306
The dinner party that evening was actually a celebration banquet. The company had landed a big project, and the boss was very happy and wanted to reward everyone.
They had worked hard for several months to secure the import of a new Japanese online game. Of course, their small company couldn't handle such a huge pie; they were just middlemen, picking up small jobs along the way. In the words of their boss, Pighead, "Give him a fulcrum, and he can lift up the entire Yuxing!" Yuxing Technology was the leading electronics distributor in City C, and Pighead's company relied heavily on them for survival.
"Come on, everyone! Raise your glasses! I propose a toast! To the bright future of the company, cheers!" The boss, nicknamed "Pig Head" by Xiao Mo, was flushed and in high spirits, already quite excited from drinking.
With the boss putting such a big accusation on her, Gu Yan had no choice but to stand up and toast with everyone. She always treated her colleagues with courtesy and reciprocation, and this evening, with Xiao Mo and Lao Ma making a ruckus and the boss going back and forth offering toasts, she had drunk quite a bit and was feeling a little dizzy.
I gulped it down—it was a bit bland.
It's very light, like the light taste of purified water.
Gu Yan picked up the bottle of Moutai between her and Qin Sang with a puzzled look, then looked at Qin Sang, who had a calm expression on her face, and asked, "Sang Sang?"
She had noticed Qin Sang disappear for a while with the wine bottle, but she hadn't expected her to have gone to tamper with it.
"What are you doing?" Qin Sang took the bottle of "wine" and filled both her and Gu Yan's glasses. "Are you going to toast me? Isn't that inappropriate? I heard you're not a big drinker." Her tone was still cool and indifferent, but Gu Yan felt very warm inside. Given Qin Sang's way of treating people, for her to do this, she must consider her a friend.
"It's really lively here." Just as we were enjoying our drinks, someone came over to greet us.
Upon seeing the person, Zhu Li immediately stood up, "Director Fang!"
The newcomer was tall and elegant, with bright eyes and a smile on his lips. Who else could it be but Fang Yicheng!
Zhu Li shook hands with Fang Yicheng and offered him a seat, placing him next to Xiao Mo. He was beaming with delight. He'd already been settling in with his new recruit Qin Sang, only to discover she was backed by the renowned Fifth Young Master of City C. Who would have thought Xiao Mo would suddenly become so close to Director Fang? That was a promising young man with limitless potential; Zhu Li was truly in luck. Just a couple of days ago, he'd heard from Old Ma that Sixth Young Master Qin had stood up for Gu Yan, and he'd laughed himself silly. See how good Zhu Li's eye for talent was!
Fang Yicheng nodded slightly to Gu Yan, bypassing Xiao Mo and Qin Sang. Gu Yan smiled back at him. He moved his lips slightly, about to say something, but Xiao Mo pulled him over to play rock-paper-scissors with Lao Ma on her behalf.
"Hey, Little Demon, you're not on the right track. Can the Bureau of Human Resources and Social Security operate like ordinary people, shouting and yelling in this hall?" Old Ma joked with a smile.
Fang Yicheng smiled good-naturedly, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
Xiao Mo smiled, her eyes crinkling, and naturally hooked one arm around Fang Yicheng's. Fang Yicheng glanced at Gu Yan, and seeing her talking to Qin Sang with her body turned to the side, he subtly pushed Xiao Mo's arm away.
Zhu Li knew that Fang Yicheng's two older brothers also had businesses in the electronics industry, so he naturally wanted to ask Fang Yicheng about it. He and Lao Ma toasted each other while teasing Xiao Mo. For a moment, the only sounds at the table were Zhu Li's loud laughter and Xiao Mo's sweet complaints.
"Hey, my wife!" came another clear male voice.
It turned out to be Li Weiran. Upon seeing Qin Sang, she came over excitedly.
"Why are you here?" Qin Sang asked in surprise.
"The meeting's over. My brother said he'd treat us to dinner—who knew we'd end up in such a run-down place," Li Weiran pursed his handsome, thin lips, "not going to his own five-star hotel, but what luck! My wife's here!"
Several people walked in one after another. Chen Yubai was holding An Xiaoli's hand, Rong Yan and Qin Song were side by side, Ji Nan followed behind, and the last person was as steady as a mountain and had a powerful aura. It was Liang Feifan.
Zhu Li's lips twitched. This was the first time in his life he had seen so many important people.
Once everyone had stopped, An Xiaoli rushed over, "Gu Yan! Where have you been!" She had been searching for Gu Yan everywhere these past few days. She asked Ji Nan, who told her to ask her husband, but Chen Yubai always interrupted. When she cried and made a scene, he had no choice but to keep delaying. Finally, today he said he would bring her to see Gu Yan, but why was Gu Yan with Sang Sang?
An Xiaoli was making a racket over there. Li Weiran was scurrying around his wife like a puppy. Qin Song called the manager to change to a larger private room. Liang Feifan walked up to Zhu Li, who was almost fainting, and extended his hand in a businesslike manner, "Hello, Mr. Zhu, I've heard so much about you. I'm Liang Feifan."
Zhu Li's lips moved, and the veins on his enormous head bulged as Liang Feifan spoke to him! "Mr. Liang... hello, hello." He had shaken his idol's hand! He would die for it!
Liang Feifan greeted everyone with a smile, his eyes sweeping over each person at the table. When he saw Fang Yicheng, he nodded with a smile.
Fang Yicheng had been subtly scrutinizing Liang Feifan and Gu Yan's faces, and now he smiled in response, but his heart sank.
They quickly changed to a different private room and everyone sat down again. Liang Feifan naturally sat to Gu Yan's right, while Fang Yicheng was pulled by Xiao Mo to sit opposite him.
"President Liang, I'd like to propose a toast to you." Pighead regained some of his senses and raised his glass.
"I wouldn't dare." Liang Feifan stood up, smiling politely, but then downed his drink in one gulp. "Gu Yan has a bad temper, so I'll have to trouble you a lot more."
Pighead looked at Gu Yan in disbelief, his blood pressure immediately soared, and his face turned bright red. He had known she was a diamond, but he never expected her to be an African star!
Suddenly, a loud bang was heard from Fang Yicheng's side. Xiao Mo screamed in fright as he crushed a wine glass, his hand covered in shards of glass and dripping with blood.
The manager, who had been waiting nearby, rushed over. "I'm so sorry, Director Fang, I'll take you to get bandaged up right away!"
"It's alright." Fang Yicheng smiled faintly, casually picking up a napkin and pressing it against his wound. "I'm really sorry, it was my fault for disturbing everyone."
Old Ma and Pighead immediately realized something was amiss. The clever one laughed and tried to smooth things over, while Little Demon expressed his concern. Everyone was in a harmonious mood again.
Gu Yan looked at Fang Yicheng with concern, but then heard a familiar cold snort. She glanced at Liang Feifan and saw that he looked awkward.
"Stingy." Gu Yan cursed inwardly, secretly kicking him under the table.
Liang Feifan winced in pain and turned to glare at her. She turned back and looked at him with a half-smile and half-angry expression in the dim light. Perhaps because she had drunk some alcohol, her eyes were even more captivating, making her even more alluring.
Why don't these people all go to the restroom together? Liang Feifan thought dejectedly, really wanting to kiss her.
To onlookers, the two appeared to be gazing at each other with deep affection, oblivious to everyone else around them.
"Brother, please, I'm still eating. You and your wife are being so lovey-dovey, it's disgusting. Isn't that a bit much?" Qin Song banged on his bowl and plate in a nonchalant manner, protesting loudly.
Everyone at the table laughed, except for Fang Yicheng.
"I have something to attend to, so I'll take my leave now." He gave a somewhat stiff smile, stood up, and said goodbye.
For once, Xiao Mo lost her smile, her eyes reddened, and she still chased after him.
After the banquet, everyone went home.
"Miss Gu, would you mind if I took you home?" Liang Feifan asked with a smile as he held her hand at the brightly lit entrance of the restaurant.
Gu Yan rolled her eyes at him. "You've really gotten addicted to calling me Miss Gu and Mr. Liang."
When they arrived at the building where Gu Yan lived, she smiled and looked him over, "You know this place well!"
Liang Feifan glanced at her and snorted somewhat dejectedly.
Seeing that his expression was strange, Gu Yan asked him, "Tell me the truth, how many nights have you been hiding downstairs from me?"
"Just once." It really was just once. That night, he felt he couldn't bear to see her any longer, so he went to wait downstairs at her apartment, thinking he would just catch a glimpse of her. But when he finally saw her, it was Fang Yicheng who brought her back. The two chatted for a long time in the car. Seeing her smiling like a flower bud and letting Fang Yicheng touch her inappropriately, he almost vomited blood on the spot.
That night, his car was parked in the shadows, and it was still all night.
"I'm leaving." Seeing his increasingly grim expression, Gu Yan unbuckled her seatbelt and prepared to get out of the car.
Liang Feifan quickly grabbed her. He had been teased by her all night, and if he just let her go like this, he wouldn't be able to sleep tonight.
Trapped between his arms, Gu Yan watched him get closer and closer, his hot breath spraying on her face. Her heart softened, and she closed her eyes.
Liang Feifan gently took her soft lips into his mouth, sucking them delicately, and licking them little by little with the tip of his tongue. Gu Yan was so overwhelmed by his hot breath and the overwhelming tenderness of his kiss that she lost all sense of time. Even after he released her for a long time, she still stared with hazy eyes, unable to speak.
Liang Feifan pressed his forehead against hers and chuckled softly, "Yan'er, seeing you like this—it really makes me feel so accomplished."
Gu Yan woke up, blushed, spat at him softly, said goodbye, and turned to go upstairs briskly.
Liang Feifan watched her figure disappear into the corridor, watched the light in her room turn on, waited a while, and then drove away.
They didn't see that in the shadows around the corner where he had parked his car all night last time, there was another car parked this time.
What a coincidence, there's another heartbroken person sitting here too.
Xiao Mo took the day off the next day.
Gu Yan was a little worried about this lovely girl. She wasn't stupid; she saw Fang Yicheng's feelings for her, and she could guess whether his feelings for Xiao Mo were genuine or not. But what could she do? Advise Fang Yicheng not to love her? That seemed a bit pretentious. Advise Xiao Mo—she seemed like a carefree child, but Gu Yan could tell she had her own principles.
She was curled up on the sofa watching TV when she received a call from Liang Feifan. "What are you doing?"
"At home."
"oh."
Neither of them spoke, the sound of the television in the background, and they could only hear each other's soft breathing. They felt a quiet and sweet feeling in their hearts.
After listening for a while, Gu Yan suddenly had a thought and tentatively asked, "Where are you?"
She habitually spoke with a soft, trembling tone at the end of her sentences, and a gentle, sweet "ya" rang in Liang Feifan's ears, making him chuckle softly, "In the car."
Gu Yan became increasingly certain and jumped to the window to look. Sure enough, his usual black Land Rover was parked downstairs. A familiar figure was leaning against the car door.
"Come on up!" she waved to him excitedly.
Liang Feifan got out of the car, holding his phone, and looked out the window at her, a genuine smile on his face. "Oh? Is that alright?"
"306".
Cooking
This was Liang Feifan's first time entering this small apartment.
The small sofa, the small rug, the small table—his tall frame seemed somewhat awkwardly placed inside.
"Here." Gu Yan handed him a glass of water, which he took and drank. He then sat down on the sofa and leaned back to relax.
Seeing his handsome face half-hidden in shadow, looking extremely tired, I couldn't help but sit down next to him. "Are you very tired? Have you had dinner yet?"
Liang Feifan grunted in agreement, then pulled her into his arms. She struggled slightly, but he held her tightly in his embrace. "Don't move, let me hold you for a while."
She really didn't move.
After a long while, he rubbed her head, her soft hair making his heart melt. "You're so clumsy, can you even cook?"
She had been nestled softly in his arms, her arms around his lean waist, inhaling his familiar, pleasant scent, feeling a sense of peace. Hearing him belittle her cooking, she angrily pushed him away and stood up, intending to yell at him. But he glanced at her with a half-smile in his handsome phoenix eyes, and she stammered, unable to utter a word, before turning and heading towards the kitchen.
Watching her huffing figure as she busied herself in the kitchen under the dim light, like a newlywed wife, Liang Feifan's gaze softened. This moment was perfect. Let it be, this is good enough.
She had already eaten dinner. There wasn't much food in the fridge, so after rummaging around for a while, she stir-fried some shredded potatoes, smashed a cucumber for a cold salad, made an egg and tomato soup, and also put out some kimchi she'd bought from the supermarket. She served him a bowl of rice and called him over to eat, "Time to eat."
Gu Yan felt a little embarrassed; the meal was too simple. He looked so tired; she should make him something more nutritious.
Liang Feifan didn't seem to mind; he picked up his chopsticks and started eating. Seeing him enjoying his meal, Gu Yan asked happily, "Is it good?"
"kindness."
"real?"
"Uh, can it not be true?"
"Liang Feifan!"
Liang Feifan laughed out loud, "Next time, make something meaty. I'm not a monk."
"Uh, I can't touch raw meat, fish, or shrimp." She always felt that once chicken, duck, fish, and meat were cleaned and cooked, the thought of their bloody appearance made it impossible to swallow. After moving out, whenever she wanted to eat meat, she would go to a restaurant to get takeout and cook some vegetarian dishes herself.
Liang Feifan glanced at her with a smile and continued to bury his head in his soup.
Gu Yan rested her chin on her hand and watched him obediently finish his meal with a smile. For safety reasons, he couldn't let people know about his special dietary preferences, so he always ate very little. He probably had never eaten so freely before.