I Revealed My True Identity After Confessing My Love - Chapter 45

The two people in the office were at a standstill.

One was steadfastly refusing to accept the gift, while the other adamantly refused to return it.

Du Xiran never expected Ye Nanning to be this stubborn. Lacking experience in dealing with such situations, since she couldn’t simply yell and drive her away like she did with Du Heruo and noticing colleagues outside peeking at the commotion, she feared becoming a laughingstock. After some thought, she feigned acceptance of the gift: “Fine, just get back to work.”

Only then did Ye Nanning return to her workstation with a look of satisfaction. Xu Huan, sitting nearby, asked, “What were you two doing in there? Playing with bags?”

Ye Nanning shook her head without revealing the truth. She glanced back at the office, and seeing that Du Xiran had indeed put the box away, she felt relieved enough to continue working.

Du Xiran organized the box, took a photo, and sent it to Zhang Mishuang, asking if she wanted it.

A phone call came back almost immediately. Zhang Mishuang asked excitedly, “What’s up? Baby, are you giving me a bag?!”

“No, I’m asking if you want to buy it. If you do, I can round down the price and transfer it to you,” Du Xiran said.

“That’s not how it works… Where did you get the bag? It looks brand new. Don’t tell me you’re regretting an impulse purchase and want to offload it?” Zhang Mishuang paused, then corrected herself. “You don’t seem like the impulsive type. Where did it actually come from?”

Du Xiran sighed. “Someone gave it to me.”

“Then just keep it. It’s quite pretty; wouldn’t it be nice to keep for yourself?” Zhang Mishuang was puzzled.

“Ye Nanning gave it to me,” Du Xiran said.

“What? Little Ye?” Zhang Mishuang gasped. “Where did she get that kind of money?”

“That’s exactly what’s bothering me. Where does an intern get that much money? Do you think I can actually accept this?” Du Xiran rubbed her temples. “She refuses to return it, so the only thing I can think of is to sell the bag and give her the cash.”

Zhang Mishuang was confused by the whole ordeal. “Why did she suddenly give you a bag?”

Du Xiran explained, “She’s been quite broke lately, so I… found some excuses to give her a bit of extra money. Maybe I hurt her pride, so she kept insisting she has money and bought a bag to prove it. Sigh.”

Zhang Mishuang burst out laughing. “Is she really that silly? Why isn’t a girl like that my intern?”

Du Xiran replied, “Stop laughing and help me think. Do you want the bag? Or can you check if any of your friends want to buy one?”

“I just bought a house; I don’t have the money for luxury goods,” Zhang Mishuang said. “But do you really have the heart to sell it? Whether it looks good or not, it’s still Little Ye’s sentiment, isn’t it?”

“If she actually had money, I would certainly cherish the sentiment. But the point is she doesn’t have the money. Keeping it would weigh on my conscience,” Du Xiran said righteously.

“True. I’ll ask around for you.”

After work that evening, Du Xiran was carrying the bag home when several sharp-eyed colleagues spotted her. They teased, “Old Du, who gave you a gift this time?”

Du Xiran didn’t want to admit it was from Ye Nanning in front of everyone, nor could she claim she bought it herself while Ye Nanning was watching. It was a headache.

She glanced toward Ye Nanning’s desk and saw the girl looking at her expectantly, as if waiting for her to acknowledge it. Du Xiran sighed internally and told her colleagues, “I’m in a hurry, let’s talk another time.”

She slipped away quickly, leaving her colleagues laughing behind her.

However, Hu Hanqiao looked at Ye Nanning and, recalling the afternoon’s office drama, formed a bold suspicion.

The next day was the weekend. Ye Nanning stayed at her post to finish the last bit of overtime before leaving with the other interns.

As the evaluation date approached, the interns were all working hard to perform well. Everyone shouted about “anti-involution,” but given the environment, they all strove to be the top “involutors.”

Standing in the elevator, Hu Jiaxu yawned and rested her hand on Ye Nanning’s shoulder. Just as she was about to yawn again, Ye Nanning moved away subtly.

“?”

Hu Jiaxu asked sleepily, “Why are you running away, Little Ye? I’m not going to eat you.”

The others laughed. Yan Zhenghao asked, “How is work going for everyone? Getting nervous?”

“I’m terrified. I’m so scared of being the first one eliminated; that would be so embarrassing,” one girl said.

“The embarrassment is one thing, but it’s almost the end of the year and jobs are hard to find. If I get fired, I’ll have to go home for New Year’s unemployed,” another boy added.

Hu Jiaxu continued yawning. “I’m not that nervous. I probably won’t be eliminated. The VP praised me today and told me to keep it up. Little Ye probably won’t be either. Director Du likes her a lot. I heard from my supervisor that Director Du even singled out Little Ye for praise during a meeting.”

Ye Nanning looked at her, surprised, and whispered, “Really?”

“Yeah, it should be true. My supervisor wouldn’t lie about that; she’s been using you as an example for me.” Hu Jiaxu finally stopped yawning, her eyes tearing up from the effort.

“That’s so nice. I wish my boss would praise me.”

“Well, Ye Nanning has indeed done a great job. I bet she’ll win the Outstanding Intern Award, right?”

“If that happens, Ye Nanning has to treat us all to dinner! Hahaha!”

The interns chatted away. Hu Hanqiao’s expression was grim. Her supervisor hadn’t praised her or dropped any hints, leaving her feeling uncertain. Seeing the calm Ye Nanning, she felt a surge of bitterness and muttered to herself: What’s so great about her? It’s all just sucking up to the boss for praise.

The next day, Ye Nanning who had figured out Du Xiran’s weekend routine got up early, made herself a simple breakfast, and worked on her thesis. Close to noon, she started preparing lunch.

Once the meal was ready, she went across the hall to ring the doorbell. No one answered the first time, so she rang a second time but didn’t dare do more, fearing Director Du would lose her temper.

After a moment, she heard the sound of shuffling footsteps. The door opened to reveal a half-asleep Du Xiran leaning against the frame. “What is it?”

Ye Nanning looked down and accidentally caught a glimpse of skin through the loose neckline of Du Xiran’s pajamas as she leaned over. She quickly looked at the ceiling. “Director Du, it’s time for lunch.”

“Oh… give me a second.” Du Xiran’s brain took a few seconds to process before she turned back to wash her face, brush her teeth, and apply skincare.

Ye Nanning waited at the door for a while and noticed the living room was a bit messy. She called out cautiously, “Director Du, can I help tidy up the things on the sofa?”

“Whatever.” Du Xiran had completely given up on her image in front of the intern. Free labor was free labor. “Clean up if you want.”

As she wiped her face, she watched the activity outside. She saw Ye Nanning seriously organizing the clothes on the sofa, then carrying them into the bedroom. Ye Nanning asked, “Director Du, do you usually fold your clothes or hang them?”

“Coats are hung, inner layers are folded.” Du Xiran watched in amazement as the girl skillfully hung and folded the clothes, making her feel as though she had forgotten something.

“All done.” Ye Nanning looked at the tidy wardrobe and sofa with a sense of relief.

“Thanks… Wait, I just remembered, those were supposed to be washed!” Du Xiran woke up completely. “Quick, take them out!”

Ye Nanning: “…”

Ye Nanning took all the clothes back out, categorized them for dry cleaning or machine washing, threw some into the washer, and bagged the rest. “Director Du, you can take these to the dry cleaners downstairs later.”

“Okay.” Du Xiran gave her a mental five-star rating. “You’re better than the part time cleaner I hired. I don’t know if she’s taking advantage of me, but she’s been slacking off and showing up late. I really want to replace her, but I don’t know anyone else reliable.”

“In that case, I can…” Before Ye Nanning could finish, she was pushed out of the room.

“I’m ready. Let’s go eat. Is the food still warm?” Du Xiran hurried across the hall.

“Yes. Aren’t we waiting for Heruo to come back and eat?” Ye Nanning asked.

Du Xiran checked her phone. “She’s eating out with a classmate; she’ll be back in the afternoon.”

Ye Nanning couldn’t help but ask, “Which classmate?”

Du Xiran: “No idea. Are you that concerned about her?”

Ye Nanning rolled her eyes slightly and said, “She’s your sister, Director Du. Of course I’m concerned.”

Du Xiran laughed. “Forget about her. Let’s eat first.”

“Okay.”

Lunch consisted of two dishes and a soup. As usual, Ye Nanning received Du Xiran’s praise, and they finished almost everything.

Du Xiran patted her stomach. “Looks like I’ll have to cook again tonight.”

“It’s fine, I like cooking.”

Du Xiran paused and suddenly looked at her. “Have you ever thought about being a food blogger?”

Ye Nanning: “…No.”

“You should consider it. Being a blogger is great, you get to cook and make some money. Did I tell you about the blogger I follow? Her food looks amazing. Let me show you a video.” Du Xiran enthusiastically pulled up a video on her phone. “Look at this dish she made. Doesn’t it make your mouth water?”

Ye Nanning leaned over to look. It was just a home-cooked dish. She said sheepishly, “It’s… it’s okay, I guess?”

“What do you mean ‘okay’? This blogger not only makes the food look good, but the kitchen is beautiful, the counters are spotless, and most importantly, she doesn’t chatter on. It’s pure culinary aesthetics,” Du Xiran praised.

Ye Nanning felt embarrassed. It wasn’t nearly as exaggerated as Du Xiran made it out to be. She said humbly, “It looks pretty average to me…”

“Tsk.” Du Xiran glared at her. “That’s why you aren’t as savvy as this girl. She has a hundred thousand followers just for making simple dishes. If you did it and showed your face, you’d definitely go viral and make a fortune.”

Ye Nanning: “I don’t want to show my face.”

“Why?”

“Scared.”

“Camera shy?”

“You could say that… I’m afraid of being noticed by too many people,” Ye Nanning whispered.

“Beginners are always like that, it’s normal to feel awkward.” Du Xiran tapped on the blogger’s profile and smiled. “This blogger is probably the same, she hasn’t shown her face yet. It makes me quite curious.”

Ye Nanning blinked. “Curious about what she looks like?”

“Yeah. Especially since we’ve chatted a lot lately; it feels like we’re friends.” Du Xiran pocketed her phone and gave the girl a firm pat on the shoulder. “You should really think about my suggestion.”

Ye Nanning: “…”

After lunch, Du Xiran returned home and opened her laptop to check for work. Just then, a strange woman arrived at her door. “Hello, is this Ms. Du Xiran’s residence?”

Du Xiran looked at her in confusion. “Yes, it is. How can I help you?”

“I’m here to provide cleaning services,” the woman said with a smile.

“What do you mean? Where’s my regular cleaner? Did they switch you out?”

“No, Ms. Ye called me over.”

“Ms. Ye?” Du Xiran suddenly shouted toward the opposite apartment, “Ye Nanning! Come out here! What is this?”

Ye Nanning had just finished washing the dishes. Her apron was still on, and her hands were wet. She came to the door and explained, “This cleaning lady is the one I’ve been using since I was renting. Her work is very thorough and she never slacks. Director Du, please give her a try.”

Du Xiran looked from the new cleaner to Ye Nanning, walked over to Ye Nanning’s door, and whispered, “What are you playing at now? How much does she charge?”

Ye Nanning mentioned a figure.

“You really… I don’t even know what to say to you.” Du Xiran’s blood pressure nearly spiked again. At that moment, a cool sensation brushed against her cheek.

Ye Nanning’s damp finger tucked a stray lock of hair behind Du Xiran’s ear. “Your hair is flyaway because you’re angry.”

“You have the nerve to say that!” Du Xiran waved her off. “Tell her to go back. Stop wasting money. How many credit cards are you planning to max out?”

Ye Nanning said righteously, “It’s too late. She can’t be canceled. Her services require an appointment. She only squeezed us in because we’ve worked together for so long. And… she’s already started cleaning.”

Ye Nanning pointed subtly across the hall. Du Xiran looked back, the woman was indeed fast, already skillfully using her tools and giving them a simple, honest smile. “Don’t worry, Ms. Du, I work very efficiently. If you have children, I can watch them too. I also provide English and Japanese services, and I’ve passed Level 10 in piano.”

Du Xiran: !!!

So, premium prices really do come with premium services?

Du Xiran pointed at Ye Nanning for a long time, speechless.

Ye Nanning looked down at those fingers, long, straight, and white. Her face flushed slightly.

Du Xiran was completely at a loss. She paced around, then her phone rang. She answered and hung up quickly. “I’ll settle the score with you later. Can you drive me somewhere first?”

“Where?”

“The airport. To meet a client. I don’t know when I’ll be back, so keep an eye on Du Heruo for me.”

“Okay.”

They split up. Ye Nanning went downstairs to get the car.

Du Xiran quickly packed her bag, told the cleaner, “Send me the bill later,” and rushed to the parking lot. However, she didn’t see Ye Nanning in her own car.

She looked around anxiously until she noticed that Maserati she had been eyeing for so long pulling up in front of her. The window rolled down slowly, revealing Ye Nanning’s calm, cool face: “Director Du, get in.”

Du Xiran: “…??”