CH 25

Gong Ze Yun listened to their conversation while sipping on his drink. His gaze was dark and unfathomable.

The four brothers were as one; tight-knitted. Even if the current discussion seems to have nothing to do with him, the others did not purposely avoid him and kept him out of the loop.

“Second Brother, you looked lost in thought,” Gan Yun Ting suddenly said.

“Nothing, it just feels odd. Third Brother seemed to have changed recently,” Gong Ze Yun replied steadily.

Ji Nan Feng turned and glanced at Gong Ze Yun. He countered, “Second Brother seems to be different too.”

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Gong Ze Yun narrowed his eyes, smiled and chose to say nothing. He did not know that Ji Nan Feng was in a similar situation; a person who was given a chance to ‘redo’ their lives. Hence, facing a completely different Ji Nan Feng from the previous life, he felt inexplicably uneasy. However, one thing was for certain, his Xin’er would not end up the way she did in their previous life. As for Duan An Ran, she would not have a good ending. Like now, she hid like a rat, scurrying through the streets.

But so what? After experiencing the previous life, he now chose to forgo his relationship with his brother and snatch Xin’er over. However after a few interactions with her, he discovered that this would not be as easy as he originally expected.

In their previous lives, although Xin’er was intentionally or unconsciously hurted by his brother, she never thought to leave him. If he were to say that she was stubborn and irrationally obsessed previously, then in this life, Gong Ze Yun felt that Xin’er had gained inexplicable courage from deep within. 

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Sitting at the corner of the room, where the rest did not pay attention to, Gong Ze Yun smiled.

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~~~~

At Jiu Zi.

“Xin Xin, your company looks fantastic, the environment feels good, and your colleagues seem very friendly,” Xu Qing Man gushed.

“If I’m successfully selected to partake in the Bai Sha Exhibition, you’ll become my main model. Then, you’ll also be a part of this company,” Mo Li Xin told her. 

If her designs managed to get chosen, she would have surpassed many of her senior coworkers and become the company’s design director. With that, she would be able to sign an individual under the company, to be her main model.

“Xin Xin, I really believe in you. You’ll definitely be selected! My babe is the most awesome!” Xu Qing Man proclaimed excitedly. Others may not know, but she did. Miao Bai was none other than Xin Xin. To be invited by Bai Sha Exhibition to be one of their judges, Xin Xin was definitely more than qualified. 

Mo Li Xin smiled, she believed that she would too. At times when one had the ability, there was no need to be overly humble. And that was known as  having confidence.

“Li Xin, you’ve arrived! Hurry, hurry, come sit down.” Before Mo Li Xin could reach her seat, Dai Meng hurried over and startled her, completely ignoring the beauty next to her.

The other people in the office also looked equally thrilled. With the exception of Li Na, who had never liked her from the beginning.

“What is it?” Mo Li Xin asked, what could possibly cause so much excitement?

Xu Qing Man’s ear perked in curiosity. She did not seem to care that everyone did not gap at her peerless beauty.

“Li Xin, your work was selected!” Dai Meng announced proudly and exhilaratingly. It was as if the selected design belonged to her.

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Mo Li Xin paused, “oh…”

Everyone was hoping to see an ecstatic Mo Li Xin. Yet, she took her time to reply and it was just a soft and cute ‘oh’.

Everyone stared at Mo Li Xin like she was a monster.  

Similarly, Xu Qing Man, who had been neglected, was also equally calm. ‘So what? My Xin Xin is the highly reputable Miao Bai. If you all knew about it, wouldn’t you faint in shock?’

Dai Meng was not satisfied as she did not gain the reaction she expected. So she continued, “it’s not just one piece, but two! Both sets of wedding dresses were shortlisted. As for the ranking, it has yet to be announced. But this is already very good. You’re truly my idol! Do you really have nothing to say about this?”

“En… That’s good, not bad,” Mo Li Xin felt that if she did not respond more ‘normally’ it might seem too unconventional. But her lukewarm reply was as good as if she did not reply.

Sigh… for the ever low EQ Mo Li Xin, with poor social interaction skills and little friends. She should rejoice that her company’s culture was like that of a warm haven and everyone was so friendly.

If Mo Li Xin’s previous life was that of a bearer of misfortunes; with a rough life, ill-fated, and had a horrible death. Then her current life was no doubt God’s beloved child; the chosen one. 

Grandpa Ji likes her, her mother-in-law adores her, her husband was not only handsome, but also considerate and kind. In the era of fake materialistic friends, she had a sincere bosom friend. Even at work, she was surrounded by colleagues who were amicable.

And life would be ever so boring if not for the presences of insignificant shit stirring people like Li Na and Duan An Ran. Although they tried hard to create drama, it inevitably led to their own demise. 

But of course, these would be things of the future… 

“Xin Xin, since you got selected, why don’t you treat your colleagues to a meal to celebrate this joyous occasion?” Xu Qing Man suggested it in a timely manner. ‘Anyways, it’s not like you lack money to do so.’

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Treating others to dinner was one of the best ways to win people over. Xu Qing Man believed that if her bestie continued being so oblivious to forming such relations, in the long run it would not be too good. Hence, she thought of this idea to give her a helping hand. 

No one knew this best friend of hers better than she did. Xin Xin was not foolishly kind, neither was she a saint. Especially recently, as long as it did not cross her bottom line, others can say and do whatever they want. But once her bottom line was touched, she would not continue to take things lying down. Being a coward and being weak were two different things. Even having low emotional intelligence did not mean that one was stupid and coould not differnaite between right and wrong. She was still able to tell if a person had ill intentions towards her. Her bestie may be soft spoken and courteous, but that was due to her personality.

“Oh, this is?…” Dai Meng and the others finally noticed that there was a foreign person amongst them.

Due to the buzzing news upon their arrival, it completely slipped out of Mo Li Xin’s mind. She quickly recovered and introduced, “my model, Xu Qing Man. She’s here for the fitting today.”

“Hello everybody! Happy cooperation, may we get along well!” Xu Qing Man greeted naturally and candidly. She felt that it was a must to build good relations even if they may not have many chances to work together in the end.

“Hi there, it seems like the saying that good-looking people hang out together is true. Li Xin is beautiful, and you’re attractive too,” Dai Meng sighed.

The surrounding group nodded in agreement.

After exchanging a few more words, Mo Li Xin brought her team of four into a fitting room for Xu Qing Man to try on the growns and for them to do alterations if needed. The surrounding group was reluctant to part, but their moods were happy as they managed to secure a treat.

Their firm was considered small as compared to other companies. In total, there were about twenty people, equally separated into four groups. However, it was still difficult to coordinate everyone for the meal. For new employees, there were five of them, including Mo Li Xin. Maybe six now, if Xu Qing Man was counted. 

Everyone knew that once Mo Li Xin was selected to participate in the Bai Sha Exhibition, the design director position would land in her hands. What benefits and power did a design director hold? Everyone knew clearly, hence it was not surprising to have her own main model. 

After everything was settled, Mo Li Xin remembered that she needed to call and update Ji Nan Feng on her dinner plans. He acceded and informed her that he would pick her up after her meal. He also reminded her to take note of her safety. Ji Nan Feng’s long-windedness was something Mo Li Xin had long gotten used to, so she seriously listened and agreed to his every word.

The gathering place was at an exclusive Japanese restaurant, the environment was elegant and chic. It was no wonder that the menu was exorbitant. Excluding those that were busy or did not want to come, there were a total of seventeen people. Furthermore, they booked a VIP room with a long table to fit everyone.

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The one that suggested this was none other than Xu Qing Man; someone who felt that the world was not chaotic enough, someone who seemed to regard her best friend as her enemy… 

Since it was not her money, she did not feel heartache spending it. Additionally, her answer as for why she did this? She felt that Xin Xin was too lucky in all aspects of her life. She, Xu Qing Man, might not be jealous of Xin Xin’s good fortune, but God might not be able to stomach it anymore, so she believed that Xin Xin must suffer a financial loss to prevent possible future disasters.  

Mo Li Xin, “…” Er… 

“Damn… We really came to this restaurant… I originally thought it was just a joke. Li Xin, if I had to pay for this meal, I’ll have to sell my blood, or at least use a big big big big big portion of my annual salary.” A male colleague confessed. He used the word ‘big’ multiple times to express his awe.

As Jiu Zi’s employee, and holding a slightly higher position as compared to the rest, his annual salary was already considered higher than the majority of his fellow colleagues. For him to say that it would cost more than a big proportion of his annual income, that figure was definitely not small. It truly caused others to vomit blood, not only was Mo Li Xin a highly talented newcomer, she was also a little wealthy lady… no she was an extremely wealthy Ms Perfect…  

“No worries, my Xin Xin may not have much, but money is not one of them. Just being shortlisted for the Bai Sha Exhibition, she would’ve already earned three hundred thousand. What’s more, she submitted two sets, so that’s double. In the event that she ranked top three, the sum would be even more! Would she still need to worry about this meal? It’s but a small case! Everyone, don’t need to be polite, just order to your heart’s content. Even if she can’t afford it, there’s also her rich husband. Come, come, come, have a look at the menu,” Xu Qing Man said shamelessly. No feelings of distress over the sum of money spent could be seen in her expression.

Mo Li Xin lamented, ‘One needs to be prudent when making friends! Luckily, there’s not many chances to be duped like this. Heartaching, but it’s just this once, so bear with it.’

Seeing that the host, Mo Li Xin, did not verbally object otherwise, everyone started ordering food extravagantly.

Author-sama suddenly changed second male lead’s name from Gong Ze Yun to Gong Yun Ze… ಠ_ಠ I stuck to the initial naming… 

Same with the number of new employees that got hired alongside Li Xin. Author-sama stated Li Xin and Li Na only. What happened to Mao Hong, Ryan, and another random dude introduced in Chapter 15??? (so I sorta, change the sentencing to include them…) ｢(ﾟﾍﾟ)