Chapter 183 First Meeting (Part 2)

Chapter 183: Chapter 154: First Meeting (Part 2)

Jiang Jingshi and Pan Lin returned to the car. Pan Lin recalled how President Jiang had barely eaten at lunch; several dishes had been cleared away after only a few bites.

What’s more, President Jiang had even prepared the personal dining room at the company herself.

Clearly, President Jiang had intended to cook for President Lin personally. But in the end... President Lin had gone to watch Jiang Xueli’s shoot instead of returning.

Sitting in the passenger seat, Pan Lin turned around. "President Jiang, should I get you something to eat after the meeting? I don’t think you ate your fill at lunch."

Jiang Jingshi gazed out the window, then glanced at Pan Lin. "I’m not very hungry right now. Let’s talk after the meeting back at the office."

"Okay."

The words were barely out of her mouth when Jiang Jingshi suddenly had an idea. "Wait. After the meeting, go buy me a cup of instant noodles. I’ll eat it in the car."

Pan Lin nodded quickly. "Of course, President Jiang."

The Rolls-Royce made its way to the Jiang Group. Pan Lin accompanied Jiang Jingshi upstairs, and they finished the meeting.

It was over an hour later when they returned to the car.

Jiang Jingshi came back downstairs and returned to the car. Pan Lin, meanwhile, had already had someone buy the instant noodles during the meeting—it was a certain brand’s braised beef noodles.

President Jiang had always preferred this specific flavor.

Before, she would usually only have one every few months. Recently, however, she had been eating them far more frequently—it was now a weekly affair, one cup per week.

A long time ago, a curious Pan Lin had asked Jiang Jingshi, "President Jiang, what’s so great about instant noodles? I notice you buy a cup to eat every now and then."

Back then, Jiang Jingshi’s explanation was, "They taste pretty good, and I’ve been eating them since I was a kid, so it’s become a habit. I just buy a cup every now and then."

Pan Lin hadn’t fully understood at the time. But a little over a month ago, she finally realized why Jiang Jingshi, the president of the Jiang Group and a woman worth tens of millions, was so fond of such a common convenience food.

Now, Pan Lin sat in the passenger seat while Jiang Jingshi sat primly in the back of the Rolls-Royce. There was a thermos of hot water in the car. She unwrapped the noodle cup herself.

She sprinkled in half of the seasoning packet, along with all of the dehydrated vegetable and sauce packets.

As she poured in the hot water, the steaming noodles immediately began to release their fragrant aroma.

Jiang Jingshi poked the fork through the paper lid, sealing in the heat.

She set the cup aside to steep, beginning the long five-minute wait.

During those five minutes, the world was exceptionally quiet. Neither the driver nor Pan Lin dared to break the silence.

Jiang Jingshi stared at the thin wisps of steam escaping from the cracks in the lid. ’It was just like this back then, during my childhood,’ she thought.

Without realizing it, her thoughts drifted back to a particular moment in time.

The year she first met him, she was eight years old and in the second grade.

The Jiang Family was in a period of rapid growth, and the Jiang Group had not yet been formally established. One day, eight-year-old Jingshi got a stomachache in class from something she ate and had to be excused from school.

Her parents were too busy with business to come, but as it happened, her aunt was a teacher at a nearby kindergarten. So, her aunt went to pick Jingshi up.

They went to the hospital, where a doctor examined her and said it was nothing serious, simply prescribing some medicine for Jingshi.

"It doesn’t hurt so much now, does it, little one?"

Even as a child, Jingshi wore a ponytail, and her gentle, almond-shaped eyes were already taking shape. Holding her aunt’s hand, she nodded. "Yeah. I just went to the bathroom, and it doesn’t hurt as much."

"I’ll prescribe some medication. Take two pills and see if the pain returns this afternoon. If the diarrhea continues, come back."

Her aunt agreed and bought the medicine for Jingshi.

Since Jingshi’s aunt had only taken a temporary leave of absence, she called her supervisor to explain the situation and then took Jingshi back with her to the kindergarten.

She instructed Jingshi, "Jingshi, once we get to the kindergarten, you stay in my office. Don’t go running around, understand? When I finish work this afternoon, your mom will come pick you up."

Jingshi nodded. "I know, Auntie."

As a child, Jingshi was very well-behaved and almost never caused trouble for the adults around her.

She followed her aunt back to the kindergarten and into her office.

The other teachers in the office also took a liking to Jingshi, complimenting her on how pretty she was and asking her what school she went to, what her name was, and things like that.

Just then, someone handed a list to Jingshi’s aunt. "Hey, this is for the kids in your class. Is the Lin Zhengran in your class really this good? Other kids his age are just playing, but he already knows arithmetic."

Jingshi’s aunt thought of the boy in her class. ’That child was always special,’ she mused. ’He doesn’t quite fit in with the other children, but whether it’s learning music or playing games with basic addition and subtraction, he’s always the best.’

"There are always a few special ones every year, I suppose."

She took the list and reminded Jingshi one more time, "Jingshi, Auntie is going to teach her class now. You be good and stay here in the office, okay? If your stomach starts hurting and you need the restroom, I just showed you where it was, didn’t I? You remember?"

Jingshi nodded obediently. "I remember, Auntie. Out the door and to the right."

Her aunt patted Jingshi’s head. "Such a good girl, Jingshi. Alright, Auntie’s off to class."

After her aunt left the office, Jingshi quietly found a place to sit and remained there, perfectly still.

The very picture of obedience.

It wasn’t until a sudden, uncomfortable twinge in her stomach that she finally stood up, clutched her belly, and headed for the girls’ restroom.

After relieving herself, she heaved a deep sigh of relief.

Before long, the kindergarten’s dismissal bell rang. Jingshi figured she should probably leave the restroom; otherwise, it would soon be swarmed with all the younger children.