"You managed to get into Lin Yi right after graduation. That"s something. If it was me, I wouldn"t even dare to go for an interview," Qiu Zhaofeng laughed.
Lin Chu laughed dryly. She knew that getting into Lin Yi had nothing to do with her capabilities. It was because of Yan Beicheng.
"Oh yeah, you attended university in B City?" Qiu Zhaofeng asked again.
Lin Chu did not think much of her conversation with Qiu Zhaofeng and nodded, "Yup, I graduated from University A."
"What a coincidence. Me too. It looks like we are alumni. I"m older than you, so I"m your senior. You can call me Senior from now on, Junior Lin," Qiu Zhaofeng took the opportunity to say.
Qiu Zhaofeng had already started called her Junior Lin, Lin Chu was not prepared for it but she did not think it was wise to reject it, so she called him Senior.
The two of them stood in front of the elevator when it opened. Yan Beicheng was standing in front of her.
There was no soundproofing for the elevator. When the door opened, Yan Beicheng could clearly hear both of them referring to each other as senior and junior.
Qiu Zhaofeng turned serious, "CEO."
Yan Beicheng nodded and gave Lin Chu a look. It made Lin Chu feel guilty but she didn"t know why. The way he looked at her was like she had cheated on him.
She saw Yan Beicheng snorted a laugh at her and he turned to Qiu Zhaofeng and said, "Please get Zuo Qiu for me."
Qiu Zhaofeng was momentarily dumbstruck before replying "Yes" and he gave Lin Chu an apologetic look.
"Senior, you can leave if you"re busy," Lin Chu said quickly.
Qiu Zhaofeng left feeling strange about the whole thing. He could call a.s.sistant Zuo on the phone, why would he need him to make a trip?
Yan Beicheng looked faintly at Lin Chu like nothing had happened and walked towards the Planning Department.
Lin Chu watched Yan Beicheng"s back walk away and quickly went into the elevator.
Manager Liang was in the office, reading the proposal sent over by Lin Chu. It was not a major project and was handled by Wei Zilin, it was one of the easiest to complete.
Suddenly, he saw a shadow loom over his desk. Manager Liang raised his head in surprise and nearly fell over.
"C…CEO!"
Was he crazy? He stood in front without saying a word with a cold look in his eyes.
Manager Liang was thinking about this as he stood up, "CEO, can I help you with anything?"
Yan Beicheng gave him a look and said casually, "Tell your department staff that our company prohibits staffs dating with the clients."
Manager Liang, "…"
What was going on here?
"Send out the email now," Yan Beicheng watched him.
He watched Manager Liang send the email before instructing again, "Remember, the company is a place for working. Representatives from other companies are sent here to talk about work, not for the young men in our department to date."
Yan Beicheng coughed, he looked dead serious and upright. His long, slender fingers adjusted his tie, "It"s not good for the company image."
Manager Liang, "…"
What has this got to do with the company image!
Their department had so many men and women of marriageable age. They had not much entertainment aside from working and when the rare opportunity presented itself to meet clients, they were still not allowed to woo anyone even if the person gave them a good impression!
Yan Beicheng did not care about all these thoughts of Manager Liang. He left with a wave of the hand.
When he walked out of the Planning Department, Qiu Zhaofeng came back with Zuo Qiu.
"CEO, were you looking for me?" Zuo Qiu was curious as to why he let Qiu Zhaofeng make the trip.
Yan Beicheng shot a glance at Qiu Zhaofeng and said to Zuo Qiu, "Follow me."
Zuo Qiu followed behind Yan Beicheng and when they were a distance from the Planning Department, Yan Beicheng gave a wave of his hand, "There"s nothing anymore, you can go back."
Zuo Qiu, "…"
Lin Chu stepped out of Yan Hui to see Shao Huai standing in front of an Audi A6. Yan Beicheng knew she wanted to maintain a low profile and did not want to board Yan Beicheng"s Grand Cherokee publicly.
Yan Hui employees recognized the CEO"s car.
This Audi was the company car, it was quite normal to give her a lift with it.
"Miss Lin," Shao Huai called out with a smile.
Lin Chu smiled brightly and waved at Shao Huai. She was about to get into the car but Shao Huai did not move, "This… You"re not coming into the car? Isn"t this the car to take me back?"
It would be embarra.s.sing if that was the case.
"This is the car to take you back, but you would need to wait a while," Shao Huai said with a gentle look in his eyes.
He opened the door for her and said, "Miss Lin, do wait in the car first."
Lin Chu seemed to understand something and did not ask further.
After a while, she saw Yan Beicheng through the car window. He strode out from the company with his long legs and walked down the short stairs in front of the entrance. He looked so elegant.
The car was tinted black. Even the afternoon sun was unable to penetrate it; but when Yan Beicheng looked over, Lin Chu thought that he could see her.
He was wearing a black cashmere coat over his dapper suit. When he sat in the car, she could feel the frost on him.
Shao Huai also got into the car and drove off.
Lin Chu had guessed that they were waiting for Yan Beicheng, but she did not expect Yan Beicheng to leave with her.
She heard Yan Beicheng explain, "It"s already noon. Let"s have lunch together before I take you back to the office."
This time, they did not go to Sheng Yue, but somewhere further. It was a restaurant specializing in Cantonese cuisine.
This was a famous restaurant with authentic cooking. It was the first branch here from an old, famous restaurant in Hong Kong. When it was opened, it was always full. One had to queue for one to two hours to get in. It was better now, but they still required an early reservation.
Shao Huai parked in the parking lot and Yan Beicheng allowed him to leave for lunch. He did not need to come back as Yan Beicheng will personally take Lin Chu back to her office after lunch.
Both of them got off the car and Lin Chu walked next to Yan Beicheng. He suddenly held her hands and stopped walking.
Lin Chu was not prepared for this and continued walking forward. She got jerked backward and staggered towards him. She lifted her head in surprise and saw Yan Beicheng raised an eyebrow, asking with a slightly sarcastic tone, "Senior Brother? Junior Sister?"
"…" Lin Chu blinked momentarily as she drew a blank but later understood what Yan Beicheng meant.
"He was happily chatting with me, I can"t be rejecting him cold-faced," Lin Chu was thinking how petty this man could be when he was jealous. She noticed Yan Beicheng looking very unhappy and looked around before beckoning for him to lower his head.
Yan Beicheng raised an eyebrow and silently obliged. Lin Chu tip-toed and quickly kissed him on the lips, "Okay, now stop being jealous. That was a normal interaction and meant nothing. Do you think I"m such a beauty that everyone will fall in love with me at first sight?"
Yan Beicheng"s mouth twitched. He wanted to laugh but tried his best to maintain his composure. Lin Chu, on the other hand, could not help but laugh.
"Next time, don"t allow him to call you Junior Sister," Yan Beicheng darted a glance at her with his dark eyes.
"It would need to depend on the situation. If we are going to work together, I can"t offend him because of a small matter," Lin Chu mumbled.
Yan Beicheng looked faintly at her, obviously disagreeing.
Lin Chu did not think he was domineering. Cheng Ziming was never bothered with such matters. Even though Yan Beicheng seemed petty, but Lin Chu did not think that he was being strict with her. There was a part of her that secretly felt happy about it.
Lin Chu held both his hands and lowered her head to look at them. His hands were big and elegant. They looked so nice that anyone looking at his hands would have their heart skip a beat.
"There would be at least a portion of time we would use to meet because of work. Of course, it would not be often, but it should be several times a month, right? I think it"s normal to have a conversation between us. It won"t escalate into anything serious. If we were to work together, how can we look at each other with a blank expression?" Lin Chu shook his hands about.
"But I promise you, I would make sure there is a line between us. If I feel that he has crossed the line, I will tell him and not hold back."
Lin Chu really thought that she was not someone that everyone would love at first sight.
How charming could she be to be able to get someone to fall for her over one conversation about work?
Yan Beicheng did not say anything to rebuke her but took her into the restaurant.
Their seat was reserved by Yan Beicheng. It was just the two of them. There was no need to get a private room as they were in a secluded corner.
Yan Beicheng let Lin Chu order a few of her favorites and silently remembered them.
When the dishes were served, Yan Beicheng suddenly voiced out, "I graduated from University A too."
Lin Chu, "…"
He was still thinking about this?
"Let"s hear you call me Senior Brother," Yan Beicheng"s perfect, slender fingers tapped on the table a couple of times while he looked at Lin Chu with fire in his eyes.
"…" It felt natural when Qiu Zhaofeng and she referred it to each other. It was a pretty naïve term for them. When she was in university, that was the way everyone referred to seniors and juniors.
But when Yan Beicheng brought it up, it felt like the term brought along an obscure meaning, it was like… It was like a term used between couples, that the girls would use on their boyfriends when being coy.
Lin Chu could not help but go red in the face. She opened her mouth but the words "Senior" could not come out of it.
After a while, Yan Beicheng got impatient, "It was pretty easy for you to call him that, why can"t you do the same with me?"
Lin Chu pouted. He did not want to let it go. He was prepared to wait until she said it, so she forced it out, "Se…. Senior Brother."
Yan Beicheng was overjoyed hearing it. The way she said it was different from Qiu Zhaofeng"s!
Lin Chu felt that after referring to Yan Beicheng as such, she would feel funny every time she called Qiu Zhaofeng "Senior". She wondered if Yan Beicheng did it on purpose.
She suddenly saw that man sitting opposite her stood up. She wondered where he wanted to go when she noticed he was leaning over the table. His perfect, elegant fingers lifted her chin lightly and he pressed his lips against her.
The waiter walking up to serve them their dishes went red in the face upon witnessing the scene. He did not know whether to leave or stay.
"Good girl, you should call me that often," Yan Beicheng"s thin lips showed a good-looking smile, his slightly coa.r.s.e index fingers touched her on the lower lip.
He sat down again to called out quietly in satisfaction, "Junior Sister."
Lin Chu saw the waiter blushed scarlet red. He hurriedly put down the two dishes in his hand and scattered off in a fl.u.s.ter.
Lin Chu"s work has been going smoothly and pretty soon, it was already Sat.u.r.day. It was time to attend Lin Yuwen and Cheng Ziming"s wedding.
Yan Beicheng had to work overtime today, so he was unable to attend. Lin Chu felt it was just as well to allow everything to happen naturally.
Lin Chu got a taxi to Sheng Yue. There was bad traffic, so she left two hours in advance. This was in case the Lin family thought that she purposely arrived late.
With that, she ended up arriving half an hour early.
It was up to the groom"s family to welcome the guests, although most of the invites were sent out by the Lin family. The Lin family were people of reputation, which they naturally felt they were from a different hierarchy than Cheng Ziming"s parents. This time, it was Lin Zhenghe and his wife, who welcomed the guests together with Cheng Ziming"s parents.
When Lin Chu arrived, Su Changxin was not around as she was worried for Old Lady Lin and went to accompany her. Cheng Ziming and his parents, as well as Lin Zhenghe, were welcoming the guests at the entrance.
Lin Chenghe nodded coldly when he saw Lin Chu, "You"re here."
Lin Chu did not make any attempt to be friendly. She gave her regards to Cheng Ziming"s parents, nodding at them, "Uncle, auntie."
w.a.n.g Jinglin"s att.i.tude towards Lin Chu had changed since Lin Chu last maligned her son. She had wanted Lin Chu to explain to the Lin Family but Lin Chu had refused. This was because Lin Chu had gone from love to hate. This destroyed w.a.n.g Jinglin"s impression of Lin Chu.
Her expression was stiff upon meeting Lin Chu again.
"Lin Chu, you"re here," w.a.n.g Jinglin smiled stiffly. There was a lack of friendliness in her but she still wanted to act as if they were close. It made the situation awkward.
"Uncle, auntie," Lin Chu called out casually. There was not much friendliness in her too.
w.a.n.g Jinglin acted as if afraid that Lin Chu would create trouble, and asked hesitantly, "Are… Are you okay?"
Lin Chu knew what w.a.n.g Jinglin meant but pretended not to. She gave a perplexed look and asked, "I"m fine, auntie. Is there a problem?"
w.a.n.g Jinglin"s smile went stiffer. She was sure Lin Chu was here to create trouble.
If it was up to her, she would never invite Lin Chu to the wedding. Who would want to invite the groom"s ex-girlfriend here to stir trouble?
Besides, Lin Chu could not let go of Cheng Ziming. Who knows what sort of situations she would cause in the future?
"Miss Lin," a familiar female voice called out enthusiastically. Lin Chu and w.a.n.g Jinglin turned to see the female manager in charge of Sheng Yue"s lobby walk over with a big smile on her face.
w.a.n.g Jinglin was surprised. This female manager may not be high ranking, and it did not seem necessary to be on friendly terms with her. However, this manager had received many VIPs here and was always polite to them. But she has never been so friendly towards anyone besides the owner of Sheng Yue, Yan Beicheng, and his friends.
As Cheng Ziming was with Lin Yuwen, the Cheng family"s status had met with a huge improvement. Dining at Sheng Yue had become a norm and they were more aware of insider news.
Lin Chu smiled as the female manager welcomed her. The manager looked over at the Lin family busy with the guests and understood the situation, "Miss Lin, allow me to guide you towards the wedding venue."
"Thank you for your trouble," Lin Chu did not stand on ceremony. She knew the manager was happy to be of service.
w.a.n.g Jinglin could not help but ask Lin Chu in front of the manager, "Lin Chu, do you know each other well?"
"Yes, I"ve been here a few times. We got to know each other after visiting a few times," Lin Chu did not bother to explain too much.
w.a.n.g Jinglin smiled and did not continue her questioning. She watched as the manager led Lin Chu away and mumbled quietly to Cheng Ziming, "What does she mean by getting to know the manager after visiting a few times? We"ve been here often but that manager"s never been this friendly with us."
Cheng Ziming"s gaze left Lin Chu and replied condescendingly, "You know her work. She is in the public relations industry. Of course, she would know how to network. As for us, it"s not necessary for us to specifically get on the good side of that manager. Naturally, we won"t be so friendly with her. However, Lin Chu might want something from that manager. She could be looking at obtaining a contract with Sheng Yue, so it"s not a surprise that she is on good terms with that manager."
w.a.n.g Jinglin frowned and sighed. She shook her head in disapproval as she said, "I had always thought of her to be a naïve girl when you were in school together. Who knew she would change when she started working. She knows how to scheme, caring only about money. What good could come out of being friends with her? Girls should know their place. Going into business with men in the outside world will just end up with her being taken advantage of. It would be bad for her reputation."
w.a.n.g Jinglin glanced at Cheng Ziming, "Thank goodness you broke up with her and got together with Yuwen. Otherwise, you would still eventually break up even if you were still together. She does not care about her reputation and if there were rumors flying around about her, or if she were taken advantage of in her work, you would be the one on the losing end."
Cheng Ziming nodded, "I knew all along that I made the right decision."
Lin Chu was unaware of the script "written" by the mother and son duo of w.a.n.g Jinglin and Cheng Ziming. She had unknowingly become someone who did not care about her reputation.
Lin Chu followed the manager as she was led to the table reserved for the bride"s family. Old Lady Lin was accompanied by Su Changxin at the table. There was someone else she was surprised to see.
Yan Zhiyuan.
Lin Chu was stunned. She stood by her seat and did not take her seat.
Yang Zhiyuan was looking at Lin Chu. Lin Chu frowned as her seat was between Yan Zhiyuan and Su Changxin.
The seat displayed her name, so she was unable to change her placing.
Lin Chu bit her lips. She laughed sardonically in her heart. When did Yan Zhiyuan become a member of the Lin family? He was seated at the main table right next to her.
Was Su Changxin doing this on purpose to make people misunderstand the situation?
"Are you going to take your seat? What are you standing there for? Where are your manners?" Su Changxin said coldly as she lifted her head to look at Lin Chu.
"Lin Chu, quickly take your seat. President Yang had specially taken some time out to attend the wedding. He is looking for an opportunity to properly chat with you. You should get to know each other and converse more," Old Lady Lin said.
Lin Chu did not want to pick a fight with them here. She could only take her seat and with a grim expression, she said coldly, "I didn"t know President Yang had become a member of the Lin family."
Su Changxin and Yang Zhiyuan"s expressions changed at Lin Chu"s words. She did not attempt to hold back her comments.
Su Changxin quickly checked her emotions and said casually, "When you get married, President Yang will become a member of our family. President Yang is sincere in taking this opportunity to get to know you better. Why bother yourself with this minor detail?"
"I think I"ve made it very clear that I already have a boyfriend. President Yang had already met him the last time. He"s young, single, has not been married before, and has no children. His looks, character, and charisma far surpa.s.s that of President Yang. Why should I break up with my boyfriend and get to know President Yang?" Lin Chu looked at Yang Zhiyuan sarcastically.
"Lin Chu! Don"t you dare go overboard! We"re giving you respect but you"re turning it away. What boyfriend do you have? We don"t approve of him! It"s your good fortune that President Yang likes you. Stop sitting on your high horse here!" Su Changxin raged at Lin Chu but kept her voice low.
Lin Chu looked coldly at Su Changxin, which took her by surprise. Lin Chu had never dared to look at her this way since joining the Lin family. If Lin Chu dared to show any disrespect, she would have given her a big slap long ago.