Chapter 13 Chapter 13 I Can't Read His Eyes

When Song Zhihan and Lin Jie met in high school, shame would consume his brain and his whole body would be covered in pink bubbles. Now, he just wanted to escape.

His eyes were like a bottomless pool, hiding a storm that no one could predict. She could not read Lin Jie's eyes.

The little things you say behind his back cannot be said openly, as they are not in a relationship where such things can be said.

So Song Zhihan chose to make up a lie. She said without blushing, "We just said that when we look at Mr. Lin's face, we feel that he is very professional and reassuring. We will definitely not go wrong if we entrust the project to you."

Cheng Yang and Becca put their hands behind their backs, gave her a thumbs-up, and nodded in agreement like chicks pecking at rice.

Now, no one in the entire company dares to mess with Lin Jie.

Lin Jie smiled, a rather creepy smile. He glanced at the two people watching the show, and his gaze stopped at Song Zhihan: "Come to the conference room."

It’s that busy place called the conference room again!

Cheng Yang and Becca wiped their tears and waved goodbye to her, while Song Zhihan kept looking back for help. But it was useless. Some things can only be faced by oneself.

The door closed, and Song Zhihan stared at Lin Jie's back, her heart pounding like a drum. She couldn't explain why. Being alone with Lin Jie again after all these years made her feel terrified. She'd been able to distract herself from the last power outage by writing a script, but today, she hadn't had any of that.

Lin Jie turned around, raised his feet and walked towards her step by step. Song Zhihan followed and stepped back, his eyes meeting Lin Jie's and glancing around in panic.

Until her lower back hit the edge of the table and she had nowhere to retreat.

Song Zhihan laughed angrily, gritted his teeth and said, "Boss Lin, it's wrong of me to gossip during working hours. I will punish you as you wish."

Phew, that feels great.

After quickly sliding down to his knees, Song Zhihan didn't even look at him. He hung his head and counted the squares on the floor.

Lin Jie looked at the frizzy-haired girl in front of him and suddenly felt a headache. He wondered if he had been too harsh on Song Zhihan, causing her to be a little afraid of him. He tried hard to separate work and life, but the two were inevitably mixed together.

"Put your hand out." Lin Jie put away his usual seriousness and relaxed his tense brow.

Song Zhihan lowered his head, looked at him with a pair of clear black and white eyes, and slowly stretched out his hand.

Her hands, to some extent, resembled her figure: the backs of her hands were slightly rounded, with a few shallow dimples, and her fingers weren't bony. Her nails were the latest trend, adorned with a few diamonds. At first glance, they were a pair of hands that looked both wealthy and carefree.

Lin Jie stretched out his own and gently hit her palm, then withdrew immediately, with a hint of alienation.

Seeing the confusion on her face, Lin Jie smiled faintly: "Didn't you say you'll obey me whether I kill you or chop you up?"

Song Zhihan then realized that this was Lin Jie's punishment for her gossiping about him at work.

The force was like a crow feather sweeping across the palm of your hand, without any sense of heaviness, just the itchy feeling of a soft feather brushing across it.

Song Zhihan raised his head, his smile a little more silly: "Then can I leave now?"

She had no idea that Lin Jie had done anything beyond the normal boundaries between superiors and subordinates, and was just glad that she was not caught.

Lin Jie had no choice but to talk to her about serious matters.

"You and Julie don't get along too well, do you?"

The unexpected change of topic left Song Zhihan at a loss. She initially denied it, saying, "It's not that serious. We just had some minor friction at work. Outside of work, we don't get along."

Lin Jie nodded, motioning for her to continue.

Even if she hated Julie on a daily basis, Song Zhihan would not say bad things about Julie in front of Lin Jie. She objectively put the differences between the two on the table.

"Sister Julie is the editor-in-chief and has a heavy workload, so it's hard for her to find time to guide me. I'm always worried that I haven't done something right, so I keep bothering her. As time goes by, there will be some minor friction."

Lin Jie then asked, "What else?"

Song Zhihan hesitated... Also, the two of them were very sharp-tongued, always arguing with each other. For every word one said, the other would counter with ten. But how could she bring this up with Lin Jie? Would he think she was being too nagging?

She didn't say anything for a long time, but Lin Jie spoke for her what she was thinking.

"Julie is nearly ten years older than you. Her work style and mindset are quite traditional. Most people her age believe in hard work and dedication, so they might not be able to accept your work philosophy and habits. What I'm trying to say is that sometimes, a little tact and compromise can achieve twice the result with half the effort."

Lin Jie has about six years more work experience than her. When he first entered the workplace, he also met many direct superiors like Julie. He also had stubborn moments like Song Zhihan, but whether it was interpersonal relationships or work, the results were often unsatisfactory.

Over time, Lin Jie slowly grasped a principle. Leaders who had risen from the bottom, having experienced oppression and exploitation, often developed a "daughter-in-law becoming a mother-in-law" mentality, wanting to pay back everything they had endured. The target of this pressure naturally became their closest subordinates.

At this time, don't confront them head-on. Knowing how to give in can improve work efficiency and relationships with colleagues.

The same is true for Julie. Sometimes she is deliberately looking for trouble, but as long as Song Zhihan gives in or says a few nice words, the anger will go out by itself.

But every time Song Zhihan would stick his neck out and argue with her until his face turned red, which would only make Julie angrier and more willing to make things difficult for her.

Song Zhihan listened to him quietly. She admitted that what Lin Jie said made sense, but it was still difficult for her to bow to Julie.

Perhaps it was because of her temper that she was spoiled by her family. Apart from facing the situation where she suspected that she was taken away by mistake, she has never been afraid of anything.

I used to think that I would quit my job if I couldn't stand Julie anymore, but now I just want to finish Luo Qing's script.

Song Zhihan was unwilling to accept Lin Jie's advice. She agreed more with Becca's words: as long as you do your job well, other things can be ignored. Julie has tripped her up so many times, both overtly and covertly, but has she ever brought her down?

But since Lin Jie had already said this, she certainly couldn't refute his face. In front of Lin Jie, she pretended to be educated: "I understand, Mr. Lin, I will pay attention to my attitude when communicating with Sister Julie. If there is nothing else, I will leave first."

Lin Jie noticed her absent-mindedness and sighed inwardly. She was still as stubborn as ever.

People can't teach people, but experience can teach them once. He vaguely felt that Song Zhihan would fall into this trap sooner or later. But it would be futile to tell her more now, so Lin Jie simply stopped talking.

He put on a half-smile again and asked, "One more thing, can I attend the team building this weekend?"

Song Zhihan was confused and stammered, "If you...want to go...just go..."

Why ask her! If she says she is not allowed to go, then she can just not go!

Lin Jie made a reminiscent expression: "Why do I remember someone just saying they didn't want me to go?"

Ah, he really heard it. Where did he start hearing it from?

Song Zhihan was about to run away, backing away towards the door while stuttering and laughing: "You heard wrong... Mr. Lin, I have to go get busy first!"

The last syllable disappeared in the wind, and she walked briskly in her high heels, leaving only a flustered back.

Lin Jie placed one hand on the table where Song Zhihan had just leaned and chuckled. He opened the work group and reported the list of people participating in the team building.

The weather is sunny this weekend, perfect for traveling and playing with cats.

...

After work, Song Zhihan drove to eat, and when he entered the house, he was healed by the little balls growing all over the floor.

Tuanzi No. 1 recently had her hair permed, and her frizzy hair was very cute. Song Zhihan rubbed her head and asked, "Did you get your hair permed yesterday?"

Dumpling No. 1 quickly covered her mouth, her grape-like eyes darting around in panic: "Shh, Mommy said you can't tell anyone. If the teacher asks, just say it grew on its own."

Song Zhihan was amused and laughed out loud, and the other children also laughed foolishly.

Zhong Xiuwen brought her food and didn't forget to tell her: "I didn't serve you any cucumber or shrimp. I'll make vinegar-pickled chicken tomorrow to make it up to you."

After spending many days together, Zhong Xiumen has already become familiar with her taste.

Song Zhihan dug into the food and acted coquettishly: "Auntie Zhong, what's wrong with you? You know I don't like stir-fried cucumbers, but you still made it?"

Zhong Xiuwen patted her head gently: "You're so talkative!"

Then he smiled and explained to her, "My daughter Jasmine is coming to eat at noon, and she can't eat sour and spicy food."

Lin Mo! What the hell is going on here?!

Song Zhihan's heart was filled with alarm. He took a few bites of food and prepared to flee the battlefield.

Unfortunately, fate never let her go. The door opened and Lin Mo came back.

The two met face to face, and Song Zhihan stuffed his mouth full of food and pretended to be surprised.

Lin Mo was really surprised: "Miss Song? Why are you here?"

Song Zhihan quickly swallowed his food and replied, "I signed up for the small dining table here... Haha, are you here to eat too?"

After saying this, she wanted to slap herself in the mouth. What a blunt answer, what an abrupt question!

Zhong Xiuwen looked at the two of them: "Hey, do you know each other?"

Lin Mo smiled and said, "Yes, Miss Song is my boss's daughter."

Song Zhihan laughed awkwardly: "Haha, so you are Aunt Zhong's daughter."

Zhong Xiuwen took Lin Mo's answer to heart, her expression unchanged as she boasted to Song Zhihan, "What a fate! This is my daughter. What do you think? Doesn't she look a lot like Xiaolongnu? My Jasmine is not only beautiful, but also extremely capable. She always had excellent grades in school, and she's still doing great now. You can trust her with no worries."

Lin Mo blushed and took her arm: "Mom, don't talk nonsense."

It's okay to praise her at home, but it would be embarrassing to say that to her in front of outsiders.

Song Zhihan nodded hesitantly, her delicious meal suddenly bland. She realized that Zhong Xiuwen's praise of Lin Mo wasn't simply out of pride, but rather because she was the daughter of Lin Mo's boss. Zhong Xiuwen was indirectly equating her with Lin Mo's boss. In other words, she was speaking well of her daughter to the boss, implicitly hoping that the boss would give her daughter a better job.

The changed menu and the compliments were all for Lin Mo. After doing so much, his true colors were exposed when he met Lin Mo.

It was hard to tell whether she was sad or helpless. Song Zhihan even felt pathetic because she suddenly realized that she might really end up with nothing. The Song family expelled her, the Lin family did not accept her, and she had nowhere to go.

Lin Mo came back late, Zhong Xiuwen served her some food and took the children to bed.

Song Zhihan drank water in silence, observing Lin Mo out of the corner of her eye.

Judging from her appearance alone, she is very beautiful and perfectly fits the image of Xiaolongnu, who is beautiful and elegant. There is nothing wrong with what Zhong Xiuwen said.

Lin Mo broke the silence first: "Miss Song, I accidentally broke your set of tableware. I'm sorry."

Just now she discovered that the broken set of tableware that Lin Jie had bought back was being used by Song Zhihan.

"It's okay, didn't you buy the same thing? It wasn't expensive, was it? Mine only cost a few dozen yuan."

Lin Mo was surprised. If she had believed Lin Jie's words about the dozens of dollars before, after meeting Song Zhihan today, she instantly understood Lin Jie's lie. That set of tableware must be worth a lot of money.

"My brother bought it for me. It should be the same as what you bought." She did not say the specific price, but gave an ambiguous answer.

Song Zhihan's attention was drawn to 'brother'. She continued calmly, "Your brother? I heard Aunt Zhong mention him a few times. He seems to be as outstanding as you."

When Lin Mo mentioned her brother, her expression softened. She denied it, "My brother is much better than me. He's very capable."

"It sounds like you admire him very much."

Lin Mo nodded in agreement, "Yes, my brother is my role model. He is the best man I have ever met."

Song Zhihan nodded in understanding, and became even more curious about this brother whom he had never met.

Perhaps we can find a way to break the deadlock in him.

The author has something to say:

----------------------