118: Chapter 118 Night Talk

Seeing that he couldn't get a word in at all, Qiao Yichen simply leaned back on the sofa, took out his phone, and continued chatting on WeChat.

Yesterday, he had managed to coax a name out of Zhou Qian—Vice President Wang Yiming.

Today happened to be a good time to go feel things out with Yu Peishan.

He opened the chat box with Yu Peishan and typed:

"Peishan, didn't I go to your company for research a few days ago? While chatting with some employees at lunch, I heard that your company's Manager Wang, Vice President Wang Yiming, is exceptionally good to the staff?"

Yu Peishan took a while to reply, as if she were reminiscing: "Are you talking about Manager Wang from the Marketing Department? Indeed, he's very good to his subordinates and has a great reputation. Plus, he's been with the company for over a decade, so everyone respects him."

Qiao Yichen immediately followed up: "Then working in the Marketing Department must be quite relaxed?"

Yu Peishan replied quickly: "I wouldn't say that. Manager Wang being a good person is one thing, but work is work. The workload is still the same, it's just that your mood is better when following him."

Qiao Yichen sent a smiley face: "That's true. It really isn't easy to encounter a good leader."

He paused and sent another message: "But speaking of which, someone from our company dealt with Manager Li, Li Fan, before. He's just..." He didn't finish the sentence, but the ellipsis conveyed the meaning.

Yu Peishan understood instantly and replied directly: "You mean him? That man is indeed very difficult to deal with. Many people in our company curse him privately; he's demanding and has a huge temper."

Qiao Yichen sent a surprised emoji: "Is it that exaggerated? Our colleague said he just looked quite stern."

Yu Peishan replied: "Yes, and he was brought in from elsewhere two years ago. Anyway, his popularity isn't great, and he doesn't get along with several departments."

Qiao Yichen looked at the screen and made another mental note.

Having gathered enough information, he didn't press further and changed the subject:

"By the way, are you free tomorrow at noon? I'd like to ask you out for a meal. I enjoyed our last chat very much."

After sending it, the chat box went quiet.

"Typing..." appeared, then vanished. Vanished, then appeared again.

Qiao Yichen waited for a few seconds. Not getting an immediate reply, he wasn't in a hurry and switched to Zhou Qian's chat box.

His approach with Zhou Qian was different—he didn't ask about her company anymore and only chatted about interests and hobbies.

He talked about what dramas he was watching lately, funny videos he'd seen, and occasionally sent a few cat emojis from home.

Zhou Qian replied slowly, but she replied to every message, and her tone was more relaxed than before.

After chatting for a while, Qiao Yichen took the opportunity to send:

"Are you free tomorrow night? Let's have dinner together?"

This time Zhou Qian didn't hesitate and replied quite quickly: "Okay."

Qiao Yichen looked at the screen, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.

The seemingly cold Zhou Qian had actually agreed more readily than the talkative Yu Peishan.

Just as he was thinking this, the delivery arrived.

Lin Wei got up to open the door and came back carrying two large bags of Kendra Chicken, placing them on the coffee table. The aroma of fried chicken immediately drifted through the air; the golden, crispy skin looked very tempting.

"Come on, come on, dinner's ready!" Lin Wei called out. "Help yourselves, don't be polite. Take whatever you want to eat."

The five of them sat around the sofa, each taking a drumstick and starting to eat.

"Mmm, this burger is delicious." Zhou Zhou took a bite, her eyes lighting up.

"I think the fries are good." Su Qing pinched one and dipped it in ketchup.

With her mouth stuffed with a chicken wing, Lin Wei said indistinctly, "Eating this once in a while actually feels quite delicious."

Liu Yanran nibbled on a drumstick unhurriedly, occasionally checking her phone. Qiao Yichen sat next to her, handing her a tissue every now and then.

Bones and wrappers soon piled up on the coffee table, and the atmosphere was very lively.

By the time the group finished eating, it was nearly eight o'clock.

The coffee table was a mess, with a pile of bones, wrappers, and drink cups.

"Indulged ourselves again today." Lin Wei looked at the battlefield and sighed, then clapped her hands and stood up. "Alright, alright, let's clean up."

The five of them worked together, some collecting bones, some folding wrappers, and others wiping the table.

Zhou Zhou was quick and nimble, taking the initiative to tie up the trash bag and pick it up.

She glanced at her phone and stood up: "It's getting late, so I'll head out first." As she spoke, she carried the trash bag toward the door.

Lin Wei waved at her: "Take it slow on the road. Let us know in the group chat when you get there."

Zhou Zhou nodded and turned back to smile at the others in the room: "Sister Yanran, Sister Su Qing, Brother-in-law, goodbye."

The three of them nodded back at her.

The door closed, and the living room fell quiet. Lin Wei leaned back on the sofa, rubbing her stomach and sighing: "I'm stuffed to death... I feel like I've gained weight again today."

Liu Yanran glanced at her and said calmly, "You ate so much by yourself, how could you not be stuffed?"

Lin Wei replied righteously and with conviction: "I was too busy to eat properly today, so I'm making up for it with this meal. Besides, we can't let food go to waste."

Su Qing added dryly from the side, "If you really didn't want to waste anything, you should have gnawed on the bones too."

Lin Wei grabbed a throw pillow and tossed it. Su Qing raised a hand to catch it and placed it aside expressionlessly.

Leaning on the sofa, Lin Wei suddenly remembered something and turned to Su Qing:

"Hey, do you know who Yanran saw today?"

Su Qing arched an eyebrow: "Who?"

"Zhou Shiyu!" Lin Wei got excited just mentioning the name and sat up straight. "That scumbag ran back, wanting to get back together!"

Su Qing was stunned for a moment, then sneered: "Is there something wrong with his head? After everything, he still wants to get back together?"

"Exactly!" Lin Wei slapped her thigh and began to recount the story vividly. "I heard from Yanran that he even brought a bag, trying to move her with a gift, but Yanran pushed it right back on the spot. And Qiao Yichen went over later, too."

Su Qing looked at Liu Yanran with an inquiring gaze.

Liu Yanran nodded. She didn't say much, but her expression explained everything.

Su Qing shook her head and commented in a flat tone, "That kind of person is a typical case of wanting what they can't have. Now that things are over with Lin Wanwan, he suddenly remembers you again."

"Right?" Lin Wei grew more animated as she spoke. "And guess what? I checked Lin Wanwan's moments, and it seems they haven't interacted for a long time. They must have broken up for him to think about coming back to his old flame."

"Truly repulsive," Su Qing agreed for once.

The two of them went back and forth, launching a full-scale criticism of Zhou Shiyu, from his character to his IQ, from his IQ to his judgment, and from his judgment to his taste. They got more worked up as they spoke.

Liu Yanran leaned against the sofa and listened, occasionally chiming in with a few words to join the roasting of her ex-boyfriend.

After a round of criticism, Lin Wei suddenly turned to Qiao Yichen, her eyes sparkling:

"Boss Qiao, do you have any thoughts to share? You were a witness, after all. Tell us!"

Qiao Yichen, who was leaning to the side acting as background scenery, was startled by the question and then gave a helpless smile.

What could he say? It was his first time meeting the man, he had listened the whole time, and all his information came from them.

"Uh..." He thought for a moment and wisely chose to play the supporting role. "Indeed, it was quite over the line."

Lin Wei was dissatisfied and glared at him: "That's it?"

Qiao Yichen added another sentence quite seriously: "What he did was wrong, really wrong."

Su Qing suddenly remarked from the side, "Your skills as a hype man need some work."

Lin Wei laughed so hard she slapped the sofa.

Qiao Yichen shrugged, not minding at all.

Time slipped away until it was eight-thirty.

Lin Wei stood up and beckoned to Liu Yanran and Su Qing: "Come on, come on, let's go to my room. Try on the clothes I picked out for you and see how they look."

The two followed her into the bedroom.

Lin Wei took several items of clothing out of the closet and handed them over one by one: "This one is yours, and this one is for Qingqing. I picked them all out carefully; I guarantee they'll suit you."

Liu Yanran took a white off-the-shoulder top and held it up against herself in the mirror. Su Qing took a white chiffon shirt and also stood before the mirror to examine it.

Lin Wei leaned in, helping Liu Yanran adjust her collar one moment and pulling at Su Qing's hem the next, all while chattering:

"How is it? Doesn't it look great?"

Liu Yanran looked at herself in the mirror and nodded: "It really does look quite nice."

Su Qing also gave a rare positive review: "It's good; it suits me well."

Lin Wei was so proud her tail might as well have been wagging. She put her hands on her hips: "Of course! My styling is top-tier!"

Qiao Yichen leaned against the doorframe, watching the three women pose and preen in front of the mirror, and couldn't help but speak up:

"Lin Wei, is there anything for me?"

Lin Wei turned her head, her gaze falling on him as she looked him up and down. Then she walked closer and circled him, looking from his shoulders to his waist, and from his waist to his legs.

Qiao Yichen felt a bit uneasy under her scrutiny.

After finishing her inspection, Lin Wei took a step back and spoke solemnly: "Hmm—definitely next time."

Qiao Yichen shrugged helplessly: "Alright then, I'll wait for next time."

The three of them continued to pose in front of the mirror for a long time, changing outfit after outfit, discussing which piece went with which pants, which pair of shoes to match, and which outfit was suitable for which occasion.

When they finally settled down, Qiao Yichen checked his phone and lightly nudged Liu Yanran:

"Is that about enough? Shall we go home?"

Liu Yanran nodded, changed out of the clothes she was wearing, folded them, and put them into a bag.

Qiao Yichen got up with her, and the two changed their shoes at the door.

Lin Wei leaned over the back of the sofa and waved at them lazily: "Go on then. Take it slow on the road, and let us know when you're home."

Su Qing also raised a hand as a gesture of goodbye.

The door closed, leaving only Lin Wei and Su Qing in the house.

Lin Wei turned to look at her, a hint of mischief in her eyes: "You're not leaving tonight, right?"

Su Qing leaned against the sofa, her tone flat, but there was a smile at the corners of her mouth: "Yeah, I'm too lazy to move. It's the weekend tomorrow."

Lin Wei nodded with satisfaction and leaned closer to her, lowering her voice: "Then shall we chat tonight? It's been a long time since we've had a night talk."

Su Qing glanced at her and asked knowingly, "Chat about what?"

Lin Wei chuckled and didn't answer, simply leaning her head on Su Qing's shoulder.

...

On the other side, the couple returned home.

After washing up and lying in bed, Liu Yanran turned on her side, looked at Qiao Yichen who was leaning against the pillow looking at his phone, and asked:

"How are things going on that side?"

Qiao Yichen put down his phone, turned to look at her, and recounted the key information he had gathered that afternoon.

After listening, Liu Yanran nodded thoughtfully: "Based on the information gathered, Li Fan's character indeed seems quite poor. No wonder he would get involved with someone like Director."

Qiao Yichen took over: "I'll meet them tomorrow. Talking in person should allow me to coax out more information. Chatting online has its limits; meeting in person is different—we can talk more deeply."

He paused, suddenly remembered something, and turned to ask Liu Yanran: "By the way, when is the second draft due?"

"May 26th," Liu Yanran answered concisely, then added, "Next Tuesday, May 20th, there's another opportunity to go to the Liquan Group factory for research."

Qiao Yichen was silent for a few seconds before slowly speaking: "Then we need to hurry up."

Liu Yanran glanced at him and said calmly, "Do as you see fit."

Qiao Yichen nodded and said nothing more.

He reached out and turned off the bedside lamp, and the room fell into darkness. Then he turned on his side and pulled Liu Yanran into his arms.

Liu Yanran leaned against his chest and didn't move.

The two of them lay there quietly, neither saying another word.