Summer Kiss

Chapter 16 Now it's time to start saving up for my wife.

Jiang Yuning touched her face; it was indeed a little hot. She made up a random excuse to brush it off.

"I'm wearing trousers today. If I were wearing a skirt, it probably wouldn't be so hot."

Fu Xicheng smiled, knowing that Jiang Yuning had clearly made up this reason, but of course he didn't expose her lie to her face.

He worried that if he exposed her lie, Jiang Yuning would abandon him and run away. After all, a girl's pride is very important.

Fu Xicheng stopped teasing her and instead let her choose the dishes.

During the meal, Jiang Yuning observed that Fu Xicheng was an elegant gentleman who was very meticulous in everything he did.

“Oh, right,” Fu Xicheng suddenly remembered something and said, “There’s no second invitation you asked me to ask about. Sorry.”

Jiang Yuning didn't mean to blame him. This invitation to the designer exchange meeting was already very rare. It was already quite good that Fu Xicheng was able to get one. She was hoping that she could get one for Meng Shuyu as well.

"It's alright, you can't force these things."

After finishing her meal, Jiang Yuning suddenly realized that her gloomy mood had vanished instantly. She glanced at the time and decided to go back to work.

"Fu Xicheng, thank you for today. I feel much better now. I want to go back to work. I'll come to your studio to paint with you again when I have time."

Fu Xicheng clasped the cup in his hands and nodded.

……

Jiang Yuning drove back to the company. As soon as she entered her office and turned on her computer, she heard Lin Yao making strange noises.

"Designer Jiang looks radiant. Did he just come back from negotiating a big collaboration?"

The woman sitting next to her also started acting up, saying, "She lost a business deal and still has the nerve to ask for leave to go out and have fun. If it were me, I would have been too ashamed to show my face."

"Exactly, I really don't know what someone was thinking, they seem to be having a lot of fun."

Just as Meng Shuyu was about to refute Jiang Yuning, Jiang Yuning gave her a look, indicating that she could handle the matter herself.

Jiang Yuning wasn't angry at all, and even her tone of voice was calm. "It's true that we lost a business opportunity, but I'm not like someone who hasn't acquired a single client in two months."

Lin Yao became unhappy when the matter was brought up. She stood up and pointed angrily at Jiang Yuning, "Jiang Yuning, show me some respect. What business is it of yours whether I have clients or not?"

"Who do you think you are, daring to tell me what to do?"

Jiang Yuning wasn't afraid of offending people, after all, some people could never become friends.

She was also quite assertive, "Lin Yao, can't you be reasonable? You can mock me, so why can't I mock you?"

At this moment, Qin Susu walked in from outside. She found the atmosphere in the office tense. Lin Yao and Jiang Yuning had been arguing, but this was all within her expectations.

She walked up to Lin Yao and deliberately said, "Yao Yao, Jiang Yuning is my best friend, and you are also my best friend. I don't want you two to have a falling out over something so trivial. We're all colleagues, and sometimes there's no need to be so harsh with your words."

Lin Yao pouted and took Qin Susu's hand. "Susu, you know I have a bad temper. I was really angry with her just now, and I didn't do it on purpose."

"Yaoyao, I'm not your boyfriend, you don't need to act so coquettishly towards me."

Qin Susu calmed Lin Yao down, then walked over to Jiang Yuning. She spoke gently, "Jiang Yuning, Yao Yao didn't mean to talk to you like that. Don't be angry with her."

Jiang Yuning felt that Qin Susu had really changed a lot recently. Since the plagiarism incident, her attitude towards her had made a 180-degree turn. For a moment, she felt that Qin Susu was possessed by someone.

"I'm not angry."

Qin Susu, ever understanding, said, "It's best if you're not angry."

At this moment, seeing that the atmosphere in the office had eased somewhat, Meng Shuyu put her hand on the chair and asked in a low voice, "Yu Ning, what exactly happened with that contract this morning? Why did the client refuse to sign it?" Jiang Yu Ning was also a little puzzled and still hadn't figured out her own thoughts.

She could understand that Gu Yan offered a low price, but his design drafts were extremely similar to hers, so she suspected that the other company and Gu Yan were colluding to deceive her.

But she had no evidence.

Jiang Yuning said, "Their director reneged on the contract at the last minute, so I plan to avoid this company and never cooperate with them again."

Meng Shuyu did not ask any further questions, and Qin Susu returned to her office chair.

……

Fu Xicheng returned to his studio and found that Xie Linzhou and Qi Shubai had already left.

The next second, his demeanor changed, and he made a phone call to Lu Zhiqian.

"Zhiqian, can you help me find out what happened to Jiang Yuning this morning? I want to know everything."

Lu Zhiqian was reviewing documents. He pinched his brow and poured himself a glass of water.

"I know about this. Jiang Yuning went to the client's company to sign the contract this morning, only to find out that Gu Yan of Shijiu Group had already secured the contract."

"Gu Yan?"

Fu Xicheng felt the name sounded familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had heard it before.

"Lu Zhiqian, can you do me a favor?"

Lu Zhiqian nodded. "What kind of help?"

Fu Xicheng's gaze darkened slightly; he had always kept Jiang Yuning's matter in mind.

"Could you investigate Gu Yan? I don't think this matter is as simple as it seems."

Lu Zhiqian thought Fu Xicheng was making a mountain out of a molehill. Clients breaking contracts at the last minute is a common occurrence, and he had experienced the same thing himself.

He retorted, "Why don't you investigate this matter yourself?"

Fu Xicheng and Lu Zhiqian were good friends for many years, and he didn't stand on ceremony with him at all.

He said matter-of-factly, "Hiring someone to investigate always costs money, doesn't it? Now that I have someone I like, I need to start saving up for my wife."

Lu Zhiqian thought to himself, "You've been saving up pretty early," and then he stated a fact: "But I haven't caught up yet, have I?"

"It will be too late to start saving once you catch up."

Lu Zhiqian stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing into the distance. Was Jiang Yuning really that charming? So charming that Fu Xicheng hadn't forgotten her even after five years.

He was very curious about how Fu Xicheng and Jiang Yuning met when Fu Xicheng went to London five years ago.
Lu Zhiqian said, "Using my money to help you pursue your future wife, Fu Xicheng, only you could do something like this."

Fu Xicheng just smiled and turned on his computer to watch the surveillance footage.

"I've already secured the land you wanted, Lu Zhiqian. If you ever need my help in the future, I'll definitely do it."

Lu Zhiqian readily agreed, "Okay, leave this to me."

"Thanks, Zhiqian."

Fu Xicheng pressed pause, his slender fingers tracing the computer screen as he murmured softly, "Jiang Yuning, when will I be able to hold you in my arms?"

(End of this chapter)