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Wang Shaowu invited Autumn Wind to dinner because he had a discussion with Qiu Ruolan.
As soon as the recording ended, Wang Shaowu rushed to Qiu Ruolan's Dressing Room, where she was alone, looking gloomy and listless, staring blankly at the makeup mirror.
Wang Shaowu completely ignored Qiu Ruolan's mood. After slamming the door shut, he quickly walked behind her and loudly questioned, "Qiu Shali, were you out of your mind just now... what did you mean by those words?"
"What do you mean?" Qiu Ruolan stiffly turned around, glancing coldly at Wang Shaowu. "Why are you so agitated? Didn't you already know about Autumn Wind and Liu Jian? Do you really think I'm a fool... You need to arrange for me to meet Liu Jian immediately!"
"When did you find out?" Qiu Ruolan's words surprised Wang Shaowu. He deliberately suppressed his shock and replied calmly.
"It was on Autumn Wind's birthday..." Qiu Ruolan said softly, her expression now mixed with guilt and bitterness. Her tone carried a hint of sobbing. After taking a deep breath, she began to plead, "Please help me arrange it... I'm really worried about her. I need to see Liu Jian alone..."
"This..." Hearing Qiu Ruolan's pitiful plea made Wang Shaowu feel unsettled. He thought for a moment and then said, "Alright, I'll help you arrange it... but you cannot meet Liu Jian alone!"
"Why not?"
"Simply put, what you said on stage was too ambiguous. If you meet Liu Jian alone, news will spread that your rumored boyfriend is Liu Jian. Are you planning to share a boyfriend with Autumn Wind... Liu Jian doesn't know about your relationship with Autumn Wind. If you meet him alone, it could cause issues with Autumn Wind..."
"Okay then... please arrange it for me... I'm begging you!" Qiu Ruolan murmured, her face clouded with worry once again.
"Well... if there's nothing else, I'll be leaving now..." Wang Shaowu initially wanted to tell Qiu Ruolan that Liu Jian was Yao Lizhen's cousin, but remembering Yao Lizhen's instructions, he swallowed the words and hesitantly said.
He slowly walked towards the Dressing Room door. Just as he reached the entrance, he suddenly remembered something and turned back to gently say, "Happy birthday!"
Tears suddenly welled up in Qiu Ruolan's eyes. "Um... thank you!"
Qiu Ruolan had even forgotten that today was her actual birthday.
"Don't worry; I will definitely make sure Liu Jian and Autumn Wind appear in front of you at the same time tomorrow... Don't overthink it. Remove your makeup and go home to rest!" After saying this, Wang Shaowu walked out of the Dressing Room with heavy steps.
That evening, Wang Shaowu's wife Aunt Yue came to pick him up. As soon as he got into the car, Aunt Yue noticed Wang Shaowu's gloomy expression and asked with concern, "What happened?"
Faced with his wife's inquiry, Wang Shaowu thought for a moment and then recounted the matters involving Autumn Wind and Liu Jian, as well as the commission from Qiu Ruolan, to Aunt Yue in detail. "Ah, this is really troubling me... Liu Jian is manageable, but what about Autumn Wind!"
"That's not difficult at all... Qiu Ruolan wants to get to know Liu Jian but is afraid of causing misunderstandings. Just have him bring his girlfriend along!" Aunt Yue immediately offered her suggestion.
"Well... the key issue is that it's Sally's birthday. I'm worried... what if they suddenly have some unpleasantness..."
"Ah... Sally's birthday? Isn't her birthday in March? Didn't we attend her birthday party?" Aunt Yue asked in confusion.
"That wasn't her actual birthday. Ming is!" Wang Shaowu explained.
"Ming is on August 9th, right?" Aunt Yue slapped her forehead and pulled out a concert ticket from the car's glove compartment, handing it to Wang Shaowu. "I thought this number looked strange; turns out it's Sally's birthday!"
Wang Shaowu took the ticket and examined the last digits closely. "This ticket seems different from the others. Could it be an intentional arrangement by the organizers?" He pondered for a moment. "Give me this ticket; I'll have Liu Jian give it to Autumn Wind. The girl is quite clever; she'll understand what's going on just by looking at the numbers!"
"Alright, do whatever you want..." Aunt Yue readily agreed.
A perfect yet entirely reasonable plan took shape in Wang Shaowu's mind.
The next time Liu Jian arrived at the office, Wang Shaowu decisively assigned Liu Jian's tasks to other colleagues and then called him into his office. Once Liu Jian was seated at his desk, Wang Shaowu informed him about Qiu Ruolan inviting him to dinner.
Having experienced being photographed at the Fish Store last time, Liu Jian was more cautious this time. Coupled with Qiu Ruolan's teasing from the previous night, he was already on high alert; he did not want to cause any news or have any misunderstandings with Autumn Wind.
Thus, Liu Jian immediately declined, saying, "Sister Qiu wants to treat me to dinner? That's unnecessary, and besides... if reporters catch wind of this, it wouldn't be good for Sister Qiu either!"
Seeing Liu Jian's vigilant response, Wang Shaowu quickly said, "Don't be so nervous; it's not just an invitation for you. You can bring your girlfriend along too; my wife and I will be there as well!" Following the pre-planned scheme, Wang Shaowu handed Liu Jian the concert ticket that had Qiu Ruolan's birthday as its last digits. "This is a ticket for next week's concert; you can give it to your girlfriend. She might like the number on this ticket!"
Upon hearing about matters related to Autumn Wind, Liu Jian slowly reached out to take the ticket, but his attitude remained unchanged. "Sister Qiu's dinner invitation, I..."
Before Liu Jian could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by Wang Shaowu. "What do you mean 'I'? There’s nothing inappropriate about it. Besides... look!" Wang Shaowu casually picked up today's newspaper from his desk and pointed to the front page. "This is a report on last night's competition; your name appears most frequently in both positive and negative contexts. Doesn't this mean you're getting popular..." At this point, Wang Shaowu shifted his tone, "Aren't you planning to introduce your girlfriend to us? At least that would give her a sense of security!"
Liu Jian fell into deep thought and remained silent.
"Alright, it's settled... Seven o'clock tonight, at Xinye Restaurant, don't be late..." Wang Shaowu appeared confident, but just then the phone rang. After a few exchanges of "uh-huh" and "yeah," he said to Liu Jian, "I need to meet a client. Please prepare the materials for that defamation lawsuit."
Upon hearing this from Wang Shaowu, Liu Jian had no choice but to comply. He took the concert tickets and slowly walked out of Wang Shaowu's office.
Although Liu Jian felt a bit reluctant, he still followed Wang Shaowu's arrangement and went to pick up Autumn Wind. Thus, the dinner party for Qiu Ruolan's birthday proceeded as planned.
At seven o'clock, everyone, including Wang Shaowu and his wife, arrived at Xinye Restaurant on time.
Perhaps due to the presence of Wang Shaowu and Aunt Yue, the dinner felt particularly relaxed for Qiu Ruolan. However, aside from Liu Jian, the other four guests seemed to have their own hidden agendas, making the atmosphere somewhat strange.
Qiu Ruolan pretended to casually inquire about how Autumn Wind and Liu Jian met, while Autumn Wind would inadvertently mention Qiu Ruolan's new acquaintance, a younger man. Listening to their conversation left Liu Jian confused, while Wang Shaowu and his wife felt anxious.
Everyone seemed to deliberately avoid mentioning Qiu Mowen. Autumn Wind was intentionally steering clear of it, the Wang couple didn't want to complicate matters, and Liu Jian was unaware that Qiu Mowen was Qiu Ruolan's brother.
Finally, as this unusual dinner approached its end, Aunt Yue raised her cup to signal the conclusion when Qiu Ruolan's elegantly designed evening bag rang with a phone call. She scanned the room and pulled out her phone. With a slight nod of her head, she answered calmly and without hesitation, "Hello... Ervin?"
It was Qiu Mowen! As soon as Qiu Ruolan uttered those two words, Autumn Wind's eyes shot towards her. His body tensed up instantly; all his muscles tightened into a knot. He clenched his fists and leaned slightly toward Qiu Ruolan but suddenly jolted awake, realizing his actions were too obvious. He gradually returned to his original posture, retracting his gaze from Qiu Ruolan and directing it toward Liu Jian instead.
To his surprise, Liu Jian also looked tense; his lips trembled slightly as he leaned toward Autumn Wind and whispered urgently, "Is this Ervin Qiu Mowen?"
Autumn Wind nodded slightly but noticed Liu Jian's anxious expression transform into excitement.
Listening to Qiu Ruolan's conversation with Qiu Mowen, she said into the phone, "Thank you... You haven't forgotten! I'm at Xinye Restaurant right now with Wu Ge... Oh, and there's a newcomer who stood out in yesterday's competition; his name is Jaes, along with his girlfriend... You know Liu Jian, right? Great! Bye..."
After hanging up the phone, Qiu Ruolan deliberately raised her phone slightly and casually said, "It's Ervin..."
Seeing Liu Jian still brimming with excitement, as soon as Qiu Ruolan finished speaking, he exclaimed eagerly, "Is it really Ervin?"
Hearing this from Liu Jian made Qiu Ruolan exude an air of delight akin to a mother-in-law who grows increasingly pleased with her son-in-law. While putting away her phone, she enthusiastically replied to Liu Jian, "Yes! Ervin just mentioned you!"
Noticing that the two seemed ready for more small talk, Wang Shaowu scanned the surroundings and immediately detected an unusual presence. He gently nudged Aunt Yue with his elbow. Aunt Yue raised her glass again and loudly declared, "It turns out everyone has so many connections; let's toast to our lasting friendship..."
Qiu Ruolan suppressed her emotions and raised her cup, saying, "I also hope that Liu Jian and Autumn Wind will always be happy together!"
Liu Jian smiled, welcoming Qiu Ruolan's blessing, but Autumn Wind's mood sank again at the sudden mention of Qiu Mowen's name. She forced a smile and slightly lifted her cup, but inside, she felt a swarm of ants crawling.
On the way home, sitting in the car, Autumn Wind watched the lights sweep across Liu Jian's face. The flickering light made his features appear more three-dimensional. At a red light, Liu Jian suddenly spoke up, "I noticed that you and Sister Sally look somewhat alike!"
Autumn Wind, who was in a state of great confusion, widened her eyes in surprise. "What are you talking about?" Her hands intertwined lightly on her bag, but she suddenly remembered that she had forgotten to give the birthday gift prepared for Qiu Ruolan due to Qiu Mowen's unexpected appearance.
She sighed heavily, her tone relaxing slightly as she said softly, "Don't be ridiculous!"
"Really, hasn't anyone ever told you? Dear, it seems I've never heard you mention your parents!" He rested his hands on the steering wheel, glancing at Autumn Wind. "Have you considered taking me to meet your parents?"
Autumn Wind's face fell instantly, her heart racing like a stampede in her chest. She bit her lip and said, "I..."
Could it be that Liu Jian discovered something at the recent banquet...
P.S.: It's now available! Thank you all! Autumn Rain is deeply grateful to every friend who reads my book; thank you for your support!
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