Sure enough, just the physics formulas and various principles were enough to make Shen Mianyin fall asleep after only a few sentences.
Hearing the steady sound of her breathing on the other end of the phone with no response, Gu Huaizhi gently called, “Shen Mianyin?”
There was no reaction from her side. Gu Huaizhi smiled silently, then softly said, “Shen Mianyin, goodnight.”
However, he didn’t hang up the phone. Instead, he plugged it in to charge and left it there.
Shen Mianyin was asleep, leaving the call connected.
In case she had a nightmare, he would be able to know right away.
Fortunately, Shen Mianyin had a peaceful sleep throughout the night.
When she woke up in the morning, Shen Mianyin heard what sounded like breakfast being made, with the clattering of bowls and dishes.
She was puzzled for a moment, wondering how her phone could be making such noises.
Looking down, she was surprised to see that the call with Gu Huaizhi had never been hung up.
The battery on her phone was almost dead.
Shen Mianyin quickly plugged her phone in to charge and called out, "Gu Huaizhi?"
"Awake?" Gu Huaizhi’s gentle voice came through the phone.
Shen Mianyin realized how wonderful it felt to hear such a pleasant voice first thing in the morning.
"You didn’t hang up last night?" she asked. If she had forgotten the night before, Gu Huaizhi’s response just now clearly showed that he had purposely kept the call connected.
“You fell asleep first last night,” Gu Huaizhi explained. “I was worried you might have a nightmare, so I didn’t hang up.”
Shen Mianyin was deeply touched by his words.
How could Gu Huaizhi be so thoughtful?
“Since you’re awake, would you like to come down for breakfast?” Gu Huaizhi continued. “I’m making it now.”
Just as Shen Mianyin's stomach conveniently rumbled, she quickly said, "Wait for me, I'll be down in a minute."
She hurriedly tidied up, thankful that her phone was charging quickly.
By the time she finished getting ready, her phone had charged to 80%, enough to last her through the day.
Shen Mianyin grabbed her phone and headed to Gu Huaizhi’s place.
***
Gu Luo'an opened his eyes and immediately saw Su Yiqing lying beside him, her eyes still marked with traces of tears.
"Brother Luo'an..." Su Yiqing, seeing that he was awake, wrapped herself in the blanket and sat up.
On the shoulder she had exposed, there were two red marks, clear imprints left by Gu Luo'an from last night.
"You don’t have to feel guilty, last night was my choice," Su Yiqing spoke up before Gu Luo'an could say anything. "I won't ask you to take responsibility."
"Even though it was my first time, I know that you like Sister Shen." Su Yiqing lowered her head. "I won’t tell anyone about this. Things between us can stay the same as before."
Gu Luo'an's face darkened, his jaw clenched in anger.
"I was fully aware last night," Su Yiqing said, her voice steady. "If I hadn't lost control, things wouldn't have turned out like this."
"I won’t abandon you." As for what exactly his relationship with Su Yiqing was, Gu Luo'an couldn’t bring himself to say.
Su Yiqing’s expression darkened for a moment before she looked up and smiled at him. "Brother Luo'an, no matter what decision you make, I’ll support you."
***
Shen Mianyin was at the company, handling the collaboration with Qitai. She had originally planned to work overtime to finalize the deal with Qitai, so that Gu Luo'an wouldn’t have another chance to get involved with them.
However, just before the end of the workday, Zhou Jicai suddenly appeared at her office.
"Shen Mianyin, come with me to a dinner gathering tonight," Zhou Jicai said, hurriedly pushing open the door to her office.
"Sorry, I have to work overtime at the company tonight, so I won’t be able to attend the dinner," Shen Mianyin replied.
"This client is very important to the company tonight," Zhou Jicai said impatiently. "They’re currently our biggest client. I know you're negotiating a deal with Gu Huaizhi, but the contract hasn't been signed yet, and the biggest client of our company hasn't been replaced. This one right now is the most important client for us."
"Is it Zhi Lan?" Shen Mianyin asked.
Naturally, Zhou Jicai had control over the company’s biggest client.
Last time, when Zhi Lan had said they were no longer going to cooperate, Zhang Qiyuan and Director Gao had reacted so badly.
"Yes," Zhou Jicai nodded in acknowledgment. "Last time, because you refused to replace me and go to Zhi Lan, they were really upset. I had to apologize for a long time before finally securing tonight's dinner meeting."
"Mr. Zhou, let me say it again, I have no responsibility for what happened last time. If you need to apologize, don’t drag me into it," Shen Mianyin continued, keeping her head down as she focused on her work.
"Suit yourself," Zhou Jicai said, "I’m not forcing you to apologize on my behalf this time."
Shen Mianyin couldn’t help but think, Has Zhou Jicai turned over a new leaf today? He’s always been the type to make others take the blame when something goes wrong.
"Because Zhi Lan is extremely important to our company, you, me, and Vice President Zhang need to go and socialize with them, make sure we retain the client. As senior members of the company, it’s our responsibility," Zhou Jicai said. "This isn’t about who’s right or wrong right now, it’s about keeping the client."
"Are you just going to watch the company suffer?" Zhou Jicai took a deep breath and continued, "No matter how much you dislike hearing this, you were arranged into the company by Lin Jinshen without going through any official hiring process. Isn’t it fair to say that Lin Jinshen has done you a favor? But now, when the company needs help, you’re going to stand by and do nothing? Is this how you repay the favor?"
Shen Mianyin let out a long sigh, saved the file on her computer, and then looked up at Zhou Jicai. "You don’t need to try to provoke me. For the sake of the company’s interests, I will attend the dinner. But your mistakes are your own to acknowledge. If tonight you really try to pin all the blame on me, don’t blame me for flipping the table right there."
Shen Mianyin had thought it through. One reason she agreed to go was to avoid being blamed for not considering the company’s interests.
The other reason was to prevent Zhou Jicai and Zhang Qiyuan from shifting all the responsibility onto her when she wasn’t present, leaving her completely in the dark.
Zhou Jicai, however, didn’t care what Shen Mianyin was thinking right now. Tonight, he had no intention of letting her off the hook.
How could she, alone, stand against so many of them?
After work, Gao Zhoulei was worried that Shen Mianyin would be bullied by Zhou Jicai and the others, so he insisted on going with her.
Zhou Jicai saw this and scolded, "Are you that free? Why do you have to follow when your superior is going to an event? Don’t you have other work to do?"
"Director Shen always brings me along when discussing work," Gao Zhoulei said, reluctantly offering an explanation.
"Today, we’re the ones in charge of the main negotiations, so it doesn’t concern Shen Mianyin that much," Zhou Jicai said. "Besides, none of us brought assistants, and it would be too much if you, Director Shen, brought one along."
"The vice president and general manager from Zhi Lan aren’t bringing their assistants, so why do you need to tag along?" Zhou Jicai scolded bluntly.
"Since it doesn’t concern me that much, maybe I’ll just skip it," Shen Mianyin said, her tone calm and indifferent.
Zhou Jicai was left speechless for several seconds, before finally saying, "I just mentioned it, but it's true that none of us brought assistants, and it would seem a bit unusual for you to bring one alone."
He added, "It wouldn’t look good."
Shen Mianyin quietly observed Zhou Jicai for a long while, causing him to feel a bit uneasy. He couldn't help but wonder if Shen Mianyin had guessed something.