“The contract signing was at nine. Director Ye didn’t have the heart to wake you, so she went on her own.”
“Boss, you were drunk last night. Director Ye carried you back and even helped you bathe.”
“You slept in Director Ye’s room does that mean you two shared a bed last night?”
“Boss, congratulations!”
These were all direct quotes from Xiao Ziyu. As Lin Su brushed her teeth in the bathroom, she looked at her own reflection and tried to recall the events of the previous night after getting drunk, but her memory remained fuzzy no matter how hard she tried.
After washing up and changing her clothes, Lin Su left the bedroom and checked the time. It was past 8:30 AM; it was too late to accompany Ye Tong to the contract signing.
“Boss, this is the hangover tea that Director Ye specifically ordered to be prepared for you. Drink it while it’s hot,” Xiao Ziyu said with a gratified expression.
Lin Su raised an eyebrow. “Specifically ordered?”
“I’m not lying to you.” Xiao Ziyu munched on an apple, watching Lin Su sit on the opposite sofa with the hangover tea, and asked with a wink, “Boss, do you remember if you two had any significant developments?”
“No.” Lin Su didn’t even need to think to know there hadn’t been any. Ye Tong was very guarded against her now, consistently rejecting her attempts to get close; why would she soften her heart just because Lin Su was drunk?
Xiao Ziyu shook her head and sighed. “What a pity. Such a good opportunity.”
It hadn’t been a good opportunity at all. Lin Su took a few sips of the tea. “Ziyu, how are things at the company?”
“There is actually one thing Chen Shuru just called my phone.” Xiao Ziyu quickly swallowed a piece of apple. “Boss, you haven’t been ignoring her calls for the past few days, have you?”
“What does she want?”
Xiao Ziyu shrugged. “What else could she want? She’s inquiring about your schedule as usual, asking when you’ll be back and when you’ll finish your work. Her tone so entitled and righteous really makes it seem like she considers herself the Mistress of the Lin family.”
Lin Su frowned. “Tell her not to interfere with Project A, especially the design aspect.”
“I told her according to your instructions, but I don’t know if she’ll listen. Honestly, my words probably won’t have any effect; you’ll have to tell her yourself, otherwise, it’ll just be a headache when she starts stirring up trouble.”
“Then we’ll deal with it when we get back.” Lin Su leaned against the sofa, her long legs crossed, and picked up a business journal from the couch.
Xiao Ziyu offered a well-meaning reminder: “Boss, this concerns your lifelong happiness. Aren’t you worried at all?”
“Being worried won’t solve anything.”
Lin Su flipped through the journal, her fingertips crinkling the page she was holding. Xiao Ziyu was speechless; as the saying goes, “The emperor is calm while the eunuch is anxious.” Truth be told, the “overbearing CEO” was much cuter when she was drunk.
If she felt this frustrated, she could only imagine how much more frustrated Ye Tong must have been taking care of her last night.
Xiao Ziyu thought for a moment and felt an obligation to remind her boss, so she said seriously: “Boss, Chen Shuru is competitive, intolerant of any rivals, and has a sharp tongue. Back when Ye Tong was your assistant, Chen Shuru targeted and harassed her at every turn. Now that Ye Tong has returned, Chen Shuru will definitely be jealous. I’m worried Ye Tong won’t be a match for her.”
Having finished, Xiao Ziyu added: “After all, Ye Tong doesn’t have the experience of an old fox like Chen Shuru. All’s fair in love and war.”
The most important thing was not letting her sweetheart suffer even the slightest grievance; otherwise, how would she ever win her back? Seeing Lin Su frowning but remaining silent, Xiao Ziyu grew exasperated. “Boss, I’m talking about something important here. Stop reading and make a decision.”
No wonder she couldn’t win her back. Every time she saw Lin Su appearing so confident, as if she had everything under control, yet doing nothing, Xiao Ziyu wished she could force-feed Lin Su a few bottles of hard liquor every day. If she were drunk and lost her baggage, she’d have the person back home in a heartbeat.
Lin Su said softly, “She has worked abroad for so many years; there’s no pit she hasn’t fallen into before. She won’t be unable to handle this. Besides, this is the workplace.”
Xiao Ziyu replied: “The workplace is a dark place.”
In the real world, everyone has their own hidden agendas. Someone might sabotage you for fame or wealth, and you can’t block every open attack or hidden arrow.
Lin Su had experienced storms and waves. Her eyes were sharp and keen, seemingly able to see through people’s hidden motives, but she couldn’t control Ye Tong’s life or work. Ye Tong was no longer the little assistant who followed behind her.
Xiao Ziyu continued munching her apple: “Boss, you haven’t forgotten, have you? Ye Tong was harassed by Chen Shuru because of you, and the poor girl hid in the restroom and cried her eyes out.”
Lin Su certainly hadn’t forgotten. That time, Chen Shuru had seized an opportunity while Lin Su was away on a business trip. Ye Tong hadn’t told her afterward; Xiao Ziyu had only heard it from someone else.
“Boss, don’t say I didn’t warn you Chen Shuru is not a kind person. Personally, I think the design draft being suddenly rejected by her was, if not deliberate, at least her looking for trouble.”
Xiao Ziyu passed her verdict: she was just looking for trouble. Lin Su pursed her lips, put down the journal, and pondered for a moment. “Go and call our ‘little ancestor’ back. She’s had enough fun.”
“The little ancestor?!” Xiao Ziyu was dumbfounded. “You… are you sure?”
Lin Su curled her lips into a slight smile. “I can’t let her run wild like this.”
“Boss, you are wise.” Xiao Ziyu gave a thumbs-up. The Lin family’s little ancestor was a force of nature who defied everything, and with Lin Su shielding her, no one dared to provoke her. Since the “little ancestor” already knew Ye Tong was Lin Su’s person, she would surely protect her with the same ferocity; the Lin family was notorious for being protective of their own.
Lin Su: “It’s decided then. Tell her to end her trip and return to the company as soon as possible.”
“OK, I’ll get on it.” The Lin family’s little ancestor was shameless and unscrupulous, completely spoiled by Lin Su. In the few months she had been at the company, anyone who refused to follow her rules was met with a retort that left them speechless.
Lin Su stood up and checked the time. “Get ready. We’re going to the HJ Group.”
“Are we still going now?” Xiao Ziyu glanced at the clock. “It’s almost nine. By the time we get there, they’ll have already finished signing.”
Lin Su nodded. “We’ll go to the factory at 3:00 PM to oversee the fabric production.”
“That’s still quite early.” Xiao Ziyu’s eyes suddenly lit up, and she looked at Lin Su. “Boss, are we going to the HJ Group to pick up Director Ye?”
“Stop talking nonsense.” Lin Su neither agreed nor refused; she turned and walked into the bedroom.
The answer was obvious.
…
At 9:30 AM, in the conference room of the HJ Building, two contracts had been formally signed. Ye Tong stood up and shook hands with the HJ representative, Zhong Lingyun, smiling lightly. “General Manager Zhong, I hope we will have a pleasant cooperation in the future.”
“A pleasant cooperation.” Zhong Lingyun released Ye Tong’s hand and invited her with a warm smile: “Director Ye, if you have time, let’s have a meal together. We can discuss that fabric you need.”
Ye Tong hesitated: “Right now?”
Seeing Ye Tong’s dilemma, Zhong Lingyun smiled understandingly. “If you don’t have time, we can schedule it for another day.”
“I have time.” Ye Tong offered a polite, gentle smile. “But since it’s not even ten o’clock yet, perhaps we could just grab a drink somewhere?”
“That works.” Zhong Lingyun smiled. “There’s a coffee shop right next to the building.”
Having reached an agreement, Zhong Lingyun led Ye Tong to the elevator. Ye Tong had originally intended to use this gap to visit Luo Huan to thank her for her care and guidance and to scold her for a bit. If that “monster” hadn’t been whispering in the big boss’s ear, claiming she and the LT president were old acquaintances with a great relationship, she never would have been assigned to this project by the big boss.
Zhong Lingyun pressed the floor number and asked while standing next to Ye Tong: “Where are you from, Director Ye?”
Ye Tong: “City B.”
“What a coincidence. My family is from City B too. Did you attend B University?”
Ye Tong was stunned, then nodded with a smile.
“What a coincidence; we are fellow townspeople and alumni.” With the joy of meeting a fellow from home, Zhong Lingyun turned to look at Ye Tong several more times.
Ye Tong was also surprised; she hadn’t expected to have such a connection with Zhong Lingyun. After a brief chat, she learned that they were only one year apart Zhong Lingyun was, in fact, her senior.
With this connection, the distance between them was implicitly bridged, and they no longer needed to be so formal. After leaving the building, Ye Tong and Zhong Lingyun chatted and laughed as they entered the coffee shop.
A black sedan pulled over to the side of the road. Xiao Ziyu saw them: “Boss, Director Ye and that Vice General Manager Zhong have gone into the coffee shop.”
“Are we going in too?”
“No need to rush.” Lin Su turned her head to look out the window. “Let her finish her business.”
“So we’re just waiting here?”
Lin Su: “Yes.”
Xiao Ziyu: “By the way, Boss, the company’s year-end banquet is in half a month. Should we invite Director Ye to attend?”
“You handle that.”
Having been handed the task, Xiao Ziyu muttered: “You’re not afraid she’ll refuse, are you?”
Lin Su’s calm gaze fixed on her, and Xiao Ziyu turned her head away, automatically shutting her mouth. It seemed she had hit the “overbearing CEO’s” sore spot. If Lin Su were to invite Ye Tong to the year-end banquet, Ye Tong might truly refuse.
In the coffee shop, Ye Tong and Zhong Lingyun talked for two hours without realizing the time passing. Most of it was about the various properties of the fabric. Ye Tong didn’t know much about textiles, so she had done her homework and researched a great deal before coming here to understand the basics.
Ye Tong was only responsible for the early stages of the project; she was not in charge of the later market sales, so as long as the clothing was produced according to the design, she didn’t need to delve into the subsequent marketing work.
After finalizing the on-site inspection for the afternoon, Ye Tong left the coffee shop. Zhong Lingyun asked with a smile: “It’s almost twelve; shall we grab a meal?”
Ye Tong was about to politely decline when Zhong Lingyun suddenly said: “General Manager Lin?”
Ye Tong was confused. She turned back to look ahead and saw Lin Su walking toward them. Before she could think, Lin Su had already reached her and blocked the harsh sunlight for her. “Director Ye, are you finished?”
Ye Tong was startled: “Yes, I’m finished.”
“Then let’s go; we’re going to eat.” Lin Su gripped Ye Tong’s wrist, nodding slightly at Zhong Lingyun with a faint smile.
Having had her plans intercepted by a major client that HJ could not afford to offend, Zhong Lingyun watched their retreating figures, shrugged, and shook her head.
“Why are you here too?” Ye Tong pulled her wrist away from Lin Su’s grasp. “You are not allowed to…”
She was about to say “not allowed to hold my hand,” but realizing the tone wasn’t right, she quickly changed it: “The contract is signed, we have an on-site inspection at the factory this afternoon, and we can return to City S tonight.”
Lin Su suddenly stopped walking and turned to look at Ye Tong. “We’re not returning tonight. We’ll stay one more night and head back tomorrow afternoon.”
Stay another night? Ye Tong looked at the calm, serious Lin Su. Although Lin Su had resumed her cold, professional persona, as Ye Tong looked at her face, her mind was flooded with images of the childish, infuriating, and shameless “old fox” who had acted cute and tried to charm her the night before…