As promised,in this chapter we get to see that even LZ has a hidden agenda.
Chapter 26
As Yan Liang watched her mother move away to give her seat to Lu Zheng, her heart had a bad feeling that was very hard to describe.
Lu Zheng did not decline the offer, Yan Mu nodded at him and as he sat next to Yan Liang, she smiled at him.
In contrast, Yan Liang"s face was gloomy and ugly.
Xi Jin Fu immediately told Aunt Liang "Bring the food", and then to Lu Zheng , " this is just simple home cooked fare, I"m not sure if you will like it."
Lu Zheng smiled, "Please don"t worry".
Lu Zheng was very warm. His manners were excellent. The people at the table all seemed to enjoy themselves. Only Yan Liang silently endured. She picked up her chopsticks and ate a few mouthfuls, but very reluctantly.
Her mother winked at her several times but Yan Liang completely ignored her. Finally , she simply nudged Yan Liang with her elbow, " You and Lu Zheng have met each other so many times, why are you silent now?"
She looked up at her mother. Either she was lost in thought or she was trying desperately to hold back her words. Then she picked up a piece of braised pheasant and put it in her mother"s bowl, "Mom, eat some more."
Yan Mu was taken aback by her daughter"s behaviour and did not know what to say. Yan Liang bowed her head and tried hard not to pay any heed to what was going on around her.
Just in time, Xi Jin Fu chipped in with a comment, " Mr Lu, would you like some vinegar fish? This is a favourite dish in our family."
Lu Zheng was about to reach out with his chopsticks to take the fish when everyone heard a snap sound.
Yan Liang had put down her chopsticks.
The sound was loud and everyone in the table was shocked.
Yan Liang looked up and announced, "I"m full."
As she stood up and walked away from the table towards the stairs, Xu Jin Fu called out angrily, " Yan Liang !"
Yan Liang did not pause, rather she quickened her steps.
Upstairs, she went back to her room, banged the door shut, threw herself down on the sofa, and pulled the pillow tightly to herself to vent her anger.
As she calmed down and thought about it, she regretted her actions a little bit. She could have obviously been a little more diplomatic, there was no need to make such an ugly scene. At this point, she was full of admiration for Xu Ziqing. And she..
She had acted immaturely, unable to control her mood..
As Yan Liang leaned against the sofa repenting her actions,the door to the room was pushed open.
She immediately sat up straight.
Unfortunately, as she rose, she could see that it was Xu Ziqing.
Naturally, Yan Liang relaxed back to lie down on the sofa.
Yan Liang was very clear why Xu Ziqing had come upstairs.
Sure enough, Xu Ziqing sat on the single sofa opposite her and said, " Don’t you always say that I am great at playing a man ? I found out today, that compared to you , I am actually much worse."
" You win the prize today ", Xu Ziqing added.
"……" “…”
"……" “…”
Yan Liang waited a long time for Xu Ziqing’s sarcastic comments, but she did not continue and finally Yan Liang said, " Don’t tell me you came upstairs to praise me with these two sentences?"
" Father told me to come and persuade you."
Yan Liang immediately sneered , " I should have guessed.."
Perhaps she was the one person in this world who understood Xu Ziqing the best.
She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. But apparently , there was something Xu Ziqing could not figure out. "I don"t understand, Jiang Yu Nan and Lu Zheng, what do they see in you?"
Yan Liang was surprised at the question for a moment
She also thought for a moment, but was unable to reach any conclusion. " And I have never understood why Zhou Cheng is so dead set to love you."
"..Zhou Chang", Xu Ziqing had recovered her arrogance, "he.."
Unfortunately before she could finish, Yan Liang’s patience had been exhausted and she coldly interrupted her, " Are you so free now as to engage with me on questions about men? Shouldn’t your focus be on secret rather than this?"
Yan Liang was sure that Secret was Xu Ziqing’s Achilles heel, and immediately she stopped talking and her face changed.
This unnecessary conversation should stop here.
She hoped to see Xu Ziqing get up and leave. What she didn’t expect was to hear her say faintly, " I have my own way , you don’t worry."
When she said this ,Xi Ziqing’s expression was intriguing, there was a trace of hope, a trace of urgency, anxiety and a trace of confidence..
Yan Liang could not figure out the deep meaning of this complex expression.
Xu Ziqing herself changed the topic," You worry about yourself. Your mother knows that you are useless, she’s been looking for a good buyer to sell you, now she really can.."
Suddenly at this moment, there was a little movement at the door.
The two shrewd women in the room would obviously not ignore this, Xu Ziqing immediately stopped talking and Yan Liang raised her voice," Who’s there?"
The door was opened.
The first thing that Yan Liang saw on the hand holding the door was the elegant cuff of a French shirt , with exquisite cufflinks. They looked familiar, and reminded her who this person was.
Sure enough, it was Lu Zheng who walked in the room.
"I’m sorry to disturb you."
Lu Zheng was a gentleman, such a person was unlikely to be eavesdropping. Moreover, even if he was, his ident.i.ty was such that one could not dare offend him. Xu Ziqing smiled and said, " Mr Lu, what brings you upstairs?"
" I brought something for the ladies to eat after lunch."
Lu Zheng was carrying a small plate of fruits which he put on the coffee table and then turned to sit next to Yan Liang.
Yan Liang was not happy, and it was written all over her face, but Lu Zheng was unmoved and said solemnly." I think we need to talk. Alone."
"……" “…”
There was no response to this, Xu Ziqing politely said." Then you talk. I will leave."
At the door, she did not forget to reminded her sister, " Yan Liang, Mr Lu is a guest. Please behave."
Yan Liang was too lazy to respond.
The door was closed.
This left two people on the room, none of whom were eager to make the first move.
Until Lu Zheng picked up a small fork, speared an apple piece in it and offered it to her.
Yan Liang looked at the apple, then looked at him, " How much did you hear?".
"Not much" , seeing her motionless, he put the apple in his mouth and chewed," but also quite a bit."
"Where did you learn this trick of eavesdropping ?"
"Do you think you would have figured out I was listening in unless I deliberately wanted you to?"
Yan Liang was stumped by his logic. She could only continue to listen as he explained," I heard you from outside the door. Judging from your tone, I guessed that you did not want to talk to her. So I decided to make my presence known, she also left, I helped you a little."
Yan Liang had no time to understand how much of this was true. She suddenly said, " If you want to help me, help me explain to the family."
Lu Zheng had probably never seen anyone beg for a.s.sistance with such a strong commanding att.i.tude. He laughed at the slight absurdity of the situation, " And the reason ?"
" Staying away from Xu will save you a lot of trouble."
Compared to her nervousness, Lu Zheng was actually looking mire and more comfortable. While eating a piece of melon , he said, " It’s just that I am best at resolving trouble."
"You’re not really attracted to me ," she frowned.
But he gave her a straight forward smile," It seems you and your sister have the same question."
After Yan Liang heard that, her frown deepened. She was finally curious about how much of her conversation with Xu Ziqing this man had overheard.
Yan Liang was silent. Lu Zheng said,"You may not know this, but in fact, my father has an illegitimate child."
" Why are you telling me this?"
"My child, you’re so anxious. First, listen to me."
Yan Liang was smart enough to listen to him, she indicated that he should continue.
"Of course, my father is strong, but my mother is more powerful. As long as my half-brother dares to take even one step into the country, he will not inherit even a penny. So he is obediently hiding abroad, not disturbing me."
Thinking he had finished saying his piece,, Yan Liang commented, " So you pity me and want to be my saviour, right?"
As she laughed at this, not only did it not provoke Lu Zheng, he appeared to be more genial,"This is just one of the reasons I am interested in you. The other reason …"
Sadly, he sold the suspense well. Yan Liang was dying of curiosity at this point, but pretended an air of indifference until he himself brought it up again, " I am very curious about the woman who was finally able to attract Jiang Yu Nan."
…… The answer …
Yan Liang was confused whether she should feel shocked or happy.
Complex emotions flitted through her heart, but she was calm on the surface,"Do you always compete with Jiang Yu Nan for women?"
Lu Zheng continued with his own stream of thoughts, "You have no idea what "Jiang Yu Nan" , this name means."
" My father said that he was one of the best professional managers in the country for the past decade.”
"……" “…”
“You should know that my father was willing to spend big bucks to poach Jiang Yu Nan as the CEO of Ming. The annual salary and the market value of the shares together were more than three times your father’s bid. Even then, Jiang Yu Nan flatly refused.We all thought that this was because he was planning to set up something on his own, we never thought he would switch to Xu."
The way Lu Zheng was praising him, Jiang Yu Nan was elevated from a simple " wage earner " to almost G.o.d like status.Yan Liang couldn’t help but feel a little ridiculous..
" If Mr Lu admires Mr Jiang so much , I will convey your praises to him."
Lu Zheng did not play dumb with her, he flatly concluded, "Obviously if Jiang Yu Nan joined Xu, there must be some other reason ."
Saying this. Lu Zheng looked at Yan Liang, clearly implying that the so called " other reason" may be a romantic interest.
Yan Liang did not look at him. She didn’t like him objectifying women like this. In a cold tone she said,”Maybe Jiang Yu Nan just thought that taking over the mess of the launch will be more
challenging. "
Lu Zheng laughed but had no intention to explain further. He closed the topic with a half- truth, "You have a little ability but you are short tempered. There is no other charm except that you are pretty. Maybe if I continue to interact with you, I will find the answer."
*** ***
“I am very curious about this woman who was finally able to attract Jiang Yu Nan."
…… …
“Obviously if Jiang Yu Nan joined Xu, there must be some other reason ."
…… …
It was a terrible lunch, and Mr. Lu ‘s wonderful remarks made it
even worse.
Xu Jin Fu was earlier interested in going out on a trip , but the family doctors discouraged him."You have just been discharged, you need rest, don’t tire yourself out."
Xu Jin fu conceded, but immediately told Yan Liang, " Then you go fishing with Lu Zheng."
Yan Liang did not protest on the spot. She could no longer see the disappointed look on her parents faces any more.
But the situation changed when she followed Lu Zheng to the garage.
As Lu Zheng opened the door for her, she paused. " Please don’t mind, I will say bye to you here."
" You just promised to go fishing with me, was this just an act in front of your parents?"
He only got a shy smile from her in answer, then he turned and walked towards his car.
After a moment, Yan Liang also got in her car and drove away.
The man’s figure gradually disappeared from her rear-view mirror. He actually looked a bit lonely, she guessed that this was probably the first time that he had been turned down.
Yan Liang drive directly to Jiang Yu Nan"s house.
She parked the car in the garage and sat in the car for a long time. Thinking for so long gave her no clue so she quietly got off. Jiang Yu Nan had given her an access card, and soon Yan Liang was in the front of his flat..
After ringing the doorbell, she thought the days ahead may well be different. Future…romance , for Yan Liang these were words that held very little hope.
Her hands were still on the door, wondering if she should press the bell again, when the door suddenly opened.
Jiang Yu Nan seemed to have been waiting for a long time behind the door. Yan Liang was surprised to see him.
" you……”
He didn’t wait for her to elaborate, he turned around and pointed to the window on the opposite wall, " I saw your car long ago."
Yan Liang inclined her head to look behind Jiang Yu Nan. She could see her own luggage in the living room.
Jiang Yu Nan embraced her affectionately and accompanied her in. Yan Liang looked at him, this was the man she was familiar with.
But she realised she hardly understood this man. He seemed to feel her observing him, he bowed his head slightly to look at her. He frowned and asked her silently.
Yan Liang could not help bite the bullet under such a searching gaze. In fact from the garage to the house she was thinking only this.
" Why did you refuse Ming Ting?"
His arm at her waist stiffened.
After a moment, he narrowed his eyes and asked her, " You met Lu Zheng?"
Miumiu: Will JYN answer her ? Or will he adroitly flip back a question at her and avoid answering ? Wait for the next chapter tomorrow