Chapter 75.1: Winning One's Heart
During the meal, everyone talked
about Jia Leyuan and Dong Lan. Chu Qianmiao overheard that it was Dong Lan who
introduced Ren Yan to this project. Jia Leyuan was responsible for the
renovation of Qian Siji's company's office building, which led Qian Siji to
meet Dong Lan. Later, through her mediation, Ren Yan and Qian Siji agreed to
collaborate on the project.
Chu Qianmiao speculated that this
was how a person's network of contacts developed. You meet a capable person,
build a good relationship with them, and encourage them to share resources with
you. This person, in turn, meets many others, who indirectly become your
network. Therefore, finding a way to first meet a capable person is crucial.
Everyone chatted idly. During this
conversation, Cui Xijie asked about the origin of the company's name, Liya
Manufacturing.
"It's a unique name. It sounds
grand yet elegant," Cui Xijie said with a smile.
Chu Qianmiao discovered that Cui
Xijie was actually quite good at flattery. He seemed to be asking about the
origin of the company's name, but the origin wasn't important to him; he was
mainly trying to compliment it.
But when the topic of the company's
name came up, Qian Siji, who had been so cheerful and talkative, suddenly fell
silent.
Chu Qianmiao felt as if she had
witnessed a massive flattery blunder.
Qian Siji's assistant, Ke Mingjun,
spoke. Ke Mingjun, who looked to be in his mid-thirties, spoke softly and
gently. "Actually, the company name is a homophone of our former
chairman's wife, Gao Liya. Liya is named after Yu Liya."
Chu Qianmiao noticed that Ke
Mingjun added a qualifier to the name "chairman's wife," using the
character "former." She turned her head again and was surprised to
see Qian Siji's eyes tearing up.
Ke Mingjun took the initiative to
clarify, "Our chairman's wife passed away three years ago due to
illness."
Everyone fell silent. The
atmosphere was heavy for a moment.
Chu Qianmiao looked at Qian Siji's
red eyes and couldn't help but feel a pang of empathy. A middle-aged man in his
early forties, no matter how well he maintained himself, the frost of life had
already seeped into the fine lines around his eyes. After so many years of ups
and downs in the business world, his worldly wisdom had almost worn him down.
Yet, it was a rare achievement for him to still mourn his late wife so
sincerely.
Qian Siji wiped his eyes with a
tissue and said, his voice a little hoarse, "Excuse me, everyone, I lost
my composure. My wife and I have always had a good relationship. She was there
with me, starting this business from scratch. But I built the company, and she
didn't enjoy the benefits. Every time I think about it, I feel a bit bad."
Assistant Ke Mingjun chimed in,
"Our former chairman's wife is truly a rare and wonderful woman in the
country."
Ke Mingjun then told everyone how
wonderful Qian Siji's late wife, Gao Liya, was.
Due to health reasons, Gao Liya
couldn't conceive. Determined to give Qian Siji a child, she even asked for a
divorce. Qian Siji refused to agree, but Gao Liya was so persistent that Qian
Siji finally gave in and divorced. Within three years of the divorce, Gao Liya
fell ill and passed away. Ke Mingjun explained that even during Gao Liya's
illness, she had been helping Qian Siji find a wife, hoping someone would take
care of Qian Siji's daily needs after she passed away, allowing her to die
peacefully. But Qian Siji didn't want anyone else but her.
After Gao Liya passed away, Qian
Siji couldn't help but burst into tears whenever he spoke of his late wife.
Chu Qianmiao's nose suddenly felt
sore at this. She thought Qian Siji was also a lovestruck man.
The sentimental conversation ended,
and Qian Siji invited everyone to drink. Chu Qianmiao usually approached with a
cola or juice, but today she raised her glass of baijiu.
She raised the glass for no other
reason than to be moved by the deep love between Qian Siji and Gao Liya. She
didn't think she had a romantic relationship of her own, but being moved by
someone else's was worth a drink to cheer them up.
But then she realized she really
couldn't initiate the drinking process. As soon as she took the initiative to
down her glass of baijiu, another glass followed. Each glass of baijiu was
accompanied by a series of irresistible urgings.
"Manager Chu, you can
obviously drink. Here, I'll toast you."
"Manager Chu, you drank the
Chairman and Assistant Ke's drinks, but you're not drinking from the rest of us
executives. That's not right."
"Manager Chu, we'll all be
working together for the next few days to get Liya Manufacturing listed. Come,
let's drink to the smooth progress of our subsequent work."
Chu Qianmiao wanted to chop her
mouth off for being so rude and drinking baijiu.
In the end, she couldn't push away
a third of the toasts, and they ended up in her stomach. Ren Yan effortlessly
blocked the remaining two-thirds.
She rubbed her stomach, which felt
burning. She thought to herself that when she returned to Beijing, she would
make a banner for Ren Yan to praise the noble character of this extraordinary
leader.
After the banquet finally ended,
Qian Siji arranged two cars to take the project team members to their hotel for
check-in.
One car arrived first, and Qin
Qianyu and Cui Xijie boarded first. Liu Lifeng, seeing Chu Qianmiao's blushing
face, quickly followed Qin Qianyu into the car.
Qin Qianyu asked, "Don't you
just love riding in the same car with Mr. Ren? Why don't you wait for the next
one?"
Liu Lifeng replied with a look of
disdain, "I'm afraid that drunk woman will act crazy and vomit on me
again."
Qin Qianyu burst into laughter, and
the three of them were taken to the hotel amidst his laughter.
Ren Yan exchanged pleasantries with
Qian Siji while waiting for the second car. Assistant Ke Mingjun received a
call and informed Qian Siji that the client they had arranged to meet had
arrived at the company.
Ren Yan quickly sent Qian Siji off
to his work, agreeing that he and his staff would officially begin work the
next morning. Qian Siji apologized repeatedly, got into his Maybach, and headed
straight for the company.
Ren Yan and Chu Qianmiao were left
alone. They stood on the street, one in front of the other, waiting for the
second car, which had already driven off somewhere.
Ren Yan calmly glanced back at Chu
Qianmiao.
After drinking, her usually fair
face had taken on a faint pink, the color of peach petals. Her eyes, as if
washed by water, were bright, yet also held a faint, unfocused blur.
He averted his gaze, turning his
back to her. He dared not look at her again. A girl with such a rosy
complexion, anyone who looked at her too often would become consumed by her.
Suddenly, he heard her sniff.
Unconsciously, he turned his head and asked, "Are you cold?"
As they waited for the car, Chu
Qianmiao was still moved by Qian Siji and Gao Liya's love story. As they
reminded her of herself, she couldn't help but feel a touch of melancholy. She
didn't know if she could ever win someone's heart and live with him until old
age.
She looked up at Ren Yan's back. He
stood tall before her. Suddenly, she felt doomed. This man had made her heart
so high, she probably wouldn't be able to find that devoted man and live with
him forever.
She sniffed, the lingering feeling
from when she'd been moved by Qian Siji and Gao Liya.
But Ren Yan suddenly turned around
and asked, "Are you cold?"
She was startled, then quickly
replied, "No."
She saw Ren Yan curl his lips, a
hint of a smile.
Suddenly, he asked jokingly,
"Are you crying or moved?"
Chu Qianmiao said nothing, made no
move, and practically didn't respond.
Ren Yan took her as tacit agreement
and frowned slightly, the playfulness disappearing from his voice. "I'm
moved already! Being so sentimental like you isn't the right approach when
working on a project."
Ren Yan's voice was low, but it
delivered a powerful message.
Chu Qianmiao didn't argue.
Could someone as rational as him be
expected to be moved by the unwavering love of lovers? No way.
So, she smiled at him and said,
"I didn't cry, nor was I moved. Just now, a hair flew up my nose."
Ren Yan quickly examined her and
said sparingly, "Be rational."
Chu Qianmiao nodded.
"Yes."
Okay, I get it. Just like you,
rational, calm, even apathetic. That would be easier, wouldn't it?
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