Nangong Jin looked at An Nuan, his tone laced with apology. "I'm sorry, Nuannuan. There are still matters at the company that require my immediate attention."
After speaking, he looked at An Nuan somewhat awkwardly and asked softly, "Nuannuan, did you have something else to say to me just now? Go ahead, I'm listening?"
"It's nothing, you should go and attend to your business."
"Then I'll be going then." Nangong Jin quickly left, as if fleeing from some terrifying beast.
In truth, only Nangong Jin himself knew why he was acting this way.
He was afraid, afraid that An Nuan would say something more resolute. If An Nuan rejected him now, wouldn't that mean he would have no chance at all afterward?
He didn't want that to happen to him.
An Nuan watched Nangong Jin's receding back and sighed helplessly.
Actually, she knew better than anyone why Nangong Jin was acting this way and in such a hurry.
But that was probably the best way to resolve things.
If she stayed any longer, she wouldn't know what else to say.
She would talk about it next time.
Who knew what could happen within these few days?
An Nuan had been targeted at work for some time.
Even though her work was excellent, in everyone's eyes, she had gotten in through connections.
She was currently working at a branch of Nangong Group.
Nangong Jin had originally wanted her to work directly under him, but she worried that people would think she got the job through favoritism. And now? Her fears had come true.
However, An Nuan didn't care. As long as she did her own job well, time would eventually reveal her capabilities.
She had grown accustomed to the disdainful glances, the aversion, the disgust, and the ostracism from her colleagues.
She could bear all of it.
In essence, their thoughts about her were irrelevant. They could think whatever they wanted, but it wouldn't cause her any substantial harm. She just needed to do what she was supposed to do.
One day, she arrived at work as usual, but upon entering the company, she felt everyone's gaze fixed on her. Of course, it was like this every day, but today was different. The looks she received were no longer filled with disdain and disgust, but with envy.
Finally, she understood. Her cooperative proposal had been chosen.
This proposal was being competed for by many major companies, including some far superior to theirs. When they had initially given her this proposal, it was mostly to embarrass her.
But what those people received was not An Nuan's failure, but her success.
An Nuan had thoroughly become the object of everyone's envy.
This single success proved that she hadn't gotten the job through connections or favoritism. She had talent.
When An Nuan threw all her graduation certificates in front of them, their mouths were finally shut.
They had always assumed that An Nuan was a placeholder, and thus, her academic background was inferior. What they couldn't accept was having to work alongside such a person, which they considered a disgrace.
But now, looking back at their past selves, it was like a joke.
An Nuan was truly capable, truly talented.
Yes, why hadn't they considered it? She was someone Nangong Jin fancied; if she didn't have exceptional qualities, why would Nangong Jin notice her?
Although An Nuan said nothing, she silenced everyone with her actions.
She had used her strength to shut those people up effectively.
An Nuan accepted the good wishes from her colleagues.
...
An Nuan finished work and wanted to find Nangong Jin. She had initially intended to call him to share the good news, but decided to go see him directly.
As soon as she reached the building, her hand was grabbed and she was pulled along, her documents scattering on the ground.
An Nuan was about to crouch down to pick up her papers when she saw that it was Xu Ruowei.
Her brow furrowed. She truly didn't want to see Xu Ruowei again.
Yet, this person persistently bothered her.
"An Nuan, you're quite pleased with yourself now, aren't you?"
An Nuan didn't know why Xu Ruowei was so enraged and came looking for her, spouting such nonsensical words.
She ignored the person in front of her, squatted down, and gathered her documents, intending to leave.
But at that moment, Xu Ruowei grabbed her hand again and said angrily, "Do you know? Because of you, I've become a laughingstock."
"An Nuan, if you hadn't been in that competition, then I would have succeeded. Why did you have to show up?"
Competition?
An Nuan finally understood what Xu Ruowei was referring to. So, she had also participated in the competition.
However, everything for her had been handled by Wang Xuerou. It could be said that Wang Xuerou was truly formidable, making Xu Ruowei a consistent winner in the business world.
But Xu Ruowei had a dispute with Wang Xuerou.
And when Wang Xuerou had an accident, Xu Ruowei had blamed her.
Wang Xuerou was still unconscious. It could be said that Xu Ruowei had brought this upon herself.
Ha, she was incredibly arrogant, claiming that the victory rightfully belonged to her. To put it bluntly, even without An Nuan, there were others.
What right did Xu Ruowei have to say such things?
Xu Ruowei always acted condescendingly towards her, believing everyone owed her.
An Nuan had ignored her before because she felt it was unnecessary. But by ignoring her, Xu Ruowei thought she was easily bullied, so now was the time for her to fight back.
An Nuan didn't want to deal with Xu Ruowei and walked forward. But at that moment, Xu Ruowei grabbed her hand and questioned, "What's wrong? Can't speak now? Are you guilty?"
"An Nuan, that wasn't your proposal, was it? You just stole someone else's proposal, didn't you?"
"An Nuan, speak up. If you don't speak, aren't you admitting that what I'm saying is true?"
"Xu Ruowei, not answering you doesn't mean I admit it. It means I think it's a waste of time to talk about unimportant things with an unimportant person."
"Aren't you smug? You're here to mock me now," Xu Ruowei said, somewhat hysterically.
"Xu Ruowei, you need to understand, it wasn't me who sought you out, but you who came to me. You've been the one doing all the talking," An Nuan said, looking at Xu Ruowei with disdain, her eyes filled with intense anger. She said coldly, "If you don't believe me, I think the surveillance cameras over there can testify to that."
An Nuan pointed to a nearby security camera and spoke chillingly.
"Don't get too smug," Xu Ruowei glared at An Nuan, her face flushed with anger. "An Nuan, once Nangong Jin knows about your past, he'll abandon you."
"Because you're filthy."
"Ha, An Nuan, you must be going mad with jealousy."
Xu Ruowei continued speaking to herself, "Because Shen Xizhou always believed in me, and he still chose me, abandoning you."
"Are you done? If you came here to show off, then you're probably disappointed. I don't want trash, if you want it, take it."
"If you pick up trash that I've discarded, you should just hide, understand?"