Volume 10: Pro and Con
Chapter 23: The Person Who’d Die If They Were Honest
That afternoon, he waited until after work but still didn’t see Chen Jianing. Some girls are just difficult, like Chen Jianing. She was timid and submissive with strangers, but willful and capricious with those close to her. It was similar in his past life. At the beginning of their startup, Chen Jianing would throw tantrums from time to time, and Lu Li had once considered parting ways. It wasn’t until after Lu Li married An Baili that Chen Jianing seemed to change into a different person, focusing on her work and rarely getting angry at Lu Li anymore.
Lu Li sat in the office, deciding not to take the initiative to find Chen Jianing this time either. It was up to her whether she came or not. He opened his computer’s email, and a Japanese email caught his attention. He had written to a certain Japanese game manufacturer a few days ago, wanting to purchase the engine they used for a large sum of money. Because during the development of Deep Sea Chronicles, Lu Li had gradually discovered that the free engine could no longer support the growing scale of Changle Company. The growth in efficiency had reached a bottleneck. To develop larger-scale games in the future, he had to switch to a more efficient engine. The other party replied today, tactfully but firmly refusing, stating that the engine was an internal engine and not for commercial use. They also tactfully expressed that Changle Company’s brand credibility was insufficient, and they were not at ease entrusting the engine to Lu Li’s hands.
Lu Li rubbed his temples. Starting a business was indeed not smooth sailing. He had only taken a few steps and had already hit a snag. Looking at it this way, catching up to the Chu family within three years was perhaps truly unrealistic.
Zhu Xi’s previous words surfaced in his mind, and he was a little tempted. The reason he had refused Zhu Xi was simple: he didn’t trust her, didn’t trust the Yan family. Before, the Yan family could send a gunman to attack him, and Zhu Xi had also turned on him without warning. Under such circumstances, it was simply unreasonable to still see Zhu Xi as a life-saving straw, so Lu Li had refused without hesitation.
But Zhu Xi’s words had also served as a reminder. It seemed he had no choice but to seek external help. Then whose help should he seek? Lu Li went through his circle of friends three times and, in the end, could only think of Wen Hupo. Was he really going to have to ask the Amber family, and transform from a game technology company into an arms dealer?
Or seek other business allies?
And where would he find them?
He wrote the words “external force” on a piece of paper, drew a circle around them, and finally added a five-pointed star outside the circle. Just then, Lu Li, through the office blinds, saw a figure stop in front of this general manager’s office. Chen Jianing sullenly pushed open the door. She didn’t greet Lu Li when she saw him, just sat down in the office chair opposite him and began to flip through today’s documents on her own. Lu Li was both angry and amused. He was angry that Chen Jianing was so stubborn, and amused that this girl was probably furious in her heart yet still came to work with a straight face.
Lu Li looked at her delicate little face, and the fire in his heart had long since been extinguished. Pretty girls had this privilege. But he also didn’t want to just give in like this. Otherwise, what if this girl threw a tantrum for no reason every few days?
Chen Jianing flipped through the documents with a rustle. Lu Li said helplessly, “Stop looking. I’ve already approved them all. If we had waited for you, who knows what time we’d be going home today.”
She didn’t say anything, just pushed a pile of documents aside and looked down at her phone. Lu Li said, “Do you want to go to Japan together sometime?”
“…” Still looking at her phone. Lu Li had a feeling that the Little Tiger seemed even more unhappy than before. Had something happened after they parted ways?
Lu Li slapped his thigh and said softly, “Time to go home.” Sure enough, the Little Tiger silently put down her phone and followed behind him. Lu Li smiled, just assuming she was having one of her old fits, feeling uncomfortable if she didn’t throw a tantrum, and that she would naturally soften up after suffering a setback in a few days. He didn’t think much of it. But, to Lu Li’s surprise, Chen Jianing’s awkward state continued until the end of the month…
At home, Lu Li and the others each had their own room. When they were bored, the girls would sit in the living room on the first floor to watch TV, but Chen Jianing had never gone to the living room since then. Sometimes when Lu Li got up at night, he would see the light on in the laundry room. When he got closer, he would see the tiny figure of Chen Jianing waiting alone in front of the washing machine. When Lu Li asked her why she was doing laundry so late, she wouldn’t say a word. Lu Li guessed she was deliberately trying to avoid everyone.
Outside the home, Lu Li no longer took the initiative to invite her to the company. Every day after class, he would go straight to the company to handle affairs, and Chen Jianing would usually sit silently in the office shortly after he arrived.
No wonder her relationship with her roommates is so bad… who could get along with her with this kind of attitude all the time? Lu Li shook his head. You might as well just not talk for the rest of your life.
…
At school, Lu Li also gradually became familiar with his classmates. He could at least call everyone by their name. He also discovered that his own name was gaining fame among the new students. Many people said he had started his own company, others said he had an illustrious family background, and another group of people said he had once been Chen Jianing’s rumored boyfriend.
Why “once”?
When Lu Li asked this question, the person who had spoken showed a look of surprise. “You… don’t know? I thought you knew.”
“Know what?”
“Chen Jianing is a senior from the School of Media. She’s pretty, but her personality is terrible. No one who has spent time with her can tolerate her. I heard she was even kicked out by her roommates this semester and is now renting a place somewhere.”
These words were harsh and full of prejudice. Lu Li frowned. “I know this. What else?”
“Also, also, they say she, they say she…” The person’s eyebrows twitched. Not knowing the real relationship between Lu Li and Chen Jianing, he deliberated his words. “They say she knowingly became the other woman, ruined someone else’s relationship, and also that she deliberately spread rumors, hoping to use this method to interfere in a love affair. In short, they all say she’s a person who doesn’t love herself and is despicable and cunning. There were rumors before that you and she had become a couple, Lu Li, but that rumor was later debunked, so I said ‘once’…”
Lu Li was stunned. “When did this rumor start?”
“I heard it last week. It probably started spreading earlier, maybe half a month ago.”
The day Chen Jianing had thrown a tantrum flashed through Lu Li’s mind. It was exactly half a month ago.
A fire rose in his heart, half for this strange rumor, and half for this girl, Chen Jianing. This Annoying Ghost, she suffered such a great injustice and didn’t say a word? Then his heart tightened slightly again. He thought of Chen Jianing’s posture of walking with her head silently lowered for the past half month, and he thought of the lonely figure squatting in front of the washing machine under the orange light late at night. He also thought of his own intention to let her suffer a setback… He slapped himself.
“Lu Li, hey! What are you doing!”
Lu Li was upset. He stood up and walked outside. “I have something to do.”
“You have to sign in for the next class! Teacher Ma is very strict with attendance!”
“My heart doesn’t feel well. I’m taking leave to see a doctor.”
Walking on the road, Lu Li’s steps were hurried, his heart burning with fire. Why can’t you be a little more honest, Chen Jianing!
