Chapter 147 — The Long-Awaited...

Yang Lanxu laughed to himself. She couldn't even sort out her own love life, and she called herself an expert. Still, he absolutely mustn't let her sort it out—if she did, wouldn't he be...? "Next time I run into trouble, I'll treat you to a meal, all right?" Yang Shuoxuan didn't dare agree too firmly. After all, the ideas Jing Yu had come up with just now weren't bad. It wasn't that someone who couldn't solve her own love problems couldn't help others analyze theirs—often it's the player who's blind and the bystander who sees clearly. That was an eternal truth.

"You really are a bore." Jing Yu shot Yang Puqi a look. "When you need me, you treat me to a meal—clutching at Buddha's feet only when the need arises. I've never seen anyone as hypocritical as you."

"I—" Yang Ce was suddenly at a loss for words, though what Jing Yu said wasn't wrong. Could this girl be his natural-born nemesis? Here he was with a glib tongue, and yet he kept getting the worse of it, time and again.

"'I' what? Hurry up and eat." Jing Yu took the bird's nest soup from Luan Xiaoru's seat and began slurping it with relish. The soup had been served after Luan Xiaoru left, so Jing Yu had both portions to herself. "Bird's nest is good for beauty—look, has my skin gotten better after drinking it?"

"As long as you don't paint yourself up like some ghoul, you're already just fine," Yang Ce said.

"Haven't I changed that long ago?" Jing Yu said indifferently. "I know you like the pure and innocent type."

Yang Ce pretended not to hear and took a sip of tea.

"Hey, Yang Ce, let me ask you something." Jing Yu rolled her eyes and looked at him with a half-smile.

"What question?" Yang Ce glanced at her sly, foxy little expression—nothing good ever came of that look.

"Is your girlfriend a handful in bed?" Jing Yu asked.

"What girlfriend, a handful at what?" Yang Ce was rather baffled.

"Lin Yanhe, of course," Jing Yu asked like a curious child. "Is she wild when the two of you do it?"

Yang Ce broke out in a sweat. What kind of question was that? He glared at Jing Yu. "What business is that of yours?"

"None at all. I just want to know what type you like," Jing Yu said with a giggle, utterly unbothered.

Yang Ce was long used to Jing Yu's shamelessness, so he could only pretend not to hear. She was about to say more when a knock came at the door.

To be continued

991. A Cry for Help

"Come in." Yang Ce assumed it was the waiter and said without a thought.

The door was pushed open, but the people who entered were not waiters—they were Hou Lin and Bao Lin, with Guo Jianchao following behind, his face full of helplessness. The moment he came in, he began to defend himself: "Brother Yang, you can't blame me for this. I didn't want to disturb you, but Brother Bao and Brother Hou came here, heard you were here too, and came down."

"It's fine." Yang Ce waved a hand and glanced at Hou Lin and Bao Lin. Neither was the impatient sort, and both knew he disliked such scenes in private—so if they had come to see him now, they must have something to say.

"Brother Yang, I—" Bao Lin glanced at Jing Yu beside Yang Ce and stopped short.

Jing Yu had her back to the door, so at first she paid no attention and assumed it was the waiter. Only when she heard someone call Yang Ce "Brother Yang" did she sense something was off, and she turned around—only to find her direct superior, the company's general manager, President Hou, standing there. She gave a start.

What was more, Jing Yu had once run with the fringes of the underworld and knew every notable figure in Songjiang like the back of her hand. The man beside President Hou was Bao Lin, the boss of Songjiang—how could she not know him?

To hear him call Yang Ce "Brother Yang" too—the last time she had seen Yang Ce address Hou Lin in a tone of command, she had been astonished enough, and today she was even more taken aback. But astonished or not, on seeing Hou Lin, Jing Yu naturally rose at once and said, "Hello, President Hou."

That day Hou Lin had received an inexplicable phone call from Yang Puqi, who had out of nowhere arranged for a girl to join the company and said not another word. Hou Lin had no idea what relation this girl bore to Yan, so he did not dare treat her lightly and showed Jing Yu every consideration. Today, seeing Yang Ce dining alone with Jing Yu, he was all the more certain that she must be Yang Juehuan's lover—so how would he dare put on airs before her? He might be Jing Yu's boss, but Yang Jiyan was his boss, and though Jing Yu was his employee, she was also Yang Juehuan's lover. So he said hurriedly, "Sister-in-law, we're not at the company now, so no need to call me President Hou. Call me Big Hou, same as Brother Yang does."

Bao Lin had been holding back, unsure who Jing Yu was and not daring to speak some things outright, but when he heard Hou Lin call her sister-in-law, he truly took her for Yang Juehuan's girlfriend—and from her tone, it seemed she worked at Hou Lin's company, so there should be nothing to keep from her. So he said, "Brother Yang, President Niu invited President Hou and me to dine here. There are some matters we wanted you to decide on—"

Yang Puqi's head was swimming. A mess—the whole thing was a mess. He shot Jing Yu a rather cross look; seeing her so smug, he truly wanted to expose her on the spot. But it wasn't entirely her fault—Hou Lin had misunderstood all on his own. Yang Ce sighed. Forget it, let her have her little vanity.

If he really exposed her without mercy, who knew how humiliated she would be right now. And since Bao Lin had already said half of it, driving Jing Yu out now would hardly be appropriate either.

Besides, what Bao Lin had to say was probably ordinary business, nothing that needed hiding from Jing Yu. The girl had more or less guessed his identity anyway; deliberately concealing it now would only backfire. So he said, "Sit down and talk. Jianchao, you too—sit down with us."

When Yang Ce saw that Hou Lin and Bao Lin had sat but Guo Jianchao was still standing, he nodded to him as well.

Guo Jianchao was thrilled. This was the first time Brother Yang had included him in a core meeting—proof that his efforts had finally paid off, that Brother Yang was beginning to trust him and meant to put him to important use. He thanked him excitedly and sat down at the side, but perched on only half the chair, not daring to sit fully.

"Tell me, what's going on?" Yang Ce glanced at Bao Lin and said.

"It's like this, Brother Yang—aren't we moving into real estate? Well, a good opportunity to get into the business has come up," Bao Lin said. "President Niu—you know him, the one who helped repair the jewelry company—came to me today and said President Chen of Hongxi Real Estate had approached him. There's a big municipal project, and they want to work with us. What do you think?"

Yang Puqi understood at once. President Chen of Hongxi Real Estate probably feared he couldn't swallow such a big project alone, and feared rivals would trip him up, so he had brought in a powerful partner like Bao Lin—that way, the petty schemers wouldn't dare make a move.

This was mutually beneficial, nothing that needed studying. So he said, "All right, I understand. It's a good thing. Go ahead and do it with confidence."

"Yes, Brother Yang." With Yang Juehuan's approval, Bao Lin naturally felt much more at ease in his work. "As for the real estate side, Jianchao, you take part in it too. Back when you were with the Wang Group, Century Majestic, you were involved in real estate development projects, so you should have some experience. Managing only the Celestial Paradise leaves you a bit too idle. Jianchao, you won't find it too tiring, will you?"