Chapter 9fall: Little Liar

The Cullinan sped through the night. Although it was moving fast, Lin Ran didn’t feel uncomfortable.
A luxury car is still a luxury car.

At the red light, the car slowed down gradually. Fu Xingjian’s long fingers rested on the steering wheel as he looked at her tired figure, leaning against the window, and his heart tightened.

He broke the silence. “How long have you been working at Xiner?”

“Not long, just a little over a year.”

Fu Xingjian nodded and asked, “Are you happy with your job?”

Lin Ran replied faintly, “It’s okay.”

“Okay? So, not really happy?”

“No, work isn’t life. Happiness doesn’t matter, what matters is making money.”

Fu Xingjian fell silent for a while, then asked, “How is your grandmother’s health?”

Lin Ran mumbled, “She’s okay.”

Seeing her lack of energy and disinterest in conversation, Fu Xingjian’s face turned cold.

Soon, the car arrived at the entrance of Jinxiuyuan, and the rain had completely stopped, with no wind either.

Lin Ran unbuckled her seatbelt and got out of the car without looking at him again. “Thank you, Mr. Fu.”

Fu Xingjian looked at her defiant back in the rearview mirror, sighed lightly, and turned the steering wheel to leave.

When he reached the intersection, he seemed to remember something and made a U-turn back toward the Jinxiuyuan entrance. But he didn’t stop there. Instead, he continued driving forward.

Finally, at the next intersection, he saw Lin Ran’s figure.

Under the warm yellow streetlights, he saw her push open the large iron gate of a dilapidated building, walk quickly up to the second floor with light footsteps, and then happily enter the door, closing it behind her. Her expression showed no trace of the exhaustion she had in the car.

This little liar.

That’s right. Lin Ran lied. She didn’t live in Jinxiuyuan but in a house next door, a soon-to-be-demolished bungalow.

The rent for the bungalow was cheap. In a big city like Xicheng, the rent for an independent studio apartment was only 600 yuan a month—only bungalows could have such a price.

Lin Ran opened the door, changed into simple casual clothes, and began cooking.

She ate breakfast at the convenience store, lunch at the company, and only cooked dinner herself.

It was only at dinner that she felt like a person, like she still had a breath of life.

After dinner, she simply washed up and comfortably lay in bed, looking at her phone.

A WeChat friend request came in.

She opened it. It was Fu Xingjian.

Lin Ran frowned, ignored it, and put the phone down to read.

Before going to sleep, she checked her phone again. Fu Xingjian had sent another request, this time with a note.

“Zhou Xu personally pushed this to me.”

Lin Ran gritted her teeth and tossed the phone aside.

She wouldn’t let her boss pressure her into agreeing.

The next day, Lin Ran arrived just in time for work. As soon as she got to the office, a colleague called her over for a meeting.

The project with Yutou was officially confirmed, and Zhou Xu personally took charge of it. Yesterday, he finalized the project team, and this morning he called all relevant personnel into the meeting room.

By the time the meeting ended, it was almost noon.

Before leaving the meeting room, Zhou Xu pointed at Lin Ran, “I passed your WeChat to Mr. Fu. Remember to add him and maintain a good relationship.”

Lin Ran stiffened, took out her phone, and saw that the red reminder from last night was still there.

After a moment’s hesitation, she opened the interface to add him as a friend.

“Sorry, Mr. Fu. I went to bed early last night and just saw your WeChat reminder.”

She then sent a few submissive emojis to ease the relationship with the client. After finishing, she tossed her phone into her pocket and went downstairs to eat.

It would be too late for her favorite braised pork ribs if she waited too long.