Water and Fire~Chapter 119: I Actually Care a Lot

 

Chapter 119: I Actually Care a Lot

Chu Qianmiao listened as Tan Shen asked her, across the ocean, "Qianmiao, I just want to ask you one question. If I were Ren Yan, and I sent you these postcards, would you accept them?"

She bit her lip, pondering, and remained silent. Of course she would accept them; he was her boyfriend.

She didn't want to lie, so she couldn't give an answer. She sealed her lips with her teeth. She was afraid that if she opened her mouth, she would reveal her relationship with Ren Yan.

But Ren Yan had warned her that it wasn't the right time yet, and that she should wait. Ren Yan was so strategic, he must have his reasons. So she could only keep silent.

Her silence evoked a cold sneer from Tan Shen. His voice surprisingly contained two contradictory qualities: unusually calm, yet unusually explosive. "Chu Qianmiao, can you please give me a look? Do you think Ren Yan is a good person? I tell you, he's a treacherous man after all. You'd better stay away from him."

He hung up the phone with a decisive and abrupt tone. Chu Qianmiao felt that the last sentence sounded more like a threat than a warning.

She couldn't help but sigh. He was his old self again, saying what he wanted to say and venting his emotions over the phone before hanging up. He had indeed changed a lot in the past two years. He had become much more calm and composed, and he had also developed ambitions in the workplace and was willing to work hard to achieve them. He was willing to stay abroad to develop business, working there for a year.

But no matter how much he changed, his underlying nature remained the same. He still got angry and upset when things didn't go his way, and he still flew into a rage when he didn't get what he wanted, and even after that, he still desperately wanted what he wanted.

Sometimes, Chu Qianmiao couldn't tell whether Tan Shen was obsessed with her or obsessed with obsession itself.

She sighed.

The phone dinged. Looking down, she saw another message from Tan Shen. "I told you that Ren Yan is a treacherous man. You don't believe me, do you? Tell Ren Yan that later, and say it was me who said it. See how he responds."

Chu Qianmiao stared at the message, stunned. Then she slowly flicked off the screen.

Before leaving get off work that evening, Chu Qianmiao called Gu Miaoyu to tell her she wouldn't be home tonight and to remember to go home and feed her cat.

Today was her and Ren Yan's one-year anniversary, and Ren Yan had taken her back to his apartment.

On the way to the apartment, Ren Yan drove with his left hand while holding her hand with his right.

On different days, he possessed a different, delicate, and tender nature.

Chu Qianmiao thought of the message Tan Shen had sent her during work that day. She didn't want to leave it as a dud, ready to explode at any moment. She wanted to dig it out and detonate it safely while it was still there, addressing the potential danger clearly and directly.

She called Ren Yan, "Senior."

"Yeah," Ren Yan replied.

Chu Qianmiao said, "Tan Shen mailed me another postcard a few days ago. I confiscated it and returned it."

"Yeah," Ren Yan replied calmly, looking at the road ahead.

Chu Qianmiao felt his grip on her hand tighten ever so slightly.

"And then he called me today," Chu Qianmiao continued.

Ren Yan glanced over at her and asked, "What did he say?"

Chu Qianmiao pointed forward, "Senior, red light."

Ren Yan barely stopped the car at the brake line.

He turned back to Chu Qianmiao and asked, "What did he say?"

Chu Qianmiao: "He said you're a treacherous person, and he told me to tell you straight up, just say he said it, and see how you react."

Ren Yan narrowed his eyes and squeezed her hand.

"Do you believe what he said?" Ren Yan asked her, his voice calm, as if he was too tired to deal with a scoundrel who had intruded into his life without reason.

His tone reassured Chu Qianmiao.

If he had piled up explanations and proofs, she might have been alarmed. But his calmness reassured her.

She shook her head and smiled at him.

The traffic light turned green.

Ren Yan turned back to the road and started the car.

One of his hands was still firmly clasped around hers.

Chu Qianmiao chatted with him. "Senior, did anything unpleasant or misunderstanding happen between you and Tan Shen while you were abroad? Otherwise, why would he say that to you?"

Ren Yan stepped on the gas, and the Mercedes-Benz, like a black panther, passed the two cars in front of him in one go. Chu Qianmiao was so amazed by his passing prowess that she almost forgot what she and Ren Yan were talking about.

"No," Ren Yan tightened his grip on her hand. "I'm not that familiar with him."

A hint of coldness emanated from his bones as he spoke.

Chu Qianmiao could sense that he was truly indifferent to Tan Shen and wanted nothing to do with him.

"He's saying that because he can't accept that you've fallen in love with me after dating him," Ren Yan said, steering the wheel.

Chu Qianmiao mentally corrected him.

No, you're the first person I fell in love with. You're not behind anyone else.

Chu Qianmiao sighed as she spoke, "I think he's getting more and more paranoid now. He's a completely different person than before, like he won't give up until he achieves his goal."

Ren Yan turned on his turn signal and said. Amid the ticking of the turn signal, he casually added, "Perhaps the Tan Shen you knew before wasn't the real Tan Shen. Perhaps the real him is just like this."

Chu Qianmiao was stunned.

Then she thought, as expected. People always try to present themselves to others as they want, mixing truth and falsehood, wondering whether it's to please others or to deceive themselves.

The autumn days were shortening, and by the time Chu Qianmiao followed Ren Yan back to the apartment, the sky was already darkening.

As she entered the house, she found that all the curtains were drawn by Ren Yan. He also forbade her to turn on the lights.

He asked her to wait at the door for a moment before going inside.

Then, a candlelight lit up the dining table in the open kitchen.

At that moment, Chu Qianmiao's heart fluttered.

She didn't know if it was yesterday or the day before yesterday, but while she was away, Ren Yan had actually decorated the apartment beautifully.

It turned out that this seemingly aloof and sensual straight man was actually a romantic at heart.

She remembered a wise saying Gu Miaoyu had once told her: every man knows how to be romantic. If you can't, just learn. If you've learned and still claim you can't, it means you don't care about them. A man who truly cares about you will naturally acquire all the qualities of romance, tenderness, and doting.

She couldn't help but smile, wondering if Ren Yan's natural romanticism was because he cared about her.

In the dim, flickering candlelight, she saw him buy wine, flowers, and even a necklace for her.

He told her to take off her clothes and put on his white shirt.

They had been sitting separately, but by the time Chu Qianmiao regained consciousness, she was already sitting on Ren Yan's lap.

He held her, put a necklace on her, and kissed and rubbed her passionately, scented with red wine.

She pushed him away, taking a moment to catch her breath, and breathlessly told him her shirt was wrinkled.

He whispered huskily into her ear, his voice hoarse, as if to persuade her to let it wrinkle even more.

His voice and breath were warm, penetrating her ear. He lifted her up amidst her slight trembling and carried her straight to the bedroom.

That night, he tormented her for a long time, vigorously, sometimes almost painfully. But beneath that pain lay a supreme pleasure unlike any she had ever experienced before. When he leaned over and whispered in her ear, "Don't answer Tan Shen's calls anymore," she reached her climax, aching and trembling.

Afterward, she suddenly had a realization. He'd pushed so hard it almost hurt her. So perhaps he wasn't as indifferent to her past with her ex-boyfriend as he let on.

After several rounds of negotiations with the company's leaders and executives, Chu Qianmiao finally reached a partnership agreement on the IPO project she'd taken on. Honestly, the people on the corporate side were quite difficult to deal with, but Dou Shan had honed her skills on the Liya project. After her experience with Dou Shan, she could handle these same types of difficult individuals with ease. Sometimes, she wanted to thank Dou Shan. She had taught her that every battle with a difficult individual was actually a milestone in her career. She owed it to these people; they had helped her grow and develop.

The project was quickly established at Litong. Several department heads used Chu Qianmiao as a role model for their subordinates. "Look at Chu Qianmiao from Department 1. She took the insurance agent exam while working on projects, and she passed it straight away. After that, she became a proficient project manager. Now she can directly undertake and handle projects from start to finish. You should learn from her. Don't just chat and watch the stock market all day at work. When you have time, read more and delve deeper into the business."

This remark reached Chu Qianmiao from another department. Chu Qianmiao quickly humbly replied, "It's not that amazing. I didn't pass the insurance agent exam straight away."

The employee, relieved, said, "I was just saying it. If our beautiful CEO Chu passed the exam after just one year, how could we, the roughnecks who have been trying to pass for two or three years, have a hard time?"

Chu Qianmiao smiled but said nothing.

Liu Lifeng, returning to the company from a project, picked up the man's conversation. "What's wrong with being beautiful? Beautiful women can't do better on the test than you rough guys. I tell you, stop dreaming! My beautiful boss took two tries to pass, but she only studied for nine months. You can't compare. So, in the end, you're still not going to make it. Hurry up and pack up, go home and die."

The man scolded Liu Lifeng with a laugh and walked away.

Chu Qianmiao laughed and threw a can of coffee from the pantry at Liu Lifeng. "Study hard! If you don't pass this test again, I won't accept you as my stupid little brother anymore."

Liu Lifeng bared his teeth until his ears turned red. "Who cares?" he said, but he obediently sat down with his coffee in his hand to read.

Chu Qianmiao returned to the office and received a call from Zhou Shuqi.

Zhou Shuqi told her, "Senior, my classmate told me that the problematic company you mentioned earlier has found a brokerage firm and lawyer to partner with. They're now rebuilding their business with their former accountant and continuing their preparations for an IPO."

Chu Qianmiao's spirits flared.

Zhou Shuqi continued, "The brokerage firm is new and desperate for a project. As for the lawyer, you can guess who it is—it's Qiao Zhixin."

""

Chu Qianmiao was impressed by Zhou Shuqi's ability to be cheerful and engaging no matter what he was talking about.

"He asked for quite a bit of money, didn't he?" Chu Qianmiao asked Zhou Shuqi.

"Absolutely not," Zhou Shuqi said, his voice full of emotion. "Other lawyers were hesitant about this project, but when Qiao Zhixin approached them, he asked for a ridiculously high price. Since the company couldn't find any other lawyers to work with, they agreed after some thought. And so, they happily became partners."

Chu Qianmiao thought, this is Qiao Zhixin's style. For the sake of money, he wouldn't risk anything. He'd almost extorted five million yuan from the company for a simple forensic opinion. (Chapter 108)

After hanging up the phone, Chu Qianmiao stood at the window and gazed out for a long time. Although everything had unfolded as she'd expected, she felt it wasn't worth celebrating. It was, after all, proof that greed can lead to a bottom line.

Since that was the case, she wouldn't be soft-hearted.

After standing for a moment, taking a deep breath to clear the anger in her chest, she called Tang Jie and Wang Jun and arranged to have lunch together.

At noon, Chu Qianmiao, Tang Jie, and Wang Jun discussed collaboration over lunch. She had once again asked them to work together on the project she'd contracted.

During lunch, the three of them were delighted to be working together again so soon. After their previous collaboration, they had already developed a strong rapport, and when finalizing the subsequent project details, they worked in unison without any disagreements.

After lunch, Tang Jie went to the basement to retrieve the car, and Wang Jun called a taxi. Chu Qianmiao deliberately stayed behind to wait for the bus with Wang Jun.

Taking advantage of the moment, she said to Wang Jun, "Lawyer Wang, I have something to tell you."

She mentioned the name of the problematic company and then told him, "This company had some financial issues. Originally, colleagues from other departments within our company were working on it, but after discovering the problems, they withdrew, along with their lawyers. But I recently heard that this company has found another brokerage firm and lawyer, intending to continue its IPO process. I heard that their new lawyer is Qiao Zhixin."

After a pause, she said, "Lawyer Wang, I want to tell you that this company's accounts can't be reconciled simply by changing brokerage firms and lawyers. If Qiao Zhixin asks you to sign with him later on this project, remember not to do so. There will be problems."

Wang Jun's expression grew graver as he listened. Finally, he frowned slightly and said to Chu Qianmiao, "I'd heard there were issues with this project before, but Qiao Zhixin assured me a few days ago that he'd reviewed it and there were no problems. It was only because of a conflict between the company and the original brokerage lawyers that the project was terminated and the project was terminated. The rumors of problems with the company were malicious retaliation by the original brokerage and lawyers. So if you hadn't told me this today, I think I might have signed for him later." After a pause, he said solemnly, "I've figured this out. Qianmiao, thank you for reminding me."

After lunch, Chu Qianmiao returned to the company and went to Ren Yan's office to brief him on the cooperation agreement she had finalized with Tang Jie and Wang Jun at noon.

Ren Yan frowned slightly when he heard that the cooperating lawyer was still Wang Jun.

He glanced at the door, seeing no one passing. He then looked back at Chu Qianmiao and lowered his voice, asking, "You've partnered with Wang Jun on two projects in a row. Wang Jun was brought up by Qiao Zhixin. Are you planning something?"

Ren Yan had asked Chu Qianmiao this question once before, but Chu Qianmiao, using her earthy seduction techniques, had diverted the conversation. Later, she assured him she wouldn't do anything rash. She chose to work with Wang Jun because they'd worked together before and understood each other's working methods, making them more compatible on projects than others.

Now Ren Yan asked her about it again. This time, it wouldn't be easy to fool her.

But Chu Qianmiao had already prepared a suitable response: "Wang Jun's previous collaboration with me had upset Qiao Zhixin. Qiao Zhixin was constantly blocking his projects, blocking good ones from him, and the ones he signed were all bad and risky. So, I figured, I'll have to go with Wang Jun for this project. Qiao Zhixin's project...

It can't be stopped. Otherwise, Wang Jun would be practically out of work because of Qiao Zhixin's marginalization."

Her words were actually true. This fact convinced Ren Yan, and his frown gradually relaxed.

After explaining the project situation and preparing to leave, Chu Qianmiao's phone suddenly rang.

She checked the caller ID and saw it was Du Xiaofeng. She decided to just answer the call before leaving.