Chapter 149

　I was shocked by Chen Hui’s message and hurriedly asked, “Yaoyao, what happened? What’s wrong?”

　　My heart clenched. Could something have really happened to Chen Yao? Otherwise, why would Chen Hui be in such a hurry to go back?

　　”I just tripped and fell, it’s nothing…” Chen Hui hesitated for a moment, then stammered, “Don’t worry, I’ll hang up now, I just wanted to let you know.”

　　The tone of her voice was becoming increasingly suspicious, and I felt that Chen Hui was definitely hiding something. I hurriedly asked, “Manager Chen, what exactly happened to Yao Yao? Can you let Yao Yao answer the phone? Or I’ll call Yao Yao myself.”

　　”Alright then, I’ll let Yao Yao answer the phone.”

　　Chen Hui said something, and a moment later I heard Chen Yao’s voice, “Tang Zheng, I’m fine, I just twisted my ankle. Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine soon.”

　　”Are you really alright?” Chen Hui’s heavy tone made me very uneasy. I said, “Yaoyao, should I go back to see you? Where are you now? I’ll buy a ticket right away…”

　　Before I could finish speaking, I heard Chen Hui say with a hint of exasperation, “I told you it was just a sprain, and I’ll take care of it. If you don’t believe me, ask your cousin and see if I’m lying to you.”

　　”Ah Zheng, Yao Yao is fine. She just twisted her ankle when she accidentally stepped on a manhole cover on our way back. It’s really nothing, so don’t worry.”

　　My cousin said on the phone, “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of things here. I promise I’ll give you back your girlfriend, all intact. Don’t you trust me?”

　　Hearing my cousin say that, I finally felt relieved, but I was still a little confused. “Manager Chen’s heavy tone just now startled me. If there’s anything wrong, you have to tell me. I’ll go back immediately, otherwise I’m very worried about her.”

　　To be honest, I don’t even know when Chen Yao became as deeply rooted in my heart as my cousin. Although I miss my cousin very much, I can’t say it now because they are probably playing music on speakerphone, otherwise I wouldn’t have heard Chen Hui’s voice just now.

　　”Okay, just focus on your work. Chen Hui was just trying to scare you, don’t worry too much.”

　　”Tang Zheng, I’m fine, it’s just a little swollen. How about I send you a picture later?” Chen Yao added, “With my cousin taking care of me, you don’t need to worry too much. I’m really fine.”

　　Hearing my cousin and Chen Yao say that everything was fine, I finally felt completely relieved. However, I couldn’t help but curse Chen Hui under my breath. Why did she scare me if nothing was wrong?

　　”Okay, if there’s nothing else, I’ll hang up now.”

　　Chen Hui said with a hint of schadenfreude, “Can’t I test whether you’re sincere towards my sister? You better get things done properly over there and don’t mess anything up, or I’ll never forgive you. You two can talk later. Bye.”

　　After I finished speaking, I heard the dial tone from the phone.

　　Strange, why would Chen Hui think of scaring me? It seems this woman hasn’t encountered anything wrong, otherwise she wouldn’t have thought of making such a joke at my expense.

　　I breathed a sigh of relief. A little while later, I saw a WeChat message from Chen Yao. Her fair ankle was swollen and looked a little scary.

　　I offered her some words of comfort, then chatted with my cousin for a while before putting my phone away.

　　Turning around, I saw Su Yue’e’s somewhat resentful eyes. “You still remember me? I was afraid you’d forgotten me.”

　　How could that be?

　　I laughed and said, “Such a beautiful woman, even if I became a monk, I probably wouldn’t forget you.”

　　”Hmph, with your six senses still impure, even if you become a nun, Buddha won’t accept you.” Su Yue’e gave me a coquettish glare, then took my arm again.

　　Under her guidance, we explored all the fun places in the area, and I also bought her a few small gifts along the way, which made her very happy.

　　Time passed quickly; it felt like only a blink of an eye before it was afternoon again.

　　”Tang Zheng, I’ve invited a few people to dinner tonight. Would you like to come with me?” She suddenly looked at me with a pitiful expression.

　　I was taken aback. “Does eating with someone mean you’re friends?”

　　”Of course.” Su Yue’e smiled sweetly. “You’ll have to come with me, otherwise I’m a little scared to go alone.”

　　It’s just a meal, how could it be some kind of den of dragons and tigers?

　　So I nodded. “If you’re willing to let me go, then I definitely have to go, otherwise you’ll be heartbroken.”

　　”Thank you.” Su Yue’e suddenly kissed me on the cheek and said shyly, “Tang Zheng, you are so good. If I could stay with you like this for the rest of my life, that would be wonderful.”

　　I remained silent, because such a thing was obviously impossible. At most, our relationship was just a fleeting, passionate affair, which would eventually become fragments sealed away in our memories.

　　I initially thought Su Yue’e was just going to meet some ordinary friend, but when we arrived at the destination, I realized I was wrong.

　　Around 7 p.m., Su Yue’e received a phone call and then hailed a car on the roadside with me, heading straight to a large restaurant called Crystal Palace.

　　As soon as I arrived, I was taken aback by the luxurious Crystal Palace by the lake. To be honest, although I have seen many grand restaurants in Shanhaiguan, I have never seen one so luxurious.

　　Eating in a place like this clearly makes you feel different in status and demeanor from others.

　　Su Yue’e led me inside with practiced ease. Although I was shocked just now, I didn’t react like a country bumpkin who had just come from the countryside and had never seen the world.

　　Once inside, she found a waiter and gave him the number of a private room.

　　The waiter quickly led us there.

　　I saw that there were already two women and one man sitting in the private room.

　　As soon as we entered, the man greeted us with a smile, “Yue’e, you’ve finally arrived. Please have a seat.”

　　Then his gaze fell on me. “This is your boyfriend.”

　　”Brother Yang, I wouldn’t object if you said he was my boyfriend.”

　　Su Yue’e smiled and said, “This is Tang Zheng, Tang Zheng, this is President Yang, the beautiful lady on the left is Huixin, and the lady on the right is Xue Ning.”

　　”Hello, Mr. Yang, hello, ladies.” I greeted them with a smile. “My name is Tang Zheng. It’s nice to meet you all. Please take care of me.”

　　Mr. Yang smiled and said, “Young man, you are polite, not bad. Please have a seat.”

　　I wasn’t too reserved and sat down next to Su Yue’e. Soon, the waiter brought out all the food and drinks, and we just started eating without much small talk.

　　They mostly talked while I listened, and the topic would occasionally shift to me.

　　”Tang Zheng, I don’t know if you’ve been working here with Yue’e all along or if you just arrived. I’ve only met He Dongping before.” General Manager Yang turned his gaze to me.

　　I thought to myself, this person must know a lot of people in the company, otherwise he wouldn’t even know He Dongping.

　　Before I could speak, Su Yue’e said with a smile, “Tang Zheng was sent here from Shanhai by our company headquarters to help out. He will be going back in a while. He is a trusted general of Manager Chen, the person in charge in Shanhai. I couldn’t keep him even if I wanted to.”

　　”I see.” General Manager Yang nodded in sudden understanding. “I’ve heard of the person in charge in Shanhai. She’s a young woman in her early twenties, I think her name is Chen Hui. She has a very promising future.”

　　Strange, who exactly is this General Manager Yang?

　　Why do they even know about these things in our company?

　　A big question mark flashed through my mind, but out of politeness, I didn’t ask. I planned to ask Su Yue’e privately.

　　”By the way, Yue’e, what about what I told you last time? What have you thought about?” President Yang turned his gaze to Su Yue’e beside me.

　　Su Yue’e hesitated for a moment, then smiled and said, “President Yang, I still can’t guarantee you anything. Could you give me some more time so I can think about it carefully?”

　　“Okay, then I’ll wait another week.” Mr. Yang nodded and said with a smile, “But don’t delay any longer, or it will be too late.”

　　”I know that.” Su Yue’e smiled slightly. “I will give you an answer as soon as possible.”

　　At that moment, I thought they were just discussing some kind of business, something I shouldn’t ask about, so I didn’t inquire further and just listened quietly.

　　Mr. Yang raised his glass and said with a smile, “Then I wish us a pleasant cooperation.”

　　Su Yue’e didn’t say anything, but she also picked up her glass, and everyone clinked glasses together.

　　…

　　The meal lasted until after 9 p.m. By the time we left, I was already a little tipsy. I had mostly been drinking with this Mr. Yang. I don’t know if he was just being hospitable, but he kept inviting me to raise my glass.

　　After a few rounds of this, even though I consider myself to have a good alcohol tolerance, I still couldn’t resist his enthusiasm.

　　Mr. Yang had originally invited us to go singing, but Su Yue’e declined, politely suggesting that she would reciprocate the invitation another time. Mr. Yang didn’t insist on it further.

　　After leaving the Crystal Palace, Su Yue’e remained silent, seemingly lost in thought.

　　But she quickly came to her senses and smiled at me. I don’t know if it was my imagination or something else, but I saw a charming look on her face.

　　We then flagged down a car on the roadside and headed straight for her home.

　　Once inside, Su Yue’e took a can of milk from the refrigerator for me, then sat down on the sofa next to me. Suddenly, she asked, “Tang Zheng, are you thinking about the person we saw tonight?”

　　I laughed and said, “What could I possibly be thinking? She’s your friend, sister. What could I possibly be thinking?”

　　Honestly, I didn’t have any other thoughts.

　　After all, everyone has their own friends, and it’s impossible to tell everyone this kind of thing. Besides, my relationship with Su Yue’e doesn’t seem to have reached the point where she would tell me everything.

　　“That man is the manager of a partner company of ours. They specialize in toys. You should have heard of their company.”

　　Su Yue’e smiled slightly and took a sip of milk, which reminded me of the service she had given me before.

　　”Their name is Chuangyu Technology,” Su Yue’e said with a smile. “Have you heard of them?”

　　It suddenly dawned on me that I had indeed heard of this company, Chuangyu. They make toys, and it seems that many supermarkets sell toys from this company.

　　“That person is Chuangyu’s business manager,” Su Yue’e continued. “He wanted to talk to me about something, but I’ve been putting it off.”

　　I couldn’t help but wonder what exactly Mr. Yang had discussed with Su Yue’e, and why Su Yue’e was telling me.

　　Could there be some connection between these two things?

　　I looked at her with surprise. “Sis, what does this have to do with me?”

　　Su Yue’e hooked one arm around my neck and rested her chin on her other hand, looking at me with a smile. “It had nothing to do with you before, but now I want you to do me a favor. This will not do you any harm at all, and you can even get some extra money. I dare not say a lot, but 20,000 to 30,000 yuan a month is not a problem.”