The Green Tea Supporting Girl Is Still Playing Her Role Today (GL) - Chapter 40

Chapter 40

Wen Pinghan blushed crimson and turned her head away. “I’m not looking, I’m not looking anymore!”

Xie Zhifei hooked the corner of her mouth. She knew it—the other woman would definitely get shy even more easily than she did. Sure enough, she had embarrassed the poor thing so much that her ears were practically ripe.

“Alright then. Next time you want to look, just tell me.” Xie Zhifei said with a playful laugh.

Wen Pinghan: “…”

“It’s getting late. I’m heading back.” Xie Zhifei glanced at her watch, picked up her bag, and prepared to leave.

“Wait.” Wen Pinghan called her back, then returned to the bedroom. She rummaged through that bag of snacks and pulled out a box of dark chocolate. She ran out and handed it to Xie Zhifei. “I bought too many of these. Take a box home with you.”

“Sure thing. Thanks, sis.” Xie Zhifei accepted it gladly. “But I remember you don’t like dark chocolate. How did you end up buying extra?”

“Um… I just happened to catch a supermarket discount.” Wen Pinghan looked away.

“But this one’s full price.” Xie Zhifei pointed at the price tag and said.

“…It was a buy-enough-get-discount deal. You can’t tell from the tag.”

Xie Zhifei gazed at her reddened ears, a smile welling up in her eyes. “Oh, so that’s how it is. Alright, I’ll take it then. Thanks again, sis. See you. Oh, right—do you have any trash I can take downstairs?”

“Yes.” Wen Pinghan handed her the trash bag.

“Bye~” Xie Zhifei left in high spirits. In the elevator, she hummed a tune and swung the trash bag back and forth. A few elementary school kids nearby thought the woman had lost her mind.

A few days later, HR urged everyone to submit the list of participants for the talent program assessment. Wen Pinghan confirmed it one last time with her subordinates, then handed it in. Afterward, she was called to a meeting.

Fang Ningshu chaired the meeting and conveyed the assessment items to them. First, they would review personal resumes and past performance. Second, they would work in small groups to evaluate team collaboration skills. Finally, they would collaborate to complete a task assigned from above.

“Within three days, have everyone on the list submit their personal resumes. Meeting adjourned.”

The group filed out while discussing. Wen Pinghan was talking with a colleague when Fang Ningshu suddenly called her back.

“Manager Wen, wait a moment.”

Wen Pinghan told her colleague to go ahead, then waited off to the side for Fang Ningshu.

Fang Ningshu organized the materials on the table. Once everyone had left, she said without lifting her head, “That project you collaborated on with the Gu company before—I was the one who interfaced with you on it. They should have switched to someone else over there by now. They’ll probably contact you soon.”

Wen Pinghan nodded. “Do I need to do anything?”

“Just follow the normal process.”

“Got it.” Wen Pinghan watched her steady expression and suddenly asked, “After you left, did things fall apart over at Gu Zhizhang’s side?”

Fang Ningshu paused, then said flatly, “Who knows.”

“They must have.” Wen Pinghan mused. The man had not hovered around her for a long time now.

A flicker of satisfaction flashed in Fang Ningshu’s eyes. She turned to look at her, but her gaze suddenly paused. She stared at the necklace around Wen Pinghan’s neck for a few moments and smiled. “Nice necklace.”

“Mm.” Wen Pinghan lowered her head and touched the necklace, then smiled faintly. “President Xie gave it to me. She said it was a buy-one-get-one-free deal.”

“Buy one get one free?” Fang Ningshu raised an eyebrow meaningfully, then picked up the materials without comment. As she turned to leave, something occurred to her, and she suddenly turned back. “President Xie will be very busy lately.”

Wen Pinghan blinked. “So?”

“So she probably won’t have time to join you for dinner for a while.”

“Oh… But why are you telling me this—” Before she finished, Fang Ningshu had already strode away.

“Is the meeting over?” Xie Zhifei saw Fang Ningshu walk into the office and looked up at her.

“Mm. Here’s the list.” Fang Ningshu handed it over.

Xie Zhifei opened the file and scanned through the names one by one with her head down. Fang Ningshu lowered her eyes and glanced at the necklace around her neck. “Wen Pinghan’s on the list.”

“Is she?” Xie Zhifei flipped through a few more pages before finding Wen Pinghan’s name. She slowly curved her lips into a smile. “I knew it. She definitely signed up!”

Fang Ningshu added, “I told her you’d be really busy from now on and wouldn’t have time for dinners together, so you can focus on work.”

“When have I ever not focused?” Xie Zhifei asked.

“…” Who was it that kept having me go down to check if a certain someone was staying late?

Fang Ningshu changed the subject. “President Xie, that necklace of yours is nice. Where did you get it?”

Xie Zhifei named the brand. Fang Ningshu said, “I remember that place never does promotions.”

“Mm. Why, you want one?” Xie Zhifei asked.

“Nah, can’t afford it.”

“Oh, come on. Don’t I know your salary?” Xie Zhifei said with a laugh. “Is the contract with President Wang ready?”

“It’s ready. Take another look.” Fang Ningshu withdrew her gaze and went back to her office to fetch the contract.

Xie Zhifei seized the moment to send Wen Pinghan a message: [Gotta head out on a business trip tomorrow. Not sure when I’ll be back. Sis, make sure you eat dinner on time. Don’t stay at work too late!]

Wen Pinghan: [Got it [hug]]

Wen Pinghan: [Drink less.]

Xie Zhifei: [Don’t worry, Fang Ningshu can hold her liquor like a champ! [penguin spinning]]

Over the next few days, Xie Zhifei stayed busy out of town. At the same time, she received the resumes from the assessment participants. On the road, she reviewed these people’s files. Of course, HR, the regional manager, and Xie Hongxu joined her in the screening.

One afternoon, after lunch with a client, she got into the car and started feeling drowsy. She flipped through two pages of materials and then spotted Wen Pinghan’s photo, which brightened her eyes and chased away the sleepiness in an instant.

“How can someone make even a registration photo look this good?” Xie Zhifei pointed at the photo and said to Fang Ningshu.

Fang Ningshu: “…You might as well say when she doesn’t look good.”

“Seems like never. She looks good no matter what!”

After carefully reviewing the materials, Xie Zhifei checked the box next to that page on the list. She realized it had been several days since she last chatted with Wen Pinghan, so she called her. It rang for a long time before the other side picked up.

“Sis!”

“Hello? Can I help you?” Someone answered, but it was not Wen Pinghan’s voice.

Xie Zhifei froze. The voice sounded somewhat familiar. She checked the number again and asked, “Isn’t this Wen Pinghan’s phone?”

“Yes, Sis Han went to the restroom. If you have something to say, I can pass it along later?”

“No need, thanks.” Xie Zhifei hung up.

After a while, Wen Pinghan returned to the table. Lin Zhimin said to her, “Sis Han, your phone kept ringing just now. I was afraid it was something important, so I answered for you. But she didn’t say anything specific. I recorded it, though—you can listen yourself.”

“Okay.” Wen Pinghan opened the recording file.

“But… who’s this ‘FEI’? Her voice sounds kinda familiar. Is it someone named Fei or something?” Lin Zhimin asked.

Wen Pinghan nearly choked. She lowered her head and took a sip of water. “A friend.”

“Alright.” Lin Zhimin took a few bites of food and asked, “Sis Han, do you think I’ll pass the assessment?”

“I’m not a judge. Hard to say.” Wen Pinghan said.

“Fair enough… We’re eating. What are you doing on your phone?”

“Replying to a message.”

Wen Pinghan: [Missed your call just now. What’s up?]

Xie Zhifei: [Nothing, just wanted to call and chat. Feels like forever since I heard your voice.]

Wen Pinghan: [My voice isn’t that nice anyway.]

Xie Zhifei: [It’s amazing! Especially the ahegao voice! [silly grin][sunglasses]]

Wen Pinghan: “…”

“Sis Han, where are you going?” Lin Zhimin saw her suddenly stand up and leave, so she called out.

“The restroom.”

“Again? Hope it’s not the runs.” Lin Zhimin muttered.

In the restroom, Wen Pinghan locked the door, cleared her throat, and tried to speak. She broke on the first syllable—still couldn’t get the ahegao tone. In the end, she held down the voice key and asked softly, “When are you coming back?”

“Soon~ Do you miss me, sis?” Xie Zhifei replied instantly.

Wen Pinghan listened to her lazy, sweet voice and couldn’t stop her lips from curving up. She played it again. For some reason, she opened the recording file and listened to that missed call.

—”Sis!”

She sounded so enthusiastic right from the start. No wonder Lin Zhimin hadn’t recognized the voice at first. Too bad it shifted to a proper tone once she realized it wasn’t the person herself.

Suddenly, a mischievous idea popped into her head. She sent Xie Zhifei another voice message: “Say ‘time to get up.'”

Xie Zhifei: “Hm? Why say that?”

Wen Pinghan: “Just say it. Remember, make it ahegao a bit.”

Xie Zhifei: “Time~ to get~ up~~~ How’s that? Ahegao enough?”

Wen Pinghan: “Plenty, plenty.”

She bowed her head and edited, and soon she had a finished voice clip.

—”Sis! Time~ to get~ up~~~”

Perfect. Alarm tone acquired √

That afternoon, Wen Pinghan suddenly received a call from an unknown number. The caller claimed to be Gu Zhizhang’s secretary and wanted to discuss the project that Fang Ningshu had previously handled with her.

She was prepared for it, so she went to the Gu company in person and talked it over face-to-face.

The new secretary was a middle-aged man. It seemed Gu Zhizhang worried about a repeat of the same issue. This secretary was straightforward and cautious in his work, but he lacked a certain flexibility.

By rights, Fang Ningshu should have handed off the project progress to him before she left the company. Unfortunately, Gu Zhizhang had rushed her out so hastily that she wasn’t even allowed back the next day. So when Fang Ningshu left, it probably exhausted Gu Zhizhang plenty. Now he had to sort out this mess bit by bit.

At the moment, Wen Pinghan had no choice but to help them push this small project forward. Once they settled all the previous details, the other man smiled and saw her downstairs.

Who knew that as soon as she reached the lobby on the first floor, she ran right into Gu Zhizhang.

Gu Zhizhang froze at first, then walked over to her in delighted surprise. “What are you doing here? Are you here to see me?”

“No, President Gu. She’s here for me.” The secretary answered.

Gu Zhizhang: “…”

Wen Pinghan stifled a laugh in her heart at his deflated look. Serves you right—now you know how good Fang Ningshu was.

Gu Zhizhang glanced at the secretary before saying, “Do you have time? Let’s grab a meal. I have something I want to chat about with you.”

“What is it?”

“Not convenient to say here.”

Wen Pinghan still looked at him in puzzlement.

Gu Zhizhang’s mind raced. He knew a direct invitation like this would get him nowhere. He needed to find something she was interested in as an excuse.

Work? No, she just finished discussing work with the secretary.

Hobbies? No, his intentions were as obvious as Sima Zhao’s—everyone knew.

What else could bridge communication between them?

…Got it!

“It’s about Afei.”

Wen Pinghan finally gave him a proper look.

In the restaurant, Gu Zhizhang watched her eat without blinking, a smile playing at his lips.

“What did you want to say about President Xie?” Wen Pinghan lifted her head and asked.

“Ah… I just wanted to ask if Fang Ningshu’s adapting okay as her secretary.” Gu Zhizhang threw out a random excuse.

“She’s adapting well. Secretary Fang’s very capable. Things have gotten a lot more efficient for President Xie since she arrived.” Wen Pinghan replied.

“Good. It’s fortunate she took Fang Ningshu in. Fang Ningshu really gave her all for me over the years. If only she hadn’t… well, it would have been even better.” Gu Zhizhang gave an awkward smile.

Wen Pinghan did not respond. She lowered her head and kept eating.

Seeing her back to her curt demeanor, Gu Zhizhang scrambled for another topic. “One more thing—Uncle Xie wants to introduce a boyfriend to Afei. You know about that, right?”

Wen Pinghan raised her eyes and blinked slowly.

“Last time Afei went on that blind date with Hongyan, you were there too. I hear they’re getting close now. Do you think they could make it work?” Gu Zhizhang said, fishing for words.

Wen Pinghan: “I don’t know.”

“So what do you think of the two of them? A good match?” Gu Zhizhang pressed.

“I don’t know.” Wen Pinghan repeated. Her appetite was fading fast.

Gu Zhizhang: “As her good friend, you haven’t given her any advice at all?”

Wen Pinghan: “No.”

That shouldn’t be right. Someone like Zhao Xiaojing often pointed out things about the men around Xie Zhifei and urged her to date more. Why did it fall flat with Wen Pinghan?

Gu Zhizhang racked his brains for more topics. At that moment, the other woman suddenly tossed out a question: “That Li Hongyan… Has he dated before?”

“Yes, back in school days, from what I heard. They broke up for some reason, and after that, he never bothered with romance again. He threw himself into work.” Gu Zhizhang recalled.

“Then they’re not a good fit. President Xie has never dated.” Wen Pinghan said logically.

Gu Zhizhang: “…” That works too?

Just then, her phone rang. Wen Pinghan saw the caller and stepped aside to take it.

“Sis, what are you up to?” Xie Zhifei asked from the other end.

Wen Pinghan glanced back at Gu Zhizhang and lowered her voice. “Having dinner with Gu Zhizhang.”

The smile on Xie Zhifei’s face drooped instantly. She cursed Gu Zhizhang in her heart—stinky man, stinky man, sneaking around behind my back!

“I went to his company to hand off that project from before, and we ran into each other.” Wen Pinghan touched her nose, too embarrassed to admit she had come to hear about Xie Zhifei—and hadn’t learned a thing.

“Okay, got it. Then keep having dinner with him, sis. Take your time coming back. I’ll wait for you at your place.” Xie Zhifei said pitifully.

Wen Pinghan halted abruptly. “Where are you right now?”

“Downstairs from your building.”

“You’re back?”

“Mm. I wanted to surprise you, sis. But it’s fine~ Just have fun with him~ Don’t worry about me~” Xie Zhifei said all aggrieved.

“Wait for me. I’m coming right back.”