If this is not love

Chapter 2 Proud (1)
The winter air was cold and fresh, and after a week of continuous sunshine, the sky began to show a gray mist again.As Christmas approaches, the shop windows in the streets and alleys are decorated with new decorations, and the festive atmosphere can be seen everywhere.

Ruxu parked her red car on the side of the road, grabbed the khaki canvas bag and carried it on her shoulder, and briskly walked into a bookstore.She is a lawyer, she is not going to work today, her attire is very different from her usual professional attire, she wears a ponytail, flat sneakers on her feet, no makeup on her face, she looks like a schoolgirl who just left school.

Half an hour later, she picked out a few newly-launched books and threw them on the cash register.

"Bill, how much is it?" Ruxu lowered her head and opened the cloth bag.

"One hundred and two yuan, thank you." The cashier folded four books and pushed them in front of her.

"Okay." The cloth bag was pulled away, hands groped inside for a while, eyes widened uncontrollably.Can't be so unlucky?Forgot to bring your wallet again?
"Miss? One hundred and two yuan." The cashier didn't notice the difference, and reminded politely again.

"That... I'm sorry, I won't buy this book for the time being." Ruxu pushed the book back in embarrassment, feeling very sorry, "I seem to have forgotten my wallet."

The cashier glanced up and down at her, when a deep and pleasant male voice came in: "Don't take it back, I'll pay for her."

Hearing the sound, Ruxu raised her head in surprise, her beautiful eyes shone unusually brightly: "Yichen, why are you here?"

Yichen was wearing a set of off-white casual clothes, and was holding two books in his hands, both of which were about music theory.He raised the book, smiled at her, and gracefully took out his wallet to pay the bill.His eyes fell on Ruru's book, and he couldn't help raising his eyebrows slightly: ""A New Type of Criminal Psychology", "Top Ten Unsolved Cases in the United States"... Do you often read these, and your heart becomes very sensitive and withdrawn?"

Ruxu happily put the book in her bag, raised her lips and said, "What do you think? We have known each other for ten years, is my heart sensitive and withdrawn?" She studied law at university, and has been working at Sunrise Law Firm since graduation. Working, dealing with various cases every day, often requires research on human psychology, constantly strengthening one's rigorous logical thinking ability, and improving professional quality.When she has nothing to do, reading some classic books is her favorite.

Yichen rubbed his chin: "It's okay! I thought girls would like fashion or gossip more. But to be honest, I almost didn't recognize your outfit today."

Ruxu looked down at her clothes and shoes, and flicked her ponytail: "Isn't that good? You and Xin Ning have always educated me tirelessly. Now that I finally decided to change, you should feel happy."

"Oh, yes, I'm very happy. Finally, you don't have to worry about you not getting married." Yichen took the book for her, with a gentle smile on his face.

"What are you talking about? You mean I won't be able to get married because of my usual attire?" Ruxu quickly caught up with him, and the two walked out of the bookstore side by side.There was a Starbucks next to them, and they went in and ordered a cup of coffee in a tacit understanding, picked a semicircular sofa seat in the corner, and read slowly with their books in their hands.

The sound of soft music echoed in Starbucks, and when Yichen was reading a book, his fingers moved lightly on the table involuntarily following the beat of the music.He is a well-known young pianist at home and abroad. When he hears a familiar tune, he will have an instinct, and the music cells lurking in his body will flow uncontrollably.

Ruzhen's gaze quietly shifted from the book to his fingers, such clean and beautiful fingers, well-proportioned and slender, a hand that was born to belong to a pianist... I don't remember when she started, but she was fascinated by everything about him.He has a handsome face, a noble and elegant temperament, a modest and gentle posture, and an artistic talent that is beyond the reach of ordinary people.It's a pity that when he shines on the stage like this, countless pairs of obsessive eyes follow him, and countless fans cheer for him wildly. She can only sit silently in a quiet corner and honor herself as his best friend who has not changed for many years. Quietly proud.

Such a persistent waiting will last for ten years.

He knows, but never responds.

She didn't beg for his response, she just hoped to have such an opportunity to wait forever.As the years passed silently, her buried emotions became more and more restrained, and her surface showed more and more indifference. In the end, even she herself began to think that the ten-year unrequited love complex for him had come to an end.

"Xin Ning and Shen Yitang have decided to remarry?" Yichen suddenly raised his head and said softly.

"No, although Xin Ning is willing to accept Shen Yitang's feelings again, marriage is still a scourge in her eyes, and she doesn't want to re-enter the siege for the time being." Ruhui clearly captured the flash of sadness in his eyes. In ten years, this Why didn't the man use the same state of mind to silently guard Xinning in an unknown corner?

He Xinning, she, Wang Yichen, was known as the "Three Musketeers" in high school, the kind that is invincible.Today, they have gone through great changes in their relationship, career and even family, but they still encourage and support each other, and they have a deep friendship.

Ruxu lowered her head, a faint smile appeared on the corners of her lips.If you have a confidant in life, what more can you ask for?And what she has is two.Even if in the current 28 years of life, there has not been a true love that belongs to her, there is nothing to complain about.

If Xin Ning is an angel who is always by her side, and Yichen is her prince, then there are angels and princes, how can there be no disgusting demons?
In Ruxu's life, there is such a demon, his name is Tan Shaojie.

The door of Starbucks was pushed open, and a man and a woman walked in together, attracting the attention of many people in the room.The man is tall and straight, dressed in expensive and fashionable clothes, the woman is tall and tall, the tight sweater is inlaid with shiny rhinestones, the leather shorts wrap her upturned buttocks, her slender white legs are looming in the black fishnet stockings, perfect The body shape stands out incisively and vividly.There is no need to describe her temperament, she looks like a celebrity.The combination of a handsome man and a beautiful woman always attracts the attention of the audience, not to mention that the girl is quickly recognized as a young model who has recently emerged. Recently, several magazines have invited her to be the cover character.Facing the envious gazes quietly cast from all around, the girl raised her chin proudly, and leaned closer to the man tenderly.This action can't help but make people full of curiosity. Apart from his handsome appearance, what other special identity does this man have?

"Jie, what would you like to drink?" the girl asked thoughtfully.

"Jamaica Blue Mountain." The man had a pair of dark and narrow eyes, with a faint light shining at the bottom of the eyes.He wrapped his arms around the girl's waist with his right hand, turned his face casually, and then his eyes fell on the corner, and he didn't look away anymore.

"There is no Blue Mountain here!" the girl said delicately.

"That's whatever you want." The man twitched his thin lips, with a hint of cynical evil at the corners of his mouth, adding a dangerous aura to his handsome face.

Ruxu was stunned, irritated by those hidden sharp eyes, immediately gave him a hard look, lowered her head and continued flipping through the book in her hand.She recently asked for a big vacation to rest at home for a week. Today is not the usual unlucky one. Even if she didn't bring a wallet, and the street is narrow, she would encounter this devil when she came out to buy a book and have a cup of coffee.There are so many Starbucks in Lingjiang City, why does he want to come to this one?

Tan Shaojie, her destined enemy, often takes pleasure in bullying her, but he is also the person in charge of her firm.Speaking of which, Tan Shaojie can be regarded as a wealthy second generation with a strong family background. His father Tan Mingxu was a judge, but later resigned and retired for unknown reasons, and set up a firm in the downtown area of ​​Lingjiang to take over some difficult cases.When Ruxu entered Rising Sun Office, she was a novice who didn't know the world. Tan's father trained several high-achieving apprentices himself, and Ruxu helped his high-achieving apprentices as assistants.

Over the past few years, Ruxuan has devoted herself to research, learned skills from teachers, worked tirelessly, with an open mind and prudence, and her professional standards have improved by leaps and bounds, becoming a very important sign of the firm.It's a pity that Tan's father, whom she admired, announced his retirement, and half a year ago, Tan Shaojie suddenly appeared as a young boss, and became her boss arrogantly.

Ruxu has never loathed and despised a person so much, and Tan Shaojie is the number one, the longer she gets along with him, the lower her evaluation of him will be.

"Let's go!" Not interested in reading, Ruxu drank the coffee in one gulp.

"What's the matter?" Yichen, who was sitting across from her, noticed her strangeness, turned his head to the side, and met Tan Shaojie's dark, dark eyes.Yichen suddenly understood, he hooked his lips and smiled, "Your enemy is here, no wonder you want to escape."

"Who wants to escape?" Ruxu immediately denied unconvinced, "I just lose my appetite when I see that person, which affects my mood."

Yichen smiled softer, turned a page of the book calmly, and said lightly: "For people you hate, you should learn to ignore them. If the other party makes you restless and impetuous, wouldn't you be treating yourself badly?" ?”

Ruxu grasped the pages of the book involuntarily with her fingers, and looked back coldly: "You are right, why should I be disturbed by that kind of person? In such a cold day, with so little clothes, she will freeze to death!"

When Yichen heard this, he looked at her with a smile on his face: "Let's be a girl who pleases me! However, it takes a lot of courage and perseverance to dress up like that in the cold winter. We should admire her."

No matter how it sounds, Yichen is reasonable, Ruxu pursed her lips tightly, stared straight at the words on the page, and nodded expressionlessly: "Well, I admire, I really admire."

Yichen took the time to close the book, crossed his legs, and began to stare at her intently.He seldom saw her like this, she was so cute like never before. He glanced at Tan Shaojie again, and said indifferently: "Don't worry about my female companion getting sick and catching a cold, it seems that the relationship between Tan Shaojie and Maria is not very good!"

"Maria? You know her too?"

"Here." Yichen casually pulled out a fashion magazine from the newspaper rack next to the seat, and the figure with flaming red lips on the cover was the woman next to Tan Shaojie.

"I thought you really knew each other! I know this Maria, last time she came to the office to look for someone surnamed Tan." The proud figure once became a hot topic of conversation among all the colleagues in the office.

"The one surnamed Tan is quite capable." Yichen sighed sincerely, without the slightest hint of envy or ridicule.

Ruxu immediately interjected contemptuously: "Tsk! He has the same ability of idleness and flirtatiousness. The office belongs to his father, and some supermodels, big and small, Shuyuan look at him except for his stinky skin, at most his mother and his wife." Huanyu's relationship. The old chairman of Huanyu Group is his grandfather."

"Oh? So there is such a relationship, no wonder." Yichen smiled knowingly.

"Anyway, I found out that rich families are full of right and wrong, and their family relationship is very complicated. Let's not talk about this person, it's bad luck." Ruxu moved her position, sat sideways, and turned her face out of the window.

In front of the service counter, the coffee was ordered, Tan Shaojie said "bring it here", and he walked straight to the corner, which happened to be the seat back to back with Ruxu.He raised one arm idly, took out the phone from his pocket, and pressed his fingers quickly.What is surprising is that Maria stomped her feet coquettishly, but took the initiative to pick up the coffee tray and follow behind him.

"Jie, do you want something to drink? I'll go get some more." The voice was very low, and the soft attitude was almost flattering.

"No need." Tan Shaojie responded indifferently, and continued to send him text messages.

"Then why don't you try this latte first! It tastes good and the texture is just right." A steaming cup of latte was brought to him.

"You can drink as much as you like. You don't need to be so courteous on purpose." The corner of the young master's eyes was not raised, and there was an inexplicable gloomy expression on his face. Maria had no pride and confidence in front of him.She didn't understand why the man was so fickle. He was fine just now, and he proposed to drink coffee, but as soon as he entered the store, his whole body suddenly revealed an unapproachable anger, as if someone had offended him.

Ruxu couldn't hear Maria's answer, but the phone in the bag beeped twice, and there was a new text message.She took it out and looked, her expression was slightly stiff, and she subconsciously narrowed her eyes.The content of the text message is as follows - "So you asked for leave to go shopping and drink tea with a man! Wang Ruxu, I decided to cancel your vacation and come back to start work tomorrow!" No signature needed, the sender was Tan XX behind the scenes.

Ruxu pursed her lips, and replied quickly and neatly, expressing her wishes in a very brief way - "No!"

Tan Shaojie's brows became more gloomy, and after a while, the beep sounded again.
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"You are not allowed to say no in front of your boss!"

Ruxu gritted her teeth and dared to threaten her?She replied with another word neatly - "Bah!"

Tan Shaojie stared at this word for several seconds. He didn't listen to what Maria said, and pressed his fingers--"Okay, you asked for it! Come to my place on time to start work at five o'clock this afternoon."
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"No!" Want to repeat the old tricks to punish her?She can't die, what can he do? ——
"You can try the consequences if you don't come, don't regret it!" Tan did not hesitate to issue threats, and did not mind resorting to extreme measures. Anyway, "Tan Shaojie" is not a good person in her heart, and he does not need to take into account the perfect image of a gentleman.
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"Bah!" Responding to all kinds of changes without changing, Ruxu felt that this word could express her contempt and anger too much.
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"Five o'clock in the afternoon! Do you hear that?" The tone was strong.
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"..." Well, it's over if she doesn't answer, right?I have never seen such an unreasonable person. The good mood of the vacation has been completely destroyed by him until this moment.
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"Wang Ruxu!"

Is her name so good?Seeing her own name on the small screen of the mobile phone, Ruxu frowned.She refrained from turning her head to accuse someone directly, but took a deep breath secretly, and turned off the phone calmly.Looking up at Shang Yichen's deep and bright black pupils, he shrunk a bit, pretending to smile casually: "Spam text messages, there are so many boring people lately."

Hearing this, Tan Shaojie tightened his jaw immediately, and the corners of his eyes twitched continuously.Okay, he bears it, this woman is firm and aggressive, but he doesn't believe that he can't handle her!

Didi——"Wang Ruxu, I'll give you a chance, come here and admit my mistake!"

It's a pity, a pity, he didn't see that Ruxu had shut down the phone, half a minute later, what he got was disappointment and anger.

Ruxuan changed her state, while drinking coffee, she chatted softly with Yichen, as if she was not disturbed by text messages at all, and her phone was put back in her bag.Yichen has a delicate mind, and pretends to be ignorant when he sees the clues. He has heard from Xinning that the grievances between Ruxu and Tan Shao are quite deep, but based on what he saw with his own eyes at this moment, he also feels that Tan Shao is not suitable for her. Development is unlikely.

There was a calm smile on Ruxu's face, and an invisible string was tensed on her body, always paying attention to the movement of the man and woman behind her.She didn't want to see Tan Shaojie, because there was an unextinguished flame in her chest, which was left over from last weekend.That night, Tan Shaojie was forced to take him back to his residence. In the cold winter of the twelfth lunar month, she was forced to stay up all night to sort out the case, but he was lying on the big bed next to him, sound asleep.In the early morning of the next day, she fell asleep on his desk, but he was fine. When he woke up, he didn't even give her a glass of water, and drove her away because he had an important date.There is no trace of gentlemanly demeanor and gentleman's etiquette in this person. Ruxu no longer doubts how cruel his heart is under his cynical appearance. He makes things difficult for her like a devil, and his love for other women is not the greatest. the ruthless?

Maria is a living example.

"Jie, why don't you answer me? Are you texting someone?"

"Don't make noise." First Young Master Tan finally answered her coldly.

"Who are you texting with? Do I know him?" Maria ignored his coldness and leaned over with a smile on her face.

"Never mind your business!" Tan Shaojie refused without thinking.

"Jie..." Beauty is rarely treated like this, and she is a little bit unwilling.

"Don't forget, I only promised you one hour, and it's still three minutes away. If you have something to say, hurry up and don't waste my time." Tan Shaojie grabbed the phone tightly, with a strong urge to grab Wang Ruxu behind him .He is her boss, even if he met outside the office, he should not pretend not to know him.And the man who was chatting with her, he knew, Wang Yichen, who was praised by the government as a young talent in Lingjiang City, was the object of her infatuated crush.As soon as he entered the door of the cafe, he saw them sitting in the corner.Although they were just flipping through the books in their hands, the natural tacit understanding between the two of them made people feel uncomfortable!

Are they in love?

This is the question Tan Shaojie wants to know the most!Would someone like her fierce and tough character?He clearly remembered the terrible consequences of pursuing her male classmate in the first year of high school, and even since then he has been extremely impressed with her and paid special attention to her.

"3 minutes... But Jie, I haven't started talking about what I'm asking you to do!" Maria's words pulled him back from his thoughts.

"You are wasting your time. You agreed for an hour. What are you doing in the first 57 minutes? Let me watch jewelry with you, pick out clothes, Miss Maria, I highly doubt whether what you want to say is really that important !" Tan Shaojie angrily threw the phone on the table, making a "pop" sound.

Maria flinched, quickly grabbed his hand, and said coquettishly, "Jie... I was wrong. Just give me a little more time! Can I have half an hour?"

Tan Shaojie pulled her hand away impatiently: "No."

A lot of eyes around them looked at them quietly. After all, Maria is a recently famous model, and he repeatedly rejected him mercilessly, and couldn't hold back.She flicked her charming big waves, letting Ruyun's hair cover her face that was about to become stiff: "Jie, people around are looking at us! How can I say that I was introduced by Aunt Nian, you can tell me Save some face and don't let others see my jokes."

Tan Shaojie sat upright, his stern facial features were like ice sculptures, his eyes were cold, and his thin lips parted in a mocking arc: "If it wasn't for that woman who introduced you, do you think I would tolerate you for an hour? Well, there is only one last 1 minute, I think it is impossible for you to say anything, why not let me make a summary."

So they are not the so-called relationship between men and women? Maria was so humble to him, did she ask for something?

Ruxu and Yichen looked at each other silently, and both paid attention to the story behind it.

"Miss Maria, you said that someone secretly took a nude photo of you in the shower, and the other party blackmailed you. You were very nervous and scared. The photo was spread on the Internet. You felt very ashamed and ashamed. The police arrested the suspect. You hope I can Come forward and sue him for you. However, in the 59 minutes and 20 seconds I spent with you just now, I didn't feel any nervousness or fear from you, let alone any shame or shame."

"Jay... no!"

(End of this chapter)