After going out for several meals together, Wen Ya discovered that Duan Ming’an was truly very considerate. She was taken care of everywhere, yet it never felt overly restrictive.
He was a good man…
Wen Ya narrowed her eyes. How lucky she was.
Duan Ming’an watched her satisfied little expression and smiled silently.
So cute.
In a few more days, he would test the waters and confirm their relationship.
“Early in the morning at six thirty, get up and go to work…”
She hurriedly set down the small fork. Wen Ya smiled awkwardly, then answered the phone through gritted teeth.
Why on earth had she agreed with that damned person to use this song as their ringtone!
“Mosimosi~”
Wen Ya showed a row of snow-white teeth, her voice sweet. “Sorry, I’m eating right now. Can I call you back later?” Take the hint and hang up already!
However, the person on the other end clearly had no intention of taking the hint and burst out laughing.
“We haven’t been in touch for only two months, right? And you’ve already turned into this kind of pervert?”
Normally, Wen Ya would have slammed the table and told her to get lost. But she could not do that now, so she took a small breath and softened her voice as much as possible. “Then I’ll hang up.”
At the station entrance, the woman on the other end raised her brows sharply. “If you dare hang up, I’ll go splash red paint on your door tomorrow!”
Wen Ya laughed. “That’s only if you can… wait, you’re back in the country?!”
The last sentence came out in complete shock.
“Hmph, hmph. Since you know, hurry up and come pick me up. I’m at U City’s high speed rail station right now. I’m about to board, and I’ll arrive at our city’s station in half an hour. Tonight I’m sleeping with you, I have so many things to tell you.”
Now Wen Ya could not care less about Duan Ming’an. Heaven knew she and her little darling had not seen each other for two years. She desperately wanted to talk face to face, very desperately!
“President Duan, I’m sorry. My friend has returned to the country, I need to go to the airport to pick her up now.”
Duan Ming’an thought for a moment and stood up as well. “I’ll go with you. After picking up your friend, I can drop you home.”
Wen Ya opened her mouth to refuse, but Duan Ming’an seized the chance and said, “We already came out to eat together alone. Do you still have to keep your distance from me like this?”
Wen Ya thought about it and realized he had a point, so she stopped being awkward and agreed.
“I’ll dash over right away, wait for me~”
“Hahaha, I’ll be waiting for you~”
The two blew each other a kiss through the phone before Wen Ya happily hung up.
Duan Ming’an could not help laughing. “Who is it? You look so excited.”
“My childhood friend. We’ve been together since kindergarten. We were in the same class through elementary, middle, and high school. We only separated in college, but during winter and summer vacations we were always together… our classmates and teachers all said we looked like we were carved from the same mold.”
Wen Ya had opened the floodgates of conversation.
“Our personalities and hobbies are very similar. Even our favorite color is exactly the same. After she went abroad, whenever we occasionally video called, we discovered that even without each other around, our clothing styles were still the same…”
For some reason, Duan Ming’an felt that these words sounded strangely familiar. He pondered silently, though his face still carried a smile as he listened, occasionally responding and encouraging her excitement so she would keep talking.
The time on the road passed quickly amid Wen Ya’s chatter.
Finally they made a big turn.
Wen Ya spotted a long haired woman pushing a suitcase out from the exit at a glance. She immediately raised her hand high and waved. “Keke, over here!”
Qin Keke was equally delighted, but when her gaze met another pair of eyes, she froze in shock.
She stopped walking forward. Wen Ya ran toward her instead and hugged her tightly. “Darling, welcome back to the country!”
Qin Keke stared at Duan Ming’an. Only after a while did she reach out and hug Wen Ya back. “Long time no see. I missed you so much!”
After they separated, Qin Keke glanced at Duan Ming’an casually. “Oh? And this is…”
Wen Ya smiled modestly while giving her a meaningful look. “President Duan from our company.”
The guess was confirmed. Qin Keke felt the world spin before her eyes. She only wanted to punch a hole straight through that damned man beside them. That piece of trash…
“Oh, hello President Duan.”
Qin Keke extended her hand. “Nice to meet you. I’m this girl’s childhood friend. Sorry to trouble you to come pick me up today.”
Duan Ming’an lowered his gaze and reached out to shake the hand he had once held for two years. “Hello.”
Both of their palms were slightly sweaty, sticky and damp.
When they released their hands, Wen Ya’s gaze shifted from Qin Keke’s face to Duan Ming’an.
Although she did not want to notice it, Keke’s expression was abnormal.
Something was off.
When Qin Keke said on the phone that she would sleep with Wen Ya, she was not joking. On the first night after returning to the country, she really did not plan to go home yet. Instead, she intended to stay at the Wen family’s house.
Wen Ya chased away her parents, who were even more enthusiastic than they were toward their own daughter, then carried a plate of fruit cut by her mother back to her room and nudged the door closed with her toe.
“You suddenly came back to the country and didn’t even tell me beforehand.”
Qin Keke, who was rolling around on the bed, stuck out her tongue. “I just came back to take a look. I wanted to give you a surprise, hehe.”
“You’re leaving again?” Wen Ya paused and handed her a slice of orange. “Stick your head out a little. Don’t dirty my bed.”
Qin Keke wriggled for a moment and really did poke her head out. After she finished eating, Wen Ya collected the orange peel and handed her a wet wipe to clean her hands.
“Yeah, I’m leaving again…” Qin Keke sighed. “Actually life abroad is pretty good. The food just isn’t great.”
Wen Ya raised an eyebrow. “Since when does capitalism have bad food?”
“The capital belongs to old men and old ladies. I’m a proletarian. Most of the time I end up choosing discounted chicken breast… ugh, forget it. Just talking about it makes me want to throw up.” Qin Keke clutched her chest and pretended to gag.
Wen Ya set the fruit aside. “Then stop going abroad. Are you afraid the food and water from your hometown won’t fatten you up?”
Qin Keke shot her a sidelong glance. “What do you know? After coming back to the country, where can I find handsome blond, blue eyed guys who are well endowed and good in bed?”
“Sounds like you’ve tried it yourself.”
“Tsk. You don’t believe me?”
Wen Ya scoffed. “Roujiamo is still roujiamo even after going abroad. It won’t turn into a hamburger.”
“Tch.” Qin Keke pouted. “Bragging to you is the most boring thing… but honestly, Wen Ya, I didn’t expect this. After all these years, you finally opened your eyes to romance. What does it feel like to have a male idol?”
Wen Ya pinched her chin, lowered her head, and thought seriously for a moment before saying solemnly, “It’s pretty complicated.”
“Complicated?”
Wen Ya nodded. “Actually, we’ve known each other for less than a month. Before that, we only heard about each other through other people. And the first time he asked me out, he perfectly stood me up once.”
“…”
Qin Keke’s feelings at that moment were also complicated. After thinking for a while, she said, “Do you remember our agreement?”
Wen Ya nodded. “For the sake of each other’s health and long life, anything that can’t be shared should not be discussed.”
“Right. So when I was dating back then, I didn’t share anything with you, and you never asked about it either. The same applies now. Although we happened to meet him once by chance, I won’t see him a second time. But…” Qin Keke sat up and crossed her legs. “No matter what, I hope you can be happy.”
Wen Ya smiled. “I know.”
She was treating her like a fool again.
Keke had returned with so much luggage. There was no way she had only planned to come back for a short visit.
When Wen Ya got up in the morning, Qin Keke was still half asleep and trying to adjust to the time difference. Wen Ya told her parents not to disturb her and let her sleep as long as she wanted before leaving for work, though she still felt a bit uneasy.
After a night of poor sleep, she kept yawning during work, completely lacking energy.
“Wen Ya, didn’t you say you were going to show this file to the boss yesterday?”
A colleague frowned and picked up the folder that had been left among a stack of documents. “He didn’t have time to look at it yesterday, but he should have time today, right? The HR manager submitted it. Whether it’s approved or not, you have to give them an answer today.”
Wen Ya rubbed her head in frustration. “Sorry, my mind is a bit foggy. I’ll take it to him along with the others in a moment.”
The colleague sighed. “What’s wrong with you today? You look absent minded. Don’t let it affect your work.”
“Mm.” Wen Ya stood up and forced a toothy smile. “I’ll take these files to him now.”
After knocking on the office door, Wen Ya handed the documents to the boss. The top one was the file the HR manager had specially sent over.
“Please take a look at this one first. It’s from the HR department.”
She turned to leave, but the boss stopped her. “Wait a moment.”
He quickly opened the folder and pulled out several stapled documents. After glancing at them briefly, he leaned forward and handed the first document to her instead.
“If it were you, would you hire this person?”
Wen Ya took it in confusion and flipped through it.
Qiao Mu, twenty two years old, a senior at G University, applying for the position of General Manager’s Assistant.
The resume had two pages, filled with numerous listed achievements. Her abilities seemed quite good. It was already May, and as a senior, she would likely receive her graduation certificate any day now. It was not impossible to hire her.
But a resume was just a resume. Wen Ya honestly looked up. “Based on this alone, I can’t make a decision.”
The boss smiled and pointed to the other two documents. “Take a look at those as well.”
One was an interview record, the other a supplementary note.
Wen Ya read the interview record first. Her gaze eventually stopped on the HR manager’s comment.
Lacks composure, but can be trained.
Her brows could not help but knit together. She glanced at the boss, then opened the supplementary note under his smiling gaze.
Qiao Mu, the only daughter of Qiao Ying, chairman of Qiao Group.
The boss smiled pleasantly. “So, what do you think?”
“…”
Wen Ya felt troubled. Qiao Group was exactly the company they were trying to secure cooperation with. In that case, refusing to hire her was clearly not an option. But if they hired her, it would inevitably lead to complications. After all, with her status, she could not simply be treated like an ordinary employee.
“Well… it seems there’s no other choice.”
The boss nodded with satisfaction. “Exactly.”
“But the position of General Manager’s Assistant…” Wen Ya hesitated. “I think we shouldn’t place her in that position for now.”
The boss’s smile widened. “That makes sense. She just graduated from university, after all. She definitely can’t handle being a General Manager’s Assistant right away. So how about this, place her in the secretary department first. You can take her under your wing.”
Not good.
Not good at all.
Wen Ya truly could not smile anymore.
“Chairman, I’ve only just gotten familiar with things myself…”
The boss waved a large hand dismissively. “Even Xuehe approves of you. Training a newcomer is such a small matter, you’ll definitely handle it well. Have some confidence in yourself! And it just so happens that Xuehe is busy again with the renovation on his side. When she arrives, she can help you handle some miscellaneous tasks.”
“I’ll look at the other files later. Go give HR your reply first.”
“Oh dear, why am I so busy? Don’t bring me coffee this morning, I won’t even have time to drink it…”
Watching him pretend to be busy, Wen Ya felt like coughing up a mouthful of blood onto his face.
Why did he always set her up!
Why!