Chapter 55: Striking Up a Conversation with a Beauty

"Oh!" Yang Rui suddenly understood. "So you used the excuse of a medical checkup to mooch food and drinks... Wait! To the hospital?" He abruptly turned his head to look at Yan Lan.

"Um..." Yan Lan lowered her head, her voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz.

Yang Rui felt as if a lump of wet cotton had been stuffed into his chest, making it uncomfortably heavy. He tugged at the corner of his mouth with a self-deprecating smile: I'm such a damn fool! Just last night, I racked my brain trying to figure out how to shield her from trouble, only to realize she hadn't taken it seriously at all! The emperor isn't worried, but the eunuch is anxious—serves me right!

"Enjoy your meal slowly, I'm in a rush!" He smiled bitterly, shook his head, ignored Yan Lan's attempts to make him stay, turned around, and strode away.

He ran all the way to the downstairs of Xie Tingfeng's boxing club. Strangely enough, after running for over an hour, he was neither out of breath nor were his legs sore! Yang Rui didn't think much of it, simply attributing it to his good youth and stamina.

Just as he was about to go inside, he heard two sharp horn blasts behind him. Turning around, he saw that Xie Tingfeng had been waiting for him in his car all along.

"Stop standing there daydreaming, get in the car already!" Xie Tingfeng waved at him.

As soon as Yang Rui got into the car, Xie Tingfeng started yelling at him right off the bat, "I say, my dear ancestor! Can you have some sense of time?! My cousin chewed me out like crazy!"

"I..." Yang Rui was about to explain, but seeing Xie Tingfeng staring straight at him with a bizarre look in his eyes, he felt a chill down his spine. "What are you staring at? Let me warn you, I'm not interested in men!"

"Damn it!" Xie Tingfeng punched him on the shoulder. "You brat have been acting... possessed lately! You're getting more and more damn handsome! Especially these eyes of yours, they look like they're trying to hook my soul! Even I'm getting flustered looking at them, let alone the chicks!"

"I've always been this handsome, alright?" Yang Rui boasted shamelessly.

"No! Something's wrong!" Xie Tingfeng shook his head and wagged his finger. "Before, your eyes were shifty and full of wicked schemes! Today is different! Clean! Crystal clear! Like a newborn baby, you can see right through to the bottom with just a glance!"

"Cut the crap, will you?" Yang Rui didn't believe it out loud, but inwardly he started to wonder: Could it be because of what happened last night? "Where are we going?"

"Dongxu Group!" Xie Tingfeng replied as he started the car.

"Why are we running off to Dongxu Group?"

"Why ask so many questions? You'll find out when we get there."

Looking up at the sixty-plus-story glass behemoth, Yang Rui felt a sense of oppression that made it hard to breathe. He really hadn't seen much of the world yet!

"Tingfeng, can you finally tell me what we're here for now?" he muttered, straightening his washed-out jacket, taking a deep breath, and walking toward the grand revolving door.

"Hello, sir, who are you looking for?" The security guard at the entrance politely blocked them.

"Oh, we're looking for..." Before Xie Tingfeng could finish his sentence, he caught sight of someone rushing out in a fluster and hurriedly pointed in that direction. "Why did you guys take so long! Hey, let... let them in!"

Xie Tingfeng greeted the person. "Manager Zhang, I'm sorry, we..."

Manager Zhang pulled Xie Tingfeng aside into a corner. "I have another video conference waiting, let's talk as we walk!" Meanwhile, Xie Tingfeng dragged Yang Rui and rushed straight into the building.

"Your cousin is busy with a meeting right now and doesn't have time to deal with you," Manager Zhang said as they walked. "I already know about your friend's situation. This time, after Dongxu Group relocates its headquarters to Keqiao, we will establish a large-scale subsidiary integrating R&D and manufacturing, and we are currently expanding and training new recruits."

Hearing this, Yang Rui immediately realized that Xie Tingfeng was trying to give him a hand. He was truly grateful, but also in a bind. His "career" focus wasn't here. He wanted to refuse, but was afraid of letting down his brother's good intentions, coupled with the fact that he was indeed short on money right now... He had no choice but to bite the bullet and follow along.

Manager Zhang led the two of them to the door of an office and then hurried off. Xie Tingfeng was clearly familiar with the place. He walked up to an efficient-looking, attractive female assistant at the reception desk. "Assistant Wu, I have an appointment with President Yu to bring a friend in for an interview!"

Assistant Wu lazily lifted her eyelids. Her gaze swept past Xie Tingfeng and paused slightly when it landed on Yang Rui. However, being used to big scenes, she quickly returned to her normal demeanor and spoke to Xie Tingfeng in a formulaic tone, "Oh, so this is him? You go on in first, President Yu just finished the meeting and happened to have something to discuss with you."

"Alright!" Xie Tingfeng acknowledged, turned back to instruct Yang Rui to behave and not run around randomly, then knocked on the door and went inside.

It was Yang Rui's first time stepping into such an impressive company, so he inevitably felt a bit constrained, unsure whether to stand or sit. Fortunately, there was an eye-catching beauty nearby, which happened to help relieve his tension.

He strolled over to the reception desk, casually leaning half against the counter, and curved the corner of his mouth into a smile he thought was full of charm. "Beauty, what's your name?"

Assistant Wu was slightly startled, then burst into a laugh. "Your pickup line... is a bit outdated, isn't it? Didn't your friend just shout it out?"

Yang Rui only then remembered that Xie Tingfeng had indeed called her "Assistant Wu." But his skin was as thick as a city wall; he showed no embarrassment at all, and instead laughed freely, "If I didn't do this, would I be able to strike up a conversation with you?"

Assistant Wu let out an "oh" and raised her eyes to meet Yang Rui's gaze. As their eyes locked, her heart fluttered inexplicably—what kind of eyes were those? They were as clear as a sky washed by rain, as pure without a trace of dust, and as clean as a mountain spring! Yet, paired with his flippant smile, his gaze unmistakably radiated genuine sincerity without a shred of pretense. It was truly bizarre for someone to embody such contradictory temperaments all at once.

"Has nobody told you that staring fixedly at a lady like this is very impolite?" Assistant Wu's tone turned slightly cold, carrying a hint of displeasure.

"Then has anyone ever told you that your eyes bear a striking resemblance to Jennifer Connelly's?" Yang Rui didn't care about her coldness at all and still asked with a cheeky smile.

"Please mind the occasion and your words! This is a working area." Assistant Wu's tone grew completely cold, yet she maintained her professional restraint.

Yang Rui chuckled inwardly. He had quickly scanned her appearance just moments ago, and fairly speaking, she truly bore a seventy-percent resemblance to Jennifer Connelly, possessing both an angelic face and a devilish figure. Her beauty was like the mutual reflection of a delicate lotus blooming quietly in a traditional Chinese ink wash painting and a straightforward, passionate rose in a western oil painting; just a single glance was enough to engrave her in one's memory.

However, when Yang Rui closely observed her facial features, he noticed her glabella was slightly dim, indicating recent bad luck in her work.

It was obvious that she had misunderstood his intentions as having ulterior motives.

"Assistant Wu must have misunderstood," Yang Rui said with a dry laugh. "I simply wanted to make a friend."

"If you're here for an interview, please go over there and wait. If you're here to make friends," Assistant Wu straightened her face and said strictly in a businesslike manner, "I'm sorry, there are no 'friends' here for you to find."

"Quite a fiery temper, aren't we?" Yang Rui maintained his roguish demeanor. "I see a faint aura of gloom between your eyebrows; have you been running into some snags at work lately? Let me offer a kind reminder—getting angry easily causes wrinkles, so women better take good care of themselves!"

A flash of surprise crossed Assistant Wu's eyes. "You... know physiognomy?" Then she immediately tightened her face. "That's none of your business!"