Xu Yanxia could only hug her and pat her head to comfort her. "It's okay. It's better to find out early, so you can meet the right person sooner."
True.
Ye Shu quickly pulled herself together and asked, "To be honest, these photos were taken with ulterior motives. We need to stay on top of this in case some bad actors start spreading rumors."
"Yeah," Xu Yanxia nodded. "You can leave a comment underneath saying we're just discussing business."
"Okay." Ye Shu nodded, then asked, "Should you tell President Lu about this too? I wonder if he'll misunderstand."
Xu Yanxia replied straightforwardly, "I already told him. He's probably busy, so he hasn't replied yet."
As for whether he would misunderstand...
She smiled. "A lifetime is so long. If we can't even manage this basic level of trust, then what's the point of being together?"
"Wow..."
As soon as she finished speaking, Ye Shu looked at her with pure envy. "You two are my perfect match. It's simply too ideal! I don't even know if I'll ever meet a soulmate like that in my lifetime!"
"Of course you will!"
Xu Yanxia said with a smile. "Like I said, a lifetime is long! Your destiny might be waiting for you right around the corner!"
"I'll take your word for it, Xiaxia!"
Ye Shu leaned closer to her and said, "I need to rub off some of your good luck!"
Xu Yanxia burst into laughter and opened her arms generously. "Come here, rub all you want!"
The two girls shared a laughing hug.
Soon after, the boarding announcement echoed through the terminal, and they boarded the plane together.
...
Two hours later, they touched down in Xijing.
Once the plane came to a complete stop, Xu Yanxia turned on her phone, only to be flooded with several messages from Lu Jingming:
[I was in a meeting with the shareholders just now, couldn't check my phone.]
[Received the business card, thank you, baby!!!]
[Have you taken off yet?]
[I'm going to catch a flight in a bit too, so my phone will be off for a while. Don't worry.]
[Miss you.]
...
Xu Yanxia was a bit surprised. He had just returned to Rong City from Jingbei yesterday, and he was going on another business trip today?
She tried calling him, and sure enough, his phone was turned off.
She had no choice but to reply with an "OK" before getting off the plane with Ye Shu.
By the time they left the airport and made their way to their hotel, the sky was already starting to darken.
In mid-November, the weather in the north was already quite chilly. The trees lining the streets had shed all their leaves, leaving only bare branches.
However, the imposing architecture and the various aromas wafting through the air told her that this ancient, thousand-year-old city was filled with local customs completely different from those in Rong City.
Xu Yanxia changed into thicker clothes and, along with her colleagues, set out to explore the streets and eat barbecue under the guidance of their local tour guide, Ye Shu.
After filling their stomachs and taking a stroll along the city walls, it was already approaching ten o'clock at night by the time they returned to the hotel.
Since they had to get up early for filming the next day, the group wished each other goodnight and returned to their respective rooms.
Xu Yanxia had just changed her shoes and taken off her coat, ready to take a shower, when she suddenly heard a knock on the door.
"Who is it?"
She immediately asked.
From outside the door came a very familiar, smiling voice: "Me."
Startled, she hurried to open the door, only to find Lu Jingming standing right outside.
Their eyes met. He wore a smile on his face, but she was completely stunned.
"Why are you..."
Before she could even finish her sentence, he pulled her into his arms and carried her into the room.
With a click, the room door shut behind them.
Immediately after, he lowered his head and captured her lips.
It was an unbridled, dizzying, and passionate kiss.
It continued until her body could hardly bear his weight, forcing her to step back and lean against the wall of the entryway.
Only when she was nearly out of breath did he reluctantly let her go.
Resting his forehead against hers, he murmured, "I finally get to kiss my baby."
Xu Yanxia tried to catch her breath, finally able to finish the question she had started. "Why did you come over so suddenly?"
He smiled and said, "I just missed you too much to bear."
"Really?"
Xu Yanxia couldn't help but smile too.
"I'm right here in front of you, how could it be fake?"
Lu Jingming said gently, leaning down to peck her lips again. Then he smiled and added, "It's the weekend anyway. I have to spend it somewhere, so why not come see you?"
True, it was already Friday.
Xu Yanxia smiled and asked, "Have you had dinner then? If I had known you were coming, I would have brought you some takeout. The barbecue place we went to earlier was really good."
"Then you can take me there tomorrow."
Lu Jingming said, "I ate on the flight here."
"Alright."
Xu Yanxia took his hand, leading him further into the room to sit on the sofa by the window. She asked, "Have you contacted Feng Yiheng yet?"
She wondered if he was also planning to meet with him during this trip.
She didn't forget to mention, "Our filming schedule for the next two days is pretty packed, though. I'm not sure if he'll have any free time."
Lu Jingming replied, "I've already contacted him. The personnel he recommended have already departed from Germany and will arrive tomorrow night, so it's the perfect time to meet them."
"That's good,"
Xu Yanxia nodded. "Coming over so quickly shows they are quite sincere."
"Of course,"
Lu Jingming said. "You have to realize that once they successfully partner with us, not only can they break through the risks of American technological monopolies, but they can also share the incremental dividends of the domestic market. With so many benefits, why wouldn't they do it?"
Saying this, he took her hand again and sighed with admiration, "As expected, the lady boss is the most capable! The people from the project and investment departments tried to contact them for so long and couldn't even get a business card, but you managed to get it."
He then pulled her onto his lap and kissed her forehead.
He asked, "By the way, how did your talks regarding the ingredients go?"
Xu Yanxia replied, "A partnership is definitely doable, and it would indeed bring a massive advantage to our brand promotion. Leaving everything else aside, once we are tied to them, food critics, high-end magazines, and top food influencers will proactively come to review our restaurant. It might even make it easier for us to earn Michelin stars."
"Moreover, their ingredient quality has been incredibly stable for years, so we hardly need to worry about any risks there. Plus, a supplier like them would never partner with too many restaurants in the same region simultaneously. This means we can practically crush any other competitors in our lane."
"In the future, whether we open branches in major cities or even expand overseas, we won't have to worry about a lack of customers."
"That's wonderful."
Lu Jingming had just nodded when she shifted the subject, saying, "But there are problems too."
"First of all, our teppanyaki completely doesn't need their ingredients. And Jiushan has already adjusted its approach, no longer only selling expensive dishes like before, but their ingredient costs are still there. If we collaborate with them through Jiushan, we either have to adjust prices or squeeze our profit margins."
"Especially since we've been using domestic ingredients perfectly fine. If we suddenly change our route and adjust prices, it's very likely to ruin the reputation we've worked so hard to build."
"So,"
Lu Jingming thought for a moment and said, "We should create another restaurant brand, specifically to collaborate with them on luxury ingredients?"
"Exactly."
Xu Yanxia nodded. "This is the best way. There won't be competition among the brands, but they can drive each other's growth."
"That's great!"
Lu Jingming immediately added, "The three brands will each have their own consumer groups, and we can leverage their promotional effects. It's a very good strategic route."
"We can have the company set up the project as soon as we get back."
"That's what I thought too."
Xu Yanxia smiled and told him, "I actually have a selfish motive."
"What selfish motive?"
Lu Jingming asked immediately.
She said, "Through our collaboration with them, we can learn a lot about their operations. In the future, we might even be able to build our own luxury ingredient supply chain, just like them."
"After all, the domestic high-end ingredient market is developing rapidly, and food is the most important thing for the people. The dining industry should always have a promising future."
"Not bad,"
Lu Jingming nodded with a smile. "Since the lady boss has such a grand yet realistic ideal, I definitely have to support it."
"Our ideals are all very grand,"
Xu Yanxia also smiled and said, "Because we both have great foresight."
He hummed in agreement. "I knew you only had eyes for me."
Saying that, he leaned in to kiss her.
"Wait a minute,"
Xu Yanxia blocked him and said, "Make it clear, did you see some messy pictures on the internet again and start letting your imagination run wild?"
"I did not."
He then said, "I did see them, but my imagination didn't run wild. I have a lot of confidence in myself, and even more confidence in my baby."
As he spoke, he took advantage of her smile to kiss her on the lips again.
Then he told her, "Let me share some news with you."
"What news?"
Xu Yanxia asked.
He said, "The current wife of that old Count Meyer is actually Chinese."
"Really?"
Xu Yanxia froze for a moment, then hurriedly asked, "Then is this Feng Yiheng the old Count's child?"
"To be exact, he is the old Count's stepson."
Lu Jingming said, "According to the information we found this afternoon, he followed his mother when she remarried this old Count."
"No wonder then..."
Xu Yanxia looked like she had suddenly realized something.
Lu Jingming immediately grew curious and said, "No wonder what?"
Xu Yanxia said, "When we talked at noon, he revealed that his mother was a member of the Meyer family. I thought he was mixed race."
This time, it was Lu Jingming's turn to be surprised.
"He even told you that?"
Taking the initiative to tell his girlfriend such a private matter, could this guy surnamed Feng really be scheming something against his silly little baby?
