“If you continue kneeling there, I will not give you your red packet when the new year comes.”
His voice was icy yet also warm.
The intern, who was kneeling on the ground, raised her head. Looking into his deep-set eyes, she could feel the thumping of her heart. She seemed to see pink cherry blossoms fall around her amid a white mist, while he stood in that white mist and looked at her silently with a smile.
“Ziming, let’s go.”
Alas, the beautiful dream she had conjectured was shattered by Pei Ge’s sudden appearance.
The woman only said this one sentence after entering and immediately noticed that the intern kneeling on the floor shivering as though she had received a fright.
“Okay.”
Ji Ziming glanced at the still kneeling intern and did not say anything else. Instead, he only held Pei Ge’s hand and, with the blue folder in hand, left the shop.
“The CEO will still not be interested in you even if you continue kneeling on the floor.”
After Xu Huihui passed the document to the man and watched him leave, she stood beside the intern and said, “If you don’t get up now, the CEO won’t even look at you if he turns around.”
“I know.”
The intern crawled up from the floor and watched the man’s leaving back. Her voice was filled with some idolization as she said, “Manager, I know; I just wanted to see if the CEO would—”
“No matter what you are thinking, I will still tell you that it is impossible. The CEO is married, and they are a well-known sweet and loving couple. They treat each other with love and respect. You truly don’t have any chance. If you do, then that means that all of our sisters in this shop have a chance. After all, they’ve spent far much more time than you did with our boss, so why are you doing this to yourself?”
Xi Huihui gave the intern a look of pity. There was an almost unnoticeable hint of concern in her eyes.
After walking out of the shopping mall, the couple got in the black Rolls-Royce parked right at the entrance. It was then that Pei Ge said in a light-hearted tone, “Just then, that intern was looking at you with a queer gaze.”
She laughed at the man, who did not seem to mind what she had said.
“Why? Is our CEO’s wife jealous?”
His lips curled upward as the car started off and smoothly headed to the Ji Group’s carpark. Before the car could stop fully, her handphone rang.
It was near noon, yet Zhang Manhua’s call entered this hurriedly.
“Mom, did something happen?”
She curled up her fingers and tensed up.
“Ge Ge, didn’t you tell me that you’ve met your uncle? I’ll pack up and come home in two days’ time.”
“You want to come home?”
Pei Ge was a little surprised yet also exhilarate. Her small face was filled with anticipation.
“Yes. I’ll settle the things here, then go there.”
Zhang Manhua’s voice was filled with elation. She wanted to return to look at Qu Xiujie. When they met in the past, they did not even feel that they might be related. With the truth out now, it was a whole different matter altogether.
“Sure. Mom, I will go home and inform my uncle later. Don’t worry; when you are back, I will have someone fetch you.”
Pei Ge’s voice was filled with happiness, and her beautiful eyes were moist with agitation. She had waited for this moment for far too long.
“Wait for mom to come home and bring your uncle along. I want to take a good look at him.”
Her mother’s voice was also filled with agitation and anticipation. How she wished that she could fly to her daughter’s side to take a good look at her brother.
“Okay, mom. I will wait for your return. You must take good care of yourself and your safety. You don’t have to rush; it’s fine.”
Pei Ge’s voice was gentle as she carefully reminded her mother of the things to take note of when returning. However, what she did not expect was that her mother did not mind all of these as all she wanted to do was hurry home to meet her kin.
The mother-daughter pair chatted only for a short while before hanging up. Sitting in the driver’s seat, Ji Ziming could hear everything clearly. It seemed that his mother-in-law wanted to come home.
“When is mom coming back?”
“Soon. In two days’ time.”
Pei Ge kept her phone and looked at him before continuing. “Ziming, how long more will my uncle and your mom be outside before coming home?”
She already could not wait to see what would happen when Qu Xiujie and her mother reunited. It was still early, but she was also reveling in the scene.
“Mom didn’t say when they will be back, but if you tell them that your mom is returning, I think that they will hurry home. Definitely, your uncle will rush back, so don’t worry.”
As he reassured her, his deep-set eyes were full of love and doting for her.
“Alright, I’m not worried. As long as uncle returns.”
She nodded. It was enough for her to know that Qu Xiujie felt the same way that she did.
“Mhm, let’s go to the company first.”
Ji Ziming opened the car door right after saying this, then circled around to open her side of the door. “Let’s go. Let’s go back first.”
When the couple returned home from the company, they surprisingly spotted Madam Ji’s favorite car there. The eye-catching orange vehicle was parked right in the middle of the villa, seemingly wanting to stand out amid the greenery.
“Looks like they’re back.”
He parked the car into the first garage of his family—a garage specifically designated for his Rolls-Royce.
“Looks like I won’t have to call uncle to come back now.”
Her lips curled up into a smile. She had a look of elation because of the news of her mother returning.
The two of them walked into the villa, and before they had even stepped in, they could already hear Qu Xiujie’s ingratiating voice inside. “Madam, is this temperature alright?
“How is this color?
“Do you want the one on the left or the one on the right?”
…
Pei Ge could not believe her ears. Was this still her uncle? The old fella who would haggle with the old madam over some face masks? Was this still her uncle who could not be tamed and always flaunted his prowess in the capital? Was this the same person who would threaten to bring her away when he was at odds with her husband?
“Looks like your uncle really has given in.”
Ji Ziming’s voice was calm yet sounded as though he was about to start gloating.
“You think so, too?”
She looked up, meeting his deep-set eyes. Warmth flowed in her heart.
