Water and Fire~Chapter 106.1: Aren't You Jealous?

 

Chapter 106.1: Aren't You Jealous?

Chu Qianmiao encountered Li Tang in the tea room.

She greeted her and let her make tea while she went to the coffee machine.

She retrieved two empty cups from the sterilizer. Li Tang, not in a hurry to leave after making the tea, approached her and asked, as if to greet her, "Can I make coffee for your boss?"

Chu Qianmiao replied with a gracious "yes."

She was busy with her work, a polite, formal smile playing on her lips, but that smile actually indicated she didn't want to chat with Li Tang any longer.

But Li Tang remained.

Even after the coffee machine stopped chirping, she leaned closer, her usual aloof demeanor tinged with a touch of intimacy. This simultaneous display of coldness and intimacy struck Chu Qianmiao as somewhat awkward. Li Tang came closer, tea in hand, and started a somewhat intimate conversation with Chu Qianmiao.

Chu Qianmiao's responses were haphazard, bland and insignificant.

As they chatted, Li Tang blew on the hot tea and said, "Your CEO, Ren, is actually willing to let you make coffee."

"As a subordinate, making coffee for boss is my duty. It's not physically demanding, so there's nothing I shouldn't do," Chu Qianmiao said with a smile.

She made one cup of coffee and then another.

The coffee machine hummed. When the hum died down, Li Tang began to speak again.

"Actually, your President Ren just looks cold and aloof." She took a sip of her tea, felt the heat, and frowned, then immediately relaxed. She turned and smiled at Chu Qianmiao, her voice tinged with a hint of charm as she said, "Your President Ren, although he looks cold and aloof, is actually very gentle with his woman and always willing to help."

Chu Qianmiao found two small bags of white sugar, tore them open, poured them into the coffee, and found a stirrer to mix it all up.

Li Tang leaned closer to her, her voice becoming more charming and ambiguous. She lowered her voice slightly, "And when they're together, he never just pursues his own pleasure; he's always considerate of the other person's feelings."

Chu Qianmiao stopped stirring, the coffee still swirling around its center under the influence of inertia.

She looked at the small vortex and sighed. She thought Ren Yan's advice had been right. He told her to be careful when talking to Li Tang and not let her lead her astray.

She chuckled inwardly, thinking that people who'd been together truly understood each other best.

But what did Li Tang mean by saying this to her? Was she trying to test her and Ren Yan's relationship? What if they were? Was Li Tang simply using their past to annoy her, hoping to make her go back and get jealous and angry with Ren Yan?

Alas.

She tossed the disposable blender into the trash can, raised her head, and looked at Li Tang. With a slight tilt of her chin, she smiled and said, "Manager Li, it seems inappropriate to discuss these private matters involving my boss during work hours." After a pause, she gave a stoic laugh and said, "Besides, I can hardly understand what you're saying."

She acted as if she had just heard nothing but obscene and filthy language.

Her smile irritated Li Tang.

Li Tang raised an eyebrow, no longer trying to hide it, and said bluntly, "No, you understand."

This tone of judgment based on other people's feelings made Chu Qianmiao extremely unhappy. It was as if it wasn't their decision to decide what others felt, but hers to draw the conclusion.

Chu Qianmiao felt that one shouldn't always give in. She had tried to be polite with Li Tang, but she had pushed further, taking her politeness as an easy target for further attack, using it to blatantly scratch her face.

Of course, she wouldn't just sit there and wait for her to be caught; she wasn't a pushover.

"Senior Li Tang," Chu Qianmiao called out to Li Tang with a smile.

She had changed her smile now, a smile that was still polite but also completely aloof, a smile that carried a powerful aura that overwhelmed the person she was talking to.

The moment Li Tang responded to her call, she almost thought she was seeing Ren Yan. No, it was even richer than Ren Yan's aura.

"Since you keep saying such ambiguous things, I'll be frank with you." Chu Qianmiao said to Li Tang with a smile. "If you're trying to test me this way, with such ulterior motives, then with all due respect, I think you're completely unnecessary and a bit foolish."

Chu Qianmiao saw Li Tang's expression change instantly as she finished speaking. She ignored her and continued, "In my opinion, matters between men and women, even if they're in the past, are best kept privately. Using them as a weapon to test others, as you're doing now, is truly unseemly."

She saw Li Tang's expression change again and again as she finished speaking. It was a truly unpleasant expression. She calmly looked at Li Tang, letting her change.

Finally, Li Tang took a deep breath and smiled again, albeit a slightly ungainly one.

Chu Qianmiao thought she wasn't completely useless after all. After all, she was educated and had managed to maintain some sanity even in the most embarrassing moments.

Chu Qianmiao looked at her and smiled at her, saying, "Once again, I've learned how powerful your tongue is."

Chu Qianmiao picked up her coffee and winked at her. "I have many more powerful skills, but as long as I'm not provoked, I generally won't use them to bully others."

She left with the two cups of coffee.

Leaving Li Tang standing there, watching her back as she turned towards Ren Yan's office.

The teacup she held trembled, nearly spilling the water.

She placed the cup on the counter, folding her arms across her chest, trying to contain the slight tremor.

Just then, she suddenly realized that the person before her was no longer the easygoing girl she'd first met. Unconsciously, she had become a woman of considerable distinction.

Resentment washed over her like a flood. She simply couldn't accept how much progress that girl had made without even noticing.

And what had she done in the two years since returning to China? She thought carefully. From abroad to home, from Eagle Capital to Litong Securities, it seemed as if she had remained stuck in the same state she had just returned to. She hadn't even had time to take a step forward, and she had already been left far behind by that girl. No, she was already a woman, a beautiful, charming, enviable woman. She had been left far behind.

This realization nearly broke her. She felt sad for herself, and even more unwilling to accept the situation.

Chu Qianmiao ran into Qin Qianyu on her way to Ren Yan's office with coffee in hand. Qin Qianyu leaned over and whispered, "I've ordered two takeout set meals for you and your boss. You can eat and chat with him in his room and quickly close the gap between you two."

Chu Qianmiao was so moved that she almost wanted to swear blood oath with Qin Qianyu.

She entered Ren Yan's office carrying two cups of coffee and saw two takeout meal packages on his desk.

She handed one of the coffees to Ren Yan, who handed her one.

As he handed it to her, he asked, "Why does it take so long to make the coffee?"

Chu Qianmiao sat down in a chair and, lowering her voice, recounted what happened with Li Tang in the tea room.

Ren Yan immediately asked, "What did she talk about?"

"She told me that when you were with her, you were very gentle and responsive." She paused, took a sip of coffee, and continued, "And when you were together, she said you weren't just selfish and were very considerate of her feelings."

After she finished speaking, she saw a deep frown on Ren Yan's face.

"Li Tang wasn't like this before. She used to be generous, graceful, and relaxed. I didn't expect she'd become completely different now," he said, frowning.

"That's jealousy. Jealousy, if left unchecked, can make you look incredibly ugly," Chu Qianmiao said, sipping her coffee. "So I have to remember not to become a jealous person. I have to be beautiful."

Hearing her words, Ren Yan raised an eyebrow.

He looked at her and suddenly asked, "How do you feel after hearing what Li Tang said?"

Chu Qianmiao's expression remained calm. "I think what she did was a bit ominous," she answered seriously.

"Besides that," Ren Yan's eyes were fixed on her, capturing every detail of her expression.

But her expression remained as measured and unfazed as ever. "Besides that, I feel a little sorry for her. Such a well-educated woman, yet she spends her days dwelling on nonsense. Can't she just move on?"

Ren Yan looked at her for a moment, then asked, "Besides that, do you have any other feelings?"

Chu Qianmiao thought for a moment and shook her head. "Nothing else."

"Nothing else," Ren Yan asked, raising an eyebrow.

Chu Qianmiao thought hard again. "What else should I be feeling? Anything else?"

Ren Yan stared at her for a long moment, sighing silently.

"Aren't you jealous?" he asked.

"Not jealous," Chu Qianmiao smiled, shaking her head as she held her coffee. "Actually, if you think about it carefully, Li Tang isn't lying." She turned and glanced out the door, making sure it was clear. Then, turning back, a faint blush began to rise on her cheeks. She lowered her voice and said to him, "You were really gentle when we were together." Her face flushed even more, and her voice dropped even lower. Her eyes shifted from his face to his tie, not daring to look him in the face. "When we kissed and hugged, you didn't just take it for granted. You really cared about my feelings."

She felt her face burning as if it were on fire, and she quickly drank her coffee to cool it down.

She stared at Ren Yan's tie and heard him sigh.

She looked up at his expression and whispered, "Senior, what's wrong?"

Ren Yan took a sip of his coffee, then another. Then he put it down and asked her again, "Are you really not jealous that she told you all this?"

"No," Chu Qianmiao shook her head and asked again, "What's wrong, Senior?"

Ren Yan took a few more sips of his coffee. When the coffee was almost gone, he put it down, his voice and tone returning to normal.

"Li Tang is just talking nonsense to you, probably to provoke you. Don't be fooled, and don't take it seriously."

Chu Qianmiao smiled. "I don't care about her." She glanced back at the office door. It was clear. She turned back, slumped over his desk, and whispered, "Senior, don't worry, I don't care. You have your past, and I have mine. It's all in the past, so why worry about it? We should just move on."

Ren Yan looked at her, his expressionless face a stark reminder of his emotions.

"Take your lunch out. You'll be suspicious if you sit here too long," he said after a while.

Chu Qianmiao obediently took the lunch back to her desk and ate.