Rejected by the Campus Belle, I Find My True Love-Chapter 368 - 366: Is This Xue Yang’s Intention?
What Xue Yang said made sense, but if he did this, how devastated would his Senior Sister be?
The studio acted swiftly. Coupled with Xue Yang’s special approval, nearly two million in promotional fees was transferred into Chen Ying’s account within half an hour.
Chen Ying happened to be having dinner with her new colleagues at the Four Seasons Roast Duck Restaurant. To foster a good relationship with them, she had specifically brought them to eat near her alma mater. When her phone rang, she picked it up and tapped on the message. The moment she saw the number, she was completely dumbfounded.
Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands... a million! My first thought was, did someone make a mistake with a transfer and send it to my account? My second thought, upon seeing the familiar company name, was that I had a pretty good guess what happened.
"Ying Ying, come on, eat up. Roast duck is only good when it’s hot," a male colleague sitting beside her reminded her.
"Ming Cheng, Senior Sister Ying Ying has her own hands. She can eat by herself," Liu Juan said.
"Liu Juan, can’t you tell? We’ve been colleagues with Ming Cheng for so long. Have you ever seen him care about anyone this much? After all the meals we’ve had, have you ever seen him serve food to anyone else?"
The table erupted in a chorus of teasing.
The young man called Ming Cheng didn’t deny it, even though his intentions had been exposed on the spot. Instead, he fixed his gaze on Chen Ying, the corners of his eyes crinkling into a smile. Anyone with eyes could see he was pursuing her.
Ming Cheng was a Yancheng local. Although he didn’t have a powerful family backing him, he had never had to worry about food or clothing, and his circumstances were countless times better than the average person’s. As a result, his standards were naturally high. Ordinary, made-up women simply couldn’t catch his eye.
Chen Ying was different. She was a graduate from a top-tier university and was also beautiful. In the time he had spent with her, he discovered that her circle of friends was also very uncomplicated. He even started to wonder if he had remained single all these years just to wait for her arrival.
At that moment, Chen Ying’s mind was completely preoccupied with the transaction notification; she hadn’t heard a word they were saying.
Seeing that she hadn’t moved, Ming Cheng assumed she was being shy and gently prompted her again, "Ying Ying?"
Chen Ying snapped back to her senses, looking up and meeting a pair of gentle eyes. She abruptly averted her gaze. Then, she stood up and said apologetically, "I’m sorry, everyone. I have something to take care of, so I have to leave first. Please, take your time. I’ve already paid the bill."
Just as Chen Ying was about to leave, Ming Cheng suddenly reached out and grabbed her hand. "How can we let a woman pay? How much was the meal? I’ll transfer it to you."
Chen Ying took a step back, shaking his hand off. "Senior Ming Cheng, there’s no need. I said it was my treat. I’m truly sorry, but I have something urgent I must handle."
With that, Chen Ying hurried away.
Having been on the receiving end of confessions her whole life, she would have to be a fool not to see Ming Cheng’s intentions. However, accepting him was impossible. She didn’t like him, and she had already made that clear. He was the one who refused to give up, convinced he still had a chance.
"Hey, Ming Cheng, I think Ying Ying really did have something urgent to do. As her prospective boyfriend, aren’t you going to go check on her? Maybe if you help her out this time, you’ll win the fair lady’s heart," Liu Juan teased, seizing the opportunity the moment Chen Ying left.
Ming Cheng held a better position at the company than she did and was also a local. Building a good relationship with someone like him could help her avoid many pitfalls in her career.
Ming Cheng quite liked the phrase "prospective boyfriend" that Liu Juan had used. He raised his glass in a toast to her, then apologized to the others before chasing after Chen Ying.
Chen Ying stood at the entrance of the Four Seasons Roast Duck Restaurant. The sky had already turned completely dark. The gentle summer evening breeze brought a wave of heat, making Chen Ying’s already agitated heart even more restless.
Normally, as an intern who had just left campus and hadn’t even officially graduated, receiving such a large sum of money should have been a cause for joy. Yet, Chen Ying couldn’t feel happy at all. In fact, the money felt like a hot potato. If she could, she would have immediately returned it the same way it came. However, her education in finance wouldn’t allow it. Such a large transaction would definitely be investigated, and she didn’t want to cause trouble for Xue Yang.
But... I’m just so upset. So upset I feel like I could die.
She placed a hand on her chest, took a deep breath, and started walking in the direction of TianMei Studio. She knew Xue Yang had moved offices. Sometimes, she would wait downstairs for Wu Xiaoya to get off work, but she had never once run into him. According to Xiao Ya, even she rarely saw Xue Yang. He would only appear if he needed something from her.
Without realizing it, the gap between them and Xue Yang had grown so vast. So vast that she found it a little hard to accept.
"Senior Sister..."
A familiar voice suddenly called out from ahead. Chen Ying looked up to see Cui Hao walking toward her. It seemed he had been looking for her, too.
Cui Hao stood in front of Chen Ying, scratching his head, apparently unsure of how to start. That damn Xue Yang, making me clean up his romantic messes. A single meal won’t be enough to settle this.
"Cui Hao, I was just looking for you. Why did I receive a transfer from your company?"
"Senior Sister, it’s your promotion fee," he replied.
Chen Ying was slightly taken aback. "Didn’t I tell you? I don’t need a promotion fee. I was just helping out. Paying me all of a sudden changes the nature of it."
"Senior Sister, this fee is no small sum, so please accept it. If you don’t, I feel it would be really unfair to you," Cui Hao said, deciding not to sell out Xue Yang.
Chen Ying was silent for a moment before asking, "Does Xue Yang already know about this?"
"No, no, he doesn’t know, Senior Sister. I was the one who thought we should settle the promotion fee with you. Our game is profitable now. Everyone who contributed gets a share, so of course you should get one too—and a proper one at that. Isn’t there a saying that goes... uh, how does it go again?" Cui Hao thought for a moment but couldn’t recall it, so he gave up. "Anyway, Senior Sister, you deserve this. You don’t need to feel any psychological pressure."
"I understand."
Chen Ying turned away quietly. She knew Xue Yang was trying to find a way to sever ties with her, but...
Xue Yang, do you really have to be so ruthless?
She wiped the tears from her face, trying her best to look normal.
Cui Hao remained where he was, watching Chen Ying’s retreating figure. He cursed under his breath, Xue Yang, you scumbag. Why did you have to go and mess with two of them? And each one more beautiful than the last. It made it impossible for him to even scold the guy to his face. It’s a classic case of feast or famine.
Just as Ming Cheng chased out of the Four Seasons Roast Duck Restaurant, he saw a dejected-looking Chen Ying parting ways with Cui Hao.
