She held a high position in the company, and the employees and security guards who passed by greeted her respectfully.
The woman smiled and walked straight over.
Zhang Zhixuan felt rather flattered. He instinctively smiled and raised a hand to greet her.
But his hand had only just reached halfway when the woman nodded respectfully to Su Huaiming. "Hello, Mr. Su. I'm very sorry to have kept you waiting."
"It's all right." Su Huaiming said this to Secretary Zhou, but he kept his eyes on Zhang Zhixuan.
Secretary Zhou stepped aside and said, "I'll take you inside now."
Su Huaiming nodded and walked a few steps forward, then suddenly turned to look at the dumbstruck Zhang Zhixuan.
He gave him the exact same smile as before and said considerately, "Didn't you just say you could go in whenever you wanted? Come on, let's go together."
Thinking of his earlier boast, Zhang Zhixuan's lips twitched and his face burned. But in front of all the secretaries, he was angry yet dared not say a word.
Secretary Zhou's gaze moved between the two of them, and she suddenly understood something. She looked at Zhang Zhixuan with practiced politeness. "May I ask if you have an appointment?"
Zhang Zhixuan was completely mortified. He wanted nothing more than to crawl into a hole as he stammered, "I, I..."
Secretary Zhou looked helpless. "I'm sorry, but company policy doesn't allow outsiders to enter without an appointment."
The word "outsiders" was as good as telling Zhang Zhixuan that getting into the company was nothing but a pipe dream.
Su Huaiming admired the changing colors of Zhang Zhixuan's face. Feeling that it wasn't enough, he suddenly exclaimed, "Ah," and said as if he'd just realized something, "So you can't get in. You were just bragging!"
His performance was exaggerated and halfhearted, plainly saying, I'm trying to make you furious.
Zhang Zhixuan: "..."
Zhang Zhixuan: "..."
Zhang Zhixuan: "..."
His eyes nearly rolled back as he almost fainted on the spot.
Chapter 3: 003
Su Huaiming hadn't expected Zhang Zhixuan to be so unable to take it. Afraid Zhang Zhixuan would try to pin the blame on him, he stopped provoking him. He simply smiled and entered the company with Secretary Zhou.
To get here on time, Su Huaiming had skipped his afternoon nap. After spending some time in the sun just now, he felt a little lightheaded and suddenly wanted to sleep.
As they waited for the elevator, Secretary Zhou said, "President Fu is still in a meeting. I'll take you to the reception room. Sorry for the trouble, but please wait a little longer."
Afraid Su Huaiming would be displeased, she added, "The reception room is reserved for President Fu's use. There's afternoon tea and magazines, so please make yourself comfortable."
Those words were just what Su Huaiming wanted to hear. He casually said, "That's wonderful."
It was like being offered a pillow just when he was sleepy. It would be best if Fu Jingfan came later and let him take a nap first.
Secretary Zhou: "??? Hm?"
Su Huaiming came back to his senses and tried to recover. "Being busy with work proves Jingfan's career is going well. That's a good thing. I'm happy for him."
Secretary Zhou couldn't quite accept that explanation, but she knew her place and didn't press further.
As soon as Su Huaiming sat down in the reception room, someone brought him coffee and desserts. Worried he might get bored, they also brought him different kinds of magazines. The service was first-rate.
"Mr. Su, I have other matters to attend to. I'll see you later," Secretary Zhou said.
Su Huaiming nodded to her.
When Secretary Zhou left, she thoughtfully closed the door behind her, leaving Su Huaiming alone in the quiet room.
The reception room was on par with a five-star hotel, and Su Huaiming was very satisfied. After finishing his dessert, he covered himself with a blanket that had been left nearby and lay down on the soft sofa. He yawned and soon drifted off to sleep.
Sleeping too long in the afternoon only made the mind foggy. Consciousness seemed submerged beneath a layer of water, unable to clear for a long while.
Su Huaiming sat up on the sofa, folded the blanket and put it aside. For a moment, he forgot where he was.
Just then, the reception room door was pushed open.
Secretary Zhou looked apologetically at Su Huaiming, who had been waiting for a long time. "I'm sorry. Something urgent came up at the company, and President Fu went to deal with it. He can't make it over."
It was really a bit much to make someone wait two hours without a word of explanation. Secretary Zhou felt bad about it. "It was my oversight that made you wait so long, Mr. Su."
Su Huaiming's thoughts were sluggish. His thick, curled eyelashes fluttered twice as he raised his eyes to look at Secretary Zhou.
Having just woken up, his clear eyes were veiled with moisture, as though he had been crying. Secretary Zhou mistook Su Huaiming's dazed expression for the helplessness of someone who had been neglected. With his slender frame and forlorn expression, he looked every bit like someone who had been let down.
Secretary Zhou thought of her cold, unfeeling boss, who seemed devoid of human emotion, and sighed inwardly. She felt a little more pity for Su Huaiming.
When she spoke again, her tone was much gentler. "President Fu said he'll call you when he has some free time. Please don't misunderstand."
Su Huaiming's mind finally cleared, and he waved a hand casually. "It's fine."
He had come here to catch up on sleep in the first place. It didn't matter whether he saw Fu Jingfan or not.
Seeing that Su Huaiming was still pretending to be calm, Secretary Zhou couldn't bear to expose him and merely nodded.
Since he couldn't see Fu Jingfan and had already slept and eaten his fill, Su Huaiming had no reason to stay. He was just about to leave the reception room when he suddenly remembered he had something to tell Fu Jingfan too. He turned and instructed her, "Make sure you remind Fu Jingfan to call me."
Secretary Zhou once again misunderstood, thinking Su Huaiming couldn't let go of Fu Jingfan. She nodded repeatedly and assured him she would remind him.
Although Secretary Zhou had plenty of work to do, she insisted again and again on seeing Su Huaiming to the entrance. Even after he got into the car, she stayed where she was, watching it drive away.
Su Huaiming turned to look at Secretary Zhou's receding figure. Recalling her words, he felt something was a little strange.
??? Why did Secretary Zhou keep looking at him so sorrowfully... Could Fu Jingfan be dead!!
Su Huaiming shuddered, but he thought that was unlikely and soon put it out of his mind.
After Su Huaiming returned and finished dinner, he received a call from Fu Jingfan.
Over the phone, Fu Jingfan's voice was deep and magnetic, his intonation level, making it impossible to guess what he was feeling.
"Something came up unexpectedly this afternoon. Sorry to have kept you waiting."
Although Su Huaiming had never met Fu Jingfan, he could tell from his words that he should be easy to communicate with.
"It's fine." Su Huaiming paused. "I happen to have something to tell you."
The other end of the line was very quiet. Su Huaiming heard the soft scratch of a fountain pen on paper. After a second or two, Fu Jingfan spoke. "Go ahead."
"I'm going to take part in a childcare variety show in five days. I don't know if you mind." Su Huaiming figured that wealthy families had a lot of bullshit to deal with, so he ought to let Fu Jingfan know.
"I won't interfere with your career." Fu Jingfan continued, "Are you taking Xiao Xiao on the show with you?"
Su Huaiming thought of the brat his agent had mentioned and felt that Fu Xiaoxiao fit the description perfectly. So he asked, "Can I?"
"If Xiao Xiao is willing, I won't interfere," Fu Jingfan said succinctly.
They had settled everything in just a few sentences. Su Huaiming was very satisfied with Fu Jingfan's attitude and efficiency, and went on to ask, "What did you want to tell me?"
"Just a few small things." Fu Jingfan continued, "I hope you can spend more time with Xiao Xiao in my place. But since you're going on a variety show together, you should be able to do that. Also, you're the master of the house. I hope you can not only take good care of Xiao Xiao, but also manage matters at the villa."
Fu Jingfan was giving him authority, and Su Huaiming naturally wouldn't pass up such a good thing. "No problem."
"All right, that's all I have to say." Fu Jingfan waited two or three seconds. Seeing that Su Huaiming didn't speak, he simply said goodbye.
The tone of their conversation was less like that of newlyweds and more like business partners: concise and highly efficient.
That was just what Su Huaiming had hoped for. After hanging up, he spent some time on his phone.
As soon as he opened Weibo, he saw that the childcare show's official announcement had shot up the trending searches.
["Let's Set Off Together": We've invited three groups of guests and one acting parent to travel and grow together with the children, creating happy memories all their own. Come see what sparks will fly between them!
@Su Huaiming and his son @Sun Siyuan @Ji Mingzhe and his daughter @Yu Ruicheng and his younger brother]
Let's Grow Together was the country's first childcare variety show. As soon as word of its preparations got out, it sparked widespread discussion online, and netizens were eager to see the adorable little ones.
The production team was also skilled at marketing. They had previously spread all sorts of rumors about connections, some true and some false, and encouraged netizens to guess the guest lineup, digging up gossip about celebrities getting married and having children along the way. This kept interest in the show from waning, and more and more people began paying attention.
Taking advantage of the momentum, the production team released the official announcement. Within minutes, it had received over a thousand comments.
[Finally, you're here!]
[Ahhhh, I'm so excited!]
[I really want to see adorable little kids on a variety show. Human cubs are the best!]
[Why do we still have to wait five days? Can't you hurry it up?!]
Besides these usual comments, more netizens focused their attention on the guests, with most of their criticism directed at Su Huaiming.
[What the hell? Su Huaiming is only twenty-two. How does he already have a child?]
[Fuck, he's such a scumbag. He knocked someone up at such a young age!]
[Su Huaiming said he was single not long ago, and now he's going on a childcare show with a kid. Isn't that slapping his own face?]
[Su Huaiming has some nerve, having a child out of wedlock and openly going on a childcare show. He's truly one of a kind in the entertainment industry!]
[It might not be his child. The production team could have found him a temporary partner.]
[...One rat dropping ruins the whole pot of soup. Now that I know Su Huaiming is on the show, I don't want to watch a second of it.]
[+1. I still remember that greasy expression Su Huaiming made when he put on that affected voice and said, 'I'll heal you with my smile.' Just thinking about it makes my toes curl.]
[Ahhhhhh, stop! I can already see it in my head!]
[Su Huaiming slacks off on variety shows and makes snide remarks. He's a total green tea. There's definitely something wrong with his character, and he'll be a bad influence on the kids!]
[Is the bar for being a celebrity that low? How can just anyone get into the industry?]
[So annoying. Su Huaiming, get out of the entertainment industry!]
[Get out of the entertainment industry!]
Another guest had also stirred up controversy, but Su Huaiming took most of the heat on his own and sparked all sorts of discussions.
It seemed the production team had already achieved the effect they wanted by putting him on the show.
Su Huaiming had once been bedridden with illness for a long time, and he had died once too. He had been through the most terrifying things and knew what he truly wanted, so these vicious words couldn't really hurt him.
Su Huaiming looked through the comments and found that not a single person had a good word to say about him. They were even predicting that he would abuse the children and ruin the show.
#Let's Grow Together official announcement#
#Four groups of guests#