Chapter 18
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The goddess in question didn’t know that she was going to get married, but but she herself would attend a wedding.
A few days ago, Sun Yutan received a wedding invitation from her college roommate, Zhang Mengxi. The four roommates had a good relationship and had agreed to attend each other’s weddings when they were in school, so she readily accepted the invitation in the WeChat group. She also invited Sun Nianxi to help her choose a gift.
Sun Nianxi remembered Zhang Mengxi, “Is she the one with the round glasses and thin eyebrows?”
“Yes. Actually, I always thought she would be the first to get married. She’s so gentle and kind, who wouldn’t want to marry her?”
“I look at my friends’ Moments and it seems like everyone is almost settled.” As soon as she finished speaking, Sun Nianxi contradicted herself, “Of course, there are still more who haven’t settled down. Those who have settled down post about it every day, while the lonely wolves remain as quiet as chickens.”
Sun Yutan looked at her and asked, “Is your family pressuring you?” Else, with Sun Nianxi’s free and easy style, she wouldn’t say such a bitter comment about her own kind.
“Not really. It’s just that every time I go home, my mom tells me about other people’s daughters. She can find them one after another, saying they live in the buildings in front, behind, and to the left and right, and that I’m the only one left. I don’t understand, are they playing a game of ‘who can find a partner faster’? They weren’t this proactive before.”
“Where did they find their partners?”
“Most likely it was arranged by their families for blind dates. Didn’t your mom say anything when you went home last time?”
“She did. She said how hard she worked to turn down the guy she was introduced to and that she’s really not in a hurry.”
“Does she know about Chen Rui?”
Sun Yutan shook her head. “I’m not crazy. I’ll go find a mandarin duck stick myself.”
“Are you so sure your mom won’t agree?”
“I know my mom too well. It’s the same thing as you not daring to bring Lin Xuan home.”
“Don’t make irrelevant comparisons. As for me and Lin Xuan… Aren’t I courting death by bringing him home?”
“It’s almost the same. In Chen Rui’s eyes, he would never enter my house. Case closed.”
Sun Nianxi laughed, “You guys obviously have a good time every night, but every time you talk about it, it sounds like you’re about to break up.”
Sun Yutan said, “Sometimes I also suspect that he likes me a lot, but as soon as I think of his cold face during those years, my mind becomes free of impure thoughts. It’s okay to like him more, but being presumptuous is not good. It’s easy to be ruined by being greedy.”
After finishing shopping, Sun Yutan took Sun Nianxi to the second floor and coincidentally ran into Huang Shuyu who was inspecting the cactus store. She was wearing a neat and formal maroon uniform skirt, which showed a sense of calm beyond her age. The store manager stood by the counter, blushing and bowing his head, and it was Huang Shuyu who came to comfort him, “Don’t blame yourself, it’s okay. After all, it’s Chairman Chen’s own store, and there’s no need to pay for the storefront fee.”
She saw Sun Yutan, smiled and nodded at her.
Sun Yutan also smiled, walked in, and heard the manager say, “It’s like this every year and every month. I think I’m going to get depressed. What does Mr. Chen want? He has such a golden location but insists on selling cacti. The cost is so high, but the selling price is so low. I just want to cry. Can I apply to return to the company and realize my self-worth?”
Sun Nianxi wanted to laugh, but Sun Yutan stood still, listening intently to their conversation.
Huang Shuyu said, “You really don’t know how lucky you are. You have a high-paying and leisurely job, and all these greeneries is good for your eyesight.”
The store manager said, “Then let’s switch jobs.”
Huang Shuyu responded, “That won’t work.” She cleared her throat lightly, “Anyway, as long as Chairman Chen is willing to pay, and he pays happily, it has nothing to do with us. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. Maybe one day he’ll wake up and close the store immediately. It’s not worth leaving now.”
“Remember to tell Mr. Chen how much we lost when you go back.”
“I will,” Huang Shuyu assured her. But whether or not the boss listens was not up to her.
Sun Yutan picked up a small potted plant in front of her and casually asked, “Whose store is this?”
Huang Shuyu blinked, “Who else?”
“How long has it been open?”
“As soon as Mr. Chen took over Haidu, he opened this store,” said the store manager. She, a talented botanist, was recruited by Chen Rui himself into Yunkai, but she never thought she would be sent to manage a store. Although she has learned a lot in the past year, every time she saw the huge gap between revenue and expenses, she felt a strong sense of insecurity that she would be fired immediately.
But Chen Rui was very persistent. He couldn’t see the continuous losses, and kept this store like keeping a beloved toy.
“What’s wrong?” Sun Nianxi bumped her elbow, “What are you thinking about?”
“I seem to have…discovered a secret,” Sun Yutan said thoughtfully.
“What secret?” Huang Shuyu perked up her ears to listen, but Sun Yutan just smiled and bid farewell to her. Huang Shuyu could only wave goodbye with regret.
On the next two floors, Sun Yutan and her friend sat in a Cantonese restaurant waiting for dinner.
Sun Nianxi leaned in, looking intrigued. “What did you discover?”
Sun Yutan propped up her chin. “I suspect that Chen Rui is in love with me.”
“…” Sun Nianxi sat back.
“What’s with that expression?”
“The expression of being played by you. Just a moment ago downstairs, you didn’t say it like that.” Sun Nianxi suddenly remembered something. “Wait, that store we just went to, the one with the boss named Chen, was it Chen Rui?”
Sun Yutan nodded. “Do you think my suspicion is justified?”
Sun Nianxi opened her mouth, took a moment to digest, then said, “It does seem justified. But to make that association, I question the truthfulness of the information you’ve given me. I seriously can’t listen to you right now.”
“I need to think it over,” Sun Yutan said, “I’ll go to Tangcheng tonight.”
Chen Rui’s good mood for the evening was ruined when he saw Wu Junzhe.
He sat up straight and thought to himself, “Today is really lively, old friends reuniting in droves.”
Heaven always seemed to be particularly timely at moments like this, and suddenly a long lightning bolt struck, followed by rolling thunder, and torrential rain pounding against the glass with a crackling sound. Chen Rui was annoyed by the rain and couldn’t sit still. When he got up, he accidentally knocked over his wine glass.
Tang Nuo immediately came over. Chen Rui had already grabbed some tissues to wipe the water stains off his clothes. He wiped for a while, still keeping his head down, repeating the mechanical movement. The ball of paper was ground to bits, and the crumbs were stuck to the fabric, but Chen Rui seemed completely oblivious.
Tang Nuo cautiously called out, “Chairman Chen?”
Chen Rui paused, threw down the useless crumpled paper in his hand, and strode out.
He returned to Anshan Road, where the opposite side was pitch black.
He called her phone, but there was no answer.
The rain outside the window showed no signs of easing up, accompanied by the sound of thunder and rain, occasionally flashing blue-purple lightning spreading over the dark sky, shining on Chen Rui’s tense face.
He sat slantingly in the swivel chair, with the palm of his hand holding a ship with high sails. He had been studying it for so many years, and every part of it, every color block, was familiar to him. He couldn’t help but want to throw it fiercely on the ground to vent his frustration.
“Calm down”, Chen Rui told himself, “Even if that person comes back, don’t be so flustered.”
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