Substitute Bride to the Crippled Billionaire

Chapter 168: Chapter 168: The New Colleague

Su Qingnuan mentioned the tea room, and then she heard the sound of the door opening behind her.

"Hmm?" Su Qingnuan asked in confusion, "How did you get here so quickly?"

Gu Xiaoxiao rubbed her eyes as she walked in, sighing helplessly, "Didn’t I just get your call and learn you were bringing me breakfast? So I rushed over quickly."

"Perfect timing." Su Qingnuan chuckled lightly, "Come over and eat first."

"Alright."

Gu Xiaoxiao sat down and watched Su Qingnuan bustling around, remarking emotionally, "It’s been ages since we had breakfast together like this."

Her arm paused slightly, and after a while, Su Qingnuan smiled faintly, "You’re not a little kid anymore. Are you still trying to cling on to me?"

"Of course not." Gu Xiaoxiao held her face in both hands and sighed helplessly, "I just feel like living alone in the dorm is awfully lonely."

".....Didn’t the school assign you a roommate?"

Gu Xiaoxiao shook her head, "No."

"What about our classmates? Didn’t anyone ask you to hang out?" Su Qingnuan continued to ask.

Gu Xiaoxiao sighed, "Don’t even mention it. Ever since we started interning here, no one from our class bothers with me anymore. I know they’re just jealous and envious!"

Well, at least she has an open mind.

Su Qingnuan chuckled softly and placed the bowl of porridge in front of Gu Xiaoxiao, "Since you know they’re jealous and envious, why bother worrying about it? Come on, stop fretting and eat."

"...I know you’re right, but it still stings a little."

"Alright, alright, eat something, and you’ll feel better."

Taking the bun Su Qingnuan handed over, Gu Xiaoxiao let out a long breath, "Look at this; even my favorite bun can’t pique my interest anymore."

With that, she took a fierce bite.

Watching her aggrieved expression, Su Qingnuan couldn’t help but laugh.

The two quietly ate their food in the tea room.

Listening to Gu Xiaoxiao’s complaints about dorm life, Su Qingnuan’s thoughts unexpectedly drifted back to their days at school.

"Bang—"

A sudden loud noise interrupted their conversation.

Both turned around at the same time to look at the door.

The trembling door slowly opened from the outside.

A woman in a petite blazer stepped inside.

Meeting the gaze of the two, the woman paused for a moment before quickly recovering and saying with a smile, "Sorry, I didn’t realize there was someone inside."

"It’s okay!" Su Qingnuan immediately put down her chopsticks and stood up, "We’re done eating. Feel free to come in."

The woman glanced at her briefly, nodded slightly, and walked further in. noveldrama

Gu Xiaoxiao hurriedly swallowed the rest of the bun and went to open all the windows.

"There’s still half an hour before work starts; the smell should dissipate by then," Gu Xiaoxiao muttered.

Su Qingnuan nodded and started packing up the container, mindful to bring it back later.

As she packed, the woman by the table suddenly stopped walking and stared intently at the box in Su Qingnuan’s hand.

Noticing her focused gaze, Su Qingnuan asked, puzzled, "Hello? Is there a problem?"

The woman glanced at her and chuckled, "You’re using this box for food?"

"...Yes," Su Qingnuan said, looking at the box in her hands and smiling, "This box is something my family uses. I’m not sure where it was bought, but if you’re interested, I could ask them..."

"No need." The woman interrupted her, smiling meaningfully, "It’s just a bit extravagant, that’s all. A genuine red sandalwood food container like this, you’d rarely find one so intact in the market nowadays."

"....."

As the woman left, Gu Xiaoxiao turned her head and studied the box in Su Qingnuan’s hand.

Su Qingnuan also set the box down on the table and examined it carefully.

"Do you see anything special about it?" Su Qingnuan asked.

Gu Xiaoxiao shook her head, pondering, "I can’t tell."

"...Neither can I."

Although they couldn’t figure out its value, based on the woman’s gaze earlier, it was likely quite expensive.

"That’s so typical of the Fu family—using red sandalwood even for food containers," Gu Xiaoxiao said with amazement.

Hearing her teasing tone, Su Qingnuan couldn’t help but laugh, "Then I’d better hurry up and put it away, or if someone else recognizes it, I won’t know how to explain."

"Exactly."

Under Gu Xiaoxiao’s urging, Su Qingnuan packed up the box and returned to her seat.

As they sat down, people gradually began arriving in the office.

Someone went to the tea room and came out with a puzzled look, muttering loud enough to be overheard.

"Why does the tea room smell like buns?"

"Probably someone eating in there. What’s the big deal? Move along; you still haven’t finished yesterday’s work."

"True...."

The culprits, Su Qingnuan and Gu Xiaoxiao, lowered their heads and pretended to know nothing.

By the time work officially started, the office had mostly filled up, with everyone focusing on their own tasks.

At that moment, the department head entered the office accompanied by someone.

"Clap clap clap—"

The sound of clapping rang out, and everyone turned toward the department head.

"Put aside your work for a moment and listen up," said the department head, pointing to the beautiful woman beside him with a smile, "This lady here is officially joining us. Meet Jiang Yuan. Everyone, make sure to get acquainted."

Jiang Yuan’s previous office had been next door, the one closest to the department head’s private office, while this larger office was for junior staff.

The department head bringing her here had people speculating about his intentions.

Though varied thoughts swirled in everyone’s minds, they welcomed Jiang Yuan enthusiastically.

"Hello, everyone." Jiang Yuan greeted warmly, "I’m sure you’re somewhat familiar with me already, so I won’t make any repetitive introductions. I look forward to working well with you all."

Poised and confident, her smile was impeccable.

No wonder she lived up to her reputation as "the legendary Jiang Yuan."

After saying a few more words, the department head left.

Su Qingnuan watched Jiang Yuan moving seamlessly through the crowd, deep in thought.

So this was the person whose work ID she’d found the previous evening—Jiang Yuan.

Perhaps Su Qingnuan’s gaze lingered too long, catching Jiang Yuan’s attention. Jiang Yuan turned toward her abruptly and locked eyes.

Her gaze was gentle and non-confrontational, landing lightly on Su Qingnuan.

Momentarily stunned, Su Qingnuan quickly smiled and nodded.

Jiang Yuan returned the smile with a slight nod.

As she shifted her focus, Su Qingnuan mused silently, Jiang Yuan doesn’t seem too bad after all...

Returning to her work, Su Qingnuan set aside distractions and focused.

Later, when she finished her task, she stretched lazily and looked up.

Right then, she saw Manager Huang walking in.

Manager Huang’s gaze landed squarely on Su Qingnuan. No need to guess—he was looking for her.

Su Qingnuan quickly stood up and jogged over.

"Manager Huang." Su Qingnuan greeted him with a smile, "Were you looking for me?"

Manager Huang smiled and shook his head, "It’s not me looking for you."

Not him....

Then it must be someone else.

She glanced down at her watch—it was nearly lunchtime. Going up now... would she miss lunch?

Seeing her glance at the time and her face cloud over with concern, Manager Huang chuckled, "I noticed Ah Qi brought a food container along, and the portions looked quite generous."

"...Well, alright then."