I Revealed My True Identity After Confessing My Love - Chapter 4

“Old Du, this beauty looks unfamiliar. Is she your intern?”
There were other colleagues in the elevator; one of them couldn’t help asking.

Du Xiran nodded lightly.

“She’s really pretty,” the colleague sighed. “If you think she’s hard to train, you can hand her over to me.”

Du Xiran shot him a glare. “Just focus on your own work.”

The others secretly laughed at the scene.
A male colleague said, “Behave yourself. You actually dare to steal someone from Old Du?”

While they were talking, the elevator arrived.
Ye Nanning stepped out first, waited for a moment, then followed Du Xiran’s pace.

She realized that Du Xiran walked very fast, no slower than a man. She quietly adjusted her own steps left, right, left matching her rhythm, and her heart bloomed with happiness.

They stopped at the restaurant entrance.
Xu Huan waved. “Director Du, over here!”

“Let’s go.”
Du Xiran said briefly and walked straight toward the seats. Two seats were still empty. She pointed at the one next to her. “Sit.”

Ye Nanning stiffly sat down beside her, barely daring to move.

Their colleagues laughed outright.

Xu Huan propped her chin and smiled. “I honestly can’t tell if little Ye is cold or just terrified of Director Du.”

Du Xiran turned her head toward her, raising a brow. “Really? Are you scared of me?”

Ye Nanning said nothing, but her head shook like a little rattle.

Their coworkers laughed even harder, and even Du Xiran’s lips curved slightly. She rolled up her sleeves, revealing fair arms, and placed the menu in front of Ye Nanning: “See if there’s anything else you want to order.”

Ye Nanning opened the menu and slowly raised it to cover her entire face.

Xu Huan pressed her hand to her mouth, struggling not to burst out laughing. Only when Du Xiran shot her a warning glance did she settle down.

A female colleague said, “Can’t blame little Ye. I was scared the first time I met Director Du too.”

“But don’t you guys think little Ye actually looks colder than Director Du?”

Everyone paused. Silence meant agreement.

Du Xiran took a sip of water and asked that colleague, “So, do you still think I’m scary now?”

“Only when we make a mistake and get yelled at,” the colleague replied. “But normally, you’re super nice.”

Du Xiran said, “Which proves that first impressions aren’t a reliable measure of a person.”

The coworkers agreed unanimously.

Ye Nanning nodded like crazy in her heart!

As expected of her goddess so articulate, so perfect!

The dishes hadn’t fully arrived yet. After chatting casually for a bit, some people started playing on their phones.

Seeing Ye Nanning sitting there with nothing to do probably too afraid to use her phone in front of her supervisor Du Xiran asked, “Which websites do you normally use?”

Ye Nanning froze. “Weibo, Douyin, Little Green Book.”

She had accounts on all of those platforms and had to maintain them regularly.

Du Xiran: “……”

She tried again. “I meant financial websites.”

Ye Nanning blushed bright red. “Sometimes I look at Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal… nothing else.”

“It’s good that you follow some. CNBC, Investopedia, DealBook all good resources. Don’t just stare at social apps all day.”
Du Xiran lectured seriously like a strict leader, and the others set down their phones guiltily.

“Okay,” Ye Nanning nodded.

More dishes arrived. Xu Huan turned a plate of gold and silver egg spinach dumplings toward Du Xiran. “Director Du, try this.”

Ye Nanning liked this dish as well. Once, she had eaten it at a Michelin restaurant, and she had managed to recreate it at home and even posted a video about it gaining quite a few followers.

Du Xiran took a bite; her expression shifted several times. She sighed. “Not as good as I imagined.”

“You’ve tried so many places already and still haven’t found one you like? Where exactly did you eat the version you can’t forget?” Xu Huan asked.

Du Xiran said, “I’ve never eaten it. I only saw someone make it.”

“………”
Xu Huan was speechless. “If you’ve never even eaten it, how is anyone supposed to cook something that matches your imagination?”

Ye Nanning quickly prepared in her mind to volunteer to make it for her, but the next second Du Xiran said, “Makes sense. Won’t order it again. Waste of money.”

Ye Nanning: “……”
Fine.

Nobody wanted to talk shop at the lunch table, and since there was a new colleague, everyone introduced themselves, which naturally led to gossip.

“So, little Ye, are you dating anyone?”

Ye Nanning shook her head.

“Then I bet tons of people are chasing you. Why aren’t you with anyone?”

Ye Nanning didn’t know how to answer.

“Is it because you like someone already?”

Ye Nanning slowly nodded.

Instant uproar. Even Du Xiran glanced over.

“Is it a classmate?”

“What kind of person?”

“How long have you liked them? Why do you like them?”

“What does he do? Is he handsome? Rich? Cute?”

Everyone fired questions one after another. Ye Nanning instantly regretted telling the truth.

“All right, enough. Eat your food before it gets cold.”
Du Xiran stepped in to rescue her. “You all have meetings this afternoon, did you forget?”

Everyone hurried to speed up their eating.

Ye Nanning shot Du Xiran a grateful look, but she seemed focused on her food, so Ye didn’t dare interrupt.

After a while, the topic shifted again from daily expenses to housing prices, which inevitably led to family issues.

“My mom says all the family property goes to my little brother and that I shouldn’t even think about it. As if I want that run down shoebox in a 18th-tier town. Once I got into college, all I wanted was to earn my own house.” a female colleague said.

Another colleague added, “I’m the oldest son; my parents say the house will be mine but only if I take care of my two younger siblings. One is in middle school, the other in elementary school. Even if I want to say no, my parents retired last year. I can’t just ignore my siblings. Life is exhausting.”

Xu Huan sighed. “Tell me about it. I lived with my parents thinking I could save rent, but they nagged me every day about getting married. I moved out last month, and living alone isn’t easy either.”

After everyone vented, all eyes turned to Du Xiran.

She froze. “What, is it my turn?”

Xu Huan nodded. Ye Nanning also looked at her, expectant.

“Sorry to disappoint you all. My family is perfectly happy.” Du Xiran said.

The table fell silent, then everyone turned to look at Ye Nanning instead.

From their sympathetic stares, Ye Nanning understood they wanted someone to share their pain. She carefully said, “I have two siblings. Three of us in total.”

As expected, everyone made “my condolences” faces.

“Ah… not easy.”

“I really don’t get why parents who struggle the most insist on having the most kids.”

“Exactly. Three siblings… please don’t tell me you’re the middle child. They say the middle one is always neglected. Little Ye, which one are you?”

Ye Nanning: “Second.”

“So tragic, little Ye…”

The colleagues all looked at her with deep sympathy, as if they were watching a neglected middle child fight her way into a top three national university, striving to escape the miseries of her original family.

Ye Nanning: “……”

A colleague serving soup accidentally spilled some on her. They apologized repeatedly.

“It’s okay. The shirt was only like thirty yuan. I’ll just throw it away later.”
The words left her mouth and the sympathy in their eyes doubled.
If she held out a donation box now, it would probably be filled to the brim.

Even Du Xiran glanced at her a few more times and said, “Work hard. You’ll earn plenty.”

Ye Nanning nodded.

Did this mean her disguise as a poor intern was successful? Surely no one suspected her real identity now?

After all, an intern dressing too luxuriously would give the wrong impression. If rumors like those at her school spread calling her a rich arrogant princess it would only complicate work. Better to be a hardworking, poor student.

After lunch, they all returned to the company and squeezed into the elevator again.
Ye Nanning snatched a corner spot and quietly watched the numbers rise, unaware she had become a little scenic attraction herself.

In the cramped space, some played on their phones, some fretted about work.
Only she stood quietly like an unworldly swan her delicately carved features drawing attention, and the graceful curve of her neck adding an air of elegance.

If not for her thirty to fifty yuan outfit, her colleagues might have thought she was a princess who escaped from some palace.

Someone poked Du Xiran’s arm. She turned to see Xu Huan giving her a meaningful look.
“In-house goddess… your title may be in danger.”

“Childish,” Du Xiran replied.
The elevator arrived. She returned to her office and began organizing materials for the upcoming meeting. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of a mirror and checked herself.

Hmm… She had been working overtime too much recently her complexion really wasn’t great.

And young college girls were full of collagen.
Impossible to compare.
She would lose instantly.

Work resumed at two, but by one o’clock everyone was already preparing for a nap. Some lay on desks, some leaned back in chairs, others unfolded portable beds.

Ye Nanning’s team was like this too within seconds, everyone was lying down.

Foldable beds needed approval from HR, and interns hadn’t received theirs yet. They could only nap on tables or lean awkwardly.

Ye Nanning tried lying down, but her arms went numb. She tried leaning but it was uncomfortable.

Might as well not sleep. She took out a book, read a few lines and suddenly someone tapped her shoulder.

She turned. It was Du Xiran!

Du Xiran made a shushing gesture, then beckoned.

Ye Nanning stood carefully, tiptoed past Xu Huan’s bed, and followed her into the office.

“I’m heading out for a bit. You can rest here. Remember to request a folding bed later,” Du Xiran instructed.

Ye Nanning sat on the leather sofa chair in awe. “Really?”

“It’s empty anyway.” Du Xiran packed her documents. “Don’t touch anything else.”

“I won’t.”

Just as she was about to leave, Du Xiran looked around. “Where’s my phone?”

“It’s here.” Ye Nanning pointed to the phone on the desk, which seemed to be playing a muted video.

Du Xiran quickly grabbed the phone and exited the video.

Though she only caught a glimpse, Ye Nanning noticed food ingredients on the screen. Was she still hungry and watching food videos?

Du Xiran suddenly turned to her. “What did you see?”

“I saw you scrolling Weibo.” Ye Nanning paused. “So you use those social apps too.”

Du Xiran: “……”