Contractual Cohabitation GL - Chapter 10
“Manager Li, this kangaroo meat is a unique Australian specialty. This restaurant cooks it well. Try it with this sauce.”
Jing Xiaonan personally spun the lazy Susan to introduce the dish. Manager Li nodded profusely, picked up a piece of meat, dipped it in the sauce, and placed it in his bowl. However, deep down, as he lowered his head to eat, he was miserable.
This was the third time Vice General Manager Jing had introduced this dish for him to try. Although kangaroo meat was indeed a unique Australian dish, what he really wanted to eat was authentic Australian lobster! But when the roasted kangaroo stopped in front of him, the beautifully cooked, red-shelled, tender Australian lobster was conveniently stopped in front of Ye Luochen across the table. He could only stare longingly at it. Even if he had Kobe’s arms, he couldn’t reach it. Jing Xiaonan introduced the kangaroo meat to him three times, and Miss Ye on the opposite side picked up the Australian lobster and ate it three times. The live seafood he specifically ordered for himself was almost finished!
But caught between the Vice General Manager of the cooperating company and the legitimate daughter of his own company’s chairman, Manager Li could only eat his food with his head down, looking extremely aggrieved.
The Australian lobster is finished, but there’s still the top-grade abalone, right? Manager Li calculated in his heart, swallowed the kangaroo meat in a few bites, and prepared to serve himself the seafood.
“Manager Li, please try this.”
Just as he was about to look up, Jing Xiaonan’s familiar voice reached him again. Manager Li forcefully held back a mournful look, raising his eyes with an expression of stoic sacrifice, but froze when he saw the dish in front of him.
There’s a piece of good news and a piece of bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?
The good news is that the dish Vice General Manager Jing introduced is finally, finally no longer kangaroo meat! The bad news is that what stopped in front of him this time was stir-fried okra, which tasted even worse than kangaroo meat…
Looking over pitifully, he saw that the object of his desire, the ‘braised abalone,’ happened to be stopped in front of Miss Ye across the table again. No matter how the lazy Susan turned, he was only left to salivate.
Vice General Manager Jing, General Manager Jing… Manager Li stuffed the okra into his mouth, wanting to cry: Did I dig up your ancestral grave or tear down your house in my past life? I’m already full!
Being a manager at Maple Leaf Group was not the same as working at certain state-owned companies. Although the salary and benefits were impeccable, earning that kind of notorious ‘extra money’ through his position was virtually nonexistent. He had just been promoted to manager not long ago, and this was his first official trip abroad. Being treated to a seafood banquet was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!
Forget it, he was already too full. Manager Li lowered his head to drink tea, believing that out of sight was out of mind for the tempting live seafood.
Jing Xiaonan smiled as she surveyed the guests around the round table, making it hard to tell where her focus truly lay. She occasionally raised a toast to a Maple Leaf representative, or chatted briefly with a counterpart from the cooperating firm. She had no idea how many times Manager Li, while silently reciting a mantra of purification, wished her nights of being dominated and everlasting submission.
Qin Yan, sitting to Jing Xiaonan’s right, coldly observed Jing Xiaonan’s series of actions. Occasionally, after a sigh, she would subtly put some food into Jing Xiaonan’s almost untouched bowl. Ye Luochen, across the table, was also dining elegantly and quietly, occasionally responding to the slightly flattering words of Manager Li’s secretary.
Overall, under the atmosphere created by Jing Xiaonan, most of the Maple Leaf representatives thoroughly enjoyed the dinner, and some employees who usually received less attention felt slightly flattered by Vice General Manager Jing’s consideration. After most of the dishes were eaten, Jing Xiaonan called the waiter to order more, but Manager Li stopped her.
“Vice General Manager Jing, you are too kind. Everyone is well-fed and well-drunk with so much food left on the table. Ordering more would truly be a waste.”
“Nonsense, I can see that Manager Li hasn’t enjoyed his meal today. Honestly, I, Jing, am truly grateful that Manager Li has traveled so far to bring everyone here to cooperate with our Pengju, to help each other and profit together. This meal is hosted by me, as a member of Pengju, to entertain the Maple Leaf delegation. Another day, I must personally invite Manager Li to honor me with his presence. That time, it will truly be me, Jing Xiaonan, inviting you in my personal capacity. Please don’t decline, Manager Li.”
Soothed by these flattering words and the promise of another private dinner later, Manager Li’s heart instantly calmed down a lot, and his slight dissatisfaction with Jing Xiaonan disappeared. He no longer refused, smiling genuinely and heartily, his face full of flesh.
As the saying goes, “Warmth and fullness breed lust.” After smiling, Manager Li glanced slightly at the seat to Jing Xiaonan’s right and changed the subject.
“Vice General Manager Jing, you’ve had wine, so it’s inconvenient for you to drive, right? Drunk driving at night is too unsafe. My temporary company car in Australia happens to have a few empty seats. Why don’t I drop off Miss Ye first, and then take Vice General Manager Jing and Miss Qin home together?”
Jing Xiaonan knew exactly what he was thinking and naturally wouldn’t expose it. She just smiled after hearing his suggestion:
“Manager Li, you are truly meticulous and kind. Don’t worry, Qin Yan hasn’t had much to drink; she can drive me home. Since we’re all women, it’s convenient for us to look after each other. How about I drop Miss Ye off on the way?”
Her words were addressed to Manager Li, but towards the end, her eyes turned to Ye Luochen. By this time, the group was slightly tipsy and very quiet. Everyone heard her words, including Ye Luochen. After Jing Xiaonan spoke, over a dozen pairs of eyes in the private room consciously or unconsciously looked in Miss Ye’s direction. Manager Li was unsure of the relationship between Jing Xiaonan and Ye Luochen, so he followed the crowd’s gaze and didn’t speak on behalf of their legitimate daughter.
Ye Luochen finished the green tea in her cup with a calm demeanor, then looked up, smiling slightly with excellent manners: “No need to trouble Vice General Manager Jing. Luochen also drove herself here. I haven’t touched any alcohol tonight, so I can go home on my own.”
Their eyes met. Jing Xiaonan’s eyes were full of questions and warnings, while Ye Luochen’s smile was impeccable throughout. Thus, the two faced each other under the watchful eyes of the crowd. Finally, deterred by the public situation, Jing Xiaonan didn’t push the matter.
After a few appropriate formal exchanges, the dinner ended. Jing Xiaonan took Qin Yan back to where they parked, got in the car, and started the engine.
“You and Miss Ye knew each other before.”
It wasn’t a question, not even an interrogation. Qin Yan’s flat tone merely stated a fact.
“Mhm.” Hesitating for less than a second, Jing Xiaonan nodded in acknowledgment, her eyes fixed on the road ahead.
Perhaps feeling suddenly tired, Qin Yan adjusted her ladylike posture of placing her hands on her knees, pulled the seatbelt, turned to rest her head against the car window, slightly tucking her legs, and closed her eyes to rest.
“You met through a date.”
Having known each other for so many years and having such tacit understanding, Qin Yan didn’t need to ask for an answer, and Jing Xiaonan didn’t need to ask how she knew. The people from Maple Leaf had no idea that Ye Luochen and Jing Xiaonan knew each other, and given Jing Xiaonan’s busy work life, only dating when she had free time, there was no other possible explanation besides a date.
“Mhm.” Jing Xiaonan admitted it directly again.
Qin Yan was still hugging herself, leaning diagonally against the cold car door and window in the passenger seat. Her expression was calm, as if asleep, only her long, curled eyelashes trembling slightly. She maintained this posture the whole way. After Jing Xiaonan dropped her off at home, she got out of the car and walked back, not letting Jing Xiaonan accompany her upstairs.
Jing Xiaonan waited in the car for about five minutes, calculating that Qin Yan had enough time to go upstairs and enter her home, before starting the car again and driving home.
The first thing she did upon arriving home was to shower and wash her hair. Although Jing Xiaonan enjoyed an occasional drink for entertainment and relaxation, she couldn’t stand the smell of alcohol on her body. She emerged from the steamy bathroom in a vest and shorts, taking a clean blue towel to vigorously rub her wet, short hair.
Once her hair was mostly dry, she picked up her phone from the desk, used the work phone to send a group WeChat message to Qin Yan and Gao Jiong saying she had arrived home, and incidentally urged Gao Jiong to be productive with her work that night. Then she set that phone to silent before picking up her private phone.
She pressed a button to light up the screen, which was clean, showing no missed calls or messages.
Jing Xiaonan unconsciously frowned, then unlocked the phone to check the last sent text message. “Wait for me to drive you after dinner.”
That was the only message on the entire screen, with no reply. Jing Xiaonan’s fingers rested on the desk, lightly tapping.
After a long while, not sure what she thought of, she curled her lips into a smile, put the phone aside, added a few more layers of clothing, and sat back at the desk, opening her computer to start working.
She dealt with all the major issues and briefly reviewed the minor ones, keeping busy until late into the night. But as soon as the sun rose the next day, Jing Xiaonan still climbed out of her large, solitary bed as usual. After washing up and changing into casual clothes, she drove her silver-grey Porsche out of the downstairs garage.
Although it was winter, the temperature wasn’t very cold that day. Jing Xiaonan wore sunglasses, listened to a light piano solo, and opened the car’s roof, letting the morning sun shine into her heart.
After reaching the main road, she didn’t turn left at the first traffic light towards the company. Instead, she continued straight for a while and then turned right, driving away from the central business district, getting farther and farther away.
Ye Luochen…
Jing Xiaonan curled her lips, her eyes curved in a smile: You won’t let me drive you, but I can still come to pick you up, right?