5. Snow in a silver bowl
A warm and cozy study.
A pale dream.
In the dimly lit carriage, just inches away, her pupils reflected Li Xiran's scarlet eyes.
The streetlights at night, accompanied by the wind, rushed in through the window, and his eyes, both bright and dark, were like a deep, secluded forest.
In the early spring/late summer, she wore a thin short skirt.
In this small, enclosed space, their bodies were pressed tightly together, and with the rise and fall of her chest, it was impossible to tell whose low breathing was disturbing the spring night.
This was one of the few times in her memory that Li Xiran looked at her so seriously, without the slightest hesitation.
His gaze lingered on her, moving from her eyes to the tip of her nose, then fixed on her bright red lips.
It was this intense, focused attention, coupled with the influence of alcohol, that made her suddenly want to take a risk.
She even wanted to respond to his attention.
So she wrapped her arms around his neck and brought her lips close...
It was the sudden burst of sunlight that pulled her from her lingering breaths.
The sunlight climbed up in an instant, and the sound track of the electric curtains carried the rustling of the climbing roses outside the window.
The dream of spring night ends on the morning of the Beginning of Summer.
Shang Xinuan's eyes were vacant, her body drenched in sweat as if she had just been pulled out of a sauna.
The lingering emptiness tugs at the unanswered questions in my dreams, and at the kiss that will happen in the next second.
She stared blankly at the Chinese-style embroidered wallpaper in front of her, her consciousness fading, unable to distinguish between dreams and reality.
All I remember is her cupping Li Xiran's face and asking, "Can you like me?"
Even his answer was silent in the dream.
As for that kiss...
Cold and chaotic, sluggish.
And a silent, restless irritation.
"I heard you speak, I thought you were awake." Aunt Hui first brought warm honey water to her bedside and asked with concern, "Does your head hurt?"
"..." Shang Xinuan remained silent, as if she were sulking with herself.
"Nuan Nuan, it's not that Aunt Hui is nagging, but your irregular schedule every day is bad for your health." Aunt Hui said while tidying up the clothes that Nuan Nuan had torn up all over the floor last night. "There's a gym and various sports fields at home, so you should exercise more."
"Chairman Shang is playing golf with your uncle and aunt on the back hill right now. Chairman Li is there too. Go and relax. Staying cooped up like this isn't good for thinking about your thesis."
No matter how much Aunt Ren Hui nagged, she acted as if she didn't hear a word.
It wasn't until the phrase "Chairman Li is also here" that things started to ripple, like petals falling onto a lake.
"Uncle Li is here too!"
Seeing that she finally responded, Aunt Hui said, "Chairman Li brought you back at three o'clock last night. Chairman Shang was worried that it would be unsafe for the driver to drive for another hour or so, so since it's the weekend, he let them stay at his house overnight, and the two of them could also get together."
Upon hearing this, Shang Xinuan jumped off the bed. "Okay! I'll go wash up now and play golf with Grandpa."
-
She wanted to impress Shang Zun by playing golf with him, and at the same time, she wanted to look her best in front of Li Xiran.
Shang Xinuan wore a light purple tracksuit, a short top paired with a short skirt, and her slender waist was revealed when she raised her arm slightly.
It exudes youthful energy while remaining sexy and alluring.
She had her hair tied in a high ponytail and wore a sports sun hat.
Just as I walked past the family museum, I saw my grandfather and Li Xiran standing together.
"Grandpa!" she called out in a loud, sweet voice, determined to attract everyone's attention the moment she appeared.
Shang Zun and Li Xiran were betting on whose ball would travel farther, with the stakes being the watches on their wrists.
Li Xiran achieved a good result, now it's the old man's turn.
Shang Xinu's shout immediately made the old man lose his grip on the pole.
"Oh my! You're such a little devil!" Shang Zun's face was full of helplessness and doting affection. The next second, she had already rushed into his arms. "Did you conspire with Xi Ran to bet on my watch?"
Shang Xinuan was unaware of what had happened and looked at Li Xiran with a hint of confusion.
He was wearing a short-sleeved sports polo shirt today as well, with his hands supporting him on a golf club, revealing his strong arm muscles.
At the end of the sleeve, half of a raven-black wing tattoo is faintly visible, with two bright red trailing tails at the end, resembling either a knife scar or a tattoo pattern.
The unkempt hairstyle, fluffy and shimmering with a faint golden glow under the light, was simply styling its own.
Seeing her approach, he took off his sunglasses.
Looking down at her expression, I saw the familiar gentleness.
"Grandpa!" she said sweetly, "I just woke up, unless Uncle can come into my dream."
After she finished speaking, her cheeks suddenly flushed red again.
Before she woke up, that person was indeed in her dream, and they were very affectionate.
"You shameless young lady, waking up so late in the morning, how dare you say that?" Though it was a reproachful remark, it was full of doting affection.
"Grandpa... I was just doing it to write a paper," she argued.
“Hmm! I really didn’t know that any paper needed to be written in a bar.” Shang Zun said, poking her nose with his finger, leaving a gray mark. “Yesterday’s paper must have been quite strong, you must have gotten drunk writing it.”
The young lady was inevitably lectured. When she looked up, she saw Li Xiran smiling at her with his eyes lowered. "Grandpa, you can't be angry with me just because I lost to Uncle by a watch."
Young lady is a master at dragging people down with her.
“I’d forgotten about it if you hadn’t mentioned it.” Shang Zun then looked at Li Xiran. “You’ve been spoiling her behind my back. Let’s see how you clean up the mess when she goes to study in England.”
The young lady clung to Shang Zun's arm, her bright eyes sparkling with mischief. "Then it seems that in order to make it easier for my uncle to clean up my messes, I'd better go to Yijing for graduate school."
"Xiran, did you hear that? From now on, she's under your control."
Li Xiran's jade-like hands rested on the golf club, and the sports watch on his wrist accentuated the bulging veins.
"Hmm? Hasn't she always been under my jurisdiction?" He looked at her and smiled slightly, and Shang Xinuan heard her own disordered heartbeat again.
The topic came up on a whim, and nobody took it seriously.
But a single sentence from Li Xiran was enough to easily stir her heart.
"Chairman Shang, Dr. Yang has arrived." Shang Zun has a physical examination every week.
Shang Xinuan took the cue from Shang Zun and said, "Grandpa, go quickly, I'll help you win back Uncle's watch."
Shang Zun had no way to deal with her, so he smiled, took off his watch, and stuffed it into Li Xiran's hand, saying, "It's yours now."
After watching her grandfather leave, Shang Xinuan looked at Li Xiran again, only to see him gazing at her thoughtfully.
A series of dream-like thoughts once again inappropriately surfaced in her mind.
The young lady's cheeks flushed, and she used her spoiled and unreasonable attitude as a cover, "Do you want to beat me?"
Li Xiran's laughter was very soft, and even the word "dare not" seemed like a feather, gently stirring her heart.
Then she saw him raise his wrist, take off the obsidian sports watch, and hand it to her.
Before she could even make out the string of English tattoos on his wrist, her vision was already obscured by Shang Zun's watch.
"Are you two going to fight or not?" Shang Chenxi, who was sitting under the pavilion, said, "If not, I'll fight with your aunt for a while."
Shang Xinuan wasn't there to play golf, so she handed the club to Shang Chenxi.
When Chu Ling came over, she first fed her a bite of jackfruit, "Your cousin took Xi Xi home yesterday, why hasn't he come back?"
She was completely drunk yesterday and didn't remember anything about Qiao Xi. "Ah? I'll call my brother in a bit."
"Never mind, I've already called, but no one answered. He's probably staying near the company again," Chu Ling said. "There's some bird's nest that's been dried for you in the gazebo, remember to eat it."
Shang Xinuan sat in Chu Ling's seat, absentmindedly stirring the bird's nest soup in her bowl.
"Still not sober?" Li Xiran asked, seeing that she seemed distracted.
Shang Xinuan shook her head; she wasn't still drunk at all.
She was clearly frustrated that she had lost her memory at a crucial moment, and now she didn't even have anyone to ask for details.
"Uncle," she said, still unwilling to give up, "I didn't say anything out of line yesterday, or act crazy while drunk, did I?"
Li Xiran paused, his eyes seeming to pierce through the clouds, "Remember?"
This question left her speechless.
I remember confessing my feelings and even kissing him. But I can't remember if it actually happened or if it was just a spring dream.
"That's why I asked, because I don't remember."
"No." Li Xiran looked away, picked up his glass and took a sip of water. "Very well-behaved."
have to!
The only party involved will not speak.
Shang Xinuan had no choice but to continue stirring her bird's nest soup.
"You haven't finished writing your paper yet?"
Shang Xinuan's lips twitched; this was definitely a disaster on par with her blackout.
"We're still checking the direction of the first draft." The young lady sighed. "Uncle, are theses even harder for you finance majors?"
Li Xiran said calmly, "I started working at Li's before I graduated. I finished my thesis while working, so it wasn't difficult."
Versailles.
It's too Versailles!
"Yu Jiayue. He's my classmate. He's interning at a TV station, and he's already finished writing his thesis."
"Uncle!" Shang Xin exclaimed, her eyes shining as if she had suddenly discovered a new continent. "Wouldn't a regular office job be helpful for writing my thesis?!"
"It will help you adjust your sleep schedule."
"Do you need a secretary or something? I'd like to try it out and see if it can help me make progress on my thesis."
Li Xiran looked at her, as if trying to see through the strange thoughts that filled her mind. "I don't lack anything."
As expected, her answer was followed by a mournful sigh.
“However, if you want to experience working in an office, I can prepare a separate workstation for you at Li’s.” Perhaps unable to bear seeing her disappointed expression, he added, “Or, since you’ve always preferred my office, I can give you half of it as a study.”
This was an unexpected answer. Shang Xinu was stunned for only a second before nodding excitedly, "I want yours."
"office."
It was a powerful, tingling electric current from her rapidly accelerating heartbeat, and a wave of secret joy enveloped her completely.
"Okay. I'll have the administration department handle it this afternoon."
"Then... you should report for duty on Monday."
"Okay!" she readily agreed, then hesitated, thinking of something, and asked, "Monday?"
"But I made an appointment with my classmate to go to the library on Monday to help me with my paper."
Li Xiran picked up his water glass again, took a sip, and said, "It's okay, you can come anytime."
Shang Xinu stared at him for a long time, then changed her words and said, "Uncle, I will arrive at the Li family on Monday sharp!"
Li Xiran smiled slightly, his eyebrows showing an indescribable sense of satisfaction. "Okay."
-
on Monday.
The board office of the Li Group.
Several people peered through the blinds and saw Shang Xinuan sitting at a table separated from the rooftop garden by a window. Sparse flower shadows fell on her cheeks, creating a beautiful and tranquil scene.
A chorus of sighs and lamentations rose and fell, sparking heated discussions throughout the entire Li family's internal network.
[Jordan from the Board of Directors' Office: The Little Boss's Wife Has Arrived!]
[Lemon from the Administration Department: No wonder the boss made such a big fuss about calling us back to work overtime yesterday; it turns out the boss's wife came to check up on us.]
[Bright from the Planning Department: Is this rumor authentic?]
[HR Chloie: They're sitting right in front of the boss, tell me, is it true or not!]
[Bright from the Planning Department: Does anyone remember the beautiful woman in the cheongsam that the Empress Dowager brought the day before yesterday?]
[HR Chloie: So it's obvious the boss's wife found out and came to assert her dominance.]
[Lemon from the Administration Department: That makes sense!]
"Good morning, Chairman!" Someone called out first, and then the entire president's office, and even the intranet, went back to activity.
The murmurs couldn't be heard inside the office, but the various greetings Li Xiran gave upon his arrival still drew Shang Xinuan's attention, causing her to look up towards the doorway.
This was the first time she had sat here in a different capacity, and for the next period of time, she would be sharing a room with him every day.
In order to blend in better with those high-level white-collar workers, she even prepared a wardrobe full of professional-style clothes overnight.
As Chen Ti pushed open the office door, she stepped into her high heels, smoothed out the wrinkles in her pencil skirt, and bowed deeply at a ninety-degree angle to Li Xiran, saying, "Good morning, Chairman Li!"
As she expected, Li Xiran was stunned for a moment.
There seemed to be a hint of amazement in his eyes. He looked at her for a long time before turning to Yu Jiayue sitting next to him.
“Chairman Li,” she said, her hands folded in front of her lower abdomen, looking more like a chairman’s assistant than Chen Ti. “I didn’t want to break the company’s work hours rules, but I had arranged to revise my thesis with a classmate today, so I brought people with me without permission.”
"I promise, just for one morning!"
Li Xiran's expression was unreadable; he simply walked calmly to her desk.
I gently squeezed the crabapple blossoms in the vase; I knew without a doubt that they were picked from the Sky Garden.
He didn't speak, but Chen Ti spoke first, politely and tactfully, "Miss Nuan Nuan, although this is a study specially approved for you by Chairman Li, it is still in the chairman's office, which involves a lot of work. In the future, you should pay more attention to the entry and exit of 'unauthorized personnel'."
The "unrelated person" almost choked and turned red in the face.
Only then did Li Xiran smile gently and say, "Since it's Nuannuan's study, she has half the freedom to use it."
Shang Xinuan was still immersed in the joy of moving into the Li family's board office and did not hear the whole story of the red and white cop. "Then I will bring people next time and tell Uncle... Chairman Li in advance."
Li Xiran's eyebrows twitched visibly, and he raised his hand to straighten the name tag she was wearing on her chest. "Okay, we'll do as Assistant Shang says."
A note from the author:
Li Xiran: Wuhu, intercepted.
Yu Jiayue: Wuhu, intercepting.
Shangxinuan: Wuhu, now open for business.
Chen Ti: Wuhu, redefining office play.
Peach: Wuhu, a no-prize quiz: Did they kiss...?
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