Chapter 51 Xue Shengnan

"Are you Miss Xu?" the driver asked. "Mr. Jiang ordered this car for Miss Xu An'an."

The smile on Ning Xiyue's face froze.

Xu An'an was surprised, but she was certain—without a doubt, it was not Jiang Yu, but Jiang Li. After all, Jiang Li knew exactly when she was leaving the house.

Before she closed the door, Jiang Li seemed to have said something to her. But her attention had been on Ning Xiyue.

He must have meant to tell her he ordered a taxi for her.

"Did you hear that? Who would have thought Ah Yu could be so thoughtful? But why didn't he think to get you a ride? In the end, I am the real fiancée, aren't I?"

Watching Xu An'an settle into the car with a cheerful smile, Ning Xiyue was so angry she nearly ground her teeth to dust.

She immediately took out her phone.

She wanted to question Jiang Yu—why was he secretly so good to Xu An'an? He claimed he didn’t like her at all. Was that all a lie?

But in the end, Ning Xiyue didn't dial his number.

After all, she and Jiang Yu were only in a vague, ambiguous relationship; nothing was official. And she still had to maintain her image as the gentle, unassuming "white moonlight," never fighting, never competing.

Ning Xiyue glared darkly at the taxi disappearing into the distance.

…

Xu An'an arrived at the café ten minutes before her meeting with Shang Yan. She glanced around and chose a well-lit booth.

Soon, Shang Yan arrived with her assistant and secretary.

Shang Yan’s presence was commanding, and her two assistants were not to be underestimated either. They looked like an all-female army.

Xu An'an stood up and extended her hand. "President Shang, hello."

"Hello." Shang Yan gave Xu An'an’s hand a brief shake, then gestured for her to sit. "I’ve heard your name before, Reporter Xu. Your reports on workplace bullying and the matter of Author Bai have made you quite prominent."

She seemed to think these were Xu An'an’s calculated moves—first suppressing, then promoting herself.

If Xu An'an knew what Shang Yan was thinking, she would have rolled her eyes dramatically. What a terrible misunderstanding!

Xu An'an returned a polite smile and handed over the interview questions. "If everything looks good, shall we begin?"

But Shang Yan was in no hurry. She studied Xu An'an intently, as if appraising a product.

"Miss Xu, I hear you’re related to the Jiang family by marriage?"

Xu An'an frowned. "Is there something you want to say, President Shang? Please speak frankly. But if it’s unrelated to the interview, I’m afraid I can’t help you."

Shang Yan ignored her refusal. "If you can arrange a meeting between me and Second Master Jiang, you can ask me any provocative questions you like—about how I built my business, whether I relied on men, that sort of thing."

"Aren’t those exactly the questions you reporters love to ask?"

Xu An'an was genuinely surprised by Shang Yan’s attitude. It shattered her image of a strong, independent woman and made her think of Xue Shengnan.

If she remembered correctly, Xue Shengnan was returning to work today.

"Sorry, I really don’t have that ability."

"Shall we begin the interview?" Xu An'an asked.

Rejected, Shang Yan’s expression darkened. She let out a snort. "I’m very dissatisfied with your attitude. Expect a complaint from me."

With that, she left with her entourage.

Xu An'an could hardly believe what she had just experienced. What a bizarre encounter!

Back at the magazine office, Xu An'an went to find Xue Shengnan.

She knocked gently on the door.

Standing by the floor-to-ceiling window was a slender figure in a smart suit, holding a cup of coffee.

"Director Xue."

Xue Shengnan turned, smiling brightly. "Have a seat."

Xu An'an heard that Xue Shengnan had suddenly taken her accumulated annual leave to go on an early honeymoon with her fiancé and was now preparing for the wedding. No wonder she looked so radiant with happiness.

"Congratulations, Director Xue."

"Thank you." When Xue Shengnan brought up the recent trending scandals, she wasn’t blaming Xu An'an. After all, the problems had been caused by internal staff, and Xu An'an was innocent.

Her expression grew serious. "Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to explain everything to upper management. I’ll push for your promotion, or for you to return to the news department."

Actually, Xu An'an didn’t care much where she was assigned. She told Xue Shengnan as much.

Jokingly, she added, "If I can get a promotion, I’ll take it. Will it come with a raise? I like money."

"Fine, a promotion it is. The department chief position is still vacant, after all."

"Thank you, Director Xue."

"No need to thank me." Xue Shengnan knew about Xu An'an’s family circumstances and genuinely wanted to help her. She also admired Xu An'an’s abilities—she saw a reflection of her younger self.

Xu An'an then brought up what had happened with Shang Yan. "The interview fell through."

"The interview fell through?!" The editor-in-chief, who had come in to greet Xue Shengnan upon her return, overheard Xu An'an and exploded with anger. "Xu An'an, can you do your job or not? If not, someone else will! If you didn’t have potential, this plum assignment would have gone to someone else long ago!"

"But I heard that Shang Yan specifically requested Xu An'an," Xue Shengnan interjected coldly, unwilling to indulge the editor-in-chief.

Embarrassed at being contradicted, the editor-in-chief’s face stiffened. It was true—Shang Yan had named Xu An'an, though he didn’t know the reason.

"Regardless, if she failed to get Shang Yan’s interview, that’s her fault! And you want to promote her at the next shareholders’ meeting? Does she have what it takes? Will others accept her? Shengnan, I have to say, you’ve become too soft-hearted since coming back from your vacation. Favoring Xu An'an like this won’t help her—it’ll harm her!"

"If you ask me, the chief editor position should go to Fang Nini."

Xu An'an rolled her eyes inwardly. Fang Nini had only gotten in through connections. She did nothing all day except watch dramas and paint her nails. Who knew how much the editor-in-chief had pocketed from her?

Though Xue Shengnan had been away from the magazine, she wasn’t easily fooled.

"Fine. I’ll assess Fang Nini myself. If she’s truly better than An'an, I won’t object."

"No problem, go ahead and test her," the editor-in-chief said confidently.

He turned to Xu An'an. "Here’s what we’ll do: pick another interview subject, but they must be more prominent than Shang Yan. Otherwise, we’ll have a gap in this issue’s feature."

Xu An'an pressed her lips together. Wasn’t this just making things difficult for her?

Xue Shengnan would not let the editor-in-chief bully Xu An'an. "With your extensive connections, I’m sure you can introduce someone suitable for her to interview. You should thank the editor-in-chief, An'an."

"Thank you, editor-in-chief!" Xu An'an responded instantly.

The editor-in-chief opened his mouth to retort. He did have some connections, but it would take gifts and bribes to make it happen. He didn't want to spend that kind of money.

"Ahem, forget it. Even if I introduced you to some big shot, you probably wouldn’t be able to handle it. If you offended them, it would just cause trouble for the magazine!"

"Go interview the director of 'Burning Passion.' The film’s about to premiere, so it’ll be good publicity."