After sending it, Jiang Zongyan immediately realized that inviting a girl to a hotel right off the bat was rather impolite.
He quickly changed his wording.
J: [How about a café downtown? I can help you go over the documents.]
“……”
No reply came right away.
J explained: [Don’t read too much into it.]
Pfft.
Thorny Little Rose: [Fine. I’ll come find you after work.]
After sending the message, Zhou Suisui continued looking over the documents.
“Miss, who messaged you? You’re smiling so happily,” Fu Jie teased.
“Ah, really? Was I smiling?”
The curve of Zhou Suisui’s lips froze. She raised a hand and touched her face.
Fu Jie didn’t continue with the subject. “We won’t be able to finish going through all this in a short while. Leave early this afternoon. I’ll stay and look over more of it.”
Thinking about her appointment with Jiang Zongyan, Zhou Suisui said nothing more and nodded.
“Then I’ll leave it to you.”
With Jiang Zongyan’s help, she should be able to finish checking the documents before the weekend and enjoy her plans with Jiang Ruitian without worry.
Six o’clock that afternoon.
As soon as the time came, Zhou Suisui began packing up. She put a stack of documents into her bag, then picked up the tablet she used for work and prepared to leave.
Zhou Sui’an looked up at her in confusion.
“Little Sis, are you heading home?”
Zhou Suisui froze.
Oh no. If he found out she was meeting Jiang Zongyan, her brother would definitely be angry.
“I…”
She was racking her brain for an excuse when Jiang Ruitian’s sweet voice suddenly came from outside the door.
“Hi, Brother Sui’an. I’m here to pick Suisui up after work.”
Seeing that it was Jiang Ruitian, Zhou Sui’an’s expression softened slightly.
Looks like he had been overthinking it.
“So it’s Tiantian. You two should head home, then. Be careful on the way.”
“Okay! And Brother Sui’an, don’t work too hard. Go home early.”
Jiang Ruitian’s words were as sweet as honey. She grabbed Zhou Suisui and pulled her out of the office.
“Tiantian, what are you doing here?”
“I just told you—I’m here to pick you up.”
Zhou Suisui was stunned. “Pick me up? We didn’t make plans, did we?”
At that, Jiang Ruitian winked at her and teased meaningfully, “You know perfectly well who you made plans with, don’t you?”
“Ahem.”
Her thoughts exposed, Zhou Suisui’s snow-white face instantly flushed.
So Jiang Zongyan had told Jiang Ruitian about their secret meeting and asked her to come to the company to pick Zhou Suisui up.
She had thought it would be just the two of them. She never expected Jiang Ruitian to come along too.
And she had even tried to hide it just now. The realization made her feel incredibly awkward.
—
“Half-Sugar Time” Café.
Jiang Ruitian led Zhou Suisui up to the second floor and stopped in front of a quiet private room.
Zhou Suisui swept her gaze around the room but didn’t see Jiang Zongyan anywhere. She secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Jiang Ruitian placed her handbag and tablet on the desk nearby, then said, “Suisui, wait here for a moment. There’s a newly opened cake shop next door. I’m going to buy some.”
“I’ll go with you…”
Jiang Ruitian hurriedly pulled her down into a seat. “You stay here. I’ll go.”
Oh, my dear bestie, you can’t come with me. I’m counting on your money for my spending allowance.
With that, she quickly left the private room.
Watching her retreating back, Zhou Suisui raised an eyebrow.
What were these siblings up to?
Where was Jiang Zongyan?
Whatever. She took out the documents and decided to look through them while waiting for Tiantian.
Just then, footsteps sounded outside. The door, which had only just been closed, was opened from the outside.
She paused and instinctively looked toward the entrance.
A tall figure pushed the door open and walked in.
His posture was straight and his stride long.
The simple white shirt and black trousers looked as though they had been made for a model on a runway when worn by him.
Jiang Zongyan entered the room and closed the door behind him.
“Have you been waiting long?”
“No, I just got here.”
Jiang Zongyan sat down naturally beside her and glanced down at the documents in front of her.
“Would you like to eat something first?”
He called over a server, opened the ordering tablet, and placed it in front of Zhou Suisui.
“Order whatever you want.”
This café served more than coffee. It also offered a selection of food, all small, delicate, and beautifully presented.
Zhou Suisui ordered a few things.
She pushed the menu tablet toward Jiang Zongyan. “You order.”
“You order for me. Just an Americano is fine.”
After Zhou Suisui placed the order, she handed the tablet back to the server.
“Of course. Please wait a moment.”
The server accepted it with a smile and left the room.
Now, only the two of them remained.
For some reason, they had often been alone together in the past, but never had she felt as nervous as she did now.
The faint scent of cool cedarwood drifted over from beside her.
Zhou Suisui felt as though even the air had grown slightly heated.
“Zhang Qiming is the director of your company’s investment department, right?”
Jiang Zongyan glanced at her and spoke first, breaking the awkward silence.
Zhou Suisui looked surprised. “You know him?”
“I’ve met him a few times before. He’s quite slippery.”
Jiang Zongyan picked up the documents and casually flipped through a few pages.
Most of Zhou Group’s projects had passed through Zhang Qiming’s hands. He had worked at Zhou Group for more than twenty years and was practically a senior veteran of the company.
Zhou Suisui nodded. “You’re pretty good at reading people.”
Jiang Zongyan analyzed the situation. “He owns shares in Zhou Group. An old fox like him won’t let himself suffer a loss.”
“What do you mean?”
“Tianyu Group must have offered him something more attractive. Did you investigate his private assets?”
“We did. His wife is actually quite frugal…”
Before she could finish, the man beside her let out a quiet, ambiguous laugh.
“What are you laughing at?”
Zhou Suisui froze, feeling a little embarrassed by his laughter.
“Investigating his wife won’t help. You need to look into the women he keeps outside his marriage.”
“……”
Zhou Suisui hadn’t expected Jiang Zongyan to know about things like that.
“How do you know?”
At that, Jiang Zongyan turned to look at her.
The moment their eyes met, he suddenly gave her a wicked smile.
“All the men in this circle are like that…”
As soon as the words left his mouth, he realized how they sounded and quickly amended them.
“I mean, I despise men like that.”
“Pfft.”
Realizing she had let herself laugh out loud, Zhou Suisui quickly closed her mouth and changed the subject.
“Am I causing you too much trouble?”
Jiang Zongyan looked at the girl’s bright, flickering eyes. He raised his hand and gently ruffled her fluffy hair, his touch indulgent.
“I don’t mind spending the entire night on you.”
The tips of Zhou Suisui’s ears grew hot.
What had they put in the café’s private room?
Why was it so hot?
Ahem.
The next second, she forced herself to stay calm and shifted her gaze to the documents on the table.
“I’m working now. Don’t distract me.”
Jiang Zongyan saw right through her attempt to act composed, and the corners of his lips lifted slightly.
Just then, the server brought their food to the table.
Zhou Suisui was genuinely a little hungry.
Jiang Zongyan said, “Eat first. Fill your stomach before you get back to work.”
Zhou Suisui immediately set down the documents and pulled a small piece of bread toward herself.
It was freshly baked toast topped with several slices of lightly browned cheese. It looked and smelled delicious.
Jiang Zongyan picked up the coffee beside him and took a sip. Then, in one smooth motion, he took the documents she had set down and began reading them.
Under the light, the lines of his profile were sharp, smooth, and well-defined. His long lashes lowered, casting a faint shadow beneath his eyes.
He read with great concentration, his brows slightly furrowed as his fingertips glided lightly over the document.
Zhou Suisui ate while quietly watching him from the side.
His thoughts were clear and methodical, and he quickly circled several problematic points.
Watching him work so seriously, Zhou Suisui found herself captivated before she even realized it.
No wonder he was known as a business prodigy. His sharp eye and keen mind were truly astonishing.
After finishing her food, Zhou Suisui threw herself into work as well.
But before long, sleepiness swept over her.
She probably had not rested well the night before, had skipped her midday nap, and had eaten too much just now.
Wave after wave of drowsiness washed over her.
She yawned, her head bobbing little by little.
“There’s a problem here. Take a look…”
Jiang Zongyan turned a page of the documents and looked over, only to discover that someone had fallen asleep with her head on the desk.
“...”
