Chapter 14: Lolita And Black History

After sending the email, Ye Zhen switched back to her own intranet address, unlocked the office door, and returned to her seat. Methodically, she scanned the resumes of other colleagues once again, making notes as she went. After completing her email tasks and realizing that there was still some time left before the end of the workday, she was about to open the takeaway app to find out what to order for dinner when her phone suddenly rang.

It was her mother’s phone call. Most likely, the news of her return to Beijing had somehow leaked out.

Ye Zhen hesitated but eventually pressed the answer button and weakly called out “Mom”. As expected, her mother’s voice on the other end was cold and mocking, “You come back, and don’t bother to check in! You still know you have a mother?!”

“Mom, you see,” Ye Zhen said in a submissive tone, “my company is quite far from home, so I rented an apartment nearby to make my commute easier. I wanted to get settled in first and then come visit you.”

“No need for that. My dear daughter, you are so busy. I don’t know how long it will be before you receive me, so I decided to come on my own.”

“Ah,” Ye Zhen was taken aback, “Mom, you came over?”

“En, I’m almost there. I won’t go to your company. I also brought some food. Just tell me where you’re staying and I’ll wait for you there.”

Feeling relieved that her mother seemed relatively calm and hadn’t fallen for any exaggerated rumors, Ye Zhen quickly gave out her address and decided to forget about the takeaway app. She couldn’t be bothered with trivialities right now. Although leaving work on her first day seemed a bit conspicuous, she didn’t have much of a choice. As soon as it was six o’clock, she grabbed her bag and rushed downstairs to meet her mother.

Rong Cheng Jue had just parked his luxury car in front of the company’s entrance. When he saw her, he waved and shouted, “Ye Zhen, over here! What a coincidence, you’re getting off work. Let me give you a ride.”

Ye Zhen pretended not to hear and turned in the other direction. Rong Cheng Jue took off his sunglasses, got out of the car, and caught up with her. He leaned close to her ear and whispered softly, “What’s wrong, junior sister? Will you not listen to your senior brother?”

Some jokes are best used sparingly, otherwise, they lose their value. Ye Zhen thought as she stared expressionlessly at the person in front of her. She was about to extend her hand to push him away when she heard a woman’s voice behind her, dripping with sarcasm and teasing, “Deputy Director Ye, during the interview, you told me that you didn’t know the CEO. But now it seems like that might not be the case, huh~”

Ye Zhen turned her head to see the woman behind her. She was extravagantly and exquisitely dressed, but her sneering expression revealed a touch of meanness.

Rong Cheng Jue blinked and looked at Ye Zhen before asking, “Who is she?”

“Well, shouldn’t you ask yourself?” Ye Zhen’s memory was good, but it still took her a moment to remember the person in front of her. This person was Du Lexin, the head of the distribution department, whom she had only met once before and who had already caused her trouble even before she joined the company. So it was pretty clear that this hostility was Rong Cheng Jue’s fault, no matter how you looked at it~

Upon hearing her reply, Rong Cheng Jue actually turned his head and asked Du Lexin, “And who are you?”

The person one’s heart was anxiously longing for didn’t even recognize her. Du Lexin’s eyes immediately turned red and she said, “CEO, it’s me, Du Lexin!”

Rong Cheng Jue thought for a moment and finally remembered, “Oh, you are from the Distribution Department of Rong Entertainment, right?”

“En,” Du Lexin replied with a slightly coquettish tone, then continued in an angry tone, “CEO, don’t you remember? I actually met you before I joined Rong Entertainment.”

“Really, when?”

“Just, just there was this time, where we—”

Seeing the two of them engrossed in conversation and feeling that she was no longer needed, Ye Zhen took a step back, intending to leave. However, Rong Cheng Jue reached out with his long arm and pulled her back, lowering his head to comfort her, “Wait until I finish asking,” he said, urging Du Lexin, “Go ahead, tell us what happened between us.”

Du Lexin bit her lip and continued, “Our cars… accidentally collided, and your car hit mine. Then you got out of the car and asked if I was hurt. I said no, and you also gave me your number and said I could contact you if anything came up.”

“—So,” Rong Cheng Jue interrupted, “have you ever called that number?”

“Yes, I have.”

“You should be aware that it’s not my number you called; it belongs to my assistant, Ah Zhan. I gave you his number in case you felt unwell later and needed to contact someone for compensation, not to…” Rong Cheng Jue’s smile seemed ambiguous as he continued, “…make you say such ambiguous things here and cause misunderstandings.”

“But, I did it for you, CEO—”

“I advise you, if you still want to stay at Rong Entertainment, to put away your unnecessary thoughts,” Rong Cheng Jue said mercilessly. He didn’t even spare a glance at Du Lexin. Then he reached out to block Ye Zhen’s face, preventing her from looking, and even pushed her towards his car. Playfully, he called out, “Junior sister, hurry up! I feel like someone is taking pictures of us again. Let’s hide in Senior Brother’s car so they won’t take pictures. They must be trying to make us more popular!”

The ability to switch from “domineering” to “stupid” in a second was also a kind of skill, wasn’t it…

It was precisely because of this that he successfully blurred his image and… seriousness in front of her.

Ye Zhen obediently got into the car, and Rong Cheng Jue, thinking his plan had succeeded, happily sat in the driver’s seat. He leaned over to help her fasten her seatbelt, but Ye Zhen swatted his hand away.

Rong Cheng Jue pulled back his hand and pretended to be innocent as he gripped the steering wheel. “It’s rush hour, the subway will be crowded. Junior sister, do you live near Hua University? It happens to be on my way. How about Senior Brother giving you a ride?”

“In response to the Senior Brother’s offer, I rented an apartment near the company so that I could concentrate on my work and not waste time commuting. It takes about seven minutes to walk there. Besides,” Ye Zhen paused, “the road in front of me is a one-way street with restrictions on motor vehicles. If the Senior Brother insists on giving me a ride, it might take more time.”

“Let me see the address,” Rong Cheng Jue persisted with a pleading face.

Ye Zhen lowered her head and sent him the address of the residential area. Rong Cheng Jue used the GPS to check it out, and indeed, it required a considerable detour. He turned to look at Ye Zhen and noticed that she hadn’t reached out to open the door and leave. So he cleverly started the car and said as he drove, “Hmm, let me take a look. It doesn’t seem too far.”

Ye Zhen remained silent, closing her eyes, and faked sleep.

After all, the distance wasn’t that far, so fifteen minutes later, Rong Cheng Jue’s car arrived at the entrance of the residential area. Ye Zhen opened her eyes and said, “Just park here. The security of the residential area doesn’t allow outside vehicles to enter.

“Oh, really?” Rong Cheng Jue unbuckled his seatbelt and said, “Let me get out and ask.”

“Rong Cheng Jue,” This was the first time Ye Zhen called him by his name, and it sounded even better than Rong Cheng Jue had imagined. “Thank you, and also, I have recognized you too.”

“Ah, what are you talking about?” Rong Cheng Jue denied it with a straight face. “Recognize me? We just met recently, didn’t we?”

“In the past, when I was young and didn’t know any better, even though I am six years younger than you, I took advantage of you and tricked you into calling me ‘older sister’. I’m sorry,” Ye Zhen confessed.

Ah, ah, ah, it’s so scary, it’s so scary! This day has finally come!

Being taught by a Lolita, calling her “Lolita Sister” and even wanting to pursue her as a girlfriend… Every single thing was black history. Rong Cheng Jue covered his face, wanting to find a hole to hide in. “Some things are better left between us, let bygones be bygones, can we not talk about it?”

Ye Zhen couldn’t help but curl her lips, but as she thought about what to say, she turned her head away and said, “I couldn’t ask for more.”

“Good, Good,” Rong Cheng Jue breathed a sigh of relief, “Then it’s settled.”

“That’s settled then,” Ye Zhen unbuckled her seatbelt, opened the car door, and said politely, “In the future, I would appreciate it if the CEO could keep an appropriate distance from me and not make those jokes of Senior Brother. I came to Rong Entertainment to work, and I want to get along with my colleagues in a friendly manner. I don’t want any misunderstandings like what happened with Director Du.”

By the end of her words, it was almost a tactful suggestion–- he hadn’t confessed, and she had already refused.

Unexpectedly, “recognizing each other” led to such a result. Rong Cheng Jue was momentarily unsure of how to react. Ye Zhen seemed to linger a bit, taking a few steps forward before turning back and saying, “There are still people waiting for me at home, and it’s not convenient to invite the CEO in. I can only say goodbye here. Thank you for giving me a ride. Goodbye.”