My Online Girlfriend Has a Twin Sister

At this thought, Jiangg Ning bit down on her delicate lip, a hint of resentment in her eyes.

She had always tried her best to show Chen Yuan only her best side—her resilient character, her disciplined excellence.

She was afraid of others discovering she came from such a complicated family. She desperately wanted to prove that she and her mother were two different kinds of people, that she could live a good life without relying on her.

But in the end, she was fragile, irrational, and there were times she couldn’t handle her emotions well.

Jiangg Ning knew she shouldn’t be thinking about all sorts of random things at a time like this, but she just couldn’t control it...

"It doesn’t matter," Chen Yuan’s voice suddenly sounded beside her ear.

Jiangg Ning abruptly lifted her head and met his gaze.

A strange sensation came from the top of her head, a gentle, affectionate motion, as if he were petting a cat.

She was being gently stroked.

"What does it have to do with your family? As long as you’re the one marrying me in the end, what more could I ask for?"

"That... that’s not set in stone yet," Jiangg Ning stubbornly turned her face away.

The corners of her mouth turned down as she feigned indifference. The stray hairs at her temple hid the side of her face, and her eyelashes fell like a beaded curtain.

But anyone could see she was enjoying the caress; her expression betrayed her inner thoughts.

Chen Yuan saw it all.

His lips curved up imperceptibly. He could clearly feel that, from this moment on, their cold war was starting to thaw. During this extraordinary time, the rift in their relationship had strangely begun to mend.

And once it was mended, they would surely enter a new stage.

’How could this not count as enduring hardship together?’

At this thought, Chen Yuan couldn’t help but feel a surge of anticipation. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he was almost giddy.

People often say that lovers should go through thick and thin together. This situation should count, too.

As long as they never let go of each other’s hands, what did it matter how much they went through?

"It would’ve been nice if you were always this well-behaved." He reluctantly drew his hand back, wiping it on his pant leg.

"It seems you have a lot of pent-up dissatisfaction with me."

"What are you talking about... I really don’t."

Chen Yuan walked ahead and glanced back at Jiangg Ning. Then, without another word, he took her delicate, pliant hand. She stiffened reflexively but didn’t pull her hand back, simply letting him lead her out of the parking garage.

...

"This atmosphere is a little terrifying."

Walking in through the company’s main entrance, which was blockaded by countless vehicles, felt like stepping into an extremely oppressive magnetic field. The waiting crowd had exhaustion and anxiety in their eyes. It seemed like everyone was frowning, their expressions identical.

There wasn’t a trace of the life that should have been there.

The entire company was shrouded in this grim atmosphere.

Chen Yuan heard their discussions and whispers. The tones weren’t loud, but together they created a drone that was more terrifying than harsh curses.

He could tell from their voices that they were teetering on the edge of fury, as if they might break down and become hysterical at any second.

"Don’t be afraid. It looks like they haven’t recognized you. Just follow behind me, don’t say anything, and keep walking," Chen Yuan said comfortingly, squeezing Jiangg Ning’s palm.

A competent entrepreneur carries not just their own destiny, but also the weight of thousands upon thousands of people and their families.

Chen Yuan’s understanding of this point became much clearer at that moment.

He had no desire to be a bastard of a leader in the future, abandoning so many people like Jiangg Ruxue had, only to be resented, hated, and even besieged.

Experiencing such a humiliating situation once would probably mean never forgetting the shame for a lifetime, nor the despair in these people’s eyes.

In the past, the company lobby had been neat, clean, spotless, and exceptionally bright.

Now, the reception desk was empty, banners were torn to shreds, all sorts of footprints covered every surface, and the once-clean floor was covered in grime, with no one to clean it.

Looking around, there were crushed cigarette butts in almost every corner.

A pungent smell filled the entire lobby.

When Chen Yuan and Jiangg Ning reached the elevators, they discovered that they were out of service for some reason. They couldn’t even get in.

Left with no choice, the two had to take the stairs in the emergency stairwell.

The moment they entered the stairwell, the situation was even more shocking. They had to press against the wall with nearly every step. It was packed with men and women, with two or three people on every single stair. Most of them were carrying storage boxes and moving office equipment.

Some were carrying computers, some printers, some potted plants.

The most ridiculous sight was three large men carrying a leather sofa, their faces red with exertion, grunting and puffing as they moved it downstairs.

The scene was more than a little shocking to Chen Yuan.

With things in such chaos, he gripped Jiangg Ning’s hand even tighter.

The two of them pressed close together, moving slowly upward, having to stop every so often to wait for employees carrying things.

Chen Yuan and Jiangg Ning weren’t the only ones climbing up. There were even more delivery drivers who, despite being drenched in sweat, refused to give up, doggedly pushing upward in their squirrel-logo helmets.

Presumably, the volume of takeout orders for this company had skyrocketed in the last two days.

The employees were in a standoff with the boss. With no one handling compensation, these people were determined to wait it out. Some had even brought bedding from home... they’d just push a desk aside, lie down, and fall fast asleep.

Scene after scene unfolded before their eyes.

It was quite an appalling sight.

"How can there be so many people in this company? Even if they brought family, it’s impossible," Chen Yuan whispered to Jiangg Ning.

"I guess the employees from the factory production lines came too."

"That would make sense."

"The ninth floor. This should be it. I remember my mother’s office being on this floor."

After climbing nine floors, stopping and starting, the stuffy space had made them both break out in a sweat.

The suffocating feeling only eased slightly once they left the narrow stairwell.

But on this floor, once they went inside, the crowd was even larger than on the floors below. Nearly every office with an open door was packed with people.

They were sitting or lying around. With no one in charge, takeout containers were strewn everywhere, soups and liquids were spilled on the floor unattended, and the smell was unpleasant—only slightly better than in the stairwell, one might say.

Actually, with a moment’s thought, it was easy to understand why there were so many people on this floor.

It was because Jiangg Ruxue’s office was here. By guarding her, they could be the first to know about any developments, ahead of the people downstairs.

Otherwise, there was no point in running around aimlessly in the first-floor lobby like headless flies, unable to grasp the real situation.

As Chen Yuan got closer to the "President’s Office" door, the gazes of the surrounding people turned toward them. Layers upon layers of eyes converged on him and Jiangg Ning.

"Hello, we need to go in," Chen Yuan said to the two men guarding the door.

"What for?"

"We’re from the bank. We have urgent business to discuss with President Jiangg."

Chen Yuan’s demeanor was reasonably natural; he showed no fear even under the gaze of so many people.

Although he said this, the two men in front of him still didn’t let them pass. They were likely hired by Jiangg Ruxue overnight to ensure her personal safety.

"Then contact President Jiangg now. Once we receive confirmation, you can go in."

"Alright, I’ll call."

Hearing this, Jiangg Ning took out her phone and dialed the number.

...

"Yes, I’m at the door now. The two of us came together... No," Jiangg Ning’s expression shifted complexly as she spoke for a few more moments on the phone. "I know. You don’t need to say so much. We’ll talk when we see each other."