest, whether it was Lin Youzhe or Xu Shaoting, they would hear of no fewer than ten ladies and gentlemen coming to see them every day, with all sorts of reasons. Some were allowed to come, but most were personally sent away by Lin Youzhe.
Therefore, upon hearing this news, the two of them felt nothing more than a little confusion and no other particular emotion.
"Any clients you need to meet recently with the surname Lü?" Xu Shaoting asked Lin Youzhe calmly as he sat in the back seat of the car, turning his watch and glancing down at it.
Lin Youzhe searched his memory for Xu Shaoting's schedule over the past two days, but to no avail: "No," he said with certainty.
"Did Miss Lü give her full name?" Lin Youzhe, being meticulous, asked the person on the other end of the phone.
"No, Miss Lü only said that she had something important to give to Chairman Xu."
Lin Youzhe's phone was connected to the car's Bluetooth, so Xu Shaoting could hear the contents of the call clearly.
Xu Shaoting chuckled, "Let her go back."
Just as Lin Youzhe was about to press the hang-up button, the receptionist's hurried voice rang out again: "Wait! Secretary Lin, this young lady just said her name is Lü Mouning, but she still won't say her full name. She said Chairman Xu should remember her."
The name "Lu Mou Ning" drifted into Xu Shaoting's ears, as if stimulating certain fragments of memory in his mind. Xu Shaoting seemed to suddenly remember something, pondered for a while, then shook his head and chuckled softly, instructing, "Tell her to wait a while, and tell her I'll be at the company soon."
Fifteen minutes later, the black car smoothly drove into the underground parking lot of the Yunxi Technology Building. Xu Shaoting stepped out of the car with long legs and steady steps. Lin Youzhe followed behind him and entered the elevator.
Xu Shaoting did not rush back to the board's office on the top floor of the building, but instead reached out and pressed the elevator button on the first floor without hesitation.
The gleaming silver elevator doors opened, and Xu Shaoting, dressed in a black overcoat, stepped out of the car.
He slightly lifted the hem of his coat, revealing a dark blue suit jacket underneath his black overcoat, followed by a matching vest, a white shirt, and a meticulously tied tie. The tie was neatly tucked under the coat, layering around his superior physique and making him appear tall and upright.
Xu Shaoting strode confidently to the front desk with a few casual steps. The staff stood up to greet him, and he responded nonchalantly.
Hearing the commotion at the front desk, Ms. Lü came out of the lounge. Instead of glancing at Xu Shaoting, she pulled her hat down even lower.
Hearing the light footsteps, Xu Shaoting slowly turned around and looked down at the woman in front of him.
He scrutinized her closely for a while, from her hat to her boots, his smile hard to hide, but it wasn't his usual polite and refined smile; rather, it was a very playful and teasing smile, as if making eye contact with him would make you feel like you were being mocked.
"Miss Lü." He spoke softly, his gaze fixed on the woman before him.
She heard him, glanced up at him, and remained silent, simply inhaling the faint woody scent emanating from him.
Xu Shaoting's smile deepened, his gaze slowly moving downwards to the bag in her hand: "Come to my office."
Lin Youzhe, standing nearby, kept glancing at the woman out of the corner of his eye. He felt that the figure looked very familiar, but he couldn't remember who it was. Hearing Xu Shaoting speak, he also prepared to take a step forward and follow.
After walking a few steps, I saw the boss turn around and say to me, "Don't come here."
"..."
A man and a woman entered the elevator one after the other. Xu Shaoting turned his head and glanced at the woman standing diagonally behind him, then reached out and pressed the button for the top floor.
The woman held the bag in both hands, letting it hang down in front of her. Two fingers unconsciously rubbed the two ropes on the bag, and she felt that the elevator was moving very, very slowly.
The atmosphere inside the elevator car froze; no one spoke.
With a 'ding', the elevator finally arrived at the top floor.
Besides the board's offices, this floor also has many employee workstations arranged in parallel.
In the afternoon, the perfect time to relax and unwind, a rustling sound came from the workstations—the employees were whispering to each other.
From their perspective, their boss walked with very steady steps, followed closely by a woman. The man and woman walked side by side, heading towards the Director's office.
Although the woman behind her was wearing a hat and mask, completely covered up, her excellent figure and outfit could still be seen from a distance.
This outfit didn't look like someone coming to discuss business at all, so the discussion among the people at their workstations became even more heated.
The door to the board's office was opened gently and then locked softly, completely cutting off the faint sounds of conversation outside.
Xu Shaoting's office was large and spacious with good soundproofing. The sudden silence made the woman feel inexplicably uncomfortable.
Xu Shaoting didn't say anything, but slowly took off his coat before turning around to look at the woman in front of him.
"Long time no see, Miss Lü Zhaoning." His voice was deep and languid, with a hint of a smile in his eyes.
If his gaze was one of careful observation at the front desk just now, it was now a penetrating stare.
The woman finally couldn't resist and took off her white mask, revealing a delicate and pretty face without makeup.
Wen Jia didn't look directly at him. Her gaze swept over the entire office, looking at the sofa, the desk, and the bookshelf, but she didn't look at him.
She held the bag in both hands and handed it over, her eyes darting around: "Mr. Xu, your suit." Her tone was very calm, as if she would turn around and leave the moment she handed over the suit.
Xu Shaoting looked at her with an air of seriousness, as if this was something that required great care to do well.
He stood before her, ignoring her averted gaze, his arms casually crossed. Sunlight streamed through the French windows, casting a shadow over Wen Jia as he shone through the glass. Their figures overlapped; their breaths overlapped; their hormones overlapped.
Unbeknownst to her, Xu Shaoting unconsciously swallowed hard.
Unbeknownst to him, Wen Jia subconsciously held her breath.
The two remained locked in a stalemate, immersed in this unspoken atmosphere, neither of them speaking first.
Wen Jia still didn't look up at the man in front of her. She looked straight ahead, and from her height, she could just see his long, slender shoulders and neck, as well as his slightly defined jawline.
Finally, she saw him move his throat.
Xu Shaoting broke the atmosphere first. He cleared his throat, didn't take the bag she offered, and instead took another step forward, closing the distance between them again. He smelled her fragrance and felt inexplicably relaxed.
"So afraid of being discovered, Miss Lü?"
Wen Jia looked away, withdrew the bag she was handing over, and glanced around symbolically: "It's just the two of us now. Chairman Xu still calls me Miss Lü."
Lü Zhaoning is the character Wen Jia plays in "Wild Journey". She didn't dare to say her real name, for fear of being recognized, nor did she dare to say the name of the movie character, for fear that people had actually seen it. So she vaguely and casually threw out the three words "Lü Zhaoning", thinking that if Xu Shaoting couldn't even think of this, then she didn't need to see him. She could just leave her suit and go.
Xu Shaoting chuckled as he looked at her. He slowly took two steps back, turned around, and said, "Please sit wherever you like, Miss Wen." He then went to pour her tea, asking as he did so, "What brings you here today?"
"I've brought you a suit." Wen Jia walked to the sofa, pulled her cardigan over her shoulder, and sat down. She carefully placed the bag on the coffee table in front of her.
"Didn't you say your assistant was coming?"
As Xu Shaoting slowly placed the cup on the coffee table, he focused his gaze on her, seemingly anticipating her response.
The cup tapped on the coffee table with a soft, crisp sound, seemingly coinciding perfectly with a rhythm deep within her heart.
Wen Jia's gaze swept over him again. She picked up the ceramic cup and took a small sip: "My assistant is busy."
She answered without batting an eye.
Busy Yu Kaiqing cried out in protest at the villa, saying that her work revolved entirely around Wen Jia, and when Wen Jia had time to come over, she was told she was too busy!
Xu Shaoting could naturally have thought of this, but he simply indulged her in lying without thinking and did not expose her.
Xu Shaoting let this matter go, but he had no intention of letting another one go.
From the moment the two met on the first floor, to their arrival at the elevator,
From the elevator lobby, then to the office where there were only two people,
From the coffee table in front of the French windows,
From being so close to being at a distance,
Her gaze never met his.
He saw through her deliberate avoidance.
He leaned against the desk, his long legs stretched out, looking at her, and said slowly, "Miss Wen, are you afraid of me?"
Wen Jia paused slightly while drinking her tea, but her acting was so good that the small movement was extremely subtle. "Why does Chairman Xu ask that?"
"You don't dare look at me."
Wen Jia fell silent; she knew what she was thinking.
She was thinking about what Zhou Jingcheng had said to her.
She wondered if the man standing before her, so impeccably dressed, so abstinent and dignified, so composed and self-controlled, was really as promiscuous as Zhou Jingcheng had described.
Could his hands, which sign in black and white paper, also do something unspeakable?
What a contrast… She couldn’t look him in the eye.
The office remained silent for a long time, and just as the two of them were lost in their own thoughts, the silence was broken by a knock on the door.
Xu Shaoting crossed his arms, turned his head, and calmly looked at the door, not in a hurry to open it.
Wen Jia hurriedly put down her ceramic cup, spilling a few drops of tea onto the dark coffee table. She put on the mask she had tossed aside and rushed into the office.
In an instant, the quiet office was filled with the sound of a woman's high-heeled boots clicking on the floor.
Xu Shaoting leaned against the desk and watched Wen Jia's entire action. He found her flustered appearance quite amusing, and his eyes and lips unconsciously curled up.
Only when he caught a glimpse of her hiding out of sight by the door did he composed himself and slowly walk toward the door.
The people outside were probably still wondering why they hadn't heard a "come in" after so long when the door to the Dong's office opened, but the man only opened it slightly, just enough to make a conversation.
Xu Shaoting, with the door slightly ajar, looked at his subordinate outside and asked, "What is it?"
A subordinate handed over a document: "You need to take a look at this."
Xu Shaoting nodded and took it: "Is that all?"
The subordinate nodded.
Xu Shaoting slowly pushed the door back open.
Wen Jia glimpsed him from inside and saw him close the door, then quickly open it again, casually instructing the person outside, "I'll call the internal line if anything happens."
It means don't come knocking on the door anymore.
The employee understood, bowed and nodded to Xu Shaoting, and left.
The door was closed again, shutting out the sounds from outside.
How could the two people inside the office know about the whispers taking place at their workstations outside?
"See? See?
The employee shook his head: "I didn't see anything."
"I don't think he looks like an ordinary person. He's also covered up so much. Who would cover up so much when coming to the company?"
"And did you see that? Just now, Chairman Xu was blocking the door and wouldn't let me in. He doesn't usually do that."
Someone nearby said something, and the employee made a 'shush' gesture, reminding him, "Keep your voice down, or Chairman Xu will hear you."
...
Inside the office, Xu Shaoting gently placed the documents on the table. Seeing Wen Jia fully armed again, he didn't hide his smile: "Miss Wen, is your life so secretive?"
Wen Jia tiptoed back to the sofa and sat down, step by step, without even taking off her mask, which was now completely welded to her face. "That trending topic just faded away not long ago... I don't want to be criticized again."
"Then why did you have to give it to me personally? Wouldn't it have been better to have a staff member hand it over?" Xu Shaoting asked again indirectly.
"Giving it in person shows sincerity." Wen Jia lowered her head, casually flipping through the financial magazines on the coffee table, her tone relaxed.
"Sincerity?" Xu Shaoting looked down at her. "Then, Miss Wen not answering my calls the other day, didn't that mean she had no sincerity at all?"
Wen Jia suddenly looked up from the magazine: "What phone call?"
Xu Shaoting observed her expression and, seeing that she didn't seem to be pretending to be stupid, patiently explained, "I called you the afternoon you were shooting the commercial."
He poured himself a cup of tea, calmly sipped it, and was anticipating Wen Jia's explanation when he heard her retort:
"I guess I turned off my phone."
"...My phone is off, it hasn't been on for two days?"
"That's right, Chairman Xu."
"..."
Seeing Xu Shaoting raise his eyebrows slightly, purse his lips, and look at him with a skeptical expression, Wen Jia knew he definitely didn't believe her, so she explained very sincerely, "I'm not lying to you. I often avoid using electronic devices. That day, it just happened to be trending on social media, and I was too lazy to pay attention to it. Out of sight, out of mind, I turned off my phone for two days."
As soon as she finished speaking, she enthusiastically suggested to Xu Shaoting, as if she really wanted what was best for him: "Mr. Xu can also try it. After quitting his phone for two days, he felt that his mental state was very good."
Xu Shaoting chuckled, "Thank you for your suggestion," he put down his teacup, "Did you turn off your phone just because it's trending on social media?"
"Of course, what else could it be, Mr. Xu?" She knew perfectly well that Xu Shaoting wouldn't believe her, but she still answered stubbornly.
Wen Jia naturally wouldn't tell him that Zhou Jingcheng had taken her away that day, nor would she tell him what Zhou Jingcheng had said to her.
But she didn't expect that Yu Kaiqing had already inadvertently let it slip.
She subtly changed the subject: "What was it about when Chairman Xu called that day?"
Xu Shaoting narrowed his eyes and looked at her: "I heard that Zhou Jingcheng took you away that day, is that right?"
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