Marriage First, True Love Later - Chapter 5：He’s Back

Lin Li moved very quickly. Upon saying that she would introduce them, she quickly arranged a time for the two to meet. They settled on that Friday afternoon, which was the next day.

Anran actually wanted to decline it. However, she was unable to endure Lin Li’s nagging and “threat”. Recently, she had been very busy. She had just finished the Green Lake Garden case and thought that she would be able to relax for a while. However, she didn’t expect that, at this time, the company would hire an intern, who, they say, had graduated from a prestigious school, and that she had received some sort of award in the past. The Director arranged for her to be supervised by Anran.

This intern’s name was Linglin. She is very beautiful, but, when she spoke, her voice and tone made people shiver because of its coyness. All of the men at the company were excited about her arrival. In the shadows, they said that a beautiful woman had arrived, and would keep keeping her in their graces. However, all of the females at the company were depressed. In the shadows, they would comment on her with jealous words and jealous tones, and, on the surface, they would purposely isolate her.

On this afternoon, by the time Anran was done with all of her work, it was around one o’clock. She went directly to the company cafeteria. There were a couple of people inside, however, there were only leftovers left. She randomly picked a couple of dishes, picked up her plate, and went to find a seat. She still needed to go to the construction site to check on its process in the afternoon. In reality, she didn’t have much time to eat. However, because she had rushed out the door this morning without eating, she was very hungry.

Anran ate very quickly. The food was a bit dry, and she almost choked. Luckily, she had previously gotten some soup. She quickly took a couple of sips from it and, with difficulty, swallowed her food. All of the food in the company cafeteria was like this. The rice was either hard or soft, the food either salty or bland. The soup was the most unified dish. It seemed to have just been some seaweed that had hot water poured over it. They didn’t use any salt or MSG, and it was bland and tasteless.

Anran shook her head and continued eating the leftovers.

Suddenly, someone placed their lunch box across from her and sat down. She recognized that lunch box. It belonged to the famous and extremely expensive restaurant, “You Ran Cuisine”, which was located in the northern part of the city. Anran lifted her head and saw Linglin sitting in front of her, smiling at her as she sweetly said, “Sister Gu.”

Anran nodded and asked, “Why are you eating now? Didn’t you get off work early?”

“There were too many people before. I don’t like places that are noisy and have a lot of people, so I waited to come,” Linglin said, smiling. She opened the lunch box in her hand. The exquisite meat and vegetables inside, as well as the Thai rice, emitted an alluring scent of the fragrance of the dish and the rice. Of course, there was a clear distinguishment between that and the dishes in Anran’s plate.

Anran nodded. She looked at her dish, and then at her own. The more she looked between them, the less hungry she became. However, she was quite curious as to how an intern would be able to afford such an expensive lunch, and she indirectly asked, “The delivery for this restaurant is very far. Wouldn’t it save time if you directly ate there and then returned?”

“My father was afraid that I wouldn’t be used to the food in the company and told the family chauffeur to send it over.” Linglin smiled and made the movement to pick up the sweet and sour pork chops to give to Anran, saying, “Sister Gu should try it as well. The food in this restaurant is very good.”

Anran quickly waved her hand and refused, saying, “There’s no need. I’m full.”

When she heard this, Linglin placed it back into the bowl, embarrassed. As if trying to find a topic, she asked again, “If Sister Gu wants to eat something else, then I can ask my chauffeur to bring an extra one tomorrow. Truthfully speaking, I really am not used to the food in the cafeteria.”

Anran smiled dryly. She wanted to, but she, unfortunately, could not enjoy it. One lunch would cost her over half of her salary for the day. In a month, half of her salary would be spent on food. If it was like that, then why was she working? It would be better for her to directly go home and let Lin Xiaofen raise her.

Anran looked at her watch. Just as she was about to say that she would be leaving first, the phone on the table rang. It was Lin Li again. She was probably calling to tell her not to forget about the blind date tomorrow.

She nodded at Linglin and then picked up the phone, getting up to leave. She answered the call and, as she walked, she said, “Hello, Miss High and Mighty. What do you need again?”

“An Zi, I just…” On the other side of the phone, Lin Li was erratic, and she was strangely mumbling her words.

“Huh?” Anran asked. Why did she feel like Lin Li was acting strangely today? She asked, “What happened to you just now?”

“I just…” Lin Li mumbled as if she was considering something. In the end, she decided to quickly say, “I just saw Mo Fei!”

Her words were so quick that Anran almost didn’t hear what she said. However, even though her words were quick, they weren’t quick enough. Anran heard and understood that she said that she had seen Mo Fei.

Anran became silent. She was left speechless in the silence. She didn’t even realize herself that the hand that was holding the phone subconsciously held it tighter.

“An Zi?” On the other side of the phone, Lin Li did not hear Anran’s response, and she called her name, somewhat concerned. She regretted it. Perhaps she shouldn’t have told her.

“Yes, I’m here,” Anran calmly answered. Lin Li, who was on the other side of the phone, did not know how hard she was grasping the phone at this moment.

“An Zi… are you okay?” Lin Li was still concerned. Right now, she regretted it, and in her heart, she scolded herself hundreds and thousands of times. She clearly knew how much that man had hurt her. She blamed her mouth for being unable to hide anything.

“What problem can I have?” Anran dryly laughed. Even she could hear how fake her words sounded. However, she still forced herself to say, “How is it? Did you talk to him? After so many years, did he change?”

“I will not speak to someone who loves money so much that he forgets about his friends. That’s like humiliating myself,” Lin Li angrily said.

Anran smiled bitterly and did not say anything. In reality, it was good that Lin Li told her. The Earth was round. In the past, he had graduated and had gone to America. Therefore, the two of them did not see each other in six years. However, now they were in the same city. Since he returned and bumped into Lin Li, he probably could also bump into her. Instead of not knowing what to do, she now knew, so, at the very least, she would be prepared.

“An Zi, let’s go drink tonight. I’ll drink with you, if we don’t get drunk, we won’t go home!” Lin Li boldly said. She was worried about her and afraid that she would let her imagination run wild.

Anran smiled. It wasn’t a bitter smile. This time, it was one of gratification. It felt good to have a friend who cared about her so much. The hand that was holding the phone relaxed a little, and she said, “I’m really fine. Don’t say that we won’t head back until we’re drunk. Think about your current situation. I don’t care if you don’t care about yourself, but don’t make my goddaughter suffer. Or else, I will be mad at you. Also, tomorrow, I will be going to meet the wealthy husband that you are talking about. I really want to succeed.”

“You must really be fine, not just saying that you’re fine.” On the other side of the phone, Lin Li muttered.

Anran walked to the end of the hall and looked out of the window at the blue sky, and she said, after sighing, “Lin Li, in the past, I couldn’t let go because I was stupid. However, I’ve been stupid for six years. That’s enough. I won’t let myself continue being stupid. If it isn’t for myself, I still have to be smarter for my parents.”

On the other side of the phone, Lin Li was silent for a while. After a long time, she finally opened her mouth and she said, in an exasperated tone, “You should have learned to be smarter earlier!”