The President is Being Shameless Again
chapter-291

“To be honest, I don’t really have a lot of business matters to attend to. I came primarily to see an old friend,” Guan Zexi smiled at Zheng Yuntong.

Lu Lixin raised his eyebrow and looked at Zheng Yuntong. There was a teasing look in his eyes.

“I’m sorry if I disturbed you,” Guan Zexi said to Lu Lixin.

Lu Lixin had thought it strange for them to return so soon after ironing out the details from the last meeting. He picked up his files and shook his head as he said, “It’s okay. In that case, I’ll head on to the office first. Yuntong will show you around the office.”

Lu Lixin left the moment he was done talking. Guan Zexi lifted his hand and checked the time on his watch. “It’s almost about lunchtime. How about we have lunch together?”

Zheng Yuntong did not really want to hang out with Liang Wenyin, so she said, “I don’t think it would be convenient, I…”

Liang Wenyin interrupted her. “There’s nothing inconvenient about it at all. Don’t mind me. I have something to discuss with President Wei, anyway.”

“But I’m already meeting someone for lunch,” said Zheng Yuntong.

“Your friend?” Guan Zexi asked.

For some reason, Liang Wenyin suddenly sounded interested as she asked teasingly, “Could it be a boyfriend?”

Zheng Yuntong was pretty honest and was certainly not adept at lying. Besides, she would still see them in the afternoon, so she shook her head. “No, it isn’t. It’s my roommate. We made plans to have lunch together today.”

“Well, let’s have lunch together then. I haven’t seen you in a long time and have a lot to say to you,” Guan Zexi looked intently at her. There was a gentle smile on his face, but there was something about it that said he was not taking ‘no’ as an answer.

Zheng Yuntong did not like to be forced into things, but she nodded reluctantly. “Okay.”

“I’ll head out to see President Wei. You two should have a good chat,” Liang Wenyin smiled as she gave Guan Zexi a half teasing look.

Zheng Yuntong felt quite uncomfortable as she chatted half-heartedly with Guan Zexi.

When lunchtime came, she headed downstairs with Guan Zexi.

After around five minutes of waiting, Xu Moyan arrived. She was momentarily stunned when she saw a man next to Zheng Yuntong. Moreover, it was not Shen Zongyi.

“I’m sorry for being late,” Xu Moyan walked up the steps and said to Zheng Yuntong.

Zheng Yuntong introduced them, “This was my senior back in university, Guan Zexi. Today I learned that he had started a company with his friend. It’s the management company that Miss Liang Wenyin signed with.”

Xu Moyan got an understanding of the situation and replied, “Hello, I’m Xu Moyan, Yuntong’s housemate.”

“I’m really sorry. I did not realize that Yuntong was meeting someone for lunch when I came along. You wouldn’t mind me tagging along, would you? It would be my pleasure to pay for lunch,” Guan Zexi offered politely.

It was difficult for Xu Moyan to reject him, so she gave Zheng Yuntong a puzzled look that said, ‘What’s going on?’.

Zheng Yuntong was perplexed as well. She had no idea what was going on.

Xu Moyan was about to agree when she heard a clear voice call out, “Zheng Yuntong, Moyan.”

Even though it was a noisy afternoon at the office, it was easy to recognize this voice amongst all the clamour. One name was called out in full while the other was called out more intimately.

Xu Moyan looked over in surprise. Wei Zilin was walking over slowly. The afternoon sun was shining down on him from behind through the main door. Wei Zilin looked like he was basked in sunlight as he appeared bright and glowing, like spring water flowing under the sunlight.

Xu Moyan pulled her coat tighter around her nervously. She saw Liang Wenyin walking next to him and her heart sank. She suddenly understood why he had called out to her so intimately. Wei Zilin had wanted to get rid of Liang Wenyin. Her rapidly beating heart calmed down the moment she realized that.

The red in her cheeks slowly turned pale.

Wei Zilin was watching her and noticed the changed. The look in his eyes turned slightly cold as he walked towards them.

“Miss Liang, I’m sorry. I actually have a lunch date with Moyan,” Wei Zilin turned and said coldly. He made sure to distance himself from Liang Wenyin as he moved to stand closer to Xu Moyan.

Liang Wenyin silently judged the pair in front of her and found them annoyingly compatible while standing together.

Guan Zexi was a little confused. He thought she was supposed to have lunch with Zheng Yuntong.

Zheng Yuntong could tell that Wei Zilin wanted to get rid of Liang Wenyin, but it did not seem polite of him to push Xu Moyan around like that just because he needed help. At the same time, she thought that this was the perfect opportunity for Xu Moyan to spend time with Wei Zilin, so she pulled Guan Zexi away while she said, “That’s right. Moyan has a lunch date with the boss. Senior Guan, let’s go have lunch together.”

Wei Zilin lowered his head to see Xu Moyan’s slightly pale face. He frowned slightly and said, “I know I haven’t officially invited you for lunch, but I did plan to call you and ask you out. I didn’t expect you to be here this afternoon. Since Zheng Yuntong has a lunch date, it gives me an opportunity to buy you lunch as thanks for Saturday’s meal. Would that be alright?”

Xu Moyan silently berated herself for being so useless. Even if Wei Zilin was using her as an excuse, she still wanted to have lunch with him. Even if Wei Zilin told her that it was all a misunderstanding and he did not really plan to ask her out for lunch, she was still happy that she was able to make Liang Wenyin go away.

So, she nodded. “Okay.”

Wei Zilin looked relieved as his lips curved into a smile and his eyes shone brightly.

“Would you mind me tagging along, then?” Liang Wenyin tried her luck.

“I’m sorry, I do mind,” Wei Zilin replied casually. He looked averse to even deal with Liang Wenyin.

Xu Moyan felt a little happy but was it okay for him to be so blunt to a client of the company such as Liang Wenyin?

Liang Wenyin was embarrassed and pretended to look at her phone. “I just remembered that I have something on. I’ll make a move first. President Wei, let’s have a meal when you’re free.”

Wei Zilin did not acknowledge her nor expressed interest.

Wei Zilin said to Xu Moyan instead, “Let’s go. There’s a pretty good restaurant nearby.”

Xu Moyan nodded. She walked with Wei Zilin for a while before asking hesitantly, “Are you really planning to buy me lunch?”

Wei Zilin suddenly shot a sharp glance at her; it was different from his usual warm expression. It pierced straight into Xu Moyan’s heart.

“I sincerely want to buy you lunch. It’s not an excuse to get rid of Liang Wenyin,” Wei Zilin said. His voice was melodious as usual, but it also sounded quite stern. His lips were pressed together in a line and he was obviously unhappy.

This was the Wei Zilin that Zheng Yuntong was familiar with, but Xu Moyan had yet to know this side of him.

She looked at him in shock as she heard Wei Zilin say, “I have always looked down on men who use women as an excuse. If you don’t like someone, just be direct and let them know. There’s no need to use anyone as an excuse. It doesn’t help anybody by doing so. You may think it shows how popular you are but it’s really low. All it shows is how selfish you truly are. I want to buy you lunch because I sincerely want to, and I’m very willing and grateful to have your company. However, it was just bad timing that I’ve asked you out for lunch right then and it caused a misunderstanding. When I said that I wanted to call and invite you out for lunch, I was telling the truth. If it wasn’t for Liang Wenyin interrupting me, I would have already done so.”

Some color slowly returned to Xu Moyan’s pale face. Even she did not realize the obvious change in her expression. When her cheeks started to turn rosy, it cheered Wei Zilin up tremendously.

He did not fully understand why he had started to take notice of Xu Moyan, or why her impression of him mattered so much. He was always paying attention to what made her happy.

It could be because it was his first time meeting an online supporter. He has so many fans who have followed his activity for six years though they had ever met him in-person. It was something new that he had never experienced before.

It was also the first time netizens told him that his voice was the only one they had listened to for the past six years. They had no idea who he was or what he looked like, yet, they could confess their love for him.

Xu Moyan’s blurted confession was probably not considered a confession of love. She was probably so nervous that her mind was a blank, so she said the first thing that came to mind.

The more he thought about it, the more interesting it seemed. It was his first time experiencing it.

Wei Zilin found it refreshing that someone could just genuinely like something without a hidden agenda. He did not find it annoying but instead, he actually found it to be quite interesting.

He did not mind that incident much. To him, it was just an adorable netizen who left an impression on him.

He had immediately recognized Xu Moyan’s voice when he heard her speak. Curiosity had gotten the better of him as he wanted to know what kind of person a girl like that would turn out to be, a girl who actually likes someone with no ulterior motive. That was why he took the initiative to get closer and to get to know her better.

He did not think much of it at the time. He just felt that she had an interesting personality and thought that it would be easy to get along with her. He enjoyed spending time with her and did not experience any trouble with her. Gradually, he found himself enjoying their time together more and more.

The more time he spent with her and the more he got to know her, he found himself taking notice of every little thing about her.

Love is a very strange thing. When it comes knocking, he would be full of caution and nitpick everything around it.

For some, all it takes is love at first sight. It really is a strange thing that could not really be explained. Sometimes, when one least expects it, love sneaks up on them.

It will quietly sneak up on you. So quietly that by the time you realize it, you will not be able to shake it off.

Whether it is simply attraction in itself or a subtle trait one inhabits. One cannot explain nor understand how it happens. It is fate.