Chapter 322 - 255: What Matter?

After brushing off Xu Bin, Ni Bingyan held her phone, her expression unsettled.

She and Sang Yuan had been dating for several months, and their relationship had always been great.

This matter could cause a huge fight. ’So, should I bring it up?’

’If I do, how should I say it?’

She didn’t know how to start. It felt like no matter how she brought it up, she would sound ungrateful.

But if she didn’t get a clear answer, she would start suspecting everyone around her.

’It would feel like anyone could be a traitor, especially the staff members closest to me.’

’Then again, "traitor" isn’t quite the right word. After all, they aren’t trying to harm me.’

’But who likes having someone watching them, constantly reporting on them and trading their privacy for benefits?’

’Maybe they don’t mean me any harm at first, but once they get used to doing this, what happens when someone *does* want to hurt me? Will they just go along with it then?’

’Even if they don’t intend to harm me, couldn’t they be exploited by others if they make a habit of this?’

She grew up as an orphan and had never experienced boundary-less parental love. Having lived long enough for her independent personality to be fully formed, she found this kind of behavior "in the name of love" particularly hard to tolerate.

She had always been professional, always putting work first. The morning’s filming schedule was packed, so she didn’t have much time to dwell on it. She pushed the matter to the back of her mind and stopped thinking about it.

But when lunchtime came and she had a moment of rest, the turmoil wrapped around her again, completely ruining her appetite.

"What’s wrong with her?"

Seeing her stop after just a few bites, Wang Biao glanced down at their lunch.

Because they were filming at a manor rented from a wealthy overseas Chinese, the location was a bit far from the city, so the production team had hired several chefs to cook for them.

And since it was close to the sea, seafood was relatively cheap, so the cast and crew often ate it.

Today’s lunch included grilled squid, stir-fried crab, and curry rice, and it was quite tasty.

For someone from an inland region, it could even be considered a feast.

If the food wasn’t the problem, then something must be weighing on her mind.

Wang Biao had a lot of work to do and didn’t always stay by Ni Bingyan’s side while she was filming. Seeing this, he quietly asked Duanmu Li.

"During the last break, that Xu guy came over and said something to her. You were busy, and I was standing a bit too far away to hear what they said."

Duanmu Li wasn’t a woman of many words, but she was very observant.

You couldn’t be an assistant without being observant.

Ever since she talked to Xu Bin, Ni Bingyan had often seemed lost in thought, and Duanmu Li had naturally noticed.

But since Ni Bingyan hadn’t said anything, Duanmu Li didn’t take the initiative to ask.

When you’re an assistant, the most important thing is to have a sense of propriety. Otherwise, it’s easy to displease your boss.

Duanmu Li was an experienced assistant and was very mindful of how she conducted herself.

Knowing he wouldn’t get much out of Duanmu Li, Wang Biao thought for a moment before walking directly over to Ni Bingyan.

"Is the food not to your liking? Should I go get you something else?"

Ni Bingyan picked up her chopsticks in embarrassment, took a bite of grilled squid, and said, "No, no, I was just thinking about something. Don’t worry about me."

’Right now, my biggest suspects are my assistant and executive agent. I’m afraid they’re reporting on me to Sang Yuan behind my back.’

But this wasn’t something she could easily say out loud.

For one, they were on good personal terms and would likely continue working together for a long time. An accusation like that would be deeply hurtful.

On the other hand, aside from a small base salary from the company, she was the one who paid most of their bonuses and wages. In her view, their work should be guided by her will alone.

She didn’t want to rely on Sang Yuan to get by. If her staff’s first instinct when facing a problem was to take a shortcut instead of solving it, wouldn’t that make her look like a hypocrite to outsiders?

She wanted work partners who would strive alongside her, not sycophantic employees who resorted to petty tricks and whose core values didn’t align with hers.

If they were secretly passing information behind her back, a love-struck woman might find it sweet, but she had only one thought—’I can’t keep people like that around me.’

Although from what she knew of them, both Duanmu Li and Wang Biao were of good character, you could never truly know what was in a person’s heart. Who could say for sure?

’After all, the mother who carried me for ten months and endured countless hardships to give birth to me still abandoned me. What is there that I can’t doubt?’

’Trusting someone unconditionally... it’s just so, so hard for me.’

Seeing that she wouldn’t talk and had a guarded look on her face, Wang Biao felt a little uncomfortable, but he respected Ni Bingyan’s privacy and, in the end, didn’t press her.

Wang Biao was a bit put off, feeling she didn’t trust him enough. Duanmu Li felt this even more strongly.

She had been with Ni Bingyan longer, their relationship had always been great, and she considered herself to be more trusted.

’And we’re both women. Even if it’s something she can’t tell Wang Biao, couldn’t she at least say something to me?’

But Ni Bingyan treated her no differently.

Ni Bingyan had learned to read people’s expressions from a young age. She could naturally sense when those around her were feeling uncomfortable.

’Things have come to this. I have to make a decision.’

’I can either play dumb this once and pretend this never happened, or I can confront Sang Yuan and get a clear answer.’

’If I play dumb this time, I’ll probably have to keep playing dumb for the rest of my life.’

’Getting a clear answer will probably lead to a fight.’

’But if this is the first time I’ve found out he’s done this, and I don’t object, he’ll assume it’s okay and keep treating me this way from now on.’

He would take care of everything for her, never letting her worry.

Many people might think that’s a wonderful way to live. How blissful!

But Ni Bingyan didn’t see it that way.

’If you get used to being carried everywhere, you’ll forget how to walk when you need to run for your life.’

That was something Ni Bingyan absolutely could not tolerate.

Being in a relationship is a process of adjustment. Disagreements can arise over anything, from lifestyle habits to core values.

When disagreements happen, if you can’t convince the other person, you have to convince yourself to compromise.

’Compromising on minor issues is one thing, but on a matter of principle, I will never back down.’

That evening, after finishing work and returning to the hotel, Ni Bingyan estimated that Sang Yuan would be off work too. She picked up her phone and sent him a message:

[Are you off work?]

Cambodia is only one hour behind China. Sang Yuan was working overtime today, and when he received the message, he had just shut down his computer and was about to head to the company cafeteria for dinner.

"It was a busy day, so I just got off work. I’m about to grab a late dinner at the cafeteria, then I’ll hit the gym for a bit before coming back to do more work. Since you’re not home anyway, I figured I wouldn’t waste time on the commute. I’ve been staying at the office lately."

Sang Yuan replied with a voice message while putting on his overcoat.

He was a workaholic. For the convenience of working overtime, he had partitioned off a small rest area in his office, basically bringing to life an idea Ni Bingyan once had.

Working twelve hours a day while still managing to exercise, eat healthy, and get enough sleep—he was completely blowing all his peers out of the water.

It had to be said, there was a reason the two of them ended up together.

Ni Bingyan was clutching her phone and replied the moment she got his message:

"Brother Yuan, you’re amazing! So outstanding, and you work so hard. I’m so proud of you!"

He could never get enough of his girlfriend’s sweet talk.

Sang Yuan listened to the voice message three times before chuckling and replying:

"I have to work hard to be worthy of you!"

Both of them had high emotional intelligence, and it only ever took a few sentences to make the other person’s heart flutter with joy.

But today, with something weighing on her mind, Ni Bingyan didn’t say much more before getting to the point:

"Thanks for your help with today’s matter!"

’Today’s matter?’

Sang Yuan frowned.

"What matter? Why are you being so formal with me?"

Hearing his reply, Ni Bingyan thought he was playing dumb and felt a surge of anger.

What she found even more intolerable than his overbearing protection was him solving her problems behind her back without her knowledge.

’You think you’ve reaped the fruits of success through your own hard work and you’re overjoyed, only to find out your efforts were for nothing and someone else just stuffed the fruit into your arms.’

’Just thinking about it is infuriating!’

"What matter? Xu Bin told me everything!"

"Who is Xu Bin?"

Sang Yuan forgot all about going to dinner. He went straight back to his executive chair and sat down, his brows furrowed into a knot.