Even though she knew it was a polite greeting, Jiang Ruolan still patted Jiang Yijun on the arm and said, "Who is your Ruolan? Let's go inside."
Jiang Yijun smiled and Wan Shoushan also casually explained, "We both heading to the same place, so I gave her a ride."
The three of them then entered the reserved room.
The people in the room were all senior executives at Jiang Yijun's company, and their relationship seemed to be pretty good. One of them was the company's vice president, and Jiang Ruolan used her status as Jiang Yijun's sister to converse with them politely.
After three rounds of drinking, Wan Shoushan occasionally recounted some funny and exhilarating topics and everyone would smile with glowing faces. Someone at the table suddenly mentioned that although Jiang Ruolan and Jiang Yijun were siblings, they didn't look much like each other.
Jiang Yijun sat on his seat calmly and drank his wine. He did not say anything but only put food into Jiang Ruolan's bowl from time to time. It made the female colleagues on the table look weirdly at the two of them from time to time.
Fortunately, at this moment, Jiang Ruolan's phone was ringing. She got up and went out to answer the phone. Even though Jiang Yijun had helped drink alcohol for her, she still wanted to go out to breathe. Jiang Ruolan went to the front of the hotel to answer the phone while enjoying the cold wind until someone covered her body with a coat.
Jiang Ruolan quickly turned around and saw that it was Wan Shoushan. She hurriedly took off the coat and then return it to him. "I'm not that cold, Brother Wan. The weather is too cold, quickly put on your coat."
"Tonight's temperature is -5 degrees Celsius. You wore thin clothes and by standing here, you will easily catch a cold. Wear it."
"No need. You should wear it. I will be fine."
"If I tell you to wear it, then wear it." Seeing that Jiang Ruolan stubbornly refused, Wan Shoushan immediately helped her put on the coat while lightly wrapping his arm around her shoulders.
When Jiang Ruolan still awkwardly tried to take off the coat and give it back to him, she suddenly felt a gaze on her. She turned her head abruptly and her expression immediately changed.
On the brick walkway in front of the hotel, a dark figure leaped into view.
That familiar face that was almost imprinted in her mind caused Jiang Ruolan's face to tighten. She quickly turned her gaze away indifferently, as if she was looking at a stranger.
At the same time, Wan Shoushan had already helped her put on the coat. Seeing that Jiang Ruolan had obeyed and didn't resist anymore, Wan Shoushan smiled and let his arm remain around her shoulders. When he saw her cold expression, he immediately asked in concern. "Are you alright?"
Xian Zihao was walking with a group of people to the hotel's front door. He was walking at the front, followed by a few staff members behind him. He was wearing gray and black trench coats, holding a document in one hand and casually putting another one in his pocket.
Assistant Bai was also standing among the group. Her eyes glanced back and forth between Jiang Ruolan and Wan Shoushan.
They were standing in front of the hotel's front door, and anyone could see them at first glance.
Seeing Xian Zihao walk directly towards Jiang Ruolan, Assistant Bai naturally coughed lightly, signaling a few staff members to stay away from the CEO. The few of them stopped and Assistant Bai said in a low voice, "This is President Xian's private matter, it's inconvenient for everyone to be present. Let's enter the hotel first."
Jiang Ruolan's eyes were very cold. When Xian Zihao returned to her line of sight, she looked at him calmly. Under Wan Shoushan's suspicious expression, she did not retreat. She only greeted Xian Zihao politely and indifferently, "President Xian."
Wan Shoushan may be well-connected in the business world, but Xian Zihao has always kept a low profile and rarely showed his face in public. So when Wan Shoushan saw Xian Zihao, he immediately felt thrilled.
Although Xian Zihao kept a low profile, his name was well-known everywhere, both in China and abroad. He was the chairman and predecessor of Xian Enterprise in Boston, the Xian Family's grandson, and Xian Group's president.
Wan Shoushan stretched out his hand towards Xian Zihao with a smile. "You are President Xian? I've heard a lot about you. Hello, I'm Wan Shoushan, the chief editor of F City's Evening News." As he spoke, he took out a name card with his other hand and handed it over.
"Hello." Xian Zihao shook hands with him casually and took the card. He looked at the name on it and his lips curved into a faint smile.
Seeing Xian Zihao was so polite, Wan Shoushan quickly relaxed. "I heard Xian Group participated in a conference at the Garden Tech Zone Club today? I did not expect the Garden Tech Zone Club facility to enter your eyes, but F City is not like H City. I hope President Xian's meeting here goes smoothly. If there are any problems, President Xian must tell me since my relationship with the person in charge of the Garden Tech Zone Club is not bad. I must advise him to improve it."
"It's just a meeting, there's no need to be so attentive."
"President Xian is right." Wan Shoushan repeatedly nodded his head. "Our Department of Commerce's journalist Jiang Ruolan has also gone to Garden Tech Zone Club's today. She must have met you personally. No wonder she recognized you just now and even surprised me for a while."
After he said that, Wan Shoushan turned to Jiang Ruolan and said, "Ruolan? Have you ever had a chance to interview President Xian before?"
At this moment, Jiang Ruolan really wanted to leave, but her superior was here, so it wasn't appropriate for her to turn around and leave. Her heart tightened when she noticed Xian Zihao's gaze on her.
Jiang Ruolan couldn't avoid him but instead had to stand in her original spot. A gust of wind blew past, causing her to smell his familiar fragrance. That fresh and elegant scent was still there, causing her to restrain her annoyed and displeased expression.
All this time, Jiang Ruolan did not speak, but now that she was directly questioned, she lifted her arms and covered her chest, pretending to shiver.
Jiang Ruolan lowered her head and said, "Big Brother Wan, I'm a bit cold. I'm going inside first."
As she spoke, she turned around, walked past Xian Zihao, and tightly wrapped the coat to her body. Wan Shoushan was startled by her behavior.
Jiang Ruolan couldn't see Xian Zihao's expression, nor could she hear their following conversation. She could only faintly hear Wan Shoushan apologize for her attitude. "I'm really sorry. Jiang Ruolan is still young and is not very sensible. President Xian, please don't mind her."
Jiang Ruolan didn't look back as she walked straight into the elevator. However, she really didn't want to face the tables full of wine. Her current state of mind was not as tranquil as she had imagined.
She needed to be alone, but it would be too awkward for Jiang Yijun if she left just like that. She had no choice but to go to the bathroom on the floor with the least people coming and going.
The bathroom was very quiet and spacious. Although it was a washroom, there was a very special fragrance coming from the surroundings, a very rich and relaxing smell.
Standing in front of the bright and shining mirror, Jiang Ruolan looked at the woman in the simple khaki suit. She looked at her rarely shaded long hair, looked at the confusion in her bright eyes, and at her clenching her fists.
Memories in The Emperor's Garden Hotel struck her mind again.
The canceled wedding ceremony, wedding dress, platinum wedding ring. Everyone looked at her with a different expression. Qin Gengxin wanted to say something, but he hesitated. The slap belongs to Zhou Shufen, her unwillingness, and arrogance, Little Fishie calling Xian Zihao "daddy", and the bloody wound on the back of her hand.
After a month of peace, she was finally able to get her life back on track. She could make everything that should not belong to her, and those strange dreams were completely unrelated to her. She was just a real and ordinary citizen living in a different society. She only needed to live a simple life of peace from 9 to 5.
A month, thirty days, or maybe not too long. It should have been enough for her to forget those memories. She wasn't angry and wasn't resentful.
But why, why did that man suddenly appear?
'Xian Zihao, you are not even willing to give me a way out?'
At this moment, her cell phone rang. Jiang Ruolan looked down and saw that it was from Yi Meixiu. "Jiang Ruolan, what happened between you and that turtle yesterday? When I got back from work today, my boyfriend kept nagging and telling me that you were unreliable."
Jiang Ruolan ended the call and helplessly replied with a text message. 'Meixiu, I did promise to help you go on a blind date, but the reality is that not anyone can marry such a radiant, charming, and divine beauty like me!'
Yi Meixiu: All kinds of palms of light, all kinds of charm? If you don't like him, then so be it. After all, it's just for my boyfriend, what are you doing? Tomorrow is the weekend, are you free? Let's go shopping together!'
After Jiang Ruolan agreed to go shopping with her tomorrow, she then received a call from Wan Shoushan asking where she had gone. She told him she was in the washroom. Then she washed her face with the cold water and walked out while wiping her face with a tissue.
As Jiang Ruolan walked to the elevator, she thought it was about time for Jiang Yijun's dinner to end. If she went to that room now, she came at the right time for the banquet to end.
The elevator stopped with a ding. Jiang Ruolan lowered her head to put the small packet of tissue back into her bag. Just as she was about to enter, she raised her head and was immediately stunned when she saw the person inside the elevator.
