Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Lin Qian’s goal when she left that morning was to conduct field observations at New Bori’s flagship store.
It was frustrating to see that Sha Ying was selling like hotcakes.
As she was watching, she naturally got upset and enraged. Who would have expected at that moment, a gentle and clear voice would ring beside her ear, “Zero dollars.”
What Lin Qian first saw under the bright sunlight was the man’s long shadow cast next to her feet.
Tsk, such a small world.
Lin Qian turned her head to him, her face beaming, “Mr. Ning, what a coincidence.”
Ning Weikai was calm today after all, smiling and teasing her, “It is not a coincidence, I deliberately followed you.”
This statement made Lin Qian’s facial expression freeze slightly. But her ability to read the atmosphere was not to be scoffed at. After carefully sizing up Ning Weikai’s expression, she concluded that he was joking.
She laughed along, “You must be bored out of your mind then.”
The interactions among human beings are quite interesting and strange. With some people, you naturally would be straight-faced and properly mannered; while with others, you just couldn’t help but be bickering. Even having drifted apart after so many years, even though Ning Weikai had been in higher position of authority and was no longer a brat like he used to be, after this brief exchange, they fell into their old rhythm.
Her sharp tongue made Ning Weikai chuckle. He extended his hand to pat her head, “Come, let us go grab a drink.” Lin Qian didn’t fancy having any form of physical contact with him, so she quickly tilted her head to avoid his hand.
As for going for tea, she wanted to go. She saw Sha Ying as a thorn in her eye, and upon meeting Sha Ying’s leader, how could she not take to opportunity to inquire a bit?
She nodded gladly. The two of them, each with their own axe to grind, slowly walked into a coffee house around the corner.
The story of Lin Qian and Ning Weikai could be traced back seven years. She had been in her Sophomore year; Ning Weikai had been in his Senior year.
At that time, what kind of man was Ning Weikai? Even though he was of humble origins, he was outstanding. He was handsome, gentle, kind, humorous and suave. He graduated at the top of his class from business school and had been recruited as a management trainee by a company on the Fortune 500 list prior graduated. He had everything that a male university student could ask for.
At the time, Lin Qian was participating in a business simulation competition where she got to know Ning Weikai and share a common group of friends. However, at that time she was more carefree, joining clubs and events at every opportunity. She only viewed Ning Weikai as a friend.
Then Ning Weikai confessed to her. He had his ways of courtship, not as forceful as Li Zhicheng, instead he was extremely tender and caring. Every morning, he would buy Lin Qian breakfast, take her to class, spend time studying with her in the afternoon, and get her water and buy her fruit at night.
He even wrote her love letters. His was a talented writer, no woman could remain unswayed after reading his sincere and tender words.
Lin Qian was touched too. At that age, Ning Weikai fulfilled all the requirements of a perfect boyfriend. Even though prior this Lin Qian said that they were just friends, she actually did have feelings for him.
As for him being poor? Lin Qian didn’t care about this at all.
After being courted by Ning for more than a month, the two began dating. The first week they were together was quite sweet. The two had mutual hobbies; both of them liked to do things out of the box, and they were truly happy being together every day.
Because Lin Qian had always been very easy to get along, she was liked a lot by her friends, and even Ning Weikai could not compared to her popularity. After only dating for half a month, someone secretly came to tell Lin Qian, “Zero dollars, yesterday night, your Ning Weikai hung out with a bunch of people. It is said that he made out with a girl.”
Lin Qian was shocked. But she knew Ning Weikai was eloquent and could find excuses or “proper explanations” to persuade her that he was not at fault, so she was cautious and didn’t confront him; instead she first asked around and coaxed the truth out of other people who were there.
The truth was… they really did kiss. The girl was a pretty, second-generation heiress who had long admired Ning Weikai. That night they were playing truth-or-dare, but their intimacy went well beyond the requirements of the game. It was not certain whether the girl had set him up.
The next day when she broke up with him, Ning Weikai tried to make her stay. He grabbed on to her and tried to prevent her from leaving; she has never seen his sullen expression before, “Zero dollars, that day I was tipsy, and we were only fooling around. I swear that I never contacted her again after that. Please don’t be so cruel, don’t tear us apart.”
Lin Qian brushed off his hand and left.
She subsequently heard vague rumors that Ning Weikai was depressed for quite a while. But she didn’t believe nor respond to it.
As she predicted, after two months, Ning Weikai and that pretty heiress ended up together. They were a good pair in the eyes of others.
Long after, when Lin Qian’s anger had subsided, she found she was not overly heartbroken. Therefore when they saw each other in public or at dinner with friends, they would still greet each other. But it was as though Ning Weikai had ingested gunpowder. He would always bring up the topic to be biting with her. Naturally she did not yield an inch, and responded in kind.
A few years passed. Finally there was news that Ning Weikai had married the renowned Zhu Hanyu, not that pretty girl from university.
Lin Qian’s feelings towards Ning Weikai were those of a melodramatic first love. He had the intellect and looks that every man desired, yet he also had the typical bad habits of men. It was best for them to break up.
Every now and then when she was shifting through her old things, she would come across one of the love letters that Ning Weikai had written for her all those years ago, and she couldn’t help but laugh. Lines like “Since you were in your first year, when I saw you at the freshman ball, I was smitten”, or “I’m deeply fond of you, and was long before you knew”, even lines such as “Would you be willing to rent a place together, live off bread, and bear hardships together to build a future together?”
Hmph, these are all just the sweet words of men. Lies and deceptions.
It was noon. The coffee house sold light meals in addition to tea, so there were a lot of people inside. Ning Weikai guided Lin Qian with one hand; they found a table next to the window at the innermost end. He was even thoughtful enough to let her sit on the shady seat while he sat on the scorching seat directly facing the sunlight.
Noticing everything, Lin Qian commented, “You can pass for a gentleman?”
A smile slid across Ning Weikai’s face, “I have always been like that. You should have known.”
Lin Qian ignored him.
After casually ordering two cups of tea, the two sat facing each other in silence.
Ning Weikai broke into a smile first, “Are you very demotivated recently?”
Lin Qian wanted to scowl at him, but she held it in, replying flatly, “Still okay.”
Ning Weikai took a sip of coffee, raised his gaze and looked at her, “What do you think of ‘Sha Ying’?”
Lin Qian paused for a moment, answering: “Very good.”
“Oh?” Ning Weikai chuckled, “Compared to Aito?”
Lin Qian looked straight at him: “It’s better than Aito.”
Honestly speaking, when Ning Weikai saw her standing outside the flagship store, he thought she was in a bad mood, and therefore was sure to pick a fight.
He never thought that she would openly admit that Aito was not as good as Sha Ying.
He gave her a look, “So now would you admit that I win?”
Lin Qian nodded, “Yes, fair and square.”
Ning Weikai felt…flattered.
Such flattery was different from the praise that his subordinates would give. The satisfaction it brought was also different from the admiration of Zhu Hanyu.
Maybe it was because Zhu Hanyu didn’t really understand how remarkable he was for launching Sha Ying. But Lin Qian understood, because she was deeply affected by it, fair and square, however she wouldn’t give up, resulting in her feeling dejected.
Ha…
Seeing the smiles in the corner of his eyes, Lin Qian took the chance to say, “This time Aida has lost, I have no words to say. But what I want to know is how did you get Wang Taishi to change sides?” She stared intently at him, confused and unwilling, “Benefits? But now Aito is also developing very well, whatever benefits you can offer, we can match.”
Seeing her getting emotional, Ning Weikai put on a faint smile.
Lowering his head, he saw her fingers on the coffee cup, delicate and pale; she was holding it a little too hard, so the hand seemed almost frail.
A thought popped up in his head: after all these years, she is still so… pliable yet tough.
Very feminine, but pliable yet tough.
“Lin Qian,” he stared at her, speaking slowly. This time, his tone was not flirtatious. His temperament was cold and poised, as per usual for New Bori’s CEO.
“Has anyone told you that a woman like you is unsuitable for the business world?” he said. “Truly, you are intelligent, and talented. But you will never act against your conscience or in an immoral manner, am I right?”
Lin Qian stared at him and didn’t make a sound.
“But we will.” Ning Weikai said lightly, “Men in the business world will exhaust all options. Everyone knows that. You ask me about Wang Taishi? Yes, to “convince” him, my subordinate has spent a great deal of effort. But I only care about results. However, you…”
He raised his head to stare at her; his gaze was calm, but his tone was back to being flirtatious. “You should be with a man that knows how to appreciate you. Let him handle everything. You should stay at home, help your husband and teach your children. Don’t get involved in a mess like this.”
8:00 p.m.
Lin Qian was driving Li Zhicheng’s Land Rover back to his townhouse. She stopped at the entrance and began carrying boxes into the house.
These were all items from the house she had rented. Even though she had only been there for less than a year, and had been so busy, she still managed to add a substantial amount to the pile. Aside from three large pieces of luggage filled to the brim, there were also many miscellaneous items that she managed to stuff into a few small storage boxes. There were even uneaten bundles of noodles and half a sack of fragrant rice.
The moonlight shone brightly and the summer night was clear. There she was, slowly moving things into the house bit by bit. Thinking back to the conversation she had with Ning Weikai in the morning, she could only sigh.
Thinking again about Li Zhicheng, her heart was unsettled. One thing she could be sure of was that the betrayal of Wang Taishi was not something Li Zhicheng had expected.
Li Zhicheng, Li Zhicheng. Just thinking his name made her heart feel like it was tied up in knots. She thought about him day and night.
After Li Zhicheng, Gu Yanzhi and the rest got off the plane, they each went home, after agreeing to have a meeting at the company tomorrow to further discuss.
The driver Xiaotang drove the car to the Li Zhicheng’s driveway, the heavy scent of flowers wafting; Li Zhicheng who was sitting in the back seat suddenly said, “Wait.”
The car gradually stopped.
Li Zhicheng raised his head, looking at his house. The lights were on, his Land Rover was parked at the front door with the trunk and the back doors opened.
He opened the door and got out, “You can go home now.”
Xiaotang didn’t ask much. He nodded, then turned around and left.
The weather was hot. Li Zhicheng was still in his shirt and slacks with his tie pulled up; his coat was nicely folded, hanging on his arm. He put his hands in his pockets, stood beside the shrubs a few meters away and watched silently.
After a few seconds, Lin Qian walked out. She was wearing a T-shirt, a pair of jeans and had her hair in a ponytail, briskly walking to the car and taking out a bag from the back seat.
Li Zhicheng felt that the bag was really not that big, but Lin Qian lifted it, weighed it in her hand, apparently thought that it was light enough, then slowly turned around and moved the bag into the house.
Through all this, her eyes stared at the ground. She was clearly deep in thought.
Even with as a large person as Li Zhicheng standing a few meters away from her, she had not noticed and went into the house again.
Li Zhicheng was not in a rush to greet her. Instead he went over to the car and looked inside. He saw the back seat was piled with paper boxes, oxford cloth storage containers, and a few bundles of books. He looked into the trunk and saw two huge pieces of luggage.
Li Zhicheng looked at those things; he couldn’t help but laugh a bit. When he turned his head again, he saw Lin Qian was standing at the door, blankly staring at him.
“Why didn’t you wait for me to get back before moving your stuff?” he asked.
Lin Qian didn’t say a word. She walked towards him slowly and raised her head to stare at him. Li Zhicheng pulled her into an embrace, conveniently pressing her against the car door and lowered his face to kiss her.
This kiss was deep and dominant as usual; Lin Qian instantly felt weak in her knees. Her heart melted too.
“Did you miss me?” he whispered in her ear.
During the two days when he was away, Lin Qian had been silently suppressing and brewing her worries and grievances. But right now she saw his expression was calm as usual; as though his departure was just a normal business trip. Lin Qian felt even more unsettled, but she didn’t question him. She grabbed on to his shirt, nodding, “Hmm. I miss you. Do you miss me?”
Li Zhicheng didn’t answer directly; he stared at her with his dark gaze, saying, “You will know.”
Those provocative words made Lin Qian’s heart skip a beat; she lifted her gaze to look at his face again. But he remained expressionless so she couldn’t read him.
Meanwhile, Li Zhicheng held her hand; looking at all the luggage that packed the car, he asked, “At the speed you were moving, how late were you planning to carry all this?”
Lin Qian was a little embarrassed, answering, “I am free anyway. I can slowly move them.”
Li Zhicheng planted a kiss on her forehead; tossing his coat to her, he rolled up his sleeves and said, “Go in and make tea for me.”
Lin Qian nodded and entered the house obediently. In the end, when she came back after brewing the tea, she saw Li Zhicheng standing in the living room. The two big suitcases had already been moved into the house, together with all the other paper boxes. They were neatly arranged in the vestibule.
Lin Qian was shocked. So fast!
She passed the tea to him. Li Zhicheng’s forehead was covered with a thin layer of sweat; he took the tea and drank it all in one gulp. Then his gaze paused on another pile of her belongings messily stacked in the foyer, and asked, “How did you move these in?”
Those things weighed quite a bit too. Lin Qian replied sheepishly, “Before you came back, I only made about ten trips or so…”
Fine. I know our athletic capabilities vary dramatically … you don’t have to mock me.
She took away the cup in his hand. As she was about to leave the room, she felt something tighten around her waist. He hugged her tightly from behind. His body was hot, burning her back and her waist.
“What are you doing?” she turned her head and asked.
Li Zhicheng didn’t make a sound, instead he dipped his head to nibble on her neck. He only let her go when her whole body was quivering from his attention. He ordered, “Go shower first. Wait for me.”
Lin Qian walked away, restless and deep in thought. Meanwhile, Li Zhicheng moved everything from the car into the house. Finally, when he looked at the floor packed with her possessions, the image of her moving everything alone popped into his mind.
This woman. A few days ago, she was still reluctant to move in with him.
Now, while everyone outside thought that he was tumbling like a landslide after being defeated, she ended up moving in without warning.
Moving silently, alone.
This is his woman.
Lin Qian finished bathing and went downstairs; she saw Li Zhicheng sitting on the sofa, watching news on the TV.
She sat down beside him, watching the news together in silence.
As usual, it was the Lin City’s economic channel and the news was focused on the suitcase industry. The main topic was none other than Sha Ying. A commercial appeared featuring an endorsement of Sha Ying by an A-list celebrity. This commercial had reached over one hundred million views on the internet. The slogan was: “Ultra-light, ultra-strong, more tough, more perfect!”
Lin Qian was in a dilemma.
Before this she was on a high and told Li Zhicheng that she wouldn’t read his masterplan. But now that the situation had evolved to this stage; the rest of the world had turned upside down, so even though she seemed calm now, she was actually frantic with worry.
I want to read it…
But I can’t…
She felt torn, but in the end she decided to remain silent. However, she couldn’t help but took a peek at him. Surprising her, Li Zhicheng, who seemed so focused on the television, reacted quickly by glancing sideway and caught her peeking at him.
Their eyes met; Lin Qian lightly bit her lower lip. She didn’t say anything.
But he seemed to have understood all her thoughts, and slowly smiled. His hand reached out to grab Lin Qian, and pulled her into his lap; he lowered his head to stare at her, “You are quite good at holding your emotions in.”
Lin Qian snorted after he read her mind. She lazily lay on his lap in silence.
But Li Zhicheng hugged her and lifted her up, sitting her on his lap. He made her open her legs wide and sit directly on his waist. Then he clutched her waist, and raised his head to look at her.
This position was too intimate and sensual; no matter how many times they had made love, Lin Qian could still feel her face redden. She lowered her head, drawing circles on his neck using her fingers. Suddenly, she grasped his neck to vent out her frustration.
“Mind jumped ship,” she muttered.
“It’s fake,” Li Zhicheng answered crisply.
Lin Qian quickly raised her head, “But…” Ning Weikai had said with such certainty, as though he had indeed gone through many hardships in order to get Wang Taishi on his side.
Li Zhicheng understood what she was about to say; a sneer flashed past his eyes, and he said, “If we didn’t make it seem real, how would Ning Weikai be deceived? ”
Lin Qian’s heart was thumping. She pressed him further, “But Aito’s share of the market was snatched by Sha Ying.”
Li Zhicheng, “It’s all part of the plan.”
Now Lin Qian was completely speechless.
Li Zhicheng hugged her tighter. Their faces were almost touching; his dark gaze fixed on her, “I sent you a message before I left. Didn’t you read it?”
Lin Qian’s brain was a mess. Happiness, shock, disbelief, confusion… she took out her phone without thinking much, saying, “The other day there were too many messages, so I just ignored them all.”
The two looked at the phone in her hand together. Lin Qian’s pulse was racing as she scrolled through quickly. After scrolling a few pages, suddenly she saw a familiar name, “Ning Weikai”. Eh, today this fellow sent a message to her too? Lin Qian acted before her brain could respond, quickly skipping the message. She peeked at him, and seeing him unperturbed, wondered if he had noticed the name on that message.
Continue scrolling.
Finally she found his message. It was sent to her on the night he left for Shenzhen. Lin Qian was startled as soon as she saw the first line. It was…
“Things that seem fake are real, things that seem real are fake.”
This was the trick up his sleeve. They had discussed this first trick before. At that time he asked her to use the name of Vinda’s marketing department to secretly research and develop Aito.
Did he text her immediately on that day because he was afraid that she might be worrying about it these last few days? She couldn’t believe that she didn’t see it. D*mn it.
Scrolling down, she was stunned again.
Because the following text continued…”Give the enemy something to induce him to lose more valuable things; Give in order to take. Attain the goal with someone else’s labor and money; Advance secretly by an unknown path. Turn the enemy’s battery against himself. Sudden emerge of new force, killing three birds with one stone.”
