After all this trouble just to create some alone time for the two of them, Gu Chao didn't dare sit down for tea anymore. The man across from him had a sinister look that made his skin crawl.
"It's getting late. An Ruo, take President Jiang to lunch first." Gu Chao didn't forget to add, "Eat as much as you want, all on the company's tab."
After all, President Shen had witnessed his little wife pitifully gnawing on a steamed bun and spared no expense to transform into Jiang Su, pulling off this big show just to have lunch with her.
Gu Chao slipped away like oil on a slick floor, leaving behind a smirking Shen Xiaoxing and an anxious An Ruo. She slowly lifted her head, her gaze landing on the gauze wrapped around his forehead, the chaos of that night vivid in her mind.
"You..."
"Well..."
They spoke at the same time, both pausing in surprise.
An Ruo's voice carried concern: "Is your injury any better?"
"I thought you'd forgotten about me?" The man's face never lost its smile, the corners of his lips curling nonstop since the moment he saw her. "Thanks to someone, this handsome face of mine—the doctor says it'll definitely scar."
His words made An Ruo a bit embarrassed. She hadn't been able to thank him properly that night, and he'd just vanished without a word. They had no way to contact each other, and she'd assumed it was just a fleeting encounter.
Who would've thought... there really was fate!
The man clasped his hands behind his head. "The client you're hosting turns out to be me. Surprised?"
An Ruo nodded lightly. "Pretty surprised..."
This was their third meeting. If the first two were accidents, this one felt too deliberate.
But thinking it over, she couldn't see what about her was worth the man's relentless attention. There was no reason for him to keep approaching her.
She remembered Gu Chao's parting instructions. "President Jiang, let me take you to lunch."
The man's brow twitched, and he nodded in agreement.
All this effort, just to make sure she ate well.
-
There was a food street near the company where colleagues often raved about this place's great taste and that place's authentic flavor, but An Ruo had never tried any of them. Since it was on the company's tab, she didn't hold back and brought him to the food street to pick whatever he wanted, all paid for by the firm.
But the man complained it was too noisy and dragged her to an ultra-luxurious restaurant instead. An Ruo was stunned—the prices there were higher than her monthly salary!
Still, she let out a long sigh of relief. At least she wasn't the one paying, or this guy would've cleaned her out.
Shen Xiaoxing ordered a few dishes and gestured for the waiter to hand the menu to the girl across from him.
An Ruo took the menu with flattered surprise, but when she opened it, even the price of a cold dish made her jaw drop.
Thank goodness, thank goodness—she wasn't treating.
This high-end restaurant was way out of her league, so she casually ordered two dishes and handed the menu back.
They sat in silence, the atmosphere painfully awkward.
An Ruo couldn't understand why Gu Chao had dumped such a big client on her without any work instructions. What was she supposed to talk about?
Huo Jinyan was whistling as he strolled by, when his gaze suddenly caught the awkward pair in the distance. He stopped, ducked behind a stone pillar, and peeked out sneakily.
A sudden pain hit his head, and he was about to turn and curse when Gu Chao's arm draped over him. "What are you looking at? With that sleazy expression."
"Are you asking for a beating?" Huo Jinyan frowned, shooting him a harsh glare.
With his handsome looks, where was the sleaze?
"Isn't that little sister-in-law? Who's the guy across from her?" A bold idea popped into Huo Jinyan's head. "Oh, so she's been married to our A-Xing for how long, and she's already brazenly sneaking around with another man? I've got to call A-Xing over to catch them red-handed!"
He pulled out his phone, a gleeful look on his face.
But before he could dial, Gu Chao reached out and stopped him.
"Look closely. That's A-Xing."
Huo Jinyan froze, craned his neck for a better look. "Doesn't look like him."
"He's in disguise."
Gu Chao bent down, chin nearly resting on him as they both stared at the pair in the hall. "A-Xing went through hell just to get a meal with her. Don't mess it up."
"Come on..." Huo Jinyan looked up and rolled his eyes. "Do I look that dumb?"
"Ha, if I hadn't stopped you, you'd have already called to 'catch the cheater.'"
Huo Jinyan pursed his lips. Who knew he'd suddenly show up in disguise? He thought An Ruo was being unfaithful and cuckolding him.
Shen Xiaoxing looked up and spotted two figures by the stone pillar in the distance, snickering behind their hands. When they caught his gaze, Huo Jinyan started waving and gesturing like a village idiot.
An Ruo's clear eyes flickered, noticing the man's stare. She bit her lip. "President Jiang, is there something on my face?"
Otherwise, why was he staring at her with that odd expression?
Shen Xiaoxing snapped out of it, shifting his gaze from the two behind her. He scratched under his eye absently.
"Nothing."
Shen Xiaoxing excused himself to use the restroom, his tall figure disappearing from An Ruo's sight. His face turned cold as he approached, kicking Huo Jinyan in the shin, making him wince in pain.
"If you're sick, take your meds. Mess with my plans, and you're asking for a beating!"
Huo Jinyan instinctively covered his head. If Shen Xiaoxing got mad and dragged him to spar, it'd be a death sentence. "I'm wrong, bro, I'm wrong..."
"Take him and get lost."
Shen Xiaoxing added another kick before leaving, and Huo Jinyan, too scared to talk back, watched him return to continue lunch with An Ruo.
"Once you've got a wife, you forget your brothers. Classic case of valuing beauty over friendship."
Gu Chao glanced at him, shaking his head with a sigh.