CHAPTER 52: CHAPTER 52 AN LU’S HIGH-PROFILE COLLEAGUE

When the two returned to the city, it was already close to 6 o’clock.

Zhang Jingdong then turned his head and asked An Lu, "Are you hungry? What would you like to eat, Japanese or Western food?"

An Lu thought for a moment and replied, "Then... Western food."

"Okay."

Twenty minutes later, they arrived at the Lingyue Western Restaurant on Xiayun Road.

This is one of the most expensive Western restaurants in Jiangdu.

Although An Lu had never been here, she had heard from colleagues that this restaurant was super expensive, with a meal costing at least several thousand, and it could easily exceed ten thousand if one wasn’t careful.

So, she hesitated a bit and said, "Jingdong, it’s too expensive here... Shall we go back to our own hotel to eat?"

But Zhang Jingdong simply pulled out the car keys and casually said, "If it wasn’t expensive, I wouldn’t bring you here. Let’s go!"

Saying that, he got out of the car.

Seeing this, An Lu had no choice but to follow him.

Just as she came to the front of the car and was taking Zhang Jingdong’s arm, they suddenly heard a female voice not far away: "An Lu..."

The two instinctively turned their heads towards the voice.

They then saw a woman wearing a white low-cut sling dress and towering high heels.

She was quite pretty, about 80 out of 100, not very tall, just over 1.60 meters, but her figure was really wow, she actually had D+!

The most crucial part was, this lady was rich and generous, and even had the same style as Ma Hui!

Zhang Jingdong easily caught sight of those two protruding ’beans’.

And what’s more intriguing was that this lady was clinging to the arm of a middle-aged man.

With just one glance, Zhang Jingdong could tell their relationship was no ordinary one.

He must have a family, and she must be his mistress.

And her position by his side must not be stable; she must be the type who gets paid by the month.

Because at this moment, the middle-aged man was completely ignoring her by his side, his gaze fervently fixed on An Lu.

When An Lu saw the lady, her face instantly showed a hint of unease.

Because the woman was her colleague who was gifted a LV bag by a rich second generation and then boasted about it at work for half a year.

Her name was Chen Jie, and although the two appeared amiable at the workplace, An Lu seldom interacted with her in private.

Actually, the situation was like this.

Chen Jie arrived at the branch a year earlier than An Lu, and at that time, with her looks and figure, and charming demeanor, she was absolutely the standout in the Bridge North branch.

Even looking at the entire Jiangdu branch, she was considered one of the top three beauties.

But ever since An Lu appeared, everything changed; she almost overwhelmingly took over all the prestige Chen Jie had.

Even the original ’three flowers’ of the whole Jiangdu branch turned into green leaves to An Lu.

Chen Jie couldn’t stand it, so she began using various methods to suppress An Lu’s limelight.

Among them, her favorite method was to date wealthy boyfriends and then showcase it to people at work, especially to An Lu.

Because she knew An Lu was a well-behaved girl who wouldn’t randomly date boyfriends, much less cling to a rich second generation.

Then by this method, Chen Jie believed she had successfully overshadowed An Lu’s brilliance.

Just before, when Chen Jie saw that An Lu was actually clinging to a man’s arm, while the man drove an Accord, she was inwardly thrilled!

Because one thing that had always worried her tremendously was the day when An Lu suddenly got a very wealthy boyfriend, in which case she would no longer be able to overshadow An Lu.

But she hadn’t expected that An Lu did indeed have a boyfriend now, but her boyfriend drove an Accord!

She really didn’t expect An Lu’s taste in men to be so poor!

At this moment, Chen Jie was utterly sure that An Lu would never be her rival again.

Though she was still prettier than herself, had a better figure, and possessed superior demeanor, for women, many times, the success you achieve is actually heavily judged by the strength of the man you find.

And in this respect, Chen Jie was sure An Lu would always be inferior to her.

Especially now, seeing the slightly unnatural look on An Lu’s face, Chen Jie immediately felt more certain, thinking she felt inferior because of the man she found lacking strength.

Because her man drove an Accord, while her own man drove a BMW!

Thus, Chen Jie secretly decided tonight to utterly destroy An Lu’s dignity, making her unable to raise her head in front of her ever again.

So she brought her man over, pretending to be enthusiastic, "An Lu, who is this?"

An Lu, having no way to avoid it, straightforwardly said, "He’s my boyfriend, Zhang Jingdong!"

"Jingdong, this is my colleague, Chen Jie."

Zhang Jingdong then nodded at them.

At this moment, Chen Jie took the opportunity to size up Zhang Jingdong.

She found that the guy was exceptionally young and also quite handsome, plus he had a good build.

She felt a twinge of envy unconsciously, as this kind of man was impressive in endurance and firmness during those times.

However, she quickly readjusted her mindset, thinking that being young was useless; what mattered most in a man was his financial capabilities.

So at this moment, Chen Jie leaned on her boyfriend, "This is my boyfriend, Liu Chunming, the vice president of Guangfa Group."

Liu Chunming did not pay any attention to Zhang Jingdong and directly extended his hand to An Lu, "Hello!"

Seeing that he didn’t show any respect to Zhang Jingdong, An Lu returned to her usual aloofness, merely nodding slightly without even saying "hello."

An Lu was not close with Chen Jie to begin with, and she wouldn’t let Zhang Jingdong suffer because of Chen Jie.

Noticing An Lu’s disrespectful attitude towards Liu Chunming, Chen Jie hurriedly turned to check Liu Chunming’s reaction.

Seeing that he still had a smile on his face and even nodded at her, she felt relieved.

Then she said, "Since we’ve run into each other, let’s sit together. The owner of this place is Chunming’s friend, and we have already reserved seats."

Although An Lu knew Chen Jie wasn’t so kind-hearted, since it’s unreasonable to hit a smiling face, she turned to look at Zhang Jingdong.

If he did not want to, she would refuse immediately.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Jingdong actually smiled and nodded, "Great, we haven’t reserved a place, let’s join you then!"

Zhang Jingdong clearly saw that Chen Jie wanted to show off in front of An Lu, and in his view, with her manner, she must have often shown off before An Lu.

So, he really wanted to see how good Chen Jie was at showing off, and if he could spot her flaws, he might just expose her.

The middle-aged man originally thought Zhang Jingdong would not agree, but upon seeing that he did, he hurriedly said, "Then let’s go in quickly."

He mainly wanted to show off his power in front of An Lu and then steal her love.

In his view, although Chen Jie was very flirtatious, she was far from An Lu.

For Chen Jie, he only gave her 10,000 yuan a month, but for An Lu, he was even willing to give her 30,000 yuan per month if she agreed.

The four entered, and to showcase his familiarity with such high-end places, Liu Chunming did not let the waiter lead the way; instead, he confidently led Zhang Jingdong and the others to their reserved table.

Once seated, Liu Chunming called over the head waiter and handed the menu to An Lu, "I’ll pay for dinner tonight, order anything you like."

At that moment, Liu Jie suddenly realized that she might have drawn fire upon herself and looked completely flustered.

Instinctively, she looked at Liu Chunming.

She then saw in Liu Chunming’s eyes a playful and threatening gaze.

She instantly understood that it was too late for regrets.

If she cooperated well with Liu Chunming, he might continue to provide for her monthly, but if she didn’t cooperate, she might lose her sugar daddy after dinner.

These past few years, because of her reputation, it had become increasingly difficult for her to find sugar daddies in Jiangdu.

Although Liu Chunming was only the vice president of a state-owned enterprise branch, not having a lot of money, earning only about 100 to 180 thousand a year,

he had quite a few connections within the Jiangdu system. If she offended him, she might lose not just the monthly financial support but also her job on which she depended.

Thus, she had to pretend not to notice anything and obediently cooperate with him.

But An Lu did not give Liu Chunming any face, directly handing the menu to Zhang Jingdong, sweetly saying, "I don’t know what’s good, you order, I’ll eat whatever you choose."

Seeing this scene, Liu Chunming’s heart instantly filled with jealousy and he sarcastically said, "Xiao Zhang, if you can’t decide, let me do it!"

But then Zhang Jingdong just casually smiled, "No worries, I have quite the experience in ordering."

"Although I’ve never been here, there’s a rule that’s quite accurate in high-end restaurants, which is to order by price—the pricier, the tastier!"

Then he meaningfully stared at Liu Chunming, "Mr. Liu, are you sure you’re treating?"

Liu Chunming mentally cursed Zhang Jingdong immensely, but his face remained composed, "Of course."

Zhang Jingdong then laughed, "Then I won’t hold back!"

He quickly flipped through the menu, then told the head waiter, "Bring us 2 servings of French Seared East Starfish, 2 servings of Olive Oil Marinated Bluefin Tuna with Baguette, 6 Cheese Baked Emperor Crabs..."

Upon hearing this, Liu Chunming’s face nearly turned green!