When she was thinking about it, the office landline phone on the desk rang. Although the telephone showed that there was an incoming call, Lin Chu always could not see very clearly. The grey digital numbers looked like squares and there was a bunch of them which made people"s vision blurry.
Lin Chu just roughly had a look; she did not recognize the number and then picked up the handset. "Hi, this is Lin Yi."
"Have you received the thing?" It was Lu Zhenghang"s voice.
Lin Chu"s face darkened, feeling extremely sickened yet she still pretended like she did not know anything and asked, "May I ask who are you?"
The other end of the line paused for a moment and light laughter came through. If the telephone was placed on another woman like Zhu Hexuan"s ear, it perhaps might sound pretty pleasant but Lin Chu felt disgusted by it. A patch of gooseb.u.mps appeared on her arm.
She never met Lu Zhenting before. Since Lu Zhenghang was Lu Zhenting"s son, he must certainly look alike with him. Thinking that Lu Zhenting probably also enticed Jiang Changdai this way back in those days, she all the more wanted to throw up.
This type of feeling caused Lin Chu to cover her mouth with her hand as a nauseating sensation of wanting to vomit actually bubbled up in her stomach.
She could hear Lu Zhenghang say in a slightly sarcastic manner through the telephone, "I"m Lu Zhenghang."
Lin Chu pushed down the disgust in her mind with force and asked in a cold tone, "What"s the matter?"
"I know it"s your birthday today. I specially prepared a birthday present for you. You"ve received it, right?" Lu Zhenghang asked with malicious intent.
Lin Chu glanced the box on the desk coldly. Zheng Yuntong feared that someone would return so she instantly looked for an opaque bag and placed the box inside. Giving some thought, she made a phone call to Xu Moyan.
As she pondered, only Xu Moyan was trustworthy. Handing it over to her also would not make others suspect a thing.
Lin Chu withdrew her gaze and said, acting innocent, "What present? I didn"t receive it. Mr. Lu doesn"t have to spend money. Even if you really do give me a present, I won"t accept it."
Lu Zhenghang scoffed. "I saw the logistics information just now and it mentioned that it was already signed for."
"Oh, maybe it was delivered to the wrong address or the information for being accepted was inputted without the parcel being delivered. Delivery companies are always like this," Lin Chu said with an indifferent tone, "If it"s delivered here, I"ll refuse to sign the parcel. It"s lost if it isn"t delivered. Bye."
"Wait a minute!" Lu Zhenghang yelled, and asked suspiciously, "It"s really not delivered?"
"Yes," Lin Chu said coldly, "I won"t touch whatever you give me. I don"t know what you"re trying to do but I don"t want to talk to you. There"s no possibility of us being friends either so Mr. Lu, it"s best that you don"t bother me."
"You don"t know what am I trying to do? How can you not know?" Lu Zhenghang smiled lightly. "Didn"t I tell you clearly at your doorway on that day? If you didn"t receive the thing, then I might as well tell you. I"ve given you a man"s customized genitals and made according to my proportions. If Yan Beicheng can"t satisfy you, you try using it. Once you"ve experienced something good of mine, look for the real person later on. The more you use it, the better you"ll feel."
Lin Chu did not expect that it was actually made based on the appearance and size of Lu Zhenghang"s p.e.n.i.s. Was he not disgusting! Could it be that he even took a picture of his genitals and sent it to the shop to have it made?
"Hha. Since this is the case, I really want to call the express delivery company and ask where exactly the parcel was delivered. It has to arrive no matter what to be posted online to let everyone see Mr. Lu"s genitals," Lin Chu said in a cold voice and then hung up.
"It was really given by Lu Zhenghang?" Zheng Yuntong asked.
Lin Chu nodded. Seeing that no one was around, she laughed grimly and said in a low voice, "He told me that it"s customized and made according to his genitals."
Once Zheng Yuntong heard what she said, her face turned green. She almost vomited the lunch she had just now. "Isn"t he disgusting? It"s fine that you…you can keep it to yourself. Don"t tell me anymore. I"m extremely disgusted and sickened. I almost threw up my lunch."
Lin Chu originally felt disgusted but she witnessed Zheng Yuntong"s reaction in the end so she could not help but break into laughter.
"My bad," Lin Chu smiled and said.
Zheng Yuntong rolled her eyes at her because of her rejoicing in other"s misfortune. How was that considered as acknowledging her mistake? She was already spoiled by the Yan family!
"I just called Xu Moyan and she"s coming now," Zheng Yuntong said. Not only Xu Moyan often had to meet clients and what not so she could visit colleagues with prior notice, but also her working hours were also quite flexible. "We"ll hand over the thing to her a later. Let her handle it."
As Lin Chu"s eyes darted, she had an immoral idea. "I have an idea."
Zheng Yuntong saw Lin Chu"s evil look and moved closer with a wicked smile hanging on her face. Lin Chu then leaned towards her ear and whispered a few sentences.
The more Zheng Yuntong listened, the brighter her eyes became. She nodded vigorously for a few times in the end and gave Lin Chu a thumbs up.
They began working when the lunch break pa.s.sed. After working for half an hour, Xu Moyan called, saying that she was already downstairs at their company.
Lin Chu then carried a bag with Zheng Yuntong and went downstairs together. Handing the bag over to Xu Moyan, Lin Chu reminded, "Don"t throw it when you go back. Keep it safe inside your home first."
She subsequently whispered to her about her plan.
Xu Moyan"s eyes gleamed and made an OK sign towards Lin Chu. "Don"t worry, I"ll go back home first and put this away."
She also felt embarra.s.sed if she really carried it casually into her office.
Lin Chu smiled while giving her a hug. "Thanks for your help, or else I wouldn"t know how to handle this."
"What"s with the politeness?" Xu Moyan laughed in a lively manner. She waved her hand at them, turned around and walked away.
As Xu Moyan just turned around, Wei Zilin was driving in the opposite direction and into the underground parking lot. He saw Lin Chu and Zheng Yuntong give Xu Moyan a bag of things while he was on the way. Though he never really properly met Xu Moyan, he did see Xu Moyan meeting Lin Chu for a couple of times. He knew she was Lin Chu"s friend, that was why he recognized her.
He did not think too much at that moment and then just drove away.
Dai Huimin returned to the small restaurant after changing subway trains twice. When she walked to the entrance, she saw a young woman with a shrewd and seasoned refinement carrying a big tote bag, standing at the entrance of her restaurant, raising her head and looking at the signboard above. "Old Man Xu"s Private Cuisine".
It was named by Xu Jiaojiao. She said that "private cuisine" now sounded much more high-cla.s.s than the average name of whatever stir-fry shop and so on.
At this hour, it was not the afternoon, night nor the time that people were about to eat. Dai Huimin pondered whether the woman wanted to come in and eat but she was worried that they would not cook for her or was it because of some other reason?
She thus, put on a cordial smile and walked towards her. "Miss, do you want to have a meal? It"s alright, you can just go in. We"re open anytime for business."
Zhu Hexuan looked Dai Huimin up and down smoothly. "You"re the boss?"
"My family started the business with small capital. It isn"t really fitting for me to be called the boss," Dai Huimin said, leading Zhu Hexuan into the shop and pointing at the opposite wall, "The menu is there. If you want to eat something that"s not on the menu, you can let me know and I"ll see if my cook can make it or not."
Zhu Hexuan was not hungry at all and she did not want to eat at this small restaurant. She did not have the appet.i.te from just looking around so she said, seemingly chatting, "I haven"t seen this restaurant before when I pa.s.sed by previously. It just opened?"
"Hey, I think you haven"t pa.s.sed by here for a long time, right? It was opened before the new year and has been open for nearly a year," Dai Huimini said while smiling.
Zhu Hexuan"s smile became slightly stiff for a moment and then chuckled twice.
Xu Jiaojiao was sitting by the cas.h.i.+er"s desk and calculating the earnings earned that morning. She lifted her head up and looked at Zhu Hexuan, thinking that she looked familiar.
"This was opened by your own family, no? Not judging the small size of the restaurant but I know that opening up and doing business at B City is no easy feat. This small shop also needs a lot of money," Zhu Hexuan said as she smiled.
Working as a journalist for a long time, she had come into contact with all sorts of people from farmers, migrant workers, poor families in the valley to successful figures in the list of the rich. She had a collection of distinct expressions that would be prepared in advance while meeting different people.
Her smile was sincere and amiable at this moment, making it really easy to attract people to engage in small talk.
Dai Huimin, however, had been taught by Lin Chu with facts, which caused suspicion to swell in her heart. She saw how friendly Zhu Hexuan"s smile was but she thought about Lu Weining at once. Her smile even appeared more harmless than Zhu Hexuan"s when she started approaching her.
Besides, Zhu Hexan did not order any dishes nor show signs of wanting to eat once she came here. She inquired incessantly about her family instead.
If Lin Chu was not in her life, she could enquire all she wanted. Her family had invested all the money into the restaurant; they were so poor that their kitchen was so close to the tables that clanking noises could be heard. They did not have anything that deserved to be remembered by the people.
She, however, had Lin Chu. She was afraid that whoever would take advantage of approaching her. They actually wanted to use them to write articles about Lin Chu.
Not only fall for this but also she let Lin Chu down. The fact that Lin Chu did not bother about this and was willing to help them, the more determined she was that would not burden Lin Chu.
She was aware that she was not smart but stupid people had stupid methods. Since she could not play the game of manipulation, she would guard her mouth properly and simply not say anything.
Dai Huimin, thus, chuckled twice. Rather than chasing away the customer, she merely asked, "It"s not easy to do business anywhere. Miss, what would you like to eat?"
Xu Jiaojiao took advantage of Zhu Hexuan"s being distracted to go to the kitchen secretly. She found Xu Dongguo who was in the middle of tidying up the kitchen.
"Why are you in here?" Xu Dongguo turned his head and asked, scrubbing the pan.
"Dad, you put that aside first," Xu Jiaojiao said as she walked towards him.
Xu Dongguo placed the pan into the sink, washed his hands with soap and wiped them with his ap.r.o.n casually. He saw Xu Jiaojiao adjusting her phone to record video mode and handed it to him.
"Dad, there"s a reporter outside hiding her ident.i.ty and worming something out of my mom. I fear that she"s coming for Lin Chu. You follow me and secretly record the conversation I"ll be having with her a while later. Reporters know best how to take the quote out of context. I"m worried that even if my mom doesn"t speak, the reporter also can fabricate something. It"s better that I go over there and tell her clearly. We"ll record it and have evidence. We"re good with her if she reports the truth but if she reports falsely, we"ll take this out and use it. We can"t let her use us to write whatever article about Lin Chu again."
Once Xu Dongguo heard what Xu Jiaojiao said, his eyes became wet. His rough and thick hand rubbed his eyes sloppily for several times. "Jiaojiao, you"ve really become thoughtful."
Xu Jiaojiao flushed uncomfortably. "Dad, what are you doing? I know you guys still don"t trust me but I really have changed already. I"ve resolved to live my life being contented and work hard to pursue my goals. Although Lin Chu appears cold, I know that she is truly kind and helps us wholeheartedly. She"s helped me and I naturally want to help her. Besides, she"s a good person. I believe the words she said. She"s my sister no matter what. If I don"t trust her, who do I trust?"
The tears inside Xu Dongguo"s eyes increased. Because of the tears, his eyes which were smaller than his younger days and a little turbid due to aging had become brighter.
He kept nodding. "Correct, thinking in such a way is right."
Xu Jiaojiao said helplessly, "Dad, you"re a big man. Don"t cry!"
"Ha ha. I won"t cry. I won"t cry." Xu Dongguo also chucked twice somewhat awkwardly. He immediately grabbed the ap.r.o.n tied around his waist to wipe his eyes. "But how do you know that she"s a reporter? Isn"t she hiding her ident.i.ty and worming something out of your mom outside?"
As Xu Jiaojiao lowered her head and pulled his s.h.i.+rttail twice in embarra.s.sment, she only then said, "Didn"t I meet her when I just knew at that time that Lin Chu was the daughter which mom abandoned in the past? There"s this one time, that reporter looked for me and even gave me a name card. I remember she"s called Zhu something. I was foolish at that time and said something that might hurt Lin Chu but I don"t know why I didn"t see her publish it afterward. I didn"t expect that she would come over today."
The moment Xu Dongguo heard what she said, he instantly walked out. "Then what are we still waiting for? Let"s go over there at once."
As for the stupid things Xu Jiaojiao did previously, Xu Dongguo also did not want to always remind his daughter of her shame since she had already changed for the better. Plus, he even told Dai Huimin before in private to not always bring up what she did. It would hurt her feelings. With the lesson learned this time, both the husband and wife would often pay attention to Xu Jiaojiao"s change. As long as there was a bit of indication of backsliding, what she did would then definitely have to be mentioned to let Xu Jiaojiao learn her lesson.
Xu Jiaojiao went out whereas Xu Dongguo went behind the till covertly. Having his back towards them, he pressed the red circle of the filming function and propped up the phone at the liquor cabinet behind. He also used the alcohol bottles to block the phone so that only the camera at the back of the phone was exposed. Afterward, he sat behind the till like nothing had happened and pretended to be busy.