Xia Yan was tangled up in her own thoughts for a long time. Hearing the elevator ding, she reached out without thinking and tugged at Lu Zhengting's sleeve. "President Lu."
"Hm?" Lu Zhengting stood still, looking at Xia Yan with leisurely composure.
Seeing this, Xia Yan took a quiet breath. Why did she detect a smug look on his face? Pausing, she blinked and asked softly, "President Lu, could you tell me how to get to the Project Department?"
"The Project Department?"
"Yes."
"Xia Yan, how long have you been with the company?" Lu Zhengting fixed his gaze on her and asked slowly.
At that, Xia Yan thought for a moment. "Almost three days."
"Three days and you're still not familiar with the company? Xia Yan, are you making me question your adaptability?"
Lu Zhengting suddenly turned so serious, his tone so earnest, that Xia Yan didn't react at first. She stared at him in surprise. She just wanted to know where the Project Department was—how did that turn into poor adaptability in his eyes? What did one thing have to do with the other? As the elevator doors opened, Lu Zhengting shot her a glance and strode off on his long legs without another word.
Just like that?
Xia Yan stared blankly at his retreating back, tempted to hurl the stack of documents in her hands at his head. If it weren't for Ke Yaru suddenly losing her mind the day before yesterday and insisting she handle all sorts of trivial tasks, she'd have liked to get familiar with the company. But that took time, didn't it? She was exhausted like a dog—how could she have the energy to tour every department's route?
What an ungentlemanly jerk! The taste of the women who fell for him was truly questionable.
As the elevator doors closed, Xia Yan hadn't even pressed a floor button, but the elevator started moving on its own. In an instant, the doors opened again.
"Xia Yan."
Startled by someone calling her name, Xia Yan looked up and saw the person suddenly before her. She said happily, "Brother Ye, I didn't expect to run into you."
"When did you start at the company?"
"A few days ago. I've been busy with a lot of things and forgot to tell you. Oh, Brother Ye, do you know where the Project Department is?" Xia Yan stared at Ye Yunchen as if he were a savior, her eyes sparkling like stars.
"This is the Project Department. What do you need to go there for?" Ye Yunchen smiled gently. Seeing Xia Yan so adorable, he almost wanted to lift his hands from his sides and ruffle her hair.
Hearing this, Xia Yan quickly pressed the elevator button, wedged her foot against the door crack, hugged the documents with one hand, and turned her head to look at Ye Yunchen. "Brother Ye, I need to deliver these documents to the Project Department now. Let's catch up after work."
What a stroke of luck.
Ye Yunchen watched Xia Yan dart off with amusement, a fond smile involuntarily curling at the corners of his mouth.
Having successfully delivered the documents to the Project Department—though a bit late, at least nothing was delayed—Xia Yan breathed a sigh of relief. If she had messed things up, she would have definitely blamed Lu Zhengting.
Li Ru looked up from her files and glanced at the late-returning Xia Yan, frowning. "Why did you take so long?"
"What's up?"
"Manager Ke's secretary came looking for you earlier. You weren't here, so she left."
"That's it? She didn't leave any message?" Xia Yan furrowed her brow. Did Ke Yaru have no end to this? Was she determined to find things for her to do?
"No message. You're not hoping to walk right into it, are you?"
"Who said that? I just know she won't let me off that easily."
Xia Yan rubbed her legs, swiveled her chair back to her desk, which was piled high with documents—some already mixed up—that she now had to organize. Suddenly recalling the encounter with Lu Zhengting in the elevator, she gritted her teeth in anger. That jerk really got on her nerves. Li Ru, sitting beside her, noticed her expression turning fierce and felt puzzled, tapping the desk.
"Xia Yan, your face looks really creepy."
"Does it?"
Hearing that, Xia Yan rubbed her cheeks, trying to force a smile.
"Don't smile. It's uglier than crying," Li Ru said with a laugh.
Truth be told, Xia Yan genuinely liked Li Ru. She noticed Li Ru loved to smile, and when she did, two deep dimples appeared on her cheeks. Glancing at Li Ru, then around the room, Xia Yan lowered her voice. "Li Ru, did you get any news on that thing you asked about for me last time?"
"Oh, I almost forgot. I had my boyfriend ask around. Everything looks good."
"Great, then I'll contact the landlord directly. It's Saturday tomorrow anyway."
Li Ru nodded and pursed her lips. "Xia Yan, I remember from your file that you're from Jiang City. Why do you still need to rent a place outside?"
"Well, it's convenient. Easier for commuting."
Ever since Xiao Lanzhi left, Xia Yan had been thinking about moving out of the Xia family home and renting her own place. In fact, the idea had been in her head for a long time. If it hadn't been for Xiao Lanzhi, she might have moved out during college. She found the apartment online the other day, and Li Ru happened to see it. It turned out Li Ru's wedding apartment was in the same complex, so she asked her to help look into it.
With the weekend off, she could move. The thought of leaving the Xia family made Xia Yan's spirits soar, almost lifting her off the ground.
At the end of the workday, Xia Yan and Li Ru walked out of the company together. Li Ru's boyfriend picked her up whenever he had time, and the moment Li Ru saw him, she bloomed like a delicate flower, her gaze dripping with syrupy affection.
"Xia Yan, where are you headed? It's so hot out—we can give you a ride."
"No thanks. I'm already stuffed from all this lovey-dovey stuff," Xia Yan teased.
"Are you sure you don't need it?"
"Yeah, go ahead." Xia Yan let go of Li Ru's arm and nodded toward the car by the roadside.
"Alright then."
Li Ru had barely taken five steps when she heard someone calling Xia Yan's name from behind. Curiosity piqued, she stopped and turned around, blinking and grinning slyly at Xia Yan. "No wonder you turned me down—you've got a date with a handsome guy."
Xia Yan rolled her eyes, ignoring Li Ru, and walked over to Ye Yunchen. "Brother Ye, I made plans with Xiao Jia this afternoon. She's getting off work and coming straight to meet us."
"Lin Xujia's coming too?" Ye Yunchen frowned.
"Yeah, it's been ages since the three of us hung out."
Ye Yunchen paused for a moment, then looked at Xia Yan softly and said quietly, "Xia Yan, looks like we can't go to Xi Xi's concert tonight."
"Xi Xi's concert? You have tickets? Oh my god, I've been following the ticket sales for ages, but I've been so busy I forgot to grab any, and now I don't have a single one."
"I asked a friend to get two tickets earlier..."
Hearing this, Xia Yan immediately grabbed Ye Yunchen's hand excitedly, beaming at him. "Brother Ye, you're saying you have tickets? Really? You're not lying to me?"
"Yeah, really. Why would I lie to you?" As he spoke, Ye Yunchen pulled out the tickets and handed them to Xia Yan.
VIP seats. Xia Yan's smile stretched so wide she could barely close her mouth, clutching the tickets like treasures. Then she paused, realizing a serious problem. "There are only two tickets, but there are three of us."
Faced with this fact, Xia Yan felt a wave of sadness. She finally had tickets to her idol's concert, but...
Ye Yunchen thought for a moment, sighed quietly, and patted Xia Yan's head. "You and Lin Xujia go ahead."
"Brother Ye..."
"You know I'm not into celebrity chasing. My buddy bought these Xi Xi tickets but couldn't go because something came up, so he sold them to me."
"Forget it, I won't go then." Xia Yan looked at the tickets mournfully, closed her eyes, and handed them back to Ye Yunchen. "Brother Ye, let's just go eat."
Seeing this, Ye Yunchen let out a low laugh. "Xia Yan, I actually still have some work to finish. I came down just to give you the tickets."
"Really?" Xia Yan eyed him suspiciously, then suddenly clutched the tickets again. She really, really wanted to go to Xi Xi's concert.
After getting Ye Yunchen's confirmation, Xia Yan's eyes curved into crescents. She hugged his arm and shook it. With two hours until the concert started, she walked him back into the company, her mood so buoyant that even if Lu Zhengting appeared before her right then, she'd probably compliment him on how handsome he was.
"President Lu?"
Sitting in his car, Lu Zhengting had taken in the entire scene. He casually rolled up the window, squinted, and asked abruptly, "Is that guy from the Project Department?"
"Yeah, he's the talent President Chen strongly recommended. He just reported to the company not long ago and already completed a major project."
"Name."
"Ye Yunchen."
The car fell into a deathly silence. Secretary Zhou glanced at Lu Zhengting, who had closed his eyes to rest. "President Lu?"
"Follow her."
******
Xia Yan took a cab straight to the concert. On the way, she called Lin Xujia and told her to come directly to the venue. After getting out, she wandered around the area for a bit, grabbing a quick bite to eat. Lin Xujia rushed over right after work.
"Xiao Jia, you're finally here. Any later, and I wouldn't have waited."
"Where's Brother Ye?"
Xia Yan noticed Lin Xujia had clearly dressed up and teased, "Went home to primp, huh?"
"No way! I came straight from work." Lin Xujia blushed, shot Xia Yan a glare, and looked around, searching for Ye Yunchen.
"Stop looking. Brother Ye had some leftover work and didn't come."
"So it's just us?"
"Yeah, come on, they're starting to let people in."
Xia Yan linked arms with Lin Xujia and headed inside, but Lin Xujia suddenly stopped in her tracks. "Xiao Jia, what are you doing?"
"Xia Yan, you go to the concert by yourself."
"Where are you going?" Xia Yan tugged at Lin Xujia, staring at her plaintively.
"I just remembered I have something to do."
"Pfft, Xiao Jia, you just want to go find Brother Ye, don't you? Fine, fine, you traitor. I'll go alone."