"Then you’ve found the wrong person. For financial matters, Tianchi has an incorruptible finance director. Bribing her would be more useful." Sunshine spilled in, falling on the girl’s face, making her smile especially bright.
"Hey, it seems I can bump into my favorite niece anywhere." Two people entered the restaurant: Chi Zhengjun and Qiao Yishen. Qiao Yishen’s refined face bore a gentle smile. He seemed approachable, but the inherent aloofness of a young master from a prestigious family created a distance between him and ordinary people.
Chi Zhengjun’s eyes held a mocking glint. "My niece really is in demand, already switching to another one."
Qiao Yishen glanced at Ning Guiwan and Hai Chengzong. "Don’t make wild guesses without knowing the truth."
Chi Zhengjun leisurely took out his phone and snapped a photo. "I’ll send it to Old Quan, just to provoke him a little."
After taking the photo, he looked at it and smiled contentedly. "Look at my niece. She’s indeed a beauty, with such a lovely smile."
Seeing his eagerness to stir up trouble, Qiao Yishen said helplessly, "He’s not even in the country. What’s the point of sending it?"
Chi Zhengjun gave him a look. "Wanna bet?"
"On what?"
"I bet that once I send this photo, within fifteen minutes, that guy downstairs will suddenly get a phone call and leave my beautiful niece."
Chi Zhengjun sent the photo and started the stopwatch on his phone. Grinning, he watched the seconds tick by as he walked upstairs.
At 13 minutes and 45 seconds, Hai Chengzong suddenly moved to answer a phone call and immediately stood up. After exchanging a few words with Ning Guiwan, he left his seat, went to the front desk to pay the bill, and hurried away.
Chi Zhengjun laughed heartily as he followed Qiao Yishen into a private room. "Even though Old Quan isn’t in the country, if he wants to meddle, he has his ways."
「」 Content originally comes from ⓝovelFire.net
Ning Guiwan watched him hurry off. The caller must have been someone important.
A table full of dishes seemed wasteful for one person, so she called Tan Xi and Song Changfeng over. They weren’t far from Tianchi and arrived quickly.
"Why did you invite us out to eat all of a sudden?" Tan Xi asked, laughing as she saw the table laden with dishes. "Is there some good news?"
Song Changfeng noticed the cosmetics gift box beside Ning Guiwan and chuckled. "It seems someone else was treating you."
Ning Guiwan looked at him. "Changfeng is indeed observant."
Tan Xi protested, "I might not be as insightful as him in everyday life, but when it comes to math, he can’t compare to me. I can memorize tens of thousands of numbers at a glance. Can he?"
Song Changfeng made a show of clasping his hands in a salute. "Indeed, Miss Tan, you are a rare mathematical genius. I concede defeat."
Tan Xi pushed him playfully, her laughter ringing out clearly. "What a character!"
After some jesting, Tan Xi recalled something. "By the way, that old classmate of yours seems a bit unreliable."
Ning Guiwan asked, "Did she cancel the shoot?"
"Exactly," Tan Xi said. "We rented the studio and hired professional photographers, and then she says she’s in France and can’t come back. Isn’t that frustrating?"
Song Changfeng remained silent.
Ning Guiwan asked, "Did she say when she’ll be back?"
"She wasn’t specific. She just said that she’d definitely cooperate with us to finish the shoot within the contract’s deadline. There’s really nothing we can do about her; having someone influential backing her up really makes a difference."
Tan Xi’s voice held a trace of contempt. She didn’t notice that Song Changfeng, beside her, seemed a bit off. Usually, when she complained about someone, Song Changfeng would chime in with a few words to cheer her up, but today, he didn’t.
「」
That evening, Ning Guiwan had takeout with everyone at the company and left for home after nine. After changing her shoes in the entryway, she walked into the living room and was surprised to find Madam Quan still up.
She glanced at her watch; it was already past ten o’clock.
"Xiaowan, come quickly and look. Which of these two girls do you think is better?" Madam Quan asked, holding a photo in each hand, clearly undecided.
Ning Guiwan walked over. The young women in the photos were both exquisitely made-up and beautiful. One was more delicate and petite, with a reserved, shy smile; the other appeared more confident and composed.
"This one is the Song family’s granddaughter. She’s only twenty-seven and already a university professor," Madam Quan said, pointing to the photo of the reserved young woman. Then, she presented the other photo to Ning Guiwan. "This one is the An family’s younger daughter. She’s an interior designer, thirty-two years old, and quite well-known in her industry..."
Ning Guiwan looked at the photos. But her thoughts drifted to that person who always went abroad so suddenly, leaving her to learn of his whereabouts from others... "They both seem very nice," she said. "Let Uncle Yu meet them both."
Hearing this, Madam Quan smiled. "That was precisely my thought."