Chapter 76: Chapter 73: Is This World So Small?_2
Upon receiving the emoji from Gu Heng, Lin Ran didn\'t hesitate. He immediately stood up, pushed the door of the office open, and walked out.
The first floor of the Global Financial Center Tower covers over three thousand square meters, and a Fortune 500 company like Gaoling Capital, even just a city headquarters, wouldn\'t share a floor with other companies.
Although only a deputy director, he belonged to the upper echelons of management. Therefore, on his short walk from the project department to the elevator, nearly everyone who saw Lin Ran would subconsciously greet him.
Already accustomed to it, Lin Ran, while not ignoring them, did not show much emotion. He only slightly gestured in acknowledgement, without breaking his stride.
"Miaomiao, hurry, hurry, if we wait till the break starts, we won\'t be able to squeeze into the elevator!"
Just as Lin Ran was lost in his thoughts about why Gu Heng was looking for him, he heard a shout from behind him and turned around with a frown...
Gu Xinran, who was still urging Tao Miaomiao, happened to meet his gaze...
Although just an intern, on her very first day, her superiors had already made her memorize all the company\'s leaders. Seeing Lin Ran\'s unsmiling face, Gu Xinran\'s heart skipped a beat. She almost choked...
After snapping out of it, she hurriedly mimicked new employees in TV dramas, bowing and saying, "Good afternoon, Director Lin!"
Seeing this reaction, Lin Ran guessed she was probably one of the company\'s interns. He simply nodded politely and then turned to leave again...
For political reasons, large companies like Gaoling Capital allocate certain internship spots to top universities in Shanghai every year. In reality, though, these are just formalities. Almost no intern stays on; after the internship, the company just stamps their internship certificate and sends them away.
Yet still, countless elite students fight tooth and nail for such an opportunity because adding [Interned at a Fortune 500 company] to their resume can significantly enhance their value, no matter where they later work.
However, these so-called elites mean nothing in front of Lin Ran. He didn\'t even remember such people existed in his company, naturally leading to a lack of any desire to converse.
A while later, Tao Miaomiao finally arrived late. Still intimidated by Lin Ran, Gu Xinran spoke anxiously: "I think Director Lin disliked me just now..."
Under normal circumstances, Tao Miaomiao\'s reflexes were fine. She adjusted her twin ponytails, her large eyes filled with innocent bewilderment, "Which Director Lin?"
"Which Director Lin? The one we were introduced to on our first day during the training—the youngest department deputy director of our company, Lin Ran..."
"Ah? Why would she dislike you?"
Tao Miaomiao\'s mouth gaped open in surprise.
Seeing her naive expression, Gu Xinran became even more frustrated...
"It\'s because you were dawdling. I was yelling too loudly just now, probably annoyed her..."
Hearing the problem stemmed from her, Tao Miaomiao\'s fair face instantly turned a guilty shade of pink. She bowed her head and said in a low voice, "I\'m sorry..."
"That\'s the twenty-first time you\'ve said sorry today!"
Having said that, although somewhat annoyed by her dawdling, Gu Xinran directly linked arms with Tao Miaomiao, "I really don\'t know how your apologetic personality developed. You apologize before I even get angry. It\'s totally impossible to stay mad at you."
Seeing her best friend had forgiven her, Tao Miaomiao was still feeling guilty but managed a smile.
"It\'s because I caused you to offend her. Just let me go apologize for you..."
"Okay, okay, you really like apologizing, don\'t you? When I said offended, I meant I felt I\'d offended her, she probably doesn\'t even know who I am. It\'s not a big deal, after all, we\'re just here to get our internship certificates. Even if we really offended her, so be it."
Having said this, remembering Gu Heng was still downstairs waiting for her, Gu Xinran quickly grabbed Tao Miaomiao\'s hand and ran towards the elevator entrance.
"Hurry up, hurry up, my brother is still downstairs waiting for us~ Finally, we can go home~"
When they reached the elevator and saw the figure in the maroon wool coat still there, Gu Xinran\'s initially excited expression froze...
As the elevator doors opened, Lin Ran walked straight in, and after hesitating a bit, Gu Xinran still held Tao Miaomiao\'s hand and followed her inside...
Mainly because the other elevators were still far from reaching the 37th floor, they had no choice but to share the space with Lin Ran...
Lin Ran\'s peripheral vision had spotted the two people entering, but he did not lift his head and continued to look at his phone.
As the elevator started, the space inside seemed to freeze…
A few minutes later.
As Lin Ran took the lead stepping out of the elevator, Gu Xinran and Tao Miaomiao finally exhaled…
God knows what it was like to share an elevator with a superior like Lin Ran…
The natural hierarchical crushing from a higher-up was simply suffocating...
However, watching Lin Ran\'s dashing figure from behind, Gu Xinran and Tao Miaomiao couldn\'t help but exchange glances, seeing the admiration in each other\'s eyes...
Longing for strength is a woman\'s instinct.
Even if the object of their admiration was another woman.
An impatient Gu Heng, standing at the entrance of the building, just spotted Lin Ran in her usual burgundy coat and smiled, raising his hand in greeting…
Lin Ran had been thinking the whole time in the elevator what her attitude would be when she saw Gu Heng again.
But upon seeing his face, Lin Ran couldn\'t help but reveal a slight smile.
Although her contact with Gu Heng had been brief, she had a pretty good impression of this surprisingly down-to-earth, wealthy young man...
Whether in bed.
Or out of bed...
Just as Lin Ran was about to raise her hand in response, a petite figure darted out beside her like a large black rat, speaking in an incomprehensible dialect, and in a flash, clung to Gu Heng like an octopus...
"Ah! Brother! I\'ve missed you so much!"
Seeing Gu Xinran, hanging on Gu Heng\'s neck and acting coquettishly, Lin Ran\'s hand, which hadn\'t fully raised, suddenly froze...
Under normal circumstances, if Gu Xinran had thrown herself at him so closely, she would definitely have ruffled her hair, but compared to an old lover, even a close sister could be forgotten, let alone a cousin...
Without hesitation, he plucked Gu Xinran off with an expression of grievance, akin to picking up a small dog, then walked up to Lin Ran, just stood there smiling without saying a word.
Originally, Lin Ran was quite happy to see Gu Heng again...
But seeing Gu Xinran throwing herself on Gu Heng, she couldn\'t feel happy now... she could only stare straight at Gu Heng, ready to cover his mouth the moment he dared to blurt out what happened in Wuzhen. She would have to leave the city by train...
If her colleagues knew that her recent vacation was for a one-night stand, she would probably have to leave the city carrying shame...
And Gu Xinran, standing next to Gu Heng, noticed the situation between the two and, even though not very smart, could tell that the two clearly knew each other, and she was immediately baffled...
She and Director Lin worked at the same company, on the same floor, and she didn\'t have the privilege to be acquainted with her; how did her cousin know her???
Seeing Lin Ran\'s penetrating gaze, Gu Heng could somewhat guess what Lin Ran was thinking, considering that his cousin had just spoken in a dialect, which Lin Ran definitely couldn\'t understand. He probably mistook their relationship, and with that thought, he immediately brought Gu Xinran in front of her and introduced, "Let me introduce, this is my cousin, Gu Xinran."
Just as Gu Xinran was about to introduce Lin Ran, she could only show an awkward smile and greeted again: "Director Lin... hello..."
Gu Heng: "???"
Hearing Gu Xinran\'s address for Lin Ran, Gu Heng couldn\'t help but blink...
Could it be that his cousin\'s internship company was Lin Ran\'s Gaoling Capital?
Is the world this small?
Was his one-night stand his cousin\'s boss?