Chapter 746: A Million Times for You (108)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
He had always imposed a strict rule of not using mobile phones during a meeting.
Yet, he was the first one to break that rule by bringing a mobile phone into the meeting room and replying to a text message openly.
What he did next was way more outrageous.
After reading the message, he stared at his phone screen and began smiling widely from ear to ear.
That’s a first!
After the meeting ended, he walked out of the meeting room and said to his secretary, “I won’t be coming over in the afternoon.”
Dumbfounded, the secretary said, “Mr. Jin, we’ve already arranged an interview with the reporters from the financial news channel. Wouldn’t you be standing them up by pulling a no-show? That’s not very appropriate, is it?”
“Postpone it until tomorrow.”
“Mr. Jin… they’re going to say that you’re putting on airs like a big shot.”
“I’m indeed a big shot to begin with. Must I really put on airs? I have something important to attend to in the afternoon,” Jin Qingyan said fearlessly.
“Mr. Jin, could you tell me what’s so important?” the secretary could not help but ask.
“No.”
“Are you in love, Mr. Jin?”
Jin Qingyan glared at him solemnly and asked, “How could you tell?”
“I wasn’t the only one who could tell. I believe all the other staff members saw it during the meeting. Mr. Jin, you were being too obvious.”
Jin Qingyan did not say anything else and returned to his office to pick up his coat before leaving.
Noticing how eager he was to leave, the secretary could not help but wonder to himself, Mr. Jin must be in love, right?
Judging from the fact that he did not deny it, that does seem to be the case.
The secretary chuckled at the thought of the rare sight of a cheery Jin Qingyan.
It happened to be noontime when all students were dismissed from school and working adults were getting off work, thus causing the traffic to be extremely congested while he was driving home.
It was indeed a test of his patience.
Jin Qingyan gripped the steering wheel tightly and stared at the snake-like queue of cars in front of him.
It didn’t seem like it would clear up anytime soon.
He looked down at the text message on his screen as a warm, fuzzy feeling filled his heart.
It’s almost the New Year soon. I’ll get to spend New Year’s Eve with her this year.
Awesome.
A smile formed on his face immediately at the thought of it. In high spirits, he did not find the heavy traffic in front of him to be an eyesore at all.
The traffic jam lasted for half an hour. It was already twelve noon by the time he arrived home.
An Xiaoning was practicing yoga on the yoga mat in the living room. Upon the sight of him, she immediately stopped and put the yoga mat aside before putting on her slippers. She walked toward him and said, “Don’t you get off work at 11:30 am? Why did you take so long to come home?”
She sounded like a wife waiting for her husband to come home.
She was wearing a long woolen sweater. The air in the room was filled with warmth, which made her cheeks appear red and flushed. She’d pinned her thin bangs to the side with a hair clip.
Unable to contain his happiness, Jin Qingyan smiled and said, “There was a traffic jam along the way that had lasted for thirty minutes. That’s why I’m back late.”
“You’re not late. Auntie Chen has already prepared lunch. Wash your hands and start eating.”
“Alright.”
During lunch, Jin Qingyan sensed that something was unusual with her behavior. She continuously helped him to the dishes and grinned at him every now and then.
It was like a dream.
“Xiaoning…”
“Yes?”
“Why are you so nice to me all of a sudden?”
“What do you mean? It’s because you’re nice to me. Isn’t it only right for me to treat you well too? Besides, haven’t I been nice to you in the past?” she scorned.
“No, you’re just treating me much better now. In fact, it makes me… elated.”
“I’m not a foolish woman who doesn’t know what’s good for her. I know clearly who treats me well and who doesn’t. Qingyan, did you know? The Autumn Palace incident made me detest you to the extremes, solely because you didn’t trust me at all. I was still feeling guilty for failing to protect our baby, yet you misunderstood me. I used to think that I could never forgive you for not trusting me, but I think differently now,” said An Xiaoning, peeling some prawns while wearing a pair of disposable gloves.
He gazed at her quietly and continued to listen to her speak.
“If I told you earlier about Tuoba Gucheng being drugged with an aphrodisiac that night, you probably wouldn’t have gotten the wrong idea. At the end of the day, it’s all because we failed to inform each other immediately about the incidents we encountered, isn’t it?”
An Xiaoning had indeed realized that fact.
She did not wish for him to hold a grudge against the matter either, although she could tell that he regretted maligning her.
She decided to talk about the matter openly because she wanted him to put the incident behind him for good.
He placed his hand on top of hers and held it gently. “I’m very glad to hear that from you.”
“Hurry and eat before the food turns cold.”
They smiled at each other and began eating harmoniously.
——
“Sis Erlan… Jing Yang’s a.s.sistant would like to see you,” said Xiao Yue, who had no choice but to enter Yan Ge’s room, since Fang Erlan did not bring her mobile phone and there was no way to contact her.
“I’m not free. I don’t want to see them, tell them to leave,” said Fang Erlan, who did not even bother turning around.
“Alright.”
After Xiao Yue left, Yan Ge asked, “Your idol must have something to tell you since he sent his a.s.sistant to look for you. Aren’t you going to see him?”
“I already said he’s no longer my idol,” said Fang Erlan. The mere thought of Jing Yang was enough to dampen her spirits.
“Yes, decent and upright male celebrities like me are rare to come by these days.”
“Quit blowing your own trumpet. You’re still a far cry from your fans’ impression of you,” Fang Erlan objected.
“It’s only because they’ve formed overly-idealistic impressions of me. Although I’m already very outstanding, still…” His nonchalant att.i.tude gave Fang Erlan the urge to beat him into a pulp.
“How’s the ma.s.sage today?”
“Too light?”
“Still too light? I’ve already used up all of my strength. Seems like you’re really thick-skinned,” said Fang Erlan, poking his spine.
“You’re the one who’s weak. Don’t blame it on me.”
Fang Erlan placed a hand on his waist and pinched it gently, causing him to feel ticklish. He sprung up and said, “I can’t stand it when people touch me there.”
“Hah, you’re just like most people. I’m not ticklish at all.”
He reached out to pinch her waist, only to see that she remained still and kept a straight face.
It was indeed so.
“You’re a different species.”
“Psht…” Fang Erlan let go of him and picked up the script. “Well… let’s rehea.r.s.e our scenes.”
Although filming had begun only recently, they had already developed a habit of rehearsing their scenes together beforehand in order to minimize the number of bad takes and allow the process to run smoothly.
“The scene we’re filming in the afternoon involves horse riding. Have you ridden a horse before?”
“No, but I’ve already told Xiao Yue to inform the crew members to arrange a docile and tamer horse. I’ll just train and practice with it for a while before filming begins. It should be fine. I have two scenes to film from afternoon ’til evening today. How many do you have?”
“Three.”
“I heard that the co-director had just returned from an advanced studies course abroad. Is it true that he’ll be joining us today?”