Chapter 39 The passion in his eyes vanished instantly.
Shangqiu Zhu's eyes were incredibly deep.
Yan Shuang's breath hitched, and a soft murmur escaped her throat involuntarily: "President Shang..."
Before she could finish speaking, the man lowered his head, stroked the back of her head, and kissed her.
Shangqiu Zhu's lips were warm and dry, and her kiss was extremely forceful.
Yan Shuang subconsciously tightened her grip on his tie, the silky fabric crumpling in her palm, just like her suddenly disordered breathing.
"Hmm..."
Shangqiu Zhu's tongue pried open her teeth and swept across her sensitive palate like a conquering force.
Yan Shuang's legs went weak, and he pressed her against the wardrobe door. He kissed her until she was breathless, her mind went blank, and she could only passively tilt her head back, letting him take what he wanted.
Shangqiu Zhu's fingertips were still on the back of her neck, where a stray strand of hair swayed gently with their intertwined breaths.
Yan Shuang could feel the sunlight dancing on her eyelids, hear the ticking of the antique clock in the dressing room, and even count the drooping eyelashes of Shangqiu bamboo.
Each turn sent numbness down her spine.
They kissed for an unknown amount of time when Shangqiu Zhu's phone suddenly rang.
The two of them froze simultaneously.
Shangqiu Zhu frowned, stepped back slightly, but still kept her nestled between his arms and the wardrobe.
Yan Shuang's lips glistened with moisture, her cheeks were flushed, and her chest heaved violently.
Shangqiu Zhu's eyes darkened, and just as he was about to lower his head to continue, his phone rang persistently again.
He cursed under his breath, took out his phone with one hand, while his other hand remained propped up beside her ear.
"Speak," he said, picking up the phone.
Yan Shuang then noticed his tie, that expensive Italian handmade tie, which was now crumpled and wrinkled from her grip.
She quietly took a new one from the drawer next to her.
On the other end of the phone was Lin Sheng, who was reporting on the arrangements for an emergency meeting.
Shangqiu Zhu listened, his eyes following Yan Shuang's movements.
She tiptoed and carefully untied the crumpled tie.
"...Okay, I'll be there in half an hour." He ended the call briefly, but still held the phone up.
Yan Shuang was focused on tying a Windsor knot, completely unaware that her hair was messy, her lips were bright red, and even her collar was askew, revealing a large expanse of her snow-white chest.
Shangqiu Zhu's eyes were even darker than before.
This was the first time in his nearly thirty years of life that he had the thought of "not wanting to work".
Those schedules accurate to the minute, those unalterable meeting arrangements, those multi-million dollar contract negotiations…
At this moment, everything becomes irrelevant.
A strange feeling suddenly swept over his meticulously working brain.
The next second, the passion in his eyes vanished, and he stepped back.
In the morning, after finishing her daily work, Yan Shuang picked up the preliminary plan for the Nancheng development project again.
She took a deep breath, checked the folder in her hand again, and then got up and walked towards the president's office.
She raised her hand to knock on the door.
Just as his fingertips were about to touch the dark walnut wood door, Shangqiu Zhu's deep and urgent voice came from inside.
“I’m aware of the situation in the US. Tell Anderson that either we should proceed with my plan, or we should meet with the board.”
Yan Shuang's hand hung in mid-air.
Through the slightly ajar door, she saw Shang Qiuzhu standing in front of the French windows, her slender figure silhouetted against the morning light, her left hand holding a phone, her right hand pinching her brow.
Several documents were scattered on the desk, and the coffee cup was empty.
“No, I don’t accept any excuses. The US market is crucial to us, and we must turn things around this quarter.” His voice carried an unwavering determination. “I don’t care what methods they use, I want to see results.”
Yan Shuang withdrew her hand and quietly took a step back.
Now is not the time to bother him.
Yan Shuang pursed her lips, hugged the folder to her chest, and quietly retreated to her workstation.
"Secretary Yan, good morning." Director Lin from the finance department greeted her as she passed by. "Is President Shang inside? I need his signature on a report."
Yan Shuang looked up and gave a professional smile: "President Shang is currently dealing with an international call, so it may take a while. You can leave the documents with me, and I will process them for you as soon as he finishes."
"That's great, thank you for your help." Director Lin put down the documents and turned to leave.
She looked down and opened the plan she had prepared, her fingers tracing over the dense annotations.
To develop this proposal, she reviewed information on all similar projects from the past five years and even secretly contacted her classmates at the Nancheng Planning Bureau to obtain internal data.
This was the first time she had tried to go beyond the scope of a secretary's duties and proactively offered to participate in core business operations.
With a "ding," the internal phone rang. Yan Shuang answered immediately: "President Shang."
"Contact Anderson in New York for me and tell him I have new instructions," Shang Qiuzhu's voice came through the phone line. "Also, cancel all my appointments for noon today."
"Yes, Mr. Shang. Would you like me to order lunch for you?"
"No need."
Yan Shuang spent the entire morning dealing with the surge in workload caused by the crisis at the US branch.
She skillfully coordinated the needs of all parties, filtered out unimportant information, and ensured that only the most critical matters reached Shangqiu Zhu.
This is her specialty: creating order from chaos and maintaining high efficiency under pressure.
The clock struck 12:30, and most of the people in the office had already left.
Yan Shuang looked up from the monitor, rubbed her sore neck, and glanced toward the president's office.
Through the half-open blinds, she could see Shangqiu Zhu still working at his desk.
"Yan Shuang, want to go out for dinner? The administration department is having a get-together today at the newly opened Hunan restaurant downstairs." Yang Xuanyun knocked on her partition.
Yan Shuang quickly looked away, smiled and shook her head: "You guys go ahead, I still have some documents to process."
Once her colleagues' laughter and chatter had faded at the elevator entrance, Yan Shuang immediately grabbed her phone and car keys and hurried towards the underground parking lot.
Set your navigation to "Zhuyueting", a high-end Japanese restaurant hidden in a back alley of the financial district.
I've been to Shangqiu Bamboo twice before, so I imagine it tastes pretty good.
"Welcome to Chikugetsu-tei." A waitress in a kimono bowed and greeted us. "Just one person?"
"I'd like a special sushi set meal, to go." Yan Shuang hesitated for a moment, then added, "Please put the wasabi separately, and also add an extra serving of pickled ginger."
This is the flavor of Shangqiu bamboo.
She herself doesn't like eating raw food.
"Your order will take twenty minutes. Please rest in the waiting area."
Yan Shuang sat in the Zen-like waiting area.
"The special sushi set meal is ready." The waiter handed over an exquisite lacquered wooden lunchbox. "It comes with miso soup, please handle it carefully."
I got back to the company parking lot at 1:20.
The office area was quiet; most colleagues were still on their lunch break and had not yet returned.
Yan Shuang tiptoed to her workstation and casually pulled out a few contracts that needed to be signed from the file rack.
The door to the president's office was ajar, and Shang Qiuzhu's deep voice came from inside, speaking in English.
Yan Shuang knocked on the door three times and pushed it open before waiting for a response.
Shangqiu Zhu stood with his back to the door in front of the French windows, his slender figure making his suit look impeccably tailored.
Yan Shuang placed the documents and lunchbox on the right side of the desk, and then took out cutlery from the drawer to place on the table.
Throughout the entire process, her gaze remained within a professional range.
Back at her workstation, Yan Shuang opened her email and began dealing with the pile of emails.
"Secretary Yan, it's been a long time."
The voice carried three parts laughter and seven parts laziness. Yan Shuang looked up and saw Du Yunchuan leaning against the partition of her workstation.
"President Du," Yan Shuang quickly stood up, a polite smile on her face, "Is President Shang waiting for you? I'll inform him right away..."
"No rush." Du Yunchuan waved his hand and took out an exquisite gift box tied with a ribbon from behind him. "It's tiramisu, bought in Venice."
"This...is too valuable." Yan Shuang's fingertips hovered above the box, hesitating whether she should accept it.
Du Yunchuan pulled her hand and put the box down: "Consider it a thank you for organizing the chip acquisition data last time."
Yan Shuang had no choice but to accept it. She bent down and untied the ribbon, and the rich aroma of coffee and mascarpone cheese immediately wafted out, making her stomach rumble again.
"Looks like I delivered it at just the right time," Du Yunchuan chuckled.
Yan Shuang picked up a small piece of dessert and put it in her mouth. She didn't notice that there was a little cocoa powder on the corner of her lips. The naturally satisfied expression she showed was more touching than any deliberate smile.
"Eat slowly." Du Yunchuan handed over a handkerchief.
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