Chapter 10 Oh no... President Liang is bad...
After getting into the car, Peng Ze turned around and glanced at Jiang Nuanyu again, tentatively reminding her, "Mr. Liang, what about the old man's side tonight..."
Jing Chengming then called several younger members of the family back for dinner.
Liang Qi leaned back in his chair, unbuttoned his suit jacket, and didn't reply.
Peng Ze understood immediately, turned around, and said no more.
Liang Qi turned to look at Jiang Nuanyu: "Where do you live? Or, where are you going?"
Jiang Nuanyu understood Peng Ze's implication and guessed that Liang Qi had plans for the evening. Feeling bad about taking up his time, she said, "Once we get outside, I'll just take a taxi myself."
Liang Qi looked at her for two seconds, then instructed Peng Ze, "Drive out first and then we'll talk."
"Yes." Peng Ze nodded and started the car.
The road leading out of the convention center's underground parking garage was during rush hour, and cars were moving slowly, taking quite a while to merge onto the main road.
On a sweltering summer evening, the sun still hung high in the sky, casting a golden glow on the car and illuminating the road with a dazzling golden light.
Jiang Nuanyu wasn't sure whether Liang Qi had agreed to her suggestion earlier. Since changing lanes wasn't involved on the main road and no one was asking her, she didn't know whether she should speak up first.
The car was unusually quiet for a moment, with no one speaking.
Liang Qi sat quietly beside her, saying nothing and making no move, yet he intensely occupied her peripheral vision, making her inexplicably uncomfortable.
Half a minute later, she finally couldn't hold back and started making conversation: "Mr. Liang, thank you so much for the exhibition venue. You've done our magazine a huge favor."
The car was silent for a few seconds. Suddenly, Liang Qi chuckled softly.
Before speaking, she silently cleared her throat and licked her lips, but unexpectedly, she uttered this meaningless polite remark.
Jiang Nuanyu subconsciously turned her head, and he lifted his eyelids to look at her. If it weren't for the very faint smile in his eyes, she would have wondered if she had just imagined it.
Liang Qi said indifferently, "Even Editor-in-Chief Ji makes you all so polite?"
Jiang Nuanyu: "..."
Is he saying she's too fake?
She had no choice but to explain, "I wasn't being polite... The popular art centers and exhibition halls in Beijing are extremely busy this month. I heard that the brand had been asking for very good resources for the past few months, but they could only get a slot in November."
Liang Qi remained silent for several seconds.
Before yesterday, he had no idea about the exhibition, let alone offered any help.
Seeing that he was quiet, Jiang Nuanyu couldn't help but turn her head again, only to find that he was looking at her as well.
This was the first time she had seen him in full formal attire up close. His jet-black tie was securely fastened at the collar of his metallic gray shirt; over it was a medium gray suit jacket, with varying shades of gray weave, which accentuated his mature and composed demeanor, as well as an understated sense of power.
For some reason, the phrase "elegant and refined scoundrel" suddenly popped into her head.
She was momentarily dazed, then looked into his eyes when she came to her senses.
Liang Qi: "What?"
Jiang Nuanyu immediately thought of her inner monologue from earlier, pursed her lips awkwardly, and then brought the topic back to the previous one: "Oh... so, you really were a great help."
After listening, Liang Qi finally nodded and smiled, replying, "Okay."
His tone carried an inexplicable sense of accommodation, and as Jiang Nuanyu listened, her heart began to race.
She silently turned back, her gaze falling to the window, and decided to keep quiet.
The car finally drove out of the most congested section of the road, and the traffic gradually became smoother. The street scene outside the window began to recede at a visible speed.
Peng Ze observed the two people in the back seat through the rearview mirror. Liang Qi noticed and asked, "Have you decided where to go?"
Jiang Nuanyu: "..."
He made it sound like she was deliberately trying to hide her whereabouts.
She gave him the general direction of her neighborhood, and Peng Ze said okay and increased his speed.
As they approached an intersection, the red light turned green, so Peng Ze didn't slow down much.
Just as I was about to cross the zebra crossing, several young people riding road bikes suddenly darted out from the right, clearly trying to cross the line and run the red light as soon as it turned red.
There was a bus at the front of the right lane, which blocked part of the view. He didn't have time to react, and the distance suddenly closed. Just when it looked like he was about to hit it, Peng Ze slammed on the brakes.
Caught off guard, Jiang Nuanyu lunged forward, completely losing control of her body.
Liang Qi instinctively reached out and blocked her shoulder, pressing her back into her seat so she wouldn't bump into the back of the seat in front of her.
Before they could even recover from the shock, a loud bang came from the rear of the car, making the whole vehicle shudder.
Jiang Nuanyu was even more confused, completely unaware of what had happened.
Peng Ze turned around and calmly said, "Mr. Liang, there's been a rear-end collision. I'll go down and take a look." He then got out of the car.
Jiang Nuanyu had never experienced a traffic accident before, and she never expected that a mere rear-end collision would cause such a commotion.
The cyclists simply walked around the front of the car and left without looking back, as if they weren't the ones who almost caused the accident.
Before she could recover from her shock, Liang Qi said, "Get out of the car first."
She sat motionless in her seat, stunned. Liang Qi got out of the car, walked around to her side, opened the car door from the outside, leaned down, and frowned slightly: "Come here."
Jiang Nuanyu gave a slow "Oh" and got out of the car, holding onto the door.
The car behind was a beige Mini Cooper, driven by a young woman who was probably experiencing a traffic accident for the first time. She was holding her phone and hurriedly apologizing to Peng Ze by the car.
Seeing Liang Qi get out of the car, Peng Ze came over and said, "Mr. Liang, I have already contacted the driver, who will come to pick you up soon."
Liang Qi frowned, thought for a couple of seconds, and glanced across the street: "No need."
Peng Ze was taken aback for a moment, then nodded in understanding: "Okay."
The light turned red, and cars stopped one by one. Liang Qi walked to Jiang Nuanyu's side, took her wrist, and led her across the road to the square.
Jiang Nuanyu mechanically followed him, and by the time she realized what was happening, Liang Qi had already let go of her.
He held her hand naturally and let go naturally, giving her no chance to think too much.
He glanced at her sideways, raised his chin, and said, "Change cars."
Jiang Nuanyu looked up and saw that the surrounding skyscrapers were towering into the clouds.
Although she was puzzled, she didn't ask any further questions.
Upon reaching the building entrance, a row of English letters is displayed on the glass panel: TIANQI GROUP.
She now understood; the headquarters of Tianqi Group was located here.
This area is Beijing's new CBD. She rarely comes to this area, no wonder she didn't recognize her earlier.
The two passed through the automatic doors. Because it wasn't a working day, there weren't many people in the building. The security guard on duty at the turnstile recognized Liang Qi, stood up to greet him, and then pulled open the safety belt to let them through.
Liang Qi led Jiang Nuanyu to the executive-only elevator lobby and pressed the up button.
The elevator doors opened, but Jiang Nuanyu suddenly hesitated. After hesitatingly entering the elevator, Liang Qi pressed the floor button, and she asked, "Is it...appropriate for me to go up like this?"
Liang Qi looked up and saw her in the reflection of the elevator. Meeting his gaze, she said, "Won't this cause you any trouble?"
Liang Qi's gaze fell upon it: "No."
Jiang Nuanyu nodded and said "Oh," without saying anything more.
The elevator stopped on the 53rd floor. After the doors opened, a receptionist in a business suit stood up and greeted him with a standard smile: "Good afternoon, Mr. Liang."
Liang Qi nodded slightly and turned to Jiang Nuanyu, saying, "This way."
Jiang Nuanyu silently followed him, passing through the passage on the left.
Turning off the corridor, you'll find a fairly large office area: a sofa set in the center, surrounded by greenery; to the right is probably a small meeting room, and to the left are two desks; further in, there's a dark-colored double door.
Liang Qi went over and pushed the door open, with Jiang Nuanyu following behind him. After they went inside, he slowly let go of her hand.
The door closed behind me, and the afterglow of the setting sun streamed in through the two floor-to-ceiling windows; the view outside was expansive, and between the rows of tall buildings, the distant horizon could be faintly seen, a gradient of orange-red.
The office space is extremely spacious, yet the decoration is not overly elaborate. A set of black leather sofas sits to the left of the center, followed by a large desk and a full-wall bookshelf behind it.
This is Liang Qi's space.
Liang Qi went to his desk, opened a drawer, took out a car key, and looked up to see Jiang Nuanyu still standing at the door, staring blankly at his office.
Her brows were slightly furrowed, and her expression was somewhat blank, as if she were thinking; he stared at her for a while, and she continued to look at him.
Liang Qi suddenly chuckled softly and asked, "Would you like to sit for a while?"
As he spoke, he switched hands to hold the car keys, picked up the phone on the table, and seemed to be asking the people outside to prepare water.
Jiang Nuanyu snapped out of her daze and quickly waved her hand, "No need, I won't sit down..."
"Do you like it here?"
Jiang Nuanyu's face immediately flushed: "The view from here... is quite good."
Liang Qi glanced out the window, nodded, and then looked at her, as if wanting to hear what else she had to say.
Jiang Nuanyu forced herself to remain calm and continued, "The decorating style also... has a very efficient and pragmatic feel. It should complement your work style."
She smiled slightly, but her eyes weren't on him. While she was telling the truth in some ways, she really couldn't keep up the pretense...
Liang Qi didn't make things difficult for her anymore. He walked over to her and said, "Thank you for your feedback."
He finished speaking and smiled slightly, then went to the door and opened it.
Jiang Nuanyu: "..."
Her face was burning hot.
·
Upon returning to the elevator lobby, the reception assistant stood up again: "Goodbye, Mr. Liang."
Liang Qi responded with a nod.
The two stepped into the elevator, and the doors slowly closed.
Just as the reception assistant was about to sit down, Jing Yao slowly walked over from the other side, so she bowed again and said, "Mr. Yao."
Jingyao ignored her, his gaze fixed on the elevator door that had just closed, a cryptic smile playing on his lips.
·
As the elevator descended, Jiang Nuanyu felt extremely uneasy.
She didn't understand how things had developed like this in just half an hour.
Liang Qi personally escorted her home; how could she possibly imagine that?
As she stepped out of the elevator, she glanced at Liang Qi discreetly. Liang Qi sensed her gaze and turned to look at her.
His eyelids were lowered, casting a faint shadow beneath them, making his gaze even more deep and unfathomable.
Jiang Nuanyu's heart suddenly raced, and she quickly looked away.
After getting in the car, she pulled on her seatbelt and fastened it, thinking about how to give the specific address later without making it seem like she was treating Liang Qi as her driver.
Just as he was pondering this, Liang Qi suddenly asked, "Are you in a hurry to go home?"
"Hmm?" Jiang Nuanyu fastened her seatbelt and turned her head in a daze.
Liang Qi said, "If you're not in a hurry, I'll take you somewhere."
He spoke very softly at the end, making it impossible to tell whether it was a genuine invitation or just a casual remark.
Jiang Nuanyu paused for two seconds, and before she could think it over, she agreed with her mouth: "Okay."
Liang Qi nodded, looked away, and started the engine.
The car slowly drove out of parking lot T. Outside the car window, the city lights and the last rays of the setting sun intertwined to create dappled light and shadow, soft and dreamlike.
Having learned from her previous embarrassing experience, Jiang Nuanyu chose not to say anything this time.
She didn't say anything, and Liang Qi didn't bring up the topic either.
The journey was quiet.
About twenty minutes later, the car drove into a villa area surrounded by greenery.
Liang Qi turned the car into a courtyard, stopped it, turned off the engine, and unbuckled his seatbelt: "We're here."
Jiang Nuanyu peered through the windshield and saw a modern three-story villa in front of her.
She couldn't help but wonder what kind of place this was.
A note from the author:
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