When Will My Childhood Sweetheart Marry Me?-Chapter 268: A Life-changing Event

"As I see it, that Yuan guy is just making a last-ditch struggle, you all shouldn’t worry unnecessarily. Everyone is equal before the law, no matter what nationality they are. If they commit a crime on our turf, they’ve got to..."

"Burp... be dealt with by us!"

That evening, when Jiang Xubai officially joined Xi Yao, he was clearly a bit too excited. He drank one cup after another, while Zhang Xinxin clapped vigorously next to him, the scene was intoxicating.

"Drinking like this won’t cause any problems, right?" Jiang Shuyao frowned and looked at the person next to her, her eyes full of concern.

"Do you think what’s in his bottle is really alcohol?" Pei Yan smiled lightly and raised his glass toward a new employee, his face relaxed with a hint of languidness. "If he’s happy, let him drink to his heart’s content. He should go to bed early after finishing, so he can work hard tomorrow."

It wasn’t alcohol, so what was it?

Jiang Shuyao curiously craned her neck to take a closer look and vaguely smelled a pungent carbonated drink, somewhat like Sprite.

It was her first time seeing someone drink till they lost even their sense of taste. Every time she saw Jiang Xubai pick up his cup and gulp it down with a display of boldness, she couldn’t help but want to laugh.

Jiang Shuyao often wondered if those things hadn’t happened in her sophomore year, if Xi Yao had been successfully established, and Jiang Xubai had joined early on, what the situation would be like now.

Perhaps everything would be better.

But fate is like that; it always delivers a painful blow at the most critical moments in your life.

Losing loved ones, putting dreams on hold, being misunderstood by friends, hiding in the industry for two whole years, and delaying all plans that should have continued.

Given the fierce and unrestrained Young Master Pei of the past, he probably wouldn’t have been as patient and calm as he is now.

Once all the fog clears, and the time becomes calm, looking back at Pei Yan, she realized that her young man had truly grown up.

Nowadays, he had learned to be more enduring and forgiving.

And on the matter of the medical record system, she had never imagined that he would help Lu Chen uncover the truth behind the data leak and clear Xinyuan’s name.

No matter what mistakes Lu Chen had made in the past, Pei Yan was able to distinguish clearly between them, a testament to his open-mindedness.

In the days that followed, the responsibility of recruiting talent for Xi Yao fell on Jiang Xubai’s shoulders.

As the year drew to a close, Boss Pei went out early and returned late every day, and imperceptibly clinched several big projects.

With the Crown Prince around, the company would never lack projects, only people.

However, hiring is all about the right vibe and skill. According to Jiang Xubai, the guiding principle should always be: better none than bad.

Better none than bad, easy to say but hard to execute.

The position of receptionist alone had turned into somewhat of a beauty pageant under Jiang Xubai’s discernment.

"We are a startup company, there’s no need to be too demanding of the receptionist. If you set all these strict standards, you’re bound to scare everyone away."

"Lady boss, you can’t say that. The receptionist is the face of a company. Later on, when developing products and seeking investments, if visitors see a reception looking like a disaster, how would they be in the mood to discuss cooperation? You have to believe that men understand men best— they say they only look at the company’s potential, but their actual taste is more finicky than anything."

"..."

After listening to Jiang Xubai’s rambling, Jiang Shuyao couldn’t help but frown.

She suspected that this guy had his soul swapped, or maybe people had misunderstood him from the beginning.

Zhang Xinxin even said that Jiang Xubai was wooden.

Haha~

After the dispute persisted, they finally took the problem to the big BOSS.

Pei Yan was straightforward, simply dropping a line: "Regardless of whether they are unsightly or breathtaking beauties, I want to see someone standing in that position after the Spring Festival holidays."

Jiang Xubai counted on his fingers, less than a week left.

He said with a worried expression: "What if we really can’t find anyone suitable?"

Pei Yan’s gaze swept over nonchalantly, "Isn’t Zhang Xinxin unemployed? Just let her take over."

?!

Jiang Xubai shuddered from fear.

Indeed, they must recruit someone.

Even if he had to exhaust his brain, he had to fill the vacancy at the office.

Zhang Xinxin was Jiang Xubai’s weakness, known for her soul-calming, evil-repelling efficacy.

Every time she was used, it worked like a charm.

...

As the company proceeded aggressively with recruitment, Boss Pei also took the opportunity to set his personal matters on the agenda.

Today was the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month, an auspicious day for marriage and proposing.

Prior to this, Jiang Shuyao hadn’t heard a whisper about it from Pei Yan, so when she heard the doorbell ring early in the morning, she thought it was Aunt Zhang coming to deliver Spring Festival benefits.

Upon opening the door, father and son, dressed in matching suits, stood one before the other outside.

Due to just having gotten up, Jiang Shuyao was still in her fluffy pajamas, her face unwashed, and her hair a mess, creating a stark visual contrast with the figures outside the door.

"Uncle Pei." She blushed and stepped aside, slightly embarrassed.

With a kind smile, Pei Donghan patted her head, "Yaoyao has grown taller these past few months."

Grown taller—

Growing taller at twenty-three, huh, Uncle Pei sure has a sense of humor.

This door had been passed through countless times, but today, father and son were particularly serious.

Especially Young Master Pei, who was usually seen in casual clothes and a lazy demeanor—suddenly appearing in a crisp suit, seriously following his father, perfectly respectful and silent, exceedingly well-behaved.

Jiang Shuyao snuck a glance at the person beside her, her heart racing.

So he looked this good in a suit—it was... a completely different vibe.

But that’s one thing; could someone tell her what exactly was going on today?

"Dad, Mom, Uncle Pei is here."

Jiang Shuyao stretched her neck and called toward the kitchen, then shot Pei Yan a questioning look with her puzzled eyes.

Receiving her signal, he pretended to deepen his smile, yes, just a slight smile, and then he turned away.

She: "..."

Keep pretending.

Old Jiang and Ms. Zhu walked out from inside the house, and upon seeing the scene, the couple instinctively exchanged glances.

"Mom, you guys chat, I’ll go cut some fruit." Jiang Shuyao pointed at the kitchen and quickly escaped.

It was her first time experiencing such a situation; to say she wasn’t nervous would be a lie. Dating was the freedom of two people, but marriage was the bond between two families.

A man wishing to give a woman happiness, that thin marriage certificate is the minimum assurance.

Pei Yan wanted to marry Jiang Shuyao, and Jiang Shuyao wanted to marry Pei Yan—there were no commands from parents or matchmaker’s words; it was a marriage of mutual affection.

Just as she had once said, in this lifetime, there would be no one else but him, when she decided to be with him, it was with a lifelong commitment in mind.

What they wanted was not just a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship but a legally married couple, sealed with a steel stamp.