Give Her a Chance to Flirt! - Chapter 7

Chapter 7

“Am I blushing?”

Yu Yihan’s gaze flickered. She confirmed it once more and nodded:

“If my eyes haven’t deceived me.”

Lin Jiu reached up to touch her face. Shoot, it really is a bit hot.

She put on her most composed and natural expression, saying airily:

“Oh, it’s probably because I was embarrassed by Ruan Meng’s praise just now.”

“Is that so?”

Lin Jiu nodded with conviction:

“That’s just how we girls are.”

“…”

Yu Yihan didn’t dwell further on such idle talk—mainly because she didn’t know how to respond to that. She shifted the topic:

“Have you tried other dishes with these tea leaves?”

“Not many, just two or three.”

Lin Jiu held out an open hand, folding down one finger for every dish she named:

“Black tea braised Dongpo pork, lemon black tea pork ribs, black tea diced chicken, black tea steamed mandarin fish, and black tea stewed beef.”

Yu Yihan’s eyes held an investigative glint:

“On what basis did you filter out these specific dishes?”

Lin Jiu said calmly: “Intuition.”

She wasn’t exactly lying.

Black tea is excellent for removing the gaminess of meat and cutting through grease, and these dishes were specifically the ones Lin Jiu sensed were most compatible with this particular tea.

With these recipes, Hongran No. 77 performed superiorly compared to other teas. While the gap wasn’t massive, it was more than enough in a society that pursued the ultimate texture of tea-infused cuisine.

Yu Yihan remained noncommittal.

She recalled the exceptionally fragrant West Lake Longjing from before, and a deep light shimmered in her eyes.

Lin Jiu had secrets.

Or rather, she had mastered some unusual method, or perhaps she had suddenly “awakened” a superb sensitivity toward tea leaves.

Yu Yihan had met some old masters at tea factories who were firm believers in “strange tales and extraordinary records.”

The Yu family also had legends passed down from their ancestors. It was said that figures existed in the tea world who could understand every type of tea perfectly—natural geniuses whom everyone wholeheartedly referred to as the “Tea God.”

But such a person hadn’t appeared in over a thousand years.

Yu Yihan cleared these distant, exaggerated legends from her mind.

She was a profit-driven merchant; she only cared about the tangible interests before her.

“This discovery has a huge impact on our plan. What do you need from me?”

“As you said, it’s ‘our plan.’ Researching how to make the plan more perfect is my duty as the person in charge.”

Yu Yihan shifted her seating position, her eyes calm as she listened to Lin Jiu’s answer.

Lin Jiu began:

“What I hope for… is that you no longer hold my previous mistakes against me.”

Lin Jiu didn’t need Yu Yihan to give her more things. As she said, this was her contribution to the team as the project lead.

But since she had taken over the original body’s identity under the system’s arrangement, she shouldn’t just inherit the unearned benefits. She wanted to patch up the original body’s previous blunders.

She met Yu Yihan’s gaze as an equal, her voice clear and refreshing:

“Let’s just act as if that scandal never happened, okay?”

She wanted Yu Yihan to return to her original position. Pieces of the “cake” that didn’t belong to the Yu family should not be touched.

From now on, how the cake is divided would depend on their own respective abilities.

Yu Yihan didn’t speak for a long time.

Just as Lin Jiu began to review whether her wording was problematic, Yu Yihan spoke slowly:

“Of course. That is as it should be.”

Lin Jiu let out a soft sigh of relief.

Yu Yihan was a famous “shark” in the business world; she never let a trace of blood go. But equally famous was her word: she always did what she said she would. If she said she wouldn’t touch an alluring prey, she wouldn’t.

With Yu Yihan’s promise, that matter was finally settled.

Now that she was certain Yu Yihan was a decent partner, she could talk to her about another piece of business. However, she needed to let her family know about that first.

The purpose of this trip was successfully completed. Lin Jiu felt lighthearted. She looked around, realizing she shouldn’t linger and delay Yu Yihan’s work.

She stood up, naturally smoothing the light pleats in her skirt, and looked sideways at Yu Yihan:

“Then, I’ll be going?”

Yu Yihan glanced at her watch:

“Shall we have lunch together?”

Her tone was casual:

“My scheduled lunch partner has already been kidnapped by your tea eggs.”

Lin Jiu said quickly:

“Sure!”

“…”

The speed was so fast that it gave Yu Yihan the illusion that Lin Jiu had been waiting for her to ask. She almost regretted it.

After the meal, as they were parting ways, Lin Jiu said:

“There’s no need to let my family know about today’s discovery. You can present it from your side.”

“But our agreement still stands.”

Yu Yihan walked side-by-side with her. As Lin Jiu spoke, Yu Yihan reached out to block a decorative branch that was about to hit Lin Jiu’s shoulder, then gave a hum of affirmation before asking:

“The reason being?”

Because Lin Jiu didn’t want to be forced into doing anything by public opinion or anyone else. She only wanted to answer to herself, for a clear conscience—

But how could she say that to Yu Yihan? It was too embarrassing.

Better a dead teammate than a dead me. To save herself from embarrassment, Lin Jiu decided to make Yu Yihan embarrassed instead.

Donning her most innocent “Green Tea” face, she blinked at Yu Yihan. As her long lashes lifted, she whispered:

“You only need to know… that the things between us cannot be told to others, okay?”

“…”

A moment later, the Lin family driver picked Lin Jiu up.

Yu Yihan watched the car depart before preparing to head back to the office.

After today, she keenly sensed that Lin Jiu was full of contradictions.

It was as if the version she saw daily was a gentle ripple on the surface of the water—lively and enchanting, sometimes quirky enough to catch one off guard.

But once serious business was involved, one realized that beneath the ripples, it was deep and clear, with its own meticulous calculations.

Also, Lin Jiu’s strange remarks always managed to distract her. The rhythm of conversation that Yu Yihan was used to controlling was constantly interrupted by Lin Jiu’s directness.

Perhaps next time they met, she should think about how to reclaim that rhythm.

Yu Yihan stopped in her tracks at this thought. Her assistant, who had caught up, didn’t dare ask questions and waited quietly.

Yu Yihan stood under the lush green shade for two seconds, suddenly realizing—

She was already looking forward to their next meeting.

With no further delays and some minor influences removed, the Hongran Project soon made rapid progress under the leadership of the Yu and Lin families.

As a project heavily pushed by both clans, Hongran received massive promotion both online and offline.

The previous conflict between Yu Yihan and Lin Jiu was also fully utilized. With the “prequel” hype, Hongran instantly became a hot national topic.

The contract was signed quickly. Since it was this year’s “S-class” project, Lin Jiu’s eldest uncle personally stepped forward at the final stage.

Regarding the division of interests, the Yu family was surprisingly easy to talk to this time, as if the previous friction no longer existed. Everything went smoothly.

The uncle returned to the old mansion with the contract to claim credit from the Old Matriarch. After a moment of contemplation, she asked:

“Was it Yu Yihan who signed the plan with you?”

“Yu Yihan didn’t come; it was Vice President Sun.”

The Old Matriarch hummed in response and looked at Lin Jiu, who was nearby, cross-legged, eating a fruit platter and watching a drama.

Only Lin Jiu was bold enough to sit like that while hanging out at the old mansion, eating fruit and binge-watching a show on TV.

The Old Matriarch asked:

“Have you been in contact with Yu Yihan lately?”

Lin Jiu answered dutifully:

“Does contacting her unilaterally in my dreams count?”