Chapter 8: When to Get Married 8
In the corner, the man listened to the girl’s slightly drunken reply, completely stunned.
The words “handsome, especially handsome, and quite sweet” echoed in his ears.
He swallowed hard, his fingers unconsciously falling to his cheek.
He hadn’t bothered to look in the mirror before, but now he really wanted to go and check his reflection.
The two girls in the booth were already giggling incessantly, seemingly chatting about something else. Ning Qingqing had a sesame seed stuck to the corner of her mouth, making Gu Youchen desperately want to go over and brush it off.
Just then, a questioning voice pulled him back to his senses. “Brother Chen, what are you doing here?”
Zhou Linghang went to the restroom and saw Gu Youchen standing there, seemingly for a long time.
“Whoa, Brother Chen, you’re standing here looking at pretty girls?” Zhou Linghang’s voice was a little loud, causing Gu Youchen to frown and turn towards the restroom.
Zhou Linghang caught up. “Brother Chen, something’s up with you lately? You’re acting weird. Didn’t you fall for some girl?” He scanned the booths in the hall, but seemingly found nothing.
Gu Youchen remained silent, walking directly into the restroom.
Zhou Linghang was half a step behind, and the closing restroom door almost hit his face.
He pushed his way in and stood next to Gu Youchen, his gaze involuntarily drifting to the side.
But the next second, he felt the air pressure plummet, meeting Gu Youchen’s warning gaze.
“Brother Chen, I’m sorry!” He quickly raised his hands in surrender, not daring to look or compare anymore.
The two returned to the private room together. Gu Youchen took a sip of his wine and looked up. “That project, should we proceed with the equity ratio we discussed?”
Several people were from the same compound as Gu Youchen, and they were the ones who had welcomed him earlier.
Everyone nodded in agreement. Moreover, this time Gu Youchen was taking the lead, they only needed to invest a portion, and they could receive dividends later, so everyone was happy.
After finishing the business, they couldn’t help but ask, “Brother Chen, what was the meaning of your Moments today? Did you really post those jokes?”
When had Gu Youchen ever posted random things on his Moments? Today it was as if his account had been hacked!
“Brother Chen, I’m curious, what is the stuttering man’s phone number?” one of his friends asked.
Gu Youchen immediately thought of the string of numbers he had sent to Ning Qingqing.
Did she know it was his? She probably did, after all, she was very smart.
So, did she save it? Why didn’t she reply, did she think he had some ulterior motive?
“Brother Chen—” Seeing the subtle expression on his face, a friend couldn’t help but call out again, “Brother Chen, why was your expression so… flirtatious just now?”
Zhou Linghang, seeing someone agreeing, immediately got excited. “See, see, it’s not just me, right? Hey, Brother Chen’s expression just now was a bit sweet?”
The word “sweet” successfully reminded Gu Youchen of Ning Qingqing’s description.
At 26 years old, this was the first time someone had described him as “sweet.”
So, he lifted his eyelids and coldly asked, “How sweet?”
Several friends were shocked, then Zhou Linghang explained. “That kind of flirtatious expression that makes you want to fall in love!”
After saying that, he hid behind another friend.
Gu Youchen didn’t respond, but when he put down his wine glass and leaned back on the sofa, he didn’t know what he was thinking of, but his ears turned red.
His friends continued to drink, the atmosphere getting more and more lively. Someone suggested a game, and when the second round started, the bottle happened to stop at Gu Youchen.
“Brother Chen—” A friend looked at Gu Youchen, instantly losing his momentum, and changed the question. “Now you either drink this full glass of wine, or go out and find a girl and get her contact information.”
“Not fair, why is it so easy when it’s Brother Chen’s turn?” Zhou Linghang was dissatisfied. He lost last time and was asked to do a handstand while eating melon seeds, and his breath hadn’t yet recovered.
“Do you think Brother Chen would ask for someone’s phone number? Although he can get it easily—” But before the friend finished speaking, Gu Youchen had already stood up.
He pushed open the private room door and walked straight out.
“Whoa, Brother Chen is serious?” Everyone was immediately excited and followed behind Gu Youchen.
Ning Qingqing and Qiao Xiaomian had almost finished the dishes on the table. Although both were a little dizzy, the singer’s style was to their liking, so they hadn’t left yet.
Just then, an arm landed on the edge of the booth next to Ning Qingqing. The man was wearing a shirt, his sleeves rolled up to his forearms, revealing a black watch and a fair yet muscular wrist.
Ning Qingqing looked at those distinctly jointed fingers for a few seconds, then slowly looked up.
The owner of the arm leaned over, his weight supported on the edge of the booth, his gaze locked on hers.
“Ah?” Ning Qingqing was a little dazed, but her words were faster than her sluggish brain. “Mr. Joke Writer.”
Gu Youchen was caught off guard by this address. His original plan was disrupted, but he quickly calmed down and improvised. “Well, why didn’t you reply to my comment?”
Ning Qingqing blinked, the confusion in her eyes disappearing after two seconds. Her eyes lit up. “You mean you want me to give you my phone number too?”
Gu Youchen nodded, his expression unchanged, but only he knew that his heart was beating wildly in his chest.
“My number is 159…” Ning Qingqing was about to give it, when she seemed to remember something, quickly took out her phone, clicked on Gu Youchen’s reply, and typed her phone number digit by digit.
Clicking send, she lifted her small face. “Sent!”
“Mm.” Gu Youchen looked at her screen. “Save my number.”
“Oh.” Ning Qingqing nodded, copying his number into her contacts under his gaze.
When typing in his name, she yawned, her fingers following her instincts: “Joke Writer Who Loves Tiramisu”.
Gu Youchen twitched at the corner of his mouth at this address.
He said to her, “Go home early and be safe.”
Ning Qingqing yawned again and nodded. “Oh, okay, bye-bye.”
As she spoke, she pulled Qiao Xiaomian, who was still dazed and trying to find Gu Youchen to tell jokes, and they walked out together.
When the two reached the entrance, Gu Youchen followed directly.
He walked behind them all the way until they entered the residential compound. Confirming the safety of the compound, he turned and left, returning to the bar.
“Brother Chen is awesome, was that sending the girl home just now?”
“Brother Chen, did you get her phone number? Did you tell her your number just now? You didn’t really fall for that girl, did you?!” Several people hadn’t dared to get too close, so they hadn’t heard the specific conversation.
“Didn’t you see? That girl is super pretty! But she looks a little familiar, like I’ve seen her somewhere before?”
“No, she’s Shen Zhiqian’s girlfriend, isn’t she? I saw Shen Zhiqian bring her out to a gathering once. I heard they’ve been together since high school…”
Everyone couldn’t help but look at Gu Youchen.
Gu Youchen’s face was devoid of any extra expression, but his eyes were sharp. “No one can be sure about marriage!”
…
The next day, Ning Qingqing arrived at the company just on time.
Fortunately, the alcohol she drank wasn’t high-proof, so she didn’t have a hangover headache.
As soon as she turned on her computer, she received an email from Kenny, there were a few details that needed further revision.
Ning Qingqing spent the entire morning discussing and finalizing the contract with Kenny until he finally agreed to all the terms.
After submitting the contract to the legal manager for review, Ning Qingqing didn’t have time to relax, because there was another project she was involved in that required many terms to be communicated and confirmed.
If it weren’t for the urgency of Si Luoqing’s matter, she should have worked on that project first.
“Qingqing, the contract with Kevin is finalized, but you need to go to their agency,” said a colleague from the PR department, handing over the signed contract.
“Because Si Luoqing is attending a fashion event at 8 tonight and flying to Haicheng early tomorrow morning. If the contract is delivered by courier, it will be too late, so we have to trouble you.”
Ning Qingqing checked the time, it was already 5 pm.
She asked, “What time will they leave the company for the event?”
The colleague confirmed and said, “They said 6:30, you should be able to make it if you go now. But it’ll be rush hour soon, it’s best to take the subway, to avoid traffic jams.”
Ning Qingqing agreed, and after confirming that all the seals were in place on the contract, she put it in a file bag and left the company.
She arrived at the lobby of Si Luoqing’s company at 6 pm by subway. Ning Qingqing called Kenny.
But no one answered the first time, and only when the call was about to hang up did someone finally answer. The background sound was obviously outdoors. “Ms. Ning.”
Ning Qingqing had a bad feeling. “Mr. Kenny, I’ve come to deliver the contract, and I’ll also take the signed one with me.”
Kenny seemed to remember the matter then. “I’m so sorry, Ms. Ning, I completely forgot! It’s all my fault! It’s troublesome now, we’ve already left for the event, Luoqing’s private seal is with me, and you won’t be able to make it even if you rush over. How about this, wait at the company, I’ll try my best to come back early?”
Ning Qingqing took a deep breath and suppressed all her emotions. “Okay, I’ll leave the contract with your receptionist, and you can just send the signed one to our company’s reception desk after you’re finished.”
Kenny obviously didn’t expect her to do this. After hesitating for a few seconds, he said, “How about this, wait for me at our company, I’ll send Luoqing to the venue, and I’ll come back right away after she gets there.”
Ning Qingqing could only say, “Okay.”
However, Kenny’s “right away” made her wait from 6 pm to 9 pm.
The seal was finally stamped, and when Ning Qingqing received the contract from Kenny, she met the man’s condescending gaze.
“Ms. Ning, have you deeply understood what I said that day?”
Ning Qingqing knew what he meant. Kenny was simply implying that the contract was expedited due to Shen Yeyuan’s personal instructions, and the Shen family’s intentions were self-evident.
“I have deeply understood,” Ning Qingqing looked directly into his eyes. “I’ve remembered today’s events.”
One day, she would get even.
Ning Qingqing walked out of the building and realized it was raining heavily.
She stood at the entrance of the building, opened the ride-hailing app, but neither taxis nor ride-hailing cars accepted the order.
She increased the tip, and finally someone accepted the order, but they were still seven or eight kilometers away.
Looking at the map, that section of the road was entirely red, obviously heavily congested.
Ning Qingqing glanced at the subway station, a hundred meters away, gritted her teeth, and ran into the rain.
Just then, her phone rang, it was a video call from Shen Zhiqian.
Author’s Note:
Well, tomorrow Qingqing will directly ask Shen Zhiqian about marriage, so the emotions of breaking up are continuing to accumulate and will gradually erupt!
Gu Youchen: I got my wife’s phone number, my wife is so sweet after drinking!
Qingqing: What happened last night? What’s “Joke Writer Who Loves Tiramisu”? I don’t know him, delete it!
Gu Youchen：……
Thanks to the little angels who irrigated the nutrient solution: Shining Wutong 1 bottle;