After returning home with the child, her ex-husband knelt down and gently coaxed her.

"Has Ou Teng agreed to cooperate?"

In the office, An Ning could hardly believe it.

Lu Xiyan clearly told her that he would not consider cooperating, so why did he suddenly agree to cooperate?

Could it be that Liang Xu helped in the middle?

"Yes, the legal department's contracts have all been approved."

Dong Chenghai looked at An Ning with delight and praised, "An Ning, you did a really good job!"

An Ning couldn't laugh. She seemed to have done nothing wrong, so how could this be...?

Thinking of this, she couldn't help but recall the contract that Lu Xiyan had placed in front of her that morning.

Cooperation or money: choose one.

She didn't choose anything.

His eyes suddenly flickered. Could it be that Lu Xiyan agreed to cooperate just because they slept together for one night?

"Anning," Dong Chenghai suddenly asked, "did you tell me you were going to resign because you found a better place to go?"

"No, Mr. Dong." An Ning shook her head.

She resigned at the time because Lu Xiyan had said that he would only look at the project proposal if she resigned.

She casually said, "I just feel like I'm not good enough."

"Please don't say that. If you weren't capable, how could you have secured this cooperation?" Dong Chenghai looked at her, a smile of appreciation in his eyes. "My judgment of people is never wrong!"

"Thank you, Mr. Dong." An Ning asked, "So, is this project progressing smoothly?"

"Hmm. But..." Dong Chenghai looked slightly troubled, "Anning, there's something I need to discuss with you."

"That's right. You're the one who put this project together, so no one knows it better than you. Mr. Lu from Auten also thinks so. Once we start working together, you'll be in full charge."

Dong Chenghai glanced at An Ning's face and said, "So President Lu suggested that after the cooperation, you be sent to Ou Teng to follow up on the cooperation project."

"Going to Ou Teng?" An Ning asked in surprise, "Going straight into Ou Teng?"

"Yes, that's the decision made by President Lu and me, but it still depends on your own opinion." Dong Chenghai, afraid that she would refuse, advised, "Joining Ou Teng can take full responsibility for the cooperation project between the two parties, which will allow you to make the most of your abilities."

After saying that, he sighed again, his tone troubled, "President Lu said that no one understands this project better than you. If you are not willing to go to Ou Teng, then this cooperation may be a bit difficult."

An Ning pondered for a moment. She didn't object to working at Ou Teng, but she couldn't figure out what Lu Xiyan was thinking.

If you clearly don't want to see her, why do you still let her work at Auten?

But if we get closer to him, will there be more opportunities to clear up some misunderstandings?

After a moment, she nodded in agreement, "Okay, I'll go to Auten."

......

Back at her workstation, Anning became increasingly confused.

Why did Lu Xiyan suddenly agree to cooperate?

She opened the text message on her phone. Could it be that he actually saw the message and misunderstood something, thinking that her advances last night were for a business deal, and therefore, adhering to his principle of not taking advantage of others, he signed the deal?

If that's the case, shouldn't she praise him for being generous?

Sleeping with someone for one night can secure a multi-million dollar collaboration.

"Sister Ningning!"

Huang Yuanyuan slid her chair closer, "Why aren't you happy about the collaboration? This collaboration is amazing! Promotions and raises are a piece of cake. We lowly laborers are so envious!"

"It's a good thing Sun Liangying resigned. If she knew that you closed a deal in just one month after failing to secure it for a year, she'd be furious!"

Anning was definitely not happy.

If Lu Xiyan truly approved of her project proposal before collaborating, then her hard work has been rewarded.

But what if Lu Xiyan's problem wasn't this, but rather... that he took a nap?

If this collaboration were to be announced, it would seem rather ridiculous.

"what?"

As Huang Yuanyuan got closer, she seemed to see something. She reached out and gently pulled open An Ning's collar, exclaiming in surprise, "Ningning, you're dating someone!"

An Ning quickly covered her collar, her face turning red. "N-nothing."

"Impossible!" Huang Yuanyuan sensed the gossip and lowered her voice. "These marks are so obvious, you can't fool me. This looks so intense. Is your boyfriend a younger, more adorable guy or a younger, more innocent one?"

"I really don't have a boyfriend/girlfriend."

The marks were indeed too obvious; when outsiders saw them, Anning's ear tips turned red.

"So you've reconciled with your ex-husband?"

An Ning shook her head.

Huang Yuanyuan asked in surprise, "You didn't use a mold, did you?"

"What is a mold?" Anning asked.

"They're male models!" Huang Yuanyuan explained to her, counting on her fingers. "They have great bodies, are handsome, know how to serve people, are incredibly energetic, and most importantly, you have to pay them."

An Ning thought about it for a moment and then suddenly smiled.

That's it, isn't it?

Lu Xiyan occupied all of them.

Seeing her smile, Huang Yuanyuan became even more certain that she had hired a male model, and quietly asked, "Really? Was the male model expensive? Was it fun?"

An Ning didn't answer, but she couldn't help but think of last night, and her face turned bright red.

"Wow, Ningning, you're a real hidden gem!" She nudged Anning's shoulder gossipingly. "You don't look like someone who's good at this kind of thing."

"Alright, alright, stop slacking off and get back to work."

An Ning blushed and quickly pushed her away, afraid that she would ask something else.

Huang Yuanyuan sighed deeply, "I wonder if the CEO Lu I have a crush on is also this charismatic. You know, he looks so aloof and reserved, what's he like in private?"

It was fine if he wasn't mentioned, but as soon as he was, An Ning's face turned bright red.

If Huang Yuanyuan knew that the very person on her neck was the same person Lu, the aloof and celibate CEO, who was kissing her, how would she feel?

Just as Huang Yuanyuan was about to slide her chair back to her workstation, she suddenly noticed that Anning had circled the date of the 27th of the month on her calendar.

"Ningning, are you really going to Dianchi Lake on a business trip?"

Huang Yuanyuan pointed to the circled date. "Sun Liangying arranged for you to go there with ulterior motives. This place is remote and far away, and no one else wanted to go, so she sent you. She's gone now, so you can ask President Dong if you don't want to go."

"Now that I've accepted this job, it's settled. I can't just back out at this crucial moment and find another colleague to take it; that wouldn't be appropriate."

An Ning looked at the 31st on the calendar, the day Lu Xiyan got engaged.

If he really decides to get engaged, then it would be best for her to leave Jinghai and not witness this grand event.

But there were some things she needed to explain to him before the engagement.