This appearance, falling into Chen Jing's eyes, made her believe that Lin Mei harbored desires for Xing Zheng. Lin Mei, that vixen, not only seduced Ming Zhou but dared to covet her man!
Chen Jing glared at Lin Mei with hatred. If looks could kill, Lin Mei would have been dismembered a thousand times over by now.
Lin Mei had never expected Gu Song to tease her like that. It was only their second meeting with Gu Song and Shen Su, and they hadn't even spoken yet. "Mr. Gu, you're quite the joker."
Lin Mei went along with it, easily deflecting the topic. She stood up and went to the restroom. Gu Song chuckled, "Did I make Manager Lin blush?"
Lin Mei stood at the end of the restroom corridor, seeking solitude. If she had known this would happen, she would never have softened her heart and agreed to come with Ming Zhou. Now, she could only hope this situation would end quickly.
Lin Mei heard the sound of high heels behind her and turned around, seeing the furious Chen Jing. Chen Jing stopped in front of Lin Mei and cursed, "You shameless wretch!"
Chen Jing's insults were not novel, and Lin Mei had no intention of engaging in a lengthy conversation with someone as unreasonable as Chen Jing. In the past, remembering Chen Qi's kindness, she had tried to maintain a good relationship with Chen Jing. Now, there was nothing to deal with. Lin Mei's indifferent attitude only enraged Chen Jing further. Chen Jing sternly warned Lin Mei, "Don't set your sights on President Xing. A man like him wouldn't even look at you!"
Lin Mei's previously expressionless face revealed a hint of mockery at Chen Jing's words. "What kind of man is he?"
She was suddenly curious about how perfect Xing Zheng was in Chen Jing's mind.
"What does it matter to you what kind of man he is? He'll never look at you! He only likes me!" Chen Jing boasted to Lin Mei, as if she truly believed Xing Zheng liked her. "He's seen plenty of women like you. I'm the special one to him!"
Lin Mei found it increasingly laughable. The special one – perhaps that was Xing Zheng's skill, making every woman feel that way, thus ensuring their absolute devotion.
Lin Mei was now just grateful that she was sensible enough not to harbor any hope for that scumbag.
"If he doesn't look at me, does that mean he'll look at you? Also, I'm not interested in him. Instead of being so defensive against me, you should worry more about the other women around him."
Whether it was his fiancée, the mother of his child, or that unattainable white moonlight he had desired for years, which one was more worthy of her vigilance?
She suspected Chen Jing didn't even know about these people, having been blinded by Xing Zheng's sweet talk and naively believing she would marry him.
"You say he has other women around him?" Chen Jing questioned Lin Mei. "Did you see them?"
"It's common knowledge that he has a fiancée. Do I need to see it?" Lin Mei didn't believe Chen Jing hadn't heard this; it was merely self-deception.
"So what? He told me that he and his fiancée have their own separate lives, and it doesn't affect him." Chen Jing truly didn't take it to heart. "I am his true love."
Lin Mei felt as if she had heard a joke, unsure whether to laugh at Xing Zheng's scoundrel nature or Chen Jing's naivety.
How many women had Xing Zheng told the same story to?
"Do you think he only has one fiancée? Wake up."
Lin Mei left Chen Jing and went into the restroom. Recalling Chen Jing's naive words just now, she chuckled mockingly. Hadn't she herself been that naive once? It was just that the object of her naivety was Chen Qi.
A man like Xing Zheng, when uninterested in a woman, would be even more ruthless than Chen Qi. If Chen Jing insisted on hitting a brick wall, no one could stop her.
When Lin Mei came out again, Ming Zhou had also returned. No one at the table teased her anymore. After the task was completed without incident, Lin Mei left first.
Chen Jing followed Xing Zheng out, entwining her arm with his, and said coyly, "President Xing, can I come to your place tonight?"
Shen Su and Gu Song, who overheard this, both felt Chen Jing was overestimating herself. Xing Zheng, of course, did not take Chen Jing home, dismissing her with a casual excuse and returning to his residence alone.
Late at night.
Xing Zheng woke up from a nightmare, his pajamas soaked with sweat. He turned on the light and went to the bathroom to shower. As the warm water hit him, he closed his eyes, and the dream's images flashed before him, the hurtful words playing on repeat in his ears.
"You killed him."
"You are the murderer."
"Why wasn't it you who died? I shouldn't have given birth to you!"
The voices grew sharper, echoing in his mind. Xing Zheng turned the water temperature to the coldest setting, tilted his head back to face the showerhead, and let the cold water hit his face, yet it couldn't wash away the voices that lingered in his ears.
After showering, Xing Zheng went to his study. He walked to the bookshelf, took out a photo from behind a cabinet door, and his deep gaze fell upon it.
Six years.
Lin Mei recently had a new partner, a private international school, with whom she was collaborating on student loan programs for their middle school department.
Richard International School was the top-tier international school in Nanjiang City, offering a complete K12 and middle school curriculum with abundant educational resources. However, the tuition fees were outrageously expensive, yet many people still scrambled to send their children there. Several of Lin Mei's colleagues had their children studying there.
Richard International School had long been a target business client for the industry, and Lin Mei attached great importance to this collaboration, personally visiting the school to liaise with the school administration.
The school representatives were approachable, and Lin Mei's negotiations with them went very smoothly, with the contract details finalized within a morning.
After finalizing the contract, the school representatives invited Lin Mei to tour the campus. Lin Mei strolled around the campus with a few teachers and unexpectedly encountered Xing Zheng again, along with his son and the child's mother.
Upon seeing him, the teachers accompanying Lin Mei greeted him, "Mr. Xing, we meet again!"
While lamenting their unfortunate encounter, Lin Mei couldn't help but be amazed. Xing Zheng had only just returned to Nanjiang, and his network was already so extensive that he knew the school teachers.
Xing Zheng was always emotionally distant and indifferent in public. He merely nodded in response to the warm greetings, maintaining a sense of distance.
Lin Mei sneered. The scumbag was really good at putting on an act.
"Daddy, let's go eat!" Yang Shuo grabbed Xing Zheng's hand and urged him.
Xing Zheng smiled and said, "Okay, let's go."
In the hurried encounter, Lin Mei and Xing Zheng exchanged no words, not even a glance. They truly seemed like strangers.
During the school tour, Lin Mei heard from the teachers that Xing Zheng was there to handle the enrollment procedures for his child. It was rumored that Xing Zheng was also an investor in the school and that he was a classmate of the school's largest shareholder.
The teachers, as usual, speculated about the child's identity and even discussed the intimacy between Xing Zheng and the child's mother. Lin Mei listened, feeling a slight discomfort, which she attributed to her fastidiousness.
It was already 4:30 PM when Lin Mei left the school. She prepared to drive home. As soon as she got into the car, she received a call from Chen Qi.
"Hua Mei, can you help me meet a client tonight? I need to go to the hospital to get my cast changed."