Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
His lips were busy kissing her when she kicked his calf gently. Song Yu said, “Go. Take those clothes, otherwise, it won’t be nice if Aunt Yang saw them tomorrow.”
Their undergarments were scattered on the floor just beside the sofa, and it would be embarrassing to let someone else see something so personal!
Even if Aunt Yang knew what they were doing, she should not be allowed to see such a scene!
Qi Chengzhi squinted and stared at her. To think that she dared to kick him. It made him feel as though his status had turned slightly inferior.
Feeling weak after seeing him look at her that way, she tried to endear him by leaning into his embrace and pleading gently with him, “Is it alright if you take them? Please? It’s going to be really embarrassing.”
Qi Chengzhi’s long lashes quivered gently and he gave her that indecipherable gaze once more.
Noticing that she felt flustered and was about to go down herself to tidy things up, he grabbed her waist and said in his rich, deep voice, “Wait here.”
He grabbed a pair of lounge pants from his dressing cupboard and wore them as he went down half-naked.
Every single scattered item of clothing was picked up by him, and last of all was Song Yu’s thin, itsy-bitsy panties. It was incredibly tiny and thin on his outstretched palm—so thin, in fact, that the slightest amount of force seemed capable of destroying it.
His eyes were glowing with red-hot passion when he kneaded her panties in his palm. Then, he turned and glimpsed at the Durex box which he tossed over to the coffee table earlier.
It was a good thing that he went down since it would be uncomfortable for him to go down and take the box while his pillar was erect.
Having gathered everything, he went back up, only to find Song Yu sleeping.
She had been on the move constantly throughout the whole day, and after going through a very excitable night, she closed her eyes and fell asleep the instant he left.
He placed everything down, went up gently onto the bed, then held her in his embrace.
As light as those movements were, she still woke up when he came into contact with her.
Her slightly-curled eyelashes fluttered a few times before she opened her eyes slowly. She smiled apologetically at him and said, “I’m sorry, I fell asleep.”
Qi Chengzhi lowered his head and planted a kiss on her forehead. He pulled her face into his chest and rested his chin on her head, saying, “Sleep.”
…
…
In the morning, Song Yu heard a rustling sound. She opened her eyes and saw the foreignness of the room. Its drabness seemed typical of a man’s place.
Even the sheets were imbued with Qi Chengzhi’s clean, familiar smell.
Song Yu then realized that she was in Qi Chengzhi’s room.
She followed the noise that her ear picked up and saw Qi Chengzhi through the transparent glass of the bathroom. He was shaving by the sink.
Shaving cream surrounded his lips and covered his chin. Three buttons of his dress shirt were open, and he was not wearing a tie. His sleeves were rolled up too, making him look very laid-back.
The shaving blade glided across his skin and swept away the cream to reveal his clean-shaven face.
His movements were precise, and his strong arms were put on display.
It was the first time Song Yu saw a man do something like this. A simple lift of the hand or a minuscule motion was enough to give her an impression of manliness and sexiness.
Song Yu kept on looking at him until he finished cleaning and came out. There was a delightful smell of aftershave on him.
“Why didn’t you say anything when you woke up?” He glanced at her before taking out a necktie from his drawer and tying it in front of a mirror.
Embarrassed, she blushed, sat up, and covered herself with her blanket.
“I don’t have any clothes,” she said awkwardly. She fell asleep immediately after laying down the night before, and when she woke up, she realized she did not even have an extra pair of undergarments.
“There are some undergarments that might suit you in the drawer,” he said as he completed the last knot of his tie. He then walked over to another compartment of the dressing cupboard and opened it. “You can choose your clothes here.”
Song Yu’s jaw dropped as she looked at the wide-open cupboard. An array of women’s clothes were hung just beside Qi Chengzhi’s clothes, and all of them were so new that their tags were not even removed.
She wrapped herself in the blanket and walked strenuously to the cupboard. Qi Chengzhi’s ties, watches, and jewelry were placed in one of the drawers. Below that drawer was where he placed his undergarments, along with those that were meant for Song Yu. It was so intimate that she could feel her face turning red-hot.
Taking any one of them at random, she noticed that the measurements were correct. She then looked at the clothes and discovered that they, too, were in her size.
“You bought and prepared all this?”‘Was he plotting to have me come over all along? Why would he prepare everything so completely if he didn’t?’
“…” He looked at her, took his suit jacket from the hanger, and draped it over his arm. “If you’re ready, go down and have breakfast. You’re going to be late.”
He went down as soon as he finished speaking.
“…” Song Yu was speechless as she looked at him leave. It seemed to be the case that whenever he had a question he did not want to answer, he would ignore it so effortlessly and change the topic.
After breakfast, he sent Song Yu to work. Song Yu felt that something was not right, but it was not until the Range Rover reached the company that she realized what was wrong. At that time, she was just about to get down.
“Where are your spectacles?” She looked at him, then all around him, and noticed that his spectacles were nowhere to be found.
“…” Qi Chengzhi eyes squinted slightly and he replied simply, “I forgot them.”
“I still like you without them,” Song Yu remarked once again and kissed his cheek before getting off.
A smile began to form on his lips. He looked at her and left only when she entered the building.
Upon arriving at Qilin, almost everyone had the same reaction: first, their jaw dropped, then they called out, “Director!”
Cheng Dongge stood up when Qi Chengzhi reached the office, and the former greeted out of habit, “Young…”
The subsequent words ‘Master Cheng’ took a while to come out of his mouth.
Thus, the conversations throughout Qilin’s day—from BBS 1 [1] to rest time—was filled with the same sentence.
“The director is wearing invisible spectacles!”
…
…
As the construction work for the hotel began, Song Yu had to travel to the project site almost daily in order to take a look at the situation there and discuss things with the foreman. Bit by bit, the foundation was established, and she no longer needed to visit the site too regularly, as long as she timed her visits according to the stages in the blueprint.
She was in the midst of looking at the blueprint when Manager Wang hurried over. His face was sullen and he did not even bother to greet her before questioning her, “Song Yu, how did you communicate with Qilin?”
“What’s the matter, Manager Wang?” Befuddled, she placed the paper down and stood up.
“All the construction workers have stopped working. Qilin didn’t pay them. The construction materials and their wages haven’t been paid for, so they don’t want to work and are now going on strike!” Manager Wang did not look happy at all. His face suggested that he was fuming in anger.
“I remember that the first stage isn’t completed yet. We’re owing them for the second stage, right?” Song Yu frowned and asked.
“Yes, that’s correct, but if they don’t receive the down payment for the second stage, they won’t finish up the first stage,” Manager Wang said.
“Have you asked their engineering department?” Song Yu’s expression changed as well.
“They said that the issue was for the finance department, and they felt like there’s a huge problem with our quotation,” Manager Wang explained unhappily.
“Excuses. If it’s really a problem, why didn’t they bring it up when the contract was signed? Both parties cross-checked the quotation.” Song Yu grabbed the telephone handset and called Qi Chengyue’s office.
“Hello, may I ask if Manager Qi is in?” She continued speaking into the phone, “… I’m Chengshi’s architect, Song Yu. I’d like to speak with Manager Qi about the construction materials and the paychecks.”
“…”
Song Yu listened to the other end and frowned. “She’s not in? When will she be in? Okay.”
She hung up with a sour face. Qi Chengyue’s secretary said that she was not in, and had no idea when she would be in. Who would believe such a lame excuse?
It scarcely occurred to her that Qi Chengyue would bring personal matters into professional dealings.
She knew that Qi Chengyue was retaliating by causing her trouble on purpose.
“What? She’s not in?” Manager Wang asked.
Song Yu nodded. “I don’t know if that’s just an excuse. I’ll go and look for her myself.”
“In that case, I’ll inform the construction team,” Manager Wang remarked. Chengshi was unable to support their own engineering department, so the construction team had to be outsourced. Manager Wang was familiar with other teams, but each of them had their own projects, so he had to ask a friend to introduce someone reliable. Turns out they were not too reliable after all.
Song Yu grabbed her bag and phone then rushed to Qilin.
When she reached the finance department, she chanced upon Qi Chengyue coming out of the office to give the secretary some work.
Song Yu suppressed the anger within her and walked over slowly. She pursed her lips, then said, “It seems Manager Qi is back.”
Qi Chengyue seemed to ignore those words and simply continued delegating tasks to her secretary. After that, she looked up at Song Yu and said, “Miss Song, you’re here about the project yes? Let’s talk inside.”
Upon entering the office, Qi Chengyue made a show of looking at some documents. She did not even look up when she said, “I’m very busy, and I only have five minutes. If there’s any problem, state them within that time, Miss Song.”
Song Yu pursed her lips before saying, “This project is Qilin’s. A day’s delay in the work will cause a lot of financial losses to Qilin. Manager Qi, why is it that you didn’t allocate the funds for the project? There must be a reason for doing that, right? Shouldn’t a courtesy call have been made to us if your side is unable to allocate the funds? Now that the workers are making a fuss and going on strike, Qilin’s going to have to be responsible now, wouldn’t it?”
“Amazing, Miss Song, for you to come here and make all sorts of accusations.” Qi Chengyue finally dropped her ‘busy’ charade. She tossed the documents onto the table and leaned back on the chair. She rocked left and right and looked at Song Yu.
“I just want to know why.” Song Yu pursed her lips as soon as she finished speaking. Her flaming rage was vehemently suppressed.
“Why? Didn’t Manager Wang from your engineering department already come and ask that question? I feel that your quotation is inconsistent with your material expenses. The material is expensive. Is there really a need to use such expensive materials? I’ve asked before, and there won’t be much difference if we used something else.” Qi Chengyue twirled a pen in her hand while her eyes casted a stony expression.
“I know that your architects, and those who are in charge of the engineering contracts, always keep each other informed. Both sides will skim some under-table profits, but I’ll have you know that Qilin’s money won’t be skimmed so easily,” Qi Chengyue said coldly.
“Manager Qi, back then, when I submitted my design, I’ve written down the materials and the cost in clear-cut terms. Our engineering department had also laid down the quotation in detail, including where the material came from, how much it costs, and even a price comparison of goods from each supplier. Perhaps it isn’t the cheapest material, but it’s superior in terms of the quality-to-price ratio, and the seller is also the most trustworthy. All this has gone through Qilin’s meetings. We were chosen after our quotation and the quotation of other companies were compared. It was also Qi… Young Master Cheng who approved it himself.”
“All these things are spelled out clearly in the contract, but now you’re telling me, you think there is an issue with the quotation and the materials. This dissatisfaction of yours, are you thinking of breaching the contract?”
Qi Chengyue slammed both her hands onto the table and stood up. She gave Song Yu a cold stare and said, “Listen closely! The contract states that Qilin has the power to make changes according to the actual circumstances, and that’s exactly what I’m doing now! It’s also to prevent Qilin from suffering losses. You said it yourself when you came in: Qilin will suffer countless losses if there’s even a delay of one day in the project. So, rather than cooking up excuses for me, you might as well go back and think about how you’re gonna change the materials that you’re using.”
“Before the project started there were no problems with the pricing and materials. Why is it now a problem after the project is already underway?” Song Yu’s temper was beginning to flare, and she took a deep breath in order to calm herself down. “Miss Qi, I hope you’re not bringing personal matters into your professional life.”
Song Yu’s sentence made Qi Chengyue’s face turn exceedingly ugly.
Qi Chengyue stared coldly at Song Yu, and the former’s expression even had a touch of resentfulness that made Song Yu quite taken aback.
All of a sudden, Qi Chengyue snickered, and her admission caught Song Yu completely by surprise. “I AM putting my personal feelings into my work life. What’re you gonna do about it? The company belongs to the Qi family. I can do what I want. Who’s gonna care? You could’ve had the same chance if your family didn’t go bankrupt, but here you are answering me. If I say that I want to change the materials, you’ll have to change it. If I ask you to lower the quotation, you lower it. If you change the materials and I’m still not happy with it, I can ask you to change it again. And again. Until I’m happy with it.”
“And also, keep in mind the completion date. If it’s pushed back, Qilin will suffer losses—that’s true—but it’ll be Chengshi who has to compensate us for that loss.” Qi Chengyue raised her chin arrogantly and continued her acrimonious words. “I’m using my public position to take revenge for private wrongs. Who told you to seduce Jian Yi so shamelessly? You are constantly trying to steal him from me even though you can’t give him anything.”
Song Yu was so exasperated that she laughed. An indescribable feeling would always come over her whenever she was dealing with Qi Chengyue. “I told you earlier that I have nothing to do with Jian Yi. We’re not even friends. If you insist on dwelling on this and refuse to listen to whatever I say, there’s nothing I can do. You are wrong about one thing though. While the company does, in fact, belong to the Qi family, it does not belong to you. I don’t believe that you have the final say in this, so regarding this matter, I will talk about it with the higher-ups in Qilin.”
Song Yu was fed up with having to deal with someone as stubborn as Qi Chengyue. The latter mixed private affairs with work affairs and went so far as to form her own delusions about those personal issues. Continuing the conversation would have led Song Yu nowhere.
She decided to go down to the site and inform the construction workers to continue the job while she brought the matter up with Qi Chengzhi.
In Qilin’s large lobby, Qi Chengzhi came down to personally send off a client. Qilin’s employees were slowly growing accustomed to the director’s spectacle-less look, but the client still had some getting used to, so they had some polite exchanges.
While they were talking, Qi Chengzhi noticed Song Yu rushing past him. She did not stop for a second, and it seemed as though she did not notice him when she hurried into Qilin.
He frowned, and after sending off the client, told Cheng Dongge, “Find out why Song Yu’s at Qilin.”
…
…
Jian Yi rushed to Qi Chengyue’s office. Moments ago, Manager Wang called him and explained the problems with the project, saying that Song Yu was going to the site and that Manager Wang himself was heading there too.
Song Yu might be getting into trouble because of the construction team’s fuss.
During that time, the whole of Qilin knew of Jian Yi’s relationship with Qi Chengyue, so the secretary did not stop him when he came.
“Chengyue, what’s going on with the hotel project? Why aren’t you giving them the funds?” Jian Yi asked immediately after entering.
Qi Chengyue eyes squinted in dismay. “Why? I was repeatedly told that the both of you were no longer in contact, but why is it that in the blink of an eye, I am now being told on?”
Knowing that she was referring to Song Yu, Jian Yi held in his anger and said, “It wasn’t Song Yu who told me. It was Manager Wang, from Chengshi’s engineering department. Chengyue, I’m telling you I don’t have anything to do with Song Yu. This is a public problem we’re having here. You can’t just play a fool with this.”
“I also have the company’s interest at heart. I don’t see any need to spend so much on the construction materials. These things can be discussed, but she simply turned around and left. She has one hell of a temper, thinking that she’s the best architect out there,” Qi Chengyue said sarcastically and snorted in disdain.
“The construction materials can be discussed, but at least pay the workers’ wages.” Seeing her cold expression, there was no way he was oblivious to her using public office to avenge personal matters.
“Impossible! I still need to get to the bottom of why Song Yu’s using such expensive materials. Jian Yi, I’m the manager of the finance department. The things under my consideration are different from yours. The responsibility that I bear is different, too. Whether you believe me or not, I am doing my job without involving my private feelings.” Qi Chengyue lips were pursed tight, as if she really had been misunderstood.
Jian Yi however, did not believe her, but at that moment someone knocked on the door. When the door was opened, it was Xiao Wei, a staff member from the engineering department. “Manager Jian, everything’s ready and we’re all set to go.”
Jian Yi nodded, prompting Qi Chengyue to ask, “Where are you going?”
“To the site. Chengshi’s Manager Wang said that the workers are going on strike. We can’t have Song Yu going there all by herself,” Jian Yi said. Just as he was about to leave, Qi Chengyue took a big step forward and slammed the door in Xiao Wei’s face just before Jian Yi could go out.
She blocked the door and obstructed him. “It’s her responsibility, why should you go there!”
“It’s not just her responsibility. It’s Qilin’s responsibility. As the manager of Qilin’s engineering department, this project is also under my supervision. Am I not supposed to go and take a look?” Jian Yi had a serious face and he was about to open the door.
Qi Chengyue stubbornly obstructed him and prevented him from going. She snickered in disdain and looked up at him. “Are you going there because of work or because of her? If you’re worried about her, just say it!”
Jian Yi paused and no longer tried to leave. He looked at her intently and his gaze seemed somewhat cold and unhappy.
His look made her heart sank and she said coldly, “What if I say you’re not allowed to go?!”
Jian Yi looked at her quietly for a moment before saying, “Because of this project, I’d still have to interact with Song Yu even though I don’t interact with her anymore. Our work requires us to interact, and I can’t simply ignore my work commitments just for you. I’ve told you that I’m no longer in contact with her, but you didn’t believe me. If you don’t even have the slightest trust in me, I think we need to re-evaluate our relationship and see if we can really continue like this. We have a long road ahead of us. We can’t keep arguing about this trivial issue. We’re not even married yet and you’re already so paranoid. I’m tired of you being constantly suspicious of me.”
Qi Chengyue stared at him incredulously. As if a part of her strength had forsaken her, Qi Chengyue whispered in disbelief, “Jian Yi, you want to break up with me?”
