Xin Ying pulled Lin Leyao's mask back up, her gaze fixed on Lin Leyao, and said, "See you on New Year's Eve."
After saying this, Xin Ying drove away.
Lin Leyao stood in the cold wind downstairs for a long, long time. Only when she felt the burning heat on her face completely disappear did she slowly lift her feet and walk into the hotel.
Xin Ying drove the car away from the film studio and parked it on the side of the road.
She picked up the gift Lin Leyao had given her from the passenger seat and examined it closely under the car's overhead light.
Lin Leyao gave her a painting, a painting she painted herself.
The painting depicts two girls standing side by side. One is older, wearing a white lace-collared blouse and a brown-green plaid vest dress, with long, flowing black hair, and a bright smile. The other is a little girl, with two cute buns in her hair, wearing a pale yellow tutu, grinning broadly and laughing so hard she's doubled over.
The two people stood side by side in a cluster of calla lilies.
The sun was shining brightly, and the fragrance of flowers was intoxicating.
Xin Ying carefully examined the painting, which depicted fifteen-year-old Xin Ying and ten-year-old Lin Leyao. At this time, one of them had not yet experienced the later changes, and the other's father had not yet passed away; both of them were living very happy lives.
Xin Ying stroked the signature in the lower right corner.
—le, joy. The joy of Lin Leyao, the joy of happiness.
After looking at it for a long time, Xin Ying carefully put the painting back into the box and started the car again.
Lin Leyao returned to the hotel, opened the room door and went in. She found the room brightly lit and immediately saw Xiaomi sitting on the sofa in the living room.
Upon seeing her, Xiaomi immediately exclaimed, "Sister Leyao, you're back!"
Lin Leyao nodded: "Is there something you need from me?"
“This—” Xiaomi picked up a bunch of sunflowers and a gift box, “This is a gift from President Liu to you.”
Lin Leyao looked surprised: "She came today?"
Xiaomi nodded: "Yes, I waited in the lobby downstairs for a long time."
Lin Leyao pursed her lips and remained silent. Looking at the luxury brand logo on the gift box in Xiao Mi's arms, Lin Leyao said, "Could you return this to President Liu for me?"
Before Xiaomi could finish speaking, Lin Leyao added, "Never mind, just leave the things here, I'll return them to her myself."
Xiaomi nodded immediately, put down what she was holding, and quickly left.
Liu Fang's things were always on the coffee table. After Lin Leyao finished washing up, she looked at the pile of things, took out her phone, edited a message, and sent it to Liu Fang.
Miss Liu, the gift you gave me is too valuable; I cannot accept it. I will return it to you next time we meet.
Half an hour later, Liu Fang replied: "[This is a Christmas present for you, don't be shy.]"
I really can't accept this.
Liu Fang: [You saved Liu Ai's life, that's worth far more than this gift.]
Lin Leyao saw this reply and pursed her lips expressionlessly.
She had heard Liu Fang say this many times, and it seemed that Liu Fang really cared about his younger sister.
However, she had only done a small favor by saving Liu Ai; she would have done the same for anyone who had collapsed on the roadside. She hadn't expected anything in return, so Liu Fang's current actions seemed a bit too enthusiastic to her.
Lin Leyao typed text on the screen expressionlessly: "I really can't accept this. Otherwise, give me your address, and I'll send you a Christmas present too."
They replied with an address about ten minutes later.
Lin Leyao quickly logged into an online shopping platform, bought an item of the same brand and price as the gift Liu Fang had given her, and sent it by express delivery.
Christmas has just passed, and New Year's Eve is fast approaching.
On the morning of December 31st, Lin Leyao took an early flight to Z City.
After getting off the plane, she went directly to the performance venue for rehearsals.
Meanwhile, Xin Ying, who was still in S City, was having dinner with her business partners at a hotel.
After lunch, the staff from Xinying Company and their partner company went downstairs together. As they walked into the lobby, a group of people walked in from outside.
The two groups met face to face, and when Xin Ying saw someone in the opposite group, her eyes darkened.
Upon seeing the newcomer, Mr. He from the partner company smiled and said, "President Liu, what brings you here today?"
Liu Fang smiled and said, "I brought people from my company to S City to discuss projects these past few days, and we came here for lunch and a rest."
Mr. He said, "It's a bit late for lunch now, you should go and have lunch and rest."
As he spoke, Mr. He suddenly remembered something and quickly said, "Mr. Xin, this is Liu Fang from Ryan, Ms. Liu. Ms. Liu, this is Xin Ying from Huanning Group, Ms. Xin."
Xin Ying and Liu Fang looked at each other for several seconds. After a while, Liu Fang smiled and extended her hand, saying, "Hello, President Xin, I am Liu Fang."
Xin Ying gave it a light handshake, then immediately withdrew her hand: "Hello, Xin Ying."
Liu Fang noticed the ring on Xin Ying's ring finger and asked with a smile, "Mr. Xin is already married?"
Mr. He, who was standing next to him, laughed and said, "Our CEO Xin recently went viral for announcing his marriage. He's newlywed, but he's been keeping it a secret from us and hasn't told us who his wife is."
Liu Fang smiled and joked, "Then it seems that Madam Xin is very beautiful, and Mr. Xin wants to keep her as a mistress."
Xin Ying raised an eyebrow and said, "She is indeed very beautiful."
Upon hearing Xin Ying's words, Liu Fang's expression froze for a moment, and then after a few dozen seconds, Liu Fang and President He burst into laughter.
Mr. He laughed and said, "This is the first time I've seen Mr. Xin so direct. Getting married really does change things!"
Xin Ying looked at Liu Fang, who was laughing heartily, her eyes narrowed slightly, and she smiled without saying a word.
--------------------
Author's Note:
Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 05:34:56 on March 13, 2022 and 19:31:06 on March 14, 2022!
Thank you to the little angel who threw the grenade: 55157345 (1 grenade);
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Jiuyao (80 bottles); Take a nap (20 bottles); Holiday (10 bottles); 50476833 and Shanchuan (1 bottle each);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Chapter 54
After exchanging a few words, Xin Ying and Liu Fang quickly parted ways.
Xin Ying prepared to continue walking out of the hotel.
Suddenly, a girl's voice rang out from the side—
"Auntie!"
The girl's voice was barely audible in the large hotel lobby, but it easily reached the ears of a group of people who were preparing to leave.
Everyone turned to look at a girl standing by the revolving door on the right.
The girl looked like she wasn't an adult yet, still a young girl, wearing a simple black sweatshirt and light-colored jeans, her eyes staring straight in their direction.
Following her gaze, everyone discovered that her gaze was fixed on Xin Ying.
Xin Ying's eyes flickered when she saw the girl who suddenly appeared at the hotel.
Xin Ying turned to the people behind her and instructed them, "You guys go back to the company first."
The group nodded and left one after another.
Mr. He greeted them and didn't linger. However, his gaze kept drifting to the little girl in the corner, wondering when the Xin family had acquired another little girl.
After everyone had left, the little girl slowly walked up to Xin Ying and timidly called out, "Auntie?"
Xin Ying looked her up and down, noticing her striking resemblance to her third brother, and asked, "When did you return to China?"
Xin Hailan honestly replied, "In the morning."
Xin Ying asked, "Who told you I was here? Your grandma or your uncle?"
Xin Hailan pursed her lips but did not answer.
Xin Ying didn't delve into it further and asked, "Have you had lunch?"
Xin Hailan shook her head.
"Let's go then."
Xin Ying led Xin Hailan back to the restaurant upstairs for a meal, following the direction they had come from.
Lin Leyao had just finished rehearsing when she received a text message from Xin Ying, saying that she had something to do that night and couldn't come to Z City to celebrate the New Year with her.
Lin Leyao quickly replied that she was fine and told her to focus on her own things.
Xin Ying spent nearly two hours having lunch with Xin Hailan.
After Xin Hailan finished eating, Xin Ying checked the time and said, "I still have to go to the company. Should I get you a room to rest?"
Xin Hailan looked surprised and quickly shook her head to refuse: "Aunt, can I go with you? It's my first time back in China, and I'm not familiar with many things here. I'm a little scared."
Xin Ying did not refuse and drove Xin Hailan to the company.
Instead of bringing Xin Hailan into the company, Xin Ying arranged for Kong Anqing to take Xin Hailan to a nearby coffee shop for an afternoon.
Xin Hailan sat in the coffee shop all afternoon, completely distracted.
She tried to get a lot of information from Kong Anqing indirectly, but the personal assistant was too tight-lipped, and she didn't get any useful information.
As the sun slowly set and Xin Ying still hadn't appeared, Xin Hailan grew increasingly anxious.
Xin Hailan couldn't help but ask Kong Anqing, "Could you take me to see my grandmother first?"
Kong Anqing smiled and said, "President Xin will be here soon, Miss Hailan, you can wait a little longer."
Just when Xin Hailan felt that Xin Ying was deliberately keeping her waiting and didn't want to wait any longer, Xin Ying finally appeared.
Xin Ying said simply, "Let's go have dinner."
Xin Hailan then followed Xin Ying to a nearby restaurant.
All day long, Xin Hailan followed behind Xin Ying, waiting for her to appear. She kept trying to find an opportunity to chat with Xin Ying, but Xin Ying never seemed inclined to speak.
Xin Hailan ate very slowly, but even that couldn't stop time from passing. As it grew later and later, Xin Hailan's expression became increasingly anxious. Finally, she couldn't help but say, "Auntie, I want to go home to see Grandpa and Grandma."
Xin Ying did not refuse and said, "I'll arrange for you to go tomorrow morning."