The Ceo Of The Company Next Door Seems To Have A Crush On Me Chapter 13

Misfortune Strikes and a Meal Buddy Request

Lu Zhijian didn’t receive a reply from Yan Xucheng. Instead, he got a call from Lu Ming: “Dad.”

“Zhijian, you’ve been back for so long, when are you planning to come home for a visit? Your sister is back too. Your mother and I were thinking about when the family could get together. When are you free?”

Since he wasn’t planning on going to the company today, “How about today then.”

He could also take back the souvenirs he had bought earlier. They were taking up space at home. Lu Zhijian casually placed the report in a drawer in the living room, then gathered the gifts and put them by the door so he wouldn’t forget them later.

Even after Lu Zhijian returned to the Lu family home and sat chatting with Lu Ming, his phone remained silent.

He was a little distracted, wondering if Yan Xucheng had seen the message. If he had seen it, didn’t that mean he didn’t want to talk to him at all? That would make him seem so presumptuous.

Lu Zhijian felt a little awkward, a little regretful, and even wanted to recall the “Are you there?” message, but it had been more than two minutes, so he couldn’t retract it.

Lu Zhijian sat on a single sofa. Lu Ming and Lu Zhiyu sat together on a long sofa, each occupying one end. Lu Ming was sitting close to Lu Zhijian and immediately noticed his afternoon distraction: “What’s wrong? Still because of…?”

He didn’t finish the sentence, not wanting to mention that name.

Lu Zhijian snapped back to attention: “Because of what?”

Lu Ming took a sip of tea: “Nothing, nothing.”

He hadn’t reacted immediately, but after thinking about it, Lu Zhijian knew who Lu Ming was referring to: his ex-boyfriend, Ye Lian.

He should count as an ex-boyfriend, right? After all, being together for half a month still counted as being together.

Ye Lian played the second male lead in a TV drama project at Juefei Media. If that were all, Lu Zhijian wouldn’t have noticed him. After all, Juefei Media had countless projects and countless second male leads. Ye Lian was one of the better ones, but not outstanding.

He first became aware of this person because of Ye Lian’s unique background. Although the Ye family was only a second-rate family in the Jingji, it was enough for Ye Lian’s father to have multiple partners—the red flag at home didn’t fall, while colorful flags fluttered outside. The current Mrs. Ye was the third party who had taken the top spot, bringing with her a son who was two years younger than Ye Lian.

Previously, specifically two years ago, the Ye family was quite harmonious. After all, Ye Lian wasn’t very old when his biological mother passed away. He was raised by his stepmother and got along reasonably well with his half-brother; at least, there were no major incidents.

It was said that since Ye Lian fell into the water two years ago, he suddenly became smarter. Every now and then, he would challenge his stepmother and half-brother. His stepmother and brother were not pushovers either. For a time, the two sides were evenly matched, fighting fiercely, which provided a lot of entertainment for onlookers. Even Lu Zhijian, who wasn’t particularly fond of socializing, knew about it, which showed how big a fuss they made. In a way, the Ye family certainly made a name for themselves; almost everyone in the Jingji knew about the Ye family.

At the time, Lu Zhijian even had a wild thought, wondering if Old Ye had deliberately staged a show to gain attention.

Stop! Was this the danger of staying too long in the big dye vat of the entertainment industry? Lu Zhijian’s thinking had become abnormal; his first reaction was that being infamous was still a form of fame.

When he received more detailed information, he was immediately drawn to Ye Lian’s familiar experience. He confirmed with Secretary Mo: “Did his personality really change drastically after falling into the water?”

Secretary Mo looked as professional as ever: “Yes, President Lu.”

Lu Zhijian: “Isn’t that the common template for protagonists in early novels?”

Things like awakening memories of a past life after falling into the water, being harmed by a scumbag, reclaiming everything lost, embracing the person behind them… doesn’t that sound familiar?

Although such things were unscientific and clearly belonged in novels, Lu Zhijian was, in a way, involved in the arts industry. He had a lot of artistic sensibility, and after reading scripts for several years, his imagination had grown wilder. So, Lu Zhijian began to pay attention to Ye Lian’s actions.

Slowly, he discovered that someone was helping Ye Lian, at least two people.

The sense of déjà vu intensified.

Last year, a heavy snow fell in the Jingji. Lu Zhijian, who was 1.9 meters tall, found the snow reaching his knees.

Of course, when Lu Zhijian left work in the evening, the snow had only accumulated a thin layer.

He worked late that day. Mo Hui, the workaholic, had gone to connect with her sister for some family time, and the entire Juefei Media building was empty.

Suddenly, the power went out in the building. It was said to be due to road repairs, and for some reason, the emergency power wasn’t working. Lu Zhijian’s office was on the thirty-sixth floor, meaning he had to walk down all those stairs. At that moment, Lu Zhijian deeply regretted it. Where couldn’t he read a script? Why didn’t he go home earlier?

But this world strictly followed a famous saying—blessings never come in pairs, but misfortunes never come alone.

Lu Zhijian walked down the stairwell step by step. Suddenly, a muffled sobbing sound came from the empty stairwell.

At that time, he didn’t know where he got the courage to go alone! By himself! Single-handedly! To find the source of the sound.

Fortunately, this was a world that valued science, and there were no ghosts or other supernatural entities.

His leather shoes made rhythmic footsteps on the white tile floor. Ye Lian, who was sitting on the bottom step hugging his knees and crying, looked up when he heard the sound. A tall, upright figure stood backlit at the top of the stairs.

He wore a dark gray cashmere coat, like a pine tree standing firm in the cold wind.

Ye Lian called out: “President Lu.”

“Hmm, you know me?” Lu Zhijian was usually quite low-key, even avoiding people. He wasn’t like other bosses who, despite having a private elevator, insisted on squeezing in with employees. In all the time Juefei Media had been built, he had used the employee elevator no more than three times, so some grassroots employees didn’t actually recognize him.

Ye Lian gave a different answer, looking at Lu Zhijian with an unusual gaze: “I’ve seen you at a banquet.”

Lu Zhijian felt a little uncomfortable: “I see. It’s late, don’t linger at the company. Go home early.”

With that, Lu Zhijian was about to walk past him and continue down. There were still nineteen floors waiting for him to descend.

?

“Wait, the twentieth floor belongs to the Copyright Management Department. Why are you here?”

Ye Lian looked a little flustered: “Because the Artist Management Department had too many people before, I found a less crowded place. President Lu, are you leaving work? Why don’t you take the elevator? Walking down the stairs might be tiring.”

“The elevator is currently…”

Just then, Lu Zhijian’s phone suddenly rang: “President Lu, the elevator is back in service.”

Lu Zhijian paused. Why did the elevator return to normal the moment he mentioned it? “Alright, goodbye.”

With that, Lu Zhijian was about to leave. Ye Lian followed behind: “I’m leaving too.”

As the saying goes, blessings never come in pairs, and misfortunes never come “in pairs” either. Lu Zhijian seemed to be possessed by the God of Misfortune today. His recently serviced car suddenly broke down and wouldn’t even start. He had no choice but to take a taxi. Secretary Mo was probably with her sister right now, and it would be impolite to call her back midway.

Lu Zhijian didn’t leave, and Ye Lian stayed with him in the empty parking lot. After waiting for fifteen minutes, no driver accepted the order. Finally, Ye Lian offered: “Why don’t I drive President Lu?”

It was already eleven o’clock. Lu Zhijian, feeling exhausted, got into the car: “Thank you for the trouble.”

Later, Ye Lian actively pursued him. Under the barrage of attacks, Lu Zhijian and Ye Lian became an ordinary couple.

Although Lu Zhijian didn’t feel he had found true love, it was his first relationship, and the first time someone had pursued him, so he worked hard to be a reliable boyfriend.

As for the later incident where Ye Lian and Bo Yeping, the second son of the Bo family, were pulling and tugging, chasing and fleeing, and even directly kissing in front of him, it was truly difficult to recall. If he could, Lu Zhijian really wanted to forget that eye-stinging scene.

Lu Zhijian quickly broke up with Ye Lian. He finally understood that Ye Lian was sitting in the stairwell that day because he had broken up with Bo Yeping and was crying sadly. As for him, he was merely a tool for Ye Lian to heal his emotional wounds and even provoke Bo Yeping.

Receiving such a blow in his first relationship, the already introverted Lu Zhijian became instantly depressed. Lu Ming couldn’t stand it and sent him abroad to travel and change his mood. It was during this trip that he met Yan Xucheng.

The phone on the coffee table vibrated twice. Lu Zhijian picked it up and saw it was Yan Xucheng!

He didn’t even realize his movements were quicker than usual, showing a rare burst of vitality.

Yan Xucheng: I’m sorry, please let me explain (ヽ(ω)!) I was busy just now and didn’t notice the message. I just saw it. Is there anything you need? Feel free to ask if you need help (｀ω)

Lu Zhijian didn’t know what to say now. Should he just say, “I really like you, and I want to be friends with you”? That would be too silly, even younger than an elementary school student, the kind of thing only a kindergartner would say. It was so embarrassing.

Lu Zhijian was someone with an extremely strong sense of shame.

But how could he not reply?

Suddenly, he remembered something Yan Xucheng had said at Margot’s bar. He copied it exactly: It’s nothing, I just wanted to ask when you were free. Eating alone is too lonely, and eating with you was very enjoyable.

Yan Xucheng: Oh, so you were looking for a meal buddy? Sorry, I might not be able to (╯﹏╰)b

Lu Zhijian: That’s okay, that’s okay.

Although he was a little disappointed, he didn’t ask why. People who pry too much ruin others’ good impression.

Lu Zhijian suddenly felt helpless, as if he was the only one who remembered that afternoon in Country F, the pigeons in the square, and the statue of the maiden. These things seemed completely unimportant to Yan Xucheng. He felt like he had been thrown into a forgotten corner of the past.

Lu Ming took a sip of tea. Lu Zhijian’s emotions were unusually volatile. He really wanted to know what had happened, but Lu Zhijian was so grown up that he couldn’t directly ask. Lu Ming looked at his daughter beside him. Lu Zhiyu was playing a game without lifting her head.

In the living room, the three people seemed to have personal force fields around them, each immersed in their own thoughts.