Zhou Han also saw Su Yi Cheng, and was similarly surprised. Today he's here to talk about a business cooperation with a client, he had just send the client off and had thought to have a drink since it's still early. Looking at a side profile that resembles Ye Zi Wen, he then tried calling out to him but was unexpected to see Su Yi Cheng here as well.
Ye Zi Wen seemed to hear someone calling him, and responded half a beat slow, looking at Su Yi Cheng’s expression and turned to see Zhou Han standing a few steps away. "Zhou Han, want a drink? Come over let's drink together." Then he suddenly realized that he had spoken too quickly, and turned his head to look at Su Yi Cheng’s reaction.
Zhou Han knew that Su Yi Cheng didn't want to see him. In fact, no one would ever want to see the person who had betrayed himself. He had just started to speak. "I--"
"Together then." Su Yi Cheng calmly said, the tone is not urgent, his face is calm and can't see any little emotion, and then he turned his head away afterwards.
Zhou Han was unable to react, and stood there dumbly looking at him.
Ye Zi Wen also paused for a while, but then he immediately reacted, and said to Zhou Han with a smile, "Zhou Han, come over and have a drink with us." After he said this he went and pull him over.
Asking the waiter for another glass and then poured him the wine, he asked, "How is Xiaobin recently? I haven't seen the little guy for a while now."
"He's fine." Zhou Han took over the glass and touched his glass to his.
"You--" Ye Zi Wen wanted to say something else when suddenly the phone in his pocket rang at this time, he took it out and took a look at it. He was surprise that it was actually Su Yijiao’s phone call, overjoyed, he quickly answered it. "Hello, Xiaojiao?"
Hearing this, Su Yi Cheng at his side slightly frowned, turned his head and glanced at him.
Not knowing what was said on the phone, only seeing Ye Zi Wen frowned. He asked coldly, "Where is she?... Okay I'll be there immediately." After that he hang up then he said to Su Yi Cheng and Zhou Han. "Something came up, I have to go."
"Something happened to Yi Jiao?" Su Yi Cheng frowned and asked, after all, she is his sister, and he is still worried.
"Xiao Jiao got drunk at a bar." As he was saying this, he took the suit jacket on the side.
"I will go with you." Su Yi Cheng said.
"No, I will be fine." Ye Zi Wen refused, saying that he got up and left, leaving Su Yi Cheng and Zhou Han sitting in front of the bar.
The atmosphere seems a bit awkward, Zhou Han took the lead and asked, "Not following over?"
Su Yi Cheng turned and shook his head with a smile. "I trust Zi Wen."
"Hi, the pasta you ordered." The waiter placed the pasta in front of him.
“Thank you.” Su Yi Cheng took the chopsticks and began to enjoy his dinner.
Seemingly found a topic. Zhou Han say, "Haven't eaten yet?"
"En." Su Yi Cheng nodded and did not say anything more.
Then there was endless silence. Su Yi Cheng concentrated on his dinner, and Zhou Han was drinking his wine intently. The two sat side by side, but there was no topic at all.
Zhou Han is drinking, and his mouth curl in a little self-deprecating manner.
After the bowl of noodles was eaten, Su Yi Cheng let the waiter clean up the dishes, then turned to look at him, faintly saying, "The old district reconstruction project, I saw you also bidded."
"Just a casual investment." In fact, he did not dare to hold much hope for this. After all, the company has only moved back to China for less than half a year. Although he believes that the standards and designs are perfect, it is also clear that compared with those so-called leading enterprises. He have no advantage at all.
Hearing this Su Yi Cheng only said faintly, "Since you have no confidence in finishing this project, then why bid for it?"
"We definitely have the confidence to finish the project, but regarding being selected, we are not holding high hopes." Zhou Han corrected him.
Su Yi Cheng did not speak, and sipped on the glass of water that was on the table.
Looking at him, Zhou Han lightly said, "Is everything alright with your wife? Regarding what happened last time, I apologize."
Su Yi Cheng naturally knew that he was referring to the incident that had caused An Ran to fall and nodded. "She's fine."
Zhou Han nodded and didn't speak. Holding the glass, looking at the brownish liquid within, shake the glass gently, and then finish the wine in the glass in a single gulp. He knows they would never be able to drink and chat together like how they were at the beginning, even if Su Yi Cheng was willing he himself would feel uncomfortable, he got up and was just about to go when Su Yi Cheng, who was besides him, opened his mouth at this time.
"Since making the choice to give up so many things just to be with her, why then make the choice of leaving her?" Su Yi Cheng steadily look at him, he had not wanted to ask, but still questioned in the end.
Zhou Han paused, and looked at him, the hands that were hanging on both sides were tightly gripped. He painfully closed his eyes, and only after a while they opened, he smiled bitterly and said, "She betrayed you, of course similarly, she will betray me as well." Finished with that he no longer say anything more, paid directly and left.
Su Yi Cheng looked at his back until his figure disappeared at the door of the bar, then he come back to his senses.
The first project bidding result of the Ke Ji City project was announced. 'Jingcheng Architecture' did not win the bid, and the project regarding the reconstruction of the old city district was finally won by 'Hanhai Properties'. This result surprised many people, but at the same time let this small and medium-sized company that is not known quickly becoming famous. And An Ran was surprised by the results. She didn't understand why they did not choose those more powerful companies and had chosen such a small company instead.
However, even if she have questions, An Ran did not ask a single word to Su Yi Cheng. She kept to what she should be doing, whatever was not needed to be asked and not needed to be spoken was not said at all.
On this day, An Ran was sitting at the bar and studying the recipe carefully. When she was preparing a sumptuous dinner for the night, Lin Li’s call came in at this time.
Just picking it up, only hearing Lin Li's slightly excited voice coming from the phone. "Anzi, I found a job!" Lin Li has been looking for a job these few days. Actually when she was with Cheng Xiang, she was completely adopting a mentality of play towards working, Anyway, Cheng Xiang will not let her go hungry, so her attitude towards work has not been serious. But this time it won't work, she really has to work hard, for herself and also father and mother Lin.
Although father Lin’s surgery has been successful, it still needs a lot of medication for this period. Just the medicine alone costs a lot of money, and the Lin’s family can only be considered a middle income family, this time father Lin’s illness had finish almost all of the family’s savings. As the only daughter in the family, Lin Li naturally has to take up all the responsibilities.
An Ran once told Lin Li that she had a certain amount of savings from when she was working. Although it's not much, but it can also relieve Lin Li’s current predicament. If Lin Li is willing, she can lend the money to her first, but Lin Li refused. After separating from Cheng Xiang, Lin Li changed a lot and became more independent and strong, but her persistence made An Ran particularly distressed for her sake.
“Really, what are you going to be doing? Which company?” An Ran put down the recipe in her hand, happy that she found a job.
"It's a real estate company, still doing home sales, and i'm starting work tomorrow." Lin Li said, "I haven't done anything else before and am still considered to have some experience in this, although truthfully I haven't really sold a lot of houses." Lin Li chuckled, with a bit of playfulness in her tone.
"It's fine, just treat it as if you know nothing, try to learn from the beginning." An Ran comforted her, mimicking her previous tone, and said, "Our empress* here is so smart, how difficult it is to sell a house, later it won't even be a problem to buy a house."
Lin Li laughed loudly and said, "Haha, Xiao Anzi, this empress here loves how you talk. Quickly say a few flattering words to make the empress here happy. If it is good, this empress here will reward you handsomely."
"Oh empress of mine, you are beautiful beyond beauty, clever with no equal, people adores you as they see you, flowers bloom as they come into your presence and cars also, cars also will want to fetch you!" An Ran praises while masking her conscience.
"En, en, not bad, continue continue this empress here loves to listen to this." Lin Li is enjoying this, and seems like she is completely immerse in it.
"You are as beautiful as a fairy, exhibiting exemplary grace, sensual beyond comparison, every movement you make is captivating, your presence dazzles all in awe and your beauty is only seen once in a lifetime." An Ran uses up all the idioms that she can think of to praise her.
Lin Li nodded with satisfaction and said, "En en, all very good, very good, what else?"
An Ran vomited blood, say exasperated, "Still continue some more you arse, just giving you some ink and now you want to paint the whole house*, even if you are not embarrassed I feel embarrassed for you and you still want me to continue!"
"Xiao Anzi, how dare you rebel against me, do you believe that this empress here will find someone and drag you out for punishment!" Lin Li is completely immersed in it, "Someone come and drag this outrageous slave out for 30 slaps of the lashes, see if she dares to speak so rudely in the future."
"Haha." An Ran smiled and laughed still on the phone, it is as if the original Lin Li came back, so happy, so joyful.
Lin Li also laughed, and the two seemed to really return to the beginning where there's no worry or troubles.
"Ding Ling Ling--"
Just when An Ran was hugging the phone laughing with Lin Li, the doorbell rang at this time.
An Ran turned and looked at the door. She remembered that Qin Yun said yesterday that she would bring her chicken soup today to nourish her body. She said on the phone, "Lin Li, I will talk to you later, it may be my mother-in-law that came over."
"En en, okay, oh right, come out for a meal some day, it's my treat." Lin Li did not forget to say before hanging up the line.
"En, ok then." An Ran smiled and hung up.
"Ding Ling Ling---" seeing that no one is opening the door, the person outside the door has pressed the doorbell again.
"Coming coming." An Ran got up from the high chair and walked toward the door. Without looking into the peephole, consciously thinking that it was Qin Yun that came over, she did not think much, opening the door directly, but at the moment of opening the door, she was stunned to see the person standing outside the door.
Outside the door, Ling Ran wore a bohemian dress, her long curly hair drapes down to her shoulders, her face is covered with sunglasses that covered half of her face, her hand carrying a canvas bag, and she looked at An Ran with a smile.
An Ran didn't expect it to be Ling Ran and not Qin Yun. After a long pause she slowly returned to her senses and speak plainly, "How come it's you?"
Reaching out to remove the sunglasses on her face, Ling Ran spoke with a half-hooked smile, "Aren't you going to invite me in?"
An Ran did not move aside, only looking at her and say, "I don't think there is anything to talk about to Miss Ling." When she said this, she started to close the door. She didn't know what Ling Ran wanted, but she instinctively repulse this woman. Especially after knowing that the last time she had deliberately called Xiaobin to push her. She despises her for her behavior, she is a mother, how can she treat her own child like this!
Reaching out to block the door that An Ran is going to close, Ling Ran said with a smile, "Is this the way to treat a guest in the deputy mayor's home?"
"A guest." An Ran chuckled, looked at her, said straightforwardly, "I do not regard Miss Ling as a 'guest' at all."
Ling Ran looked at her steadily, the smile on her lips was a bit frosty, and the look in her eyes was piercing.
Ignoring her cold eyes and smile, looking at her hand, An Ran frowned and said solemnly, "If Miss Ling insists on not letting go, I don't mind asking the security guard to ask you to leave."
"Keke." Ling Ran took back her hand, smiled at her and said, "Mrs. Su, why are you so serious, what can a weak woman like me do to you? Besides, I heard that Mrs. Su is pregnant now. Don't get angry, so as not to hurt your child, that won't be good."
“Thank you for reminding me.” An Ran answered plainly, expressionless, and prepared to close the door again.
"Don't you want to know why I came today?" Ling Ran said at the moment she closed the door, "If I said that I am here for the future of Ah Cheng, will you still keep me outside the door?"
The door was closed when she finished speaking. Ling Ran was not angry. Her face was still in a smile, her hand holding the sunglasses lightly tapping. It seems she was waiting for An Ran to open the door again.
Sure enough, An Ran did not let her wait for long. The door was reopened after less than a minute. An Ran looked at her, her eyes locked with hers. After a while, she asked, "What do you mean by what you say just now?"
Ling Ran smiled, looked at her and said, "I don't like being blocked at the door. This feeling is really uncomfortable."
An Ran did not speak, and finally turned sideways, letting her in. She also turned to walk into the house, but she did not close the door.
Ling Ran looked around the decoration of the whole house and finally sat down on the sofa. She smiled and said, "The house is beautifully decorated, but I remember that Ah Cheng didn't like this kind of style."
An Ran sat down opposite her and smiled faintly. "People will change. What's more, you haven't seen him for so many years. Besides, he adores me. Even if he really doesn't like it, he will accommodate me."
Ling Ran pressed her lips, her face without any hint of a smile. She said coldly, "I did not come to appreciate your house today."
"I didn't let you in for you to appreciate my house as well." An Ran said, "So Miss Ling please say clearly what you mean by what you said just now."
Hearing this, Ling Ran proudly smile and said, "If I said that I can help Ah Cheng's career, would you believe it?"
An Ran looked at her, "I do, but I do not think that without your help, Ah Cheng will not be able to venture on, and I think you should know this as well, Yi Cheng do not need to bother with such means. He has his strengths and does not need to depend on your relationship."
After this time of interaction, she dare not say how much she knows about Su Yi Cheng, but regarding Su Yi Cheng’s way of doing things and his character, she absolutely believes that Su Yi Cheng is not the kind of person who would like to see nepotism. He has his pride, and with his ability, even without those external factors, he can go very far, such as now when he is so young but has already reached his current position, this is the best affirmation and proof of his ability!
"I know Ah Cheng longer than you, and naturally understands him much more than you. I don't need you to tell me all these. No one knows him better than me." Ling Ran looked at her unabashed. Took out the cigarettes and lighter from her bag, and then smoke a cigarette directly into her mouth, then "Pahhh---" click on the lighter and lighted the cigarette.
"Please put that out." An Ran frowned with unpleasantness, she refused to smoke second-hand smoke, especially now when she still has a baby.
Ling Ran looked at her and pretended to be sorry, "Oh, sorry, look at me, I forgot that I had a pregnant woman in front of me." That is what she said, but she seems to have no intention of extinguishing the smoke at all. She frowns, said, "But what to do, my cigarette addiction hits, if not smoking, my heart is particularly uncomfortable, so I can only ask you to endure it." Speaking and maliciously taking a deep puff then spit out in a smoke circle deliberately in the direction of An Ran.
An Ran didn't speak, just frowning and reaching out to cover her nose.
Knocking the ash directly on the clean floor, Ling Ran continued to say, "Maybe what I just said is not clear enough. The future career I'm talking about is referring to whether Ah Cheng is able to progress on this career path from now onwards, or will he be investigated by the relevant departments for some reason, and what problems will be found out."
An Ran turned and looked at her, her eyes slightly widen and asked, "What do you mean?!" She wants to deliberately frame Su Yi Cheng?
"Keke." Ling Ran smiled and said, "I already said it so clearly, can't you understand? You are really stupid."
"Do you think I will believe you? Don't think that because your father is the mayor of Jiang City, you can do whatever you want, Jiang City is not your personal property, and if Yi Cheng haven't done anything, he can sit upright and do not have to be afraid of what you are looking for." An Ran said this, but without any reason, her heart feels a little bit flustered. Even she herself can’t say what it feels like, and why it is like this!
"Haha." Ling Ran smiled and shook her head. "Gu An Ran, should I say you are too simple, or say that you are too stupid, what do you think is the competition amongst the officials? You are so naive to say that if you did not do it then you will absolutely be fine. It’s hilarious! Let me tell you, if someone really wants to bring you down, it’s not you that have the final say whether you have done it before.” The cigarette was put in the mouth, and sucked deeply, then looked at her with sarcasm. She shook her head and said, "You are not qualified to stand by Ah Cheng, you don't even understand the most basic official survival rules. You do not even notice the hidden dangers that exist in the surrounding areas, and you will cause great trouble for Ah Cheng."
An Ran subconsciously held her hands tightly and questioned her. "What do you want to do, are you going to frame Yi Cheng?" The panic and fear in her heart gradually expanded. She didn't understand what she was afraid of, but she was afraid, very afraid.
"Don't say it like that. Framing is also a matter of whether you have the chance." She didn't want to do this initially, but they didn't give her a choice. This is also a gamble for her, she is putting everything she has on this hand, if she wins she gets to have everything. if she loses she will never be able to recover, so she must win this!
An Ran shook her head, her hands on both sides held tightly. "No, Yi Cheng won't give you this chance. I believe him, if he haven't done it, we are not afraid."
"Hmmph." Ling Ran coldly sneered, twisting the cigarette in her hand in the fruit plate to extinguish it, and said, "Besides here today to tell you this, I also want to make a deal with you, if you are willing to abort the child in your stomach and divorce Ah Cheng, I can help him, but if you are not willing to, then don't blame me for not thinking about old times. It's all up to you. How about it? Is it a deal, or not?"
"Impossible!" An Ran refused, how could she promise to say that she will abort the child in her stomach!? It is her baby, it is hers and Su Yi Cheng’s child, even if she wanted her life, she could never promise to not want this child, looking at her, she say with agitation, "I will never believe your rubbish words. Moreover, I also don't think that Yi Cheng is so soft that he can be molded by you."
"Haha." Ling Ran laughed, she was not surprised by her reaction. She reached out and tussled her long curly hair and took the bag on the sofa. She turned sensually and stood up, mouth in a half hook looking at her with a smile, said, "It's alright if you don't agree now, I'll wait, I will wait for you to cry and come to me and plead for me to promise to help!"
An Ran also stood up, decidedly looking back at her gaze and say, determined, "You are better off perishing this thought, there will never be such a thing!"
"Keke, then I will wait and see." Ling Ran looked at her and said with a sneer, and tidy up her skirt. "I have said all that I want to say. What to do next is up to you to consider carefully, if you really love Ah Cheng, I think you will know what to do.” After finish speaking, she took a glance at An Ran, and then she turned and walked out of the house.
Ling Ran with her good-looking sneer stood at the elevator door and waited for the elevator, and her mouth was humming a tune.
The elevator door opened. Inside the elevator, Qin Yun came out with the insulation pot. Seeing Ling Ran, she was surprised to see her here. "Ling Ran?"
"Mother Su." Ling Ran chuckled and greeted, "I haven't seen you for a long time."
"How come you are here?" Qin Yun looked at her inexplicably.
"I came to talk to An Ran about something." Ling Ran smiled, raised her hand and looked at the time, she says apologetically, "Sorry, I am in a hurry, I'll make a move first." Just entering the elevator, as if suddenly thought of something, she turned and said with a smile, "Mother Su, if there's time let's have tea together."
Qin Yun could care less about replying her, she turned to Su Yi Cheng's apartment, the door was not close, she had only gotten to the door when she smell the smell of smoke in that room, and An Ran seems to be sitting on the sofa in a daze.
------End of chapter------
empress* - she uses the term 老佛爷 which is a nickname for the empress dowager of China, this is an ongoing role-play joke between An Ran and Lin Li. Lin Li addresses An Ran as Xiao Anzi which is a nickname used by eunuchs who serves the empress dowager. The nickname is derive from their names, e.g, Gu An Ran i.e. Xiao Anzi, if Cheng Xiang, Xiao Xiangzi etc
giving you some ink and now you want to paint the whole house* - take this as a metaphor for give an inch and want a mile.
I have no words to say, asking a loving couple to abort their child to get what you want, when you are the one at fault.. and not asking.. but threatening.. I wanna rage...
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