Chapter 856 - 519: Sneaking Through Chencang? Not Even the Yellow River Can Wash Away This Stain (Part 3)

Chapter 856: Chapter 519: Sneaking Through Chencang? Not Even the Yellow River Can Wash Away This Stain (Part 3)

Lin Luyou drove away from Guantang Villa, and her tense nerves finally relaxed a little.

Since it was the weekend and there was plenty of time, she went home. By the time she got there, it was already close to one in the afternoon. Her parents were home, and the food they had prepared hadn’t been touched.

"I said I had something to do and would be a bit late. You should just eat without waiting for me," Lin Luyou frowned.

"It’s fine. It’s the weekend, and your dad and I ate breakfast late, so we’re not hungry. I’ll go heat up the dishes. I made your favorite food today, you should eat more. Have you not been eating well outside? How come you’ve lost weight since last week? You’re not trying to lose weight, are you?"

"No, maybe I’ve just been too busy lately," Lin Luyou coughed.

"No matter how busy you are, you still need to eat," the middle-aged man pretending to watch TV on the sofa said in a serious tone.

Lin Luyou nodded, "I know."

"How’s work lately?"

"The kid rarely comes home to eat, don’t always ask her about work..."

"If she had someone she was dating, I wouldn’t always ask her about work."

"You’re something else... things like this can’t be rushed. How old is Youyou anyway?"

...

Lin Luyou was used to her parents’ discussions and didn’t get involved. She went into the kitchen to help her mother heat up the dishes, and only then did she remember last night’s events.

To celebrate a new colleague joining the team, the lab had a dinner party at a hot pot restaurant that was just five or six minutes’ walk away from the lab.

Over twenty people attended, and they reserved a private room with two tables. Jiang Shiyi, being her assistant, naturally sat at the same table, but Lin Luyou’s seat was right next to several other female colleagues from the lab, with quite a distance between them.

Since Jiang Shiyi joined, Lin Luyou had always been worried. She kept a low profile in the lab and was afraid he’d stir up drama and bring attention to her.

However, since Jiang Shiyi was her assistant, she couldn’t avoid him while working.

Originally, she was on edge, but she found that Jiang Shiyi was particularly serious at work, seemingly viewing her only as his superior and colleague. Her deliberate attempts to avoid suspicion, or her cautious approach, instead appeared conspicuous and unnatural.

A week passed with no incidents.

Eating hot pot, drinking beer, and with the double weekend tomorrow, the atmosphere was already lively. Later, Jiang Shiyi and other new colleagues toasted the director and pushed the atmosphere to a peak.

Lin Luyou didn’t drink alcohol and ordered plum juice with a few female colleagues, eating hot pot and observing him at the same time.

He was wearing a casual suit, mingling among everyone, clinking glasses, and toasting, looking nothing like someone with a cleanliness obsession.

After being at the lab for a week, no one spoke ill of him, all praising the Jiang Family’s good upbringing. But who could tell what he was really like beneath that facade...

As she was pondering, Jiang Shiyi had already walked over to her, "Team Leader..."

Lin Luyou hurriedly stood up with her plum juice, it was her turn to be toasted.

"Thank you for taking care of me this week..." Jiang Shiyi said politely. To be honest, throughout the week, the lab colleagues were watching the dynamic between this senior-junior pair with a gossiping mindset, but reality disappointed them; the two seemed just like ordinary colleagues.

"I toast to you. I’ll drink up, and you can do as you like."

"Mm." Lin Luyou nodded, taking small sips of her plum juice.

Nothing was supposed to happen, but something did go wrong at that moment...

The female colleague beside Lin Luyou was adding meatballs to the hot pot. The red broth was bubbling and boiling, and as the meatballs fell, sparks suddenly splattered out.

"Ah—" The colleague got a tiny splash of hot oil on her forearm. Jiang Shiyi was standing between her and Lin Luyou, and his clothes accidentally got splattered too.

"What happened?" everyone’s attention immediately turned to them.

"It’s nothing, just got a little burned accidentally," the female colleague said, pulling out a napkin to wipe her arm, and then she noticed Jiang Shiyi’s clothes, "Sorry, your clothes..."

Someone like Jiang Shiyi, who had a cleanliness obsession, naturally noticed his suit was stained early on. He said nothing, but Lin Luyou could clearly sense that someone was in a bad mood.

She almost instinctively pulled a few napkins to help him wipe, but someone was faster than her...

The female colleague also didn’t think much about it. She pulled two clean napkins to help him wipe but was stopped by Jiang Shiyi, "I’ll do it myself."

"Ah..." The female colleague was stunned for a moment, then realized her direct action was rather inappropriate, "Sorry."

"No problem."

Jiang Shiyi wore a gray suit today, and the oil stain was particularly noticeable on it.

Although they had only worked with him for a week, everyone knew he had a bit of a cleanliness obsession, so when they saw his clothes were dirty, they couldn’t help but feel a bit tense.

Especially when Jiang Shiyi directly took off his jacket, the female colleague felt particularly embarrassed.

Jiang Shiyi didn’t let the female colleague touch him, yet he reached out and grabbed the napkins clutched in Lin Luyou’s hand, which drew teasing glances from everyone around them.

"How about I take your clothes to be cleaned for you?" the female colleague offered.

"No, it’s okay," Jiang Shiyi responded calmly without revealing any emotion.

The people around chimed in to ease the situation, "It’s still quite cold out tonight. If you take it to wash for him, what will he wear home? He might catch a cold."

"Yeah, and if he gets sick, would you be responsible? This could go on forever."

...

Lin Luyou originally thought it had nothing to do with her, but unexpectedly Jiang Shiyi suddenly looked at her, "Do you still have one of my jackets at your place?"

Originally, everyone was cheerfully smoothing things over, but upon hearing this, they were all dumbfounded.

How did Jiang Shiyi’s jacket end up with Lin Luyou?

Everyone looked at the two with knowing eyes. No wonder in the studio, the two acted so serious, not even a flicker of an eye contact was noticed. So, they were secretly playing romance under wraps...

The supervisor joked with a laugh,

"In our office, there’s no rule against colleagues dating, haha..."

Having peacefully made it through the week, she didn’t expect to be dragged down by Jiang Shiyi on the last working day. There’s no way to wash away the rumors now.

After Jiang Shiyi returned to his seat, a female colleague teased with a few words, "Group Leader Lin, you two hid it well. Make sure to say a few good words for me in front of him, I didn’t do it on purpose."

"Him and I..."

"I know, you two aren’t close, everyone in the office knows," she said with a smile.

Lin Luyou was both embarrassed and annoyed, but she couldn’t refute—Jiang Shiyi did indeed have a jacket left at her place.

And then, an even more daring move came...

The hot pot restaurant was very close to the lab, and everyone was waiting to see how these two would transfer the "stolen goods" right in front of everyone. Unexpectedly, Jiang Shiyi leaned over and murmured:

"I had a bit of alcohol tonight. My brother is driving to pick me up. I won’t go back with you to get the jacket tonight, I’ll come find you for it another day."

"..."

You kept me on edge all night, and now you say you don’t want the jacket for the time being?

Reschedule?

She originally planned to shove the jacket back to him, making everything clear, but now it was endless.

However, that evening Jiang Chengsi did come to pick him up. Initially, the office was supposed to cover the dinner bill to welcome the new colleague, but the boss saw Jiang Chengsi come by and seemed to know him, so the bill was waived and mentioned future gatherings would have discounts.

Everyone acknowledged the Jiang brothers’ favor, lowering the teasing and no longer making fun of Jiang Shiyi and Lin Luyou’s relationship.

But Lin Luyou knew deep down, no matter how much she tried to clarify, nobody would believe there’s nothing between them.

...

As Lin Luyou recalled last night’s events and thought about today’s antics by Jiang Jinsang, she couldn’t help but sigh. The Jiang brothers, they all have scheming minds, none of them are simple and harmless.

**

Guantang Villa

After seeing off Lin Luyou, Tang Wan went to the kitchen to cook, and Jiang Jinsang had just fed Lord Wansui some dried shrimp when he received an overseas call.

"Grandpa, you’re still not resting at this hour?" The country where the Shen family’s grandparents lived should be evening now.

"I’m going to sleep soon, how’s Wanwan?"

"She’s cooking." Fan Mingyu and the old lady originally wanted to hire a cook for the two, but Tang Wan declined, "Do you want to speak with her?"

Jiang Jinsang thought Shen Lao was calling him because he couldn’t reach Tang Wan.

"No, I have something to discuss with you."

"Go ahead, please."

"I want to buy an apartment in Beijing. Didn’t you and Wanwan just recently buy a place? You have experience. I’d like you to help me find some good listings, preferably existing units, two bedrooms if possible, so we can move in quickly."

"Are you and grandma planning to move back here permanently?" Mentioning a two-bedroom made Jiang Jinsang guess a little.

"Please keep this a secret for now..."

"Apart from this, anything else you need my help with?"

"Nothing else necessary." The old man chuckled, "Oh right, how’s Shuci doing?"

"Auntie..." Jiang Jinsang laughed dryly, "She’s doing well."

"That’s fine. That Xiaohuo is too far and not reliable. I trust you more."

Jiang Jinsang chuckled deeply.

"Once I handle matters abroad, I plan to go back and give Shuci a surprise, so don’t mention anything for now." After instructing about this, Shen Lao brought up the house hunting again, urging Jiang Jinsang to pay attention.

"I understand, as for finding a house, rest assured, I’ll take care of it for you."

After hanging up, Jiang Jinsang pursed his lips, a surprise?

If someone puts in the effort, perhaps... auntie might give you all a surprise too.