C5 This Is the End!

The next morning, Jian Yun could feel her entire body being shaken by an unknown force. Opening her eyes, she saw Luo Yanyan standing before her with an anticipating look written all over her face. She glanced at her phone, only to see that it was 7 AM. "God, are you crazy?" Jian Yun groaned, pounding the sides of her bed. "Do you even know what time it is?"

"Jian Yun, you have so much explaining to do! For one, you didn't tell me how your blind date went," Luo Yanyan urged.

"Nothing happened!" She ducked her head under the blanket. Her voice had grown even more muffled as if she was about to fall asleep.

However, Luo Yanyan persisted. She wrenched the blanket off of her and leaned over. "We all know that's a lie!" she teased, peering over at Jian Yun. "Where did that expensive coat come from? Hell, I could work two jobs all my life and I still wouldn't be able to afford such a high-class fabric, let alone ask someone to customize it for me."

"A coat?" Just then, Jian Yun remembered Cheng Muze handing her a suit jacket back at the hospital last night. She got out of the car so quickly that she had forgotten to return it. Her face flushed bright red. Great, it would definitely be an addition to all her screw-ups.

At the sight of her friend's flustered face, Luo Yanyan's smile widened further. "Be honest! Did you meet a tall, rich, and handsome man this time around?"

Rich and handsome? Huo Liancheng flashed at the back of her mind, but she immediately shook the thought away. Although he may have checked out all those descriptions, he was still a jerk! There was no way she'd like someone like him, and even if she did, the man was way out of her reach.

"Short, stout, and ugly is more like it!" With that, Jian Yun proceeded to complain to her roommate about the man she had met on a blind date last night. Even the mere thought of him had sent shivers down her spine. Not only was that man deplorable in looks but also in personality.

Luo Yanyan shook her head in disappointment, sighing. "I just don't get why you're going through all these blind dates. I mean, you're young and pretty. Why is Auntie so anxious about marrying you off?"

"If it wasn't for Lin Lanlan's mom, I'd..." Jian Yun trailed off.

"What about her mom?"

She was about to add something else before shaking her head. Without another word, Jian Yun headed to the bathroom. "Nothing! I better wash up now."

Luo Yanyan had spent so much time with her roommate that she could automatically tell that it wasn't 'nothing'. She had remembered the two's relationship well enough to know of Lin Lanlan's mother's affair with Jian Yun's father. With Lin Lanlan following in her mother's footsteps in stealing Xu Haiyang from Jian Yun, she knew for a fact that Mrs. Lin wouldn't live this down. However, not wanting to pry in her business, Luo Yanyan decided to keep quiet.

Jian Yun had finished changing into her clothes when she noticed that Luo Yanyan was still in her pajamas. "Don't you have work today?"

"Both my mom and little brother are coming to town today, so I've taken a day off." She smiled.

"Say hello to Auntie for me!" Jian Yun had changed into her heels. However, just as she was about to leave, she turned and grabbed the coat from the couch. Last night, she had been so completely out of it that she had forgotten to pay attention to anything else. Now, as her fingers grazed across the smooth, hand-stitched fabric, she had to agree with Luo Yanyan. The coat was definitely expensive.

Noticing her friend's change of expression, Luo Yanyan's ears perked up. "Hey! You still haven't told me who that coat belongs to!"

"Just a stranger." Without another word, Jian Yun shoved the coat in her bag and carried it out of the apartment. Although she didn't know if she'd see Cheng Muze again, it would be rude to just throw the coat away, especially as the man was kind enough to lend it to her. She might as well wash it first before returning it to him in the future.

Jian Yun actually worked at the Ming's Enterprise, a company owned by none other than the Ming Family. At first, Ming's Enterprise was mainly engaged in real estate, but after the market had gotten even more saturated throughout the years, it decided to dabble in other sectors as well such as the cosmetics industry and foreign trade exports.

However, the lack of knowledge about these industries had caused major errors on the management's part during the company's expansion. In fact, it may have even cost the company billions in losses. If not for the fact that the Ming's Enterprise was known to be a major source of revenue in Qinghu City and had plenty of reserves, it would've essentially gone bankrupt.

Despite its capability in staying in the market, Ming's still needed to sacrifice its share. Last year, it had carried out a large number of layoffs, and from what she had heard from office gossip, the company would be issuing another batch of layoffs in the next coming months.

Jian Yun had been working at Ming's for three years now, and she had already found herself blending into the company's fast-paced environment. If there was one thing she was certain about, it's that she didn't want to be cut off, not after all the hard work she had placed into her job.

From what she had been told, the company had even hired a professional manager to turn the tables around, and today was his first day on the job.

The professional manager was said to come from the wealthy Huo family and had even run a company himself. He was the ultimate success story, yet he decided to set aside all his achievements and become a consultant, specifically eyeing companies on the verge of bankruptcy and helping them get back on their tracks. As of now, the man was said to have absolutely no faults in his work ethic, and many businesses had thrived because of him.

Most importantly, the accomplished man was extremely young–being in his early thirties–and extremely handsome. That was why all the women in the company were dressed their best today hoping to catch his eye as he walked past them.

Jian Yun had even heard rumors that in order to get him on board, the Ming's had spent their entire capital to hand over the majority of their shares, letting him assume an executive position. In other words, he had the entirety of Ming Enterprises sitting on the palm of his hand.

The morning had passed quickly, and soon enough, she already had half an hour left till lunch break. Before Jian Yun could celebrate, Wu Wenjing, their department head, had received a mysterious call. Suddenly, the busy office had turned silent as everyone leaned in anticipation. "Mr. Huo is here! Get ready!"

Mr. Huo...Jian Yun's heart skipped a beat as she flashed back to the time when Cheng Muze had addressed Liancheng by the same name. Could they be related? This could've been a coincidence, right? A bad feeling had already settled in the pit of her stomach. It seemed as if her bad luck had followed her all the way to her office.

Before she could think too much, the department's manager came rushing in. Li Xianggrong looked even more frazzled as he clapped his hands. "President Huo would be inspecting the office! Make sure everyone's in the right place!"

"Ugh! Isn't he going to be promoted to another department already? Just the sight of him makes me sick!" Wu Wenjing was also one of Jian Yun's roommate back at the university and had also become one of her close friends. She crossed her arms over her chest, glaring at the excited man who was too busy puffing out his chest.

Jian Yun resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Wu Wenjing and Li Xianggrong had been dating for a year until he had dumped her. After separating on awful terms, Li had left a bad taste in her mouth and Wu Wenjing wouldn't stop spreading all sorts of rumors about him all over the company.

"I wonder who'll take over his spot."

"I heard that the company would be admitting another manager for his spot."

Jian Yun snorted as the whispers of her colleagues grew even louder. There definitely wasn't a dull day in the office. After all, the HR Department was always pumping out new gossip for all of them to talk about in their free time.

However, as each second had passed, her actions grew even more fidgety. Jian Yun pinched the space between her eyebrows, trying her best to ease the pain in her head. God, she can't wait to get back to her bed.

"He's coming, he's coming! God, he's hot!"

"He's even more handsome than all the other TV actors combined!" Jian Yun heard a chorus of chatter from the women by the other side of the room. Some of them even rushed to the side just to get a better look at the approaching man, while the others were on the verge of fainting.

Jian Yun looked up curiously, wanting to see what all the fuss was about. However, as soon as she saw him, her heart had stopped beating, and her face immediately fell. Fuck! It couldn't be! The Mr. Huo they had been talking about all this time was the same man she had just cursed at last night!

No wonder he was so familiar!

God, she was finished!