"Shen Siyuan, what does your girlfriend look like? Is she pretty?"
"Just average, nothing special."
"She’s in foreign trade."
"Then she must have a high salary, right?"
"Should be okay, I never asked in detail."
"When will you let us meet her?"
"There will be plenty of opportunities in the future."
Shen Siyuan was answering his colleagues’ questions one after another.
Meanwhile, Zhou Chuan and Lin Manzhi were giving him speechless looks from behind.
One had seen him get into a red Ferrari—your salary is just ’okay’?
The other had seen his Moments—she’s ’just average’?
Shen Siyuan also mentioned in [Fishing Man’s Vast Fishing Universe] that he’d be taking leave, as they were all co-founders after all, and it wouldn’t be right to disappear without a word.
"Is there something going on at home?" Ding Youguang immediately asked with concern.
"No, just heading back to my hometown for a bit," Shen Siyuan said.
"I remember your family lives around Bin Hai, right? Going home for three days?" Zhou Zhengdao was as straightforward as ever.
"Is your girlfriend pretty? Does she like to Cosplay?" Li Qunfang asked.
Did I forget to block her too?
Shen Siyuan hastily took out his phone to check and sure enough, he had forgotten; he hadn’t blocked the Moments for newly added friends, and now it wasn’t exactly polite to block her directly.
"How do you know his girlfriend is pretty?" Zhou Zhengdao asked.
"Because I saw the photos he posted in his Moments," Li Qunfang said.
Zhou Zhengdao: "Wow, when did you get a girlfriend? I had no idea."
Ding Youguang: "You actually blocked me from your Moments? Aren’t we brothers? I’m hurt."
Two people, two different reactions, also showing their differences in personality.
Shen Siyuan retorted confidently: "I’ve even blocked my parents, let alone you."
He had used that comeback on Li Kang and others before, to great effect, and indeed he had blocked his own parents.
The reason being, some things in his Moments would be awkward to share with them.
Like his new gaming equipment or his ranking achievements, are those for them to see?
They’d probably call to admonish him to not shirk his duties immediately.
"Then why didn’t you block Li Qunfang?" Zhou Zhengdao asked.
"Because she’s pretty," Shen Siyuan said matter-of-factly.
Li Qunfang immediately sent a few shy smiley faces.
"Remember, you are a man with a girlfriend," Zhou Zhengdao quickly said.
"I know, I have a girlfriend, but what does that have to do with complimenting Li Qunfang for being pretty? Do you think Li Qunfang isn’t pretty?" Shen Siyuan teased on purpose.
Everyone in the group knew Zhou Zhengdao had a thing for Li Qunfang, probably even Li Qunfang herself knew; he was being protective.
Ding Youguang stopped talking and quietly enjoyed the drama.
"I didn’t mean that..." Zhou Zhengdao said.
"I don’t know if that’s what you meant or not, you don’t need to explain it to me, explain it to Li Qunfang yourself privately. Anyway, back to work," Shen Siyuan said.
He was creating an opportunity for Zhou Zhengdao.
As it was getting close to the end of the workday, Zhou Chuan asked Shen Siyuan to hand over the work matters to Chen Hao.
This way, if anything came up, Chen Hao could take care of it without the need to contact him.
As for why he didn’t give the tasks to Wang Chao and Li Kang, who sat on his left and right, it was because the leadership didn’t trust them enough; both of them were liabilities, often with a myriad of issues in their own tasks.
If Shen Siyuan were to carelessly hand over his responsibilities to them, it was likely that even if there were no issues, they would somehow create some.
At this moment, Ruan Hongzhuang also sent a message to Shen Siyuan.
"Want to go out for dinner together tonight?"
Shen Siyuan thought of the round-faced girl from before, whom he had asked to wait for him at the entrance of the residential area.
So he replied, "Sure, but I have some things to do and need to stop by home."
"Then I’ll drive to pick you up, drop you home first, and then we go to dinner together?" Ruan Hongzhuang suggested.
Being in the hot phase of a romantic relationship, Ruan Hongzhuang seemed especially clingy, bombarding him with calls and WeChat messages morning, noon, and night.
Even her WeChat messages barely contained text; instead, she sent voice messages or selfies, because texts were too slow and couldn’t fully express her emotions.
"Eh, you’re heading back now?"
Jiang Taoshi was surprised to see Ruan Hongzhuang grabbing her purse and leaving the office.
The Ruan Hongzhuang of the past wasn’t ; calling her a workaholic wouldn’t be an exaggeration. She used to be the last to leave every day, sometimes even needing reminders to do so.
"Yeah, I have a bit of something to do in the evening," Ruan Hongzhuang said.
"Do you need me to come along?" inquired Jiang Taoshi reflexively.
Usually, Ruan Hongzhuang’s engagements were work-related, whether it be banquets or gatherings, and she would always bring Jiang Taoshi with her. In Bin Hai, particularly in the maritime trade sector, Jiang Taoshi had quite the reputation.
"No need, it’s personal," said Ruan Hongzhuang.
"What are you doing?"
"Before, even your personal matters would be shared with me, but now you’re just brushing me off. You don’t love me anymore?"
"Go on, get out of here..." Ruan Hongzhuang waved her hand dismissively with a look of distaste.
"It’s definitely another date, isn’t it?"
"If you know it, why ask?"
"Alas, looks like I’ll have to dine alone tonight. I’m so lonely..." As she spoke, she gazed intently at Ruan Hongzhuang with her eyes.
Ruan Hongzhuang couldn’t help but laugh at her antics.
"We’re not going out to eat something delicious tonight, just a plain date."
Hearing that, Jiang Taoshi immediately lost any desire to join and said disdainfully, "A plain date counts as a date? That’s more like a seminar."
"I’m not going to banter with you, I’m off." Ruan Hongzhuang slung her purse over her shoulder and turned to leave.
Watching Ruan Hongzhuang’s enchanting figure departing, Jiang Taoshi suddenly spaced out.
Then she sighed deeply.
Their relationship had been very close since they first met in college.
Eating together, shopping together, working together, even sleeping together, their relationship was as good as real sisters.
But now, she felt like Ruan Hongzhuang was drifting further away from her.
Maybe I should also find a boyfriend? Jiang Taoshi thought to herself.
So, she took out her phone and sent a message to Jiang Wenxin.
"Sis, set me up with someone."
Jiang Wenxin replied swiftly, but the content of the message left Jiang Taoshi chilling.
"You’re useless. Scram~"
"What did I do to deserve this?" She felt wronged.
Jiang Wenxin felt even more aggrieved, but couldn’t bring herself to speak about it.
Especially after watching Xiajing’s video and having it confirmed by Dou Dou, she felt as much pain as when she’d lost Dou Dou before.
"Why are you so useless? All you do is eat, eat, eat..."
Jiang Wenxin’s pent-up frustration was nearly tangible, and here Jiang Taoshi was, asking for advice just as she was about to vent her anger. No wonder her temper flared.
Ruan Hongzhuang chose not to have Master Zhou drive her, but instead set off in her own red Ferrari.
She didn’t really fancy such an ostentatious car, but in business, sometimes showiness was a testament to power.
While driving to pick up Shen Siyuan, she suddenly remembered what he had said before. Follow current novᴇls on 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵※𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮※𝓷𝓮𝓽
She had mocked Shen Siyuan for not being able to drive, and he had claimed that he would one day fly with a sword.
Back then, she found it amusing, but now, she realized it might be herself who was the joke.