Zhang Lin choked on her words, then widened her eyes and stared at Qin Nuan as if she’d seen a ghost.
She knew Qin Nuan too well.
An ordinary employee—no connections, no seniority, and still carrying a mortgage.
People like that were the easiest to handle; they couldn’t compare to her at all.
And Qin Nuan really had been like that before.
Soft-spoken, averse to conflict, rarely ever pushing back against anyone directly.
Who would’ve thought this soft pushover would grow a backbone today and actually dare to talk back to her!
After her initial shock, Zhang Lin rolled her eyes dramatically and sneered with disdain: “Who has time to care about your personal life? Do you think I’m one of those gossiping aunties at the market?”
“Heh.” Qin Nuan looked at her, a faint trace of mockery in her eyes. “So you do realize that you look exactly like those gossiping aunties at the market.”
“You!” Zhang Lin’s face flushed red in an instant. “How dare you insult me?!”
Qin Nuan let out a cold laugh. “Did I say it was you? You’re the one who assumed it was about you.”
Zhang Lin was furious. She hadn’t expected Qin Nuan to be so sharp-tongued today.
She stomped her foot and shrieked, “You’re the one with the messy personal life! Showing up to work with a hickey on your neck, and you still have the nerve to talk about me!”
Qin Nuan’s expression turned cold. She stared at Zhang Lin without backing down. “My personal life is my own business. It has nothing to do with you!”
“I broke up with Lin Qingyang a long time ago. Who I meet after the breakup is my freedom.”
“I haven’t bothered anyone, and I haven’t affected my work.”
“As for you—if you have that much time to stare at other people, maybe you should put more effort into your own work.”
Zhang Lin’s face went pale. She was about to speak when Qin Nuan cut her off.
“The departmental work summary meeting is next week. Have you finished your PPT? Don’t end up like last time, unable to answer when President Jin asks you questions.”
With that, Qin Nuan stopped looking at her, picked up her cup, and turned to leave.
Zhao Meihua quickly followed, and while Zhang Lin wasn’t looking, secretly gave Qin Nuan a thumbs up.
“Nice one, Xiao Qin!”
Zhang Lin was always arrogant in the office and constantly shifted her work onto others to clean up after her.
Zhao Meihua had long been fed up with her.
She’d only held back because Zhang Lin had connections.
When Qin Nuan sat back down at her desk, her heart was still beating a little fast.
Zhang Lin always loved to pick on her.
In the past, as long as it wasn’t too outrageous, she’d just endure it.
But what Zhang Lin said today was too much.
If she didn’t fight back, Zhang Lin would only think she was easy to bully and would only get worse.
Having snapped back at her today actually felt pretty satisfying.
A moment later, Zhang Lin finally came out of the break room.
As she passed Qin Nuan’s desk, she shot her a vicious glare, her nails digging deep into her palms, resentment and malice churning in her eyes.
Qin Nuan, just you wait!
.
Nightfall.
Soft, ragged breathing filled the room.
Since that day, the two of them no longer slept in separate rooms.
Qin Nuan was completely enveloped beneath Shen Shiyan, her eyes gradually growing hazy.
In the darkness, he found her rosy lips with precision, gently capturing them, his kisses alternating between slow and urgent.
One hand gripped her slender waist, his fingertips tracing her soft skin addictively.
“Mmm~”
Their breaths intertwined, and Qin Nuan quickly surrendered completely to his presence.
Only when he’d had his fill of kissing did his lips slowly trail downward, landing on her fair neck and the hollow of her throat.
This was her scent.
Unlike anyone else’s—sweet, clean, and soft.
It never failed to make him lose himself, even spiral out of control.
His searing warmth pressed against her skin.
Qin Nuan couldn’t help but tremble.
Yet the very next second, something flashed through her mind, and she snapped back to full alertness.
“Don’t…” Qin Nuan shrank back slightly, gently pushing against him with both hands.
But the large hand at her waist firmly pulled her back into his embrace, holding her securely in place.
“Hm?” Shen Shiyan lifted his gaze to look at her, the depths of his eyes dark beyond measure.
A hint of irritation at being interrupted lingered in his brow.
Qin Nuan’s face flushed crimson.
She had long since noticed that Shen Shiyan in bed and Shen Shiyan out of bed were like two completely different people.
In bed, his possessiveness was overwhelming—he loved to keep her tightly encircled in his arms.
Like a lion marking its territory, even in sleep he was the same; the moment she stirred, he would pull her back into his hold.
He looked at her, waiting for her explanation.
Qin Nuan pressed her lips together and said softly, “Don’t kiss here.”
“It’ll leave marks that clothes can’t cover, and people will see them at work during the day.”
What Zhang Lin had said that morning was harsh, but going to work like this every time really wasn’t appropriate.
Shen Shiyan paused, saying nothing.
A moment later, he lowered his head again, but no longer lingered at her neck, gradually moving downward.
…
Early the next morning.
When Qin Nuan looked in the mirror while washing up, she saw that her neck indeed bore no traces.
Her clothes could completely cover it.
But further down—
Her shoulders, her chest, were marked with mottled impressions of varying depth, and there were even clear fingerprints…
Qin Nuan’s face flushed bright red.
Yet deep in her heart, a wave of sweetness and warmth rose.
He had respected her.
He hadn’t forced her, nor had he treated her merely as a tool for his desires.
.
Life gradually returned to its normal rhythm.
Qin Nuan slowly grew accustomed to this way of living.
And as she watched her daily necessities slowly accumulate around the house, and the soft, sleeping figure lying in bed when he came home late,
the coldness in Shen Shiyan’s eyes would also fade by a few degrees.
The two grew increasingly in sync, though not every night was like that.
Qin Nuan had been very busy lately.
Next week was the department’s mid-year sub-division work meeting.
This meeting was extremely important—even the supervising executive would be in attendance.
Jiang Yiwen had assigned each person to report on their respective area of responsibility.
Qin Nuan had been meticulously polishing her PowerPoint.
When it came to work matters, she was always serious.
That evening.
Shen Shiyan didn’t get home until nearly eleven, and found Qin Nuan still on the sofa facing her computer.
“Still awake?” he asked as he unbuttoned his suit jacket.
Qin Nuan responded, “I have a meeting tomorrow—I’m going through the PPT one more time.”
Shen Shiyan understood: “The sub-division work summary meeting?”
Qin Nuan had just nodded when she heard Shen Shiyan add, “I’ll be sitting in on your department’s sub-division meeting tomorrow as well.”
Her fingers paused on the keyboard as she looked up at him in surprise: “You’re coming too?”
Though this meeting was important, it was far from the level that would require the company’s president to attend in person.
She bit her lip and couldn’t help asking, “Why are you coming?”
Shen Shiyan looked at her without speaking, merely curving his lips in a faint smile.
Qin Nuan’s heart suddenly skipped a beat.
When she turned back to her computer, she felt her cheeks burning.
Was he coming… for her?
.
The next day.
The department’s atmosphere was unusually tense.
Jiang Yiwen had already placed great importance on this meeting, and upon hearing that Shen Shiyan would also attend, he grew even more nervous.
He repeatedly urged everyone to double-check their materials again, muttering under his breath:
“Why do I get the feeling that since President Shen arrived, he’s been paying special attention to our department? He’s already come to sit in on several meetings.”
Qin Nuan overheard this as she passed by, her heartbeat quickening slightly, a twinge of guilt stirring within her.
Before the meeting, Jiang Yiwen asked her to go to the conference room first to test the equipment and distribute the materials.
So she left her workstation ahead of the others.
Zhang Lin noticed this, a flicker of malice passing through her eyes.
After the venue was set up, Qin Nuan was about to head back to the office to grab her USB drive when she happened to run into her colleagues coming over together. Zhang Lin even handed her the USB drive.
“I saw your USB drive still plugged into the computer when I came up, so I pulled it out for you. That’s your PPT in there, right?”
Though Qin Nuan found it a bit odd, she didn’t think much of it at the moment and took it with a word of thanks.
The meeting started on time. The two deputy general managers in charge arrived, and Shen Shiyan followed shortly after.
In front of everyone, Qin Nuan, like all the others, respectfully addressed him as “President Shen.”
Shen Shiyan nodded, took his seat at the head of the table, and said calmly, “Let’s begin.”
Everyone started going up one by one to give their reports. Shen Shiyan’s presence made everyone a bit tense, but fortunately, no mistakes were made.
When it was Qin Nuan’s turn, she was initially a little nervous. But as she stood on the stage and saw Shen Shiyan’s gaze resting on her, those cold, deep eyes actually revealed a faint trace of warmth and encouragement.
Qin Nuan was briefly stunned, and her heart gradually settled.
Steadying herself, she opened her PPT and began her presentation. Everything went smoothly at first, until she displayed a set of key data.
A deputy leader in the audience suddenly frowned, flipping through the materials beside him and interrupting her: “That’s not right.”
“How come the data on your PPT doesn’t match what’s written in the printed materials? Which one is the standard?”
Qin Nuan was taken aback and quickly looked at the screen. Only then did she realize that the PPT really did show an old set of data—she had later verified and revised it to a new version.
Someone had tampered with her PPT!