"Thinking of quitting?" Lu Yudong was naturally angry after being embarrassed by Jiang Ci.

He lit a cigarette and slammed the lighter onto the table.

"Are you doubting that the umbrella I bought for you is a fake?" Jiang Ci was also upset.

"You're sharp." Lu Yudong squinted at Jiang Ci.

Jiang Ci couldn't quite decipher the meaning behind his gaze.

"Look, look, is it a fake or not?" Jiang Ci's anger flared up even more, realizing he had been swayed by Yin Xuemo's instigation, showing how easily influenced he was.

Jiang Ci moved closer to Lu Yudong with her phone, showing him her chat history with her classmate Shen Jingwei.

"Two Fridays ago, I transferred ten thousand yuan to Shen Jingwei. It was in euros on her end, equivalent to over nine thousand yuan, but I gave her ten thousand directly. She's not a personal shopper, just helping out. If she wanted to scam me, she wouldn't find a source! What else could it be but genuine?" After speaking, Jiang Ci put her phone back in her pocket.

Lu Yudong's anger subsided.

Jiang Ci had scrolled quickly, but he caught two sentences.

[Who are you buying such an expensive umbrella for?]

[For someone very important.]

[A boyfriend, perhaps?]

Jiang Ci hadn't replied.

So, in Jiang Ci's eyes, he was "someone very important."

"So?" Lu Yudong's expression softened considerably.

He should have realized earlier that it was Yin Xuemo deliberately sowing discord, but he lacked the ability to judge the authenticity of the umbrella.

And, it involved Jiang Ci...

Jiang Ci was also quite money-minded.

"So, making me move to the room next door was your fault. You were nitpicking, allowing yourself to do as you please while forbidding others, and you listened to slander." Jiang Ci recalled how he made her move next door because of Yin Xuemo's words, and it made her furious.

"What? Can't get used to being alone? Can't sleep?" Lu Yudong teased.

"It's frustrating."

"Scared? Want to move back to my bedroom?"

"Don't flatter yourself!" Jiang Ci retorted.

But to be honest, last night, Jiang Ci was indeed a bit scared. After all, the Lu family's villa was so big, and she had never been in that bedroom before, so it felt unfamiliar and naturally a bit frightening to be alone.

"If you want to move back to my bedroom, there are conditions. Let's see how you perform." Lu Yudong smirked, clearly in a good mood.

Jiang Ci scoffed at the idea of "performance." There were no clear standards, just his whims.

"I'll slowly get used to sleeping alone." Jiang Ci sounded a bit like sour grapes.

"Oh? Seems like you're really not used to it. What's missing?" Lu Yudong, usually serious, rarely spoke like this.

Especially not with such innuendo.

"Missing you, not used to it. Mr. Lu, aren't you just trying to get me to say that to boost your ego? Anyway, you made me sleep next door, and I embarrassed you in class, so we're even." Jiang Ci said, holding her head high.

"What's missing about me?" Lu Yudong pressed on.

Jiang Ci blushed instantly and was about to leave.

"If you bought a genuine umbrella, why didn't you say so earlier? Did you have to wait until I lost face to tell me?" Lu Yudong, having gained the upper hand verbally, wanted to tease Jiang Ci further.

"Just to make you lose face!" Jiang Ci replied lightly.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

Lu Yudong switched back to his authoritative tone, "Come in."

The person who entered was Xing Baohua.

He had been eavesdropping outside.

The news of Jiang Ci sleeping during the training class had spread throughout the company.

As the director, he was supposed to take action, so he came to seek Lu Yudong's opinion.

But he had overheard everything outside...

Mr. Lu and Jiang Ci had a tiff over the umbrella yesterday.

Apparently, Mr. Lu was displeased, thinking Jiang Ci didn't care enough about him, buying him a fake, and made her sleep in the room next door.

That was a lot of information.

It meant Jiang Ci used to share a bed with Mr. Lu, though for how long was unclear.

And Mr. Lu's words just now were... simply unbelievable.

Missing what about him...

Who would have thought Mr. Lu could joke like that.

Although colleagues had gossiped about Mr. Lu picking up and dropping off Jiang Ci every day, Xing Baohua couldn't believe someone like Jiang Ci could climb into Mr. Lu's bed.

Turns out, it was true.

Mr. Lu, usually so mature and composed, could lower the temperature by three degrees just by standing there, and new employees would shiver at the sight of him.

Yet he was making innuendos in front of Jiang Ci.

Jiang Ci dared to sleep in front of him.

Xing Baohua felt a bit ashamed of his previous actions, thinking it was a real conflict and giving Jiang Ci a hard time.

"Hello, Director Xing." Jiang Ci turned to head back to her office, greeting Xing Baohua.

Xing Baohua nodded back at Jiang Ci.

Jiang Ci found it strange; Xing Baohua usually didn't acknowledge people easily, so why did he nod at her this time?

After finalizing the deal, Jiang Ci was very happy and excited. It was her first time handling a transaction over a hundred thousand yuan, and she felt a bit anxious. Worried about encountering scammers or criminals, she asked Han Lan to accompany her.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

Han Lan, no longer needing to keep a low profile, was quite pleased and readily agreed to Jiang Ci's request.

"For something like this, it's best to have a guy with us. If Mr. Lu goes with you, who would dare to cheat him? They wouldn't dare even with ten times the courage," Han Lan said while munching on snacks.

"It's not that easy. We're having a bit of a spat. Besides, this matter involves my ex-boyfriend. Would I be out of my mind to ask him to come along?" Jiang Ci replied.

"Why are you making such a fuss? You can see how just a casual nod from him changes everything for us. People can't wait to flatter him, and here you are, picking a fight," Han Lan said, a bit exasperated.

"Don't mention it. I've been flattering him all along." To this day, Jiang Ci still didn't understand why Lu Yudong suddenly asked her to move out.

How could she cater to his whims without knowing the reason?

"Why not try to appease him? Mr. Lu is into that," Han Lan suggested.

"How do you know? Have you tried it before?" Jiang Ci asked, her tone slightly jealous.

"No, no, I haven't even met Mr. Lu," Han Lan said, trying to act coy. "But seriously, my sister is bringing me some food this afternoon."

"Your sister? Isn't she about to give birth? How can you let her bring you food with that big belly?"

"She's not coming herself; she's sending her brother-in-law. I heard he's quite a catch," Han Lan said dreamily.

"You haven't met him?"

Han Lan rolled her eyes at Jiang Ci. "No, he didn't attend my sister's wedding; he was out of town."

"I'll check him out for you this afternoon."

At six in the evening, the dormitory doorbell rang, and Jiang Ci went to answer it. As soon as she opened the door, she widened her eyes in surprise and said, "Deng Yue?"

"Jiang Ci?"

"Who are you looking for? Me?"

Deng Yue raised the food container in his hand. "I'm delivering food for my sister-in-law to her sister. I didn't expect you two to be roommates. What a small world."

When Han Lan came out and saw that Deng Yue was quite handsome, her eyes sparkled.

"How about I treat you two lovely ladies to dinner tonight?" Deng Yue offered.

"What about the food my sister sent?" Jiang Ci asked with a slight frown.

But Han Lan was already tempted. After all, who wouldn't want to dine with a handsome guy?

"We can put it in the fridge and eat it later. It won't spoil. Let's go, I'll treat you to hot pot," Deng Yue said enthusiastically.

Recently, Jiang Ci and Han Lan had been under a lot of pressure, so they were eager for some relaxation and quickly agreed. Besides, Jiang Ci loved spicy food—the spicier, the better.

During dinner, Deng Yue asked Jiang Ci, "Since we added each other on WeChat, we haven't chatted. I didn't know you worked at New East Group. That's promising."

"I'm just a low-level employee; there's no future in that. Han Lan has more potential; she's the New East Star, a future executive," Jiang Ci said, not forgetting to praise Han Lan.

Jiang Ci could tell that Han Lan had a good impression of Deng Yue. Han Lan and Deng Yue also exchanged WeChat contacts.

"Oh, by the way, Jiang Ci is going to the suburbs on Sunday to inspect a computer factory. We've never been there and are afraid of encountering scammers, so we want a guy to come with us. Why don't you join us?" Han Lan invited Deng Yue. "My sister told me her brother-in-law runs a gaming company, so you're perfect for evaluating computers."

"Visiting a computer factory? No problem. I'll drive you two ladies there. Planning to buy computers? Why not just go to the electronics market instead of the source?"

"Two hundred units. We're donating them to children in the mountains. It's the same school we visited together," Jiang Ci explained easily, as she and Deng Yue had visited the charity school together before.

"Two hundred units, impressive. You must have some money."

"Not really. I sold my dad's house in the countryside," Jiang Ci deflected, fearing Deng Yue would ask about the money's origin, putting her in an awkward position.

She hadn't even mentioned her contractual marriage with Lu Yudong to Han Lan, nor did Han Lan know the source of the money.

Her father's old house was in the countryside, and Jiang Ci had never been there. Besides, you can't sell a homestead.

Fortunately, Deng Yue didn't press further.

What could Jiang Ci say? That she sold herself for it?

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