Ever since Shen Shiyan stepped into the elevator, the originally spacious cabin suddenly felt cramped and suffocating.
His presence was overwhelming. He simply stood there silently, yet the entire elevator was gradually overtaken by the cold, woody scent radiating from him.
Qin Nuan had nowhere to hide, and once again found herself completely enveloped in that familiar fragrance.
Zhao Meihua was nervous, hastily pulling Qin Nuan along: “President Shen, President Shen, please go ahead and take the elevator. Xiao Qin and I will wait for the next one.”
With that, she made to pull Qin Nuan out.
But when she turned around, she saw that for some reason, Qin Nuan’s head was bowed extremely low, her neatly tied hair had come loose, and she was frantically trying to push it back into place.
Qin Nuan’s heart was about to explode!
She desperately swept her hair over her face, keeping her head buried low.
How could this be?!
The man from that night was actually Shen Shiyan?!
Her one-night stand had turned out to be her direct superior?! And she’d run into him in the elevator!
This was over! Would he recognize her?!
She was both mortified and panicked, wanting nothing more than to flee this elevator immediately.
Zhao Meihua’s words were like a lifeline to her. She nodded eagerly and was about to leave when Shen Shiyan’s voice rang out, calm and detached: “No need.”
His assistant smiled as well: “No need to leave. President Shen doesn’t mind.”
He then introduced them: “This is the group’s newly appointed CEO, Shen Shiyan, President Shen. I’m President Shen’s executive assistant, Li Yue.”
With him saying that, the two women had no choice but to step back into the elevator.
Zhao Meihua gave an awkward bow: “President Shen, Assistant Li.”
She then tugged at Qin Nuan, signaling her to greet them quickly.
Qin Nuan: …
“President Shen… Assistant Li.” Qin Nuan’s voice was strained, her cheeks flushed with nervousness, and she even stammered slightly.
Fortunately, Shen Shiyan didn’t seem to pay any attention.
He gave a faint “Mm” in acknowledgment, his gaze sweeping over them lightly without lingering.
The elevator doors slowly closed, and now Qin Nuan had no way out—she was forced to share the same elevator with him.
The Business Department was on the 28th floor, while Shen Shiyan’s office was on the top floor, the 42nd.
As the numbers climbed floor by floor, Qin Nuan felt she had never ridden a more agonizing elevator in her entire life.
There were only four people in the elevator. Shen Shiyan and Li Yue stood at the front, with Li Yue reporting the day’s itinerary to Shen Shiyan.
Qin Nuan and Zhao Meihua huddled in the back, barely daring to breathe.
Qin Nuan kept shrinking into the corner, her head down, silently praying she wouldn’t be recognized.
Little did she know, her fidgeting—pushing at her hair, rubbing her hands, twisting the hem of her skirt—was even more conspicuous reflected in the mirror-like silver elevator doors.
Even Li Yue couldn’t help but glance at her a few extra times.
Qin Nuan was still unconsciously shuffling her feet with her head down, and before she knew it, she had moved to a position almost directly behind Shen Shiyan.
The man’s figure was tall and imposing. Qin Nuan wasn’t short herself—she was 1.65 meters—but standing before him, she still appeared petite.
Part of their reflections overlapped in the doors.
Shen Shiyan’s gaze casually fell on the elevator doors, then shifted away a second later.
With a “ding,” the 28th floor finally arrived.
Qin Nuan felt there was no sweeter sound in the entire world.
Zhao Meihua smiled and took her leave, but Qin Nuan couldn’t care less—she bolted out of the elevator as if fleeing for her life.
Only after she was out of the elevator did she feel her heart settle back into her chest, and she could breathe again.
Running too fast, she collided with someone.
“Ah!”
A sharp female voice rang out.
Qin Nuan finally snapped back to reality and quickly apologized, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to.”
“Qin Nuan, do you not watch where you’re going?! You bumped into me on purpose, didn’t you!” The other person snapped impatiently.
Zhang Lin was holding her lipstick, on her way to the restroom to touch up her makeup. The collision sent the lipstick smearing crookedly across her lips, looking rather ridiculous.
When she saw it was Qin Nuan, her anger flared even hotter.
Zhang Lin was the niece of a certain company executive, who had gotten into the department through connections. Her abilities were mediocre, and she could be quite overbearing.
But she was good-looking, and she always liked to wear tight-fitting clothes to show off her figure. Previously, the male colleagues’ eyes had all revolved around her.
But after Qin Nuan arrived, everything changed.
Qin Nuan was too beautiful, and her figure was even better than hers.
Even an ordinary uniform made her look slender-waisted and long-legged, with curves in all the right places. Yet there was also a hint of innocence in her eyes and brows.
Standing there, she was the perfect mix of pure and alluring.
Now, all the male colleagues’ eyes had turned to her, and Zhang Lin had been stewing in anger for a long time.
Just then, Zhao Meihua caught up, frowning. “Xiao Qin, what’s wrong with you? It’s just sharing an elevator with President Shen—why are you so nervous?”
“An elevator with President Shen?” Hearing this, Zhang Lin’s eyes lit up instantly, looking at Qin Nuan with both envy and jealousy. “You ran into the new President Shen just now?”
She had long heard that President Shen was handsome and wealthy. This morning, she had even dressed up carefully, but she hadn’t run into him—and Qin Nuan had.
The more she thought about it, the more annoyed she became, and she couldn’t help but sneer sarcastically, “Oh, can’t walk straight when you see a handsome guy, huh? Some people don’t actually think riding an elevator once gives them a chance, do they? Qin Nuan, let me tell you—someone like President Shen isn’t something any random cat or dog can get close to.”
Qin Nuan knew Zhang Lin had always targeted her, but as a newcomer with no connections, she really needed this job. So she usually tried to avoid her as much as possible, only rebutting when things got truly excessive.
But right now, she was already distracted, and Zhang Lin’s words only made her feel more guilty.
It wasn’t just sharing an elevator—she had already slept with him.
At the thought, Qin Nuan’s expression grew even more uncomfortable, and she mumbled another, “I’m sorry.”
Zhang Lin eyed her suspiciously for a few moments but couldn’t discern anything, then let out a “hmph,” rolled her eyes, and walked away.
For the rest of the day, Qin Nuan was somewhat absent-minded.
She read the business report on her desk three times without taking anything in, and her gaze kept drifting toward the office door.
She had been worried that Shen Shiyan, being new on his first day, would come down to tour the floor.
Fortunately, aside from the manager being called to a meeting, there was no activity all day.
She managed to endure until it was almost time to leave, and Qin Nuan gradually breathed a sigh of relief.
Nothing had happened all day—she should be safe.
Shen Shiyan probably really hadn’t recognized her. Maybe he had been drunk that night too.
And given his status, he probably had plenty of women in his private life. A one-night stand probably wasn’t something he’d dwell on.
With that thought, Qin Nuan gradually calmed down and was just about to focus on her work.
But with ten minutes left before the end of the day, the desk phone rang.
On the other end was the voice of Li Yue, the man she’d met in the elevator that morning, speaking politely:
“Hello, Miss Qin. This is the President’s secretariat. I’m Li Yue, President Shen’s special assistant. President Shen requests that you come to the President’s office on the 42nd floor now.”
After hanging up the phone, Qin Nuan’s mind went completely blank.