"You were drunk, and I understand you were impulsive and said some nonsense. We'll pretend today never happened. Rest well. I'll be on a business trip for a few days. I hope this matter will be completely put behind us by the time I return."
After speaking, she turned to leave again.
Jiang Jingyu felt a deep sense of loss and emptiness.
It was as if he would never see her again once she left. He couldn't help but grab her hand again.
His hands were large, and to be honest, being held by him gave a sense of stability and reassurance.
But Lu Jiaying knew this was an unreliable illusion; she couldn't indulge in it.
"Haven't I made myself clear enough? Do you want me to become a notorious slut, a scheming woman who will do anything to climb the social ladder, to be satisfied?"
Jiang Jingyu shook his head. He didn't want others to look at her that way.
He didn't want her to suffer any harm because of him.
But must they separate?
He was so reluctant.
Never before had he hated his age so much.
Suddenly, he envied Lu Kai.
If he were Lu Kai's age, he would propose on one knee right now!
"I have one more question for you."
Lu Jiaying stood still, not looking back, and said nothing more.
Jiang Jingyu gazed at her beautiful profile.
"Did you ever like me? In a romantic way, even a little bit?"
Lu Jiaying's nose suddenly felt sore.
Since her brother passed away, she had felt lonely and isolated over the years, but she had never cried.
Today, over such a trivial matter, because of this little kid, she felt like crying.
As a grown woman, a living person who was in her sight for eight hours a day, and with whom she had shared such an intimate relationship, it was impossible to say she had never fantasized about anything.
But those were only in her dreams.
Heaven knew this was her first love, and she felt so much pain.
But no matter how much it hurt, she couldn't admit it. A long pain was worse than a short, sharp one.
"No, I've always seen you as a brother, a very pure one."
Lu Jiaying left and didn't return until it was dark.
Jiang Jingyu sat blankly on her sofa, unsure what he was expecting. It wasn't until seven o'clock when Jiang Nan Fang called to ask why he hadn't returned that he realized Lu Jiaying was avoiding him.
If he stayed, she wouldn't come home.
So, he left.
He ate his meal without tasting it and fell into a daze on the bed. The next morning, he woke up early and arrived at the company two hours ahead of time.
However, by eight o'clock, Lu Jiaying still hadn't arrived.
He walked out of his office, and Zhang Jie saw him, looking slightly surprised.
"You didn't go on a business trip? When did you come to the company? I thought you were with President Lu."
"President Lu is on a business trip?"
"Yes, didn't you know? Didn't you arrange her schedule?"
Jiang Jingyu shook his head. "I took leave yesterday due to some matters. I didn't arrange it. Where did she go?"
"Hǎichéng," Zhang Jie replied.
"The market development there has been poor, and a major client has not been secured. Our department's performance is already acceptable for the year, but President Lu still decided to go in person."
"Your assistant job is really quite leisurely. You don't even know about such a big matter."
It would have been better if she hadn't said that. Thinking about Lu Jiaying's rejection and expression yesterday, Jiang Jingyu suddenly realized he was a coward.
He had been too protected by his parents and Lu Jiaying. In reality, he was just unreliable, immature, and a fool who felt too good about himself.
No wonder Lu Jiaying looked down on him. Realizing this, he looked down on himself.
He wanted to prove himself to Lu Jiaying.
He decided that from this moment on, if he wanted Lu Jiaying to trust him and fall in love with him, he had to take practical action.
He would prove to her with his actions that a relationship between them was possible!
So he pleaded with Zhang Jie.
"You're right. I'll be scolded by the leadership if I don't know about such a big matter. Tell me where that company is, and where President Lu's hotel is. I'll go find her now."
"You're going to find her?"
"President Lu has already left. What would it look like if I just sat idle in the office by myself? Consider it a chance for me to earn a promotion. Please help me."
As a fellow worker, Zhang Jie understood that it wasn't easy to find a job, so she told him Lu Jiaying's travel destination and hotel.
Jiang Jingyu called Jiang Nan Fang to say he was going on a business trip for a few days, got his travel expenses, and quickly booked a ticket to Hǎichéng.
Hǎichéng was a second or third-tier city in terms of economic development. Market positioning wouldn't normally be a priority, but due to policy changes in the past two years, it was expected to develop significantly in the future.
To seize the opportunity, Hu Jiasheng proposed expanding the Hǎichéng market at the beginning of the year.
At that time, Lu Jiaying was busy with other projects and only sent a market manager.
After a quarter had passed, there had been no progress.
On the first day of Lu Jiaying's arrival, she first sorted out the existing business with her colleagues in the studio.
The business manager said that the reason for the lack of progress was that a high-tech industrial park was being planned there.
The first round of bidding had resulted in a leak, leading to the invalidation of the results. The second round, from planning to now, had caused anxiety among everyone.
The development issues had not been resolved, so subsequent cooperation could not proceed.
He had considered directly contacting the high-level personnel responsible for the project to finalize these matters, but it was like dreaming, as there was no introduction.
Lu Jiaying studied the land bidding matter he mentioned and found that the most likely company to win the bid was Kē Shì Real Estate.
The company's headquarters were in Shàngchéng, but its branches were spread across the country. Like Zhàn Shì, they had business operations everywhere, from first-tier cities to small towns of the eighteenth tier.
It was just unclear why Zhàn Shì had not expanded into Hǎichéng.
With the first round of results invalidated, that company was definitely out of hope. Given their reputation and capabilities, Kē Shì was sure to be selected this time.
When they won the bid, started development, and then proceeded with later business operations, the time span would be too long, and Lu Jiaying couldn't wait.
She agreed with the business manager's view and decided to contact Kē Shì's high-level management directly.
However, while her thinking was clear, she encountered difficulties in terms of connections.
They only knew that the general manager of Kē Shì's Hǎichéng branch was named Lǐ Guóhuá, and his information could be found on Baidu Baike.
But they had no idea where he lived, where he worked, or how to contact him.
The two of them worked on their tasks all day and ate dinner together after work. By the time Lu Jiaying returned to the hotel, it was past eight in the evening.
Leaning tiredly against the elevator wall as she went up, she reached into her bag for her room card as she walked.
Before she could get the card out, someone blocked her path.
She instinctively looked up and was startled to see Jiang Jingyu's face.
His familiar white shirt, black trousers, neatly combed short hair, and gentle smile.
He was as handsome as a male lead in an idol drama.
It really was him. Why was he here?
Before Lu Jiaying could speak, Jiang Jingyu snatched the card, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her towards the room door.
With a "ding," the door opened, and she was pulled inside.