"Then what are you still hesitating for? Listen to me, just go and sleep with him. With your looks, once you take off your clothes and strike a pose, you'll have him in minutes..."
"Sleep with him my foot... Can you tell me something actually useful?"
"What I'm telling you is the most practical way... If you don't believe me, then forget it..."
Huang Yao was both annoyed and amused as she reached out to tickle her. "Shut up already! If you keep talking nonsense, I'll take a picture of you yawning and tearing up and post it on your moments!"
Qiao Yinyin dodged with a laugh, and the two of them fooled around, the charms on their bags jingling.
After a while, Qiao Yinyin checked the time on her phone and pulled Huang Yao toward the school gate. "Stop it, stop it. We'll be late if we don't go now. I wouldn't dare skip the old professor's class."
As for Jiang Cheng, he naturally slept until he woke up on his own.
It was exactly 10:30 when he opened his eyes.
The bed beside him had long since lost its warmth; it felt cold to the touch.
Jiang Cheng rubbed his temples and sat up. The whole house was so quiet that only the sound of his own breathing remained.
He put on a jacket and walked out of the bedroom. The two pairs of women's high heels at the entrance were gone.
A cup of warm milk was left on the coffee table, kept warm in a constant-temperature mug.
There was a sticky note weighed down next to it.
"Hubby, Yao Yao and I are heading to class. Message me when you wake up~" A crooked heart was drawn at the end.
While washing up, he picked up his phone and sent a message to Qiao Yinyin, telling her he was awake.
After that, he sent his usual mass "Good morning" message.
Just as Jiang Cheng was replying to messages, Xu Lei called.
Xu Lei's hearty voice came from the other end. "Good morning, President Jiang."
Seeing Xu Lei's call, Jiang Cheng knew it was likely about the proposal he had asked Zhu Yan to take back.
Jiang Cheng played dumb and asked, "Hello, Old Xu? Something up?"
Xu Lei's hearty voice came through the phone. "Hahaha, nothing much. It's just that, well, you know how busy we are in finance all day. I finally have a moment to breathe today, so I thought I'd treat you to a meal to thank you for your trust in us."
"Alright, send me the address. I'll head over in a bit."
Seeing Jiang Cheng agree, Xu Lei sounded quite pleasantly surprised.
"Great! I'll send it to you right away. Looking forward to your arrival..."
Jiang Cheng couldn't help but think that a Bank Manager was indeed different.
Xu Lei definitely knew that he and Zhu Yan now had an unusual connection.
As Zhu Yan's uncle, he didn't try to elevate his own status at all, despite his niece's relationship with Jiang Cheng.
In fact, his attitude was clearly even more humble than before.
After sending the location, Xu Lei immediately grabbed his suit jacket from the back of the chair and put it on.
His movements were much faster than usual.
He pressed the intercom and immediately told someone to bring over the prepared proposal.
Just as he was walking out of the office with his Female secretary, he ran straight into Zhu Yan coming from the other direction as they turned the corner.
"Uncle... Bank Manager Xu, where are you going in such a hurry?"
Zhu Yan was wearing a cream-white business suit today, her hair tied in a low ponytail, looking a bit more professional than usual.
"I just made plans with President Jiang for lunch. I'm heading over to make the arrangements."
"Jiang Cheng?" Zhu Yan's eyes lit up slightly, and her grip on the documents in her hand tightened instinctively. "Are you going to discuss a new proposal? Should I go too? I can follow up on the details with President Jiang."
Hearing this, Zhu Yan's eyes flickered imperceptibly.
The smile on his lips faded a bit, and his expression became somewhat unnatural.
He raised his hand to rub the tip of his nose, glanced at Zhu Yan, and swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue. After two seconds of silence, he sighed.
"Sigh, you shouldn't go. I'll just take some other professionals from the bank. If you come along, it'll seem awkward and strange, which might affect the discussion."
Zhu Yan didn't think much of it, assuming her uncle was afraid her presence would pressure Jiang Cheng. She nodded with a smile. "Alright, then I won't go. If you need any supplements to the proposal while talking to President Jiang, call me anytime."
Xu Lei acknowledged with a "Got it" and then immediately turned to walk away quickly.
The slight awkwardness from before had long been suppressed, leaving only his professional demeanor.
When he reached the elevator, he seemed to have made a decision. He turned and whispered to the Female secretary following him, "Go and call Lin Weiwei and Su Xiaoran over. Tell them to bring the investment data we compiled earlier and come with me to see President Jiang."
Hearing this, the Female secretary was stunned for a moment, her footsteps halting.
As Xu Lei's Female secretary...
...she knew everything about him.
Naturally, she also knew about the relationship between Zhu Yan and Jiang Cheng.
She knew how much Xu Lei had previously hoped Zhu Yan could get close to Jiang Cheng.
But now, he was specifically asking for the two famous "poster girls" of the bank.
One was strikingly beautiful, and the other had a gentle temperament; both were among the best-looking in the entire bank.
Although the Female secretary didn't know what Xu Lei was up to...
...she didn't dare ask too much. She just nodded quickly. "Alright, Bank Manager Xu. I'll go call them now. I guarantee they'll be at the underground parking lot within ten minutes."
Xu Lei gave a hum of approval and pressed the elevator button.
As the elevator doors slowly closed, he looked at his reflection in the mirror and unconsciously tapped his fingers against the hem of his jacket.
Why was he specifically bringing two eye-catching girls along?
Firstly, it would show that CMB valued this meeting, and secondly, he could quietly test Jiang Cheng's attitude.
In terms of support, he naturally prioritized Zhu Yan.
In Xu Lei's view, supporting Zhu Yan and retaining Jiang Cheng were not mutually exclusive.
Even if Jiang Cheng grew tired of Zhu Yan in the future, Xu Lei would naturally leave most other opportunities for her.
After all, they were family.
But the priority right now was to keep Jiang Cheng.
Besides, Jiang Cheng didn't just have Zhu Yan by his side anyway.
Wouldn't it be better to have two more people contributing to the bank?
At 11:00 AM, Jiang Cheng's rolls-royce slowly pulled up in front of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel at No. 18 on the Bund.
The black car body reflected the shimmering light of the Huangpu River across from it.
Cargo ships sailed slowly across the river, and in the distance, the spire of the Oriental Pearl Tower pierced through the clouds.
The columns of century-old European-style buildings on both banks and the glass curtain walls complemented each other.
The midday sun shone on the stone walls, giving off a steady and luxurious luster.
The doorman stepped forward quickly to open the car door, placing his hand on the upper edge of the door to protect Jiang Cheng's head.
A woody fragrance from the hotel entrance's scent wafted faintly in the air.
As soon as he stepped out of the car, his gaze swept over to Xu Lei by the hotel's revolving door.
Standing beside him was a middle-aged man in a gray suit, clutching a briefcase and leaning in close to Xu Lei, talking incessantly with his brows furrowed like a twisted dough stick.
A polite smile was plastered on Xu Lei's face, but his eyes wandered elsewhere, and his fingers occasionally fiddled with his suit buttons—it was clearly a perfunctory act.
Hearing the car door, Xu Lei snapped his head around. The moment he saw Jiang Cheng, the perfunctoriness in his eyes was instantly replaced by warmth.
He didn't even wait for the middle-aged man to finish. He raised his hand to interrupt, "President Wang, I'm really sorry, but an important client of mine has arrived, and I truly don't have time for anything else. Regarding your loan, our risk management team still needs to evaluate it. I'll have my assistant contact you once there's a result."