Chapter 56 - Road Trip (3)

Instead of returning to the office, Long Jie and his team went to a restaurant to eat dinner and discuss more business matters.

Song Luli felt slightly awkward, remaining stiff and straight in her seat. She didn't know anyone well enough beside Long Jie, and they spoke with technical terms that she couldn't imagine herself grasping or engaging in any conversation.

She sipped from a glass of white wine when Miss Mao said, "From what I gather. Long Jie wouldn't marry any ordinary woman. May I ask what you do?"

Song Luli placed her wine glass down on the table; she glanced at the woman, smiling politely. "I am the Cheif Executive Officer of Song Entertainment," Song Luli said strikingly.

"Oh?" Miss Mao began, "I think I've heard of that company." She furrowed her brows, tapping her finger on her chin, trying to remember why it sounded familiar. Her expression held a smirk, almost as if Song Entertainment wasn't memorable enough.

"No," Miss Mao said. "I don't remember what Song Entertainment does. But that's my fault; I don't pay attention to the entertainment industry as my line of work is engineering."

Song Luli gritted her teeth inwardly. She didn't care what position Miss Mao had, and what was with her trying to compete against her on which job was better? Song Luli was pissed. Women should stick together regardless of what occupations they had. Also, it didn't matter who worked where.

Song Luli could have easily told her that Song Entertainment was profiting well since she came into office and that it was going up into the ranks of the top companies in the industry. Soon enough, when all of her projects are out there, the name Song will be well known again. But she didn't want to stoop to her level.

All Song Luli did was raise her glass, take a sip, and said, "I am sure you excel in your profession, as I do in mine."

Miss Mao smiled briefly at her words, taking a sip of her glass as well.

Meanwhile, Long Jie wasn't aware of their inner hostility between them as he spoke to some of the men that worked for him. He glanced at Song Luli, realizing that she had stayed quiet for most of the evening. He slid his hand over hers underneath the table, squeezing gently.

Song Luli didn't look at him, but she squeezed his hand back.

The director of the Green Department then began to speak to Song Luli, "Mrs. Long, you must be proud of your husband for his achievements over the last few months," he said.

Song Luli grinned. She had seen him working hard from home, most of the time before bed. But she felt like she hadn't seen the inside of his work much at all.

"I am," Song Luli said.

"Yes, Director Xi. I was just telling Luli about our cellulosic biomass plan," Miss Mao said.

Song Luli inwardly chuckled darkly. She couldn't tell if this woman referring to her by first name was supposed to be friendly or an insult.

"Oh?" said the director with a genuine smile. He was an older man with a gentle and friendly face. "What do you think of it?" he asked Song Luli.

Song Luli was stunned. Miss Mao didn't tell Song Luli anything about the plans for the project, and she didn't know what to say.

"I...I couldn't quite grasp the semantics Miss Mao used to explain the project," Song Luli made up.

"Oh, it's all right," responded Miss Mao. "I understand that not many people from the Entertainment Industry could understand our work."

Song Luli slipped her hand from Long Jie, curling it into a fist. She felt somewhat humiliated.

The dinner continued until Song Luli, and Long Jie parted with all of them.

On the way back to the place they stayed in, Song Luli kept to herself. Indoors, she went straight to the bedroom, ahead of him, slumping on the bed with a pout. Long Jie followed in after.

Long Jie noticed she wasn't feeling herself. He stood next to the bed. "What's wrong?" he asked her.

Song Luli kept her pout. "Nothing," she answered him.

Long Jie heaved her up, but Song Luli kept slumping, unmotivated to move. He then knelt in front of her, watching the sombre defeat in her eyes. What happened? He wondered.

"Did something happen?" he questioned her worryingly.

Song Luli shook her head. She felt ridiculous for being upset over nothing. And she didn't want to tell him as she felt slightly embarrassed by her behaviour.

Long Jie sighed. He didn't want to force her to speak her mind, so he said, "There's an indoor pool."

Song Luli lifted her head with beaming eyes. "Really?" she asked him.

Long Jie smiled, "Mhm." He then offered her a hand, and she took it. They both washed up, dressing into swimwear, and heading down the stairs.

It was late, and others have already gone to sleep. The door was locked, but Long Jie found the key, and they both snuck in, closing it behind them. The pool was unoccupied, and there was no one around. The lights also dimmed and trying not to catch the attention of the other guests; they left it as is.

Song Luli dipped her feet, testing the water. It was lukewarm; therefore, she jumped in, fully submerging into the water. When she resurfaced, the water sleeked her hair straight.

She eyed Long Jie, who walked by the edge, outside of the pool. He then removed his shirt, pulling it over his auburn hair. He threw his shirt aside, and his black tattoo was stark against his skin. Song Luli couldn't pull her eyes away from him. Every time he was shirtless, some part of her was at a loss of breath, her senses tingled and seemed to awaken for him.

Long Jie dove into the pool, shaking her from her daze. But she still looked at him with awe.

He swam closer to her. "Are you okay?

"Yes," she breathed.

He was gentle; Song Luli suddenly remembered that this was the same man she met months ago physically, but he was different. He wasn't the same cold and aloof person she met before. He was warm despite the iciness she endured from years in the shadows.