A small candy

Chapter 18 I seem to have a love rival

Jian Ling was busy when her phone screen lit up. She paused her work and looked at the WeChat message from Cheng Zhixu in surprise.

She only thought about giving the gift, but she didn't think about how she would answer if Cheng Zhixu asked about it after giving the gift.

Her purpose was to make her feelings for him more obvious, not to confess them completely to him.

Jian Ling stared at the chat box for half a minute, rolled her eyes, and finally made up a reason that was not very convincing but could fool people.

Jian Ling: "Last time I was late, you let me take the exclusive elevator. Thank you very much. This is a thank you gift!"

Cheng Zhixu: "It's been so long, and you're only thinking of thanking me now?" That's too insincere.

Jian Ling held her forehead with her hand. Mr. Cheng is busy with all kinds of affairs, how could he still have the time to ask questions?

It was a fabricated excuse to begin with, so how could it withstand interrogation? Jian Ling could only continue to explain vaguely: "That's because I've been very busy lately. Yes, I'm very busy."

Cheng Zhixu stared at the phone screen without replying. The image of her face surfaced in his mind, coupled with her constant insistence that she was "very busy," and Cheng Zhixu felt a little annoyed. He casually threw the phone on the table, his eyes dark.

What are you busy with? Are you busy on a blind date?
After waiting for a while, Jian Ling did not receive a reply from the other party. She raised her eyebrows embarrassedly and concentrated on her work.

A little after eleven in the morning, Jian Ling rubbed her aching shoulders and neck. Thinking that lunch would be soon, she took out the medicine bottle from her bag and took several medicines that she should take before the meal.

Just after swallowing a pill, Dai Wangchu came out of the supervisor's office with two documents. He walked over briskly, put the documents on Jian Ling's desk, and raised his eyebrows meaningfully.

Jian Ling thought there was a new project, and her temples were throbbing faintly: "What is this?"

Dai Wangchu leaned over and whispered in her ear, "My supervisor asked me to take this document to Mr. Cheng for his signature. Of course I thought of you for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"

Jian Ling was not choked by the water, but by the pill she had just swallowed. After taking several sips of water, she finally got rid of the pill stuck in her throat.

"Thank you, you are such a good sister to me!"

Jian Ling expressed her gratitude from the bottom of her heart. To save time, she poured all the remaining medicine into her palm and stuffed it into her mouth. Then, she was deeply nauseated by the bitter taste of the mixed medicine. Before she could retch, she emptied the cup of water into her mouth like a hero.

Dai Wangchu was frightened by her aura.

During this time, she had witnessed Jian Ling taking her medicine, and it was incredibly difficult. No matter how small the pills were, she had to take them one by one, and each pill required several sips of water. Even then, sometimes she couldn't swallow them. Several times, she'd vomited the pills that had already slipped down her throat, forcing her to take them all over again...

This was the first time she had taken all the medicine at once so smoothly.

Jian Ling wiped the water stains from the corners of her mouth and burped. Really, she felt full even after taking medicine.

She put down the water cup and quickly took out a bottle of perfume that she always kept in the drawer. She sprayed it on her wrists, rubbed her wrists a few times, and wiped it behind her ears.

Jian Ling blinked and asked Dai Wangchu, "Can you smell the medicine on me?"

The two of them huddled together, whispering to each other. Other colleagues had no idea what they were doing. Dai Wangchu, a military advisor, was very conscientious and responsible. He took a deep breath, then solemnly shook Jian Ling's hand and said in a low voice, "I can't smell it. It's all the fresh and charming scent of perfume."

"Okay, I have to go now. It will be lunchtime if I don't leave soon."

Jian Ling felt her stomach. She had only eaten a little in the morning, and after a busy morning, she was starving. She had felt full from drinking water just a moment ago, but she was already feeling hungry again after just a short while.

Jian Ling took the two documents, ran out, and took the elevator to the 48th floor.

Last time, she was sent by her supervisor to ask Cheng Zhixu to sign a document. As a result, she accidentally stained her skirt during her period and made a big fool of herself in front of him. This time, she would not say anything.

Jian Ling stood outside the president's office, pursed her lips, adjusted a smile that was just right for everyone, then straightened her back and knocked on the door.

As she imagined the scene of meeting Cheng Zhixu later, she felt as if electrified. She felt that all the pores in her body were dilated and she was so excited.

The smile that had been adjusted spread out involuntarily, and the upward curve of the corners of the mouth became bigger and bigger.

Help, calm down, calm down. It's not like we haven't seen each other before. It's just that I've been busy with work and recuperating lately and haven't seen him as much...

Before she could finish her thoughts, Jian Ling heard the sound of high heels coming from the door. She was a little confused, but before she could think about it, the door in front of her was opened.

The bright smile on Jian Ling's face gradually faded as she stared at the woman who was half a meter away from her.

She wore a smoky blue satin dress with tiny, delicate floral embroidery on the hem. The pattern was only slightly lighter than the dress itself, which perfectly complemented her fair complexion, making her look like a graceful white lotus standing by a pond. With her curved eyebrows and almond-shaped eyes, her smile was gentle and charming, and she was extremely beautiful.

"Are you looking for Mr. Cheng? Come in." The woman stepped aside to let her in.

Perhaps it was a woman's intuition. When Jian Ling looked at her, a sense of crisis inexplicably surged from the depths of her heart. Then the alarm sounded in her brain, and her hostility was overflowing.

The woman waited for Jian Ling to come in, then she let go of the doorknob and the door closed automatically. She turned around, smiled slightly, and called out to the man buried behind his desk, "Cheng Zhixu."

Jian Ling's breathing was choked.

She knew her intuition was right! The intimate tone and familiarity, mixed with a subtle hostess aura, definitely didn't mean she was an employee of the company.

She knew it!

Cheng Zhixu looked up, caught off guard by Jian Ling's presence, and raised his eyebrows. Jian Ling, unable to contain her surging emotions, glared back fiercely.

Cheng Zhixu froze for a moment, his eyes filled with confusion.

Jian Ling slammed the documents on the table in front of him, her lips tightly pursed, afraid she'd lose control of her temper and burst into questioning. "No stance, Jian Ling, you have no stance. You're just an ordinary intern now. How can an intern throw a tantrum in front of their boss? Do you think you're still the same as you are at home, throwing whatever fuss you want?" Jian Ling silently lectured herself, finally calming down a bit.

"Mr. Cheng, please sign." Jian Ling squeezed out a few words from between her teeth.

The woman standing by the door seemed to sense the atmosphere was a bit strange and frowned slightly. Before Cheng Zhixu could say anything, she reminded him, "It's lunchtime. Is the document urgent? If not, let's go eat first."

Jian Ling opened her eyes wide. They still wanted to eat together?

Cheng Zhixu didn't respond. He looked at Jian Ling's changing expression and found it very interesting. The unpleasant feeling that she had caused him in the morning also disappeared.

Shen Qinghe didn't get his answer, and a subtle emotion arose in her heart. She walked over. Cheng Zhixu coughed softly as she approached the desk and raised his chin slightly: "I'm asking you a question. Are you waiting for the documents?"

Jian Ling hadn't heard Dai Wangchu's request for the supervisor's permission, so she assumed there was no rush. Mr. Cheng could come back anytime after he finished signing. But now, she didn't want to give Cheng Zhixu an easy time, so she lied calmly, "It's urgent. Mr. Cheng, please sign now."

Shen Qinghe reminded again: "It's already lunch time."

"Hold on."

Cheng Zhixu said this and flipped open the documents on his desk. A quick glance told him it wasn't what Jian Ling had said; it was a project for next quarter. He glanced at the girl standing upright across from him, and he chuckled to himself, lying without blushing.

He spent more than ten minutes reading the document above, signed his name on the last page, and when he raised his hand to turn to the second document, an inappropriate sound suddenly rang out in the quiet office.

Jian Ling suddenly lowered her eyes, unable to believe that the sound came from her stomach.

"Gululu——"

As if to confirm her guess, her stomach growled again.

Jian Ling's face didn't turn red when she lied just now, but now it's completely red.

She finally understood that whenever she met Cheng Zhixu, she would be in trouble. She had to roar again. Life really couldn't be too smooth in other aspects. Being too smooth in other aspects would result in a bumpy road in love.

Jian Ling curled her lips and looked at Cheng Zhixu with an expression that said "I'm used to it" without saying anything.

Cheng Zhixu closed the pen cap under her despairing gaze. Jian Ling was stunned for a moment, thinking he had forgotten, and pointed to the lower one to remind him, "There's another one that needs to be signed, too."

Cheng Zhixu said nonchalantly, "Okay, I'm going to eat. I'll come back to get it this afternoon."

Jian Ling's mood was clearly down. She uttered an "oh" and left the office with her head hanging. When she reached the deserted hallway, she suddenly turned around and gave the closed glass door a weak kick. How long could it take to sign a document? He was so impatient to go out to dinner with someone!
Jian Ling returned to the planning department, fuming. Dai Wangchu had already packed up and was waiting for her return. "How's it going? Any major progress?"

"There's no big progress, but there are big surprises." Jian Ling was not in high spirits, and her tone of voice was listless.

The two walked into the elevator hand in hand, accompanied by other colleagues from the same department.

When they weren't busy, everyone would eat lunch at a few restaurants near the company. Dai Wangchu and Jian Ling found a restaurant they hadn't eaten at before, ordered a few dishes, and sat down across from each other.

Dai Wangchu could hardly contain her gushing desire for gossip, so she sat down and asked directly, "You just said a big surprise, what surprise was it?" There were many colleagues in the department at that time, and she was embarrassed to ask for details.

Jian Ling held her chin with both hands, looking out through the floor-to-ceiling glass window at the sun-baked street outside, her brows furrowed tightly. "I think I have a rival in love."

"What do you mean?"

"Exactly. I saw a strange woman in his office. She had a great figure and was very beautiful. She was very close to him. I'm pretty sure she wasn't an employee of our company."

Jian Ling became increasingly irritated as she spoke, forgetting for a moment what Dr. Chen had told her not to let her emotions get too extreme. But could she control her emotions just because she wanted to?
Dai Wangchu was stunned after hearing this.

"My mission hasn't been successful yet, and Cheng Yaojin showed up midway. What should I do now?" Jian Ling leaned back in her chair, folding her arms. "What advice does the military advisor have?"

The military advisor had no good ideas. The dishes arrived, and Dai Wangchu picked up a piece of chicken with his chopsticks and put it in his mouth. "I'm starving, my brain isn't working. I'll come up with a plan for you after I'm full."

Jian Ling: “…”

How could she have such a military advisor? He's like a starving ghost reincarnated.

The next second, Jian Ling also grabbed the chopsticks, picked up a piece of pork ribs for herself, and gnawed on it bite by bite, as if she was biting Cheng Zhixu's flesh.

In the CBD, everyone around you is either dressed in suits or stylishly dressed—they're all elite. During lunchtime, you can hear someone on the phone, endlessly discussing multi-million dollar projects. After lunch, the typical person strolls gracefully through the gleaming corridors beneath the skyscrapers, a takeaway coffee in hand.

After the two teams had eaten, they chatted for a long time in the restaurant. It was almost lunch time before they slowly got up from their seats and walked towards the company.

Dai Wangchu walked on the outside of the corridor, while Jian Ling walked on the inside, looking down at her phone. Dai Wangchu looked far away and suddenly noticed something. He gasped and his pupils dilated.

Jian Ling heard a gasp and looked away from her phone. She slowly raised her head, but before she could see what was happening, Dai Wangchu covered her eyes. A panicked voice rang out in her ear, "Hey, honey, didn't you just say you wanted some milk tea? Let's go get some..."

As she spoke, she used her other hand to pull Jian Ling's arm and turn her around.

"What are you talking about?" Jian Ling took her hand away and asked curiously, "When did I say I wanted to drink milk tea? I'm taking medicine and can't drink milk tea."

She turned her gaze and saw a familiar car parked three meters away. It was Cheng Zhixu's car.

She wouldn't be mistaken, she had ridden that car several times.

Jian Ling stared at that place blankly. Through the side window, she clearly saw Cheng Zhixu and the woman she had met in the office sitting in the back seat of the car. They were... kissing?
　You are dead, Cheng Zhixu.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)