Mistaken Canary Chapter 23 (Part 1)
Chapter 23.1
The excitement for the upcoming National Day holiday was palpable; on the day before the break, no one could focus on the classroom.
Ying Tongchen intercepted a handful of small notes being passed amongst his students, all filled with enthusiastic discussions about their travel plans.
The students shuddered, wondering what he would do.
To their surprise, Ying Tongchen returned the notes, walked to the podium, set his textbooks aside, and tapped the desk. "We’re not having class today. Let’s talk about your holiday plans. Where are you planning to go?"
The students exchanged hesitant glances when Zhuo Zi answered, "To the north."
"Ok, can you recommend some spots and their advantages in English for everyone?"
"Sure." Zhuo Zi stood up and gave a brief overview of her destination and itinerary. Whenever she couldn’t recall something, Ying Tongchen would step in to help.
The students eagerly discussed travel tips and food recommendations in English, continuing long after the school bell had rung.
The Director of Discipline, making his rounds as the supervisor, glanced into the classroom and left with a satisfied smile.
Once the students had finally left, Ying Tongchen checked the classroom door and windows before heading back to his office.
He found the Director of Discipline still sitting at his computer, gritting his teeth in frustration. "What’s wrong, Director?"
The Director of Discipline didn’t look up, his eyes glued to the screen as he grumbled, "I’ve been snooping around on the (school) forums. Damn it, these little punks are trash-talking me again!"
"Then don’t look at them ," Ying Tongchen said with a laugh. He personally never bothered checking forums unless someone specifically shared something with him.
Just as they were talking, Fu Lu suddenly popped up, pulling him back to his seat and secretly sharing a link. "A new story just came out, and there’s a character that's so you!"
"Huh?"
"Look at the summary! Cold, reserved, wears glasses, an English teacher—doesn’t that sound exactly like you?" Fu Lu excitedly tapped the description on the screen "And the story itself? Even more you!"
"..." Ying Tongchen replied flatly, "That’s just you projecting."
"Maybe, whatever. I’m sharing it, so go check it out. You might actually like it," Fu Lu winked at him. "I’m heading home now."
Ying Tongchen opened the link out of boredom.
Well, well, it was a classic ‘marriage first, love later’ plot.
An English teacher marries a brute chairman, and due to work, they decide to keep their marriage a secret, pretending to be strangers in front of others while living a sweet, secret life.
Ying Tongchen: "..."
No such fortune exists, so there’s nothing to be envious of.
On National Day morning, before six o’clock, Ying Tongchen was already awake. After freshening up and preparing himself, he stepped out looking neat and crisp.
As he approached the parking lot, his gaze lingered on the Bentley, a subtle temptation arising.
He slammed the accelerator, hitting 70 mph. Pure adrenaline.
With that surge of energy, Ying Tongchen picked up Amy and Mandy, then drove to K.W.
Mandy, taking in the car's details, was surprised. "Senior, did you get a new car?"
"No, mine's being repaired. A friend's letting me borrow this for a couple of days," Ying Tongchen replied.
"I wish I had a rich friend who’d just lend me a new car like that," Mandy sighed enviously, then suddenly sat up straight and turned to Amy. "By the way, Amy jie, I heard from Director Lu that the Chairman of K.W is really young?"
"Yeah," Amy replied. As one of the first newcomers taken under Yin Tongchen’s wing, she had now been promoted to team leader and had grown noticeably steadier in demeanor. "We’ve worked with K.W before. When Director Ying was on a business trip, I took over that project. The boss is not only young, but also very aloof—hard to get close to."
"Aloof?" Mandy opened her mouth, only to realize Ying Tongchen had asked the question before her. She couldn’t help looking at him.
Ying Tongchen kept his eyes on the road. "I was just asking casually."
Amy nodded. "Yeah, remember that stunning, young socialite who wanted to 'experience the real world' at our company? She went to K.W. for some documents and immediately went into full pursuit mode with Chairman Zhuo."
"What happened next?" Mandy asked excitedly, ready for tea.
"Later, Chairman Zhuo posted a sign at the door, refusing her entry, and our collaboration almost fell through. In the end, it was Director Lu who stepped in to apologize and fired that girl, which saved the partnership." At this, Amy cast a cautious glance at Mandy. "Make sure you don't make the same mistake. Don't forget what you're here for just because of Chairman Zhuo's incredibly tempting appearance."
Mandy: "I know. Although I’m a face-con*, I know what's important. People who get distracted just by looks are blockheads."
(TLN: Face-con (颜控) is Chinese term borrowed from the Japanese anime. Like sis-con or loli-con, the ‘con’ is short for complex, but really just means obsessed. In short, face con is someone who’s obsessed with good looking faces.)
Ying Tongchen: "..." Thank you, offense taken.
Amy stated firmly, "Bottom line, Chairman Zhuo is a dangerous man. He's not interested in us, and he's absolutely not boyfriend material, so don't even think about it."
Ying Tongchen: "..." Dangerous man?
"Amy jie, you’re so cool!" Mandy exclaimed, giving her a genuine thumbs-up. "How do you cultivate such a resilient mindset?"
“You’ll understand after spending a couple more years with Director Ying,” Amy said helplessly. “Though a handsome guy’s always strolling in front of you, if he looks at you for even a second, you know the drafts aren’t up to standard; if he looks for half a minute, you’ll know you’re stuck staying late for overtime. I’ve completely lost my sense of aesthetic pleasure; only the drafts are my soulmate now.”
Mandy huddled in the corner, too intimidated to speak.
Ying Tongchen chuckled softly, “That was during the company’s startup phase, so thank you for your hard work.”
"As long as we made it through," Amy smiled in return. "Besides, it was you and Director Lu who were always the ones staying late at the office. It was really because we saw both of you pushing through that we managed to hold on ourselves."
Yin Tongchen smiled without saying a word, reminiscing about that time with a sense of bittersweet nostalgia.
Soon enough, the car pulled into the parking lot of a shopping mall.
“We’re here.”
The three of them got out, grabbing their equipment, and as they entered the elevator, Mandy and Amy quickly fixed their outfits in the mirror.
The office building next to the shopping mall was K.W’s headquarters, and Mi Shu had arranged for her assistant to greet them.
The secretary's office was bustling with staff. The assistant, acting as the guest liaison, led them to the conference room to install the simultaneous interpretation setup.
K.W boasted a variety of meeting rooms, but the most prestigious was located on the penthouse level, sharing a floor with the Chairman's office, and providing an expansive cityscape view.
There were a few smaller cubicles attached to the meeting room, clearly designed with the layout for simultaneous interpretation in mind.
After checking and testing the equipment, Ying Tongchen accepted the offered water the assistant handed him, walked over to the conference room’s floor-to-ceiling windows, and stood idly, taking in the cityscape.
Mandy, looking excited but trying not to let the assistant see, whispered, “Oh my god, this is my first time at such an occasion. What do I do? I’m so nervous.”
Amy: “Relax.”
Mandy took a few more sips of water, but her nerves only seemed to grow.
At that moment, Ying Tongchen patted her on the shoulder and casually said, “Don’t worry. Amy and I will handle the translation. You just focus on catching any missing details. Amy’s been to tons of on-site projects, so you’re in good hands. You won’t need to step in much.”
“Boohoohoo, what if Chairman Zhuo doesn’t like what I do?” Mandy fretted.
“That’s impossible.”
Mandy was stunned by his straightforward and confident answer. With the boss backing her up, she suddenly felt way less nervous.
What she didn’t know was that Ying Tongchen’s thoughts were anything but professional—should Zhuo Shu express discontent, it could be readily resolved through some strategic pillow talk.
That’s why one must separate personal and professional matters. Otherwise... Ying Tongchen’s lips curved into a vague smile, his expression carrying a meaning of its own.
“Mr. Ying, the meeting starts at 10:00. You and your colleagues can stroll around the mall, and just be back here by 9:30,” the assistant said.
“Alright.” Ying Tongchen turned to the two ladies, “Do you want to go for a walk?”
“Of course!” Mandy, excited as a puppy, grabbed Amy and ran out.
Ying Tongchen followed behind them. Just as they were leaving the meeting room, the assistant suddenly grabbed his arm, slipping a card into his hand.
"Mr. Ying, Mi jie said this is a shopping card* for you. Today's shopping can be reimbursed."
(TLN: This should be a pre-charged membership card. So not only does our mc not have swipe his card, there’s also membership exclusive discounts.)
"Discounted?"
"Yes." The assistant gave him a slightly envious look. "I guess education really does make a difference. I’ve worked really hard, but I’ve never been given a shopping card with such a hefty amount."
During the National Day holiday, even the high-end precincts such as K.W had its fair share of visitors. Adding to the excitement, a celebrity was set to make an appearance for a promotional event this afternoon, and tons of girls had already arrived early to get front-row seats.
Mandy eyed the celebrity’s banner with a look of disapproval. "Why Liu Li'ang? He's got so much dirt on him online."
Amy raised a questioning eyebrow. "Such as?"
"Stuff like cheating on his ex-girlfriend after debuting, getting plastic surgery, and apparently having a sugar daddy too. How else would he get all those top-tier resources right when he debuted?" Mandy spends a lot of her free time looking at gossip online.
"Ugh, are there really that many sugar daddies in the entertainment industry?" Amy asked, surprised.
"Way too many." Mandy spoke as if she had already been drawn into the whirlwind of the entertainment world. "It's kind of terrifying—if you've got even a little bit of looks, there’s always some rich woman or big shot wanting to ‘sponsor’ you."
"Well, you could just refuse, right?"
"Refuse? What for? If you want to rise to the top in that circle, you need both luck and talent, but how many people are missing both? If you've been stuck at the bottom for too long, nobody wants to keep grinding. Everyone wants fast results, an easy way out, and only people with real guts can resist the temptation."
Ying Tongchen suddenly stopped in his tracks.
Mandy, not paying attention, bumped into his back and looked up, startled. "Senior?"
He pointed toward a men’s clothing store nearby. "I’m going in to buy something. You two go check out the other shops. Oh, and here’s a shopping card. Use it wisely."
As soon as Mandy saw the men's formal wear in the store, she immediately knew it was his style. Unfortunately, time was tight, so she opted to head to the women's clothing section instead. "Okay, then we'll meet you in the conference room later."
"Alright." Ying Tongchen walked into the store, surveyed the surroundings, and pointed to a display window featuring a tie, addressing the sales clerk. "I'll take the one in the window."
He recognized the tie instantly—it was identical to the one Zhuo Zi had given him, the one he'd forgotten at the hotel. When they met again, Zhuo Shu had brought it back for him. He recalled Zhuo Shu's words, mentioning that his tie had been taken by someone else, with an unmistakable tone of reluctance.
Normally, he wouldn't bother with shopping, but seeing it here now, he figured it was the perfect opportunity to purchase a gift for Zhuo Shu.
.
.
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TL Note: Due to personal matters, our wonderful editor, megane-kun, has decided to step down. :’) She’s already done up to chapter 33, but I am currently looking for a replacement to continue the rest. If you have a good grasp of the English language and can edit about 2 or 3 chapters per week, please comment below or reach out to me via discord or email! Though this position is not paid, you will be able to read 20 plus chapters ahead of schedule! Thanks so much in advance for your support!