Mr. Chen, who's always been pure-hearted and indifferent to desire, rarely gets so protective.
Zhou Shixu couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, "Then I'll have to ask her later, if she'll come over for a salary that's three times her current one."
The Crown Prince did as he said.
Liang Weining returned to the private room later to find two poker tables had been set up.
Thus, she encountered the most bizarre scene of her career.
Zhou Family's young master blatantly poached her in front of her boss, seducing her with money while casually playing cards.
Surprisingly, throughout the whole process, Chen Jingyuan maintained a calm expression, as if he would respect whatever decision she made.
Seeing that Zhou Shixu was not joking, Liang Weining reflected for a few seconds and then gave a serious answer.
A rejection was within reason.
However, Zhou Shixu still wanted to know why.
Liang Weining said, "Zhonggang was my first job after graduation, much like a romance, the first relationship is often the hardest to let go of."
Her analogy carried a very distinct little girl mentality.
After hearing this, Zhou Shixu graciously agreed, "I can understand, people have their first-love complex to some degree."
Meng Xingzhi, who hadn't spoken much, had a faint, almost imperceptible smile curl the edges of his lips.
The girl was astute. If she had blindly praised Zhonggang, it would have sounded demoting to the Zhou Group to Zhou Shixu's ears.
Instead, she chose a seemingly nonsensical method of rejection, which was also most in line with her age, leaving the Crown Prince unable to fault her, only to smile it off.
One had to admit, Old Chen's discernment in hiring people was indeed good.
In the silence of the room, Chen Jingyuan's phone placed at the edge of the table rang.
The man glanced at the caller ID, put down his cards, and prepared to get up to take the call outside.
Before leaving, Chen Jingyuan asked Liang Weining to come over.
The girl shook her head like a rattle-drum, saying she didn't know how.
Zhou Shixu fiddled with his cards and chimed in, "What are you afraid of, if you lose, it goes on your boss's tab."
She wasn't afraid of losing; she just found it too brain-burning.
While she was in thought, Chen Jingyuan's deep voice fell from above her head, "After this round is over, I'll have Xu Zhou take you home."
Upon hearing this, Liang Weining obediently nodded her head.
If she had to come, so be it.
Without further fuss, she moved swiftly to sit at the poker table and played the round on behalf of her boss.
Liang Weining was a novice, and at first, the gentlemen at the table all let her have her way.
Not until the middle of the game, when the young lady started getting the hang of it, did Zhou Shixu and Meng Xingzhi realize the situation was becoming increasingly absurd.
She had said that her luck with windfall fortune had always been very good.
This 'good' wasn't just ordinarily good.
In the end, though, Liang Weining accidentally played the wrong card and lost the round.
Meng Xingzhi saw that the girl had done it on purpose but didn't call her out on it. Instead, a hint of amusement that was hard to detect flickered in the depths of his dark eyes for a moment.
After a few minutes, Chen Jingyuan returned from outside, and Liang Weining dutifully got up to give up her seat.
As she was about to step out of the private room, a few people's casual conversation floated from behind her.
Zhou Shixu asked Chen Jingyuan, "Are you really planning to send Chen Shao'an to New York for a year? No objections from Madam Chen?"
Madam Chen was the current wife of the Chen Family head and Chen Shao'an's mother, Chen Jingyuan's stepmother.
What the man said afterward, Liang Weining didn't hear clearly, but recalling the conversation in the car last Thursday night, Chen Jingyuan had told her Chen Shao'an would no longer have the opportunity to bother her.
It turned out he had been arranged by the big boss to gain experience in investment banking in New York.
She let out a sigh of relief.
Once the second young master went abroad, she could finally live in peace for a while.
After leaving the racetrack, Liang Weining needed to pick up her computer from the repair shop, and Xu Zhou followed her all the way, saying he was following the boss's orders to take her home.
Liang Weining lightly coughed, "Really no need, I have other plans, I'm meeting a friend."
This "friend" naturally led to much speculation.
Upon hearing this, Xu Zhou immediately caught on and nodded understandingly, not insisting any further.
When they parted ways, he called to Liang Weining, "Did you really refuse the Crown Prince's invitation because you have a first-love complex?"
First love...
Those who act carefree will never admit they are the sentimental type.
"There's no way around it, because I went all in on 9771."
After saying that, Liang Weining turned around and left.
Xu Zhou paused for a few seconds before realizing that 9771 was the stock code for Zhonggang Group.
Watching the girl's retreating figure, he shook his head with a laugh.
He returned to the repair city, only to be told by the shopkeeper that the virus in the computer was too bizarre, and that his abilities were limited; he couldn't solve it.
??
A big question mark instantly popped up over Liang Weining's head.
She had never expected that the account thief was also a master of Trojan horses.
This undoubtedly awakened her long-lost desire to fight.
She opened WhatsApp and sent a message to her best friend.
Gu Yunzhen, due to her profession, often mingled among the elite circles of the wealthy in Hong Kong and Macau, and she met a wide variety of social figures.
Liang Weining thought, shouldn't there be some computer wizards among them?
However, the inquiry was disappointing.
Gu Yunzhen said, "I've been in Sands Casino for three whole years, and among the clients I've met, there really hasn't been the kind you're looking for."
After pausing for a few seconds, another message popped up, "However, that reminded me of someone else who might be able to help."
Liang Weining: "Who?"
Gu Yunzhen teasingly replied, "You know this person too, and you're quite familiar with him."
Back and forth, Liang Weining smelled something off in her best friend's words.
But her brain short-circuited, and for the moment she couldn't guess who she was referring to.
She cleared her throat and sent a voice message.
Facing the sea breeze, Gu Yunzhen casually opened it and after listening to the message within, her expression stiffened.
"Zhenzhen, there are private photos of us in the computer. If you don't hurry, they'll be seen by others."
"..."
Little pervert, when did you take those!
In fact, the so-called private photos that Liang Weining mentioned were just the most common photos of the two from when they were in middle school.
Times of youthful vigour and elegance.
She remembered, that day she wore bell-bottoms, with cotton socks and sandals beneath...
Gu Yunzhen composed herself, naturally not falling for it.
But after hesitating for a few seconds, she still sent over the name.
After the message was sent, awaiting her was a prolonged silence; just as Gu Yunzhen was becoming increasingly anxious, the chat interface finally showed a response.
Liang Weining: "He's far away in the capital, it's not like I can just mail my computer to him, and besides, what sort of relationship do I have with him, do you think he'd definitely help?"
It sounded, her mood was still quite stable.
Gu Yunzhen breathed a sigh of relief, albeit subtly.
What sort of relationship...
She sighed softly, "I was just bringing it up casually. It's been many years since we last contacted, who knows where he lives."
That night, both of them tacitly avoided bringing up the computer repair again.
But Liang Weining stayed up all night.
She pondered the whole night, determined to come up with a solution and end the stand-off with the account thief.
Having slept poorly the previous night did not affect her early next morning, Liang Weining arrived at the company half an hour early.
She thought she had arrived early enough, but as she passed by the director's office, she found that there was already a figure sitting inside.
Mr. Chen?
She walked to her workstation with a look of suspicion, set down her bag, and then, as per her usual routine, first went to the pantry to bring a freshly ground black coffee to her boss.
Ten minutes later, Liang Weining carried the coffee and knocked on the door.
The man's voice was deep, "Come in."