Unexpectedly, the other party was so proactive upon meeting again. Lin Leyao smiled in surprise and said, "Thank you for liking me."
Xin Ying was also a little surprised to see Iris like this. This girl had been sulking because of what happened in Australia, but she didn't expect that she would forget everything about it as soon as she saw Lin Leyao.
Lin Leyao and Iris have already started chatting.
Lin Leyao said, "If you like Hanfu, I can take you to have a photoshoot if you have time during this period."
Iris's eyes instantly lit up as she looked at Lin Leyao and asked, "Really?!"
Lin Leyao answered decisively: "Of course!"
Iris immediately hugged Lin Leyao tightly.
Seeing that Iris was clinging to her and wouldn't let go, Xin Ying quickly pulled the two apart: "Alright, alright, let's go eat."
Lin Leyao asked, "Don't you check anything when you come in?"
They met as soon as they entered the jewelry store, before Iris even looked at the jewelry.
Iris immediately shook her head upon hearing Lin Leyao's question: "I'm not looking anymore. Do you like this brand of jewelry?"
Lin Leyao replied, "I don't have any particular favorite brands."
Iris said "Oh," and then said, "Okay, that's not important, let's go."
Lin Leyao didn't understand what Iris meant. She nodded and left the store with everyone else.
Iris quickly changed the subject, asking Xin Ying, "Ying—could you invite Wenwen out for dinner?"
"Wenwen?" Lin Leyao repeated the name.
Xin Ying said, "She's on holiday today, so she should be quite far from here."
Iris immediately shook her head: "NONONO, she's working overtime today."
Xin Ying was stunned. She didn't expect Iris to know Xin Wenwen's whereabouts so well. The two of them had only known each other and exchanged contact information for three days, yet they were already so familiar with each other.
At this moment, Lin Leyao finally realized that something was wrong.
Iris calls Xin Wenwen by her Chinese name, which is different from how she calls Xin Ying.
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Author's Note:
One update today, more to make up for tomorrow and the day after. Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants between 18:25:50 on April 15, 2022 and 22:54:53 on April 18, 2022!
Thank you to the little angel who threw the landmine: 55157345 (1 landmine);
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Taotie wants to eat vegetarian food (3 bottles); Lao Bai and Jian Dan (1 bottle each);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Chapter 88
Iris stayed in S City for half a month, while White's work was gradually coming to an end.
This weekend, Mr. Xin invited White and Iris to his residence.
White was suddenly called to the hospital halfway there, and in the end only Iris came to the Xin residence.
It was a rare occasion for a new guest to visit the Xin family. It was Iris's first time visiting the Xin residence in many years, and Grandpa Xin was in a particularly good mood. He took the initiative to start a long conversation with Iris at the dinner table.
The old man smiled kindly and asked, "How has Iris been doing in S City these past few days? Has Xiaoying been keeping you company?"
Xin Ying and Lin Leyao sat together, eating quietly. When they heard the old man's words, she said calmly, "I only played with her for a few days, not even as much as Wenwen played with her."
The old man was quite surprised to hear this: "Oh? Iris knows our Wenwen?"
Iris is warm and lovely, and gets along especially well with the elderly.
Upon hearing the old man's question, he immediately replied, "We've known each other for ten days now, and we've become good friends!"
When the old man heard Iris's answer, he couldn't help but laugh out loud: "It's a good thing to become friends. You and Wenwen are only a few years apart in age. She loves to go out and have fun, and she can take you to many interesting places."
After saying that, Grandpa Xin looked at Xin Wenwen, who was sitting silently at the dinner table, and said, "Since you get along well with Iris, take advantage of her time back in China to show her around S City. You don't need to go to the company for the next few days; I'll approve your leave."
Normally, Xin Wenwen's eyes would light up and she would immediately agree as soon as she heard that she could have a holiday.
But lately she's really been terrified of Iris's constant pestering.
Iris is a warm, cheerful, and proactive girl with a wonderful personality. The day they met for the first time at the company, Iris took the initiative to come over and greet her.
Xin Wenwen liked her personality very much, but what happened next was beyond her expectations.
She never expected that the very first day she went out with her, she would receive a confession from Iris that very evening.
She didn't understand how the other person had fallen for her, nor did she know what she had done to make him fall for her so quickly.
Xin Wenwen was happy to entertain the guests who had come from afar on behalf of her aunt, but she hesitated after learning that Iris had feelings for her.
However, Iris had a good temper. Even though she refused time and time again, Iris was not discouraged or angry. Instead, she asked her out to play again and again.
At first, she managed to refuse twice, but later, her aunt, perhaps knowing Iris's feelings, started asking her to go out and keep Iris company every day.
Hearing the old man speak, Xin Wenwen could only nod helplessly, her bitterness bottled up inside.
Unaware of his granddaughter's thoughts, the old man asked, "Iris, how are your parents doing lately? Come to think of it, it's been over ten years since I last saw them."
Iris replied with a smile, "My mom and dad are doing well. My dad is the same as before, except that he has a few more wrinkles around his eyes, a bigger belly, and a lot more gray hair. My mom hasn't changed at all; she's still as beautiful as ever."
Upon hearing Iris's description, the old man burst into laughter.
Today, the old man's mood improved significantly because of Iris's arrival, changing the oppressive and stagnant atmosphere in the house that had been caused by Xin Hailan's disappearance.
The sound of the old man and Iris talking could be heard from time to time at the dinner table.
At the dinner table, only Xin Wenwen and the old lady Dai Jiaozhi had their brows furrowed and looked preoccupied, while everyone else was in a very good mood.
After saying a few words, Xin Ying stopped talking and ate her meal slowly with Lin Leyao while listening to the conversation between the old man and Iris.
The old man suddenly spoke up: "I remember now, isn't your mother a world-renowned wedding planner? You've come here for Xiaoying's wedding?"
Since Xin Ying said last time that he didn't need to get involved in the wedding, the old man indeed stopped interfering in the matter. However, as an elder, he couldn't be indifferent to his children's wedding.
When the old man suddenly asked this question, Lin Leyao, who was eating quietly, suddenly looked up.
Before she could react further, Iris shook her head in denial: "No, I came to S City this time to accompany White. Ying values this wedding so much, she probably wants to come up with the ideas and plans herself."
Hearing Iris's firm denial, the old man slowly put aside his suspicions and murmured, "Is that so?"
But the old man still keenly sensed that something was amiss, and felt that Iris had come to S City for something special, but this time he did not ask.
Xin Ying didn't want Lin Leyao to misunderstand, so she explained in a low voice, "What Iris said is true."
Lin Leyao nodded and looked away.
No one wanted to know the details of the wedding more than she did, but unfortunately, the wedding hostess herself knew nothing about it.
She was very curious about what Xin Ying had been preparing for all this time.
After the meal, the old man ordered Xin Wenwen to take Iris out to play, while Lin Leyao and Xin Ying did not stay at the Xin residence but returned to the villa.
Xin Wenwen was unwilling to go out with Iris, not because she disliked Iris, but because she felt that the two of them were currently in an awkward situation together.
However, Iris knows when to advance and when to retreat. When she senses Xin Wenwen's embarrassment, she won't bring up the matter of liking her. When everyone is having a good time and the atmosphere between the two is very good, Iris will extend an olive branch.
And so, back and forth they went, and their relationship has remained in a delicate balance ever since.
Iris and Xin Wenwen first met in the underground parking lot of Huanning Group.
In the first few days after she returned, Xin Ying had to go to work as usual during the day, and the two of them only had time to go out for a stroll after she got off work.
Xin Ying insisted on being in a hurry so she could finish her business early and go home to be with Lin Leyao.
Therefore, during those days, Iris would wait in advance at the coffee shop outside Huanning Group, and when it was about time, she would go to the underground parking garage of Huanning Group to wait for Xin Ying to come down.
That day, Xin Ying was working overtime and didn't come downstairs for a long time. In the garage, she heard an unfamiliar piece of music. She looked in the direction of the sound and saw a girl sitting in the driver's seat of a car playing music on her phone. While listening to the nameless music, she was writing and drawing on a piece of paper, seemingly composing music.
Iris watched from outside the car for a long time that day. Even though her position was very obvious, and anyone inside the car could have noticed her if they looked out the window, the woman inside the car was engrossed in writing music and didn't notice her at all.
Iris was very curious: were there people in Huanning Group who loved music so much?
When they met again, Iris realized that the woman who had written the song in the car was Xin Wenwen.
After realizing she had fallen for Xin Wenwen, Iris confessed her feelings immediately. Xin Wenwen didn't accept her, and earnestly told her that she was too young and had mistaken her feelings for love.
Despite being rejected, Iris was not discouraged or unhappy. She continued to invite Xin Wenwen to go out with her every day.
After listening to what Grandpa Xin said, Xin Wenwen and Iris left the Xin residence and went to the music company where Xin Wenwen used to record songs.
Xin Wenwen truly loves music. After joining the music company, she became noticeably more excited and happier.
She was happy, and Iris, who had been paying attention to her, was also happy.
Xin Wenwen took Iris to the recording studio.
The two spent three hours together in the recording studio. Although Iris wasn't very knowledgeable about music, her eyes lit up when she saw Xin Wenwen using various professional terms to talk to the recording engineer in the studio.
She spent several hours in the recording studio without getting bored.
Iris sat to the side, cupping her face in her hands and watching Xin Wenwen and the sound engineer talk intently.
Just then, there was a knock on the door of the recording studio, and the conversation inside stopped instantly.
Iris offered to open the door and saw a slender woman with exquisite makeup standing there.
The woman was very surprised to see a foreign girl suddenly appear in the recording studio.
Before he could speak, Xin Wenwen's voice rang out from inside the room: "Who is it?"
The door was wide open, and Tang Ran, standing in the doorway, was clearly visible to those inside.
Xin Wenwen's expression immediately darkened: "Iris, come back."
Iris gave a confused "oh," glanced at Tang Ran standing at the door, and then walked back to Xin Wenwen's side.
Tang Ran, who was standing at the door, saw Xin Wenwen's action and her eyes immediately darkened.
The studio recording engineer spoke up promptly: "Sister Ran, are you here to record a song today too?"
Tang Ran didn't respond to him, but looked at Xin Wenwen: "Come out with me for a moment."
Iris, who had just sat down, immediately stood up again upon hearing Tang Ran's tone, but Xin Wenwen pressed her back down.