Chapter 46 - Break Up

By noon, as Ye Fan and Lu Xiaoman headed to the group’s dining hall for lunch, they clearly noticed colleagues whispering and gesturing at them along the way.

When they arrived at the cafeteria, got their food, and sat down, they found even more people casting glances at them now and then.

There was no need to guess; the news about He Jiaqiang’s attempt to drug and take advantage of a female colleague last night had definitely spread.

Li Zhaojun entered the cafeteria to eat, and couldn’t help but scan the room, only to see Ye Fan and Lu Xiaoman sitting close together, eating intimately.

After she entered the small dining room exclusively for the group’s higher-ups, she found herself involuntarily peering through the glass at Ye Fan and Lu Xiaoman several more times, seeing them laughing and chatting.

It made her feel sick to her stomach.

At the same time, she noticed that the employees dining in the cafeteria were also looking up at Ye Fan and Lu Xiaoman from time to time, seemingly discussing something.

Upon seeing this, her beautiful brows furrowed.

Sitting beside her, her secretary Wang Siyan noticed Li Zhaojun’s furrowed brows and distant gaze.

Curious, Wang followed Li’s line of sight and saw Ye Fan and Lu Xiaoman.

When Li Zhaojun noticed Wang Siyan was also looking, she diverted her attention and concentrated on her meal.

Wang Siyan also looked away and whispered, “Director Li, did you hear about what happened in the HR department last night?

I didn’t expect He Jiaqiang to be so vile.

But, on the other hand, Lu Xiaoman is quite lucky.

It’s said she was already drugged and unconscious, taken to a hotel, but Ye Fan arrived just in time to rescue her.”

“Uh-huh,” Li Zhaojun replied noncommittally while focused on her meal, her stunning face not revealing any emotion.

Despite Li Zhaojun’s indifferent response, Wang Siyan, being a woman tinged with a love for gossip, continued, “With his heroic act last night, Ye Fan might have landed himself a swan, despite being a toad.

It’s just a pity that Lu Xiaoman, as beautiful as she is, should have been able to find a man with status and position.”

Last time she went to the HR department to summon Ye Fan to the Chairman’s office, he had given her a cold look, so naturally, she didn’t have a good impression of him.

She was continuing her gossip when she suddenly felt two icy stares fixed on her.

Lifting her head, she met Li Zhaojun’s stern and majestic eyes and could clearly see her displeasure.

She felt a chill down her spine and began sweating profusely on the back of her neck.

Her heart skipped a beat, and she suddenly remembered that Li Zhaojun had met with Ye Fan alone yesterday.

Could it be that Ye Fan was some relative of Director Li?

At that thought, she wished she could slap herself.

“Director Li, I…” she offered an obsequious, wretchedly unattractive smile.

Li Zhaojun withdrew her gaze, speaking indifferently, “It’s impolite to speak about others behind their backs.

Please be mindful in the future.” With that, she bowed her head and continued her meal.

“Yes, yes, I’ll definitely change, definitely change,” Wang Siyan hurriedly admitted her fault, not daring to speak out of turn again.

That afternoon, Lu Xiaoman took leave to visit the First Affiliated Hospital of Hua Hai University to get an appointment with specialist Liang Qingdong, and Ye Fan took leave as well.

His second-hand Alto had either been towed away by the police or by traffic enforcement, and it was also badly wrecked in the accident.

The towing and repair costs would probably exceed what he had originally paid for the car, so Ye Fan decided to buy another one from a used car dealership.

After browsing the used car lot for over an hour, Ye Fan spent fifty thousand yuan to buy a Citroën sedan that had a mileage of fifty thousand kilometers, a 1.4L engine, and looked about sixty to seventy percent new on the outside.

“Ha ha, I’ve traded my old musket for a cannon, now driving a foreign brand.”

While he was handling the vehicle transfer paperwork, Lu Xiaoman called him.

“Ye Fan, my mom got Liang Qingdong’s specialist appointment,” Lu Xiaoman’s excited and happy voice came through the phone, “We can see the specialist tomorrow morning!

Ye Fan, thank you, I really can’t thank you enough!”

Ye Fan smiled and said, “Hmm, don’t mention it.

Is it enough for the treatment?

I still have some severance pay left.

I don’t need it anyway, so I can lend it to you first.”

“No, no need.” Lu Xiaoman immediately refused, “Thank you for your kindness, but really, there’s no need.”

Although she had received many favors from Ye Fan, she didn’t want to have a financial relationship with him under any circumstances.

She would rather take out a loan or shamelessly borrow from relatives and friends.

That was her bottom line in her interactions with Ye Fan, and she was determined to maintain it.

“Alright then.” Ye Fan said, “If it’s really not enough, come to me at any time.”

“Okay, got it.” Lu Xiaoman said, “I have to take my mom home now, so I’ll hang up.”

“Sure, bye-bye.”

After hanging up, Ye Fan searched for Tantai Wanrong’s mobile number and called her to tell her that his friend had gotten an appointment with the specialist and to express his gratitude.

Tantai Wanrong’s voice was smooth and elegant as she responded, her voice sweet and flirtatious, “Xiaofan, remember to come visit Auntie Rong this weekend, okay?”

“Hehe, got it.” Ye Fan responded with a laugh.

It was only right to visit and thank her in person since she had helped him out.

The next day at work, Ye Fan saw Lu Xiaoman and noticed she was in a great mood, looking radiant and smiling with her eyes and mouth, presumably because she finally had hope for curing her mother’s breast cancer and was filled with beautiful aspirations for the future.

“Ye Fan, thank you.” Lu Xiaoman said gratefully.

Ye Fan quickly waved his hand and said, “You’ve said that too many times; it’s starting to annoy me.”

Lu Xiaoman covered her mouth and laughed, “Okay, then I’ll say it less in the future.”

“Hehe, that’s more like it.

All this thanking back and forth, it’s so boring.” Ye Fan laughed.

Lu Xiaoman asked curiously, “Ye Fan, how did you find a connection to get my mother an appointment with Liang Qingdong?”

“Oh— that.

Actually, a few days ago, I just happened to meet a friend who said she works in a government office, so I asked her for a favor, and it turned out to be effective,” Ye Fan explained.

Lu Xiaoman said, “Oh, I see.

Please thank your friend for me.”

“Hehe, sure.

Actually, it was no big deal; for her, it was just a simple gesture,” Ye Fan said.

At lunch, Ye Fan and Lu Xiaoman naturally sat together, chatting and enjoying their meal.

All of this was noticed by Li Zhaojun.

At four o’clock in the afternoon, Ye Fan was holding a transfer order in Cao Guoqiang’s office.

“Ye Fan, I’m sorry, you’ve been transferred to the Administration Department.

You’ll report to the Administration Department next Monday,” Cao Guoqiang said somewhat apologetically.

Ye Fan frowned and asked, “Why?

Is it Lu Yuansheng pulling strings behind the scenes?”

He didn’t want to leave the HR department, being able to share an office with the beauty Lu Xiaoman, tease her when he was bored, sneak some flirtatious moments — what a pleasant life.

“It wasn’t him,” Cao Guoqiang said, “It’s the chairman’s decision.

Probably because what happened two nights ago caused a great stir in the group, and Director Li, in order to quickly defuse the negative impact, had to separate you and Lu Xiaoman so that you wouldn’t be together all the time, constantly reminding the group’s people of the incident that night.”

Exiting Cao Guoqiang’s office, Ye Fan didn’t go back to his own office, but went straight to Li Zhaojun’s office.