dognovel Chapter 280 Lunch Break
Chapter 280 Lunch Break
Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, the sun shines through the gently flowing Yangtze River.
The summer sun is always exceptionally bright.
If you were outdoors right now, the scorching sun would probably have already worn down your willpower.
We also have to thank the greatest invention of this century – central air conditioning.
The temperature inside the entire "Little Crown" was adjusted to the most comfortable level, including the exclusive lounge in the top-floor president's office.
This place not only has beds for short rests, but also a separate viewing room and other multi-functional areas.
However, the most beautiful observation room has been transformed by Shirari into a space similar to a Japanese-style room.
The entire house is covered with cool bamboo mats, and in the middle is a low table that is warm in winter and cool in summer.
It's not only a place to eat, but also a place to rest.
Despite having multiple restaurants to choose from at the company, Shirari still prefers the taste of home cooking.
If she's at the company at noon and has no other plans, she'll bring her own lunch.
The NPC who manages the meals at home is Michelin-starred, and the dishes are completely customized to Bai Li's taste.
This is one of the reasons why she brings her own lunch every day.
She also likes to avoid crowds and enjoy a quiet dining environment.
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The Japanese-style room has floor-to-ceiling windows on two sides, allowing sunlight to stream in at an angle.
According to the greenhouse effect, this place should be incredibly hot.
In fact, quite the opposite.
The central air conditioning above our heads was silently and continuously providing cool air.
This makes the place not only not hot, but even very cool and pleasant.
Bai Li lazily sank into the sofa, her bare feet stepping on the boundary between the bamboo mat and the cashmere carpet, her suit jacket casually draped behind her.
On the low table in front of him was a financial statement that was half-open.
This is the scene that greeted Jingye when she pushed open the door carrying a bone china plate.
Bai Li's cheek was half sunk into the beanbag chair, puffed out, and she closed her eyes peacefully. Her hair was slightly sticking up because of the air conditioner, and she looked like she had been sleeping for a while.
At this moment, Bai Li was sleeping soundly, showing no trace of her seasoned sharpness at the negotiating table.
Regardless of Bai Li's current status, she was originally a young girl in the prime of her life.
But this young woman has built such a vast business empire, which continues to expand at an astonishing pace.
He paused to admire the scene for a moment in the quiet night before quietly closing the door behind him.
Jingye's figure pierced through the sunlight and came to Baili's side.
Bai Li twitched her nose.
It smells so good!
The noise of Jingye entering did not wake her; it was the aroma of food that roused her.
Seeing Bai Li slowly wake up, Jing Ye unbuttoned his coat, loosened his tie, sat down on the other side of the low table, and asked softly, "Didn't you sleep well last night?"
Thinking about what happened last night, Bai Li blinked.
She couldn't say that she was upset and couldn't sleep well because she had seen Yu Xinglan's memory fragments.
When I woke up this morning, my eyes were throbbing, as if I had cried in my dream.
But Bai Li speculated that this was probably not a "negative buff" from viewing the memory fragments.
Because after she viewed other people's memory fragments, nothing like that happened.
It's probably because most of Yu Xinglan's memories are related to her family and career, which are precisely her weaknesses as an orphan.
Yu Xinglan was ultimately her destined one.
His experience resonated deeply with me.
However, after one night, she had recovered.
Bai Li rested her chin on her hand and laughed it off, saying, "It was just a nightmare."
Jingye noticed that Baili was deliberately trying to hide it.
After all, he had been with the young lady for more than two years, and he had memorized all her little tricks.
For example, when a young lady feels guilty, she will blink unnaturally.
When lying, there are always some subtle movements, such as resting their cheek on their hand, avoiding eye contact, or touching their hair...
Although she had already seen through it, Jingye just chuckled and did not expose Baili, instead laying out the dishes on the bone china plate one by one.
The lunchbox in the quiet night still contained some colorful seasonal vegetables.
The variety of white pears here is much richer.
The side dishes included peeled tender peas and okra with its burrs and sharp edges removed.
The main course is sweet and sour spare ribs marinated in plum juice, specially prepared by the kitchen, and crab meat tofu simmered in broth until tender and soft, topped with golden-red crab meat crumbs. Just looking at it makes your mouth water.
Finally, there's a steaming bowl of mushroom soup. Lifting the lid releases a rich aroma of chanterelles, morels, and bamboo fungus.
Jingye was wearing a well-fitting suit today, with the cuffs buttoned up neatly, tightly wrapping her well-defined wrists.
What appears ordinary and unremarkable to other men looks extremely ascetic to Bai Li.
Especially since Jingye was dressed like a business elite today, she thoughtfully served herself food, her slender fingers gently placing the dishes in front of her.
"Slurp..." Bai Li swallowed hard.
Both the people and the food are so beautiful and appetizing.
Before Bai Li officially started eating, Jing Ye took out a disinfectant wet wipe, pulled Bai Li's hand, carefully wiped it, and then handed her the clean bowl and chopsticks.
After taking the chopsticks, Bai Li snapped out of her reverie and checked the time.
The time displayed is "12:30".
Her dinner appointment with Jingye was at 12 o'clock sharp.
Is Jingye late?
This is a very rare thing.
Bai Li finally realized something was wrong and raised her eyebrows.
No wonder I fell asleep while waiting.
You bastard!
The moment she came in, she started accusing her of being asleep, even though she was the one who was late.
The more Bai Li spent with Jing Ye, the more she could sense the hidden cunning beneath his gentle exterior.
Thinking of this, Bai Li's expression remained unchanged. She simply picked up a pea and casually asked, "Was the morning's itinerary unsuccessful, Mr. Jingye?"
Hearing Bai Li's unusual way of addressing him, coupled with her deliberately drawn-out tone, Jing Ye quickly grasped Bai Li's unspoken meaning and paused in the act of unbuttoning her sleeve.
Realizing that the young lady was about to make trouble and that she couldn't escape, Jingye apologized sincerely and explained her morning's itinerary in detail.
Shirai recently proposed two projects.
The idol talent show project has successfully concluded.
The remaining project, the feature film "Tian Gong," is still in the planning stage.
The production cost and timeframe of a film are far beyond what a talent show can match.
Not to mention large-scale investment films like "The Craftsman".
It not only requires high-standard CG special effects technology support, but also the completion of global copyright registration and pre-registration of multilingual script copyrights.
These preliminary preparations cannot be completed overnight.
It can be said that the amount of preparatory work for "Tian Gong" was more than twice that of "Wen Xian".
This morning, Jingye went to meet with Mr. Huang Wen, the original author of "Tian Gong", and Mr. Sai Weng, the director of "Tian Gong", to facilitate their first meeting for subsequent filming.
Mr. Sai Weng is an internationally renowned director and a Singaporean of Chinese descent. He not only possesses a deep understanding of Chinese culture but also connects with the international film market.
Although the first film, "Asking the Immortals," was a very harmonious collaboration between Day and Night Entertainment and director Xu Min.
However, director Xu Min has a major flaw: he doesn't speak English, and he has never been involved in making science fiction films before, so he knows nothing about this genre.
This time, "The Craftsman" is a science fiction film that is in line with the international market.
In comparison, Mr. Saiweng might be more suitable.
In fact, director Xu Min had contacted Bai Li before, but after hearing about the subject matter and target audience of "Tian Gong", he gave up the opportunity to direct the film and recommended Sai Weng to Bai Li.
As Jingye spoke, Baili ate her rice. After listening to his story, she took a sip of mushroom soup to moisten her throat and asked, "How are they getting along?"
"An unexpected stroke of luck, that's why I was late for lunch," Jingye said with a helpless smile.
This meeting was proposed by Mr. Saiweng.
After reading the original text of "The Works of Nature", Mr. Saiweng became hopelessly engrossed in it. After studying it for a whole month, he finally proposed to meet the original author.
Mr. Saiweng read "The Works of Nature" in a different way than they did.
They were just skimming the surface, while Mr. Saiweng, as a director, read the film with a cinematic mindset, taking into account every detail, such as setting, foreshadowing, rhythm, emotions, twists, climaxes, and so on.
After clarifying these points, Sai Weng discussed his understanding with the original author.
Mr. Saiweng and Mr. Huang Wen coincidentally were born in the same year and were the same age.
The two hit it off immediately and engaged in a three-hour discussion and debate about the original work.
In fact, the three-hour conversation was only possible because of Jingye's encouragement; otherwise, the two could have talked for even longer and in greater depth.
"The two of them have already exchanged contact information and will be able to communicate online from now on," Jingye added.
Bai Li had already met with Mr. Sai Weng several times before.
This person seems to have an almost obsessive pursuit of perfection.
For example, when it comes to casting, he might travel to more than a dozen places and hold more than a dozen auditions just to find the role he likes best.
Fortunately, I have enough funds here, otherwise Mr. Saiweng would really have had enough to keep going.
Perhaps the pursuit of that ultimate art in one's heart is a "common ailment" of all great directors.
No wonder director Xu Min recommended Mr. Sai Weng to direct "The Craftsman"; they were kindred spirits.
Bai Li could already imagine the scene where Mr. Sai Weng bumped into the original author, Mr. Huang Wen.
The two old men were talking animatedly, each expressing their own opinions.
While they may not necessarily resort to violence, a verbal battle is certainly inevitable.
They've been discussing it for a full three hours and still haven't finished.
Bai Li couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief: Luckily, Jing Ye went this morning.
Looking at Jingye's bowl of leafy green vegetables, Baili, who had just wanted to hold him accountable for being late, had completely forgiven him and even felt sorry for him once again.
Will the hardworking butler really not starve to death on this little bit of food?
Just as Bai Li was muttering to herself, she inadvertently caught a glimpse of Jing Ye's perfectly proportioned muscles hidden under his suit, and she reluctantly looked away.
You're overthinking it. No matter who else starves to death, he won't. He's got plenty of energy.
……
Since all the preparations for "The Craftsman" are progressing smoothly, Bai Li is relieved.
The conversation between the two shifted to a more "private" topic.
Although the case against Luo Shi had ended two months ago, Zhou Chengjing had already dealt with all those who were to fall from grace.
But for Bai Li, the danger lurking in the shadows has not actually been eliminated.
In this case, there is actually a crucial element that has not been resolved.
—"Sinking organization".
During the process of protecting Luonan, Ah Hu's men captured a person who was following Luonan.
Later, through questioning, it was learned that this person came from an organization called "underwater".
Bai Li is extremely concerned about this organization.
In the case of Luo, the underworld organization not only provided false evidence, but also acted as enforcers and cleanup crew.
It is understood that these organizations are very active in the gray market in China and have a very tight organizational structure and extremely professional business skills.
Unfortunately, the person they caught was just a low-level thug, and they couldn't get any useful information out of him.
But once caught, you can't just release him and let him go back and inform the organization.
But keeping them locked up like this isn't a solution.
Bai Li considers herself a model citizen and cannot do anything illegal or against the rules.
She originally intended to hand over the person who had gone astray to Zhou Chengjing while he was dealing with the Luo family case.
But after thinking about it, I gave up.
This is mainly because Zhou Chengjing's attitude towards the "underground organization" is very subtle.
As the person primarily responsible for handling the Luonan case, he must be very familiar with every step of the process and must have discovered traces of corruption.
But he only brought down a group of behemoths and ended the entire Luo family case. There was no investigation into the "underground" organization, let alone its dismantling.
The first possibility is that Zhou Chengjing is related to "going into the water".
The second possibility is that even he is unable to "go down into the water".
The last possibility is that Zhou Chengjing took over the Luo family's case simply to eliminate his political enemies, and he was too lazy to deal with the rest of the "dirty tricks."
Of the three possibilities, Bai Li is most inclined to the last one, but she dares not gamble.
This man is too mysterious.
Although he was an official, he exuded a strong bandit aura.
Even though he was pretending very well, Bai Li could still feel the burning sensation on her skin when she got close to him.
Perhaps it was a sixth sense from a small animal, but Zhou Chengjing was not someone he could contend with now.
Therefore, Bai Li did not hand over the person who went into the water to Zhou Chengjing, and never showed Zhou Chengjing that she understood "going into the water".
Even though Zhou Chengjing gave her a huge gift after the case was over, pulling her into his political party, Bai Li did not immediately hand over the hostages who had been taken into the water.
After several tests and confirming Zhou Chengjing's safety, Bai Li finally handed over the person who was "going into the water" to Zhou Chengjing.