Chapter 68: To Eat Is to Be Alive!
Translator: Lonelytree Editor: Millman97
An Zining measured Ye Shuang silently. Brother Wong, who was standing beside them, felt the atmosphere changing and was internally disappointed that Ye Shuang would fail such a simple demand as bringing a glass of wine. Therefore, he tried to ease the situation by whispering, “Miss An, shall I go get a new glass for you?”
An Zining stopped him with a wave of her hand. She lowered her eyes to look at the wine glass, and with a swirl of her wrist, she asked Ye Shuang, “Why did you bring me grape juice?”
As a boss, An Zining did not like her people acting on their own. The most important skill was not their professionalism but the ability to know their place, or to put it plainly, to be sensible or tactful.
Ye Shuang was such an individual. After saving her life on their first meeting, she had gifted her an apartment and invited her to brunch. This was not because An Zining felt that indebted to Ye Shuang but because she wanted to use her actions to show that she was someone who knew how to be thankful. If someone had helped her, she would respond in kind. After that, Ye Shuang did conduct herself with a sense of propriety; she didn’t contact An Zining to ingratiate herself to An Zining. This showed that Ye Shuang knew that was the end of their interaction. They were from different circles, so there was no reason for her to attach herself to An Zining.
Their second meeting was through Han Chu. Even though this was only her second day of work, An Zining was very satisfied with Ye Shuang’s work ethic so far. The girl did not purposely drop hints before others that she had history with the boss, nor did she use a supercilious tone around others to show that she was on a level higher than them.
An Zining felt like she had quite a good eye for understanding people, but this glass of grape juice made her doubt herself. What was the real reason that made Ye Shuang decide to change the drink on her own? To be honest, swapping out wine for grape juice was not something that serious—she didn’t have to drink wine—but a sign of mutiny from her people was not something that she could ignore.
Ye Shuang smiled a bashful smile before leaning in to whisper, “When I was getting the wine earlier, I saw a guest before me who sneezed beside the wine tower.”
An Zining understood everything instantly. Her eyes that had gotten dim softened immediately and nodded with satisfaction. She took a sip out of the fruit juice and whispered back, “Well done!”
Brother Wong glanced meaningfully at Ye Shuang. This girl is openly lying! I swear she didn’t even walk over to the wine tower earlier.
As a bodyguard, it was his responsibility to pay close attention to his client’s food and drink, so it was not unnatural for him to be watching Ye Shuang was to task to fetch Sister An’s drink. Brother Wong knew the truth, but why didn’t he expose Ye Shuang‽ Because he too was a tactful man.
Since the client had accepted Ye Shuang’s explanation, that marked the end of the little interlude. Everyone was satisfied. If he acted mouthy, he would get the client to be unsatisfied with Ye Shuang, and Ye Shuang would be unsatisfied with him, ruining the teamwork for the next month. In any case, there would only be disadvantages and no advantages.
But why would Ye Shuang lie? Brother Wong was indeed curious. He believed Miss Chef probably knew something because he had noticed the two girls grumbling to themselves all holed up in the kitchen earlier. After that, Miss Chef had changed the menu because that morning he had heard they were going to have pork balls with crab sauce, but he had been rather disappointed when the dish wasn’t on the table during lunch.
The ball carried on as normal. Ye Shuang followed An Zining as the latter greeted the guests of the party. All she had to do was help An Zining carry her bag or pass her boss’ name card to the person An Zining was talking to when it was needed and occasionally fetch An Zining some cake and water. After buying into Ye Shuang’s lie, An Zining left her food choice that night to Ye Shuang, and this allowed Ye Shuang to avoid foods that were taboo for pregnant mothers.
The ball was actually very simple. It started at 6 pm, and there was a one hour waiting period for the guests to arrive and socialize with each other. Then, the host would give a speech, followed by a donation drive or auction. The guests would then be free to mingle and converse for the rest of the ball until it ended at midnight.
Of course, some guests chose to leave right after the auction, but regardless, spending money at an auction was a must for such a charity ball. Ye Shuang had a sneaky feeling that a war was coming.
As she expected, An Zining and Chen He were caught in a bidding war during the auction. It did not matter how much the other people donated; they could not bid a price that was lower than the bastard or the madwoman. These two were not lacking for money, but dignity, especially after the divorce. They did not hold back and tried to smother the other with money.
…
A travesty of a war later, An Zining and Chen He ended in a draw after members from both parties intervened. That marked the end of the auction, and it was time for the mingling. An Zining rubbed her temples and yawned surreptitiously. “I’ll go take a bit of rest in the drawing room. Ye Shuang, if you’re hungry, go have something to eat.”
Brother Wong was the security guard, so he could not leave An Zining. Plus, he had already had his dinner with An Zining earlier. Ye Shuang was different; she had come over to join her boss right after she parted from Lawyer Lin. An Zining saw herself as an open-minded boss, and she did not need two people to look after her while she rested, so she decided to give Ye Shuang a break.
Ye Shuang was indeed hungry, but she did not rush at the buffet instantly. Instead, she said politely, “Sister An, if you’re tired, shall we return home directly? After all, the auction is already over.”
“If we leave now, it’ll be an affront to the host.” An Zining raised her eyes to glance at Ye Shuang. “Leave us be, we’ll need to wait until 9 pm before we can leave.”
In other words, I have one hour left… Ye Shuang did not hesitate. She gave An Zining’s bag to Brother Wong and said, “Then, I’ll be outside. Sister An, if you need me, please call me directly on my phone.”
An Zining nodded wordlessly. Ye Shuang left the drawing room to go hunting for food. With the optimization of her body came an increased appetite. If Ye Shuang was forced to skip a meal, it would feel like torture. Nowadays, she had a daily fill of three normal meals on top of snacks and supper. If she was not careful, the food in her stomach would be digested completely. The feeling of hunger with the stomach acid churning was not something a normal human could understand.
Have you seen a homeless refugee‽ Ye Shuang felt like she was in a similar position. When she was really hungry, she believed she would not be above eating tree bark or grass.
Since she was not of the higher society, Ye Shuang did not have to pay attention to her image. She parked herself in front of the buffet and started her own kind of war. Of course, she was not so uncouth as to pile her plate up with food—that would have been too obvious. Instead, she picked a small piece of food off each tray and jumped from one tray to the other.
What if she was still hungry after a full round of the buffet table‽ The possibility of that was very small. The buffet table was long, and if she was indeed still hungry, she could always start a second round.
Just as Ye Shuang was happily stuffing herself with food, a derisive voice came from behind her. “You’re still not full yet‽”
This voice…
Ye Shuang turned around and raised her fork in greeting. She uttered through a mouth that was filled with food, “To eat is to be alive!”
“…” The expression of Chen He, who held a glass of wine in his hands, twisted slightly. Looking at Ye Shuang filled cheeks, he forced a smile and said, “Miss Ye, long time no see, aren’t you supposed to be accompanying Miss An‽”
Ye Shuang washed the food down her throat with a glass of champagne. She then smiled and replied, “Long time no see. Miss An is currently resting. Last time, I was mighty impressed by Mr. Chen’s elegant demeanor; it’s my fault for not coming to greet Mr. Chen sooner, so do accept my apology.”
Chen He’s expression twisted even further. Last time‽ Which last time‽ Of course, she isn’t referring to when she arrived with An Zining. Then, it must be time I was exposed with Eva…
Reminding himself of his real purpose, Chen He tried his best to suppress the urge to throw his wine in the girl’s face. His lips curved upwards to say, “Miss Ye’s skills also impressed me greatly last time. Based on your level of talent, the fact that An Zining only allows you to be her personal assistant is indeed too much of a waste. I wonder, is Miss Ye interested in joining my company’s department of foreign affairs?”
Department of foreign affairs‽ Ye Shuang was curiously silent for some time before whispering in return, “You mean something like having me go take care of someone whenever they refused to listen to your order?”
“…”
“Just kidding, don’t be so serious.” After toying with Chen He, Ye Shuang turned back to the buffet. Chen He had been observing this person for more than ten minutes, and the girl’s mouth had not rested in those ten minutes. But now she was going to eat again‽
Chen He had a hard time understanding this girl who seemed to pay her diet no heed when everyone else was trying to lose weight. It was then that he realized the normal way of doing things might not work on such a curious woman, so he opted for honesty instead. “How much is An Zining paying you per month? I will pay double that price.”
“Thank you Mr. Chen for your appreciation of my talent. I will definitely reach out to Mr. Chen when my contract with Miss An is over,” Ye Shuang answered easily. After all, she was a freelancer, so she had no reason to be picky with her clients. If Chen He really came to Han Chu with offer of a case, Ye Shuang naturally would not say no to money.
Therefore, she accepted the offer easily. This though stunned Chen He, as if he didn’t expect he would be able to convince her so easily. “I suspect you don’t really understand what I’m suggesting; I mean, I want to hire you.”
Ye Shuang turned toward the man with a frown. After popping a strawberry in her mouth, she uttered, “And I said I’m okay with that… How is that difficult to understand?”
Chen He thought about it and said, “Aren’t you afraid An Zining will be unhappy?”
“She paid me for my skills, and after the case is over, our relationship is over. Then you’ll pay me for my skills, and I’ll accept it. Isn’t that just normal business‽” Ye Shuang retorted with a serious countenance.
“…” Indeed, there was nothing wrong with that, but it was different from what he had in mind. Chen He tried his best to explain. “I mean, you can continue taking her salary, but I’ll pay you an extra salary on top of that…”
[F*ck, must I explain the fact that I want to buy you out as a spy so clearly‽