Of course, she couldn't say that getting a new badge was too much hassle. After thinking for two seconds, she came up with a barely reasonable excuse.
"A forty-minute commute in Hong Kong Region actually isn't too long. Taking the subway to and from work every day is a rare moment of relaxation for me."
Rare relaxation.
Chen Jingyuan savored these words, his lips slightly lifting in a very faint smile.
"You signed an employment contract, not an indenture. In front of me, you don't need to be constantly on edge as if facing a great enemy," he said.
Pausing slightly, as the light and shadows shifted, he cast his deep gaze onto the girl's proper profile and said indifferently, "I don't bite."
His deep voice rolled over Liang Weining's heart, triggering an instinctive physiological reaction.
Her throat tightened.
She involuntarily held her breath.
This old problem was really difficult to overcome.
Liang Weining steadied her spirit and responded softly, "Mr. Chen treats people with gentle courtesy and interacting with you feels refreshing like a spring breeze. It's my own problem, due to my personality. I'm very sorry."
She blamed the so-called 'being on edge' on herself.
Not only that, words of praise and admiration for a member of the opposite sex came to her readily.
She could say these words without batting an eyelid, yet she told him it was due to her personality.
Chen Jingyuan didn't want to make it difficult for his younger colleague fresh in the workforce. He slowly closed his eyes, and mentioned indifferently, "Next time you speak to me, turn your face towards me."
"..."
Liang Weining was startled and slowly turned her head.
The man had already closed his eyes to rest, looking utterly uninterested.
What was it she said just now?
Refreshing like a spring breeze.
Indeed, telling jokes came at a price.
Liang Weining lowered her head in dejection.
"When is the interview scheduled?"
The man's low voice came from beside her.
Talking about work, Liang Weining dared not be vague.
Once bitten, twice shy, she politely turned her face towards him and said, "It's tentatively scheduled for the morning of the day after we return from Lianwu Island."
Chen Jingyuan didn't open his eyes, his tone calm, "What do you think about this timing?"
If it were just an ordinary financial interview, it would naturally be perfect.
At least, right now the whole Zhonggang Group thought that was the case, with countless eyes watching from behind.
But Liang Weining knew Chen Jingyuan had his own considerations.
Without saying much, she simply avoided the important and said lightly, "After the senior management meeting tomorrow morning, I will communicate with the TV station again to see if we need to change the interview date."
She didn't explain why they had to wait until after the senior management meeting.
As the car drove into Tsing Yi, they arrived at the usual spot, where the chauffeur smoothly parked by the roadside according to the last destination.
Before getting out of the car, seeing that the man had no further instructions, Liang Weining nodded in farewell, "See you tomorrow, Mr. Chen."
Her voice was soft and gentle, causing Chen Jingyuan to slowly open his eyes.
What he saw was the girl's back as she pushed open the door and got out.
The night was thick, and through the dark glass windows, Chen Jingyuan's gaze lingered quietly for a moment, then he slowly retracted it.
The driver turned his head to ask, "Sir, will you be staying at the hotel tonight, or going back to Pok Fu Lam?"
Today was Tuesday, and according to normal practice, Mr. Chen would check on his little son's schoolwork.
Chen Jingyuan looked at his watch, noting it was already half-past nine at night.
"Back to Pok Fu Lam. Call the housekeeper and tell Josie to go to bed early," he instructed.
The driver acknowledged with a "Yes."
The black executive car disappeared at the end of the street.
In the alley, Liang Weining turned on the flashlight on her phone, sending a voice message to her best friend as she walked towards her rented room.
"Zhenzhen, I forgot to bring my keys."
She silently prayed that her beautiful friend would come home early tonight.
A few seconds later, a message with a faceplant emoji came from the other side.
That's it then.
"Around what time can you come back?" she asked.
On the other end, Gu Yunzhen sighed and delivered the harsh truth, "I've got a big client, and the way things are, we won't wrap up until after midnight."
After hearing this, Liang Weining felt both worried and pleased.
Pleased because big clients meant big commissions, and her friend was one step closer to her five-year savings plan.
But worried because she herself might have to spend the night on the streets.
Taking advantage of the dusk, Liang Weining found a step to sit on, cradling her phone and posting a status.
Image: A resident building barely visible in pitch darkness.
Copy: Ningning won't sleep tonight; guess what she's doing, counting ghosts.
The style is quite eerie.
At first, it was just out of boredom—a sudden playful impulse.
But unexpectedly, the comments below turned into an assembly line.
On Whatsapp, she had only friends from the Hong Kong Region, excluding university classmates, the rest were colleagues with whom she had worked.
They were passing a common message: it was the Western Ghost Festival today.
Liang Weining's hair stood on end instantaneously.
Could it be such a coincidence?
Scrolling further down, finally someone said something normal.
Vivi asked, "Locked out? Want to come over and sleep at my place?"
Soon after, she sent a private message with her address.
Liang Weining half-jokingly replied, "I'm afraid I radiate too much heat; I might scorch you guys."
'You guys', referred to Vivi and her new boyfriend.
The other party didn't mind, "No worries, I can just kick him out to sleep on the living room sofa, he's too soft anyway."
Liang Weining: ...
Was she supposed to hear that?
In the middle of the night, what a pack of fierce creatures they all were.
Exiting the chat interface and returning to the dynamic page, she replied uniformly in the comments.
"Already inside, don't worry."
She turned off her phone and looked up at the stars.
Due to its proximity to the docks, the night breeze occasionally carried a touch of dampness.
This kind of moisture was unlike the returning southern air in the Guangdong region.
It was gentle and mysterious, like an everlasting classic hit song, just like the "Heart-Stealer" live version by the Heavenly King on repeat many times tonight in that residential building, by the single resident in his early thirties.
Wrapped in her coat, Liang Weining for the first time listened to the song and counted the seconds, and didn't find the night too long.
Her mind was on Ning Xiaoguai.
Gu Yunzhen almost immediately took a taxi across the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge as soon as she got off work.
She arrived at the door at exactly two in the morning.
Seeing a dark lump on the steps, Gu Yunzhen felt bad and picked her up, "Are you stupid? Why didn't you go to a hotel or find a locksmith?"
"It's not cold; I wore thick clothes today."
Liang Weining took her hands out of her pockets and pressed them to her best friend's smooth cheeks, "Isn't it warm?"
"Quit it, you can't charm me."
"..."
She led the way upstairs, opened the door, and let her in first.
"Where are you going?"
Without turning back, Gu Yunzhen replied, "To buy cold medicine."
Liang Weining knew she was in the wrong and dared not say more.
She sat briefly on the couch, took her pajamas, and went to the bathroom to shower.
After settling everything, it was three in the morning.
Before bed, she drank the steaming medicinal concoction and as she passed the opposite bedroom, she couldn't help but sneak a peek inside, only to have her eyes meet directly with her best friend's.
Liang Weining shivered and quickly looked away.
Seeing her sheepish appearance, Gu Yunzhen coldly threw out a sentence, "If I hadn't come back tonight, would you really have sat outside the whole night?"
She used an affirmative statement.
Liang Weining's spirits deflated, and she lowered her head, "I was wrong."
"I don't want to hear it, go to sleep now."
The bedroom door closed mercilessly.
After staring for a while, she heaved a sigh and turned to go back to her own room.
Lying in bed, she reflected.
Why didn't she stay in a hotel, why didn't she get a locksmith.
It was simply because she didn't want to move.
She could not make Zhenzhen angry again, absolutely not.
Alright.
Time to sleep.