Princess Syndrome - Chapter 132
Chapter 132: Incorrigible
Su Lingyue had always thought that Shen Yuan had a gift for making dry jokes. As expected, she rolled her eyes at Shen Yuan and continued looking into the mirror. The door behind her opened, and Jiang Yunlu walked in. Su Lingyue got up to greet her. "Sister Yunlu."
She was calling her that way because Ji Zhiyi did. Shen Yuan glanced at her.
When they had first met, she had called her Sister Bai Lu. When she teased her, she would call her Big Sister Bai. When she was angry, she would call her Bai Lu directly. Yes, they would have arguments back then, and they would also fight. Then, Bai Lu would buy her favorite desserts and secretly hand them to her when she was off work.
All anger and arguments would be gone.
Bai Lu had said she was so easy to fool that a piece of dessert would be enough to trick her. Shen Yuan hadn't said anything at the time. What she had liked wasn't the desserts, it was the person who had given them to her. So whether she had been given a dessert or something else, she would follow Bai Lu wherever she went.
But Bai Lu had left too abruptly, and she hadn't caught up.
Shen Yuan closed her eyes.
Jiang Yunlu sat next to her. Her scent was faint. Shen Yuan thought of how, back then, when they didn't have money to buy perfume, every time they bought laundry detergent, they would compare and see which one smelled better. Later, when she had hugged Bai Lu, she had said, "You smell good."
Bai Lu had said, "It's the smell of laundry detergent."
She had said, "It's not."
It really wasn't.
For so many years, Shen Yuan had always remembered that scent. It was a fragrant, warm scent. It was a scent that she couldn’t replicate, no matter how many perfumes she customized.
When Ji Zhiyi returned to the private room, Jiang Yunlu was talking to Su Lingyue. Su Lingyue had originally wanted to ask about Ji Zhiyi's time abroad, but Jiang Yunlu didn't know much. She hadn't known her before, and after she had woken up, she mostly just listened. Ji Zhiyi was not one to talk much. It was mostly Ji Zhisi who would come and chatter about her sister, and that was how she knew a little bit.
But everything she was saying, Su Lingyue already knew, so Su Lingyue just smiled.
When Ji Zhiyi sat next to her, she whispered, "What are you smiling about?"
Su Lingyue looked at her, raising an eyebrow. "You wouldn't understand."
Ji Zhiyi could tell that it was related to her, but she didn't press her, just nodding and smiling.
Jiang Yunlu asked them, "What do you want to eat?"
Ji Zhiyi said, "Anything's fine, Sister Yunlu, you order."
Jiang Yunlu ordered some signature dishes. Then, Shen Yuan had them prepare some soft food. Jiang Yunlu was still recovering and had to be careful about what she ate, so she didn't eat much. She drank a little bit of chicken soup before they finished. Ji Zhiyi also scooped a bowl for Su Lingyue. After the meal, Jiang Yunlu asked Ji Zhiyi, "Have you told uncle and aunt about Lingyue?"
Ji Zhiyi looked up and nodded. "Yes."
"Zhisi told me." Jiang Yunlu said. "Uncle and aunt asked her if she knew who it was."
Ji Zhisi didn't know. Her relationship with Ji Zhiyi wasn't very close. She had liked clinging to Ji Zhiyi when she was young, but later on she had become a little afraid of her, especially after seeing Ji Zhiyi’s serious side when she was handling business. She was scared of her from the bottom of her heart. She didn’t talk to her as much as she talked to Zhang Xian, so she didn’t know who it was.
But Ji Zhisi knew who Ji Zhiyi's assistant was.
Her parents naturally knew, but they had thought that there were other assistants, and they hadn't dared to make the connection to Su Lingyue. Later, when they had finally confirmed that it was Su Lingyue, her mother had wanted to call Ji Zhiyi.
Ji Zhiyi said, "My mom didn't say anything."
She had made the call, but she hadn't mentioned her relationship with Su Lingyue. She had only told her to take care of herself.
Jiang Yunlu nodded. "Perhaps aunt also didn’t know how to bring it up."
Ji Zhiyi understood this.
Jiang Yunlu asked her, "Are you going home with Lingyue for the New Year?"
Ji Zhiyi looked at Su Lingyue. "What do you think?"
Su Lingyue said, "Are you going back?"
Ji Zhiyi nodded.
Su Lingyue said, "Then I'll go with you."
Her tone was natural and intimate. When she said she would go with her, she didn't hesitate at all. Jiang Yunlu smiled as she watched them talk. Su Lingyue asked, "Are you going home for the New Year too?"
Shen Yuan glanced at Jiang Yunlu's face out of the corner of her eye after hearing that question.
Jiang Yunlu had been especially quiet since waking up this time. Or rather, when she was with her, she was very quiet. Sometimes, she didn't know what Jiang Yunlu was thinking. When she asked, Jiang Yunlu would say that she was thinking about the past.
Shen Yuan didn't dare to ask much.
Jiang Yunlu said, "I'm not going back. My mom..." She paused for a moment. "...is coming over."
Su Lingyue thought of her relationship with Jiang Ya, and for a moment, didn’t know what to say.
Jiang Yunlu looked at Ji Zhiyi. "Oh right, I heard Shen Yuan say that you have a new company?"
Ji Zhiyi said, "Yes, it’s just starting out."
Jiang Yunlu said, "That's great."
It was great to be able to start anew.
There was envy in her eyes. Ji Zhiyi said, "Come and see it sometime when you're free."
Jiang Yunlu said, "Okay."
Shen Yuan noticed that when Jiang Yunlu was chatting with Ji Zhiyi and the others, her body was completely relaxed. Even when she mentioned Jiang Ya, she would only pause for a moment, then look gentle.
It wasn’t the same as the tension she showed at other times.
So she had dragged out this gathering for as long as she could, until it was past 9 PM before they finished. Su Lingyue watched the two of them get into the car and leave. Ji Zhiyi put her arm around Su Lingyue's shoulder. "Why didn't you ask me?"
Su Lingyue turned her head. "Ask you what?"
Ji Zhiyi said, "Didn't you want to know about Sister Yunlu’s matters?"
Or rather, she wanted to know about her and Shen Yuan. Su Lingyue had indeed wanted to know at first, and she had also come with curiosity, but after an entire evening together, she shook her head.
Ji Zhiyi looked at her.
Su Lingyue said, "You guys still haven't adjusted, let alone her."
After lying down for so many years, it couldn't be solved in just a day or two. It wasn't something that could be solved by rehabilitation or adjustment. The memories she was missing, perhaps an unconscious action could make her feel as though things had changed drastically from the past.
Jiang Yunlu.
She was also someone who was sensitive and perceptive, so it was not strange that she was like that at all.
Ji Zhiyi laughed at her words.
Su Lingyue wrapped her arm around her waist. "What are you laughing about!"
Her fierce face drew closer. The cold wind ruffled her hair, sending it flying everywhere. Ji Zhiyi gathered her hair and placed the hat she had brought in her bag on her head. Su Lingyue's palm-sized face was small and delicate under the hat brim, her skin fair, her eyes clear.
Ji Zhiyi really wanted to kiss her.
Su Lingyue's gaze had a hook in it, drawing Ji Zhiyi into her gaze, but she knew where she was, so she restrained her desire and returned to the car with Su Lingyue. Her flight was early the next morning, so Su Lingyue didn't make any trouble that night. The two of them hugged each other. The tenderness before parting was both short and long. When Su Lingyue woke up, Ji Zhiyi had already gone to the airport.
She had also left her breakfast.
Su Lingyue called Ji Zhiyi while eating breakfast, only then remembering that she was on the plane. Putting down her phone, she missed her again. The wind howled outside the window. She turned her head to watch the leaves being blown across the glass. The scene when she agreed to try things out with Ji Zhiyi felt like it was just yesterday, but in the blink of an eye, half a year had passed.
She must have been enjoying herself too much.
Su Lingyue had heard that people didn't notice the flow of time when they were happy. It was indeed true. Thinking of this, she sent a very mushy message to Ji Zhiyi, then laughed at her phone before busy putting it down, her eyes sparkling.
It was still early when she got to the office. There weren’t many people in the secretariat, but Zhang Ting had arrived. She was sitting at her desk, staring at the computer. Her eyes lit up when she saw Su Lingyue. "Assistant Su, good morning!"
She looked excited and full of gossip.
Su Lingyue walked over, holding her empty cup. "Morning."
Seeing this, Zhang Ting also grabbed her cup and linked arms with her. "I know who the person standing next to Shen Yuan yesterday was!"
Su Lingyue asked, "Who is it?"
"Jiang Yunlu!" Zhang Ting said. "Does that sound unfamiliar? You definitely know her mom, Jiang Ya! She's President Ji’s godmother! It’s said she’s the real person in charge behind the scenes at Yilin! That Jiang Yunlu is her daughter!"
Su Lingyue nodded. "Where did you hear all this news?"
Zhang Ting smiled smugly. "I have an informant."
Su Lingyue was speechless.
She knew too well.
They had even eaten together last night.
After speaking, Zhang Ting suddenly thought of something. "That's not right, did you really not know? You two were even hugging yesterday!"
Su Lingyue didn't hide it from her. "I knew."
Zhang Ting was speechless.
It turned out that all the effort she had spent to find connections to investigate wasn’t as useful as just asking Su Lingyue. She dropped her face. Su Lingyue said, "I only found out yesterday, too."
Hearing her say that, Zhang Ting immediately felt better. She asked curiously, "So, she hugged you yesterday?"
Su Lingyue said, "As a greeting."
Zhang Ting said, "Oh,"
What a warm greeting.
She had thought that Jiang Yunlu liked Su Lingyue.
Thinking of all the unfounded guesses, she was ashamed. She laughed awkwardly. Secretary Li also walked in with her cup. Seeing them, she called out, "Oh, good morning."
Zhang Ting said, "Morning."
Secretary Li looked at the two of them. "What are you talking about?"
Zhang Ting said, "We’re talking about the person who was standing next to Shen Yuan yesterday. Do you know who it was?"
Secretary Li shook her head. "Who is it?"
Zhang Ting became smug again. "You don't know, right!"
Secretary Li said, "I don't know, but I have some big news too."
As she said this, she sipped her tea leisurely. It wasn't time to go to work yet. Not many people were around. The tea room wasn’t busy. The three of them sat in the rest area, and Zhang Ting nudged her. "Come on, tell us. I'll trade you."
Secretary Li hadn't planned to keep it a secret. Hearing her say this, she smiled. "It’s about President Ji."
Su Lingyue immediately perked up her ears.
Zhang Ting clapped her hands. "President Ji is coming back?"
Secretary Li shook her head. "Do you know about the company’s grand annual meeting this year?"
Zhang Ting said, "Who doesn't know about that?"
She had thought that it was some news. The grand annual meeting this year was jointly organized by four brands, including Dingsheng and Yilin. In the past, Su Qi had been an important participant, but this year, they had been replaced by Yilin.
Secretary Li said, "Then do you know what will be exhibited this year?"
It was related to President Ji.
Zhang Ting said loudly, "The Haoyue series?"
Secretary Li covered her mouth. Zhang Ting nodded. Secretary Li said, "It’s not just the Haoyue series. I heard that President Ji's last piece from the Haoyue series will be exhibited."
Everyone had heard more or less about the last piece from the Haoyue series. Many people had contacted Ji Zhiyi, wanting to collect it at a high price, but Ji Zhiyi had declined. The last piece of this series had not yet been released. No one knew what it looked like. It was understandable why everyone was so curious about this pair of shoes. Secretary Li said, "The person in charge of Aron will also be attending the annual meeting this time."
Zhang Ting said, "Is it for those shoes?"
Secretary Li said, "Maybe. Some of the works in previous annual meeting showcases could be auctioned. What if President Ji wants to participate in the auction this time? That’s why I heard that a lot of collectors are coming to the annual meeting."
Su Lingyue listened intently, drinking her water as she listened. Zhang Ting said, "Why is it the last pair?"
Secretary Li whispered, "I heard that President Ji's inspiration for the Haoyue series came from someone she liked. Maybe she's been longing for that person for so many years. She feels too tired, so she wants to let it go, which is why she’s closing the series."
Zhang Ting patted her shoulder. "That makes sense!"
Su Lingyue was sitting next to them. She coughed.
Secretary Li turned to look at her.
Su Lingyue pretended to sip from her cup, and ran her fingers through her hair before tucking it behind her ear, trying to suggest something. "Maybe she’s caught them, so she feels fulfilled and no longer wants to create this series."
After hearing her words, Secretary Li thought for a few seconds, and then ignoring her, she turned to Zhang Ting. "You were saying that she wanted to let it go. Could it be that she’s decided to auction the Haoyue series, which is why so many collectors are coming to the annual meeting?"
Zhang Ting was enlightened, patting Secretary Li's shoulder again. "That makes sense!"
Su Lingyue was at a loss for words.
What nonsense! Incorrigible!
They’re in for a wakeup call.
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