ORCBRB – Chapter 36
Chapter 36
Over the weekend, Sang Shi'an fulfilled her promise and went to Shengyu Corporation.
The entire office building was unusually quiet on the weekend. Only a few offices on a couple of floors were occupied. Sang Shiyue had been in meetings all morning and had brought Sang Shi'an along to take notes.
When the meeting ended and the senior executives had left, Sang Shi'an proactively handed over the meeting notes. “Brother, please check them.”
Sang Shiyue glanced at the neat notes and found it rather strange. “Did you get into some kind of trouble again? Why are you suddenly coming to the company and being so obedient today?”
Sang Shi'an was a little speechless. “What trouble could I get into? That Jian Zhenyang incident was just an accident. Can't I just learn more about the company so I can usurp the throne sooner?”
Sang Shiyue chuckled. “Then I'll abdicate immediately and let a worthy successor take over. Let me think, which small island should I go to for a vacation?”
In reality, the salary for the general manager position was less than Sang Shi'an's annual allowance. Sang Shi'an said, “I was joking—”
“For my sister to be so well-behaved and come to the company on her own, she must have done something she feels guilty about and doesn't dare tell me.” Sang Shiyue sized up Sang Shi'an. “Let me guess. Since it's not trouble, could it be that you've actually found a partner and don't want me to find out?”
Sang Shi'an: ...
He didn't have to be so accurate.
Sang Shi'an played dumb. “I don't know what you're talking about, brother.”
Sang Shiyue was, after all, eight years older than her and saw right through her. “Alright, then tell me why your expenses this semester are several times higher than before? And didn't you say you were a natural beauty who didn't need to dress up? Why are you wearing so little in the middle of winter? Are you filming an idol drama?”
“That was me giving out employee benefits. Haven't you noticed that everyone really likes me?” Sang Shi'an tried to argue.
Sang Shiyue smiled. “But your voice always gets higher whenever you have a guilty conscience.”
“Brother—” Sang Shi'an drew out the word, begging for mercy. “If you keep this up, I'm going to jump off the building.”
“Go ahead. Then all the trust funds and shares under your name will be transferred to mine. Mom and Dad were just telling me a few days ago that they were planning to let you manage those things yourself after the new year. Perfect, I'll benefit from it.”
“...” Was he even human?
Having teased her enough, Sang Shiyue picked up Sang Shi'an's meeting notes and gestured to her. “I'm hungry. Let's go eat first.”
Sang Shi'an followed him.
Lunch was at a nearby private kitchen. While waiting for the food, Sang Shiyue got straight to the point. “Is it someone from your university or from outside? It's been a while since I started suspecting you were dating, right? If you're serious about it, you need to give me a heads-up.”
It wasn't that Sang Shiyue was nosy, but there were far too many cases of girls from families like theirs being tricked into marriage by men from humble backgrounds.
Sang Shi'an poked at her rice. “You didn't give me a heads-up when the family was arranging a marriage for you. Why are you being so nosy?”
Sang Shiyue said, “What kind of decent person would be of unknown origin, someone you're ashamed to mention, and who even makes you spend money to support them?”
Sang Shi'an retorted unhappily, “I'm almost twenty, what's wrong with being in a relationship? And what kind of mindset is that? Is it illegal for a girl to spend money in a relationship?”
Sang Shiyue said coolly, “That depends on who you're dating. You feel so guilty you don't even dare to tell me.”
“Her family background is good, she's good-looking, and she's an excellent person. Don't ask so many questions.”
“So you admit you've been dating someone recently?”
Sang Shi'an decided to just throw caution to the wind. “We're not dating. It's a one-sided crush.”
Sang Shiyue had been very worried, his mind filled with images of Sang Shi'an meeting some strange, wild punk. After hearing this, he burst out laughing. “A one-sided crush? Who on earth is it that could make you patiently pursue a one-sided crush?”
Sang Shi'an sullenly shut her mouth. The more she said, the more she got it wrong.
“It really seems to be the case.” Sang Shiyue teased her. “Your ears are all red.”
“How old are you? Stop staring at me all day. Sang Shiyue, aren't you still single yourself? Mom and Dad are so anxious they want to arrange blind dates for you. You should worry more about yourself.”
Sang Shi'an shot back a retort and started eating.
Fortunately, Sang Shiyue really did drop the topic and didn't keep pestering her about it. But with Sang Shiyue avoiding any mention of Jian Cenyu, Sang Shi'an, in turn, started to feel antsy, and she ate the rest of her meal with her head in the clouds.
When all the dishes had arrived, Sang Shiyue was about to ask Sang Shi'an if she wanted something to drink, but seeing her distracted look, he asked with amusement, “You're not even playing with your phone while eating today. Why are you being so well-behaved?”
Sang Shi'an couldn't very well say her mind was full of Jian Cenyu. “Didn't you and Mom and Dad say it's bad to play with your phone while eating? I need to change my bad habits.”
Sang Shiyue nodded. “That's good.”
Sang Shi'an continued to pick at her rice. “...Yeah.”
Sang Shi'an stayed at the company for two full days. Sang Shiyue specially assigned an experienced finance assistant to her, to help her get familiar with the company's past financial reports, which would also help her understand some of the company's business operations.
It was truly boring. Before studying finance, she had imagined herself directing affairs at the company, but when she actually encountered the financial reports, she found it was completely different from what she had imagined when choosing her major for the college entrance exams.
Sang Shi'an suddenly understood a little why Su Ningyue couldn't muster any interest and just barely passed all her classes.
Jian Cenyu also seemed very busy over the weekend. Sang Shi'an, as usual, used her Kitty account to wish Jian Cenyu good morning and good afternoon, but unexpectedly, Jian Cenyu's replies were slow, and their chats would often end abruptly after just a few sentences.
This also happened to align with Sang Shi'an's thoughts.
An ostrich could bury its head in the sand for a day or two, but not forever.
Sang Shi'an still hadn't figured out what to do next.
Jian Cenyu currently seemed to have no interest in her. Sang Shi'an even felt that there was no need to compare herself to Kitty, who already had the title of Jian Cenyu's girlfriend. Between her and her brother, the ever-busy Jian Cenyu would probably be more inclined toward Sang Shiyue, who could bring more benefits.
It wasn't until Sunday evening, just as a fuming Sang Shi'an was about to doze off in a pile of financial reports, that she received a call from Jian Cenyu.
Seeing the caller ID, Sang Shi'an instantly woke up. Her finger touched the answer button, but she quickly composed herself, counted for several seconds before pressing it again, and said in a cool voice, “Jian Cenyu?”
“Are you getting used to things at Shengyu?” Jian Cenyu's voice carried a hint of concern.
Sang Shi'an asked, “How did you know?”
“I ran into your brother, and he mentioned it.” Slow music could be heard from Jian Cenyu's end; it seemed she was driving. “Are you still at the company now?”
Sang Shi'an gave a faint “mm,” and said, “Yes, what's up?”
“Nothing much,” Jian Cenyu said. “I'm near your family's company. Would you like to have dinner together?”
Sang Shi'an didn't agree immediately. She glanced at the time and said, “I still have a few financial reports here. I plan to finish them all today.”
Jian Cenyu asked, “Will it take long? If it does, I can go ask your brother.”
Sang Shi'an said, “This isn't homework my brother assigned. It's no use asking him.”
Jian Cenyu's voice held a smile. “That's not what I meant. We just met, so he should still be nearby. If you're busy, I can ask him to have dinner with me.”
Sang Shi'an: ...
Did Jian Cenyu have some kind of giant baby syndrome where she couldn't eat unless someone accompanied her?
Sang Shi'an said irritably, “Then you should hurry and find him, before he makes other plans.”
After saying this, Sang Shi'an was about to hang up, but Jian Cenyu's voice stopped her. “If I wanted to ask him, I would have done it just now. How much longer will you be?”
Sang Shi'an said, “Oh, probably...”
The words ‘one hour’ swirled in her mouth, but what came out was: “A few minutes, I guess.”
There was a clear smile in Jian Cenyu's voice. “Didn't you say you still had several financial reports?”
Sang Shi'an scanned the office and her gaze landed on the finance assistant not far away. “The assistant who's helping me with the reports is in a hurry to go on a date. If she's not here, there's no one to explain things to me, and there are a lot of hidden details I can't figure out.”
The finance assistant, who was busy as a bee every day and had no time for romance for the sake of her six-figure monthly salary, heard this as if it were a royal decree. She played along perfectly, raising her voice to ask, “Miss Sang, I'll be leaving now then?”
Her voice carried through the phone, and Jian Cenyu heard it too.
She asked Sang Shi'an again, “Shall I come pick you up for dinner?”
Might as well go.
Sang Shi'an reluctantly agreed. “Fine, you're so troublesome.”
After the call ended, Jian Cenyu sent a photo. She was in the Sang family company's parking lot: [Call me when you get down]
Sang Shi'an: ...
How could she be so fast?
She'd reported too little time just now; a few minutes wasn't even enough for her to touch up her makeup and go downstairs.
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