"Shi Shuning, listen to my explanation!"
Shi Shuning glanced at her and said sarcastically, "Oh, I'm like a little puppy, clingy as hell, and will just whine."
Ye Jinmeng immediately shook her head, "I'm the little puppy, I'm too clingy. If I'm away from Shi Shuning for a bit, I'll start whining!"
"Hmph, I'm stuck to you every day, so clingy that it's annoying..."
Ye Jinmeng felt guilty, "No, no, not at all annoying, I love you clinging to me!"
Seeing that Shi Shuning wanted to say more, Ye Jinmeng immediately lowered her head, "I was wrong!"
Alas, why did I have to be so impulsive and run my mouth! Now I'm caught red-handed, how do I appease him!
Xu Wanwan sat there covering her mouth, giggling, and accidentally let out a louder laugh.
Ye Jinmeng glanced back at her, her eyes seeming to say, "Why didn't you warn me earlier! How dare you laugh!"
Xu Wanwan laughed even louder.
Shi Shuning turned Ye Jinmeng's head back, "You little vixen, I'll listen to your explanation about that later. For now, explain the post on your friend's circle!"
Ye Jinmeng was stunned, recalling that when Xiao Yuanning sat next to her earlier, she had sneakily taken a photo of the two of them together and posted it on her friend's circle.
She immediately took out her phone to explain to Shi Shuning, "Shi Shuning, we ran into Justin earlier, so I secretly took a photo of us together. It's nothing, really, you can ask Wanwan if you don't believe me."
She opened her friend's circle, found that post, and handed her phone to Shi Shuning.
The post was actually very simple, just a photo and the words, "Today's surprise is sitting with Justin."
Shi Shuning had already seen this post, but when he noticed there were two small profile icons below it, indicating a visibility setting, he paused.
He instinctively tapped on it to see that besides himself, only Ye's elders and Xu Wanwan were listed.
Ye Jinmeng tiptoed over to look at the phone screen and explained, "Oh, that's the group I set, only visible to family."
Shi Shuning's hand paused, 'family' - had Ye Jinmeng already included him in that group?
His previously disgruntled mood instantly dissipated, and he couldn't help but smile at the corner of his mouth.
"Shi Shuning, you're not angry anymore?"
Shi Shuning immediately reverted to a cold, indifferent expression, "Just a coincidence of being in the same frame as an idol, I wouldn't get angry over that. But as for the bad things you said about me earlier, I'll listen to your explanation later."
Upon hearing this, Ye Jinmeng tugged at the hem of his clothes and shook it, beginning to act coy, "I know I was wrong, I'll never talk nonsense again. Forgive me, okay, brother?"
Shi Shuning was instantly disarmed, taking a few deep breaths, "I'll forgive you for now, but if there's a next time, don't blame me for punishing you."
Ye Jinmeng thought of those CEO novels she had read, where the tyrannical CEO punishes the female lead in certain ways.
Her face immediately flushed red as she blurted out, "Does Shi Shuning want to punish me that way?"
Shi Shuning realized what she meant, his face burning as if he was about to boil over, and immediately covered her mouth.
"What dirty thoughts is this little vixen having, how shameless!"
Ye Jinmeng's mouth was covered as she made a confused "Mmm?" sound, as if asking, "Isn't that it?"
Shi Shuning looked into her bewildered large eyes, unable to resist gently patting her little bottom, "If you misbehave again, I'll punish you by making you write 10,000 lines of sweet nothings about me! You can't eat until you finish, understood?"
Ye Jinmeng nodded sadly.
Only then did Shi Shuning remove his hand covering her mouth.
Xu Wanwan felt nauseous from watching all this, forcefully exposed to their lovey-dovey antics. Ai, when is Azheng coming, she didn't want to be tortured alone!
...
Previously, X International had issued a series of project bids, and the happiest yet most worried person was none other than Xiao Wenyao.
The happy part was that out of the 205 bids Xiao Clan submitted, they won 200 of them.
The worrying part was that out of the 205 bids Xiao Clan submitted, they won 200 of them...
His original thinking was to bid on as many as possible to increase their chances, but he really didn't expect to win so many - it was a huge blunder.
To complete all these projects within the stipulated time frame was beyond Xiao Clan's current manpower, resources, and financial capabilities. Yet they couldn't abandon the bids either. This was truly the biggest predicament Xiao Wenyao had faced in his career.
To handle all these projects, Xiao Clan began aggressively hiring employees with no restrictions on education or experience levels. As long as people applied, they were hired without interviews to work at the factories.
Some office employees, especially the younger and lower-performing ones, were also reassigned to the factories.
Xiao Clan's employees were utterly miserable - they were college and graduate school educated elites who had become factory assembly line workers overnight. Who could accept that?
Some of the reassigned employees immediately resigned, while others wanted to observe the situation, thinking that since they had partnered with X International, perhaps they would flourish eventually.
Watching the chaos unfold in his company, Xiao Wenyao's hair turned white overnight, unsure of how to proceed.
Meanwhile, Xiao Yongze was enjoying a candlelit dinner with his wife and children.
"Husband, I saw little Qi's daughter today. She has such big, beautiful eyes!"
Xiao Yongze was peeling shrimp for Song Jiaxi as he smiled, "Yeah, she's quite a beauty with those sparkling eyes that remind me of the first time I saw you."
"Really?"
"Yes, the first time I saw you, you were around seventeen or eighteen. It was at the school's New Year's dance. While other students were busy socializing, you were alone in the buffet area, sneakily eating little cakes one by one from a small plate."
"You even got startled when I approached you back then, those big eyes of yours just staring at me in shock."
Xiao Yongze reminisced about that time, his heart filled with sweetness. It was then that those eyes had bewitched his soul, and from that moment on, he saw no one else.
Song Jiaxi also recalled those old times, her face slightly flushed, "Well, it's because you walked without making any noise and suddenly appeared in front of me. How could I not be scared!"
Xiao Yongze smiled indulgently, "Okay, okay, it was all my fault."
Then he took a plate full of peeled shrimp meat and placed it in front of Song Jiaxi, "Here, I peeled them all for you. Eat up."
Song Jiaxi giggled, "Thank you, husband!"
Having long grown accustomed to the constant sweet interactions between the two, Xiao Yuanning lowered his head and wolfed down his food, wishing to flee this sickeningly saccharine place as soon as possible.
Was it easy for him? Having grown up in such an environment from a young age, no one understood better than him the saying, "parents in true love, child an accident."
