They had three types of work outfits: spring/autumn, summer, and winter.
At present, with the weather, it was natural to wear the summer outfit. Like Shen Nian's elite office worker outfit with a ladies' suit on top, but made of a very thin and breathable fabric, so even in summer it wouldn't be too hot.
Meanwhile, Shen Nian was wearing the spring/autumn outfit, with a thicker material, and the pencil skirt below was replaced with pants.
Especially around her neck, she had a silk chiffon scarf covering her beautiful long neck.
"..." Hearing Jiang Lingling's confusion, Shen Nian unconsciously touched her own neck.
She didn't want to wear the scarf either, but yesterday Lu Lingchuan kept biting her collarbone, so there were some heavy marks that hadn't faded yet, and she had to find a way to cover them.
"Oh, this is a gift a friend brought me from abroad. I thought it looked nice, so I wore it out. Why, doesn't it look good?" Shen Nian casually made up an excuse.
Jiang Lingling shook her head and said truthfully, "No, it looks nice."
Shen Nian was beautiful to begin with, so no matter how she dressed, she looked good.
Jiang Lingling hadn't noticed before, but when she observed carefully now, she saw that Shen Nian's lip was cracked, and it was a very obvious mark.
She paused for a moment, and suddenly understood. Jiang Lingling's eyes lit up, forgetting it was work hours now, and stared at Shen Nian's mouth with a gossipy expression.
"Sister Nian! The stuff online can't be true, can it?"
"What online stuff?" Shen Nian didn't catch on.
Since yesterday's incident until now, she hadn't had time to check gossip news on her phone, so she didn't know that the hot pot restaurant incident had been exposed online and was even a top trending topic.
"Sister Nian, you really don't know?" Seeing Shen Nian's confused look, Jiang Lingling was also stunned. "The incident at the hot pot restaurant yesterday was recorded by onlookers and spread online. It was the top trending topic yesterday, number one and number two, and the heat only went down a bit today."
"I only found out after Sister Nan called me yesterday to ask about the situation," she casually mentioned.
"..." Shen Nian didn't know initially, but then she understood.
No wonder Lu Lingchuan knew about the hot pot restaurant incident.
"Did they capture our faces?" Shen Nian felt a headache coming on and rubbed her brow.
Her relationship with Lu Lingchuan had dropped to freezing point again, and she was physically and mentally exhausted, with no spare energy to deal with the online exposure.
"No, we were in a camera blind spot, so the videos spread online didn't capture our faces clearly, at most a side profile with our hair covering part of it."
Although it was just a side profile with no visible face, Shen Nian's aura was hard to hide.
She didn't need to do anything, just standing there made her seem stunning.
Even without seeing her face, just that side profile looked so beautiful, so her full face must be heavenly.
"And then what?" Shen Nian asked further.
"When that young man rushed out to protect you, someone recorded it and spread it online. Many people envied your romance, and there were many comments saying you two looked made for each other!"
"..." Shen Nian finally understood where Lu Lingchuan's anger came from.
Before Jiang Lingling noticed Shen Nian's furrowed brow, she continued excitedly, "I also think you two are very well-matched! Sure, there are many handsome men in the world, but few would rush forward unhesitatingly to block a beer bottle for you. That's true love!"
After saying that, she happily said to Shen Nian, "Sister Nian, you must be lying to me, right? You actually have a boyfriend, don't you? That young man yesterday was your boyfriend, wasn't he!"
"No..."
"Don't say you're just ordinary friends! I'm not stupid. Yesterday, the way that young man looked at you, the way he protected you - normal friends could never show that kind of gaze. Didn't you notice the tender affection in his eyes when he looked at you, Sister Nian?"
Although Jiang Lingling had never been in a relationship, she had read many CEO romance novels.
When someone truly liked someone, their eyes couldn't lie.
"I..."
"Don't explain." As Shen Nian was about to explain, Jiang Lingling interrupted her again. "And Sister Nian, your lips gave you away!"
Shen Nian unconsciously caressed her lips and felt the cracked spot, which was a bit painful.
She only noticed the obvious lip wound today while washing up, so she didn't use lipstick when doing her makeup, instead using a very sheer, light lip tint.
She applied the tint on her lips, but used a cotton swab to dab over the wounded area to avoid direct contact with the tint.
Since the lip tint was a very sheer, light color, the coverage was even and no one could tell that one spot wasn't applied.
Jiang Lingling giggled while covering her mouth, "Although I've never been in a relationship, I've seen my classmates dating, and your lips are clearly from being bitten."
If she didn't have a boyfriend, how else would her lips be injured?
"..."
Jiang Lingling was also a huge fan of the pairing between Xiao Mubai and Shen Nian. In her impression, Shen Nian was an exceptionally gentle person, and the Xiao Mubai she saw yesterday also seemed like a gentle man.
Gentle people paired with gentle people, they were simply perfect for each other.
Add to that how incredibly good-looking Xiao Mubai was, especially the way he rushed forward to protect Shen Nian - he was so manly!
Good-looking, gentle, and willing to fearlessly charge forward to protect his loved one - such men were extremely rare.
As Jiang Lingling basked in her own speculations, she smiled cheekily at Shen Nian, "Sister Nian, I agree with the netizens - I think you two are perfect together! Congratulations in advance, and may you have an eternal bond for a hundred years! When you get married, don't forget to invite me. I want to be a bridesmaid!"
"..." While Jiang Lingling chattered away, she didn't notice the chilling aura emanating from behind her.
The temperature kept dropping, plummeting below zero to minus seventy or eighty degrees.
By the time Jiang Lingling realized, it was too late. She was still talking when she suddenly felt a chill down her spine.
She clearly sensed the icy aura coming from behind her. Jiang Lingling's smile froze, and she slowly turned around. When she saw Lu Lingchuan, her face paled with horror, and her heartbeat quickened.
Lu Lingchuan had an aura and charisma that commanded respect. He was the king seated on his throne, imperious and unrivaled. That kingly presence made one instinctively bow down in submission.
Jiang Lingling was already afraid of Lu Lingchuan normally, let alone now.
"M-Mr. Lu," Jiang Lingling stuttered, her hands trembling lightly, clearly nervous, regretful, and intimidated.
Earlier, she had gotten too carried away and forgotten the company's rules.
On her first day at the company, the seniors had warned her: Mr. Lu was an extremely strict person. He didn't want important work done amidst employees' giggles and chatter.
There was a time and place for everything. During work hours, Lu Lingchuan wouldn't interfere with idle chit-chat, but during working time, one had to be diligent and focused. Anyone caught engaging in non-work conversations would face punishments ranging from salary deductions and warnings to outright termination.
