He stepped forward a few paces, his voice filled with suppressed dissatisfaction. "Yuyan, leaving work this early?"
Hearing Zhang Jian calling her name so intimately...
Wang Yuyan's brows furrowed.
She even subconsciously glanced at Jiang Cheng.
Looking as if she was afraid Jiang Cheng would misunderstand.
She spoke neither humbly nor arrogantly, "Manager Zhang, I submitted a leave request this morning. I have something to take care of tonight, so I'm leaving early..."
"A leave request?" Zhang Jian gave a cold laugh and then glanced at Jiang Cheng.
His voice carried a hint of sarcasm. "How many days has it been since you joined our Aman? Do you really think this internship is something anyone can just waltz into? You just started, and now you're taking leave—do you have no regard for the rules?"
His words were barbed, every syllable a reprimand. He had clearly lost his composure after being provoked by the scene just now.
"Manager Zhang, is it? Don't forget, the Qing Dynasty is long dead!"
Jiang Cheng slowly looked up, his cold gaze sweeping across Zhang Jian's tense face.
His fingertips carelessly rubbed the face of his watch, his tone carrying a touch of nonchalant mockery.
"The leave request was already approved, and now you're bringing it up again? It's just an internship, not like she sold herself to your hotel. Does working at your Aman mean one isn't even entitled to normal personal time?"
He paused, his gaze falling on Wang Yuyan's slightly furrowed brows, the curve of his lips growing colder.
"Or perhaps Manager Zhang feels his official authority is so great that he can toy with an intern at will? Making things difficult for someone in public is certainly quite impressive."
Zhang Jian's face turned pale and then flushed with anger at these words, his back teeth clenched.
He forced himself to maintain his managerial air.
"Sir, I don't believe it's an outsider's place to interfere when I'm disciplining my own employee. Are you here at our Aman for a meal or to stay? I'll arrange for a professional supervisor to serve you..."
"No need to worry about that." Jiang Cheng cut him off, turning to tilt his chin toward Wang Yuyan with a playful smile. "I've already found a suitable'supervisor.' Isn't that right, Miss Wang?"
Hearing this, Wang Yuyan curled her lips into a faint, teasing smile. "That's true. Not only is it suitable, but we also seem to be quite in sync."
Hearing such a flirtatious remark, if not for the setting, Jiang Cheng would have wanted to pull Wang Yuyan over and give her backside a few slaps.
At those words, Zhang Jian's face darkened completely, the veins on his hand bulging as he gripped his documents.
He stared at Wang Yuyan, the fury in his eyes nearly overflowing.
These past few days, he had been at her beck and call, bringing her coffee and desserts, yet every time he had been met with a cold shoulder.
And yet, she turned around and smiled like a flower at a strange man. It was a blatant slap in the face in public!
He took a deep breath, about to say something even harsher, when he caught sight of a familiar figure walking from the inner side of the lobby out of the corner of his eye.
It was the CEO!
Zhang Jian's eyes suddenly lit up as if he had caught a life-saving straw, and the hostility on his face vanished instantly.
He straightened his tie and hurried forward to meet him, his tone incredibly respectful. "CEO, you're here?"
Mr. Chen originally only gave him a casual glance, but just as he was about to look away, his gaze froze upon seeing Jiang Cheng's face.
He was stunned for a second, and then a look of pleasant surprise instantly flooded his face.
He walked quickly toward Jiang Cheng.
He completely ignored Zhang Jian's hand, which was extended to greet him, and reached out his own hand, assuming an extremely humble posture. "Mr. Jiang! It really is you!"
Zhang Jian's hand froze mid-air, and the smile on his face solidified.
His heart skipped a beat, a faint, ominous premonition surfacing.
Jiang Cheng raised an eyebrow, looking at the middle-aged man before him with a perfectly measured look of confusion.
He reached out to shake his hand and asked in a flat tone, "And you are?"
Seeing that Jiang Cheng didn't recognize him, Chen Jianbin wasn't annoyed.
He quickly waved his hand and proactively explained, "Mr. Jiang, I'm the person in charge here, Chen Tao. I attended the land auction banquet for the King of Fengtai's estate last month and made a point to greet you. You might have been too busy at the time to notice me."
"Oh..."
Jiang Cheng didn't feel embarrassed either; he raised an eyebrow and shook his hand.
With a polite but distant smile, he said, "So it's Mr. Chen. My apologies, there were too many people to socialize with that night, so I really can't recall."
Mr. Chen quickly waved his hand, his smile becoming even more enthusiastic.
"It's normal, perfectly normal! You were so busy that day; it's only natural you wouldn't remember. I understand. Speaking of which, we received word of your arrival in Kyoto quite some time ago."
Jiang Cheng wasn't surprised at all to hear this.
If you were to ask who paid the most attention to the movements of wealthy people like them...
Aside from banks, it would be these high-end hotels.
Chen Jianbin continued to explain, "Mr. Wang from the Shanghai Aman had already synced your information with us. That's why I made time to attend that banquet in Fengtai—I specifically wanted to introduce myself to you."
As soon as these words were spoken, the lobby fell into an instantaneous silence.
Zhang Jian, who had been so arrogant just moments ago, saw his face turn deathly pale in an instant.
The hand holding his documents began to tremble uncontrollably. His mouth opened and closed, but not a single word came out.
The surrounding employees, who had been whispering, were so shocked their jaws nearly dropped. Their gaze toward Jiang Cheng shifted instantly from idle curiosity to deep awe.
Who could have imagined that this young man, whom they had dismissed as an "ordinary Second-generation rich"...
...was actually a top-tier VIP that even the CEO had to take the initiative to strike up a conversation with!
To show his respect for Jiang Cheng, after saying this, Zhang Jianbin specifically introduced Jiang Cheng to Wang Jian behind him: "Manager Zhang, you must remember this well. This is Mr. Jiang Cheng, the head of Xingchen Investment Company and the developer of that land in Fengtai."
He paused and added with deliberate emphasis, "Mr. Jiang is also a Supreme VIP of our Luxury Hotel. Any time he visits any of our Aman locations, he is entitled to a 20% discount, and all services are to be arranged at the highest standard."
At these words, Zhang Jian's legs went weak, and he nearly collapsed. The fawning smile on his face was frozen like a mask, and cold sweat trickled down from his temples.
Hearing Chen Jianbin's words, Jiang Cheng curled his lips into a smile. "You're too kind, Mr. Chen. It's just that I'm afraid I can't afford the service at your Kyoto Aman..."
At the mention of this, the expression on Chen Jianbin's face immediately froze.
He turned his head and glared fiercely at Zhang Jian.
His look clearly demanded an explanation of what was going on.