Chapter 62: The Handsome Man at the Hot Pot Restaurant

Wen Jianan and Li Yuan exchanged a glance, momentarily stunned and unsure how to respond.

Since she had already agreed to ride in Li Yuan's car, it would look bad if she abandoned Li Yuan the moment Liang Jing spoke up, as if she were desperately trying to curry favor with the boss.

Liang Jing, however, did not think much of it. She simply had some work-related topics she wanted to discuss with Wen Jianan in private.

Sensing Wen Jianan's dilemma, Li Yuan took the initiative and said, "It's fine, Jianan. Riding in Sister Jing's car is the same."

And so, Wen Jianan ended up in Liang Jing's car.

Along the way, Liang Jing asked casually, "How is it? Are you getting used to everything lately?"

Wen Jianan had started handling business operations on her third day at work. Although the work intensity was much more compact than her previous time at Fidu, she was still able to manage.

Besides, being busy was a good thing; it left less time for her mind to wander.

Wen Jianan had never worried about failing to adapt, and reality proved her right.

Her only worry was the previous incident at Quantum. She had been concerned it might affect her employment, but to her surprise, Liang Jing knew about it without asking too many questions, only mentioning that she had matters well in hand.

Wen Jianan guessed that Liang Jing might have verified the situation through certain channels or methods, though she didn't know the specifics, and it was none of her business anyway.

She had already started leading projects, and the most important thing right now was to deliver some results at the new company and win people's trust.

Wen Jianan nodded affirmatively. "I've adapted quite well, everything is great."

Liang Jing glanced at her, looking entirely unsurprised, and chuckled lightly. "That's good. Handle the two small projects on your hand for now; there might be a bigger project coming up in a while, so get prepared."

Her tone was relaxed, as if everything was a piece of cake, but Wen Jianan couldn't help feeling nervous.

She wasn't worried about her own capability or failing to handle a large project; she was only concerned that the results and performance might fall short of expectations.

On second thought, however, she realized she just needed to do her best and leave the rest to fate—there was no need to borrow trouble through premature anxiety.

Wen Jianan took a deep breath and gave Liang Jing a more resolute response: "I'm ready, and I'll do my absolute best."

"No need to be so serious, relax. Just consider this a casual chat after getting off work."

Liang Jing said this while driving.

Wen Jianan discovered that despite her polished and meticulous appearance on the surface, her supervisor also had an easygoing side in private.

So far, she hadn't encountered any difficult colleagues, which was the most comforting part.

"Mm." Wen Jianan replied with a smile.

They arrived at a hotpot restaurant, which had been chosen by group vote.

After Liang Jing parked, Li Yuan and the others arrived shortly after.

They had already called ahead to reserve a table, and as they walked in, a waiter stepped forward to guide them.

They sat down, ordered, and food was served. As they dipped food into the boiling broth and chatted away, exchanging casual remarks, the conversational ice finally broke. Everyone seemed to shed their walking-dead corporate masks and become flesh-and-blood human beings once again.

The numbing, spicy, and savory aroma of the hotpot combined with the icy chill of the cola delivered a dual stimulation to their taste buds.

To accommodate the others, the hotpot base was ordered extra spicy and numbing. Although there was a tomato-flavored section, Wen Jianan tried the spicy side out of sheer curiosity, only to be overwhelmed by the burning heat, leaving her with tears and a runny nose.

She hurriedly chugged several gulps of iced cola and then used a tissue to blow her nose, quickly turning her nose red.

Soon, her lips felt burning hot as well, seeming to swell up slightly.

This sight startled Li Yuan. "Oh gosh, Jianan, stop eating that."

Liang Jing also chimed in, "Yeah, don't push yourself."

Wen Jianan laughed awkwardly. "I'm not forcing myself. I saw you all eating with such gusto and wanted to try it too. Who knew I was such a lightweight."

"You're a southerner, after all," Li Yuan noted.

As her voice trailed off, Wen Jianan couldn't help panting lightly. She looked a bit foolish, yet undeniably cute.

Just as Liang Jing let out a chuckle, her peripheral vision seemed to catch something. She turned her head, and the smile on her face instantly froze.

The speed of this expression change left everyone completely baffled.

Following Liang Jing's gaze, they saw a tall, slender man standing not far away. He wore black-rimmed glasses, and his style leaned toward minimalist and sunny. His hair was cut very short, approaching a buzz cut.

At first glance, he looked like a gentle, youthful heartthrob, but after a few more looks, that impression vanished.

The man's handsome appearance instantly made the female colleagues in the group flutter with excitement.

Seeing that he was also staring in their direction, the female colleagues involuntarily smiled at him.

Just as someone was mustering the courage to strike up a conversation, they noticed an even more breathtakingly handsome man appearing beside him.

This person made even Wen Jianan freeze in her tracks.

Because it was none other than Liang Yuxiu.

Neither side expected to run into each other here, and they stood frozen in unison for a long moment.

Just as Wen Jianan and Liang Jing recovered their wits, Liang Yuxiu and the other man had already walked up to their table.

"What a coincidence."

These words were spoken by the man beside Liang Yuxiu, who took the initiative to greet them.

Wen Jianan keenly noticed that his gaze was unmistakably fixed on Liang Jing.

Her eyes rolled slightly; for a moment, Wen Jianan pushed aside her awkwardness and tension over Liang Yuxiu's sudden appearance, intuitively sensing there was a story between Liang Jing and this young man.

However, since it was someone else's personal business, Wen Jianan didn't want to pry too much and quickly withdrew her gaze.

Liang Jing also responded to the man at that moment: "Oh yes, what a coincidence. President Liang, Director Zhou, you're here for dinner too."

The person addressed as Director Zhou was named Zhou Xu. He was the technical director of Quantum, as well as Liang Yuxiu's high school classmate, having joined Quantum not long ago at Liang Yuxiu's invitation.

Zhou Xu stared intently at Liang Jing, his eyes filled with undisguised wildness mixed with a trace of pitiful vulnerability, like a wounded wolf cub begging for pity.

Liang Jing chose to ignore him and looked instead at Liang Yuxiu.

Liang Yuxiu's gaze was also just withdrawing from Wen Jianan's face. He gave a slight nod.

"Then we won't disturb your meal," Liang Jing said politely.

In truth, however, it was obvious to everyone whose meal was disrupting whose.

Liang Jing was driving them away in a roundabout way.

Wen Jianan knew that Ogilvy and Quantum had business partnerships, but she hadn't expected Liang Jing to dare treat a client with such an attitude.

Wen Jianan swallowed hard and reached out to tug at the corner of Liang Jing's skirt.

Surprisingly, Liang Yuxiu didn't say anything, simply letting out a faint hum before leading Zhou Xu away.

In Wen Jianan's eyes, that man kept looking back every few steps, completely missing how inscrutable and dark Liang Yuxiu's expression was when he turned around.

They sat back down, and through Liang Jing, they learned the identities of Liang Yuxiu and Zhou Xu.

The female colleagues who had wanted to strike up a conversation just moments ago secretly rejoiced that they hadn't acted, otherwise they would have made complete fools of themselves.

Wen Jianan pretended she hadn't known their identities beforehand, pondered for a moment, and asked Liang Jing, "You knew they were the clients, yet you still dared to use that attitude?"

Liang Jing snorted softly. "Why wouldn't I dare?"

Forget that attitude—even if she hit them, they wouldn't dare strike back.

Finding it amusing, Wen Jianan gave Liang Jing a thumbs-up.

Liang Jing waved her hand dismissively.

No one took this little episode to heart, but whether it was her imagination or not, ever since Liang Yuxiu and that man appeared, Liang Jing seemed like a completely different person.

"It's still early, why don't we go grab a drink?" someone suddenly proposed.

Just as Wen Jianan was surprised and hesitated whether to refuse, Liang Jing had already agreed: "Sure. Jianan, tomorrow is Saturday anyway, want to come along?"