Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Taken aback by his words, Song Yan’s face stiffened as she was momentarily at a loss for words. “Well, I have a really tight schedule lined up with jobs, anyway. Since you’ve said that, I guess I’ll be taking a rain check then.”

“Goodbye, I won’t be seeing you out.”

All eyes were on Long Tianze as they stared on in astonishment.

“Give me half an hour,” he said to the crowd nonchalantly.

“I’ll discuss this with the client,” he said, reaching out to press the elevator button.

“Have you got anyone in mind to replace Song Yan with, Mr. Long?”

“A replacement? How about a fresh face?” Long Tianze suggested as he turned to look at his secretary.

“I’m more aware of that than you are.” Long Tianze gave it some thought and continued, “But, I do have someone in mind, and I really think we could give her a shot.”

“Who is it?”

“A girl I know.” Whipping his phone out, he said, “Let me call the client to discuss about this.”

Filled with fear and trepidation, the secretary stood beside him quietly, too afraid to even face him. Without a doubt, the client would definitely hit the roof.

As expected, there was stiff tension on Long Tianze’s face throughout the entire duration of the phone call. Meanwhile, the elevator had ascended then descended back and forth repeatedly.

The secretary’s legs had turned jelly from standing for so long.

Finally, Long Tianze ended the call.

“Mr. Long…” the secretary began to ask.

“Got it.”

Mei Yangyang was surprised to see that Long Tianze had shown up again, despite having just left not long ago. “I’ve got something to tell you,” he said before she could even speak.

“Alright,” she agreed and followed him out.

“My question is, are you willing to take on the role?”

With a nod, she answered, “Yes, I am.”

“That’s great, let’s go.”

“What’s wrong?”

“I have to wrap up at the clothing store and give Sis Xiaoning a call to inform her about this.”

“Alright, go ahead, I’ll wait for you here.”

“Sis Yangyang, isn’t that the man who came here to confess to you the previous time?”

She nodded and answered, “Yes, it’s him. I have something to attend to, now. You two tend the store today. I’ll call Sis Xiaoning to tell her about it.”

“Alright,” Zhang Li agreed.

“Sis Yangyang, what do you have to attend to?”

“Something important,” she answered. She grabbed her purse and hurried out of the door.

“Look how anxious Sis Yangyang is, I’ve never seen her in such a hurry before. I wonder what it is that she has to attend to so urgently.” Xu Jingwen stood by the entrance and stared out of the glass. “Wow, it’s a luxury car. I knew it, he must be rich. Sigh, why don’t I ever get to meet such handsome and rich men?” she lamented.

“Hurry and sort the goods out. Why do you keep daydreaming about such stuff?” urged Zhang Li, not bothered by Long Tianze at all.

“Do you think Sis Xiaoning will set me up with someone, if I asked?”

“You’re still so young…”

“I’m already 19, way past the suitable age for dating. Sis Li, tell me what you think, would Sis Xiaoning agree if I asked her to introduce me to some heirs of wealthy families?”

“Jingwen, please remember your status, you’re only an insignificant sales assistant in Sis Xiaoning’s clothing store. Enough with it. I’m going to use the washroom,” Zhang Li chided, unable to tolerate what she was hearing any further.

Staring at her with pouted lips, Xu Jingwen muttered under her breath, “How unambitious.”

——

An Xiaoning had just woken up and not gotten out of bed when she received a call from Mei Yangyang.

An Xiaoning tried to sit up straight as soon as she hung up the phone, only to feel a pair of hands wrapped tightly around her waist.

“Who called you?”

“Long Tianze is wooing Yangyang.”

Jin Qingyan opened his eyes in astonishment. “What?” he gasped.

“Aren’t you two buddies? Didn’t he tell you about it?”

“No, he never did. Ah, that explains why he had been acting rather strange lately. But it’s not a bad thing, I suppose. Does he even have to court her though?” said Jin Qingyan, sitting up slowly.

“Of course he has, Yangyang hasn’t agreed to be his girlfriend yet.”

“Why? I’m not looking down on anyone, but girls like her from poor families would usually jump at the chance to be Tianze’s girlfriend,” he asked in puzzlement.

“Yangyang is different from those girls, she has a mind of her own. Besides, she has only met Long Tianze a while ago, they barely know each other. A girl has to first respect and love herself before she can command the respect of others. I think it’s great that she’s taking her time to decide, unlike me — both times, I jumped straight into a marriage without even knowing the other party well.”

“You barely knew me before we got married, but don’t you know me well enough now? Hmm? Answer me,” Jin Qingyan pressed her for an answer while pinching her cheeks.

“Now… I still don’t know you that well, yet.”

“Liar. What else is there left about me for you to find out? You already know me inside out,” he retorted, staring at her.

“Rascal, we’re not even on the same page,” she said in annoyance, moving her face out his hands. “I’m getting out of bed.”

“Me, too,” he loosened his grip and lifted the blanket before getting down from the bed.

An Xiaoning zoomed towards the cloakroom to pick out a set of clothes. She then laid the clothes onto the bed and began putting them on orderly.

“What are you going to do about Chi Rui’er?”

“Didn’t you want to punish her?” Jin Qingyan asked, raising a brow.

“It’s better that you do it yourself, since she’s someone that matters so dearly to you,” said An Xiaoning. She knew that she could not underestimate the influence Chi Rui’er had over Jin Qingyan, although she had greatly disappointed him with what she had done.

“Alright, I’ll handle it myself, then.” He put on his clothes and proceeded to wash up.

An Xiaoning followed closely behind him into the bathroom, where they stood side-by-side at the basin. Staring at her reflection in the mirror, she lamented, “My eyebags have gotten so heavy, after such a long night.”