Ji Hanxing forced the hand reaching for the little cake to change direction in midair and picked up a glass of wine beside it.
Only after picking up the glass did Ji Hanxing look up. It was Jiang Yuzhuo, smiling brightly.
Jiang Yuzhuo sat down beside Ji Hanxing with easy familiarity, as though he had completely forgotten how Ji Hanxing had screwed him over last time.
"Brother Ji, why are you sitting here alone?"
Ji Hanxing took a small sip of the fruit wine in his glass. A sweet-and-sour flavor filled his mouth, and the wine slid down his throat, leaving a faint warmth.
"For some peace and quiet."
Ji Hanxing's words made it clear that he was here for peace and quiet. Anyone with a little tact would have stopped bothering him at this point. Yet Jiang Yuzhuo seemed unable to hear what Ji Hanxing meant and invited him with a smile, "It's no fun here. Come on, Brother Ji. I'll take you to Brother Yan."
"He's the host today, so he must be very busy. I won't bother him."
Ji Hanxing refused without a second thought.
Jiang Yuzhuo's eyes darted around. "There are so many people here. How is this quiet? If you want peace and quiet, Brother Yan's place is where you need to go."
Ji Hanxing was just about to argue when he looked up and discovered that the spot no one had noticed earlier had now drawn most people's attention. Looking at Jiang Yuzhuo smiling brightly beside him, he felt a headache coming on.
It was all this brat's fault! As the Jiang Family's youngest son, didn't he attract attention wherever he went?
Seeing someone already approaching them with a wineglass in hand, Ji Hanxing immediately stood up. "Lead the way."
Jiang Yuzhuo curled his lips smugly, looking as though his scheme had succeeded. "Sure thing."
After the two left, the people who had been watching began discussing them in hushed voices.
"Who was that person talking to Young Master Jiang just now? He looked a little unfamiliar."
"I thought he looked a little familiar, actually. I feel like I've seen him somewhere, but I can't remember."
"You don't even know him? That's Ji Hanxing of the Ji Family."
"He's Ji Hanxing?"
Many people had heard of this rising newcomer in City A.
"I didn't expect him to come here. Didn't they say he doesn't attend business dinners or social engagements?"
"He doesn't attend business dinners or social engagements? What a strange man."
"I heard that Ji Hanxing of the Ji Family really is cold and aloof. He's so high-minded that he looks down on these business dinners and social engagements. The sun must have risen in the west today, since he actually came. We finally get to see him in person."
"Are you stupid? This invitation came from the Yan Family. I noticed Young Master Jiang headed straight for him as soon as he came in. There's more to this President Ji than meets the eye."
"You're calling me stupid, but you're calling Jiang Yuzhuo Young Master Jiang? He's taken over Grand Prosperity. Everyone calls him President Jiang now."
The man scoffed. "I called you stupid, and you really are. Jiang Yujing is here today. Are you sure you want to call his younger brother President Jiang in front of Young President Jiang?"
"It won't be so easy for the younger one to step over the older one."
"Knock, knock, knock."
Yan Jinyue was indeed very busy. Hearing the knock, he called out, "Come in," without even looking up.
"Brother Yan, look who I brought!"
His voice arrived before he did. Yan Jinyue's brow furrowed. He was dealing with a thorny matter right now. If Jiang Yuzhuo couldn't read the room at a time like this...
Yan Jinyue looked up, about to warn Jiang Yuzhuo, but when he saw that the person coming in was Ji Hanxing, he immediately swallowed the warning.
He put down his pen, stood up, and walked over. "You came."
Ji Hanxing walked in. "Sorry for the intrusion, President Yan."
Jiang Yuzhuo hurriedly said, "Brother Ji wanted somewhere quiet to rest. I thought, where could be quieter than your place, Brother Yan? So I brought him over."
Once Ji Hanxing had fully entered, Yan Jinyue's gaze was already on him. Dressed up for today's occasion, Ji Hanxing dazzled Yan Jinyue, whether it was his straight, tall figure, his seemingly lean, strong waist whose softness only Yan Jinyue knew, or his long legs beneath his suit trousers.
"It's an honor to have you here."
Seeing Yan Jinyue like this, Jiang Yuzhuo chuckled to himself. "Brother Yan, I have something else to do. I'll head downstairs."
With that, Jiang Yuzhuo slipped away. He had only come to deliver someone to Yan Jinyue.
Yan Jinyue invited Ji Hanxing to sit down and even poured him a cup of tea himself. "I didn't expect you to actually come today."
Ji Hanxing took the teacup, a little puzzled. "Since I agreed, I wouldn't fail to show up."
Yan Jinyue chuckled and sat down beside Ji Hanxing, relaxed. "All of City A knows how hard it is to get President Ji to attend anything. Outside of formal business networking events, it's usually impossible to get you to come."
"Thank you for honoring us with your presence today, President Ji. Your esteemed visit truly brightens my humble office."
He edged up beside Ji Hanxing without drawing attention, and their shoulders touched.
Hearing this, Ji Hanxing offered a polite reply. "You're exaggerating, President Yan. Since you invited me personally, how could I not come?"
Inside, he had already launched into a furious tirade: [Tsk, Yan Jinyue really is full of himself. Listen to what he's saying. It sounds like he's flattering me, but he's actually praising himself for being so impressive, isn't he?]
[Fuck, I hate show-offs most of all!]
Yan Jinyue didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Had he just been branded a show-off for no reason? He had been telling the truth. He really had been wronged.
And he couldn't even explain this injustice. After all, these were Ji Hanxing's inner thoughts.
Seeing how close Yan Jinyue was sitting to him, Ji Hanxing immediately shifted aside. "I saw you dealing with something urgent just now, President Yan. I won't hold up your work."
"I'm just a little tired and want to rest for a while. Don't mind me, President Yan."
After saying that, he leaned toward the other end of the sofa and closed his eyes, pretending to doze.
Yan Jinyue did have a thorny matter to deal with, so he got up and left.
With his eyes closed, Ji Hanxing only felt the weight beside him lift. Presumably, Yan Jinyue had stood up, but he wasn't sure whether Yan Jinyue had left, so he kept his eyes shut.
A little while later, something suddenly settled lightly over his body. Ji Hanxing instinctively touched it. Soft and smooth to the touch, it was a blanket.
Yan Jinyue had covered him with it and was standing right in front of him. Ji Hanxing resisted the urge to open his eyes and kept pretending to doze.
[Why did this plot feel so familiar?]
[I remember now. Isn't this a scene from a romance novel? The innocent little heroine falls asleep in the CEO's office, and the domineering CEO covers her with a blanket!]
[Heroines in domineering CEO romance novels really can fall asleep anywhere.]
[Don't open your eyes. Don't open your eyes, or it'll be too awkward!]
[Has Yan Jinyue left yet?]
Listening to Ji Hanxing's inward commentary, Yan Jinyue's gaze settled on his thick, curled lashes, which kept trembling lightly. His lips curved, and he turned back to his desk.
Ji Hanxing waited quite a while before sneakily opening his eyes. Only when he saw that no one was in front of him did he let out a soft sigh of relief. Then he looked down at the light gray blanket covering him. It carried the faint scent of lemon detergent.