After meeting Chen Lin at noon, since things couldn’t be explained clearly over Cloud Message, Xu Tiantian made plans with Jiang Wanyin for dinner that evening.
Xu Tiantian worked as an accounting assistant at a company on the outskirts of the city, earning six thousand a month.
So the two of them agreed on a barbecue place that cost two hundred per person—cheap, but with an excellent reputation.
“Chen Lin wants to buy you off as a spy?”
Xu Tiantian was so shocked that her chopsticks slipped from her hand.
Jiang Wanyin raised a hand to have the server bring another pair of chopsticks: “She probably found out from our finance department that I have a lot of contact with the boss.”
“She’s got some nerve. Stealing trade secrets is a prison sentence!”
Xu Tiantian was so angry she couldn’t even eat: “Maybe she’s trying to kill two birds with one stone. If you actually did it, she’d get the project and sell you out too.”
Jiang Wanyin wrapped a piece of meat and placed it in Xu Tiantian’s bowl: “Do you think I’m that stupid? I wouldn’t do something so thankless.”
“Ha, she still thinks you’re that wooden bookworm from high school!”
“Besides, just because she married some small-time boss, she thinks she can play corporate spy. I looked it up—her husband’s company couldn’t even handle a cross-river project of that scale.”
“Mufeng Construction can only take on projects under ten million on its own. Anything bigger, they partner with other companies and just take a slice.”
Xu Tiantian loved meddling in other people’s business and chasing celebrities—her “investigative skills” were pretty impressive.
She should never have gone into accounting. If she’d become a paparazzo, she might have made it big by now.
Jiang Wanyin picked up a piece of potato and placed it on the grill: “With a project worth billions, even taking a slice is plenty profitable. Besides, if a livelihood project is done well, it brings a lot of benefits to the company’s future development.”
“You’re not even fat—why not eat more meat?”
Xu Tiantian picked up a slice of tenderloin from the grill and put it in Jiang Wanyin’s bowl.
Jiang Wanyin quickly waved her hands: “No, no. Am I not fat enough already? I can’t eat any more.”
Wearing clothes that showed off her figure made her feel awkward and uncomfortable.
It probably had to do with being stared at by some boys in middle school and being nicknamed “Big Chest.”
Xu Tiantian sighed: “Ugh, that qipao you sent me a photo of was so fitting—graceful and elegant. Didn’t you say the clients were all handsome? Did any of them treat you differently?”
“The qipao was too eye-catching, and it’s impractical. Besides, I have a boyfriend now.”
With rich, handsome men parading in front of her, Jiang Wanyin was only an ordinary woman after all—it was genuinely hard to resist the charm of those top-tier handsome men.
So she constantly reminded herself: No matter how handsome they are, they have nothing to do with me.
“You’re not fat at all—you’ve got curves in all the right places. It’s just that you refuse to buy clothes that fit properly. Look…”
Xu Tiantian scanned her best friend’s outfit and shook her head in frustration: “What kind of clothes are these? The cut is so boxy, that’s what makes you look bigger.”
For women with a fuller chest, wearing the wrong clothes makes them look heavier and bulkier.
“Back in high school, being shy about your chest was one thing, but now you’re working. You can’t keep being so old-fashioned.”
Jiang Wanyin’s face flushed pink as she listened. Before she could say anything, a male voice sounded from behind her.
“Well said. What era are we in now?”
Jiang Wanyin turned her head to look—it was none other than blue-haired Feng Ziyan and red-haired Pei Zhou.
Because their looks and temperament were so outstanding, everyone in the restaurant couldn’t help but glance their way.
“Mr. Pei, Mr. Feng, what a coincidence.”
Oh god, of all things, they had to overhear them discussing body shape. This was mortifying.
Feng Ziyan raised an eyebrow cheerfully: “What a coincidence indeed. We were just saying how boring it is eating alone. Little miss, want to join us?”
“Of course!”
With a super handsome guy joining them for dinner, how could Xu Tiantian pass up the opportunity?
She quickly shifted over and scooted further in on her seat.
It was a four-seat table. Originally, Xu Tiantian and Jiang Wanyin had been sitting across from each other, both in the middle of their seats.
Feng Ziyan, acting as familiar as ever, sat down right next to Xu Tiantian.
Seeing this, Jiang Wanyin could only helplessly move over a spot.
“Brother Zhou, come sit! Oh right, you need to stay ‘discreet.'”
Feng Ziyan got up again and pulled down the curtains on both sides of the seating area, blocking the view from outside.
After that, he pushed Pei Zhou over to sit next to Jiang Wanyin, joking as he explained: “Brother Zhou needs to eat in a private booth when he goes out. Otherwise, people always use his looks to spice up their meal!”
Pei Zhou, annoyed, kicked Feng Ziyan under the table: “Nonsense. I just prefer a more private place to eat without interruptions.”
As he spoke, he had just pulled his mask down halfway when Xu Tiantian let out a “Wow!” Startled, Pei Zhou put it back on.
Xu Tiantian immediately apologized, embarrassed: “Sorry, sorry! I’m just too easily impressed!”
Jiang Wanyin noticed that while Xu Tiantian was apologizing verbally, her hand kept wiping her nose and then the corner of her mouth—the way she looked—
She couldn’t help but press her hand to her forehead and said: “Sorry about that, Mr. Pei. She just tends to exaggerate a bit. No offense meant.”
Pei Zhou gave a calm “Mm” and took off his mask, placing it on the table, but inside he was frantically mentally hitting Feng Ziyan, vowing never to listen to his crazy ideas again.
Jiang Wanyin awkwardly glanced at him from the corner of her eye, reading his current mood from the man’s tightly pressed lips.
She could only reach over to the grill, flip over the best piece of pork belly, and once it was cooked, place it onto the plate in front of Pei Zhou: “Mr. Pei, please try this.”
Pei Zhou gave a cold “Mm” and started eating right away.
Seeing that Pei Zhou had been appeased, Feng Ziyan continued his antics, calling over a waiter to order a few bottles of beer.
“How can you eat barbecue without drinking? It’d be too greasy.”
He poured drinks for all four of them: “Come, come, let’s do a toast first.”
Jiang Wanyin tried hard to hide her urge to complain as she coaxed these two big shots: “Mr. Feng! Let me toast you! I’ll toast you!”
After downing a bottle, Jiang Wanyin started grilling the meat, planning to fill their stomachs quickly and send them on their way.
Feng Ziyan watched the woman skillfully control the heat of the meat and said: “Miss, you’re really good at grilling!”
Jiang Wanyin explained politely: “I used to work part-time as a server at a barbecue restaurant. Trade secret.”
Feng Ziyan asked curiously: “What other part-time jobs have you done?”
Jiang Wanyin smiled: “Mm, filling seats at exhibitions, filling seats at classes, polishing bodhi seeds, hammering silver jewelry, making sales calls for educational institutions—quite a few, actually.”
Pei Zhou put down his chopsticks and asked: “Hammering silver jewelry? What’s that for?”
Jiang Wanyin: “It’s simple. You sit at the entrance of a silver jewelry store and keep hammering a piece of silver, making a rhythmic sound to attract passersby.”
Feng Ziyan was surprised: “There’s such a boring job? Does it work? How long do you have to hammer each time?”
Jiang Wanyin smiled softly: “The store opens at 9 a.m. and closes at 10 p.m., with only a half-hour break for lunch in between. It works. The method is simple, but curious adults and kids often come to take a look, and about 70% of them end up going into the store to browse too.”
“Our Wanyin is really capable. You two bosses should take good care of her.”
Xu Tiantian raised her glass and toasted the two men, and Jiang Wanyin clinked glasses along with her.
The atmosphere gradually warmed up, and Jiang Wanyin shared many amusing stories about her part-time jobs, as if opening a whole new door for the two young masters, who listened with great interest.
When they were leaving, there were over thirty empty bottles piled in the corner under the table, and Jiang Wanyin only then realized she had unknowingly drunk five bottles of beer.
Xu Tiantian hooked her arm and whispered, “How can they be this handsome? Share one with me.”
Jiang Wanyin’s brain was buzzing with excitement, her heart swelling with bold ambition, and she waved her hand recklessly: “I’ll give you both, no charge.”
Feng Ziyan watched the two women staggering ahead and shrugged at Pei Zhou: “Let’s each take one home.”
Pei Zhou’s ears were extremely sharp—he caught the tone of a woman talking about handing out pretty boys like they were nothing, and a vein on his forehead twitched slightly: “Fine, I’ll take the plumper one.”
With that, he stepped forward and scooped his arm between the two women, separating them, and half-dragged, half-guided Jiang Wanyin away.
Behind them, Xu Tiantian took a moment to realize her side was empty, and shouted at the retreating backs: “Hey! Who are you? Give me back my concubine.”
The car arrived at the neighborhood the female supervisor had mentioned. Pei Zhou saw the environment wasn’t great, and the woman beside him was still dazed, so he could only see the matter through to the end.
He said to the designated driver: “I’ll add five hundred for you. Wait here for me.”
Pei Zhou got out of the car and helped the woman out: “Where’s your home?”
Jiang Wanyin squinted her hazy eyes and directed: “That, up that way.”
This was Pei Zhou’s first time doing this kind of thing—escorting a woman home—and he wasn’t very skilled at it. Several times he nearly let her bump into a tree or a wall.
He frowned the whole way as he brought her to her door, where the woman, still somewhat conscious, opened it herself.
He was about to turn and leave when he saw her about to topple over. He had no choice but to steady her, guiding her to the bed and making her sit down.
Pei Zhou looked around the tiny apartment. It crammed together a kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom—smaller than one of his side rooms—but it was clean, tidy, and warmly decorated.
It didn’t match the shabby, messy neighborhood outside at all.
“Pei, Pei Zhong?”
“Hm. You’re home now, so I’ll be going.”
Jiang Wanyin reached out and grabbed the man’s wrist: “Wait, Mufeng Construction wants to compete with Longye for the project! Someone in your company might be feeding them information.”
Pei Zhou let out a cold snort at that: “Just them?”
“Still, you have to watch out for petty people causing trouble.”
Jiang Wanyin had drunk too much and forgot to control her voice—soft, sweet, and coquettish, with a seductive lilt.
Pei Zhou suddenly felt as if the wrist she was holding had caught fire, a scorching heat rushing straight to his heart.
His gaze involuntarily fixed on the woman’s lips as they opened and closed, noticing a small, adorable lip bead on them. It looked very—
His Adam’s apple bobbed slightly, and his voice came out hoarse and low: “Ahem, alright, I understand. You should get some rest now.”
With that, he shook off her hand, turned, and strode away quickly, with the air of a man fleeing in panic—