"Hello, Mr. Zhou."
Lu Xiaoqiao's way of greeting is neither as casual as when she treats friends and colleagues, nor as flattering as when she treats her superiors.
Instead, he said "Hello, Mr. Zhou" in the same tone of "Hello, Mom" or "Hello, Dad" that he usually uses to address elders.
Zhou Qi was looking at the girl's cheeks which had turned red due to standing outdoors in the high temperature for a long time, and he frowned slightly.
"Um."
Look, are you unhappy again?
Lu Xiaoqiao didn't understand what she had done to offend him again. Maybe he thought her way of greeting made him look old? She really didn't mean anything else, she just wanted to express her respect for him.
After everyone got in the car, the driver started the car and drove away.
Li Yuxuan raised his arm and lightly touched Zhou Qizheng.
Zhou Qizhen looked at him, and saw Li Yuxuan with a smile on his face. He blinked at Zhou Qizhen, then raised his chin in the direction of Lu Xiaoqiao, meaning that his good brother should take a good look at him while they were close. Even though it was only the back of his head, it was better than not seeing it at all.
After Zhou Qizhen understood what he meant, he looked a little unnatural. He turned his head slightly and faced the car window.
No one spoke in the car.
Lin Lin was afraid of Zhou Qizhen's power, so she would be silent whenever he was around. Since her uncle liked to be quiet, she wanted to say something but didn't dare.
I was worried that the two friends would feel uncomfortable because of the dull atmosphere, but Li Yuxuan suddenly asked, "How many days will your exhibition last? Are we going to the venue directly?"
"Two days. I'll check in at the hotel first, and then rush to the venue."
Seeing someone trying to ease the tension, Lin Lin would not let go of the opportunity. After all, she was not the one who spoke first, so if her uncle wanted to deal with her, he would deal with the one who came later.
"We have a brand exhibition today and tomorrow. The three of us plan to have some fun in Haicheng over the weekend. Xiao Qiao has never been to Haicheng before."
After hearing this, Li Yuxuan quickly seized the opportunity: "Is that so? It's okay. When we are done with our work and have time, let your uncle take you guys out for some fun."
Lin Lin was dumbfounded and just said stupidly: "That's not necessary." Just kidding, what would be fun if my uncle went there? It would be better to just go home.
Li Yuxuan ignored what Lin Lin said and turned the question to Lu Xiaoqiao.
"Ms. Lu and Ms. Zhao are both from the north?"
When Lu Xiaoqiao heard Li Yuxuan mention her, she turned slightly to the back out of courtesy and said to Li Yuxuan, "Sister Jia and I are both from the Northeast."
"Really? Where in the Northeast are you from? Your accent doesn't sound like that." Li Yuxuan was not just making small talk this time. He really didn't realize that Lu Xiaoqiao had a Northeastern accent.
"Maybe it's because I've been away for too long. I went to high school and college in Hangzhou. My home is in Ningyuan City. Have you heard of it, Mr. Li? It's an ancient city by the sea."
"I haven't heard of it. Is your home close to the beach? I'd like to go there if I get a chance."
Li Yuxuan was chatting animatedly with the three little girls in front of him.
Zhou Qi was staring quietly at Lu Xiaoqiao, who became excited when she mentioned her hometown.
He had never seen Lu Xiaoqiao wearing a skirt.
The fishtail skirt with small floral patterns revealed her white calves as tender as lotus roots. Paired with a simple white T-shirt, she looked even more pure. Her high ponytail was simply braided into a small braid, making her look smart and playful. When the person behind her spoke to her, she smiled and turned back to answer, revealing the same shallow smile that I had seen when I first met her.
"You're so amazing! Xiao Qiao can also cook! I'll definitely try your cooking skills if I get a chance."
Along the way, when someone was still feeling embarrassed to look at his sweetheart openly, Li Yuxuan was already chatting enthusiastically with the two new people he had just met. He changed his address from Miss to his name, and Mr. Li to Brother Li.
Speaking of cooking, Lin Lin instantly became Lu Xiaoqiao's little fan girl again, having long forgotten that her dull and quiet uncle was sitting behind her.
"Xiao Qiao's cooking is super delicious. She knows how to cook shrimp in many different ways, such as braised shrimp, mustard shrimp, sweet and sour shrimp. She can also cook clay pot porridge, which is very fragrant."
"Your uncle loves shrimp the most, right, Lao Zhou? When we get back to Hangzhou, I'll buy the ingredients and we can set up a party to see how Xiao Qiao's cooking is."
After Li Yuxuan finished speaking, he looked at Zhou Qizhen, but he was secretly complaining in his heart, "No way, brother, you haven't said a word since we got in the car. You can't do this if you want to pursue a woman. I've already put the red string of matchmaker in your hand, but you're grabbing it quickly."
Only then did Lin Lin remember her uncle behind her.
"Ah? Does my uncle like to eat shrimps? I don't know!" After saying this, she secretly glanced at her uncle.
Seeing that everyone was looking at him, Zhou Qizheng wanted to say something to join in the conversation. Just as he was about to open his mouth...
"Boss Zhou, we're at the hotel now. Let's check in first before going to Boss Shen's place!"
Zhou Qizhen had never thought that Secretary Ding was so bad. He graduated from a prestigious university, studied for both a bachelor's and a master's degree, and has been by his side since graduation. He has been promoted from an intern to the chief secretary without any mistakes.
Secretary Ding, who did not receive any instructions, looked at his boss who had become angry, and suddenly realized what a serious mistake he had just made.
Others may not be able to see it, but he has been with his boss through thick and thin. This is the look in his eyes when the boss dealt with the old guys on the board of directors. He is not even a young guy, what should he do? Secretary Ding wants to make amends, but he is afraid that the hole he has dug will become bigger.
At this moment, he felt himself sweating coldly, because he knew very well that because of his words just now, he had interrupted his boss's attempt to talk to the girl of his dreams.
He was the first to know that Lu Xiaoqiao was the boss's favorite girl. He remembered when he first joined the company, every time the company encountered a difficult problem or was in a bad mood, the boss would stare at a purple beaded bracelet and think.
It was not until Miss Lin Lin insisted on living on campus and was bullied in college that he put the investigation file of Lin Lin's roommate in front of the boss, and then pointed to a file placed separately on the side and told the boss that this classmate was the one who helped Miss Lin Lin. When the boss looked at the name on the file, he stood up from his chair in surprise and asked him to investigate more detailed files on Lu Xiaoqiao from childhood to adulthood.
He didn't think about it that way at first, but the boss customized a ladies' lilac purple Panamera from abroad. Because it was a private customization, the letters on it were all LXQ. Even if he was stupid, he understood it.
Not to mention that later the boss would take out the purple beaded bracelet and look at it whenever he had time, and his eyes changed from indifference at first to obsession later. As for when the two knew each other and how the boss fell in love with it, he had no idea.
Secretary Ding unconsciously turned his gaze to Lu Xiaoqiao, hoping to seek some help from the future boss lady.
Lu Xiaoqiao was startled by Secretary Ding's sudden glance at her. Why did he look like he was about to cry? She didn't understand why, and just thought that Secretary Ding shouldn't have interrupted Mr. Zhou.
But Zhou Qi didn't say anything just now, so it can't be considered an interruption.
After all, the topic was about cooking. Lu Xiaoqiao didn't want to make anyone unhappy, so she looked at Zhou Qizhen with a smile and said, "Mr. Zhou loves shrimps. I will make some of each for you."
Zhou Qi was stunned by the girl who suddenly turned towards him and spoke to him with a smile, but in the next moment he slightly raised the corner of his mouth.
"Okay, let me show you your cooking skills then."
It was visibly apparent that Zhou Qizhen's complexion had improved a lot. Based on Secretary Ding's understanding of his boss, this was definitely a happy thing for him.
Secretary Ding finally felt relieved and gave a grateful smile to the future boss lady. It seemed that he would definitely cling to her in the future, because she was really useful! She was always able to calm down the boss.
However, Lu Xiaoqiao felt that Secretary Ding's job was not easy. Serving the emperor was like serving a tiger. She saw how scared the children were. If it were her, she would not be able to do the job no matter how high the salary was.
The driver parked the car and several people got out. Secretary Ding, adhering to the principle of clinging to the boss's wife, didn't even bother with the boss's luggage and took down Lu Xiaoqiao's luggage first.
"Ms. Lu, let me help you take your luggage to your room! Which floor is your room on? I'll help you check in first."
"Secretary Ding, no need. Thank you. We can just take it ourselves. It's not heavy." Secretary Ding suddenly became more enthusiastic, which made Lu Xiaoqiao unable to resist.
"Okay, the suitcase will be damaged. Secretary Ding, please come back and let them handle it themselves. These are all rooms that have been reserved in advance, so it will be easy to handle. You can send Mr. Zhou's luggage to the room first, and we will wait for you here."
It was Li Yuxuan's timely words that stopped Secretary Ding's enthusiasm.
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