65: A strange sense of loss?

"Oh, what's the big deal?"

Her tone was as light as if she were discussing the weather.

"There are young ladies in crop tops all over the streets now, and even more in bikinis at the beach!"

She sized Lin Chao up, her eyes filled with a bit of teasing.

"I didn't expect this, Uncle Lin. You don't look that old, but your thinking is quite old-fashioned!"

"Old... fashioned?"

Lin Chao squeezed those words through his teeth, feeling like he was about to suffer internal injuries from this little brat's attitude.

But Lan Qingyu's next words made all his anger deflate instantly, like a punctured balloon.

"But..." she giggled, propping her chin on her hand and tilting her head to look at him, "you're actually a pretty good person."

"Your first reaction just now was to help pull my clothes down instead of taking advantage of me."

"It shows you're a true gentleman!"

She said this openly and sincerely.

Lin Chao was stunned, momentarily at a loss for words.

He shook his head helplessly, and the anger in his heart somehow dissipated.

This girl was truly naive to the point of being a bit cute.

Seeing Lin Chao's expression soften, Lan Qingyu immediately seized the opportunity to steer the conversation back.

"Hey, let's talk business!"

She leaned forward, looking at him with an expectant face.

"If I'm going to post about you on my Moments, I need to know if your massager is any good first, right?"

"You have to give me one first so I can experience it for myself!"

Lin Chao had just picked up his water glass to take a sip and calm his nerves, but he almost choked when he heard this.

He looked at her in disbelief.

"So after all that talk, you just want to get a massager out of me for free?"

"I can hear your little scheme all the way from the B2 garage!"

Lan Qingyu's face flushed, and she stiffened her neck to retort.

"What do you mean 'for free'! I'm doing this to write the most authentic promotional copy!"

"I'll buy it! I'll buy it, alright? How much is it?"

She put on a grand "money is no object" air and made a move to take out her phone.

Looking at her like this, Lin Chao completely lost his temper.

He waved his hand and let out a long sigh.

"Forget it, forget it," he leaned back against his chair and said weakly, "Since you're Sister Yanran's daughter, I'll give you one."

"But I don't have any in stock right now. You'll have to come back to the company with me to get it."

As soon as he finished speaking, Lan Qingyu's eyes lit up instantly!

"Okay, okay!"

She immediately nodded like a chicken pecking at grain, afraid he might change his mind.

"Let's go right now!"

As she spoke, she had already nimbly stood up from her seat.

Seeing her so impulsive, Lin Chao could only resign himself to getting up, paying the bill, and leading her out.

The black SUV drove smoothly out of the parking lot and merged into the traffic.

Lin Chao originally wanted Lan Qingyu to wait in the car downstairs while he went up to get the item and come back down.

He didn't expect this girl to be more curious than a cat.

"No way! I want to go up and see!"

She shook her head like a rattle.

"I've never seen a real office building's workspace before!"

Lin Chao couldn't win the argument, so he had to nod.

"You can go up, but don't say anything out of line and don't run around."

The two of them walked into the Health and Wellness company one after the other.

"Wow..."

As soon as Lan Qingyu entered, she let out a small gasp of wonder.

The brightly lit reception area featured the four stylized characters for "Health and Wellness Home" on the background wall.

Walking further in, there were rows of neat cubicles where employees were busy working, the sound of typing echoing throughout.

Slogans like "Strive," "Persevere," and "Performance is King" hung on the walls.

Everything looked so formal and impressive.

She couldn't help but lean closer to Lin Chao and whispered, her tone carrying a hint of surprise.

"Not bad, Uncle Lin. Your company's scale looks quite impressive!"

"I haven't really heard of the 'Health and Wellness' brand before."

Lin Chao led her toward his supervisor's office without looking aside; hearing this, a mysterious curve formed at the corners of his mouth.

He also lowered his voice, speaking in a volume only the two of them could hear, and lightly uttered a few words.

"It's just for show."

Lan Qingyu's footsteps paused.

The surprise and envy on her face froze instantly, and the corners of her mouth twitched uncontrollably.

"Just for show?" Lan Qingyu's mouth twitched.

"Who talks about their own company like that?"

Lin Chao didn't answer, just tilted his chin toward her, signaling her to keep walking.

At her workstation, Yan Qiaoqiao was looking down, organizing a customer file, but the corner of her eye uncontrollably darted toward the hallway.

"Lin Chao... and a girl?"

A girl who looked to be in her early twenties at most, radiating youthful energy.

The girl was wearing a simple white T-shirt and jeans, with her hair in a neat ponytail, looking around curiously.

She was walking side-by-side with Lin Chao, very close and in an intimate posture.

Yan Qiaoqiao's heart felt inexplicably stifled.

Her hand holding the mouse tightened unconsciously.

That faint pain in her stomach seemed to resurface.

But in the end, she did nothing, quickly looking away and forcing herself to refocus on the data flashing on the screen.

This was the company; she was an employee and had to be mindful of her conduct.

Lin Chao pushed open a glass door and stepped aside to let Lan Qingyu in first.

"There, we're here."

As soon as Lan Qingyu stepped inside, her footsteps paused once again.

It was an independent office—not large, but fully equipped.

Against the wall was a black desk with a computer and a stack of documents on it, and a small potted plant next to it.

Lan Qingyu slowly, very slowly, turned her head, her large eyes staring intently at Lin Chao.

That look was as if she were staring at the biggest con artist of the century.

"And you said you were just a lowly salesman?"

Her voice was full of accusation, the end of her sentence trailing off.

"What company's lowly salesman has their own private office?!"

Lin Chao was amused by her "caught red-handed" expression.

He closed the door casually, walked behind the desk, and sat down in a relaxed posture.

"Don't get excited; I only got this office a few days ago."

He picked up the internal phone on the desk and dialed a number.

"Hello, Xiao Zhang, please bring a basic model massager from the warehouse to my office. Yes, a new one."

After hanging up, he lazily looked up at Lan Qingyu.

"The company saw that my recent orders were doing well, so they promoted me to supervisor."

He paused, then changed the subject, a playful smile playing on his lips.

"Besides, compared to a giant like your Lantu Group, what am I here if not a lowly salesman?"

With that one sentence, he silenced all of Lan Qingyu's arguments.

Lan Qingyu curled her lip, her expression somewhat defiant, but she couldn't find a reason to refute him.

Just as she was about to say something else, there was a soft knock on the office door.