Chapter 45 Let's stay in the North City, okay? ...
Autumn passed quickly. On an ordinary night, a cool breeze swept away the golden autumn without warning, ushering in the cold winter.
In early December, heavy snow had already fallen in the northern part of the city, making getting up in the morning the most difficult thing. When the alarm rang, it was still dark.
As soon as Shen Mengqing arrived at the office, she took off her down jacket to keep warm. The office was supposed to be reserved for her special assistant and secretary, but Chen Mo had hardly ever spent time there. In just one month, the room was filled with Shen Mengqing's belongings.
After working for more than an hour, Shen Mengqing's back was a little sore, so she stood up, stretched, and loosened up her muscles.
She rested her hands on the table, her eyes fixed on the computer screen, when suddenly a figure passed by the door. Shen Mengqing looked up and saw Zhu Shaoming and Li Qinghe.
They also spotted Shen Mengqing. Since Yu Xin was still busy, they stepped into the secretary's small office.
"Long time no see," Li Qinghe said to Shen Mengqing first.
He glanced at the rose-shaped teddy bear he had given Shen Mengqing on the table, leaning against the wall, quite eye-catching. The rose was an everlasting flower, it would never wither, and Li Qinghe unconsciously curled the corners of his lips into a smile.
Shen Mengqing pulled up two stools for them and had Fang Li bring over two cups of warm water.
After they were seated, Shen Mengqing asked them, "Why did you all come today?"
Li Qinghe took a sip of water and said calmly, "If you have any investment or business matters, talk to Yu Xin."
"Hey, about the racetrack," Zhu Shaoming said directly, "Someone approached us wanting to take over the land for the racetrack, and the offer was quite high, so we thought we'd ask Yu Xin for his opinion."
Shen Mengqing nodded knowingly; that piece of land was indeed very suitable for development.
Li Qinghe asked her, "How does it feel to be a secretary? Does Yu Xin exploit your labor?"
"It's alright, not all bosses are like that," Shen Mengqing said with a smile.
Li Qinghe leaned back and said, half-jokingly and half-seriously, "Why don't you come to Kanghe? I promise I won't exploit you. If I do, my dad will be the first to disagree."
Zhu Shaoming glanced at Li Qinghe's sour look and thought to himself that Yu Xin was just a bit dim-witted, letting Shen Mengqing be his secretary and keeping her by his side, but not knowing how to properly pursue her, making her work for him every day.
Shen Mengqing said, "Then I need to stay at Yusheng a little longer. Changing jobs too frequently isn't good. If I work as a secretary at Yusheng for a few more years, maybe I can use this resume and Mr. Li's connections to get a department manager position at Kanghe."
Just as she said this, Yu Xin walked in.
Shen Mengqing didn't explain. She believed Yu Xin could tell she was joking. Besides, she had no plans to become a service provider for the time being.
The scene was peaceful, but Zhu Shaoming, always eager for drama, nudged Yu Xin with his shoulder and stirred things up, saying, "Chairman Yu, your secretary wants to go somewhere else to be a leader. Are you going to try and keep her?"
Yu Xin glanced at Shen Mengqing, who looked at him calmly, as if he were detached from the situation.
"Keep."
His words were too short and fleeting, and a slight softening appeared in Shen Mengqing's gaze as she looked at him.
Then he added, "Secretary Shen has worked so hard, she can't just abandon her work and leave."
Shen Mengqing: "..."
You really shouldn't expect him to say anything nice.
Seeing that Yu Xin was incredibly stubborn, harder to pry than a diamond, Zhu Shaoming knew that if they continued talking, the gentle and considerate Li Qinghe would dig a hole in him and carry him away without him even realizing it.
He changed the subject, saying, "Alright, now that you're done with your work, let's go into your office and talk."
Zhu Shaoming stood up, put his arms around one of them, and carried them into the chairman's office.
The room quieted down, and Shen Mengqing's attention returned to the computer screen.
Around noon, she received a message from Yu Xin saying that she would be having lunch with Zhu Shaoming and Li Qinghe, and that a restaurant had been booked.
Before long, they came out of the office, and Shen Mengqing picked up her down jacket and followed them.
As they exited the elevator, Li Qinghe turned around, intending to invite Shen Mengqing into his car, but Zhu Shaoming's arm remained draped over his shoulder, and he couldn't shake it off.
He added, "Hey, let me ride in your car. My hands are cold in the middle of winter, and I don't want to drive."
As soon as Zhu Shaoming finished speaking, he didn't care where Li Qinghe's car was parked and pulled him forward, leaving Yu Xin and Shen Mengqing behind.
Yu Xin gestured with his chin toward his car and said, "Let's go."
The underground parking garage was a bit chilly. Shen Mengqing was thinking that she would be getting into the car soon, so she was too lazy to put on her down jacket in such a short time. Unexpectedly, she suddenly sneezed several times.
The next second, a black cashmere scarf was draped around her neck, the scarf filled with the scent of Yu Xin perfume, which wafted into her nostrils.
Yu Xin's way of putting the scarf on her was too rough, completely covering the lower half of her face. The fluffy fibers of the scarf lightly touched her soft face, feeling a little prickly and itchy.
Shen Mengqing opened her bright, almond-shaped eyes and winked at him.
Yu Xin looked away and said in a low voice, "We're going to eat together later. If you catch a cold, we'll all get infected."
"...I'm not that fragile. I don't know who had a bad cold before and looked so haggard."
Shen Mengqing sneezed again as soon as he finished speaking.
Yu Xin opened the passenger door for her: "Hurry up and get in the car, Ms. Shen, you're strong and healthy."
After settling into the car, Yu Xin turned the fan up high to warm it up as quickly as possible. Shen Mengqing soon felt less cold and took off his scarf, rubbing it in his hands.
Traffic flow remained heavy at midday, but thankfully the sun was not obscured by clouds. The warm winter sun felt especially comfortable on the skin, and every car seemed to be wearing a suit of golden armor, gleaming brightly.
Yu Xin's face was half-lit by the sunlight, and Shen Mengqing saw the shimmering light dancing on his long eyelashes. He seemed to blend into the warm-toned scene before him, and the coldness on his face was dispelled.
Shen Mengqing leaned back in her chair and suddenly asked, "If I were to go to Li Qinghe's company, would you really keep me here?"
"You won't go," Yu Xin said, seemingly quite certain.
Shen Mengqing: "Why?"
Yu Xin glanced at her sideways and said, "You don't want to be the second party."
Shen Mengqing looked at him in surprise. She hadn't expected that Yu Xin knew what she was thinking.
"You know me so well?" she said.
Yu Xin didn't speak, only raised an eyebrow, but Shen Mengqing could tell that the tail behind him was wagging again.
However, she really wanted to get to the bottom of things today.
"What if I just want to leave? Whether it's going to Li Qinghe's company or going back to Chucheng?" Shen Mengqing pressed.
The countdown to the green light ended, and the light briefly turned yellow before turning red. Yu Xin stepped on the brakes, and the car came to a steady stop.
Yu Xin crossed his arms, looked at her, and said, "Then I'll try to persuade you to stay one more time."
"How do you persuade them to stay? Is it another promotion and raise?" Shen Mengqing almost laughed.
Yu Xin placed his left hand on the steering wheel and his right hand between their seats, his gaze suddenly becoming deep as he looked at her.
Shen Mengqing looked at him curiously, wondering what he was trying to say with this show of force.
"Shen Mengqing, why don't you stay in Beicheng?"
Perhaps it was because the words were too blunt, or perhaps it was because Yu Xin's slightly flirtatious eyes were too affectionate when he stared at her, but Shen Mengqing felt her breath catch in her throat, as if she were being pulled into a vortex. The air around her became thin, and she was so oxygen-deprived that her mind went blank, desperately needing fresh oxygen.
She turned her head, her fingertips frantically pressing the window shutter, the cold air calming the flutter in her heart.
Next time, we can't go too far. After all, they've slept together. Even if the fire has died down, they're still two plants that have burned together. If things get out of hand, they could easily reignite.
Seeing her standing by the wide-open window, letting in the biting wind, Yu Xin's expression darkened. "I think you really want to leave. You'd be happy to get sick and not work."
Shen Mengqing ignored him and only closed the window after he calmed down a bit.
Zhu Shaoming and Li Qinghe arrived at the restaurant much earlier than the others. Since they were all acquaintances, they ordered their food directly, and they could start eating as soon as the other two arrived.
As Shen Mengqing entered the room, Li Qinghe took her coat and scarf and helped her hang them on the hanger.
Zhu Shaoming glared at Yu Xin with exasperation, but Yu Xin acted as if he hadn't seen it, and took off his coat and gave it to Li Qinghe to hang up.
After Li Qinghe sat down, he showed the order to Shen Mengqing and said with a smile, "We ordered a few dishes. Do you two want to add anything? I remember you like ribs, so I ordered braised ribs for you."
"Thank you." Shen Mengqing took the order and glanced at it briefly, offering no objections.
Yu Xin leaned back lazily in her chair, completely unconcerned: "That's it."
Zhu Shaoming, like an outsider, kept glancing at these two and then at those two.
He asked Shen Mengqing, "I haven't had a chance to ask yet, how did you and Li Qinghe meet?"
Shen Mengqing: "We were introduced by my family."
Li Qinghe: "Blind date."
Li Qinghe hadn't expected Shen Mengqing to put it so tactfully. He guessed that she probably didn't want others to know that the two of them had gone on a blind date, and he gave her an apologetic look.
He was telling the truth, and Shen Mengqing couldn't blame him, so she just smiled in response. Fortunately, there weren't many people at the table; in fact, only Zhu Shaoming didn't know about it.
A blind date?!
Zhu Shaoming almost jumped off his stool. So these two had this kind of relationship. No wonder Li Qinghe was pursuing her so openly. Yu Xin had already lost at the starting line.
He glanced at Yu Xin, who was still looking down at the table with an unreadable expression. Zhu Shaoming assumed that Yu Xin was heartbroken.
"Why don't we try to match Li Qinghe and Shen Mengqing up? It seems Yu Xin has little chance of winning," Zhu Shaoming thought.
“Your family has great taste. The man and woman are a perfect match. Why are the blind dates my parents found for me not so good?” Zhu Shaoming sighed and said, “I really envy you.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Yu Xin slowly raised her head, her eyes flashing a sharp, cold light at him.
Well, if I don't take the initiative, I'll get anxious when others urge me.
Zhu Shaoming ignored him.
Yu Xin said calmly, "Maybe in your parents' eyes, you're not so great either."
Zhu Shaoming: "..."
Li Qinghe smiled and smoothed things over, saying, "It also depends on fate. I didn't like the girls my parents found before; we just didn't get along."
His words had a hidden meaning, but Shen Mengqing didn't pay attention. She subconsciously frowned, not liking this kind of topic of commenting on blind date partners.
"What do you mean by looking down on someone? If you look down on someone here, who knows, you might be considered a freak in their eyes too."
Yu Xin said, leaning back in his chair.
Shen Mengqing's brows and eyes finally relaxed.
Sometimes, Yu Xin's sharp tongue can be quite useful.
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Author's Note: Xinzi: Brother, you're wrong. I won from the starting line. You can't imagine what I've been through (not [sunglasses]).
Ah Qing: The Most Correct Episode of "The Dog-Headed Boss"
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