Chapter 95: The Fifth Card

After a forehead kiss and some casual chatter, Meng Xingzhe finally called a car to send Yao Jia home.

The car arrived quickly by the roadside. As Yao Jia got up from the bench, she felt an inexplicable reluctance to leave.

The seat still retained warmth, warmth that had originally come from Meng Xingzhe.

She couldn’t help but glance back at the spot she had just vacated, her lips curling into a smile, as if she could see Meng Xingzhe’s warmth materializing on the bench.

Even after getting into the car, a faint smile lingered on her lips.

Meng Xingzhe asked her what she was secretly smiling about—

“Are you just thrilled that you’ve captured the heart of such a handsome and extraordinary man?” He spoke with such natural ease, not caring that the driver could hear him.

Yao Jia couldn’t help but burst out laughing, “You might scare me with your shamelessness, but don’t frighten innocent people, okay?” She pointed to the driver, hoping Meng Xingzhe would tone down his bravado.

The driver chuckled and chimed in, “I think this gentleman isn’t wrong; he really is quite the handsome guy!”

“…” Yao Jia was left speechless.

Meng Xingzhe gave Yao Jia a sidelong glance, his expression saying, “See, the people’s eyes are sharp.”

In the car, Yao Jia received a phone call related to work, which she talked about for quite some time.

The enclosed space of the car allowed the man’s voice on the other end to clearly reach Meng Xingzhe’s ears.

It was unmistakably a man’s voice.

After a lengthy conversation, Yao Jia hung up and turned to see Meng Xingzhe squinting at her.

“Who was that? What’s going on, talking about work in the middle of the night? What’s his intention? Can’t it wait until tomorrow? He must be doing it on purpose!”

He rattled off a series of complaints.

Yao Jia was amused by him. Besides being a “show-off king,” he should now also be called a “jealous king.”

“That was someone from the HR services company I contacted!” Yao Jia explained to Meng Xingzhe, a bit exasperated. “Not long ago, our company, Kunyu Electric, reached a long-term cooperation with an HR services company to provide some support for our female employees on maternity and nursing leave. A few days ago, I sent an urgent request to the director of this HR services company, asking him to expedite it as much as possible. He was calling late at night because of my urgent request.”

Meng Xingzhe raised an eyebrow and asked, “What urgent request?”

Yao Jia replied, “It’s almost done. You’ll find out in a few days.”

As they spoke, the car arrived at the gate of Yao Jia’s villa. Since the driver had complimented Meng Xingzhe earlier, he was in a good mood and not only paid the fare via mobile payment but also gave an extra tip.

After getting out of the car, Yao Jia asked Meng Xingzhe, “Do you give a tip every time someone compliments you?”

Meng Xingzhe raised an eyebrow at her, “Why don’t you try complimenting me and see?”

Yao Jia resisted the urge to cringe, looked up at him, and said, “…You’re really handsome.”

Meng Xingzhe clicked his tongue, “Put some heart into it.”

“You’re so handsome!” Yao Jia exclaimed loudly, dragging out the words.

Meng Xingzhe didn’t give her a tip; instead, he grabbed her hand and pressed it against his left chest, “Forget the tip, I’ll give you my whole self!”

Yao Jia laughed and pulled her hand back, calling him cheesy.

Suddenly, she beckoned Meng Xingzhe with her finger, “Bend down a bit!”

Meng Xingzhe raised an eyebrow in confusion but bent down towards her.

When he was at eye level with her, Yao Jia called out “stop.”

Then she leaned forward and left a light kiss on his forehead.

She quickly retreated after the kiss, smiling as she said, “That’s a return kiss. Goodnight, ‘handsome guy’!”

She emphasized the words “handsome guy” playfully and charmingly. After speaking, she turned and ran into her house.

Meng Xingzhe rubbed his forehead, smiling and sighing.

If he had known she would return the kiss, he would have kissed her lips directly on the bench.

He chuckled, slipping his hands into his coat pockets. As he did, he paused in surprise.

There was another card in one of his pockets!

He pulled out the card, shaking his head with a smile.

It seemed she was addicted to secretly slipping cards into his pockets.

Standing under the streetlight, he thought, how he wished she would rush out and slip all five remaining cards into his pockets at once.

He took out his phone and typed in the chat box: [What’s the reward for this card?]

Yao Jia’s response was the usual: [Guess!]

Meng Xingzhe: [Forehead Kiss Heartbeat Card?]

Yao Jia: [Wrong!]

As if anticipating Meng Xingzhe wouldn’t guess correctly, Yao Jia gave him a straightforward answer this time.

Yao Jia: [Silly, it’s the Warm Seat Heartbeat Card!]

Meng Xingzhe thought girls were truly strange. A real kiss didn’t move her, but warming a seat did.

He happily tucked the card away, pushing his luck: [If I warm your seat for five days straight, will you give me the remaining five cards?]

Yao Jia scoffed at him: [Dream on! I told you, each move only earns one effective heartbeat!]

Meng Xingzhe wanted to type something back, grinding his teeth. He didn’t want this gentle, sweet atmosphere to end with their conversation.

But suddenly, there was a noise from the villa’s front door behind him.

He turned to see Yao Jia opening the door. She stood there, shouting at him with a mock sternness, “Why aren’t you going home yet? Planning to stand there all night? Don’t you have work tomorrow?”

Though her words seemed to scold him, her tone was full of amusement. Meng Xingzhe couldn’t help but laugh.

After her shout, Yao Jia slammed the door shut.

Through the peephole, Yao Jia watched as Meng Xingzhe finally turned and walked home.

Hiding behind the door, she muttered softly to herself, “Idiot!”

Still standing there, not leaving.

Forcing her to stay glued to the door, watching him through the peephole.

After that hotpot meal, Yao Jia waited for two days.

There was no movement from Tong Yumo.

She privately sought out Lu Fangfei, telling her, “I’ll wait one more day. If Tong Yumo doesn’t come to me, I’ll go directly to her. If she has no intention of cooperating and telling the truth, I’ll handle it officially. I’ll report to the police and submit evidence of Qiu Lishi and Tong Yumo’s father, Tong Dexing, producing and selling refurbished machines. Whether Tong Yumo gets implicated will be uncertain then.”

Lu Fangfei agreed and thanked Yao Jia for giving Tong Yumo a chance, promising to continue urging Tong Yumo when she returned to the dormitory.

But on this last day, Yao Jia didn’t receive a visit from Tong Yumo. Instead, she got news that made her heart race.

Lu Jingyi from the After-sales Department had gone out to repair an appliance for a customer and ended up heroically saving an elderly woman.

A video of his rescue was uploaded online, quickly going viral and sparking widespread praise and discussion about the heroic young man.

Her assistant rushed into Yao Jia’s office to show her the video. Yao Jia immediately called Lu Jingyi to her office to ask about the details.

Lu Jingyi recounted the morning’s events to Yao Jia.

That morning, Lu Jingyi had received a repair order and went to fix an air conditioner at a customer’s home.

The customer’s home was on the eighth floor, and the air conditioner malfunction was on the outdoor unit. After securing himself with a safety rope, Lu Jingyi went outside.

Just as he finished repairing the outdoor unit, he heard a loud bang, and the shockwave hit him hard. If he hadn’t been holding onto the window ledge tightly, he might have been knocked off.

Once the dizziness from the sound and shock passed, Lu Jingyi realized that the neighboring apartment, separated by just one unit, was on fire. The loud noise had been an explosion!

Something must have exploded and caught fire in that neighbor’s home.

Lu Jingyi quickly called the fire department.

After making the call, he was about to jump back into the customer’s window when he saw an elderly woman at the window of the burning apartment, calling for help.

The customer Lu Jingyi was servicing leaned out the window, saw the elderly woman, and anxiously told Lu Jingyi, “Oh no, that’s Grandma Tang. She lives alone, and her children only come back on weekends from another city!”

The customer leaned out the window and shouted to her neighbor, Grandma Tang, “Grandma, can you get out through your front door?”

Grandma Tang coughed as she replied, “The hallway’s on fire, I can’t get through! Please, save me, hurry!”

Grandma Tang looked as if she was about to climb out the window.

Lu Jingyi watched in alarm. The customer quickly organized, “Grandma, wait a moment. I’ll have my husband bring down some blankets, and we’ll all be ready to catch you from below before you jump, okay?”

The customer, now focused solely on Grandma Tang, turned to fetch blankets and called her husband to go downstairs.

Lu Jingyi peered toward Grandma Tang’s window. What he saw shocked him.

Behind Grandma Tang, the flames were rapidly spreading.

Lu Jingyi guessed that the elderly woman must have stored alcohol or something flammable in her home; otherwise, the fire wouldn’t be so fierce. It was so intense that she couldn’t wait for the fire department or for neighbors to set up a safe landing with blankets below. Moreover, this was the eighth floor—jumping down, even with blankets, was far from certain safety.

Lu Jingyi looked at the elderly woman clinging to the window. The situation was dire. He gritted his teeth, steeled his resolve, and climbed along the window ledge toward her. He could feel many eyes watching him, holding their breath, anxiously cheering him on.

He heard gasps behind him each time his foot slipped.

Finally, under the watchful eyes of everyone, he reached Grandma Tang’s window.

He untied his safety rope, secured it around Grandma Tang’s waist, and carried her on his back. Thanks to his regular exercise and experience working at heights, and because Grandma Tang was quite light, he managed to climb steadily.

Amidst the collective breath-holding and anticipation, he safely carried Grandma Tang back to the customer’s window and helped her inside.

Once he was safely indoors, applause and cheers erupted outside.

After hearing Lu Jingyi’s account, Yao Jia excitedly asked, “Are you hurt?”

Lu Jingyi shook his head.

Once assured that Lu Jingyi was unharmed, Yao Jia continued, “What happened next?”

Lu Jingyi scratched his head and smiled, revealing a set of bright white teeth. “Then I left. I had another job to fix a machine, so I had to hurry to the next customer!”

Yao Jia looked at Lu Jingyi, both moved and delighted.

She thought how fortunate Kunyu Electric was to have an employee like Lu Jingyi.

She immediately discussed with Yao Bingkun about giving Lu Jingyi a significant reward.

Yao Bingkun asked, “What do you want to reward him with?”

Yao Jia replied, “A house and a good car wouldn’t be too much! If it’s cash, at least half a million!”

Yao Bingkun had no objections.

Seeing the online buzz about Lu Jingyi’s heroic rescue, Yao Bingkun wisely advised Yao Jia, “There will likely be a lot of media interest in interviewing Lu Jingyi. This is a positive story that everyone wants to hear, and the media will want to cover it in depth. Announce the reward through the company’s official channels; it’s the best publicity for Kunyu Electric.”

Yao Jia frowned slightly, “But I didn’t intend to use Lu Jingyi’s story for publicity.”

Yao Bingkun told her, “I understand, so just announce the reward without advertising Kunyu Electric.”

Yao Jia complied immediately. Unexpectedly, once the reward was announced, there was a wave of praise online, and people expressed their desire to buy Kunyu products.

Yao Jia smiled, realizing that Kunyu Electric had indeed benefited from Lu Jingyi’s fame.

As predicted, the media soon flocked to interview Lu Jingyi.

Yao Jia arranged for the reporters and Lu Jingyi to be taken to a conference room.

She watched from the side as Lu Jingyi, surrounded by cameras and holding a handful of microphones, smiled awkwardly. His genuine demeanor only added to his appeal.

Watching this ordinary yet heroic employee, Yao Jia felt both proud and delighted.

Just as she was engrossed in the spectacle, her assistant approached and whispered, “Little General Manager Yao, you need to go to President Yao’s office immediately. He needs to see you.”

Sensing urgency from her assistant’s tone, Yao Jia quickly left the conference room and headed to Yao Bingkun’s office.

Upon entering, she found Yao Bingkun looking grave.

Yao Bingkun told her, “Check the latest news.”

Yao Jia hurriedly took out her phone to look at the real-time news.

What she saw made her tense.

Due to the high interest in Lu Jingyi’s rescue, the cause of the explosion at the elderly woman’s home also gained attention, both topics climbing to the top of trending searches.

Clicking on the second trending topic, #CauseofExplosioninElderlyHome#, she read the latest news report: “…According to investigations, the fire at the elderly woman’s home was caused by a refrigerator explosion. Preliminary tests on the refrigerator’s remains by experts suggest it was a refurbished unit…”

The report extensively discussed the dangers of refurbished appliances.

Comments flooded in, condemning those who produce and sell refurbished units as heartless and reckless.

Scrolling further, Yao Jia was startled to see another trending topic: #RefurbishedFridgeExplosionLinkedtoKunyuElectric#

Yao Jia’s eyes widened as she looked up at Yao Bingkun, “Was the exploding refurbished fridge really from Qiu Lishi’s operations?!”

Her voice shook with unease.

Yao Bingkun, frowning, shook his head, “We can’t be sure yet. Qiu Lishi isn’t the only one dealing in refurbished units. But clearly, someone is using this opportunity, before the facts are fully known, to smear Kunyu Electric.”

Yao Jia sneered, “It’s probably Jiangfeng Electric’s doing.”

She paused, calming herself as she thought quickly.

Then she said to Yao Bingkun, “Dad, given how things have escalated, we can’t sit idle any longer. We should report this to the police now and hand over Qiu Lishi and Tong Dexing to the authorities!”

She leaned over his desk, saying, “If it turns out that the refurbished unit was indeed from Qiu Lishi’s operations, waiting for the investigation to conclude before acting will put us at a disadvantage. Instead, we should issue a statement now, clarifying that the connection between the explosion and Kunyu Electric is unconfirmed; however, Kunyu Electric has been alerted and is conducting a thorough internal investigation, urging others in the industry to do the same. If any signs of refurbished units are found, Kunyu will not tolerate it and will hand over those involved to the authorities!”

Yao Bingkun looked at Yao Jia, tapping his fingers on the desk.

“Go on.”

After a pause, Yao Jia continued, “If it’s later proven that the refurbished unit was indeed from Qiu Lishi’s dealings, even though he was operating under Kunyu Electric’s name, it’s our fault for failing to monitor and manage him. For the sake of our brand’s integrity, we’re willing to bear all consequences, including compensation, apologies, and replacing any refurbished units sold to customers.”

Yao Bingkun regarded Yao Jia, his expression serious, eyes sharp.

After a moment, he sighed, a hint of satisfaction in his eyes.

“Let’s proceed with your plan.”

Yao Jia nodded. After a pause, she called out, “Dad.”

Yao Bingkun looked at her.

“I know you value loyalty. So let me handle the fallout with Qiu Lishi!”

Yao Bingkun looked at Yao Jia and finally smiled with relief.