Chapter 43

This was the first time Chu Yue had run into Qin Zhou at the company since his assistant mentioned his sister had come. Aside from being as flamboyant as ever, the bandage on her arm was particularly noticeable today.

"Which omega's window did you climb through last night, and you even brought your badge to work?"

Qin Zhou leaned listlessly against the elevator lobby. "Looks like you've been doing well lately! While you're enjoying your peaceful life, I'm always bearing the burden for you."

Chu Yue gasped, rubbing the goosebumps on her arms, and said, "What are you talking about, Attorney Qin?!"

"Haven't you noticed that the villain Shen Jianan has suddenly disappeared from your life?"

"Uh...you did this?" Seeing that Qin Zhou did not deny it, Chu Yue deliberately leaned closer to her and asked in a low voice, "Where is the body buried? Do you want me to help you clean up the mess?"

"Tsk, you... I'm a law-abiding citizen. I was just following my client's wishes to send someone with limited capacity for civil conduct to the hospital for treatment."

Chu Yue stared at her arm and asked with schadenfreude, "Don't you need a rabies vaccine?"

"We've already fought them," Qin Zhou sighed.

Chu Yue had always had a question, and today she took the opportunity to ask the client, "Your law firm was doing so well, why did you come to work as a legal counsel?"

Qin Zhou frankly admitted, "I've taken a liking to Shen Qing'an."

“…”

"What did you say?!"

Back in her office, Chu Yue was still reeling from the shocking revelation. Just then, Deng Jie walked in, and she eagerly sought confirmation from the person involved's younger brother.

"I told you last time that there are rumors circulating in the company about my sister's secret relationship with President Shen." Deng Jie's news wasn't even the latest.

Chu Yue's sense of superiority as she gleamed from the front lines of gossip suddenly surged. "I ran into Qin Zhou in the elevator just now. She said she's pursuing Shen Qing'an. Didn't you know?"

"What?!"

Oh, so he really didn't know!

“Your sister admitted it herself, and Shen Qing’an has indeed been contacting me less lately.”

Deng Jie scratched his head. "My sister didn't tell me. Maybe she hasn't won me over yet."

Chu Yue couldn't help but sigh, "I never expected her to like Shen Qing'an's type. What's the current market value of your sister's law firm? She'll have to marry into the family if she marries Shen Qing'an!"

"Ah... Boss, you're thinking too far ahead. This is still just the beginning."

Chu Yue was even more anxious than Qin Zhou, "Then let her hurry up and finish drawing the strokes. It's easier for her than for the old lady to get on the kang (heated brick bed)."

Chu Yue took out coffee beans from the drawer. More than being concerned about Qin Zhou's progress in pursuing his wife, she was more concerned about whether she could make her wife some coffee with love later.

Around 9:30, Chu Yue sent a message to Ji Mingfei right on time.

[Is my dear wife busy? The coffee is ready, I'll bring it down to you right away.]

Don't come in, I'll go get it at the elevator.

I took the stairs.

I'll wait for you in the stairwell.

Ji Mingfei picked up the cup on the table, pretending to go to the water dispenser. After leaving the office, she took a long detour to the stairwell.

Quick footsteps echoed from upstairs. Ji Mingfei stood behind the door, staring at the corner of the stairs. A young girl carrying documents ran downstairs. When she saw someone still in the stairwell, she was clearly startled, slowing her pace and carefully walking past Ji Mingfei as she went downstairs.

Ji Mingfei breathed a sigh of relief and quickly picked up his phone to see if there were any messages from Chu Yue.

【Wife, please wait a minute】

There's a document that needs to be signed.

[Coming soon]

It turned out that Chu Yue had already sent a message, but Ji Mingfei hadn't heard his phone vibrate at all.

She waited in the stairwell for a while, and finally Chu Yue came down with the coffee pot.

"Hi, honey."

"Don't send me coffee anymore. I just bought a bag of coffee yesterday." Ji Mingfei was constantly on guard against people going up and down the stairs and coming in from outside the door.

Chu Yue took the cup from her hand and poured coffee while saying, "Bagged coffee can't compare to the coffee I brew myself! Are you doing well in the marketing department? Has anyone been giving you a hard time? I think making our relationship public will actually benefit your work, because you'll find that everyone becomes the kindest person in the world."

"Isn't that just about connections? They're not being kind to me; they're just afraid of you."

"No matter what the reason, as long as I'm happy, that's all that matters." Chu Yue doesn't care about other people's opinions. The gossip behind her back can't change their attempts to flatter her to her face, nor will it affect her work and life.

Ji Mingfei couldn't be as carefree as her. Knowing that arguing was pointless, she said, "I accept your coffee, and I'm going back now."

"Wait a minute." Chu Yue grabbed Ji Mingfei. "Let me hug you before we go!"

When Ji Mingfei looked towards the door, Chu Yue had already opened her arms to her, saying, "No one's here."

Chu Yue thought it would just be a light hug, but she refused to let go.

Squeak—

The door to the stairwell was pushed open.

It's awkward enough to stumble upon someone being intimate in the stairwell, but to make matters worse, it's the project director. The other person stammered out "General Manager Chu," caught in a dilemma, wishing they could just disappear on the spot.

"Aren't you leaving yet?" Chu Yue said, holding Ji Mingfei, who dared not look up.

"Oh... goodbye, Mr. Chu!" The man turned and left without looking back, running very fast.

Ji Mingfei pushed Chu Yue away, tidied her hair which Chu Yue had messed up, and complained, "This whole floor belongs to the marketing department. I've told you not to hug me, but you just won't listen!"

"The hallway is so dark, and she didn't see your face, so she wouldn't know it was you."

Ji Mingfei had been out for quite a while, and she didn't have time to think about these things. Hoping for the best, she quickly returned to her office.

As soon as she stepped into the office, several heads turned to look at her through the doorway. Ji Mingfei lowered her head guiltily and quickly walked to her workstation.

"Xiao Ji, could you handle these tender documents?"

Ji Mingfei was still in a daze when she was startled by the person who patted her shoulder.

The other person was also startled by Ji Mingfei's reaction and asked, "Are you... alright?"

"Oh, it's nothing. When do you need this?" Ji Mingfei forced himself back into work mode.

"The sooner the better!"

Ji Mingfei nodded, watched the person leave, and then casually touched the mouse on the table to turn on the computer screen.

Cheer up and get to work.

Ji Mingfei was busy until the end of the workday. While her colleagues went to eat, she was still sitting in front of her computer. Before she knew it, she was the only one left in the office.

The phone screen suddenly lit up, and Ji Mingfei glanced at it but didn't pay attention. Then, she forgot all about checking her phone.

Chu Yue waited for a long time without a reply, so she had to run downstairs to the marketing department to find her. When she first came in, she even suspected that Ji Mingfei had left her alone to go eat.

In the vast office, Chu Yue looked through the rows of workstations and finally spotted a familiar figure. She quietly walked over and stood behind Ji Mingfei, watching her write the tender document.

"Isn't this price too high?"

Upon hearing Chu Yue's question, Ji Mingfei picked up the bidding documents, flipped through them, and checked them against the computer twice before saying, "I'll check with the person in charge again this afternoon."

Chu Yue picked up Ji Mingfei's cup, took a sip, leaned against the table, and said, "No need, just write it like this."

Ji Mingfei looked up in disbelief. Was this something that could be left ambiguous?

"There's so much equipment and materials, maybe I'm mistaken," Chu Yue said dismissively.

Ji Mingfei turned off the computer, stretched, and asked, "Have you decided what to eat?"

Chu Yue put down her cup, massaged her shoulders, and said, "I can do anything, it's up to you."

"How about we go get some noodles? They say there's a really good noodle shop nearby."

Guided by Ji Mingfei, Chu Yue drove to the noodle shop with the amazing taste. From a distance, she could see that the entrance was packed with people; it was impossible to even drive in, let alone eat.

"..."

"Do we still want to go in? Or should we pack some to take home and eat?" Chu Yue immediately offered the best solution.

Ji Mingfei's stomach was growling with hunger, so he agreed to Chu Yue's suggestion to pack up the leftovers.

Chu Yue picked up her phone and got out of the car. She walked through the noisy streets and followed the long queue of people. She waited for more than ten minutes before she finally saw her boss.

"Two bowls of beef noodles to go."

The owner shouted to the kitchen, "Two more bowls of beef noodles!"

In the crowded little restaurant, Chu Yue waited a full twenty minutes before she finally got her bowl of beef noodles.

Chu Yue returned to the car. Ji Mingfei, who was starving, smelled the aroma of beef noodles and changed his mind on the spot, saying, "The noodles will be soggy if we go back to the company. There's a square up ahead, let's go eat there."

Summer, midday, the scorching square—these elements combined make this a perfect place for a quiet meal.

They came to a kiosk selling cold drinks, ordered two bottles of chilled soda, and only then did they feel comfortable sitting under the kiosk's parasol and opening their bowls of beef noodles.

The incessant chirping of cicadas filled the air, carrying with it the scent of childhood. The sweltering air was still and devoid of any breeze; only with the aid of an ice-cold drink could the steaming bowl of beef noodles be swallowed.

Chu Yue fanned herself with an advertising flyer, "This is really a great spot."

Ji Mingfei also regretted it a little. If he had known it would turn out like this, he would have preferred to eat in the car, at least he could have enjoyed the air conditioning.

"Before air conditioning, didn't we all sit under trees to cool off and eat?" Ji Mingfei comforted Chu Yue while also trying to convince himself.

"Then we should have bought cold noodles." Chu Yue picked up a steaming bowl of noodles, feeling that she would be sweating profusely after just one bite.

Influenced by the heat from her noodles, Ji Mingfei drank several sips of her beverage.

After mentally preparing herself, Chu Yue began to eat heartily, sweat streaming down her face and her clothes sticking to her skin.

It's so hot!

Ji Mingfei had almost finished her drink and hadn't even eaten a few bites of noodles. Due to the high temperature, her appetite had decreased.

Chu Yue had already put down her chopsticks and finished eating. She bought another bottle of cold drink and gulped it down, trying to extinguish the heat of the beef noodles in her stomach.

"If you can't eat anymore, then forget it. Let's go see what else we can eat. If all else fails, we'll go to KFC." Chu Yue wiped the sweat from her face. She had never eaten such an addictive meal in her life.

The beef noodles weren't too hot anymore, so Ji Mingfei picked up his chopsticks, quickly got into the swing of things, and finished in five minutes.

"I ate it too fast and didn't even get a taste," Ji Mingfei commented with a hint of regret.

Chu Yue finished the rest of her drink in one gulp, stood up, and shook off her sticky clothes, saying, "I never want to eat freshly cooked noodles in the summer again."

"I want to go home and take a shower."

"Yes, me too."