Even though Pei Shiyi had helped her a great deal, Jing Meng could clearly sense his wariness during their time together over the past few days. While she didn't know why his attitude had changed so suddenly, she didn't like suspicion, especially when it came to work.
With that in mind, Jing Meng shook her head and refused him outright. "Thank you for the kind offer, Mr. Pei, but I prefer to work alone for now."
Pei Shiyi hadn't expected her to be so blunt. His fingers twitched at his side, though his expression remained calm as he asked, "Why? Do you not like it here?"
Jing Meng shook her head, her gaze sweeping across the laboratory with a trace of nostalgia. "It's very nice here, but it's just not for me."
"Pei Shiyi." Jing Meng looked up at him and met his eyes with a sweet smile. "You don't trust me, so why should I force myself to stay?"
It seemed his emotions of the last few days hadn't gone unnoticed. Pei Shiyi's lips moved slightly, but he said nothing more.
There was another awkward silence.
"Come to my office," Shiyi said calmly before turning and walking away.
Jing Meng was stunned. She had thought that after reaching this point, he would have taken the chance to distance himself from her. Yet, from his expression just now, he didn't seem to have any intention of severing ties.
"Tch, a CEO's mind really is hard to read." Jing Meng sighed helplessly and resignedly followed him toward the president's office.
"I owe you an apology for what happened over the last few days, but as for the reason, I cannot tell you for the time being," Shiyi said calmly as soon as she arrived.
Jing Meng was speechless. She had never seen such a strange 'confession.' The Pei family really was full of eccentrics!
She was stunned for a moment, not quite understanding. "So?"
"You can reconsider joining the Pei family laboratory." Shiyi looked up from his desk and met her gaze. The emotions in his dark eyes were complex enough to make one's heart skip a beat.
Jing Meng hesitated for a moment.
"No other company can offer the conditions I'm giving you." Shiyi seemed to have thought of something, and the corners of his mouth curled slightly. "Jing Meng, I believe you won't find another lab in this country that suits you better than this one."
That was true. After a moment of hesitation, she finally wavered, but she raised her own demands. "I'm not worried about the funding, obviously, but I don't like underhanded methods. Keep them from causing trouble in my sight."
Upon hearing this, Shiyi nodded in agreement and stated his own requirements. "I will agree to any reasonable conditions you have. Within your research group, you will have absolute autonomy. However, the patents for your finished products must be transferred to me. After all, the Pei family doesn't do business at a loss."
Compared to the conditions of other labs, Pei Shiyi was already the most generous in the industry. Jing Meng's heart continued to waver, and after a final discussion, they reached a compromise that both could accept. After careful thought, she agreed to his invitation. After all, given the current situation, the Pei family was a good choice.
However, in this world, there are some people who, no matter what you do, will always think you're getting a huge bargain through their narrow-minded perspective. Jenny was exactly that kind of person.
Jing Meng knew her temperament from her previous life and hadn't been close to her. Yet, even with all her caution, she hadn't escaped Jenny's petty schemes and frame-ups. In this life, Jenny was just as jealous, perhaps even more so than Jing Meng remembered.
She just hadn't expected her luck to be so bad that she'd run into her while out for afternoon tea!
Jenny appeared in the cafe with an arrogant air, sitting not far from Jing Meng.
"An Iced Americano, and keep the tip." Jenny's loud mention of a tip drew everyone's attention. Anyone who truly knew how to tip would just tuck it into the menu; no one would announce it so loudly, as if they were terrified people wouldn't know they were being generous.
The waiter, showing good professional etiquette, took the money with a slight smile and turned to prepare the coffee for this rude guest.
The sense of superiority Jenny had been raised with since childhood made her enjoy being the center of attention. When her seductive eyes swept across the crowd and caught sight of Jing Meng watching the scene, her smile froze, and her gaze turned sinister.
Jing Meng didn't know why she was always a thorn in Jenny's side; she didn't think she had ever done anything excessive. Not wanting to start trouble in public, she quickly looked away and pretended she hadn't seen her, focusing on her black coffee.
However, while she wanted to turn a blind eye, Jenny was not about to give her the chance. Picking up her Hermès bag, she swayed her snake-like waist over to Jing Meng. "Long time no see, Jing Meng."
Hearing her name come out of Jenny's mouth made Jing Meng feel as if her name had been dirtied. But since the woman was already sitting across from her, she had no choice but to respond with a smile. "Miss Jenny is certainly in a leisure mood, coming here for afternoon tea?"
She brought up a random topic, hoping the other woman would take the hint and leave, but she had clearly overestimated Jenny's ability to read the room.
Jenny picked up the Iced Americano the waiter had delivered and gave a cold, glamorous smile. "My time is very tight, so I'll be blunt. I heard you've been getting very close to Pei Shiyi lately?"
Jing Meng immediately understood the intent behind her approach. Most likely, she was here to tell her to stay away from Shiyi. The tricks really hadn't changed a bit.
Jing Meng replied noncommittally, "I wouldn't say 'close.' We just have a bit of a history."
She had long heard that Jenny had been infatuated with Shiyi for years. It was a classic case of the goddess being interested but the king having no such dreams. Jenny had used every trick in the book to chase him for years, only to end up empty-handed.
The more Jing Meng thought about it, the more amusing it became. But since the woman was sitting right there, she had to suppress the urge to slap her leg and laugh, waiting calmly for Jenny to continue.
Jenny placed her coffee cup down and shot her a disdainful sideways glance, her tone overbearing. "Since you have a bit of a 'history,' then you should know what Shiyi usually likes to eat, right?"
So Jenny wanted to use her to dig for information on Shiyi's preferences!
Once she figured out the motive, Jing Meng couldn't help but recall how she had been framed by Jenny's schemes in the past. At this moment, a dark, mischievous thought bubbled up she wanted to give Jenny a taste of her own medicine.
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