68 To Eat Is to Be Alive! (1/2)

An Zining measured Ye Shuang silently. Brother Wong, who was standing beside them, felt the atmosphere changing and was internally disappointed that Ye Shuang would fail such a simple demand as bringing a glass of wine. Therefore, he tried to ease the situation by whispering, ”Miss An, shall I go get a new glass for you?”

An Zining stopped him with a wave of her hand. She lowered her eyes to look at the wine glass, and with a swirl of her wrist, she asked Ye Shuang, ”Why did you bring me grape juice?”

As a boss, An Zining did not like her people acting on their own. The most important skill was not their professionalism but the ability to know their place, or to put it plainly, to be sensible or tactful.

Ye Shuang was such an individual. After saving her life on their first meeting, she had gifted her an apartment and invited her to brunch. This was not because An Zining felt that indebted to Ye Shuang but because she wanted to use her actions to show that she was someone who knew how to be thankful. If someone had helped her, she would respond in kind. After that, Ye Shuang did conduct herself with a sense of propriety; she didn't contact An Zining to ingratiate herself to An Zining. This showed that Ye Shuang knew that was the end of their interaction. They were from different circles, so there was no reason for her to attach herself to An Zining.

Their second meeting was through Han Chu. Even though this was only her second day of work, An Zining was very satisfied with Ye Shuang's work ethic so far. The girl did not purposely drop hints before others that she had history with the boss, nor did she use a supercilious tone around others to show that she was on a level higher than them.

An Zining felt like she had quite a good eye for understanding people, but this glass of grape juice made her doubt herself. What was the real reason that made Ye Shuang decide to change the drink on her own? To be honest, swapping out wine for grape juice was not something that serious—she didn't have to drink wine—but a sign of mutiny from her people was not something that she could ignore.

Ye Shuang smiled a bashful smile before leaning in to whisper, ”When I was getting the wine earlier, I saw a guest before me who sneezed beside the wine tower.”

An Zining understood everything instantly. Her eyes that had gotten dim softened immediately and nodded with satisfaction. She took a sip out of the fruit juice and whispered back, ”Well done!”

Brother Wong glanced meaningfully at Ye Shuang. This girl is openly lying! I swear she didn't even walk over to the wine tower earlier.

As a bodyguard, it was his responsibility to pay close attention to his client's food and drink, so it was not unnatural for him to be watching Ye Shuang was to task to fetch Sister An's drink. Brother Wong knew the truth, but why didn't he expose Ye Shuang‽ Because he too was a tactful man.

Since the client had accepted Ye Shuang's explanation, that marked the end of the little interlude. Everyone was satisfied. If he acted mouthy, he would get the client to be unsatisfied with Ye Shuang, and Ye Shuang would be unsatisfied with him, ruining the teamwork for the next month. In any case, there would only be disadvantages and no advantages.

But why would Ye Shuang lie? Brother Wong was indeed curious. He believed Miss Chef probably knew something because he had noticed the two girls grumbling to themselves all holed up in the kitchen earlier. After that, Miss Chef had changed the menu because that morning he had heard they were going to have pork balls with crab sauce, but he had been rather disappointed when the dish wasn't on the table during lunch.

The ball carried on as normal. Ye Shuang followed An Zining as the latter greeted the guests of the party. All she had to do was help An Zining carry her bag or pass her boss' name card to the person An Zining was talking to when it was needed and occasionally fetch An Zining some cake and water. After buying into Ye Shuang's lie, An Zining left her food choice that night to Ye Shuang, and this allowed Ye Shuang to avoid foods that were taboo for pregnant mothers.

The ball was actually very simple. It started at 6 pm, and there was a one hour waiting period for the guests to arrive and socialize with each other. Then, the host would give a speech, followed by a donation drive or auction. The guests would then be free to mingle and converse for the rest of the ball until it ended at midnight.

Of course, some guests chose to leave right after the auction, but regardless, spending money at an auction was a must for such a charity ball. Ye Shuang had a sneaky feeling that a war was coming.

As she expected, An Zining and Chen He were caught in a bidding war during the auction. It did not matter how much the other people donated; they could not bid a price that was lower than the bastard or the madwoman. These two were not lacking for money, but dignity, especially after the divorce. They did not hold back and tried to smother the other with money.

…

A travesty of a war later, An Zining and Chen He ended in a draw after members from both parties intervened. That marked the end of the auction, and it was time for the mingling. An Zining rubbed her temples and yawned surreptitiously. ”I'll go take a bit of rest in the drawing room. Ye Shuang, if you're hungry, go have something to eat.”

Brother Wong was the security guard, so he could not leave An Zining. Plus, he had already had his dinner with An Zining earlier. Ye Shuang was different; she had come over to join her boss right after she parted from Lawyer Lin. An Zining saw herself as an open-minded boss, and she did not need two people to look after her while she rested, so she decided to give Ye Shuang a break.

Ye Shuang was indeed hungry, but she did not rush at the buffet instantly. Instead, she said politely, ”Sister An, if you're tired, shall we return home directly? After all, the auction is already over.”

”If we leave now, it'll be an affront to the host.” An Zining raised her eyes to glance at Ye Shuang. ”Leave us be, we'll need to wait until 9 pm before we can leave.”

In other words, I have one hour left… Ye Shuang did not hesitate. She gave An Zining's bag to Brother Wong and said, ”Then, I'll be outside. Sister An, if you need me, please call me directly on my phone.”