Chapter 557 Keep Your Man in Line

“Boss, don’t say that.” Zhang Hai scratches his head with embarrassment.

He can’t tell whether his boss’s words are uttered with appreciation or sarcasm. But judging from his boss’s countenance, Zhang Hai had better prepare for the worst.

Yi Yuntian ponders for a while, replying, “Zhang Hai, as your superior, I have no right to interfere in your emotional problems. But you’re a soldier. A soldier must be tough and decisive. Now there are two women. Which one do you prefer?”

Zhang Hai didn’t expect Yi Yunrui to ask him such a question. He is stunned on the spot!

In fact, it’s not hard to answer the question. He refused Jing Shu and then had sex with Christine. It’s obvious that Christine is his woman now.

But if he has to give an answer now, he really can’t somehow!

His heart… He is actually hesitating!

Sensing that, Yi Yunrui knits his brows.

Procrastination is the cardinal sin in love!

It consumes the energy of the three persons and they will remain embroiled with each other eventually. The longer it goes on, the more pain they will have.

Yi Yunrui despises such men and the so-called love like this!

“Still hesitating?”

When Zhang Hai hears Yi Yunrui’s words, a chill runs up his spine and it comes all the way to his head!

Yi Yunrui’s words chill him.

He knows what his boss is like. Before his boss and his sister-in-law become lovers, there were so many beautiful women around his boss. He almost never saw his boss fall in love with or chat with any other woman.

He thought his boss didn’t know anything about love. But after his sister-in-law showed up, his boss’s attitude towards his sister-in-law totally converted him!

If one wants to be happy, he or she must only have one lover!

“I… I…” Zhang Hai stammers. He knows what’s what, but it’s really painful for him to make a choice!

Yi Yunrui’s eyes become cold, “I’ll give you twenty-four hours to think about it. By then if you still can’t make a choice, pack up and get lost!”

Hearing that, Zhang Hai gasps.

Yi Yunrui closes his eyes and turns away. Now he doesn’t want to look at Zhang Hai at all.

Jing Shu is the assistant Ning cares about most. In fact, anyone with a discerning eye can see what Zhang Hai means to Jing Shu. He can understand the waterside flower sheds petals for love while the heartless brook babbles on. But he will never allow Zhang Hai to have a foot in both camps, especially one camp has something to do with his little wife!

As soon as Jing Shu enters the Tianyu, her heart begins to race.

Something happened to Deputy Editor An and the reporter for the interview was temporarily changed. Although Sister Xia has informed Mr. Beitang about it, she still feels uneasy.

Is she entrusted with a mission at a critical and difficult moment?

Previously, she was also responsible for some interviews in small presses. But compared with the interview with Mr. Beitang, they are insignificant. Besides, Mr. Beitang has great expectations for this interview. The responsibility falls on her shoulders. Even the most confident person will probably find it hard to adapt to it.

“Hello, I’m a reporter from World Era Weekly. My last name is Shu. I have an appointment with President Beitang at two o’clock this afternoon.” Jingshu forces a charming smile. By the way, the receptionist is as beautiful as a goddess.

It’s worthy of being a star-manufacturing company. Even its receptionist is pretty as a fairy.

“Hi, Miss Shu! Our president is waiting. Please come with me.” With that, the front-desk secretary welcomes Jing Shu and respectfully takes her in.

The door of the president’s office is opened. And then she enters the room into an aristocratic atmosphere!

The furnishings of Beitang Xiu’s office perfectly combine the classical flavor with the modern one. Such gracefulness is amazing, like a work of art!

However, there’s no sign of Beitang Xiu.

Jing Shu feels confused.

“Miss Shu, our president is having a meeting. Please wait a minute.” The front-desk secretary bows apologetically, “I’ll inform him now. Miss Shu, please wait a moment.”

With that, the front-desk secretary turns around, leaving the office.

Standing in such a big office, Jing Shu feels a little empty. But there’s a surge of admiration in her heart.

Though Beitang Xiu, now twenty-four years old, is one year younger than Huo Zhanpeng, he can manage to adapt to two different jobs at one time.

The waiter and the president.

Staff and boss. Beitang Xiu plays two roles at one time. After meeting Beitang Xiu twice, she finds that he is not big-headed at all. On the contrary, she feels that he is so easy-going.

Tianyu Entertainment Company is well-known in the field, so it’s not easy to run such a large enterprise. What’s more, Beitang Xiu took it over halfway, which makes it harder for him to run the company. Seeing the furnishings of the office, Jing Shu somehow feels that Beitang Xiu is definitely not someone to be trifled with though he’s just a young man.

After waiting just a few minutes, Jing Shu hears that someone is knocking on the door of the office. Jing Shu lurches to her feet, straightening her clothes.

And then someone opens the door and enters. The person is Beitang Xiu and no one is following him in.

In Beitang Xiu’s hand, there’s a tray on which there are two lovely cups, steaming with heat. All of a sudden, the rich aroma of the coffee fills the room.

Jing Shu is stunned, but then she manages a trained smile, “Hello, President Beitang.”

“Shu, don’t stand on ceremony. Just think of the place like a coffee shop.” With that, Beitang Xiu walks straight over and sits down beside Jing Shu, “Come on, sit. I just made two cups of coffee, so I’m a bit late. Sorry.”

With that, Beitang Xiu puts down the tray and hands a cup of coffee to Jing Shu.

Beitang Xiu’s behaviors stupefy Jing Shu!

Isn’t that something an assistant secretary should do? Why did Beitang Xiu do it himself?!

Seeing that Jing Shu is stupefied, Beitang Xiu smiles, “Employees work for the benefit of the company. Without the employees’ efforts, there will be no so-called bosses. In fact, the boss and employees of a company are equal. So, although I am now the president of Tianyu Entertainment Company, I still hope you treat me as a friend. Don’t be so stiff or formal, okay?”

Though it sounds simple, few bosses can see through it.

Beitang Xiu’s words warm Jing Shu. She is somewhat relieved, “Mr. Beitang, Deputy Editor An should have come to interview you. But she had an accident, so now I am responsible for this. Compared with Deputy Editor An, my ability is certainly not as good as hers. But I will try my best to do a good job in the interview and satisfy you. If I do something wrong or I need some improvements, please correct for me in time.”

Beitang Xiu smiles slightly, “Did I tell you not to be so stiff or formal when being with me? Shu, take it easy and have some coffee.”

Jing Shu nods her head, picks up the coffee, and takes a sip of it. The taste of the coffee is so good that she couldn’t help closing her eyes and savoring it.

And then Jing Shu remembers that she has only got an hour to interview Beitang Xiu, so she quickly regains her composure and puts down her coffee cup, “Mr. Beitang, your time is valuable. Shall we begin now?”

Beitang Xiu takes a look at the time, replying, “If you are gonna interview me, I can give you more time. I don’t have anything important to attend to today. Shu, ask whatever you want.”

Jing Shu suddenly feels that she is flattered. She presses her lips and takes a deep breath. When she meets Beitang Xiu’s gentle eyes, the worries are erased from her mind.

After taking another sip of coffee, Jing Shu draws out the draft and voice recorders, “Mr. Beitang, I’m ready. Now let’s begin.”

After finishing dealing with the things in hand, Xia Ning rushes to the hospital.

Xia Ning drives very fast and she is quite anxious. When she is about to arrive at the hospital, her mobile phone rings.

It’s a call from a stranger.

Xia Ning frowns. Though the number is not recorded in the phone book, it looks familiar.

“Hello, this is Xia Ning.”

“Hi, Miss Xia. This is Ran. Don’t you remember?”

Ran’s voice on the other end of the line still sounds effeminate, which makes Xia Ning’s heart twitch.

Xia Ning pauses for a moment, replying, “Sorry but I didn’t save your number.” She is being very straightforward, which is to tell Ran that she doesn’t want to hear anything about Ou Yixuan at all.

“Miss Xia, are you still mad with Yixuan? It has been such a long time. You still can’t let go?”

“Ran, I’m not mad with Ou Yixuan. But now he and I are total strangers. He goes his way and I’ll go mine. Everything between us is now history. Don’t ever call me again. If you are lovers now, I wish you both happiness and longevity.”

The hospital is just ahead. Xia Ning feels an urge to hang up. Now she is so anxious that she doesn’t want to hear anything concerning Ou Yixuan.

“Thank you…” Ran takes a breath, continuing, “Yixuan found that I called you. He scolded me… I hardly saw him these days and even when I saw him, he barely spoke to me. I know he is pissed at me… Miss Xia, can you tell me what to do?”

Xia Ning looks grimmer. As for her, Ou Yixuan is a total stranger. She doesn’t want to hear the name ever again in her life. And as for the relationship between Ou Yixuan and Ran, she doesn’t know and doesn’t want to know. Plus, she doesn’t want to get involved in it.

Ran’s voice can only annoy her.

“Ran, one gotta strive for his own happiness. I don’t know anything about things going on between you and Yixuan, so I cannot comment on it. Sorry but I’ve got something else to do. Bye.”

“Miss Xia, I’m begging you! Just tell me what to do. I really love him…”

But Xia Ning hardens her heart and hangs up the phone.

She is considering whether she should dismiss Ran’s call in the future.

As soon as Xia Ning parks her car, she hurries to the ward. At the moment, her mobile phone rings again. She guesses that the call is still from Ran. Thinking of this, Xia Ning presses the answering button and says directly, “Ran, there’s nothing I can do for you and Yixuan. Please don’t call again. Thank you!”

The person at the other end of the line pauses for a moment. And then there comes a male voice, “Ning, it seems that I’ve overheard something I shouldn’t have known.”

When Xia Ning hears the man’s voice, her mouth twitches.

It’s Lei Buyang.

She was going to call Lei Buyang to talk with him about something concerning the Tianyu Entertainment Company, but now it’s not the good timing.

“President Lei, any orders?”

“Tut-tut!” Lei Buyang can’t help shaking his head, “Ning, you’ve always been heartless! Can’t I just have a chat with you on the phone?”

“You can. But I’ve got something to attend to, so…”

“Fine. I’ll make this quick.” Lei Buyang lets out a sigh, continuing, “How far gone are you? How are you doing now?”

“I’m doing OK. The baby is amenable and it’s now three months old.”

“Three months? How time flies!” There’s a touch of emotion in Lei Buyang’s voice, “My little girl is gonna be a mother!”

Xia Ning rolls her eyes. When did she become his little girl?

“Buyang, don’t you want to make it quick? I’ve really got something to do now. Let me call you back later, OK?”

“Actually, not something big. I’m just calling to give you a heads-up. Don’t overthink it.”

“What do you mean?”

Lei Buyang ponders for a while, replying, “Ning, nothing goes on between you and Commander Yi recently, right?”

Xia Ning frowns, feeling strange, “Yeah. What happened?”

“Maybe I mistake him for someone else. The other day, I saw Commander Yi went really close to a woman and he seemed to care a lot about her.”

Undoubtedly, Lei Buyang’s words are a blow to Xia Ning!

It’s a heavy blow!

Xia Ning instantly goes blank!

Yi Yunrui… With another woman?

After a long time, Xia Ning comes around, asking, “When did that happen? Who was that woman?”

“Just recently. That woman… Well, I don’t know for sure. I just give you a heads-up and maybe I mistake him for someone else. Ning, don’t overthink it. Commander Yi shouldn’t be that kind of person.”

How could she not overthink it after hearing such a thing?

Besides, Lei Buyang is not someone who always talks off hand.

He must have found some clues.

“Where did you see that? Can you be more specific?”

“I saw it at…” Just at that moment, something seems to be happening at the other end of the line, which is so noisy. “Sorry, Ning. Something urgent happened. I gotta go. Bye!”

With that, Lei Buyang hangs up the mobile phone.

In fact, Xia Ning is pretty nervous. But hearing Lei Buyang’s words, she stands her ground blankly with the mobile phone in her hand.

She shouldn’t have cared about what Lei Buyang said.

Yi Yunrui loves her so much and pampers her. Honestly, she never believes that men are constant in love. However, she just can’t believe her husband will play the field.

She does trust her husband.

Moreover, it’s just one version of the story. She didn’t see it with her own eyes.

But her heart… She really feels ill at ease.

It Is all very sudden, which scares her.

What if Lei Buyang was not lying? What if it is true?

How should she deal with it? What should she do?

She even spent lots of time forgetting Ou Yixuan. But if Yi Yunrui were the one who crossed the line, she really could not imagine it.

But if it were Yi Yunrui, she really could not imagine it.

Xia Ning doesn’t know how long she has been standing and she doesn’t come around until the sound of the hospital’s ambulance rings out.

She is here to see An Lingxi and Christine. She must regain her composure.

As for the thing Lei Buyang mentioned, she’ll take care of it in future.

Xia Ning clenches her fists, takes a deep breath, and turns around, heading for the ward.

When Xia Ning arrives at the ward, the doctors have finished the operation on Christine. Her head and arms are wrapped in white bandages. Plus, she is still unconscious. It appears that she has suffered terrible injuries.

What confuses her is that there are lots of people in front of the ward, who all seem to be leaders. And there are even some messengers among them.

An Lingxi said on the phone that there was a car accident. Is the car owner a big shot?

“The car crashed into the door of Christine’s car. Christine broke her arm and her head. The doctors have just finished dealing with her injuries in the operation. It may take some time for her to recover. ” An Lingxi says it worriedly.

“Health comes first. Recuperation is your priority.” Xia Ning sits next to An Lingxi, “Lingxi, how did the accident happen?”

An Lingxi pauses, “Actually, it’s Christine and me who should be responsible for it. Christine got distracted by something and hit someone else’s car. And then another car couldn’t stop and crashed into the door of our car…”

At this point, An Lingxi pauses, still feeling frightened, “Fortunately, the owner of the car we hit is a good man and he didn’t hold us accountable.”

“What about those people at the door?”

“They all came for the car owner whose car we crashed into. The man has a strong backing. At that time, I muttered that we might be in big trouble. But the car owner is really nice. Chief Editor Xia, I’ll smooth things out and I won’t let it adversely affect World Era Weekly.”

“Lingxi, I’m in charge of World Era Weekly and I can take care of any trouble. Now what I’m worried about are you and Christine. You’ve also been injured. Why don’t you get some rest? You’d better remain hospitalized.”

In the past, when Gu Luan was the chief editor, Gu Luan always helped Xia Ning with any problems. In fact, Gu Luan not only helped her but also was attentive to all the employees in World Era Weekly. Aside from personal matters, Gu Luan is undoubtedly a perfect chief editor in her heart, who is also her model.

“I’m OK. It’s just that the bandages on my body look frightening. In fact, it’s just a scratch. I just took CT and X-ray and there’s nothing serious. Chief Editor Xia, don’t worry about me. But as I estimate, it will take a few days before I leave. After all, we hit someone and have to bear the consequences.”

Xia Ning gets anxious, asking, “Did the car owner ask to go through the judicial process?”

An Lingxi shakes her head, replying, “He didn’t let Christine and me blame for anything. Unexpectedly, the car owner asked the police station to focus on the driver who hit our car. If he hadn’t said that, I’m afraid we would have still been in trouble.”

“Really? What a nice guy!” Hardly anyone can be partial to the person who just crashed into his car, “If I’m available, I really want to get to know him.”

An Lingxi’s eyes glisten, “You will. Chief Editor Xia, don’t let what happened to me and Christine get in the way of your work. We’ll take care of everything. If something unexpected happens, I may have to ask for your help.”

“Oh, sure! Lingxi, we are colleagues and friends. Don’t regard me as an outsider.”

Beitang Xiu is quite affable. The original one-hour interview was soon completed and Jing Shu temporarily added many other questions in all aspects.

Many of the questions she added were quite private, but Beitang Xiu didn’t hesitate to answer them, which made Jing Shu feel better disposed towards Beitang Xiu.

After ending the interview, Jing Shu feels relieved and picks up the coffee, preparing to take a sip.

“Shu.” Beitang Xiu calls her, “The coffee has gone cold. Don’t drink it. I’ll make another cup.”

With that, Beitang Xiu rises to his feet. Jing Shu hurriedly says, “No… No need. That’s too much trouble. I’ll just have tea…”

“You little fool.” The look in Beitang Xiu’s eyes becomes gentle, “My coffee has also gone cold and I am about to make another one. And I’ll make one for you, too. Just wait a moment.”

Jing Shu stares at the seductive and slender figure of Beitang Xiu and his words “little fool” echo in her mind.

It’s such an endearment.

There is a small bar in Beitang Xiu’s office, which is the same as that in Xia Ning’s office. Beitang Xiu’s posture of making coffee is so elegant and enjoyable. Jing Shu is glad that all the persons she has met are really nice.

Suddenly, a sentence said by Xia Ning floats into Jing Shu’s mind, “It would be even better if you had a chance to train…”

Jing Shu’s eyes light up. And then she lurches to her feet and walks over to the bar, watching Beitang Xiu making coffee intently. She is secretly learning how to make coffee from him.

However, it’s not hard for Beitang Xiu to see through that.

“You wanna learn how to make coffee?”

Jing Shu didn’t expect Beitang Xiu to ask the question so directly, which somewhat embarrasses her. Nevertheless, she answers firmly, “Yes, I do. I want to make better coffee.”

Beitang Xiu pauses and stops smiling. And then his voice takes on a serious tone, “Be honest with me, do you really love coffee? Or, do you have an ulterior motive for trying to learn the skill?”

During the several meetings with Beitang Xiu, Jing Shu has never seen him talking so seriously like that, which makes her realize that the skill of making coffee means a lot to Beitang Xiu.

Her answer will directly determine whether she can learn it from Beitang Xiu or not.

Should she tell him a grandiose reason? Grandiose reasons can probably move others, but it may not work for Beitang Xiu.

Despite Beitang Xiu’s young age, he is experienced. It can be seen from his ability to play two roles at one time.

If she lies, he will immediately find it out.

She has to tell what is really in her mind.

Though she doesn’t know if he will approve of the reason, it’s better than lying to him.

Thinking of this, Jing Shu makes up her mind and looks straight into Beitang Xiu’s eyes, replying, “As for your question whether I love coffee, I can definitely answer yes! But as for whether I have ulterior motives, my answer will be the same, yes! I really want to make coffee that is savory, so I wanna learn from you. And not only do I like it, but I also want to give away the best stuff to the people I cherish the most. It’s just a token of my regard for them.”

After finishing her words, Jing Shu gets so nervous that she clenches her fists. At the moment, Beitang Xiu’s eyes are sharp, which makes him look like a superior judge. Jing Shu is waiting for the final trial result.

After such a while, Beitang Xiu slightly narrows his obsidian-like eyes and he looks less grave, saying with a faint smile, “Baristas all apply themselves to serving the most cherished people with savory and mellow coffee. Shu, I appreciate your sincerity. But what I hope to see is your determination and patience. Come to the coffee shop at five o’clock tomorrow morning. Plus, don’t yawn.”