Chapter Twelve: Ninety-Nine Roses, So Romantic

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Wen Jianan was momentarily stunned. For some reason, she suddenly felt so nervous that she could hardly breathe, and she didn’t even have the courage to tap on the little red notification dot. Chen Ling and Xiao Jiang hurried over to urge her on, and she mechanically opened it.

“The winning company is Miancheng Feidu Advertising Company...” Xiao Jiang read each word carefully. After finishing, he suddenly realized something, let out a sharp scream, grabbed Wen Jianan’s shoulder, and shook her wildly. “Ah! Sister Nan, we won! We really won!”

Chen Ling leaned in and confirmed several times: “That’s right, it’s us!”

She and Xiao Jiang clasped each other’s hands tightly in celebration, while Wen Jianan stood there in a daze, her mind overwhelmed by joy, utterly stunned.

It really was them...

Could it actually be them?

It was incredible.

Wen Jianan had already prepared herself for failure, but who would have thought that among so many competing companies, they would emerge victorious.

“Sister Nan! Are you so happy you’re dazed?” Xiao Jiang grabbed Wen Jianan’s hand, trying to bring her back to her senses.

At that moment, a message arrived on Wen Jianan’s phone. She glanced at it—it was a congratulatory message from Cheng He.

Wen Jianan picked up her phone and walked toward the break room.

Behind her, Chen Ling and Xiao Jiang shared the good news with all their colleagues, and the office erupted in cheers.

Only Manager Zhang looked displeased.

Wen Jianan entered the break room and dialed Cheng He’s number. He answered quickly, his tone warm and gentle, with a hint of a smile.

“Congratulations, Team Leader Wen. Your wish has come true.”

Wen Jianan recalled the first time she met Cheng He, just a month ago. Back then, she had thrown all her effort into the project and later found herself at a dead end. She never imagined that now, after all that darkness, there was finally a glimmer of hope.

She was so happy that she didn’t quite know what expression to wear or what tone to use, her voice unconsciously trembling with emotion.

“Thank you.”

Cheng He sensed something and joked, “Next time we meet, you have to let me treat you to a meal.”

Wen Jianan readily agreed, then hesitated and asked a question that had been on her mind, hoping for an answer from Cheng He.

“Director Cheng, you didn’t intervene in this project, did you?”

“Hm? Of course not. What are you thinking? I haven’t been responsible for this project for a long time. I haven’t even touched it.”

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Cheng He’s frankness eased Wen Jianan’s worries and made her even happier.

After all, winning the project on their own merits gave her greater confidence.

Of course, all the colleagues who participated deserved credit as well.

After chatting with Cheng He, Wen Jianan hung up and was about to announce to her colleagues that she would treat them to dinner that evening, when she noticed Wei Ming walking in from outside.

His hands were clasped behind his back, and his face wore a meaningful smile.

His secretary, the receptionist, and the HR staff followed behind him, all with similar expressions.

Wen Jianan froze, an inexplicable sense of foreboding washing over her.

Sure enough, the next moment, Wei Ming approached her, produced a bouquet of flowers hidden behind his back, and offered them to her with both hands.

Ninety-nine roses—so romantic.

“Jianan, there are some things I’ve kept in my heart for many years. I thought companionship was the most enduring confession of love, and that one day you’d understand. But you’ve always been focused on work, so I have no choice but to take the initiative and be the one to break the silence.”

Unconsciously, a crowd gathered around them—colleagues from various departments had come out to watch the spectacle. When Wei Ming said this, the crowd covered their mouths and erupted into cheers.

Taking a deep breath, Wei Ming gathered his courage and said loudly to Wen Jianan, “Jianan, I like you. I have for many years. Shall we give it a try? I promise I’ll treat you well!”

After a few seconds of stunned silence, Wen Jianan’s face flushed fiercely—not with happiness, but with a rising anger.

She didn’t understand what game Wei Ming was playing. She had confronted him several times before, and he had promised to respect her wishes. But now...

Wen Jianan felt he was doing this on purpose, aiming to claim the moral high ground and, amidst the crowd’s cheers, force her to agree.

She had seen others’ romantic proposals before and thought they were so sweet. Now that she was experiencing it herself, she realized there was nothing sweet about it—only the awkwardness and anger born of being coerced by morality.

If she were a young girl, she might have been caught off guard and not known how to respond. But Wen Jianan was no longer young. She was rational and brave enough to say no.

But since Wei Ming was her boss, and they would inevitably see each other every day, she couldn’t let him lose face in front of everyone. So Wen Jianan smiled faintly.

Anyone who knew her well would recognize this was not a happy smile—it was cold and tinged with anger.

The crowd’s noise slowly died down, and the atmosphere turned tense.

Lowering her voice, Wen Jianan said, “Boss, I appreciate your admiration, and thank you for your feelings, but I’m sorry—I cannot accept.”

“Jianan…”

“I don’t know what I did to give you this illusion. If I did, please tell me, and I will change.”

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Wei Ming’s smile stiffened, but he did not back down. Instead, he tried to persuade Wen Jianan to cooperate.

“We can talk about this privately, but now so many people are watching. Can’t we just try? Three months, or even one month, and if it’s not right, then...”

“Boss, what do you take me for?” Wen Jianan interrupted him, her expression turning cold. “Precisely because I know it’s not right, there’s no need to try. I think you should calm down.”

A look of embarrassment flashed across Wei Ming’s face.

Wanting to help him save face, Wen Jianan took the bouquet from his hands and called out to the surrounding crowd, “Today we successfully won the Quantum project. Mr. Wei is very happy and bought ninety-nine roses to celebrate! Everyone, take one rose and share in the joy!”

Coincidentally, their company had exactly ninety-nine employees from top to bottom. Including Mr. Wei, that made one hundred people in total.

“Team Leader Chen, Xiao Jiang, come help distribute them.”

Wen Jianan handed the large bouquet to the two of them. When she turned around, she saw Liang Yuxiu and Peng Fei standing at the door.

She didn’t know when they had arrived. Peng Fei looked astonished, while Liang Yuxiu had his hands in his pockets, his expression indifferent but his eyes glinting with disdain, as if he were a detached onlooker.

Wen Jianan bit her lip, not bothering to care how Liang Yuxiu had shown up in Miancheng again.

She went to the restroom while Wei Ming stormed off with a dark expression.

This brief and abrupt episode ended like a farce.

When Wen Jianan returned, the office had returned to normal, though people’s eyes still subtly watched her.

Wen Jianan had completely lost the mood to celebrate their victory, but she still promised to treat the entire company to milk tea on Monday.

Privately, she also treated Chen Ling from the Planning Department, Yu Xinran from Marketing, their juniors, and Xiao Jiang to a small gathering.

Wen Jianan created a group chat to gather their opinions; everyone else suggested going to a bar.

Worried about Chen Ling’s situation, Wen Jianan hesitated, but Chen Ling smiled and said, “It’s okay. My mom’s taking care of my daughter tonight. Winning such a big project is a reason to celebrate.”

“All right.”

After deciding, Wen Jianan searched online for some well-rated bars and posted the options in the group chat for a vote. They finally chose a bar called “Luna.”