Chapter 13: Keeping Male Virtue

After the interview, YunJing seemed to be brewing a downpour.

At 4pm, the sky was dark and black with an expected weave of rain and mist.

The Secretary General politely sent Qiao Yu away, reminding Lu Jiayan of the rest of his journey.

In the evening we had a meeting with a French client, and dinner was arranged at YunShuiXuan, an authentic YunJing cuisine.

YunShuiXuan is located in YunJing East, at the back of a commercial plaza, in a quiet and private area.

The client was represented by five people, headed by a mixed-race French-Chinese man and three translators. Lu Jiayan speaks French very well, so the accompanying translation assistants were not of much use, and after a pleasant conversation, each took his seat.

When you come to China, you have to follow the customs of the country and avoid the culture of drinking at the dinner table.

The client, who is of mixed Chinese and French descent, is very interested in the cultures of both countries, and after a few glasses of wine, he is like a chatterbox asking Lu Jiayan questions. Lu Jiayan has a good temperament when it comes to business dealings, he has studied abroad and is very knowledgeable about the local culture and traditions.

When there is more talk, there is more wine.

By the time Lu Jiayan reacts, he is slightly drunk.

The client's representative was not satisfied and said he would like to meet Lu Jiayan again on another day.

Lu Jiayan then verbally agreed to this in French, although whether there would be a private rendezvous would be another matter.

After all, none of the capitalists' words can be trusted as much as their sincerity.

As we emerged from the YunShuiXuan Public House, the rain that had been brewing in YunJing all afternoon came pouring down.

The rain came so suddenly that many people were unprepared and the shopping streets were packed with people, even the bus stops were not exempt.

Qiao Yu had just had dinner with someone and was huddled at the entrance to the shopping street, unconcerned about the rain that had pelted the puddles and wet the hem of her skirt.

She looked at her phone anxiously, her inner speechlessness had reached the extreme. The queue for a certain map software taxi had reached more than two hundred people, and there was no way she could get back without two hours.

Qiao Yu takes another look at the weather forecast on her phone.

Good lord, this heavy rain is going to fall until 12pm.

Just as she was getting bored like an ant on a hot pan, a car burst into view.

Because of the traffic jam, the Maybach was motionless in the traffic, looking dignified even in the luxury car-strewn shopping street.

What makes Qiao Yu even happier is that she knows the car.

As I exited Sheng Jia's headquarters this afternoon, I saw the number plate from afar, an arrogant series of consecutive numbers, and it was self-evident who was in the car.

Qiao Yu would never have knocked on Lu Jiayan's car window if the situation hadn't been so dire.

But if she had to stand for three to four hours in her high heels in a crowded shopping street, she'd rather take the risk of catching a ride with Lu Jiayan!

Qiao Yu plucked up enough courage to knock on the car window.

A few seconds later, the window came down and there in the back seat was Lu Jiayan's handsome face, which, even after having seen it only that afternoon, still put Qiao Yu in a trance for a moment.

"Mr. Lu, sorry to bother you. It's raining heavily outside and I can't get a taxi, can you please give me a lift if it's convenient?"

Lu Jiayan's demeanour doesn't look much different from the afternoon, with a faint detachment.

Qiao Yu suddenly regretted a little the impulsive decision she had made while waiting.

Where did she get the confidence that Lu Jiayan would let her in the car for the sake of the torrential rain outside?

Surprisingly, just as Qiao Yu thought he was going to be rejected, Lu Jiayan opened the car door.

She heard her heart beat heavily, said "thank you" and then carefully got into the car with the hem of her skirt.

Qiao Yu couldn't believe that he had actually caught a ride with Lu Jiayan until after he was seated.

The other party seemed a little uncomfortable and remained silent with little expression, occasionally rubbing his brow.

Qiao Yu was too breathless to leave the room, typing exclamation marks frantically in the chat box with his brother Qiao Yan.

The story of how he got a ride with Lu Jiayan is recounted from beginning to end.

Qiao Yan: [?

[Sister, what overbearing little romance is in the beginning? You're not falling in love, are you?

Qiao Yu: [......]

[People have wives.]

Qiao Yu doesn't care about Qiao Yan's nonsense, probably because her brother has been a star in too many romantic dramas and has taken real life for an idol drama.

It was only when my eyes lingered on Qiao Yan's last line that I couldn't help but feel a bit moved.

After all, Lu Jiayan actually did let her get into the car ...... although what she had just done was close to moral compulsion, and with all that rain, Lu Jiayan couldn't really let her stand in the rain all the time.

But Qiao Yu still can't help thinking outside the box, so does that mean he still has some impression of himself?

As she was thinking, Lu Jiayan's cold voice rang out, "Ms. Qiao, do you have a tape recorder."

For those who work in interviews, they basically always carry a few recorders in their bags.

But she didn't know what Lu Jiayan was asking about the recorder at this time.

Qiao Yu nodded and held out the recorder, "Mr. Lu, are you using the recorder?"

Lu Jiayan nodded without expression and gestured to the pen, "Is it convenient to open it."

Qiao Yu :?

Lu Jiayan said slowly and deliberately, "From now on, please keep the recorder on and do not turn it off."

He rubbed his brow and tilted his head slightly towards Yao Shen's position on the passenger side, " Yao Shen . Give the second youngest a report on the road every ten minutes."

At this moment, Lu Jiayan suddenly remembered Sheng Mingzhi's arrogant and capricious temper.

If this little girl knew that he had sent another woman home in the middle of the night, he would be able to make something out of it.

Just in case, he added with a related laugh.

"Remember to send him the location."

Qiao Yu, on the sidelines, was already stunned by the flurry of action.

It didn't even register that Lu Jiayan was talking to her.

"I'm sorry." The man's voice was still warm, but Qiao Yu felt a slight chill.

It's as if the small, unseen part of her mind that was inside Lu Jiayan's car when she came out of the rain and knocked on the window has been completely seen by the man.

Lu Jiayan's tone was even colder than the rain outside the window: "My lover is checking up on me, so I hope you don't mind."

-

Sheng Mingzhi has just come out of the recording studio and received ten messages in a row on his phone.

It was all Yao Shen who sent him the location, one in ten minutes, and dutifully broadcast Lu Jiayan's itinerary.

Sheng Mingzhi :?

It is not Yao Shen's initiative, but Lu Jiayan's.

[Is he sick?

Sheng Mingzhi Speechless: [What's the point of sending me the location? I'm not interested in your boss's itinerary unless he's had a car accident and needs me to go to the hospital in person to sign a voluntary waiver for surgery (soybean smile)]

The young master has not been angry for a few days, and Yao Shen's actions have certainly intensified his anger.

After sending this message, Sheng Mingzhi simply sat down and blacked out Yao Shen as well.

-

I was instantly hit in the face just after I said that my lover was checking the post strictly.

Lu Jiayan paused after learning from Yao Shen that the other person had also been blackballed.

Then without changing his face, he spoke in a calm manner, "You see. I told you he'd be jealous."

A cocky arrogance that it's a good thing I had the foresight to see it coming.

Yao Shen: ......

That, boss, I think Second Young Master might, not be jealous?

Also, now that we've both been blackballed by Younger, have you thought about how to contact Younger next?

As a subordinate, the boss's business is his business.

The same applies to the boss's personal affairs. After all, every time the young duke quarrels with Mr. Lu, it's them, the salaried ones, who are unlucky.

Yao Shen spoke with difficulty, ready to remind Lu Jiayan of the truth: "Mr. Lu, there's something I don't know if I should say ......"

Lu Jiayan raised an eyebrow and glanced obliquely at Yao Shen, threateningly, chillingly, "Speak to your year-end bonus."

Yao Shen: ......

Again, I don't think there's much to say!

As the Maybach eases into the underground garage of One XiShan, Lu Jiayan feels slightly more intoxicated as the red wine takes hold.

Yao Shen took him to the living room before leaving, and before he did so, he thoughtfully placed the recorder on the coffee table.

Recorded non-stop for an hour, every few minutes was accompanied by Yao Shen's grand voice announcement.

It could be described as an alternative way of embodying contemporary cyber-male virtues.

Lu Jiayan leans lazily on the sofa, his eyes falling out of the window.

The rain continues to pour down and, perhaps because of the wine, Lu Jiayan thinks of Sheng Mingzhi more often than not tonight.

So often that he even surprised himself.

He remembers the first time he met Sheng Mingzhi, also on such a rainy day.

Sheng Mingzhi was only twelve years old at the time, but far thinner in physique than other children his age. He was like a porcelain doll that could not speak, beautiful and unlike a boy, silent and introverted.

Only those little fox-like eyes, which looked over, revealed the emotions of his heart.

Lu Jiayan was amused when the words 'silent' and 'introvert' came back to him.

Now Sheng Mingzhi this little ancestor where still with these two words side, I do not know in the middle of those years do not see, he went somewhere to train a temper, arrogant and domineering very level, lively over the head.

Lu Jiayan's mind was struck again by the performance of Mr. Sheng Jr. at the 10,000-strong concert that day.

The silence and solitude of the unlit living room is now punctuated by Lu Jiayan's low, muffled laughter.

Perhaps he had been a little misinformed about Sheng Mingzhi?

After three years of not seeing him, he seems more interesting than he thought he would be.

-

Sheng Mingzhi returned home to a scene like this.

Lu Jiayan is half leaning on the sofa, not knowing if he has fallen asleep or not, not moving at all.

Having not seen her for a week, Sheng Mingzhi didn't expect to see her cheap husband when she returned.

The living room is ridiculously quiet and Sheng Mingzhi's keen sense of smell picks up a hint of alcohol in the air.

He also wondered how Lu Jiayan, a man who was so strict with his every word and action, could fall asleep on the sofa.

It turned out to be alcoholic.

Sheng Mingzhi muttered something about how awful it smelled and tried to dump Lu Jiayan Gu to go upstairs by himself.

But outside the window there was a thunderclap, lightning fell, and a chill in the air that stopped Sheng Mingzhi in his tracks.

The temperature in XiShan One Villa is heated, but you'll catch a cold on the sofa overnight.

Sheng Mingzhi's heart softened for a moment, and he reluctantly helped Lu Jiayan back to his room because he wanted to give the dog man a better body to earn money to support him later, and for his own long-term prosperity.

Just as he crouched down, Sheng Mingzhi's eyes involuntarily fell on Lu Jiayan's face.

In the warm yellow light, the man's skin was so delicate that no imperfections could be seen this close, his nose was high and deeply defined, and his eyelashes were incredibly long, falling in a fan-shaped shadow on his cheeks.

Lu Jiayan is actually quite handsome when he's not talking - why does he have a mouth when he's so handsome?

Sheng Mingzhi was so absorbed in watching, and his mind so active, that he was not prepared to be caught in any way.

That is, until his transient release is broken by Lu Jiayan's voice.

Once again there was movement in the living room.

The man's eyes were still closed, but his tone was lazy and trailing and owed.

"Been peeking at me for so long and you're not ready to kiss."