When the phone rang again, Jiang Ruolan shivered for no reason. She looked at the phone in the passenger seat with fear in her eyes. When she saw Zhan An's name on the phone, she restrained her emotions and took the call.
"Ruolan, are you home? Mom has nothing to do today, thinking of visiting you. You and Zihao will be married in half a month. I just called Zihao, and he told me that he has arranged everything, but I can't wait. I want to accompany you to see the wedding dress. Where are you? Mom went to look for you." Zhan An's amiable voice came from the other end of the phone …
Her voice that was full of laughter instantly calmed Jiang Ruolan's fluctuating heart.
Jiang Ruolan lowered her head and moved the phone a little further away. She exhaled a long breath before speaking into the phone nonchalantly, "Mom, I'm still at work. In 2 days it will be the weekend, we will take a wedding photo and look at the wedding dress at the same time. I have become your daughter-in-law legally. You don't have to worry too much about that. It's just a wedding process."
"I only have a daughter-in-law like you, how can I not worry? I'm still yearning to hug my grandson one day. If I don't worry about you, who else can I be nervous about? You're not like that damn Guiying, who's having an awkward time with her father every day at home. She's been planning to head back to the United States for the past few days, and no matter how hard I tried to persuade her, she still won't change her decision."
Jiang Ruolan just smiled but didn't reply. At this point in time, she didn't have the heart to do anything.
"So it's like this. Since you guys are going to take your wedding photos at the weekend, then Guiying and I will go see you at the weekend. You should continue your work. Mom will not bother you anymore ~" Zhan An smiled and hung up the phone.
Jiang Ruolan's smile slowly faded as she put down the phone. She raised her hand to rub her forehead. She then looked at the man in the traffic police uniform and looked at the time, knowing that she had occupied this emergency lane for a long time.
Jiang Ruolan closed the window and nodded apologetically to the traffic police before directly driving the car into traffic.
****
Jiang Ruolan parked her car in the parking lot, and at the same time, she saw the red Ferrari parked nearer her. The car window slowly rolled down. Qin Gengxin was talking to someone on the phone with a Bluetooth earphone, and his eyes were a little cold. But at the same time, he noticed her.
Jiang Ruolan looked at him and thought for a moment. Then she walked towards him and stood outside the car.
"Right, ask them to increase the bonus by 20%, otherwise we will not sign the contract. No, that's all for now." Qin Gengxin took off his earphone, glanced sideways at her, and motioned her to get in.
Jiang Ruolan did not move, but looked down at her toes and thought back to the scene in the abandoned warehouse when Qin Gengxin and Jiang Yijun had rushed in. Although she could not remember much of what happened after that because of her shock, she would always remember that it was both of them who had saved her, and if it hadn't been for them, then perhaps she wouldn't be alive and be the current Jiang Ruolan.
Seeing her unnatural expression, Qin Gengxin immediately knew something bad had happened. He looked at her coldly for a moment before asking, "You have gone to Ling Group?"
She nodded.
"You've seen Wei Donghai?"
Jiang Ruolan looked up at him in silence.
In the end, Qin Gengxin merely snorted coldly, "I warned you, didn't I?! You don't need to care about the matters regarding Ling Group. You such an idiot!"
"You're the idiot!" Jiang Ruolan glared at him but didn't say anything more.
Only he, Jiang Yijun, and the mastermind Jiang Bingqing knew what happened that year. She really didn't want this unbearable memory to be known by other people, but she didn't expect that the person from back then would appear in front of her. This kind of shock and fear was something she didn't expect.
Qin Gengxin suddenly asked, "Did Xian Zihao not know about what happened that year?"
Jiang Ruolan paused but frowned and did not answer.
"You want to hide it from him for the rest of your life?" Qin Gengxin frowned.
"Actually, if he knew some clues, perhaps he would know it very soon, but I would rather he never know." Jiang Ruolan replied sternly and her eyes were firm.
Qin Gengxin snorted coldly. "Should I be glad that I know more about your past than he does?"
Jiang Ruolan had no expression on her face. "You are wrong. What is there to rejoice? Those past are things that I don't want to remember or even choose to forget. To me, those things have nothing to do with the me of today. I don't need to talk about my past pain and humiliation. I don't need sympathy and others to save me from my miserable life."
"Is that so?" Qin Gengxin suddenly laughed softly. "Is that why you always rejecting me because I am one of the memories of the past that you want to forget?"
Jiang Ruolan pursed her lips and didn't say anything as she silently watched his eyes gradually turn cold.
In response to her silence, Qin Gengxin merely glanced at her indifferently. The window slowly closed, cutting off her view of his face as the red Ferrari drove away.
Jiang Ruolan finally turned her head to look in the direction of the car and sighed softly, "Qin Gengxin, I'm sorry."
When she returned to the company, to hide the tiredness on her face and the signs of crying, she first went to the washroom to wash her face and wear light makeup, then forcing herself to continue her work.
Originally, it should have been Little Lin who would go to visit Xian Group in the afternoon. However, Little Lin was very busy with Ling Group affairs, so she asked Jiang Ruolan to go on her behalf.
Assistant Bai, who went down to the lobby to do something, immediately smiled when she saw her. "Are you looking for President Xian?"
"No, I want to talk to other executives about the construction of the new West Side." Jiang Ruolan said with a smile. She did not know what Xian Zihao was doing right now, so she asked more casually, "Zihao … Is he in the meeting now?"
"No, the president is in his office." Assistant Bai smiled and said, "It just so happens that Director Wang just brought a new bag of good Jade Springs. I was planning to brew a cup of tea for the president later on, but since I have something urgent to do, why don't you send it to him?"
With that, Assistant Bai handed her a delicate tea can. "Although President Xian is usually busy at work, he doesn't like drinking coffee. It is said that he used to work non-stop and stayed up all night when he was in the United States, and now he wants to vomit whenever he sees coffee. Thus, other than drinking clean water, the rest of the assistants and I will make him some mild, non-stomach-damaging tea¹."
Jiang Ruolan couldn't help but smile and nod. "Thank you. I understand. Go back to your work."
She looked at the time. There were still more than 20 minutes before her scheduled interview with the executive. She thought for a moment before she took the elevator to the third floor, went to the pantry, made a cup of tea, and brought it to the CEO's office.
Jiang Ruolan initially wanted to knock on the door, but before she could do so, someone suddenly opened the door from the inside. When Xian Zihao saw Ji Ruolan at first glance, he remained silent for two seconds, as if he hadn't expected her to be standing here.
Jiang Ruolan was afraid that the hot cup in her hand would burn him, so she instinctively wanted to take a step back. At the same time, however, Xian Zihao's mouth was slightly curved, showing a faint smile.
"I'm here to interview. I just met Assistant Bai. She asked me to make you a cup of tea." Jiang Ruolan stared at his handsome face. She really liked the way he dressed in formal attire. He was so handsome that he was mesmerizing.
Xian Zihao didn't say anything. He suddenly stretched out his hand, gently lifted her chin, and carefully examined it.
Jiang Ruolan immediately froze.
.
.
****
Glossary:
¹ Mild, non-stomach-damaging tea – teas could help settle your upset stomach: Ginger Tea, Chamomile Tea, Peppermint Tea, Spearmint Tea, etc.
