Third Young Master seemed somewhat distracted as he murmured an acknowledgment and then pulled away.
From beyond the car window, Sang Ran watched his figure grow more distant, and suddenly her heart felt hollow.
Suddenly, she coughed, clutching her chest.
Chen Jin immediately handed her a bottle of water. "Miss Sang, are you alright?"
"It’s nothing, just caught a bit of wind, Assistant Chen. Did I say something wrong just now?" she asked, nervously clutching the mineral water in her hand.
Chen Jin responded calmly, "No, Third Young Master is always quite busy."
"Alright."
After dropping off Sang Ran, Chen Jin drove back to Gong Chen’s residence at Su He Bay.
He had just organized the documents sent from the company when Gong Chen returned.
As he watched the man enter, Chen Jin’s pupils shook, and he said incredulously, "Third Young Master, you..."
Gong Chen glanced coldly and handed him the item in his hand.
"Take this for dry cleaning."
"Yes."
...
Xue Man’s new product launch was very successful, attracting foreign journalists for interviews.
She specifically set aside ten minutes for Lin Zhiyi to discuss her ideas, bringing Lin Zhiyi much attention, and her client list grew significantly.
In the blink of an eye, more than half a month had passed, and nearing the end of the year, the studio was finishing up its tasks.
While Lin Zhiyi was working overtime, a notification for a friend request popped up on her phone.
"Zhiyi, it’s me, Sang Ran."
Lin Zhiyi hesitated, staring at her phone, but eventually she accepted the friend request.
She also transferred 100 dollars to Sang Ran.
"I forgot to give it last time, please take it."
"You’re too polite, I thought you had already given it to Third Young Master."
Sang Ran replied with a smiley face.
"I haven’t been in touch much, he must be busy lately."
Lin Zhiyi, unsure if Sang Ran was probing, chose to distance herself from the matter.
On the other end of WeChat, it showed "typing" for a long time.
After a while, Sang Ran sent a long message.
"Zhiyi, do you think Third Young Master likes me? I didn’t know who else to ask in the Gong Family, so I came to you."
Lin Zhiyi stared blankly at the text.
Her fingertip trembled, and she accidentally clicked on Sang Ran’s profile picture.
In the Moments section, Lin Zhiyi saw a familiar figure.
Gong Chen.
She looked through Sang Ran’s Moments, and for the last half month, they were filled with images of Gong Chen accompanying her.
In her photos, Gong Chen appeared much gentler and more relaxed than usual.
They had dined at a private kitchen requiring reservations six months in advance, swung on a garden swing one after another.
They had conducted rehabilitation training in a climate-controlled glasshouse, attended by respectful servants in the background.
In an instant, they were at a private ski resort, touring the heights, with only the two of them receiving service.
If it were merely ostentation, that would be one thing, but a look through nearly half a year of Sang Ran’s Moments revealed this was just another facet of her everyday life.
In the photos, Sang Ran confidently displayed her prosthetic limb, her poised and confident smile reflected the slightly insecure demeanor on Lin Zhiyi’s face, captured on her phone screen.
What she and Gong Chen could not surmount was not the doors of the Gong Family, but the barrier of class.
Sang Ran ’nudged’ you.
The phone vibrated.
Lin Zhiyi came back to her senses, took a deep breath, and returned to the chat.
"Zhiyi, I’m sorry to trouble you, but I’m serious."
Seeing Sang Ran’s words, Lin Zhiyi could almost picture her shy yet sincere expression.
It was this sincerity that made Lin Zhiyi feel even more helpless.
She quickly replied, "I’m sorry, I don’t really understand my uncle’s thoughts."
"True, he’s always been as inscrutable as when he was a student. Do you know who the girl he likes might be? I used to think it was Song Wanqiu, but it seems I was mistaken."
"He has someone he likes?"
Perhaps because it was easy to talk to Sang Ran, Lin Zhiyi inadvertently blurted out the question.
When she visited the Gong Family, Gong Chen had just graduated from college.
His past relationships were something no one dared to speak much about.
It wasn’t clean cut, quite uncomfortable.
...
During a winter rain, cold and piercing to the bone.
Lin Zhiyi hurried and finally made it to the restaurant just in time.
She glanced at the reservation information on her phone and looked up at table 27.
A man was sitting with his back towards her, drinking coffee, definitely the client Xue Man had mentioned.
Lin Zhiyi straightened her water-speckled hair and quickly approached.
"Sir, sorry to keep you waiting."
As she sat down, she met the man’s amber eyes across the table.
Both paused for a moment.
Such a handsome man, with deep-set phoenix eyes that held a regal air, his striking features making his expression inscrutable.
The man’s gaze lingered on Lin Zhiyi’s face for a few seconds before calmly retreating.
He looked at his watch. "You’re late."
"It’s raining outside, and the traffic was bad," Lin Zhiyi explained.
"That’s not an excuse for being late. I don’t need to waste my time waiting for you."
He was right, Lin Zhiyi was at a loss for words.
But she was only thirty seconds late!
However, the customer is always right.
Lin Zhiyi managed a smile, "Sir, actually..."
"A fake smile?"
"Uh... no." Lin Zhiyi stubbornly denied, quickly changing the subject, "Let’s get started then."
"You’re not suitable."
"But I haven’t even started presenting yet?" Lin Zhiyi was slightly stunned.
"I don’t like your type," the man decisively said.
"Sir, rest assured, I don’t like your type either, and we’re selecting jewelry designs, not a wife!" Lin Zhiyi was inexplicably irritated.
It was her first time hearing someone dismiss a designer right at the start.
The man furrowed his brows and set down his coffee cup: "I’m actually here to choose a wife."
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