But when the words reached Ji Yuning's ears, they were like thunder, resounding from her ears straight to her heart.
What she feared had come to pass: a futile joy, a pipe dream.
But she... hasn't fallen asleep yet...
How could I be dreaming?
Or perhaps she had already fallen deeply into the gentle dream woven by Fang Bai and had never woken up.
Ji Yuning felt a pang of pain in her heart, and frowned as she said, "I'm not sure."
The person opposite said calmly, "Perhaps they got the name wrong."
A single sentence shattered Ji Yuning's fantasies that lasted all night.
The phone call ended, and the room was eerily quiet.
After an unknown amount of time, a "ding" sound broke the near-collapse of the atmosphere.
The computer is warning that the battery is low.
Ji Yuning's dangling fingers twitched, and she suddenly paused. Then she looked up at the computer screen, and a light ignited in her dark pupils.
Nine o'clock in the morning.
Fang Bai sat at the dining table, drinking the porridge she had just cooked.
As the soft, sticky porridge entered his mouth, Fang Bai glanced sideways at his phone on the table.
Fang Maozhou: [I've already had Lao Chen handle everything; no one will know you've returned to China.]
Fang Maozhou: [When are you coming back to see Dad?]
The message was sent to her by Fang Maozhou a week ago, but she only saw it now because her phone was off.
A few days before returning to China, she asked Fang Maozhou to help her process her flight information, not for any other reason than that she was worried that Ji Yuning would find out.
During his years abroad, Fang Bai never stayed in one place for more than two months at a time. This was partly because he was worried about his whereabouts being exposed, and partly because he used this sense of urgency to keep himself disciplined.
Although three years have passed since she was cannon fodder, and Ji Yuning may be busy with her career and have no time to take care of her, Fang Bai felt that she could not let her guard down, as Ji Yuning could find her at any time.
Fang Bai raised his hand, tapped the screen with his fingertip, and sent a message to Fang Maozhou.
No sooner had the message been sent than Fang Bai heard a knock on her door.
The door opened, and Hao Yingman stood in the doorway.
What brings you here?
Fang Bai asked in surprise, "Last night, Hao Yingman took her employees out to dinner, and Fang Bai was also invited. Then Fang Bai watched Hao Yingman and her employees drink heavily, and in the end, they were all drunk and unconscious. Fang Bai had to take them home."
Why didn't you stay home to sober up? Why did you come looking for her?
Hao Yingman rubbed her head and changed into slippers in the entryway, saying, "FJ called me early this morning, but I was still half asleep and hung up. They called again not long after and woke me up."
"FJ?" Fang Bai exclaimed in surprise. "Didn't we just send them an email yesterday? They called you this morning to discuss cooperation? That's incredibly efficient!"
"Big companies are very efficient." Hao Yingman frowned with a headache and muttered, "But they're not here to talk about cooperation with me, they're here to talk to you."
Hao Yingman tossed her phone to Fang Bai, walked to the sofa, plopped down, and lay down on it.
She has a terrible headache and needs to sleep.
Fang Bai stood there, glanced at Hao Yingman, then at the thing in his hand, and asked in confusion, "Looking for me?"
"...Yes, they said they have a few questions about the plan that they want to ask you."
Fang Bai quickly realized, "You actually added my name?"
Hao Yingman closed her eyes and chuckled, "I'd feel bad if I didn't add your name."
Fang Bai didn't dwell on the matter. In fact, she had already guessed something when Hao Yingman asked her to call Xiao Ru to the office.
"But why not look for Xiaoru and the others?" Fang Bai asked, puzzled.
Hao Yingman said, "Because the details she asked about were all written by you, I came directly to you."
Fang Bai nodded slightly.
However, looking at his phone, Fang Bai asked Hao Yingman very sincerely, "Why didn't you just call me and tell me so I could call them back, or have them call me? Why did you have to come all the way here yourself?"
Hao Yingman suddenly opened her eyes, blinked, and then closed them again. Her tone was awkward as she said, "You know, I drank too much."
Suppressing a laugh, Fang Bai turned around and took a blanket from the bedroom, covering Hao Yingman with it.
She felt a weight on her, but Hao Yingman didn't open her eyes: "Thank you."
Hao Yingman added, "Call them back first and see what they want to ask. It would be even better if you could get some information out of them."
"Okay, I understand. Go to sleep." Fang Bai said, taking Hao Yingman's phone and turning to go into the bedroom.
After gently closing the bedroom door and making sure it wouldn't disturb the people sleeping outside, she picked up her phone.
Hao Yingman opened it directly without setting a password.
Open the call, and at the top are three call records with the name FJ.
It's really simple.
But how is she supposed to address the other person later?
After making the call, Fang Bai put the phone to his ear.
The call was answered after three rings.
Realizing the call had connected, Fang Bai spoke first, saying softly, "Hello, I'm Fang Bai, Mr. Hao's assistant. Are you from FJ Company?"
Fang Bai's tone has always been gentle and soft, and hasn't changed much.
So when Fang Bai's voice was played through the phone and reached someone's ears, Ji Yuning could no longer maintain her aloof expression.
Ji Yuning unconsciously softened her breathing.
Thank goodness.
Fortunately, she did not give up the opportunity to pursue her dreams because of several shattered dreams.
When Ji Yuning saw the computer yesterday, she thought, how could such an important cooperation proposal have the signature wrong?
So, clinging to her last hope, she went to the company and asked Yuan Yizhen to call the other party.
Why doesn't Ji Yuning hit herself?
Because it was Yuan Yizhen who had been communicating with the other party before, calling her would lower their guard. Also, Ji Yuning was afraid that if it really was Fang Bai, he would hang up the phone as soon as he heard her voice.
The fact that Fang Bai was able to add her name to the proposal shows that she definitely didn't know that FJ's boss was her.
Ji Yuning gave Yuan Yizhen a look.
Yuan Yizhen immediately understood. Instead of using her usual tone of voice, she lowered her voice to make sure the person on the other end couldn't hear her and said, "Yes, Miss Fang."
"Hello," Fang Bai said politely. "Is there anything I can help you with?"
"There was one just now, but while waiting for Fang Bai's call, I realized I had made a mistake. I'm really sorry."
"No problem, feel free to call us anytime if you have any questions," Fang Bai said. "It's our honor to cooperate with your company."
"Ms. Fang, you're too kind. But since you've put it that way, I won't hold back. Actually, there are a few points in the proposal that our company is very interested in. It might not be convenient to discuss them over the phone. I wonder if it would be convenient for me to ask you about them in person next week when I go to Nancheng?"
Fang Bai felt that the other person's voice sounded familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had heard it before, so he just assumed it was due to background noise on the phone.
Upon hearing what the other party said, Fang Bai paused for a moment and said, "Actually, the plan was not entirely completed by me alone. You must have seen the signature line. Most of the content was completed by them."
Yuan Yizhen looked at Ji Yuning, who pointed to the computer with a pen. On the computer were several details from the plan, which Ji Yuning had listed out.
“That’s true, but what I want to ask is about those details you wrote, Ms. Fang. I think President Hao has already told you about them, right?” Yuan Yizhen said.
Yes, I did say that.
Fang Bai pursed his lips. "I'm sorry, I'm leaving Nancheng next week, so I might not have time to meet you."
Fang Bai knew that what she said wasn't good for Hao Yingman. Refusing a partner was like standing on the edge of a cliff, where one could fall at any moment and fail to complete the cooperation.
"Ah... Ms. Fang, did you resign?" The person on the other end of the line asked, then quickly added, "I may have been abrupt, but I just feel it's a bit of a pity."
Fang Bai chuckled and explained, "It's not a resignation. I was specially hired by General Manager Hao, and I can leave once this job is finished."
"I see," the other person said.
Fang Bai hummed in agreement and asked, "Do you have any other questions?"
Yuan Yizhen looked at Ji Yuning. When she heard that Fang Bai was leaving, the joy in Ji Yuning's eyes faded again, and she even looked a little flustered.
Yuan Yizhen quickly shifted her gaze and said in a low voice, "Ms. Fang, would it be convenient for you to leave your contact information? I can consult you again if I have any questions later?"
Fang Bai still felt sorry for Hao Yingman. When he heard her mention contacting her later, Fang Bai felt that she should still have a chance to make amends, so he said, "Of course."
Chapter 75
Fang Bai came out of the bedroom, and the person who should have been lying on the sofa sleeping was now sitting at the dining table, drinking porridge with his head down.
The porridge was prepared by Hao Yingman.
Fang Bai sat down opposite her, placed Hao Yingman's phone in front of her, and asked, "Aren't you going to sleep?"
Hao Yingman nodded and then shook her head: "I want to sleep, but I can't."
Even though she pretended not to care when the other party called, she was still very concerned about this collaboration; otherwise, she wouldn't have come to Fangbai so early in the morning.
Hao Yingman took a sip of her porridge and asked, "What did you talk about?"
"It's nothing, she said she made a mistake," Fang Bai said.
"?" Hao Yingman was stunned. "That's it?"
Didn't she make a wasted trip?
Fang Bai winked at Hao Yingman and said softly, "She also said she has a few questions she wants to discuss in person. She'll be here next week, so you can talk to her then."