Chapter 9 You said it, so I believed you. ...
Jiang Nuanyu's heart jumped into her throat.
To Liang Qi's left was the brand's head, and to her right was the editor-in-chief, Ji Meng; she didn't recognize the others.
A dozen or so people dressed in formal attire walked in a long procession from her right to her left. Nearly ten meters away, it seemed no one noticed her secluded corner.
Jiang Nuanyu decided to remain silent for now. If she wasn't discovered, she would make a quick getaway once everyone had entered the elevator.
As they approached the elevator, Liang Qi, who had been listening to the conversation, suddenly turned and glanced at her.
His glance immediately drew everyone's attention.
Nearly ten pairs of eyes turned to look at her, making Jiang Nuanyu feel extremely uncomfortable. She slowly stood up.
The general manager of the convention center, who was walking on the far side, quickly observed Liang Qi's expression.
He had noticed someone on the sofa earlier, but he wanted to pretend he didn't see them. After all, the big boss was there, and he didn't want to cause trouble for himself.
But it's too late now.
The center's general manager forced a smile and asked, "Ma'am, this is the administrative area. May I ask who you are...?"
Ji Meng was also a little surprised to see her and asked, "Jiang Nuanyu? What brings you up here?"
Jiang Nuanyu forced a smile: "Editor-in-chief, I..."
She glanced at the emergency exit on the left side of the elevator, unsure how to explain, and regretted not leaving a few minutes earlier.
Her mind raced, searching for a suitable reason, when her gaze inadvertently fell on Liang Qi.
He looked at her calmly and evenly, his gaze serene and without a trace of emotion.
Jiang Nuanyu was inexplicably stung by that gaze. Forget about decorum and just wanted to get away as soon as possible, she steeled herself and said, "Excuse me, I just wanted to rest here for a while. There's no room downstairs." She leaned forward slightly. "I'm so sorry, I'll go down now."
Her reckless and frank confession left the others speechless for a moment.
Ji Meng knew that Jiang Nuanyu was always tactful and was from the magazine, so she helped to smooth things over: "Today is the first day of the event, and it's fully booked. The number of visitors is indeed a bit higher than expected."
"It was also our oversight; the list of additional invitees wasn't properly streamlined," the brand representative chimed in.
Apart from these two stakeholders, no one else spoke up.
Jiang Nuanyu bowed slightly again, about to leave, when Liang Qi spoke up: "T Magazine is also the organizer of the event. Since there's space, why don't you stay and rest here?"
This sounds like a gesture of respect to the stakeholders who spoke up earlier.
As soon as he finished speaking, the center's general manager immediately understood and pointed to the corridor on the other side, saying politely, "That's the tea room; you can have something to drink there."
Now that the owners of this place have spoken, it would be too impolite to refuse any longer. Jiang Nuanyu smiled politely and said, "Then I'll have to bother you. Thank you."
The center's general manager nodded slowly, then tentatively looked at Liang Qi.
Liang Qi withdrew his gaze, said nothing more, and walked towards the elevator first. The others followed.
Jiang Nuanyu didn't look up at Liang Qi again until the elevator doors closed.
She couldn't guess his motives for bringing it up. Was it a tactful way of leaving things unsaid? Or a thoughtful gesture with a deeper meaning? She didn't want to delve into it.
She understood what Ye Ji had said that day, and even felt that those realistic rules made a lot of sense. But she couldn't bring herself to compete with other women, especially those who had been by his side for so long.
It was true that she liked him, and it was true that she wanted to be close to him. Whether it was rashness or impulsiveness, she bravely confessed her feelings to him; the rest was beyond her control. She couldn't force anything.
I rested for a while, and my discomfort has subsided.
Although she had been granted permission to stay, she didn't intend to linger. After taking a deep breath to calm herself, she didn't take the elevator but instead returned to the first floor via the emergency exit.
Around 5 PM, after visiting the last exhibition area, Jiang Nuanyu's work finally came to a temporary end. She opened a ride-hailing app to call a car home.
As she was working on her computer, someone suddenly called out from behind, "Editor Jiang!"
Jiang Nuanyu turned around and saw Ding Han—a somewhat well-known fashion commentator who had collaborated with the magazine a few times before and had some personal connections with it.
Ding Han was very enthusiastic. Before she even got close, she started talking: "I was taking pictures over in the exhibition hall just now. I saw you flash by in the lens. I looked up and you were gone!"
Jiang Nuanyu smiled: "It just started today, so there are a lot of people here."
"Yes, the atmosphere is wonderful." Ding Han glanced around the venue. "I think this exhibition is the best so far this year."
Jiang Nuanyu said very politely, "Thank you for your recognition, Teacher Ding."
"Which part are you in charge of?" Ding Han asked.
“I wasn’t involved in the early stages,” Jiang Nuanyu said. “I’m only responsible for the later feature articles this time. I’m here today to gather materials.”
Ding Han raised an eyebrow: "Got it. I'll be the first to retweet it."
Jiang Nuanyu chuckled: "Then, I'm very grateful."
Ding Han asked again, "Are you all done?"
Jiang Nuanyu said, "Yes, I was just about to go back."
Ding Han's eyes lit up: "Do you have any plans for tonight? I've booked a skin treatment, want to go together? We can grab a late-night snack afterwards."
"No, I'm not feeling well today." Jiang Nuanyu frowned and shook her head. "It's the first day of my period."
“No wonder,” Ding Han looked at her carefully, “you don’t seem to be in good spirits.”
"Hmm." Jiang Nuanyu wrinkled her nose.
Ding Han asked again, "Really not going?"
Jiang Nuanyu nodded and said, "Next time, I'll ask you out next time."
"Alright then."
"Huh?" Ding Han changed the subject, "Have you tried that red ginseng oral liquid that's been really popular lately? It's specially for replenishing qi and blood."
Jiang Nuanyu smiled and said, "No."
Ding Han said seriously, "Let me tell you, it's incredibly effective, it's not a scam. I have an unopened box in my car, you can take it and try it."
Jiang Nuanyu quickly waved her hand: "No need, really no need. My blood and qi are... fine."
“You have to try it, really. A woman’s blood and energy are so important.” Ding Han said, already taking out her car keys from her bag. “My car is on the basement level, wait for me for two minutes.”
Knowing she couldn't refuse any longer, Jiang Nuanyu went down to the underground parking garage with her.
Ding Han took a small red box from the passenger seat and handed it to her: "Have one when you get home today, and you'll definitely have more energy tomorrow."
"Okay." Jiang Nuanyu accepted, "Thanks."
"I'm off then." Ding Han waved as she got into her car. "Bye-bye. See you next time."
"Bye-Bye."
Jiang Nuanyu watched Ding Han's car leave, looked down at the box in her hand, smiled helplessly, and stuffed it into her bag.
While waiting for the elevator, Jiang Nuanyu pondered what to have for dinner. She had used up a lot of energy today and was already a little hungry.
I glanced at the time; it was rush hour, and there was bound to be traffic.
The convention center and her home are in opposite directions, which makes her worry.
The numbers on the display jumped up and down, finally stopping at B1.
"bite--"
Jiang Nuanyu looked up, and the elevator doors slowly opened, revealing Liang Qi standing inside.
Unlike when he was surrounded by people upstairs, he now had his eyes lowered, hands in his pockets, and appeared much more relaxed. The cold, white lights in the elevator car accentuated his sharp and stylish features.
The stairwell door opened fully, and Liang Qi looked up. Jiang Nuanyu panicked immediately, not knowing where to look.
It wasn't until everyone had stepped out of the elevator that she remembered she needed to say hello. She quickly nodded and greeted him in a low voice, "President Liang."
As soon as she spoke, she pondered why she had used that form of address. She figured it was probably because they were now in a work setting, and she felt a natural sense of respect for Liang Qi.
Liang Qi nodded slightly in response.
Jiang Nuanyu lowered her head and took a step to the side, making way for him to go first.
Liang Qi did not leave directly.
He stopped beside her, turning his head slightly to look at her: "Still busy?"
Jiang Nuanyu looked up with slight surprise. Liang Qi's expression remained unchanged, as if he had just asked casually.
She replied, "No, it's over."
Liang Qi hummed in agreement and said nothing more.
Jiang Nuanyu ignored him and stared at the glass partition of the parking lot in front of her.
On the other side of the glass, a car drove out of the parking space and turned away, but Liang Qi hadn't said anything yet.
She guessed that he was waiting for her to speak, waiting for her attitude; she also knew that her best choice at this moment was to say goodbye immediately and without hesitation, and then leave.
But perhaps it was her pride that was getting in the way. Another car drove by, and in the blink of an eye, she saw something and blurted out, "Um, I'm sorry."
Liang Qi pursed his lips slightly, then relaxed them, not responding immediately, waiting for her to continue.
But she didn't say anything else.
He glanced outside, then looked back at her before asking, "Why are you sorry?"
Jiang Nuanyu swallowed hard, saying, "That night on Menghe Island, what I said to you, that day I was..." She shook her head, suppressing the irrelevant words, and only said, "If... if I had known you had a girlfriend, I..."
As she spoke, she noticed her voice trembling slightly.
This step is not so easy.
Saying these things in front of Liang Qi was far more difficult than she had imagined.
She took a breath and tried to keep her voice steady: "Anyway, I'm sorry for bringing that up so abruptly. I hope it didn't bother you."
After the words were spoken, only silence remained in the elevator, which was neither too big nor too small.
Liang Qi looked down at her, momentarily bewildered. He felt that her reactions were always unexpected.
Seeing his silence, she looked up at him with unease and confusion. Catching her gaze, his eyes narrowed slightly, as if urging or encouraging her.
She quickly lowered her eyes.
Now Liang Qi remembered that she had the same expression when they bumped into each other at the restaurant more than ten days ago.
"Ding—" Another sound.
The elevator brought people down again.
Jiang Nuanyu glanced in the direction of the elevator and felt it was time for her to leave.
After everyone left, the elevator returned to silence. Before she could speak, Liang Qi said, "If you're referring to Shi Youning as your girlfriend, I can only say that it was a misunderstanding that day."
Jiang Nuanyu was taken aback, her eyelids twitching a few times. The words she had prepared vanished without a trace. After a few seconds, she recovered from her shock: "It doesn't necessarily have to be the word 'girlfriend,' even if it's just..."
"No, not exactly," Liang Qi interrupted her calmly.
Jiang Nuanyu was taken aback by his direct answer, her heart trembled, and she suddenly felt lost.
Despite having no evidence, at that moment, she believed him.
Liang Qi looked at her for a few seconds and said, "Where are you going? I'll take you."
"..." Jiang Nuanyu was taken aback again, and stammered, "Uh... I can take a taxi."
Liang Qi: "Inconvenient?"
"Oh? Convenient." Jiang Nuanyu subconsciously denied it, then felt that it sounded too matter-of-fact, and quickly added, "I mean, it's no trouble at all..."
Liang Qi said, "There's a traffic jam at the entrance of the venue, and taxis won't be able to get in for a while."
Jiang Nuanyu pursed her lips, thinking it over and over. In the current situation, she didn't seem to have a reason to refuse Liang Qi.
She didn't mention leaving again. When their eyes met, Liang Qi tilted his head slightly towards the exit and said, "Let's go."
Jiang Nuanyu lowered her eyes and nodded, then walked beside him.
Liang Qi's car was parked on the right side of the elevator lobby. As soon as he got out, Peng Ze got out of the driver's seat and opened the rear door on the side closest to the two of them.
Liang Qi didn't choose to get in; instead, he went around to the other side, opened the door, and got into the car himself.
Jiang Nuanyu hesitated for a moment, then walked over, thanked Peng Ze, and got into the back seat.
A note from the author:
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