Hearing Lu Yan's answer, Jiang Zhou was silent for a moment first, and then gave Ning Anmiao a meaningful look.
"I just heard Miao Miao say that you two are in the cooling - off period for divorce."
Jiang Zhou was calm and composed. His elegant and amiable face showed no emotion at all. "Are you two dating during the cooling - off period?"
Ning Anmiao blushed involuntarily. She was just about to defend herself when suddenly there was a stronger force on her shoulder, preventing her from speaking.
"Mr. Jiang, this is our family matter." Lu Yan's big hand casually patted Ning Anmiao's shoulder as if nothing had happened. "It's getting late. Don't you want to go home?"
"Happy birthday. Goodbye." Lu Yan hardly gave Ning Anmiao any chance to react. He clasped the back of her neck with his big hand and almost half - forced her into the car parked by the roadside.
Jiang Zhou watched them get into the car half - heartedly and still stood there.
After getting into the car, Ning Anmiao immediately rolled down the window and waved to Jiang Zhou outside. "Brother Jiang Zhou, see you next time if we have a chance!"
Jiang Zhou gave her a faint smile and nodded. "You're always welcome."
The word "brother" made Lu Yan extremely annoyed. He said coldly to the driver, "Drive."
As the car started moving, seeing that Ning Anmiao was still looking out of the window, he raised his eyebrows unhappily. "Are you still reluctant to part with him?" His calm and cold tone was tinged with a hint of jealousy.
Ning Anmiao pouted and ignored him. "I originally planned to have dinner with Brother Jiang Zhou. You've ruined it."
The constant repetition of the word "brother" made Lu Yan's temples throb. He raised his hand and rubbed his temples. "Don't call him that anymore."
"Call what?" She looked confused and didn't understand what Lu Yan was suddenly talking about.
Lu Yan was filled with anger, and there was a hint of sharpness in his eyes. "Don't call other men 'brother'. It's too ambiguous."
He tried hard to control his emotions, and his voice was as steady as ever, but the impatience was still revealed.
Ning Anmiao was stunned for a moment and then realized that he was jealous of Jiang Zhou. She said in surprise, "He's not just someone else. He's Brother Jiang Zhou..."
Before she could finish, the man's sharp eyes shot at her, forcing her to swallow the rest of the words.
"Except for your man, all other men are just others."
Lu Yan's tone was domineering and didn't give her a chance to defend herself. "If you insist on calling him that, I'll do whatever I want, and you won't be able to stop me."
Ning Anmiao blinked. "But I've always called him like this since I was a kid. Brother Jiang Zhou and I... Mmm..."
The involuntary address made Lu Yan's eyes suddenly darken. Without any hesitation, he raised his hand and clasped the back of her head, then kissed her forcefully!
Ning Anmiao's face turned bright red with shame. She pushed him away desperately. "What are you doing!"
The driver kept his eyes on his own business and silently lowered the retractable partition between the front and back seats.
Ning Anmiao: …
She was both ashamed and angry. Since the partition only blocked the view but not the sound, she whispered, "What are you crazy about?"
Lu Yan's voice was deep. "If I hear you call Jiang Zhou such an intimate name again, this will be the punishment."
He paused for a moment and then calmly added, "No matter when or where, maybe next time it will be right in front of Jiang Zhou."
"… I know." Ning Anmiao knew that Lu Yan would do what he said.
He always kept his promises.
Seeing her obediently agree, Lu Yan slightly curled his lips, and there was a hint of a smile in his deep voice. "Good girl."
"…"
Ning Anmiao checked the time. Only one - third of the normal auction time had passed, but he had rushed out so quickly.
Was the item he wanted to buy very early in the list?
Ning Anmiao was curious and asked her question. "What did you buy at the auction just now? Why did you come out so early?"
Lu Yan turned his head and his eyes landed on her face. "How do you know I bought something?"
His voice was magnetic. His emotions were much more stable than before, and his voice was slow and lazy.
Ning Anmiao pursed her lips. "I just guessed." Compared to explaining this, she was more curious about what Lu Yan had bought. "What is it? Let me have a look."
"Not for you to see. It's a gift for someone." Lu Yan answered quickly. He deliberately avoided looking at her, silently withdrew his gaze, and began to close his eyes to rest.
Such a show - off!
Ning Anmiao rolled her eyes in her heart. She said "Oh" and deliberately pretended not to care. "I'm not interested at all. Whether you show it to me or not is up to you."
"If you're not interested, why did you ask?" Lu Yan closed his eyes and replied indifferently, hitting the nail on the head with every word.
He completely extinguished her last bit of curiosity.
Ning Anmiao: …
She wanted to punch this hypocritical man in the face, but fortunately, she managed to hold back the impulse.
Ning Anmiao took several deep breaths to calm herself down.
It would be okay when they got back. She would immediately throw herself into work and stay away from this annoying boss. She didn't want to spend another second with him!
Lu Yan didn't really close his eyes. Through the slit of his eyes, he observed the angry look on the little girl's face.
He curled his lips inadvertently.
The little girl was so easy to deceive. The angrier she was now, the happier she would be later.
He learned this from the Internet.
---
Ning Anmiao noticed that the car was not driving towards home. It seemed to be heading towards the suburbs.
"Where are we going?" Ning Anmiao couldn't hold back and took the initiative to be nice to Lu Yan. "It seems we're in the suburbs."
The desolate place made Ning Anmiao instinctively feel uneasy.
Only then did Lu Yan slowly open his eyes. He looked at the environment outside and said in a reserved voice, "Xinghe bought a newly - developed piece of land here last quarter and plans to turn it into a film and television city."
"I'm here to inspect it today."
Hearing this, Ning Anmiao frowned even deeper. "Why did you bring me here when you're here for an inspection?"
Unlike Lu Yan, who could delegate some non - crucial tasks to his subordinates, she had to draw every stroke of her design drafts herself.
"To take you out to relax." Lu Yan pursed his thin lips. "Didn't you say your head hurt in the venue just now?"
"About one - third of the project here is almost completed. There aren't many people, and it's very quiet." He asked indifferently, "Don't you want to go?"
It seemed that he was really thinking about her.
"… I can go and have a look." Ning Anmiao nodded. She thought that since they were already here, it wouldn't hurt to take a look.
Moreover, as Lu Yan had mentioned, this place was going to be turned into a film and television city. Maybe it would be a great filming location in the future.
Xinghe Capital had never made a losing investment.
"Okay, then I'll take you to have a look." Lu Yan lowered his head and checked the time. "There's a river nearby. There will be lights at night."
The implication was that it would be very beautiful there and suitable for a date.