127: Chapter 127 The one with platinum blonde hair and a very sweet appearance?

10:00 AM.

Jiang Che, needing to prepare a document, grabbed his laptop and set out to find a quiet place to get some work done.

He walked to the conference room in the far corner. As soon as he pushed the door open, he found it was already occupied. Moreover... she looked somewhat familiar: a very pretty girl with platinum blonde hair.

Jiang Che paused for a split second, then said "Sorry" and backed out.

Which adult brought their brat to the office again for no reason?

Jiang Che grumbled to himself as he walked toward another conference room. However, after circling around, he found that every single one was occupied.

Back in the office, Yang Fei was on a conference call with a client and couldn't focus at all. After a moment's hesitation, Jiang Che walked back to the first room.

When the door opened and she saw it was Jiang Che again, the girl was visibly taken aback.

"Are you here by yourself?" Jiang Che asked.

The girl sized him up for a moment and nodded.

"If you don't mind, can I use the space for a bit? Oh, you don't have to leave, just carry on with whatever you're doing. Or... you could go out for a walk or play for a while."

Before the girl could even respond, Jiang Che walked right in, clutching his laptop.

The girl frowned, clearly bothered, but Jiang Che didn't even glance at her.

After all, regardless of whose child it was visiting the office, work couldn't be delayed, right?

Since it was a small four-person conference room, sitting next to the girl might make him look like a creepy uncle, so Jiang Che sat opposite her instead.

After working for ten minutes, Jiang Che suddenly felt a chill on the back of his neck and looked up.

The girl opposite was... staring at him with deep resentment, not even blinking once.

Even when Jiang Che met her gaze, she continued to stare at him with a blank expression.

"Don't your eyes get dry if you don't blink for that long?" Jiang Che couldn't help but ask.

Seeing Jiang Che try to strike up a conversation, the girl frowned slightly, then got up and left.

Jiang Che watched her walk away. This girl was probably around the same age as Stinky Girl, maybe even younger.

A girl this young dyeing her hair platinum blonde? It looked good, sure, but... wasn't it a bit too "alternative"?

Just when Jiang Che thought she was gone, the door opened again less than three minutes later.

He looked up and saw it was her again, carrying a cup of tea in both hands.

Jiang Che was amused. Whose unlucky kid was this? Although she was introverted and quiet, she was actually quite polite.

"Thanks, but I work here, so I can get my own tea."

Jiang Che said, taking the tea from the girl's hands. He blew on it and took a sip.

Hmm, it was a bit hot, but the tea had a very unique aroma. When did the company switch to such good tea leaves?

After taking a sip, he turned his head and saw the girl standing beside him, frowning and looking at him with some annoyance.

Jiang Che was taken aback. "What's wrong?"

The girl didn't say a word, her gaze fixed on the teacup Jiang Che had taken.

Jiang Che followed her gaze and looked closely for a few seconds. That was when he noticed a trace of pink, glittery stuff on the rim of the disposable paper cup... it looked familiar.

Jiang Che stiffly turned his head and his gaze fell upon the girl's delicate red lips. They, too, were pink and glittery.

After a few seconds of silence, he couldn't help but ask, "Did you pour this for yourself?"

The girl glared at him, not answering, but her expression said it all.

Jiang Che was instantly mortified. He immediately pushed the cup back across to her and coughed awkwardly. "I only took one sip. Do you... still want it?"

The girl glared at Jiang Che, waited two seconds, then turned around and walked out of the conference room.

Jiang Che broke into a light sweat. Was this girl going to go find an adult to complain to? If word got out that he had bullied a little girl, wouldn't his reputation be ruined?

He nervously stayed in the conference room for half an hour, but no one came. Only then did Jiang Che relax and put the matter out of his mind.

At noon, Jiang Che went to the cafeteria with An Ran. When An Ran saw Luo Yao arrive, she waved, but when Luo Yao saw Jiang Che was also there, she actually sat at a nearby table instead.

Noticing Luo Yao's unusual reaction, An Ran frowned slightly. She then couldn't help but look at Jiang Che. "Is she avoiding you?"

"No. I thought she was avoiding you."

An Ran looked into Jiang Che's eyes. Hmm, he looked very sincere; she couldn't see anything amiss. Still, she couldn't help but ask, "On this business trip, you didn't do anything weird to her or say anything weird, did you?"

"Am I that kind of person?"

"You always have been." Recalling how this guy used to stare at her legs all day before they got together, An Ran felt her cheeks flush slightly.

After lunch, when the lunch break was only half over, the office landline rang.

Soon, An Ran was called out of the office. It was half an hour later by the time she returned.

"Who was it? Disturbing someone's nap in the middle of the day?" Jiang Che, who had just finished his lunch break, asked An Ran.

An Ran said softly, "We're getting a new person in the office."

At these words, Yang Fei, who had been lying on the side, and Luo Yao, who had just woken up and was yawning, immediately became interested.

"A newcomer? Is it a fresh graduate?"

"That can't be right. What month is it now? How could there be fresh graduates? They weren't expelled from school, were they?"

Hearing Yang Fei's joke, An Ran glared at him, then said, "It's a girl."

Jiang Che looked at her. "And?"

"She's very pretty. Other than that, I don't know anything else."

Luo Yao's expression didn't change, but Jiang Che and Yang Fei couldn't help but exchange a look.

"Was there a background check?"

An Ran lowered her voice. "I asked HR. There wasn't one."

Yang Fei had been looking forward to it when he heard it was a pretty girl, but upon hearing this, he immediately waved his hand. "Forget it, forget it. Not worth the trouble."

"Brother Fei, what do you mean by 'not worth the trouble'?"

Jiang Che looked at her. "Normally, for anyone joining the company who isn't a fresh graduate, HR has to conduct a background check to get a clear understanding of the new employee's details. If there's no background check, and they can enter the company directly, and it was arranged by the boss... you'd best just stay away from such people."

Luo Yao frowned. "Someone with connections?"

An Ran looked at Luo Yao. "Having connections would actually be better. This person coming..."

She stopped mid-sentence when she saw someone approaching the door.

The group tacitly understood and didn't mention it again in front of others.

However, ten minutes later, when An Ran went to the pantry, Jiang Che followed her.

"You couldn't find anything out about this newcomer either?"

An Ran nodded. "President Li called at noon and said to have her gain some experience in our department. I tried asking around, but he just smiled, shook his head, and said to treat her like anyone else."

After saying that, An Ran turned to look at him. "And you've met this girl before."

"I have? Who?"

"The one with the golden hair who pushed the door open in the conference room that time."

Seeing An Ran's serious expression, Jiang Che froze.

"The one with platinum blonde hair, the sweet-looking one?"

An Ran nodded, then added:

"This morning, I saw her walk straight into President Li's office, take some of the good tea leaves he keeps for himself, brew a cup, and walk out."

Jiang Che: "..."