Chapter 270: Is This Your Brother?
Changqing was bewildered and thought: Wasn’t he fine in front of so many people at the Yan Corporation yesterday? Why would he feel awkward today? “Don’t worry, I’ll definitely be there.”
“That’s a relief. Right, I haven’t had breakfast. Do you know any good breakfast places in Northern City?” Lin Yueli asked.
Changqing scratched her head. “I remember there are two places but I think they’re a little far from your hotel.”
“Why don’t you take me? You haven’t eaten either, right?” Lin Yueli said, “I heard the rice vermicelli here is pretty good.”
“Alright. Then wait for me; I’ll drive over to pick you up,” Changqing said.
She set a time with him and drove over quickly.
She knew there was a shop that sold pretty good rice vermicelli that would take about a half hour’s drive.
When the piping-hot rice vermicelli was served, Lin Yueli started blowing on it and eating in large mouthfuls.
Changqing looked at him and smiled. She lowered her head to eat her rice vermicelli and froze.
She recalled that morning Song Chuyi brought rice vermicelli home for her in the morning. He even chided her for eating in bed without brushing her teeth first.
Thinking of it now, the fresh rice vermicelli even tasted a little bitter.
“Why aren’t you eating?” Lin Yueli looked at her curiously.
“I’m a little hot,” she said casually.
Lin Yueli looked around and stood up immediately to turn the fan so it pointed at her.
Changqing thanked him. Suddenly, the phone in her bag rang.
She took it out and froze when she saw the caller ID.
It was Song Chuyi.
Why’s he calling me?
“Aren’t you going to pick it up?” Lin Yueli asked.
She came back to her senses, hung up and placed the phone aside, saying, “It’s just some scam call.”
“I’ve heard there are a lot of scam calls in China.” Lin Yueli glanced at the phone thoughtfully for a while, smiled and continued eating his rice vermicelli.
In the villa, Li Shaobin ate a mouthful of noodles lazily and yawned. He looked at Song Chuyi sitting opposite him, looking at his phone gloomily. “Why? Did Qing Baobao not pick up your call?”
Song Chuyi glared at him. “Don’t say weird nicknames. Who’s Qing Baobao? Don’t you think you’re disgusting?”
Li Shaobin bared his teeth. “Didn’t you save it that way on your phone? You two are so mushy.”
“She saved it like that herself.” Song Chuyi stood up coldly after saying that.
“Where are you going?” Li Shaobin blinked.
“I’m going to the Yan Corporation to introduce CEO Sun to the company.” Song Chuyi went upstairs to change.
After driving off from the villa, he went to pick up CEO Sun before going to the Yan Corporation together. There was a traffic jam on the way and by the time they arrived at the Yan Corporation, it was already 10.
When they reached the entrance of the company, they were stopped by the staff at the front desk. “Excuse me, have you made an appointment?”
“I’m looking for CEO Yan; I’m his son-in-law. My surname is Song,” Song Chuyi said lightly. “This is CEO Sun. He’s here to discuss a business partnership with CEO Yan.”
The staff at the front desk were stunned. She had only seen Lin Yiqin, but now, there was another deal. She suddenly recalled the business marriage between the Yan and Song families that she heard about and she said quickly, “Please wait for a while. I’ll call to ask about it.”
When she called, it was Yan Lei’s secretary who accepted the call. “Son-in-law?”
“Yes, he said he’s CEO Yan’s son-in-law,” the staff at the front desk said softly. “He’s not Mr. Lin. He said his surname is Song.”
The secretary had also heard some news about the Song family and Yan family’s matters. Nowadays, the moment she mentioned the Song Family, Yan Lei would get fired up. She thought for a while and said, “CEO Yan has an important meeting with a client. Get them to sit for a while in the guest room on the first floor.”
The staff at the front desk led Song Chuyi and CEO Sun to the guest room to take a seat after receiving the instructions and served them tea, saying apologetically, “Please have a seat for a while. CEO Yan is signing an important contract with a client at the moment.”
Song Chuyi asked, “What kind of important contract is it? Is it a partnership?”
The staff at the front desk hesitated for a while. She thought that since this person was CEO Yan’s son-in-law and the secretary already said they were signing the contract, implying that it must’ve been decided, she replied, “Yeah, it’s a pretty big client. I heard he’s from overseas.”
Song Chuyi was stunned. CEO Sun quickly asked, “Dr. Song, it seems like the Yan Corporation has already found a new partner, so it doesn’t seem as urgent as you mentioned to me. No wonder he wasn’t in a rush to see us.”
Song Chuyi didn’t reply and continued asking the staff, “Wasn’t the situation quite bad previously?”
“I think he’s a friend of Miss Yan’s.” The staff at the front desk smiled. “Not your wife; could it be your… I don’t know. You’re not… an impersonator, right?”
Song Chuyi’s expression changed slightly. CEO Sun smiled. “How could he be an impersonator? He’s the young master of the Song Family. How could you say something like that?”
“I’m sorry.” The staff didn’t dare to go on. “Take a seat for now; I still have to go back to work.”
When she left, CEO Sun said, “Dr. Song, I think this isn’t actually so urgent. I think the Yan Corporation has found a big client from overseas. If the company breaks into the overseas market, there’s really nothing for you to be worried about.”
“CEO Sun, since we’re already here, let’s just wait for a while,” Song Chuyi said gently.
CEO Sun nodded.
The two waited for around half an hour. Before CEO Sun glanced at his watch. “Dr. Song, I still have something to do and I doubt the other party has intentions to talk to us. I have to go. I think you shouldn’t wait any longer either.”
Song Chuyi knew that CEOs were all busy and half an hour was enough to delay many business opportunities. He didn’t say anything else. “CEO Sun, please go ahead.”
“Look at how polite you are. It’s fine.” CEO Sun finished his cup of tea and left.
Song Chuyi sat quietly for another 20 minutes before seeing the group of people walking out from the elevator through the vertical blinds.
Walking right in the center was a young gentleman. His height made him stand out from the crowd. On his left was Changqing and on his right was Yan Lei.
Yan Lei was talking to him with a smile while Changqing looked at the two with a smile in her eyes. Her height reached up to his shoulders and she appeared small and delicate in front of him.
Song Chuyi’s face turned cold. He stood up and walked over. “Dad, Changqing…”
The group was stunned. Yan Lei saw the complicated look in his eyes. Changqing was completely stupefied. She didn’t expect him to be there.
Lin Yueli raised his brows slightly and asked with a smile, “Changqing, is this your brother?”
Changqing’s lips trembled and moved. She didn’t know how to reply to this question. No one replied to him either.
Brother?
Song Chuyi scoffed inside. He said solemnly, “I’m not her brother; I’m her husband.”
The smile hanging on Lin Yueli’s face froze for a while. He looked at Changqing and saw her hanging her head low, her hair draped on both sides of her shoulders. She didn’t deny it and that told him it was true.
At that moment, he felt a surge of fury from being deceived arising from within.
Before this, he had never heard her mentioning anything about being married. Was she trying to cheat him on purpose?
“Chuyi, what are you doing here?” Yan Lei asked.
Song Chuyi replied truthfully, “I wanted to introduce a business partner to the Yan Corporation. He’s CEO Sun from Taiyi Pharmacy; I’m not sure if you’ve heard of him before. His company has opened several branches. He was waiting with me just now but left a while ago.”
“I got it, I understand your kind intentions.” Yan Lei nodded and said, “However, the Yan Corporation’s crisis has been resolved now. You can go back first; I still have things to do.”
After saying that, he walked towards the main entrance. Lin Yueli glanced at Song Chuyi and followed Yan Lei out. He glanced at Changqing from his peripheral vision and saw that she had her head hanging low, following behind Yan Lei from start to end. It seemed like she didn’t really want to talk to Song Chuyi.
He recalled that she hadn’t received a single intimate phone call back in Mauritius. Could it be that the couple didn’t have very good relations?
“Changqing…” Song Chuyi called out to her softly with a frown. If it wasn’t for Yan Lei’s presence, he would’ve definitely pulled her over without a care.
“I have something to do too.” Changqing looked at him helplessly.
Since they already made things clear, why must he still call out to her?
She turned her face away callously and followed Yan Lei.
Song Chuyi walked to the main entrance and saw her and Lin Yueli entering Yan Lei’s car together.
He stood there alone and suddenly felt like he had become the extra person.
No one liked him and no one wanted to see him. Even his help seemed to be unnecessary.
He had only left for a few days, but it seemed as though his spot had already been filled.
He glanced back and walked towards the front desk. The lady at the front desk was a little intimidated by his cold face. “Is anything else the matter?”
“Who was that man just now?” he asked coldly.
“I’m not sure.” The lady at the front desk was already about to cry. How was she supposed to answer that question? Would it affect the couple’s relationship? “I’m only working at the front desk; how am I supposed to know what goes on upstairs?”
“Didn’t you say it was Miss Yan’s friend?” Song Chuyi’s eyes narrowed.
“I only saw that Miss Yan was with him both times he was here.” The lady at the front desk said softly, “You should ask your wife back home.”
Ask?
If only he could ask.
Song Chuyi scoffed.
At the entrance of the restaurant, after having lunch, Yan Lei sent Lin Yueli all the way to the entrance of his hotel.
He smiled and waved to Lin Yueli. Yan Lei got the chauffeur to send Changqing back to the company since her car was still parked there.
“Is this Mr. Lin interested in you?” He turned his head to ask his daughter.
Changqing was stunned and felt slightly awkward. Actually, she couldn’t really put a finger on it. Was he interested? It seemed as though there was a hint of it back in Mauritius, but they hadn’t really kept in contact after she returned, and as for this time, she only sought him out because of the company. However, even if it wasn’t for the Yan Corporation, she still had to do her duty as a host since Lin Yueli was in Northern City.
“Don’t force it upon yourself.” Yan Lei patted the back of her hand and said tenderly, “Dad made a mistake once and I don’t want to make the same mistake twice. This time, I definitely won’t allow my daughter to sacrifice herself to resolve the Yan Corporation’s issues. Actually, I’ve thought about it before. If we really can’t find a business partner, I will sell the company and return the money to the Song family. The remaining money would still be sufficient to operate a small business to lead a peaceful life with your Auntie Shen. I’ve worked hard for half my life so that my daughters can lead comfortable lives. When our family’s status rises, you can marry a good man. However, human hearts in this world are vicious. Sometimes, status and background aren’t that important. What’s important is that he treats you well.”