Chapter 1365: Who I Used to Be / A Private Room CrisisTranslator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales
Zhou Jiajia entered the laboratory and roughly told Xiao Qing about a friend who came to look for her. They were going out to have some food together. Xiao Qing looked at the time; it was basically about time to get off work, so she said nothing. She approved Zhou Jiajia’s leave and just told her to be careful.
“Let’s go.” Zhou Jiajia walked out of the laboratory and said to Jing Xiaolu, who was in a daze, “I’ve already taken leave.”
“Oh… okay, let’s go.” Jing Xiaolu regained her consciousness and smiled at Zhou Jiajia apologetically. “I’m sorry. I was distracted.”
“Xiaolu, you seem to have something you’re worried about.” Zhou Jiajia noticed that Jing Xiaolu had a glimmer of a worried expression when she came. Although Jing Xiaolu tried her best not to show it, Zhou Jiajia still noticed something. Now that she saw Jing Xiaolu’s absent-minded look, she was even more confident that Jing Xiaolu seemed to be worried about something.
“Ah… it’s nothing…” Jing Xiaolu shook her head. Even if I tell Zhou Jiajia about the matter that I’m worried about, it is still useless. On the contrary, it will only make Zhou Jiajia worried about me.
When Zhou Jiajia noticed that Jing Xiaolu did not talk, she no longer asked. “So, let’s go?”
“Let’s go…” Jing Xiaolu nodded and went downstairs with Zhou Jiajia.
“This is your car?” Zhou Jiajia was a little shocked as she saw Jing Xiaolu take out the remote control and open the door of the BMW. The car was the same as Yang Ming’s car, but the license plate was different. Zhou Jiajia naturally would not think that it was Yang Ming’s car.
“Yang… it’s the company’s…” Jing Xiaolu’s face blushed, and she was immediately embarra.s.sed. Previously, she wanted to say that Yang Ming gave it to her, but saying it in front of Zhou Jiajia seemed like she was showing off. Jing Xiaolu knew that Zhou Jiajia was Yang Ming’s girlfriend, but she was not, so she quickly stopped and changed to “the company’s” at the last minute. She did not want to incur unreasonable hate from Zhou Jiajia.
Zhou Jiajia was exceptionally intelligent. When she heard the word “Yang” from Jing Xiaolu’s previous words, she basically understood that Yang Ming most likely gave this car to Jing Xiaolu. However, Zhou Jiajia was not jealous; it was just a car. In comparison, Yang Ming’s feelings for her were far from being comparable to a car. Zhou Jiajia was already grateful for a lifetime for Yang Ming who went to the Charles Family to get her father out.
“Yang Ming bought it for you?” Zhou Jiajia smiled slightly. She didn’t want to talk in riddles with Jing Xiaolu. Since she had already noticed something, there was no need to cover it up.
“Ah… no… ah… yes…” Jing Xiaolu just wanted to deny it, but she felt that she should not deceive Zhou Jiajia, so she also forced herself to admit to it.
“No?” Zhou Jiajia did not pay attention to Jing Xiaolu’s ambiguous tone. She thought that Jing Xiaolu’s tension was caused by her mentioning Yang Ming, but when she heard Jing Xiaolu say that it was not, Zhou Jiajia was somewhat puzzled. Did I guess it wrongly?
“It’s not a no; it’s a yes…” Jing Xiaolu added quickly.
“What?” Zhou Jiajia was stupified by Jing Xiaolu. “Xiaolu, what are you talking about?”
“This car… Yang Ming gave it to me… but it is the company’s car; I am just driving it…” said Jing Xiaolu.
“Hehe, do you like Yang Ming?” Zhou Jiajia smiled and asked suddenly.
“Ah… I?!?” Jing Xiaolu was stunned there, watching Zhou Jiajia in a daze. She didn’t know how Zhou Jiajia noticed her thoughts. For a time, she suddenly became nervous; she didn’t know how Zhou Jiajia would deal with her.
Jing Xiaolu was like the mistress who was caught by the genuine wife. She looked down and didn’t dare to look at Zhou Jiajia. She couldn’t figure out why Zhou Jiajia would ask such a question!
To say that Yang Ming gave her a car would mean that Yang Ming liked her rather than she liked Yang Ming, right? This was from a common-sense point of view; anyone would think so too. However, Zhou Jiajia thought differently. Although what she said was a fact, Jing Xiaolu couldn’t guess how Zhou Jiajia knew this.
“Hehe, am I wrong?” Zhou Jiajia saw Jing Xiaolu’s horrified expression. How could she not be certain of it? However, she deliberately teased her.
“You… you noticed it?” Jing Xiaolu was surprised. She thought that Zhou Jiajia found out something from Yang Ming, but she did not expect Zhou Jiajia to discover it herself… Since Zhou Jiajia noticed it, then did Chen Mengyan and Lin Zhiyun also see it? Thinking of this, Jing Xiaolu suddenly burst into a cold sweat.
“Don’t worry.” Zhou Jiajia saw Jing Xiaolu’s cautious look, and she chuckled. “Only I noticed it. Sister Mengyan and others don’t know.”
“Hu…” Jing Xiaolu breathed a sigh of relief, but she was even more puzzled in her heart. Since Chen Mengyan and Lin Zhiyun did not notice it, how did Zhou Jiajia notice it? Does she have any special abilities?
“Let’s talk about it in the car.” Zhou Jiajia found it somewhat amusing as she watched Jing Xiaolu, who was overwhelmed, stupidly stand beside the car. However, Zhou Jiajia wouldn’t laugh at Jing Xiaolu. Jing Xiaolu is what I used to be like. Back then, wasn’t I also an overly suspicious person who worried about every little thing?
“Ah… okay!” Jing Xiaolu also found herself stupidly standing in front of the car, which had attracted some students’ attention. The BMW car was already more eye-catching on campus; Jing Xiaolu and Zhou Jiajia were also very beautiful. Two beautiful women standing beside the luxury car would always let some people’s imaginations roam.
Jing Xiaolu naturally felt these gazes. She immediately felt uncomfortable. She quickly opened the door of the driver’s seat and sat in it, and Zhou Jiajia sat in the front seat position with a slight smile.
“Where are we going?” Jing Xiaolu started the car after getting in and asked Zhou Jiajia with a nervous look.
“Yi?” Zhou Jiajia was stunned and immediately said, “Aren’t you going to treat me for a meal?”
“Ah! A meal – yes, I want to treat you a meal.” Jing Xiaolu was a little embarra.s.sed when she remembered her purpose. “What do you want to eat?”
“I’ll eat whatever you buy for me.” Zhou Jiajia was amused by Jing Xiaolu. How could someone that seems quite smart become such a silly fool? However, Zhou Jiajia did not laugh at Jing Xiaolu. Wasn’t I like this before? When I fell in love with Yang Ming, I was not less stupid than Jing Xiaolu.
“Oh… I know of a special Cantonese restaurant. It had just opened not long ago, and it is packed every day. Let’s go there,” Jing Xiaolu thought about it and said. When the Cantonese restaurant opened, they sent a leaflet and many vouchers to Ming Yang. Jing Xiaolu just happened to have some in her bag.
With the position of Ming Yang Security in Song Jiang, these restaurants would naturally try their best to please them; there was nothing surprising about this. Jing Xiaolu just happened to remember about it, so she planned to try it out.
“Alright.” Zhou Jiajia was not very picky about food. Although she was born in a wealthy environment, her father was a butler in the Charles family, and her mother’s company was very busy, so Zhou Jiajia would eat whatever she could eat. She did not have the habit of those Misses at all.
Jing Xiaolu nodded and drove the car to the newly opened Cantonese restaurant.
Seeing a row of cars parked in front of the Cantonese restaurant, Jing Xiaolu knew that the rumors spread by the company’s colleagues were no fake. This Cantonese restaurant was very popular, so many people were dining here. It was only a little past four in the afternoon; it was not even the time to formally eat yet, but a lot of diners had already come.
Jing Xiaolu parked the car and entered the restaurant lobby with Zhou Jiajia. The people who came here to eat were endless. The few people in front wanted a private room, so then a waitress brought them to go upstairs. Jing Xiaolu thought about it and felt that her conversation with Zhou Jiajia required some privacy. Although there were only two people, they should also need a private room, so she told the waitress at the front desk, “We also want a private room.”
When the waitress saw that Jing Xiaolu and Zhou Jiajia were only two people, she was a little displeased. It was almost dinnertime, and there were not enough private rooms. It’s such a waste for these two people to occupy a private room! Also, they were both women, so they would certainly not order too many dishes; as for tobacco and alcohol, it was even more hopeless.
Chapter 1486: A Private Room Crisis
Thinking of this, the waitress asked, “How many of you?”
“Just the two of us.” Jing Xiaolu did not notice the intention of the waitress. She still spoke very kindly, “I can just have a smaller private room.”
“I’m sorry. If you want a private room, you need to make an appointment in advance.” The waitress confirmed that there were only two people in the party, so she did not intend to give them a private room. There was no minimum consumption in the restaurant’s private rooms, so it was simply not worthwhile to let them use it. Hence, she used the appointment as an excuse to stop them.
“Then, let’s sit in the hall.” Zhou Jiajia didn’t mind; she didn’t think much after looking at the popularity of the place.
It was Jing Xiaolu who felt weird. She used to be a waitress, so she knew the thoughts of these waitresses. Seeing the glimmering look in the waitress’ eyes, and thinking about the guests from before, Jing Xiaolu understood. “Then, the few people before us didn’t make an appointment. How come they could get a private room?”
“… They booked it!” The waitress rolled her eyes. She didn’t expect Jing Xiaolu to be so difficult to deal with; she actually noticed these details.
“They made an appointment?” Jing Xiaolu sneered aloud, “Why did I hear them asking if there were any private rooms, and you opened one for them?”
“They are friends of the boss!” The waitress frowned and thought, The little girl in front of me is very observant. She actually noticed this! However, she had already made up her mind not to give Jing Xiaolu a private room!
If it were a male waiter, he would probably rush to win their favor after seeing Jing Xiaolu and Zhou Jiajia’s beauty. How could he possibly make it difficult for them? But the waitress was a forty-year-old aunt; she was just a laid-off worker. The factory still owed her salary. Also, her husband was having an affair with an enchantress and took away their savings at home, so she was inevitably a little cynical and psychologically distorted. She used her relations.h.i.+p with the boss to come and work here, so she purposely made it difficult for these two young girls who dressed like little rich girls.
“Aren’t your words inconsistent? You said that they made an appointment, and then said that they are friends of the boss. What is actually going on?” Jing Xiaolu looked at the waitress with an ambiguous smile. “Why don’t you call the boss out and let me ask him?”
When she heard that they wanted to call the boss, the waitress’s face suddenly changed. Although she was a relative of the boss’ family, she also knew that the restaurant had just opened, and the boss was very busy every day and had no time! Since they had reached this point, the waitress didn’t want to make the matter bigger and sighed, “Then, I’ll have a look to see if there is an unoccupied private room.”
“This is about right.” Jing Xiaolu now remembered Yang Ming’s words not to cause trouble arbitrarily, but it did not mean that she was afraid of trouble just because she was not causing them. She still must argue strongly for what is right.
Jing Xiaolu took out the vouchers from her bag. Previously, when Bao Sanli handed them over to her, she didn’t even see how much it was before putting the vouchers in her purse. At this moment, she took them out and prepared to count how much they were worth. Then she’ll order the dishes accordingly.
Jing Xiaolu also thought about it. I’ll have to wait and see how the service of this restaurant is. After this, I don’t plan to come for a second time. I will finish the vouchers all at once.
“There are no people in Room 602…” The waitress was going to find a small private room for Jing Xiaolu, but when she looked up and spoke halfway, she saw the vouchers in Jing Xiaolu’s hand. Her face suddenly became ugly!
The restaurant had just opened, so they gave away a lot of vouchers! These vouchers were given to shopping malls, parks, and newspapers. These vouchers meant that they would lose money, so the waitress was immediately unhappy when she saw Jing Xiaolu take out the vouchers. She said with a straight face, “The private room is gone; you all can eat in the hall.”
“Gone? Didn’t you just say that it is available?” Jing Xiaolu frowned, not knowing how the woman suddenly changed her mind.
“You are using the vouchers, so it’s gone!” Initially, the waitress thought that Jing Xiaolu was coming to spend real money, so she didn’t want to offend her too much and finally agreed to give her a private room. But now, since she was using the vouchers, there was no need to give her face. Stay if you want to eat; leave if you don’t want to eat here. It is best for you all to leave immediately, so then these vouchers won’t be redeemed.
Jing Xiaolu was already not in a good mood. When she heard the waitress, she knew that she was deliberately looking for trouble. She frowned. “On which line in the voucher is it written that I can’t eat in a private room?”
“Security! Some people are making trouble here!” Since the waitress already knew that Jing Xiaolu planned to pay with the vouchers, she was not afraid that Jing Xiaolu would not eat here. Seeing that Jing Xiaolu was still here arguing, she immediately became impatient. She immediately called the security guard!
As for the security guard here, the waitress was quite confident. It was said that the boss hired them from the Ming Yang Security Company. Both the authorities and the underworld in Song Jiang City gave them face. With these people controlling the scene, people who came to make trouble would basically be silent.
A few days ago, a group of little punks wanted to dine and dash. As a result, the restaurant called Ming Yang’s security guards, and they were so scared that they paid and left! Thus, the waitress directly cla.s.sified Jing Xiaolu as a troublemaker and wanted the security guard to take her out.
Xiao Li was the security captain here. He knew that the old woman at the front desk was a relative of the restaurant manager, so there was a little authority in her speech. When he heard her calling out someone for making trouble, he did not dare to delay and quickly ran over. But before he reached the front desk, Xiao Li saw a familiar figure standing at reception and arguing with the old woman!
Xiao Li’s eyes bulged out, looking at her. How could he not know this person? Isn’t this the company’s Vice President, Jing Xiaolu? I heard that even Bao Sanli is somewhat considerate to her. Her man is someone that Bao Sanli is afraid of! Although Xiao Li didn’t know these high-level things, he still heard the rumors, especially the news from Ming Yang Entertainment saying that Jing Xiaolu’s man was the company’s chairman. Even Bao Sanli and Hou Zhenhan worked for him!
So, after seeing Jing Xiaolu, Xiao Li didn’t dare to neglect; he even put away the words said by the old woman. He ran to Jing Xiaolu and said respectfully, “Vice President Jing, h.e.l.lo! Welcome!”
Jing Xiaolu looked at Xiao Li and asked, puzzled, “You are? Do you know me?”
“I am an employee of our company. My name is Li Jixing. I am responsible for the security work here!” Li Jixing said quickly.
“Ah, you are from Ming Yang Security!” Jing Xiaolu mainly worked at Ming Yang Entertainment. However, because of the recent cooperation with Bao Sanli to run a new company, she was also named as a vice president at Ming Yang Security. In fact, she didn’t know many of these employees. However, it didn’t mean that these employees didn’t know the vice president of the company!
“Sister Zhang, this is our company’s Vice President Jing. Why don’t you quickly arrange a private room?” Li Jixing was not stupid. He heard this old woman named Sister Zhang calling someone to run over because of a troublemaker. On the way, another waitress told him about the matters here. It was nothing more than a guest who wanted a private room, but Sister Zhang didn’t want to give it to her, so both parties had a conflict.
Since he saw that Sister Zhang’s troublemaker was Vice President Jing, Li Jixing immediately began to ponder a way to resolve the situation when he greeted her. Although this Sister Zhang was no one important, she was a relative of the restaurant owner after all! Although Li Jixing was under Ming Yang Security, he still had to work in the other’s territory after all. It was inappropriate to offend this Sister Zhang too much.
Therefore, Li Jixing directly reminded Sister Zhang to see if she knew what to do. If she were still ignorant like this, then he could only discuss it with the boss, and this Sister Zhang would most probably be fired. Between Vice President Jing and his relatives, he believed the boss would most likely know how to choose.
Although this Sister Zhang was displeased, she was not a fool. When Li Jixing pointed out Jing Xiaolu’s ident.i.ty, she immediately became scared! Never mind herself; even her relative, who was her boss, wanted to find ways to have a good relations.h.i.+p with the boss of Ming Yang Security!