Chapter 67: An Unexpected Encounter with Tang Jin

Jiang Yu's expression grew increasingly grim. In truth, he didn’t need Ning Xiyue to point it out—he could sense that Xu Anan had changed a great deal. When had this begun? He hated this kind of loss of control. It was infuriating that the dog he had already tamed was suddenly refusing to obey him.

“Heh, playing hard-to-get, is she?”

“Is that really it?” Ning Xiyue, as a woman herself, trusted her instincts—it didn’t seem to be that simple. “A-Yu, why don’t you invite her out tomorrow? I’ll invite the producer and the others too, alright?”

She didn’t care what was going on between Jiang Yu and Xu Anan; as far as she was concerned, anyone who stood in her way had to go.

Jiang Yu finally agreed. He wanted to see if Xu Anan dared to reject him.

The next day, when Xu Anan woke up, she discovered Jiang Yu had called her the night before. She’d set her phone to silent, so she missed the call. Besides that, there was a message from Shen Ying.

Shen Ying: [You’re not replying to my messages, are you? Fine. You’d better not come begging for the new medicine.]

There were also experimental data about the new drug in her inbox, sent by Shen Ying. Xu Anan had reviewed many of Shen Ying’s experimental reports before, and compared to those, this new medicine seemed to have some effect.

But she hadn’t received any messages from Shen Ying. Scrolling up, she saw that her conversation with Shen Ying had stopped half a month ago.

What was Shen Ying playing at, trying to pick a fight out of nowhere?

Xu Anan: [Sorry, Mother. I’ve been busy lately, not intentionally ignoring your messages. Could we discuss the new medicine in person?]

Receiving Xu Anan’s message, Shen Ying sneered. She didn’t reply, casually tossed her phone aside, and decided to let Xu Anan stew for a while.

She thought of her precious daughter, trapped at the police station for a week, then shutting herself in her room, refusing to see anyone upon returning home. Shen Ying wished she could tear Xu Anan apart!

This time, she was determined to make Xu Anan pay twice over.

“Madam, that woman is here again, delivering documents to the master,” a servant hurried over.

Shen Ying’s face darkened.

She glared at the slim figure, twisting her waist as she headed upstairs, completely disregarding Shen Ying as the mistress of the house. Rage threatened to spill from Shen Ying’s chest.

Recently, Shen Ying had been busy managing the affairs of the household, leaving her no time to trouble Xu Anan.

The servant worried, “Madam, if this keeps up, what will become of us?”

Shen Ying was at a loss. Xu’s father always claimed it was business, and if she made a fuss, she’d be seen as petty and unreasonable. Slowly, she resigned herself to staying home and keeping watch.

She refused to believe that, with her present, those two could misbehave.

“Go call Second Miss downstairs.”

“Yes, Madam.”

...

After replying to Shen Ying, Xu Anan called Jiang Yu. “Is there something you need? I went to bed early last night.”

“Come to Jiajue tonight. I have some friends I want you to meet.” Jiang Yu issued the order without caring if Xu Anan agreed, then hung up.

Xu Anan rolled her eyes.

Introducing friends? He’d never mentioned such a thing since the day they started dating; something was definitely off. Without a proper excuse, she’d have no choice but to go.

Thinking about the evening’s plans, she went downstairs to wait for the bus, and spotted a familiar figure across the street.

Wasn’t that Xue Shengnan’s fiancé?

Why was he escorting a woman home?

Tang Jin was gentlemanly, carrying the woman’s belongings, smiling radiantly as he watched her leave.

It seemed perfectly normal, but something felt off—the way their eyes met was strange.

Beep beep!

Tang Jin pulled up in front of her, and Xu Anan composed herself as the window rolled down. Tang Jin invited her in. “I’m heading to the magazine office to bring Shengnan some food.”

Given that, Xu Anan got in.

“Sit in the front,” Tang Jin said.

“I’d rather not. The front seat is reserved for Ms. Xue—I’m fine in the back,” Xu Anan replied.

Tang Jin seemed disappointed but didn’t press the matter, starting the car.

“I actually live nearby; I could drive you to work from now on.”

“No need, thank you.”

“It’s nothing to be shy about. Shengnan’s friends are my friends—my affection extends to those she cares for. You really don’t need to be so polite.”

“If we run into each other, maybe. I don’t go to the magazine office every morning; sometimes I head elsewhere first.” Xu Anan disliked people who lacked boundaries. She’d already declined politely, but he kept pushing.

Tang Jin seemed to realize, awkwardly chuckled, and dropped the subject. He shifted to, “By the way, Shengnan gave you some investment materials, right? If you have questions, you can ask me directly.”

“A few stocks look promising this time.”

“Shengnan must have told you how much she earned on her first investment? Conservatively, she should make half a million this round.”

Tang Jin made earning money sound as easy as opening and closing his mouth.

Xu Anan felt uneasy, so she humored him out of respect for Xue Shengnan. “To be honest, I only have one or two thousand to invest—not much.”

Tang Jin paused for a moment.

Then he smiled, “I just dropped off a female client at home—she started with only a couple thousand too. After a few investments with me, now she just stays home and counts her money every day.”

“If you trust me, I can help you achieve financial freedom as well.”

So that woman earlier was a client? Xu Anan’s eyes flickered, feigning indecision.

“I have a friend in finance too. I plan to treat him to dinner after work and have him look over the materials.”

This time, Tang Jin was silent for even longer.

As they neared the magazine office, Tang Jin asked, “Really? What’s his name, and which company? Maybe I know him.”

Xu Anan thought of Jiang Li, but doubted anyone would believe she knew him.

“Gu Yang. Do you know him?”

“No, never heard of him,” Tang Jin shook his head.

“It’s normal you don’t. He’s a recent graduate, just starting out,” Xu Anan improvised. Still, she believed Gu Yang would understand the materials—how else could he manage the vast Gu Group?

Learning Xu Anan’s friend was a newcomer, Tang Jin secretly relaxed. “Alright, have him take a look first. If he can’t make sense of it, you both can come to me.”

“Since you’re Shengnan’s colleague, I’d never steer you wrong.”

After Xu Anan got out, Tang Jin sped away.

Xu Anan was puzzled—wasn’t he supposed to deliver food to Xue Shengnan?

The more she thought about it, the less reliable Tang Jin seemed. Still, she had no evidence, so when delivering documents, she casually brought up the morning incident.

“He went out of his way to bring it to you—I thought it must be something important.”