“It’s in the office outside,” Jiang Shiyan put away his own money and handed some to Tang Yang. “This is yours.”

Tang Yang didn’t take it. They stood side by side, falling into silence again.

Tang Yang’s slightly curled hair reached her shoulders, the ends making a soft rustling sound as they brushed against her clothes.

When she turned her head to look at Jiang Shiyan’s shoetips, a strand fell casually in front of her forehead.

Jiang Shiyan, taking advantage of his height, looked at her unabashedly. His gaze moved from her temples to her delicate nose tip, then down to her slightly parted lips. The clearly defined Cupid’s bow and the moist color of her familiar lipstick made Jiang Shiyan’s throat itch. His hand unconsciously reached out…

“It’s a reward for you.” Tang Yang suddenly looked up at him, raising her pinky finger.

“Huh?” Jiang Shiyan was startled and stopped his movement, then pressed down his heart that was about to jump out of his throat.

He maintained his composure, patted the hem of his suit, bent down, and held his hand suspended under Tang Yang’s: “Here.”

It was done in one smooth motion, the last syllable drawn out long and thin.

The Tang family’s precious daughter nodded in satisfaction and walked out with little Yan Zi.

Both of them were blushing and extremely affected, as if the subtle ambiguity from earlier was just an illusion.

Jiang Shiyan’s office was spacious, neat, and sparsely furnished.

Tang Yang commented while looking around, “It seems like it was still under renovation when I last came.”

Jiang Shiyan played along, “In the blink of an eye, the corners are already starting to peel.”

The two sighed in the vulgar tone of “how fast children grow,” and Tang Yang turned to the large leather chair behind the desk: “May I sit?”

Jiang Shiyan leaned against the corner of the desk, looking at her: “The chair’s a bit high.”

Tang Yang, who was trying to sit, discovered: “…”

Jiang Shiyan said, “Your feet won’t reach the ground.”

Tang Yang, who had failed in her attempt, discovered this and smiled: “…”

Jiang Shiyan, facing her clear eyes, sighed “Ah” and said, “Even with your perfect proportions, you can’t reach the ground. These designers nowadays are getting worse with each generation.”

His compliment was quite sincere. Tang Yang wanted to give the chair to him.

Jiang Shiyan said, “No need.”

Tang Yang didn’t stand on ceremony either, her petite figure curling up in the black leather chair.

Jiang Shiyan opened the dessert box and started on the mille-feuille.

Tang Yang casually flipped through the unclassified documents on his desk.

In the quiet moment.

“How’s the Zhang Zhilan case going? Is the personal relationship factor significant for the loan applicants in A City?” Jiang Shiyan asked.

“I’ve already handled it on my end, it’s just waiting for approval from above. It might take a while,” Tang Yang suddenly noticed her Weibo screenshot in the creative origin column of the “Lost Zhenzhu” team. She pointed cautiously, “This final decision doesn’t have anything to do with me, does it?”

“Are you out of your mind?” Jiang Shiyan responded as if he had heard the biggest joke, “Yixiu Media has a professional evaluation team for this, and the investors also need to approve. They have requirements for topic popularity and market share. The topic selection meetings last for a month. Do you think I can decide just because I want to?”

Tang Yang noticeably relaxed: “I heard from others that ‘Lost Zhenzhu’ changed investors.”

Jiang Shiyan’s expression didn’t change at all: “There was an issue with the cooperation terms.”

Tang Yang praised: “You’re not a foolish ruler.”

Jiang Shiyan clicked his tongue: “Do you think any of those actors playing femme fatales on TV are pure and innocent?”

Tang Yang curved her lips: “Do you know how your durian mille-feuille came about?”

Jiang Shiyan composed himself: “Can we leave some dignity?”

You sass others and still want them to leave you with dignity?

Tang Yang felt exhausted: “I’ll leave as soon as you finish eating.”

Before her heart condition relapses.

“That’s exactly what I want,” Jiang Shiyan turned his head, holding a fork. “Two people staying here waste more electricity on air conditioning. I’ll eat at my fastest speed.”

Jiang Shiyan had a bit of cream at the corner of his mouth, which looked especially comical with his serious expression.

Tang Yang burst out laughing.

Half a durian mille-feuille.

CEO Jiang, who used to be an eating competition contestant capable of finishing five pounds of spicy frog fish head with Deputy Director Tang in ten minutes, had been eating intermittently all afternoon.

One topic selection report.

Deputy Director Tang, an industry elite who usually reviews hundreds of loan applications in half a day, had flipped through it back and forth so many times she could almost recite the punctuation marks.

The vintage clock on the wall ticked second by second. The two occasionally glanced at each other, and then continued with their tasks, just like they were back in school.

Close to 6 PM, Jiang Shiyan scrolled through a food ranking on his tablet, then looked at a few reviews, and casually asked Tang Yang, “Where are you going for dinner?”

Tang Yang, flipping to the last page with the document covering her face, said, “I’m treating a senior from my graduate program to dinner.”

Jiang Shiyan was stunned, his fork dropping onto the table with a “clang.”

“Sorry, my hand slipped,” he controlled the irritation caused by his physical mishap, “Why are you treating him to dinner?”

Tang Yang closed the document and looked at her watch: “We had the same doctoral advisor. He used to work in risk management at Hui Shang and helped me a lot when I first joined, like getting familiar with the environment and such.”

Jiang Shiyan couldn’t believe it: “You’re treating him to dinner just to help you get familiar with the environment?”

“Yes,” Tang Yang explained, “I told him I’d treat him to a meal when I got transferred back to A City. He happens to be here on a business trip today. It’s just a casual meal. It’s Zhou Mo, I’ve mentioned him to you before, right?”

Jiang Shiyan: “Did he ask you out or did you ask him?”

Tang Yang: “He asked me.”

Jiang Shiyan: “What time did you arrange?”

Tang Yang: “6:30.”

Jiang Shiyan: “What are you eating?”

“Ziwei Ge’s chestnut and ginkgo black chicken soup…” As Tang Yang was speaking, she realized something was off, “Why are you asking in more detail than my parents? They don’t even care about these things.”

Jiang Shiyan uncomfortably mumbled a sound: “Just asking…”

Thinking of something, he snorted and muttered under his breath, “A grown man not feeling ashamed to let someone treat him to black chicken soup.”

Tang Yang heard his sarcastic tone but didn’t catch the content: “What did you say?”

Jiang Shiyan turned his face away coldly: “Nothing.”

Tang Yang spread her hands.

After that, when Tang Yang tried to talk to him, Jiang Shiyan looked indifferent.

Another ten minutes passed.

Tang Yang stood up and picked up her bag: “Well, I’m leaving. You should have dinner early too.”

Jiang Shiyan didn’t respond.

Tang Yang touched up her lipstick, making it bright red, then pressed her lips together, satisfied with her reflection in the wall, and left.

Her steps were graceful, her high heels making crisp “click-clack” sounds on the floor.

The sound grew more and more distant, fainter and fainter…

Jiang Shiyan felt as if his heart was soaking in spicy soup, steeped until his limbs were all sour. Only then did he get up to close the door.

He completely forgot that his office door could be closed by remote control, complaining that Tang Yang’s footsteps were “too heavy, disturbing people’s work.”

“Click,” the door closed.

He passed by the wall where Tang Yang had touched up her lipstick earlier. He casually picked up a pen from the coffee table, and held the end of the pen like a lipstick, mimicking Tang Yang’s motion of applying it. After “applying,” he pressed his lips together as she did, then turned to look at the empty desk, speaking in a high-pitched voice: “Well, I’m leaving. You should have dinner early too… have dinner early…”

The more he imitated, the angrier he got.

Who’s eating dinner alone? Is treating someone to dinner such a big deal?!

Jiang Shiyan threw the pen on the desk, searched for that restaurant on his tablet, and immediately called Cheng Siran.

Cheng Siran and Feng Weiran had just seen Shen Chuan off at the airport and were discussing what stage Delay Dog and Sister Yang were at when his phone screen lit up.

“Speak of the devil, and he shall appear.”

Cheng Siran clicked his tongue at Feng Weiran, but before he could speak, he heard Jiang Shiyan, with the intense aura of a Hollywood superhero eliminating alien species, declaring boldly: “Today is the member’s day for the authentic Ziwei Ge beauty and health ginkgo chestnut black chicken soup. New members only need to register their phone number, fill in basic personal information, follow the WeChat official account, and post a picture to their Moments while eating and get ten likes to enjoy a 50% discount.”

“Saving is a virtue,” Jiang Shiyan took a deep breath, and exhaled, trying to dissipate some of his aura, “Are you coming or not?”

Author’s Note:

Cheng Siran: ??? Who am I, where am I…

Old Hua is participating in some Jinjiang event, bringing out Jiang Explosive to ask for some nutrient solution~ It’s very short, big shots please go easy, crouching down and covering my head…