Chapter 439: He Stood Amidst the Crowd (3)
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
The moment Ji Nuan staggered forward, her heart sank. She subconsciously raised her arm to seek support. However, at the thought that Mo Jingshen was the person standing before her, her arms immediately froze mid-raise.
As she was about to fall forward, unexpectedly, a firm grip tightened around her arm. She was firmly held up before she could fall.
The originally appropriate distance between them was abruptly shortened. A distinct scent entered her space; it was strong, unfamiliar, yet strangely nostalgic!
Ji Nuan’s originally composed expression turned stiff for a moment. She raised her head to meet the man’s ink-black gaze. The man’s firm grip around her arm emitted a familiar warmth; it also caused goosebumps to rise throughout her body. She instinctively rushed to step back.
“Are you all right?” The person who had pushed Ji Nuan earlier did not expect things to turn out this way. When she saw that CEO Mo appeared to have been pushed, she quickly approached with a concerned and regretful appearance.
Ji Nuan shook her head. Her voice did not reveal any of her feelings. “I’m fine.”
She seamlessly tugged her arm out of Mo Jingshen’s grip and politely spoke: “Thank you, CEO Mo.”
Mo Jingshen did not reply. His gaze scanned past her distinct outfit. While everyone else was dressed fashionably, Ji Nuan only wore a large, white T-shirt and pair of loose beach pants. Her flip-flops were previously concealed by her long pants but were now clearly revealed. She stood out from the crowd and appeared especially careless, as though she really came for a vacation.
His gaze shifted downward once more. “Can you stand firm?”
“I can.”
His gaze landed on her flip-flops. Her snow-white skin was still speckled with sand bits that she did not manage to wash off. With one glance, it was clear that she had quickly washed them after playing at the beach and ran out soon after.
What a superficial appearance.
Mo Jingshen kept his gaze away. He calmly said, “There are too many people here. Everyone should return to what they are doing. Don’t let this happen again. Let’s split up.”
After finishing his words, Ji Nuan clearly sensed that he had glanced toward her once more. Ji Nuan did not return his gaze and kept her eyes focused on her toes, peeking out of her long pants. She shrunk her toes back slightly, and in the next instant, she saw from the corner of her eyes that Mo Jingshen had already left.
“CEO Ji, did you hurt yourself earlier?” someone asked in concern by her side.
“I’m fine. I can only blame myself for not standing firm.” Ji Nuan smiled.
Earlier, she had come over in a rush. It was only now that she noticed everyone was neatly dressed. Although they weren’t as formal as they were during the exhibition last night, they were at least dressed in suits or appeared suitable for meetings. She was the only one who appeared to have come fully for the resort experience and was decked out in beachwear.
She took the opportunity before anyone noticed her to smile at the people by her side before quickly sneaking back to her room.
—-
She still had another night here. It seemed like Xia Tian and Xiao Ba were intentionally giving her time off; they did not give her even a single call. The phone was silent to the point where Ji Nuan wondered if she had paid this month’s bill.
In the morning, many corporate leaders and businessmen spent their time building relations and exchanging superficial words. The atmosphere was quite good.
In the late afternoon, they began to slip into a relaxed, vacation mindset.
A businessman who had more than two years of partnership with MN Group found Ji Nuan at the beach. He chuckled. “CEO Ji, you really came to enjoy the resort. Everyone is here looking for opportunities to interact and build relations with others, and even the young ladies are flitting about like butterflies attracted to flowers. You’re the only one who seems like a thoughtless child; you ran all the way here to play with the sand. Earlier, one of the city leaders brought you up and mentioned that MN Group has grown to become a renowned property corporation in Hai City. He also talked about MN Group’s headquarters being moved from London back to Hai City. He gave you many praises and was looking for you. Who would have thought that you would be playing with sand here.”
Ji Nuan was carelessly drawing on the sand with her fingertips. When she heard his words, she turned back with a chuckle. “I’ll appear when I’m needed. But today’s occasion is more casual. It’s better to keep a low profile if possible. The business world is often biased against women. They can make up all sorts of false accusations against a successful woman. If I make too much of a commotion with my appearance, it might lead to unnecessary rumors. A person’s edges should be restrained when necessary.”
He saw that Ji Nuan had no plans to gather with the rest. After two years of partnership with her, he understood her character somewhat well. He smiled, saying, “Shall we play some sports later? How are you at golf?”
“Average. I’m not especially good at it,” Ji Nuan smiled superficially to replied.
“Volleyball?”
“Average as well.”
He raised his brows. “Then let’s go take a look together. There are some of Hai City elites present today. Although you are maintaining a low profile, it appears as though you’re rather unapproachable.”
“It’s still afternoon. Let’s talk about it in the evening. I won’t go crowd with the rest for now.”
He knitted his brows and scanned their surroundings before approaching her. He knelt down behind her and leaned in close to whisper, “You say, you were considered successful when you were in London. Why haven’t you been able to understand the point of things since returning? It isn’t as easy to do business in Hai City as it is in London. There’s such a large crowd today, and you’ve already managed to build a good impression of yourself in the past few days. If you show up a little more and play some games, in the future, you could get things done with so much more ease. You should know as well that building connections are important in this country…”
Ji Nuan could tell that these words were truly meant as sincere advice for her. After working in this line and interacting with the local business world for so long, Ji Nuan naturally understood that she had to be sensible if she wished for things to continue going her way.
She smiled. “I’ll head over soon. The sunshine is beautiful right now. I can’t bear to leave yet.”
“You’re not afraid of getting tanned?”
“I applied sunscreen. Besides, I’ve always been the kind to anger the sun to death.”
“What do you mean?”
“My skin doesn’t tan easily.” Ji Nuan chuckled, revealing some of her dimples.
Her partner continued chatting with her before urging her to head toward the sports hall to have some fun with the rest. After Ji Nuan nodded in agreement, he stood up and left.
The blistering hot sunshine could unobtrusively be felt on the beach. Most of the people could not tolerate it and had already left.
The extensive beach was completely empty.
Ji Nuan sat for a little longer, patting the sand in her hands. When she finally stood up, she took a glance in the sports hall’s direction and removed her sunglasses. She noticed a silhouette entering the sports hall and was quiet for a moment before she kept her sunglasses away and entered.