Not far away, Yu Hao, the initiator of the campus bullying, was talking and laughing with Gu Xiaonan. He seemed not at all concerned with the disastrous effects that his actions had brought to other people's lives.
"It does not feel good to see your ex-lover with a sexy, good-looking guy, right?" Gu Xiaonan asked, while picking up a piece of fruit and glancing at him.
"Well, she chose to leave me because she couldn't resist the temptation of the outside world. I have no use for such a woman. Thus, I moved on long ago," Yu Hao replied.
Because Gu Xiaonan was skipping dinner, Yu Hao had not ordered any food either. He just ordered a beer to drink. But for some reason, it tasted particularly bitter today.
"Well, getting back to the point... The reason why I asked you to come here is that I was hoping you would give me some advice. Now, An Qi seems to have hooked up with the new Vice President. So, it will only be a matter of time until she finds trouble with me..." Gu Xianon said.
Whenever Gu Xiaonan needed advice, she would turn to Yu Hao, not her mother, Zeng Xuerou. After all, there was a man beside her mother, who made Gu Xiaonan extremely disgusted.
"Xiaonan, this is not like you. In fact, I haven't seen you cower for many years," Yu Hao said before he sipped down a mouthful of pure brew.
"Yeah, in the recent years it's been so smooth that I've almost forgotten what it feels like to have my heart beating faster."
While Gu Xiaonan was lamenting her present situation, Yu Hao was stealing a glance at An Qi. Although he did so quickly, his action did not escape Gu Xiaonan's notice. This was nothing new for him, as whenever Yu Hao was with An Qi, he had a habit of taking secret glances at Gu Xiaonan.
"So... You mean to say that the Leng Group is now facing a situation of two tigers fighting each other?" Yu Hao asked.
"Yes. Ever since the first young master came back, the company's situation has changed and its future seems unclear," Gu Xiaonan replied.
According to the path that An Shijie had paved for her, she would have been able to sit in the top position of the Leng Group before she turned 30 years old. That fact, combined with her mother's own plans, would have easily ensured that Gu Xiaonan would be the future President of Hairui.
However, Leng Jin's return had disrupted all of those plans. Especially after she saw that Leng Jin showed favoritism to An Qi, Gu Xiaonan could no longer sit back and seethe silently in the face of An Qi's collusion.
At the moment, she was upset that Yu Hao's mind seemed to be elsewhere. Although he was still her boyfriend, if An Qi tried to steal him from her, she was not confident that he would not be swayed by An Qi's charms.
Similar to Gu Xiaonan, Yu Hao's first impression of Leng Jin was not very good either. "I heard that Leng Jin had been abroad this whole time. Although he initially had the support of many old staff members, the Leng Group is a group enterprise. Hence, over the years, Leng Yuchen became the man behind the Leng Group. Knowing this, you should focus your attention on getting close to Leng Yuchen. In this way, you will show him your loyalty, while also not burning any bridges."
Gu Xiaonan sighed. "I want to... But, you don't know how hard it is to even gain access to see Boss Leng!"
Yu Hao nodded. He had heard some gossip about Leng Yuchen, and though Yu Hao's company was average in size and had a good reputation in the city, he was still not qualified to meet with Leng Yuchen.
Even An Shijie had only met Leng Yuchen once, even after all these years of working together, and that was only when he signed the business contract. During that meeting, the whole process was completed amid a group of lawyers and financiers. Hence, An Shijie did not even manage to get a good look at Boss Leng!
"You should know that it is impossible to accomplish such a task." Gu Xiaonan pouted her mouth and winked at Yu Hao.
Yu Hao had a weakness for Gu Xiaonan's charms, especially when she was requesting his help. Such a scene made him feel superior, like an emperor, who had concubines at his beck and call.
Under Gu Xiaonan's relentless winking and flirting, Yu Hao finally gave in. "Alright, I'll salvage your reputation at the awards ceremony for the Selection of Top Ten Most Influential People. How about that?"
"You mean... You were selected?" Gu Xiaonan asked.
Her eyes glimmered with hope. Since her mother had married An Shijie, she had not dared disclose her relationship with Yu Hao. But, if Yu Hao managed to make his mark, she would definitely take him home during the New Year holidays, even if just to spite An Qi!
"Almost. As this year mainly is focusing on progress, there are more award-winning youth and middle-aged people like me, who are all competing for the honor." Yu Hao said as picked up his beer. He refused to elaborate more on the matter.
"Great! It's a deal!" Gu Xiaonan jumped up and gave Yu Hao a kiss on his neck.
Because she was so excited, she flipped over her chair when she got up, and the commotion caused all of the diners in Strolling Through Tokyo to look at the pair. Of course, the alerted diners included An Qi and the others at her table, all of whom were discussing the fashion show.
In an instant, An Qi's facial expression changed drastically as she thought… These two ghosts seem to appear everywhere I go!
After the kiss was over, Gu Xiaonan looked over towards An Qi's direction. From the look on Gu Xiaonan's face, it seemed that the kiss was deliberately done in order to instigate a reaction.
"Is that Yu Hao and Gu Xiaonan?" Wu Linzhi saw the pair, then turned to ask An Qi and Dong Manman.
"Gosh! Who else could be so shameless in public besides those two?" Dong Manman was so indignant that she almost went over to doues the pair with her glass of red wine.
"Dong Manman, don't allow yourself to get so easily agitated. As you said, this is a public place. If you can come here to dine, others can too. If you can't stand the sight of them, simply ignore them. We can't control others' actions, but we can control our own." An Qi held Dong Manman back, fearing that Dong Manman's temper might leave a bad impression on Leng Jin.
"Anyway, what were we speaking of just now? This is my first time as a cover model, so there are many things I don't understand. If I ask too many questions, I hope you won't laugh at me!" An Qi felt that being with Leng Jin gave her the ability to keep calm and handle any situation with poise.
For instance, in the face of such an awkward situation, she did not kick up a fuss like Dong Manman, but cleverly shifted the topic of conversation. Wu Linzhi, who was sitting opposite her, obviously felt otherwise.
Although he heard that An Qi and Yu Hao had separated, he never expected that Yu Hao and Gu Xiaonan would get together. He recalled that, when Yu Hao had verbally and emotionally abused him on campus, Gu Xiaonan had been a willing participant in it...