“Yes.”
“What did she come back for?”
Fu Beichen’s voice instantly turned cold.
The last time Nan Xin had gone to the old residence, she had taken his supplementary bank card. And now she actually had the nerve to come back?
“She seemed to have come back to get something. She took a very large bag with her when she left. I don’t know what was inside,” the servant replied.
“All right, I understand. Give the phone to Yu.”
The phone was handed back to Nan Yu.
Nan Yu bit her lip and hesitated before saying, “Beichen, perhaps my sister didn’t do it intentionally. Please don’t blame her.”
Her words were essentially an admission that Nan Xin was the one who had taken the things.
In the office, Fu Beichen’s expression was frighteningly cold.
After living together for three years, he had never realized that the woman beside him was a thief.
Or perhaps she simply hadn’t had the opportunity to steal from him during those three years and had finally found her chance now.
“Yu, I’ll get the ring back for you.”
“Beichen…”
After hanging up, a satisfied smile appeared on Nan Yu’s lips.
She looked down at the servant.
“Remember what happened today. All you saw was Nan Xin coming to the house. You know nothing else. Understood?”
“Yes.”
The servant lowered her head respectfully.
Satisfied, Nan Yu returned to her room.
After retrieving her perfumery equipment, Nan Xin returned to the Ji residence.
When Ji Zhouye came home, he faintly caught the scent drifting from Nan Xin’s room. The fragrance was extremely subtle, yet exceptionally pleasant.
Coincidentally, Nan Xin had just stepped out of her room, and the same pleasant scent lingered on her.
“Did you put on perfume?”
Ji Zhouye put down the bag he was carrying and asked.
Nan Xin shook her head.
“No. It’s the scent of the fragrance materials.”
As she spoke, she gently fanned the scent toward Ji Zhouye.
“Doctor Ji, does it smell good?”
“It smells quite good. It seems different from ordinary perfumes,” Ji Zhouye answered honestly.
Nan Xin smiled in satisfaction.
Although she had never actually put her ideas into practice before, she had always been extremely sensitive to scents. She had recorded many of her concepts in the notes on her phone. Today, she had simply taken them out and put them into practice.
The result was quite good.
“This is a new fragrance I created. If you like it, I’ll give you a bottle once it’s finished.”
“You know how to make perfume?” Ji Zhouye raised an eyebrow.
“I’m a perfumer.”
Nan Xin made no attempt to hide it and simply revealed her profession.
There was no point in keeping it secret anyway. She might need to work every day for the foreseeable future, and scents were impossible to conceal. It was better to be open about it from the beginning.
That surprised Ji Zhouye.
His eyes flickered slightly.
“Then the scent on you—is that something you made yourself too?”
Nan Xin froze.
Ever since Fu Beichen had told her that he disliked the smell of perfume, Nan Xin had stopped wearing perfume altogether.
So where would the perfume scent on her come from?
After thinking about it, Nan Xin suddenly understood.
“Doctor Ji, you must mean the scent of my body wash.”
She made all her own body wash, so the fragrances in them were also created by her. Ji Zhouye must have been referring to the scent of her body wash.
Ji Zhouye’s gaze darkened.
So he really had been overthinking it.
It was probably just the same body wash scent.
Nan Xin assumed that Ji Zhouye was simply curious and didn’t ask further. Instead, she changed the subject.
“You haven’t eaten yet, have you, Doctor Ji? I’ll make something.”
“No need. I brought dinner tonight. Sit down and eat with me.”
Ji Zhouye had brought food from a very famous private kitchen in Jiangcheng. Apparently, reservations had to be made in advance, otherwise it was nearly impossible to get a meal there.
Shen Zhixia had taken Nan Xin there several times before, but they had never managed to get a table.
Looking at the delicious dishes spread across the table, Nan Xin’s appetite immediately returned.
Ji Zhouye, however, didn’t eat much that evening.
Nan Xin took the initiative to clean up after dinner. By the time she came out of the kitchen, Ji Zhouye had already returned to his room.
News from Gong Hao came soon afterward.
Dexin had offered Nan Xin a position as the head of its fragrance research and development department, with an annual salary of one million yuan.
“In addition to the salary and benefits, if the market response is good, you’ll also receive ten percent of the profits from the products you develop.”
The offer could be described as extremely sincere.
Nan Xin didn’t hesitate and accepted.
Dexin had already shown her enough sincerity. Besides, her goal wasn’t merely the profit share. She wanted to build enough capital and influence to stand against the Fu Group.
The first step was establishing herself firmly at Dexin.
Gong Hao asked, “Miss Nan, when are you available? We can meet and sign the contract.”
“Whenever it’s convenient for you.”
“Then let’s meet at Dexin’s headquarters. I can also show you around and help you get familiar with the company.”
Gong Hao’s tone was much more relaxed than it had been the day before.
They agreed to meet at Dexin’s headquarters at 2:30 p.m.
Around 2:10, Nan Xin drove to Dexin’s headquarters.
When she called Gong Hao, she was told that he was still outside and would arrive at the company in about ten minutes.
Since Nan Xin had arrived early, she sat in the lobby on the first floor and waited for him.
The receptionist thoughtfully brought her a glass of water. Gong Hao had already notified the front desk in advance, so the receptionist took the initiative to explain.
“I’m sorry, Miss Nan. The Fu Group came today to discuss a partnership with us, and Director Gong was temporarily called away by the president.”
Nan Xin’s hand trembled slightly around the glass.
The Fu Group had come to Dexin to discuss a partnership?
Weren’t they mortal enemies?
That was merely what Nan Xin was thinking. Her expression remained calm.
She figured that even if the Fu Group was negotiating with Dexin, given that she would be working mostly from home afterward, there was no reason she would have to run into them.
But the world seemed to have a strange way of making things happen.
“Xinxin? What are you doing here?”
Nan Yu’s surprised voice suddenly rang out.
Nan Xin looked up.
Nan Yu was wearing a tailored business suit and standing beside Fu Beichen, who was dressed in a suit. A group of formally dressed executives stood around them.
Nan Yu was clearly surprised to see Nan Xin at Dexin. But when she noticed Nan Xin’s relatively casual attire, she seemed to immediately understand something.
She said with feigned concern, “Xinxin, even if you want to find a job, you should at least wait until after the baby is born. You’re already almost eight months pregnant. What if something happens? Wouldn’t that make things difficult for the company?”
A stern-looking middle-aged man standing beside them immediately darkened at Nan Yu’s words.
Rather than questioning her directly, he turned to Fu Beichen and asked,
“President Fu, does Miss Nan know this woman?”
The moment Fu Beichen saw Nan Xin, his expression also became ugly.
He hadn’t expected Nan Xin to be so shameless that even while heavily pregnant, she would still go around embarrassing herself.
Fu Beichen replied coldly,
“We’re not close.”
After receiving that answer, the middle-aged man said nothing more. He simply turned toward the receptionist and ordered sternly,
“Notify the HR department and have them come down immediately.”
The receptionist glanced at Nan Xin and hesitated before speaking.
“President Hu, she wasn’t hired by the HR department. She was…”