A Paper Contract GL - Chapter 1
“Mom, I’m leaving.” Jiang Yuetong grabbed a piece of bread and hurried out the door.
Mother Jiang watched Jiang Yuetong’s rushed figure, shaking her head as she said, “Don’t forget about the blind date tonight. I heard this boy is quite nice, don’t you dare forget.”
Jiang Yuetong nodded, saying with some vexation, “Okay, I know.”
Mother Jiang reminded her again, “Did you forget anything?”
Jiang Yuetong said, “Didn’t forget anything.” Then she opened the door and left.
Mother Jiang chased out again, asking loudly, “Did you really not forget anything?”
Jiang Yuetong replied, “No, I didn’t.”
Jiang Yuetong was close to being late again. It’s quite improper for a teacher to arrive later than her students. So, Jiang Yuetong hastily got on the subway, almost bumping into a person. Jiang Yuetong quickly apologized profusely, repeating, “Sorry, sorry, sorry” multiple times. After finally squeezing onto the subway, she almost got her hand trapped, which made her grimace in pain.
Soon, Jiang Yuetong was approaching her stop. Looking around, she saw an elderly man standing not far away. He was dressed very ordinarily, with white hair and a kind face. Why didn’t he have a seat? Seriously, no one was giving up their seat. Jiang Yuetong blamed herself for not noticing earlier; if she had, she would have offered the seat to the elderly man long ago.
Jiang Yuetong stood up and called out to the elderly man, “Uncle, please come and sit here.”
The elderly man smiled warmly at Jiang Yuetong, thanking her as he moved toward the seat.
As soon as the elderly man sat down, the bag of fruit he was carrying ripped. Fruit bags are very thin; if they get a small tear, the contents will spill out. Instantly, the elderly man’s fruit—apples, pears…—rolled all over the subway floor. Jiang Yuetong quickly helped pick up the fruit, and then helped the elderly man place them on the luggage rack.
The elderly man looked at Jiang Yuetong happily and said, “Little girl, why are you so kind? There really aren’t many warm-hearted people like you anymore. Others see me and wish they could get as far away as possible, afraid I might fall and cause them trouble.”
Jiang Yuetong smiled at the elderly man and said, “It’s impossible for everyone’s thinking to be so narrow. There are still many good people in the world.” After saying this, Jiang Yuetong herself laughed, feeling like an ambassador spreading positive energy.
“By the way, Grandpa, I’m getting off at the next stop. Where are you getting off?” Jiang Yuetong asked the elderly man.
The elderly man smiled and asked, “I’m also at the next stop.”
The two got off the train together. Seeing the elderly man struggling with the heavy bag of fruit, Jiang Yuetong seemed to forget the fact that she was about to be late. She walked to the elderly man’s side to help him carry the fruit, then supported him up the stairs and out of the subway station.
When Jiang Yuetong finally rushed to the office, she realized she had forgotten her office key, and the person sharing the office hadn’t arrived yet. Left with no choice, Jiang Yuetong went straight to the classroom without her textbook.
Alas, Jiang Yuetong was just a very forgetful person.
The plane landed at Guangzhou Airport. Chen Nan checked her watch—the flight was delayed by a full six hours. Stepping out of the terminal, her driver was indeed not waiting outside for her. Well, six hours—her driver was human, how could he wait there for six hours without eating, drinking, or going to the bathroom? She called the driver, but he didn’t answer! Fine, she had a very important meeting to attend, and she couldn’t stand here waiting foolishly. She’d better take a taxi.
The taxi driver was driving leisurely, humming a little tune, seemingly oblivious to Chen Nan’s anxiety. It was raining today, making the speed even slower. Chen Nan finally couldn’t hold back and spoke up: “Can’t you drive faster, Big Brother? You don’t look like a taxi driver. Are you perhaps an amateur?”
The driver glared and said, “The road ahead is full of cars, didn’t you see? How can I go faster? Should I fly?”
Chen Nan pointed to the empty bus lane next to them and commanded, “Take the bus-only lane. I will take full responsibility for any consequences.”
The driver continued driving as if he hadn’t heard her, only shooting a big eye-roll Chen Nan’s way.
Chen Nan loudly repeated what she had just said, “Take the bus-only lane next to us. I’ll take the consequences. Didn’t you hear me?”
The driver loudly retorted, “Why should I listen to you? You’ll take responsibility if something happens? What are you going to use to take responsibility? It’s always us who get unlucky. Who knows who you are? Once you get out of the car, where am I supposed to find you? Easy for you to say!” The driver’s words were filled with contempt.
Chen Nan was so angry her teeth ached, but she couldn’t really do anything to the driver.
As soon as she got out of the car, Chen Nan ran toward the company at a sprint speed. She had scheduled a meeting with a major client today to discuss a deal, but she was now two hours late. Damn it!
Upon entering the door, Chen Nan first apologized to the client and then quickly had her secretary prepare the meeting materials. Fortunately, the client didn’t seem to have too many complaints.
Just then, the consulting lawyer for Chen Nan’s Tianqi Company, Zhang Manyang, called, saying she had something very important and needed to see her immediately. Chen Nan said unhappily, “But I have very important things to do right now; I can’t delay for a minute.”
Zhang Manyang laughed and said, “Well, this matter was assigned by your grandfather. You don’t have to rush to do it, but the time you waste is yours, you know. Your grandfather said you must do it today.”
Chen Nan lowered her voice into the phone, “What’s so urgent?” In Chen Nan’s memory, her grandfather had never assigned her something that had to be done. Why was it so strange today?
Zhang Manyang said, “It’s a secret document that I can only show you when I see you. It’s inconvenient for me to reveal it over the phone.”
Chen Nan really wanted to strangle Zhang Manyang. They were college classmates, and she had brought Zhang Manyang into the company to work together for so many years, which is why they could speak so freely and without reserve.
“Fine, fine, I won’t talk to you anymore. Let me quickly talk to the client, and then I’ll come find you to see this mysterious secret document.”
Zhang Manyang laughed, “You’d better come see this document soon; you’re in for a rough time. I guarantee you’ll go crazy after seeing it.” Zhang Manyang smacked her lips and said, “Given my understanding of your personality, your first reaction after seeing this document might be to bang your head against the wall.”
Chen Nan said, “Why are you so mean, deliberately teasing me? Be careful, or I’ll fire you and terminate your contract.” Chen Nan was about to hang up but then thought about it and said, “How about this: you come to my office now and wait for me. I’ll be there as soon as the meeting is over.”
During break time, Jiang Yuetong chatted with her students. She was a very approachable teacher, and the students particularly enjoyed talking to her. She taught high school, so the age difference with her students was not large, and they had more common ground.
Today, Jiang Yuetong was wearing a sequined round-neck, hip-hugging dress in a European and American style. It had a split-color design: the upper half was a pale, tender apricot color, and the lower half was dark red. The fitted waistline highlighted her figure. The fake pocket design was stylish yet elegant and noble. Jiang Yuetong’s makeup today was also meticulously applied. She not only created a flawless base but also put a lot of effort into her eyeliner, eyeshadow, and eyelashes. Her tardiness was understandable; anyone who spent the whole morning primping like this would definitely be late.
The students noticed Jiang Yuetong’s change today and teased her, “Teacher, are you going on a blind date today? You rarely dress up this meticulously, do you?”
Jiang Yuetong glanced at the student unnaturally, trying to cover it up: “Of course not! I put a lot of effort in every day, okay?”
“No way! You never wear such formal clothes or such beautiful makeup.”
Jiang Yuetong touched her face and countered, “Is my makeup good? Is it?”
“It’s very beautiful! But, Teacher, you’re pretty to begin with, so you’re beautiful even without makeup.”
Jiang Yuetong gave her a side-eye, “You really know how to flatter your teacher.”