Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
How did it feel to finally see the man you love after a long separation?
It was a bit distant but also familiar. You saw him sitting in the crowd and didn’t belong to you at this moment. And after a while, you felt like you were on the verge of tears.
Lin Qian had never expected she would want to cry when she saw Li Zhicheng again. However, the dampness in her eyes couldn’t lie. She quickly turned her head around to avoid others seeing her, and to suppress the impulse to weep.
She never complained about him not visiting her. But now, she felt a little wronged.
Darn it… Li Zhicheng. Why didn’t you come visit me? It’s been two months. Do you know I almost forgot what it feels like to be with you?
After calming herself down, she turned around and had the round desk in her sight. A sales manager was talking. “Mr. Li, the biggest problem facing Aito right now is,”
he paused, smiled and continued, “we could not keep up with the demand.”
Everyone in the meeting grinned hearing this. Lin Qian couldn’t resist smiling too and turned to look at Li Zhicheng; he had been sitting with his head bowed, but he also gave a wee smile and looked up at the sales manager.
Suddenly, he halted his body movement.
Everyone could tell he was about to say something. However, he acted as if he were paralyzed, keeping his head up until the last trace of smile faded away from his face. He was looking at the sales manager, but somehow it seemed like he was trying to see somewhere else through him. He looked solemn and others could not tell that was in his mind.
This was a brand-new situation which confused his subordinates. Lin Qian’s heart skipped a beat as she stared at his profile. With everyone watching, he didn’t look at her, but she felt like…
It had been only a momentary pause. Soon, Li Zhicheng continued to speak without changing his facial expressions, “How much inventory is on-hand? How much have we raised productivity?”
This corresponded to the sales manager’s comment that “supply could not keep up with the demand”. Liu Tong, who was responsible for production technology, gave him two numbers. Li Zhicheng nodded his head with a fixed expression. He picked up the teacup beside him and had a sip.
Lin Qian grew more and more nervous along with every one of his moves.
And then she saw him put down the teacup, and as he lifted up his head, he looked towards her naturally. His eyes were clear and bright like lakes. He caught her in sight immediately and gazed at her.
As for Lin Qian, she felt like her heart was being grasped by an invisible hand. She became unattentive for a moment and didn’t realize something went wrong when she felt a tear well up in her eye. She lowered her head to avoid eye contact with him.
He’s gotten skinnier, and his chin is a bit pointier. He looks in high spirits with his new haircut, which makes him look more mature but also forbidding.
After a while, she looked up again. Lin Zhicheng was talking to Liu Tong instead of looking at her. “Short supply is both good and troublesome. We’ve already reached full capacity in manufacturing and the production department won’t be able to handle it if sales keep rising,” Liu Tong said.
“How about pausing several production lines for other products and allocate the resources to Aito?” Another person suggested.
This topic temporarily caught Lin Qian’s attention. It was a controversial topic and no consensus was reached. After the group discussed for a time, everyone looked to Li Zhicheng and waited for his opinion. Li Zhicheng looked around the room, and when he made eye contact with Lin Qian again, they both had calmed down. Lin Qian was able to stare at him openly this time.
He sneaked a glimpse at her and said, “Don’t change anything yet. We should be steadier during this booming period. For the time being, everyone may need to put in extra time. Also, tell the Human Resources Department to give this quarter’s bonuses as soon as possible.”
Everyone beamed hearing the word “bonuses”. Gu Yanzhi and Liu Tong knew the bonus amount and distribution thereof. “We haven’t given our staff such a generous bonus for years,” said Liu Tong after reading the bonus plan.
Lin Qian laughed alongside everyone else. It became cheerful and lively after the discussion of serious topics with people talking about different subjects, and no one noticed that Li Zhicheng didn’t stop gazing at her keenly until her cheeks turned crimson and she began to feel awkward. He looked away, called the meeting to a close, and walked out of the room.
Li Qian sat still and looked at his back. She watched him walking, one footstep after another, as if they were stepping on her heart. Her heart followed his direction and couldn’t be soothed again.
What was love?
Love was when you thought you were able to handle your emotions effortlessly, but instead, you were like a floating kite, and one look from him resembled a tug on the string, pulling you back to his palms. Your body, together with you heart.
Lin Qian had just returned from her travels, and following the meeting, several managers wanted to catch up with her. Even executives like Gu Yanzhi and Liu Tong looked at her cheerfully and congratulated her on all her hard work and achievements. Nevertheless, she was a bit embarrassed by the meaningful look Gu Yanzhi gave her before he left.
Lin Qian talked with them for a while, but her mind had already snuck into another room.
Is he waiting for me now?
As the last stragglers drifted back to their departments, Lin Qian walked to Li Zhicheng’s office nervously. She put her hands on her side and felt some sweat lightly forming on her back.
Darn it.
She knew her face must be scarlet, because she felt like she been heated up. A few of her colleagues remained chatting in the corridor. Lin Qian felt the more she tried to pretend to act normal, the more she was giving away her nervousness. She had to lowered her head to avoid eye contact with others and knocked on his doorly gently, while whispering, “Mr.Li?”
“Come in,” he replied.
Lin Qian’s body trembled hearing his voice. She saw Li Zhicheng sitting behind his desk, holding a pen in one of his hands and a pile of documents in the other. He seemed to be checking them, and Jiang Yuan was standing aside, waiting.
Li Zhicheng looked up at her the second she stepped into his office and ceased working.
Li Qian unreservedly surrendered herself to him and her cheeks continued to burn. Knowing he was still busy with work, Lin Qian didn’t say a word, rather, she glanced at him, walked to the sofa along the wall, and decided to wait for him.
Jiang Yuan was also torn. He could have walked out the minute Lin Qian stepped in, but the documents that he needed approval on were also very important. Besides, the process would only take a few minutes, and it was inappropriate for him to just walk out without instruction. He knew that for Li Zhicheng, work always came first, and therefore he did not feel comfortable to just walk out without permission. Just when he was pondering what he should do, he heard Li Zhicheng, whose eyes were fixed at Lin Qian, said, “Jiang Yuan, would you go out first?”
Jiang Yuan blamed himself for not following his instincts to leave, but he responded in an unruffled manner, “Of course.” He walked out hurriedly, carefully closed the door and waited outside without making a sound.
The unspoken understanding between the boss and his assistant made Lin Qian’s heart pound even more quickly. She sat on the sofa and looked at him fervently. Li Zhicheng had already got up and walked to her. The sun cast the long shadow of his willowy body on the floor. The silhouette touched her feet, as if she were about to be swallowed by it. Lin Qian felt anxious and stood up. It had been only two months, but Lin Qian felt like she hadn’t looked at him so clearly and at such a short distance for years. She was still looking at that familiar strapping man with a distinctly contoured face. His deep-set eyes, high cheekbones and light skin appeared to be more elegant with his shirt on him. His eyes resembled an abyss, and one could be trapped inside with one look.
He stared at her in silence.
Lin Qian silently moved her lips. Li Zhicheng lower his head, stretched his long arms and embraced her. Lin Qian couldn’t resist shedding tears any longer, and held his waist with her hands, while his hands were pressing her shoulders and waist with strength. Just like in the past, he wrapped her so tight that she couldn’t move a muscle. Lin Qian’s toes were almost off the ground. In his embrace, she felt her body go limp and her breath begin to rasp. The entire room was quiet except for their heartbeats.
In a while, Lin Qian heard him murmur slowly in a husky voice, “My Workaholic Xishi, my lady, she is finally back.”
