An Ting's gaze met his for a second, and the next moment, she pulled out her phone to check navigation.
Xiao Gong watched in disbelief. "How do you two communicate with your eyes like that?"
Xing Tang drove out of the garage calmly. "Lin Meng used to know exactly what I was thinking without me even speaking. No one is as stupid as you. Sitting in the back, you look more like the boss than I do."
Xiao Gong's face nearly turned purple. Wasn't it him who refused to let me drive or sit up front?
An Ting paused her finger on the screen without looking up. "Boss, since this morning, you've expressed dissatisfaction with Lemon—Lin Meng—countless times. Honestly, it's like a complaining wife constantly grumbling about her ex to a new partner, shamelessly comparing me to him. It's blunt, but your mind really is too easily swayed by him."
She turned to Xing Tang, her tone calm but pointed. "Are you so used to his rhythm that you can't find your own after he left?"
Xing Tang's lips curled slightly, then flattened into an unreadable expression.
An Ting smiled and handed him her phone. "Boss, you went the wrong way."
Xing Tang looked at her for a long moment, noticing Xiao Gong's nervous glances before finally looking away.
"Actually, I realized it without your reminder," he said after a pause. "But making comparisons was indeed tasteless. I apologize."
"Boss, you're too kind." An Ting's smile returned instantly. "So… do we need to give a cash gift at the wedding? I'm broke."
Xing Tang changed direction without missing a beat. "You don't need to pay anything."
An Ting smiled, sliding her phone away. Good enough—no wedding gift required.
Xiao Gong observed the exchange from the backseat, wide-eyed. At first, he had worried for An Ting, and the boss's stoic face only made him more anxious. He had expected confrontation, maybe tension. But Xing Tang had admitted his mistake and apologized so smoothly that even Xiao Gong had to blink in disbelief.
…Well, that worked out pretty well, I guess.
An Ting's phone vibrated. She unlocked it to see a WeChat message from Xiao Gong.
Xiao Gong: How did you manage to calm the boss and prevent him from getting angry?
Since Lin Meng resigned, no one dared to correct the boss. His temper and sore spots were well known, and most people had long since stopped trying.
An Ting: The boss is kind and fair. Of course, he felt my sincere intentions. You've known him for years—how could you still assume the worst about him?
Xiao Gong slammed his phone shut, glaring at An Ting's retreating figure. This woman is as infuriating as the boss himself.
An Ting suspected that Xing Tang had checked the farmhouse itinerary beforehand, which explained how he knew it would take three hours to drive there. Otherwise, how could a man who didn't even know the directions be so precise?
The mountain road stretched ahead, revealing a three-story villa decorated in a quaint, antique style. Even the fence was carved wood, carefully designed.
Several cars were already parked near the farmhouse. Xing Tang parked his car, and Xiao Gong was the first to hop out. Soon, the studio's car was visible in the courtyard.
"They arrived early," Xiao Gong noted.
An Ting furrowed her brow. "Why are people from the studio here?"
"Lin Meng hired them to film his wedding," Xiao Gong explained.
A film and television company heading to the countryside to film a wedding for an agritainment business—it made sense now why Xing Tang had mocked Lin Meng for running his studio like a local agricultural TV station. Yet, the fact that the studio crew was invited here showed that Lin Meng still had strong connections, even after retiring to raise chickens.
An Ting's curiosity spiked. Who exactly is Lin Meng?
Xing Tang stood next to her, slightly lifting his chin. "The one standing at the very front among the group of chicks."
An Ting followed his gaze and spotted a man in the courtyard, his half-bald head gleaming in the sunlight.
Instinctively, she touched her own hair, suddenly alert.