Since she’d agreed to attend the banquet with Jun Jianqing, Cheng Yan stayed at Zhu Jingran’s shop until a little after four o’clock before taking a taxi back to the villa.
She was a bit surprised to see Jun Jianqing when she arrived. This person got off work early today?
“President Jun.” She shuffled over to the sofa to greet her.
Jun Jianqing looked up, saw her, and flipped a page in the book in her hand. As if casually, she asked, “Did you take a taxi back again?”
“That’s right.”
“I told Driver Sun that from now on, if you need to go out or come back, he can pick you up and drop you off. It’s more convenient.”
As the head of the Jun Group, Jun Jianqing naturally had more than one driver at her service. It was just that she had a regular driver, surnamed Wang, who was usually by her side. Only when Driver Wang was unavailable to serve Jun Jianqing would the other drivers take shifts.
Hearing Jun Jianqing’s tone, Cheng Yan asked, “Is this Driver Sun specifically assigned to drive me?”
Jun Jianqing nodded. “Mm.”
Cheng Yan smiled and said, “Better not. It’s easy to go from frugality to luxury, but hard to go back. It’s not like I have much to do daily anyway; I’m used to taking taxis.”
“From frugality to luxury.”
Hearing these four words, Jun Jianqing’s calm eyes lowered in thought. She suddenly asked, “Do you have a driver’s license?”
Cheng Yan said, “Yes, I got one when I was 18.”
Watching Jun Jianqing’s thoughtful expression after that answer, Cheng Yan suddenly propped her chin on her hand and asked, “President Jun, the compensation you mentioned—don’t tell me it’s this?”
“Hm?”
Cheng Yan’s expression was lively. “Buying me a car?”
Jun Jianqing glanced at her and said coolly, “That’s not compensation.”
“Oh, good.” Just as Cheng Yan breathed a sigh of relief, she heard Jun Jianqing drop a bombshell: “It’s a reward.”
“…A reward?” Cheng Yan was baffled.
Jun Jianqing’s face was serene. “Your performance recently has been good.”
“…”
Cheng Yan was secretly thrilled.
Her face slightly flushed, she changed the subject. “Do I need to do anything to prepare for the banquet?”
Jun Jianqing admired the blush on her face, her mood cheerful. “Just accompany me when I get there. But I had the stylist bring over some evening gowns. You can see if there are any you like later.”
Cheng Yan asked, “Will I need makeup too?”
At this, Jun Jianqing’s gaze focused intently on her face, serious and earnest. Cheng Yan felt a little self-conscious under the scrutiny. Then she heard Jun Jianqing’s sincere voice: “I think you’re already very beautiful.”
“!”
Her heart skipped a beat. Cheng Yan had to admit she was momentarily charmed.
She smoothed her hair and cleared her throat. “I’ll still put on a little, just in case I look washed out later.”
“Okay, as you wish,” Jun Jianqing said with a smile.
Cheng Yan thought to herself: This is my face, my styling—of course, it’s up to me!
Why say it so dotingly? Are you trying to sweet-talk a young girl?
“Do you have a favorite car?” After discussing the styling matters, Jun Jianqing returned to the topic of the car.
Realizing Jun Jianqing was truly serious, Cheng Yan looked at her, thought for a moment, and said, “I don’t really have a strong preference for cars. As long as it’s not too flashy and the price isn’t too outrageous.”
“Then what price range do you like?”
Cheng Yan smiled and said, “Under 500,000 is fine.”
That had always been the price range she’d planned for. A car, to her, was just a means of transportation.
Jun Jianqing visibly frowned upon hearing this number but said nothing.
Clearly, the price Cheng Yan mentioned didn’t align with her own thoughts.
Or rather, in Jun Jianqing’s eyes at this moment, could you even call anything under 500,000 a proper car?
After all, the Maybach President Jun frequently traveled in—though understated in color and exterior—was actually top-of-the-line in every aspect, a luxury vehicle worth over ten million. Even a car of that caliber had its interior specially modified to meet President Jun’s needs, the additional cost racking up yet another string of zeros.
So, faced with Cheng Yan’s suggestion of a car under 500,000, Jun Jianqing’s skepticism was plain to see.
But Cheng Yan didn’t elaborate further.
She asked, so I answered. That’s just my opinion.
Not long after, the stylist arrived. Cheng Yan had initially assumed it was just one stylist, but seeing the people entering, she suddenly realized—had an entire team shown up?
When choosing an evening gown, Cheng Yan deliberately picked one in the same color palette as Jun Jianqing’s. She applied a light makeup look, and soon, it was time to leave.
En route.
Outside the car window, the sky hadn’t yet been completely overtaken by night. The shimmering streetlights reflected on the glass, painting patches of dazzling color in Cheng Yan’s eyes.
It was as though she only just remembered to ask what kind of banquet they were attending tonight.
Jun Jianqing said, “A charity gala. Before the dinner, the organizers are holding a charity auction.”
Cheng Yan asked, “So we’re going to the auction first?”
Jun Jianqing shook her head. “By the time we arrive, the auction should be almost over.”
Ah? Almost over?
Seeing Cheng Yan’s surprise, Jun Jianqing explained, “Because the essence of this auction is charity, the items aren’t particularly outstanding. The secretary will be there, doing what needs to be done. There’s no need for us to waste time there. If you want to attend an auction, I’ll take you another time when there’s an opportunity.”
Cheng Yan suddenly understood. “Oh, I see.”
When they arrived, it was indeed just as Jun Jianqing had said: the auction was nearing its end, and some people had already moved to the banquet hall.
The banquet hall was brilliantly lit, dazzling and luxurious.
Cheng Yan wheeled Jun Jianqing inside in her wheelchair. Following her instructions, they first found a quieter corner to settle in.
“President Jun, would you like something to eat?” Cheng Yan asked. Neither of them had eaten anything before leaving the villa.
“You’re hungry?”
Cheng Yan nodded sheepishly. “A little.”
Jun Jianqing gave a light laugh. “Don’t mind me. You go ahead and get something to eat.”
“Okay.”
Cheng Yan slipped away from their spot in her heels, searching for food that caught her interest.
When she’d eaten her fill, Cheng Yan lowered her head and used tongs to carefully place mini cakes onto a nearby small plate, planning to bring some over for President Jun to try.
She had noticed that President Jun seemed to have a preference for sweets. Coincidentally, she thought the mini cakes at this banquet hall were truly exceptional—better than any she’d had before. Sweet but not cloying, very refreshing. President Jun would probably like them.
“Junior?”
Just as she was busy, she suddenly heard a familiar voice.
Her motion of picking up a mini cake paused. Cheng Yan turned around and saw someone she hadn’t met in almost two months.
A look of surprise flashed across Chen Shuhua’s face. “I thought my eyes were deceiving me. I didn’t expect it to really be you. Junior, are you here for the charity auction too?”
Cheng Yan said distantly, “No, I’m accompanying someone.”
Chen Shuhua’s demeanor had matured considerably compared to two months ago. Much of the youthful naivety in her bearing had faded. She smiled brightly. “It’s really been a long time, Junior.”
Cheng Yan: “Mm.”
The smile on Chen Shuhua’s face dimmed slightly. She couldn’t help but ask, “I get the feeling… you’ve become distant towards me.”
“Aren’t we friends anymore?”
Over the summer break, she had sent Cheng Yan a few WeChat messages, and all she received were brief, sparse replies.
Most of the time, those messages went completely unanswered.
Cheng Yan was silent for a moment, her expression detached. “Senior, actually, doing this is better for both you and me.”
Freed from the shadow of the arranged marriage, it was clear Chen Shuhua hadn’t yet let go of her feelings for Cheng Yan.
Chen Shuhua’s expression turned strained. “Is that so?”
Looking at the calm, distant Cheng Yan, she suddenly, truly realized that this was how Cheng Yan treated someone she genuinely didn’t like.
Such an attitude—she had seen Cheng Yan direct it at others before, as a bystander.
Now that she was the one on the receiving end, the feeling seemed even more bitter than it had been that day at the cafe.
“After that day at the cafe, I thought we could still be friends,” she blurted out, unable to hold back.
Cheng Yan’s tone was rather flat. “Senior, the truth is, I never stay friends with people who have feelings for me.”
One sentence, so clear and absolute.
Chen Shuhua forced a smile and said, “I understand. But seeing you again, I still have to say it: Junior, I’m truly so grateful for the help you gave me back then.”
She lowered her head and took a card out of her bag, handing it to Cheng Yan with a smile. “I always wanted to thank you somehow, but I never knew when I’d run into you. So recently, I’ve kept this card in my bag. There isn’t much in it—just two million, earned from a business deal I negotiated myself. I thought, giving it to you as a token of my gratitude… to me, that holds the greatest meaning.”
Cheng Yan looked down at the bank card being offered to her and refused it. “That six million wasn’t used, so I didn’t actually help with anything. I can’t accept such a substantial gesture.”
Chen Shuhua insisted, “Who said that just because the six million wasn’t used, you didn’t help? Junior, please take it. Six million was your relocation compensation. You haven’t settled on buying a new house yet—with this added, you could start looking at properties.”
She smiled bitterly. “Honestly, I’d like to give you more, but I know you wouldn’t accept it.”
But even this two million, Cheng Yan didn’t want to accept.
From the very beginning, I shouldn’t have given anything at all.
But now, she no longer needed Chen Shuhua to understand the words she hadn’t spoken aloud.
Because her fondness for her had long since faded.
Along with it, any expectation in that regard had also disappeared.
Cheng Yan was frowning, ready to refuse again, when she suddenly heard someone calling her name from behind.
“Yanyan.”
An intimate, familiar yet strange name.
She was stunned. “President Jun? What are you doing here?”
Jun Jianqing ignored Chen Shuhua, who was standing to the side. Her expression was cool. “What? Am I not allowed to come over?”
Cheng Yan: “Of course, I didn’t mean it that way.”
But President Jun had come to get her personally, so she clearly needed her for something.
Cheng Yan turned her head towards the dazed Chen Shuhua and said, “Senior, I won’t take the card. I have things to do, so I’ll be going.”
Still reeling from the sound of “Yanyan,” Chen Shuhua came back to her senses. Her lips moved slightly. Seeing the cold profile of Jun Jianqing and the rejection in Cheng Yan’s eyes, she swallowed the words she was about to say. Pressing her lips together, she said, “Alright.”
She watched as Cheng Yan pushed Jun Jianqing away. The other prominent guests cleared a path for the two of them. It was like watching them walk down a red carpet lined with flowers and silk ribbons, exuding an indescribable sense of harmony.
A profound feeling of desolation settled in Chen Shuhua’s heart.
—
“President Jun, is there something you need me to do?” Cheng Yan asked, simultaneously setting down the small plate she had brought over on a nearby table.
The mini cakes on it were arranged beautifully.
Jun Jianqing lowered her eyes, saying nothing.
Puzzled, Cheng Yan asked her question again.
“Six million? You gave away your entire life savings, didn’t you? Cheng Yan, I’ve truly underestimated you. You’re such a sentimental and righteous good person, aren’t you?”
The tone of Jun Jianqing’s voice was flat, without inflection, like the surface of a calm, deep sea. But beneath that still, silent surface, vast, dangerous waves were churning, restless and ready to break through and unleash a terrifying storm at any moment.
