The people from the Investment Promotion Office coming to the door today undoubtedly heard some rumors.
Otherwise, why bother going to such lengths?
What Jiang Muwan didn't expect was that, during the break in the negotiations, she raised her eyes and saw Gu Jiangnian.
When their eyes met, the former looked at her with great interest.
The latter, however, had an indifferent expression and did not intend to engage in any further conversation.
"Quite the slick talker," Xiao Yanli lowered his voice to a murmur that only the two of them could hear and softly began.
Jiang Muwan's recent parrying with the people from the Investment Promotion Office was clearly heard by them.
They could only say that this person had played a good hand at Tai Chi.
"Did you come back with some skill or to court death?" Gu Jiangnian said indifferently, suddenly uttering such a sentence.
Xiao Yanli thought about it and agreed.
If it had been as usual, Gu Jiangnian would have walked straight away, but today, he seemed quite leisurely as he stood by, listening to Jiang Muwan's verbal sparring with the others, and he listened with interest.
Until their eyes met and he knew the game was up, he was not in a hurry.
He glanced sideways at Xu Fang, who felt a chill down his spine.
After several encounters, he could roughly sense his boss's distinctive attitude towards this Miss Jiang before him.
Then, raising his hand to cover his mouth, he coughed lightly.
This startled the two men who were conversing with their backs to them and Jiang Muwan awake.
Upon turning around and seeing it was Gu Jiangnian, they hurriedly greeted him.
In C City, who doesn't know about Junhua's director Gu Jiangnian?
Gu Jiangnian is said to be a scholarly businessman but possesses great tactics.
Within a few short years, he became the richest man in C City; undoubtedly, he is a person of great strategy. Not to mention more, the name Gu Jiangnian itself is enough to strike fear into people's hearts.
"Director Gu," the two men turned around and nodded in greeting.
Not far away, the man was dressed in a white shirt, the collar slightly open, sleeves rolled up, a serious suit worn with a touch of casual unrestraint.
Even so, it was hard to conceal the aura around him.
With the white shirt on him, the black suit jacket hung on the arm of his secretary Xu Fang, the man nodded slightly, indeed very polite: "Mm."
That day, Xiao Yanli did not fathom Gu Jiangnian's intentions until many years later when he recalled that Gu Jiangnian's net had already been spread long before, just waiting for the canary to crash into it on its own.
Gu Jiangnian never thought of helping Jiang Muwan; his lackluster "mm" was enough to make that clear.
In contrast, it was Xu Fang who exchanged pleasantries with the two across from him, and then politely nodded and called out "Vice President Jiang."
The people from the Investment Promotion Office, even if not sharp-witted, were all sensible; seeing Junhua's assistant Xu treated them that way, it would be insensitive of them to stay any longer.
In C City, the last people you want to offend are those from Junhua.
Not to mention that today, both a Junhua director and assistant were present.
The people from the Investment Promotion Office hurriedly left, and the spacious hall was only left with Jiang Muwan and the people around Gu Jiangnian.
Although they stood not far from each other, the attitude between them made the nearby waiter feel as if there was a galaxy separating them.
Jiang Muwan stood silently, not intending to speak;
it was Xiao Yanli who took the initiative to break the silence, "Does Vice President Jiang still remember us?"
This question was deep.
If she said she remembered them, it undeniably meant those bad incidents at Mengxi Garden.
Without hurrying to reply, Jiang Muwan instead bent down and pulled a cigarette from her bag. She lit it, took a light drag, and the thin wisps of smoke rose upwards, shrouding her face.
What followed was a chilly voice, "Xiao family's Yanli, Junhua's Director Gu."
She didn't say she remembered, nor that she forgot, merely responding to their inquiry with a highly official phrase from the business world.
The official tone was so extreme that it left Xiao Yanli momentarily at a loss for words.
It felt as though you were eagerly trying to make a connection with someone who blandly pushed you away without any outward reaction.
With furrowed brows, Gu Jiangnian said, "Vice President Jiang has a good memory,"
"Not as good as Director Gu," replied Jiang Muwan, lightly tapping ash into the ashtray on the coffee table before her.
Her slender fingertips on the white cigarette, the familiar gesture of a seasoned smoker, revealed no trace of decadence, but rather an air of elegance.
Having been in the business world for many years, what kind of person hadn't Gu Jiangnian seen?
A woman who smoked was just one of the better sorts among those he had encountered; what kind of people weren't present in what seemed like this exalted circle?
"Vice President Jiang might as well mention where she can't compare to me," the man said abruptly, causing Jiang Muwan to halt the hand she had raised to take a drag on her cigarette, which was letting off a light wisp of blue smoke. It seemed as though the swirling smoke obscured her vision, as she slightly narrowed her eyes.
The displeasure in her gaze was in no way concealed.
Years later, Jiang Muwan and Gu Jiangnian became husband and wife. He cornered her in the bathroom, inching closer and said practically the same thing as he did today, "Tell me what you like about me, if I'm satisfied, I'll let you go. If not, choose between the bathtub and the shower."
In the silence of the banquet hall, she took a drag of her cigarette and scoffed coldly, "I wonder if Director Gu has ever heard a saying."
Having said that, Jiang Muwan leaned down to tap off some ash, and then calmly continued, "Good and evil will always be rewarded in the end; evil doers are grinded by evil doers."
This statement was undoubtedly a blunt notification to Gu Jiangnian: Your meddlesomeness from the past, didn't it lead you down the same path as me eventually?
If you knew everything that would transpire afterward, would you still have meddled and jumped in to save someone?
After Jiang Muwan finished speaking, Xiao Yanli looked deeply at her.
Before he could intervene, he heard her say, "You're so magnanimous in saving others, yet in the end, it's easier to save others than to save yourself."
"There are many ways I can't compare to Director Gu. If I were to pick the most significant one, I would say I can't match Director Gu's kindness in this lifetime," Jiang Muwan said, her mouth curving into a mocking smile.
The disdain was deep in her smile.
Xu Fang might not understand the profound implications in Jiang Muwan's words, but Xiao Yanli did.
Jiang Muwan's words today were no doubt like taking a knife to Gu Jiangnian's chest.
Trampling on a man's dignity.
Xiao Yanli glanced sideways at Gu Jiangnian and saw that he slightly curved his lips, a hint of lethal intent in his deep eyes as he spoke indifferently, "Vice President Jiang seems to know everything."