After Trying To Pursue The Cold, Elegant Beauty. I Ended Up Being Flirted With Instead - Chapter 36

No one but me dares to hire you.

When she arrived home, Li Zhishu was in the living room with the newly bathed Jiaojiao, watching a cartoon.

Seeing Li Zhiyun return, Li Zhishu gave a look to the nanny, who immediately understood and stepped forward to carry Jiaojiao upstairs.

The living room fell silent again.

Li Zhishu poured herself a glass of red wine, slowly swirled it, and sat down opposite Li Zhiyun.

“Did you see her?”

She knew very well that as soon as her sister heard the news that Wen Zhu had been taken to a cocktail party by a President Yan from Yancheng, she rushed out, keys in hand, without even eating dinner.

Li Zhiyun’s mind was full of the recent scene.

She had cradled Wen Zhu’s face, and not only had Wen Zhu not resisted, but her cheek had even lightly rubbed against her palm.

Was she… not that resistant to her approach?

With Wen Zhu completely occupying her mind, Li Zhiyun didn’t clearly hear what her sister said and casually replied with a “Mhm.”

Li Zhishu sighed.

“I still say, if you like her, why not pursue her? Back then, you had the love letter all ready, but you insisted on not sending it. Now she’s back in front of you after all this time and has broken up with that Pei Xiubai. If you don’t pursue her now, when will you?”

The mention of that unsent love letter finally brought Li Zhiyun back to the present.

She looked up at Li Zhishu. “How do you know I’m not pursuing her?”

“Heh.” Li Zhishu chuckled. “Well, I haven’t noticed any pursuit. All I see is our second miss of the Li family constantly acting as her protector.”

Thinking of this, Li Zhishu couldn’t help but sigh.

Her sister had been a favored child since childhood; what did she ever want and not get?

In the chess world back then, she was famous for her decisive, aggressive style of play.

Yet now, for a single Wen Zhu, her entire demeanor had become mild and cautious, as if she had been completely reborn.

A vision of Wen Zhu smiling at her crossed Li Zhiyun’s mind. She couldn’t help but curve her lips, picked up her water glass, and took a sip.

“You don’t understand.”

Pursuing Wen Zhu couldn’t be too aggressive.

Too aggressive, and she would scare her away.

She could only test the waters step by step, inching forward little by little, probing where the bottom line of Wen Zhu’s internal defense truly lay.

Wherever the bottom line was, that’s where the trap would be dug.

After finishing the water in her glass, Li Zhiyun set it down and walked upstairs.

Watching her sister’s figure disappear at the staircase landing, Li Zhishu swirled the wine glass in her hand, her gaze distant.

She recalled when Li Zhiyun was still in high school in Yancheng.

That day, she went to the school to pick up Li Zhiyun for the airport; the tickets were already bought. But just because Li Zhiyun saw Wen Zhu being surrounded by a few girls through the car window, everything changed.

Her normally composed sister instantly told the driver to stop, rushed out of the car alone, and even forgot to call her bodyguards.

That was the first time Li Zhishu had seen Wen Zhu.

Later, she learned that it was also because of Wen Zhu that Li Zhiyun first disobeyed a family order, insisting on finishing high school in Yancheng.

She had been so determined back then, so why did she suddenly decide to leave later, without a backward glance?

Li Zhishu didn’t know and had never asked.

But she thought it must also have something to do with Wen Zhu.

Li Zhishu set down her wine glass, thinking that Li Zhiyun was afraid of scaring Wen Zhu, so she walked hesitantly and slowly, step by step.

But she didn’t understand.

Sometimes, what people who lack a sense of security need is not gentle probing and endless patience.

Since her sister didn’t understand, she, as the older sister, would just have to help her out.

The night passed, and Wen Zhu went to work as usual.

Although she didn’t have much time left before her resignation, she couldn’t take leave constantly.

As for whether Pei Xiubai came in, she didn’t care.

Busy until past ten, Wen Zhu suddenly remembered something and opened the job recruitment app on her phone.

Yan Tingyu had guessed she had broken up with Pei Xiubai based on her job application information, so she needed to delete that information first.

But as soon as she logged on, a new private message popped up.

[Da Li HR: Hello, Miss Wen. We are Da Li Interior Design Company. We saw on your resume that you have extensive experience as a CEO’s secretary. Are you currently looking for new work opportunities?]

The message popped up almost as soon as she logged on.

It was as if… as if someone was specifically waiting at the screen for her to come online.

Wen Zhu’s finger paused. She typed “Da Li” into the browser search bar.

The company was somewhat famous in the industry and had a good reputation. The salary and benefits they offered were quite generous, almost double her current pay.

But Wen Zhu only glanced at it and prepared to exit the app to completely withdraw her job seeking information.

She didn’t want to give people like Yan Tingyu any more chances to pry into her life.

Just then, a commotion arose at the office door.

“Hello, is Miss Wen Zhu here? I have a bouquet of flowers for her.”

The gossip spirit of the entire office was instantly ignited, and all eyes focused on her.

Flowers for her?

Wen Zhu frowned and walked over amid her colleagues’ suggestive glances.

The bouquet was of vibrant red roses, and the card in the middle had a name signed in bold, sweeping strokes: Yan Tingyu.

Wen Zhu’s face instantly darkened.

She took the unsightly bouquet, didn’t spare it a second look, turned, and threw it into the trash can in the corner.

Her action was swift and decisive, without any hesitation.

As soon as she returned to her seat, her phone vibrated.

It was a message from Yan Tingyu.

[Yan Tingyu: Threw away the flowers?]

Wen Zhu subconsciously looked up and scanned the office. No surveillance cameras.

[Yan Tingyu: Don’t bother looking, I’m not monitoring you.]

[Yan Tingyu: Want to grab lunch? I’m on my way to see you. I want to apologize for what happened last night.]

[Yan Tingyu: I admit, taking you to that party was a deliberate attempt to provoke Pei Xiubai. But my liking for you is real. Wen Zhu, give me a chance.]

Wen Zhu looked at the words on the screen and only felt a surge of irritation.

Her phone vibrated again; this time, it was a call from Yan Tingyu.

Wen Zhu was silent for a few seconds but answered it anyway.

“Have you decided what you want for lunch?” The voice on the other end was smiling.

“I have,” Wen Zhu’s voice was flat. “President Yan can turn around and go back now. I’ve received your apology. I’m very busy at lunchtime and don’t have time.”

The other end of the phone was quiet for a moment.

“Wen Zhu,” Yan Tingyu’s voice dropped. “You’re angry at me.”

It was a statement of fact.

Shouldn’t I be angry? Wen Zhu thought.

She pinched the bridge of her nose, her tone betraying a hint of fatigue: “No. I really am very busy lately. I probably won’t have time to accompany President Yan for a while.”

Yan Tingyu heard the detachment in her tone and suddenly chuckled softly.

“Even if you don’t accept my affection, the job I offered you is something you can at least consider, right?”

Wen Zhu thought of the job application information she had just deleted. “No need to trouble Miss Yan, I’ve already found a job.”

“Is that so?” Yan Tingyu said. “Xiao Zhu, are you actually resorting to a lie like that just to distance yourself from me? How could there be a company in Tongcheng willing to hire you? You don’t know yet, do you?”

“Pei Xiubai already contacted all the notable companies in Tongcheng and Yancheng. No one but me dares to hire you.”

The hand gripping her phone tightened.

“You don’t have to miss such a good opportunity just because you’re angry with me.”

Wen Zhu felt a wave of helplessness.

She had heard enough of this kind of self-important condescension from Pei Xiubai.

Ultimately, Yan Tingyu and Pei Xiubai were the same type of person, accustomed to being high and mighty. If they treated you kindly, it was their benevolence.

If you accepted, you lacked backbone. But if you refused, they felt you were ungrateful and stupid.

Wen Zhu felt there was nothing left to say. She responded coldly for a couple of sentences and then hung up the phone directly.

A lump was stuck in her chest, neither going up nor down.

She reopened the recruitment app and submitted her resume to a few more major companies she had looked at before.

A minute later.

[Apologies, your experience does not meet our company’s requirements.]

[We regret to inform you that we currently do not have a suitable position.]

…

A string of rejection notifications instantly poured in, so fast they seemed like automated system replies.

Wen Zhu’s heart slowly sank.

Amidst the grey sea of “Rejected,” the profile picture of the company named “Da Li” seemed particularly prominent.

Just then, the company sent another message.

[Da Li HR: Miss Wen, we are a legitimate company, truly. If it’s convenient for you, we can arrange an interview at any time. Online or in person, the time and location are completely up to you.]

The tone was polite and sincere.

Wen Zhu stared at the message, deep in thought for a long time.

Finally, she reached out her finger and tapped the green button.

[Accept Invitation]

Pei Xiubai was determined to trap her in Yu Pei for life.

But she absolutely refused to accept her fate.