Chapter 42: The Two of You Can't Possibly Be Innocent!

"What a coincidence. I never expected the restaurant Old Zhang picked would belong to your family," Chen Jiang said with some surprise.

Sister Li had mentioned before that Yi Yunxue's family was in the catering business.

He certainly hadn't expected to run into it today.

"Try the Lion's Head meatballs made by my senior apprentice brother. This is his absolute signature dish." Yi Yunxue picked up a piece of meat from the Lion's Head and placed it in Chen Jiang's bowl.

Chen Jiang took a bite, and his eyes lit up.

This dish was indeed much better than the ones he had eaten at other restaurants.

"Mmm, delicious! Xuesue, the Lion's Head at your family's restaurant is no worse than the ones I've had in Jiangsu Province!" Wang Yue praised.

"I've been to this restaurant so many times, how come I've never heard that it belongs to you, a big celebrity?" Zhang Jianlong asked, looking puzzled.

"My dad doesn't want to use my fame to make money, and besides, our restaurant gets plenty of traffic every day without needing me to promote it," Yi Yunxue explained.

"Mention my name next time you come to eat, and I'll give you a thirty percent discount."

"Many thanks," Zhang Jianlong said with a wide grin.

During the meal, the head chef of the restaurant even came over to say hello.

He was a bald man in his thirties.

"Senior Brother Hu," Yi Yunxue called out to him.

"Little Xue is bringing friends over for dinner today?" the bald man said with a smile.

"Yes," Yi Yunxue replied.

"You guys take your time eating, I still need to go back and keep an eye on the kitchen. Just holler if you need anything," the bald man said to the group.

After the meal, since it was her family's restaurant, the bill was simply waived by the front desk.

Chen Jiang didn't spend a single penny.

"It's not that I didn't want to treat you, but who told you to pick this place," Chen Jiang spread his hands helplessly.

Zhang Jianlong couldn't help teasing, "Getting all the perks while acting innocent—who would've thought you'd end up enjoying a free ride off a woman."

The two walked ahead, speaking in such low voices that only they could hear.

Hearing this, Chen Jiang smiled and said nothing.

This guy's personality was just like that; he loved to joke around.

"Want to go check out my personal property this afternoon?" Zhang Jianlong asked.

"Sure," Chen Jiang nodded.

"I'm going to check out Old Zhang's company with him. Are you coming along?" Chen Jiang turned around and asked Yi Yunxue.

"I won't go. There are things at the studio that need my attention," Yi Yunxue refused.

"Xuesue, then could you just give me a ride? I won't go with them either; I need to head back to the apartment to tidy up my room," Wang Yue said.

"Alright," Yi Yunxue nodded.

Chen Jiang and Zhang Jianlong got into one car, while Yi Yunxue took Wang Yue back first.

Chen Jiang sat in the front passenger seat and watched as Zhang Jianlong pulled up the navigation app, leaving him momentarily speechless and amused: "Don't tell me you've never even been to your own company?"

"I've been there before, but it was too long ago to remember. The address here used to be the original site of our group. Later on, as the group expanded, we moved to Shanghai and left this subsidiary behind," Zhang Jianlong explained.

"I haven't been back to check on the company here for five or six years."

Chen Jiang knew about Zhang Jianlong's family business; it was a very famous domestic cosmetics brand.

The flagship brand had even ranked in the top three nationwide for cosmetic sales.

The subsidiary Zhang Jianlong mentioned was likely one of the sub-brands under their group.

Following the navigation route all the way, half an hour later, the car parked in a parking space beneath an eight-story building.

The building wasn't tall, but its location was quite good.

The two men got out of the car, and Chen Jiang followed behind Zhang Jianlong.

At the main entrance, several members of the company's management team were already waiting there.

The moment they saw Zhang Jianlong, they recognized him immediately and respectfully said, "Director Zhang!"

"Alright, you guys go back to whatever you need to do. Just leave one person to show me around the company," Zhang Jianlong told them.

"Director Zhang, let me!"

"I have time, Director Zhang!"

Several management employees scrambled eagerly.

Zhang Jianlong pointed at a young staff member standing behind them: "Just him. Show me and my friend around, and the rest of you back to work."

"What's your name?"

"Director Zhang, just call me Little Li," Little Li said respectfully.

With him leading the way, the two men walked into the company.

"This entire building belongs to your company?" Chen Jiang asked curiously.

"Yeah, my old man, who was actually somewhat competent back in the day, bought this plot of land," Zhang Jianlong said casually and cheerfully.

Chen Jiang suddenly felt a twinge of envy. If he hadn't lacked other channels for making quick money back then, he definitely would have come to Shenzhen to snap up a few plots of land himself.

That would have made money much faster than selling Bitcoin.

Still, things were good now. With financial freedom and the ability to plagiarize literary works to pass the time while making some pocket money on the side, his little life was quite comfortable, and he was already very satisfied.

"Director Zhang, the second and third floors are the sales department..." Little Li introduced as they stepped into the elevator.

The two wandered around the second and third floors, then visited a few other departments on the upper floors.

The employees were all working diligently, and upon seeing Zhang Jianlong walk by, they worked even harder.

"Do the company's employees always work this hard?" Zhang Jianlong asked, surprised.

"Yes, Director Zhang... it's always like this," Little Li said without a blush or a skipped heartbeat.

Zhang Jianlong gave a faint smile. He might have believed the sales department employees had this kind of state, considering they mostly relied on commissions.

As for the other departments, it was a bit too forced.

Suffice it to say those who understood understood, but he preferred to see through things without exposing them.

He had also experienced the grassroots level of the group.

The workload was only that much, and some employees mainly earned a basic salary—you couldn't possibly expect people to work without a single moment of rest, right?

That wouldn't make them employees; that would make them beasts of burden.

Zhang Jianlong's office was on the sixth floor.

After touring the company, Zhang Jianlong told Little Li to go back to work, then returned to his office with Chen Jiang.

"Well, how is it? My office is not bad, right?"

"Tsk tsk, such a large floor-to-ceiling window, genuine leather sofa, and even a single-room lounge—you're the one who knows how to enjoy yourself!" Chen Jiang marveled.

Sitting on the sofa, the two chatted about interesting times back in school.

"I honestly thought Old吕 and Chen Sisi were going to break up after graduation, but who would have thought they'd actually get together after starting graduate school!"

Zhang Jianlong sighed with emotion.

"Yeah, though the two of them were glued to each other every day even before they got together, always calling each other 'pure bros'—who would believe that," Chen Jiang said with a smile.

"Speaking of which, are things between you and Yi Yunxue really as innocent as you claim?"

A smile played at the corners of Zhang Jianlong's lips as he looked at Chen Jiang.

"Do you really not feel anything for her at all?"

Hearing Zhang Jianlong's words, Chen Jiang wanted to deny it, but the words stuck right at the tip of his tongue.

He frowned, feeling a little flustered inside.

Were his feelings for Yi Yunxue really pure?

He hesitated.

Seeing his expression, Zhang Jianlong burst out laughing: "We're so close, how could I not see through that little mind of yours?"

"Don't you think the way you two are now looks a lot like Old吕 and the others back then?"

Chen Jiang fell silent.

"Though the two of you lack the bickering they had; your daily interactions are much more harmonious than theirs were."

"Back in college, those girls wanted to add you on WeChat, and you rejected every single one of them."

"If Old吕 hadn't borrowed your laptop that one time and discovered study materials inside, we would have thought you didn't like women..." he teased.

"But now, not only do you and Yi Yunxue run a studio together and write songs for her, you've also agreed to eat meals with her every day... Ever since we've known each other, when have you ever been this intimate with a female?"

"I admit, she is indeed my type," Chen Jiang sighed, answering:

"I do have a favorable impression of her, but I'm not sure how she feels about me."

"Besides, as a public figure, if we really were to get together, it would definitely have an impact on her career."