CHAPTER 219: CHAPTER 221: HANYU’S SELECTION RESULTS

Xie Jian was puzzled, "A bit like?"

Lu Shifeng, however, didn’t speak. He slowly took another sip of tea, his deep, narrow eyes gazing out the window.

Outside, the vast S City was bathed in the dream-like golden light of the morning. It was a magnificent scene of cars and bustling crowds. He suddenly thought, wasn’t it also a kind of fate to meet her in such a large city, among the sea of people? In some ways, they were really quite alike. For example, he married her to prove that he could be strong without relying on his wife’s family, while she stubbornly concealed her identity to prove she could succeed in her career without relying on him.

His face, as if carved from ice and snow, softened a little, and he rarely showed a small smile, "Yes, we are quite alike."

Because of their similarity, he tolerated her.

And because they were similar, he understood how important her pursuit of photography was to her.

Xie Jian, standing before the office desk, slightly lowered his head. He was getting increasingly unable to understand the thoughts of the boss. Didn’t the boss used to hate it when people said he resembled someone else? During those long years of battle in the business world, countless times, the boss was compared to Mr. Pei, the emperor-like figure, being equally decisive and ruthless. Yet Boss really disliked such comparisons. The last partner who dared mention it in front of him is probably still mining in Africa, right? In good conscience, Xie Jian thought that the boss resembled Mr. Pei far more than he did his wife. So why would he think he resembled his wife?

Xie Jian felt he needed to revisit his study of boss psychology.

Su Xingyu’s aunt period finally ended, and she resumed her journey of taking the bus to and from work.

But for two consecutive days, she always felt that someone was stealthily following her every time she walked on the road. This day after work, as she just picked up her bag and hadn’t even left the office corridor, that sneaky feeling appeared again. Su Xingyu deliberately slowed her pace, then suddenly spun around and caught the person behind her: "Xia Ranran! Why are you following me?"

She was very surprised and did not expect the person stalking her to be Xia Ranran. Why?

Xia Ranran was also startled by her sudden reaction but quickly calmed down, saying disdainfully, "Who wants to follow you? I didn’t."

Su Xingyu was very angry, "Don’t pretend anymore! You’ve been following me for days! What exactly do you want?"

Want what? Xia Ranran’s heart felt guilty, pretending to be arrogant as she turned her head away.

Of course, she wanted to see what kind of bus Su Xingyu was actually taking to work and back! That day’s event in the parking garage made her more and more uneasy. Was Su Xingyu really just as Fang Luohua said, passing by and looking for money? Or was she actually the woman Mr. Lu was secretly keeping...? She had researched Su Xingyu’s background; an unknown photographer with no works had a nearly impossible chance of entering Blade’s Edge – probably someone opened the back door for her!

Could it be that person was Mr. Lu?

Now that Mr. Lu’s parking garage is cordoned off, idlers are kept out. Xia Ranran couldn’t lurk around the garage, so she had no choice but to follow Su Xingyu instead.

Su Xingyu warned her: "Stop following me, or I swear I’ll capture your antics and post them on the company’s internal forum, telling everyone you’re a stalking freak!"

"I said, I’m not following you! Humph," Xia Ranran continued, a mix of bravery and fear, "The road is for everyone, who do you think you are to say I’m following you? Must be feeling too impressed with yourself." She figured she must have watched too many suspense films to become so paranoid. From what she had seen of Su Xingyu these days, she was just the ordinary person taking the bus to and from work, no luxury cars picking her up. She was crazy to think Su Xingyu could be Mr. Lu’s woman. Ha, just judging by Su Xingyu’s appearance, what made her worthy of being Mr. Lu’s woman?

Thinking this, Xia Ranran glared sternly at Su Xingyu without any courtesy.

Su Xingyu was about to glare back when she saw Mr. Yang hurriedly emerge from the independent office inside. He clapped his hands twice, loudly declaring, "Everyone don’t leave yet, don’t leave! The selection results from Hanyu Research Center have come out, everyone come and listen... Is everyone here? Please gather around."

The words sparked considerable commotion in the office.

After all, the selection results from Hanyu were a matter of concern for everyone. All the photographers—those who hadn’t left or were about to leave—put down what they were doing and gathered around Mr. Yang.

Mr. Yang did a headcount: "1, 2, 3, 4... Great, everyone’s here except Miss Zhuang?"

"Miss Zhuang has been quite busy these days, she might not be coming to the company at all. She asked me to relay anything important to her," Yun Xi said loudly.

Mr. Yang nodded, muttering to himself, "It’s good she’s not here."

He then cleared his throat and said, "Everyone, the selection results from Hanyu were unexpected. Although they offered us two spots, only one met the standard in the blind selection. So, only one photographer will assist in research at Hanyu this year, which is really unfortunate."

Sounds of disappointment erupted across the office.

"Why can only one go? It’s unfair!" Yun Xi’s voice said.

Mr. Yang gave a bitter smile, "What fairness is there to talk about with Hanyu? For them to use a blind selection process is already the greatest fairness. You all know it’s a world-leading research center with absurdly high standards. It’s not a place anyone can just go to. If you’re unsatisfied, work on improving yourself and strive for future opportunities at Hanyu."

Those words left everyone speechless.

In reality, they only complained out of frustration; rationally, everyone understood nothing could change Hanyu’s decisions.

"Oh," someone sighed, "it was said there were two spots, but without reason, it became one. Now I suppose it’s Miss Zhuang again, is there really a difference from not having a blind selection mode?"

Mr. Yang’s expression turned somewhat peculiar, saying, "This year’s candidate is not Miss Zhuang."

"Ah?"

"What?"

An exclamation swept through the room; wasn’t it Zhuang Heng?

Mr. Yang smiled wryly, "Seizing the chance while Miss Zhuang isn’t here, I’ll inform you. This year’s spot goes to Su Xingyu – Xingyu, congratulations."

With those words, all eyes focused on Su Xingyu, some with shock, disbelief, envy, but more with understanding and admiration. A few days ago, when the submitted photos for the selection were reviewed, it was mutually acknowledged that Su Xingyu’s photos were outstanding, giving her a great chance of winning.

The only surprise was that she even defeated Zhuang Heng.

"That’s impossible!" Yun Xi shouted, glaring furiously at Su Xingyu, "How could it be you?"

Her voice had just fallen when another exclamation was heard, "Zhuang... Miss Zhuang!"