Shen Qiao rushed frantically to Hundred Rivers Tower.
Jiang Yuli was in a meeting in the conference room.
Seeing this, Shen Qiao leisurely strolled toward Jiang Yuli’s office.
Not just anyone could enter Jiang Yuli’s office.
It had a fingerprint-coded lock.
Only Jiang Yuli himself, his assistant Zhao Kai, and secretary Feng Yan could open it.
As Shen Qiao was pondering how to get in, he saw Feng Yan emerge from the elevator, carrying an exquisitely decorated box as she approached.
Feng Yan walked straight into Jiang Yuli’s office.
Shen Qiao immediately followed her inside.
“What’s that?” he asked.
Feng Yan placed the box on the coffee table. “Same-city delivery.”
The box was garishly decorated—what kind of delivery was this?
Curious, Shen Qiao leaned over to glance at the sender’s information.
His face instantly darkened.
Sender: Su Lingyu!
Su Lingyu was sending same-city deliveries to Jiang Yuli??
Were the two of them no longer even bothering to hide it?
“You may leave. I’ll wait for him here,” Shen Qiao said with a grim expression.
Feng Yan looked uneasy. “Vice President, that might not be appropriate.”
Shen Qiao pointed agitatedly at the delivery. “Can’t you see my girlfriend’s name on it? I need to ask him for an explanation! Since when do you meddle in matters of the heart?”
“Get out!” Shen Qiao roared, pointing at the door. “Leave!”
One was the chairman’s son, the other his grandson.
As a mere secretary, why should she endure being caught in the middle?
“Then… Vice President, would you like something to drink?” Feng Yan attempted to ease the tension.
A fierce glare flashed in Shen Qiao’s eyes, his voice booming, “I don’t want anything!”
Feng Yan left the office but didn’t close the door behind her.
Shen Qiao glanced around before heading toward Jiang Yuli’s desk.
If the box contained something important related to the company, there might be traces left in the office.
Before coming to the company, he had casually asked his grandfather about it.
His grandfather had only said, “It’s none of your business.”
In the past, he would have taken those words at face value.
But now, his grandfather’s attitude toward his uncle had clearly shifted.
These days, he trusted his grandfather’s words at most seventy percent.
Shen Qiao pulled open several drawers but found no sign of the black box he had expected.
“Vice President Shen, what documents are important enough for you to search my office personally?”
Jiang Yuli’s clear voice came from the doorway.
Shen Qiao looked up abruptly, his eyes meeting Jiang Yuli’s as he entered.
Awkward.
Perhaps it was his imagination, but Shen Qiao thought he detected a flicker of mockery in Jiang Yuli’s eyes as he spoke.
His gaze was cold, his reaction to Shen Qiao’s rummaging indifferent.
Shen Qiao had specifically checked—that meeting wasn’t supposed to end for another two or three hours.
How had Jiang Yuli wrapped it up so quickly?
Shen Qiao fabricated an excuse: “I can’t find the documents for the West City property development. Thought I’d check here.”
Jiang Yuli replied coldly, “I’ll have the secretary make a copy for you later.”
Jiang Yuli had paused the meeting after receiving a message from Su Lingyu.
Coincidentally, he had run into Shen Qiao.
Shen Qiao left in a huff.
As for what furniture style Jiang Yuli preferred—whatever was in this office would do.
He couldn’t be bothered to ask.
As Shen Qiao reached the door, he saw Zhao Kai standing like an iron tower nearby.
The assistant was tall and burly, with a scar on his face that stood out starkly against Hundred Rivers Group’s elite atmosphere, exuding an air of raw intimidation.
Every time Shen Qiao saw him, he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of fear.
“Send Feng Yan in,” Jiang Yuli instructed.
“Yes.”
Feng Yan quickly entered with a cup of coffee, placed it on the coffee table, and stood nervously with her hands clasped.
Jiang Yuli leisurely unwrapped the package.
Inside was a green sticky note with elegant handwriting:
Last time I noticed the top of your refrigerator was empty, so I bought you some fridge magnets. I hope they’ll make you happy when you see them while cooking. (≧≦)
Jiang Yuli could imagine Su Lingyu’s gentle, sweet smile as she wrote those words.
The package contained a hefty collection of New Zealand fridge magnets—penguins, sheep, English letters, the national bird kiwi… all in varied styles, totaling over twenty.
The meeting break was only ten minutes.
Without examining them closely, Jiang Yuli returned the items to the box and looked up at Feng Yan.
Feng Yan spoke anxiously, “President, when I came in earlier to deliver the package, Vice President Shen said you two have emotional entanglements. He insisted on waiting in your office and told me to… get out.”
Jiang Yuli’s voice was icy. “You’ve been at Baichuan for years. You should understand the current situation. As my secretary, if you can’t distinguish loyalties, you may request a transfer.”
Feng Yan responded swiftly, “President, I understand! I’ll never allow Vice President Shen to remain alone in your office again. I don’t want a transfer—I want to stay with you.”
Jiang Yuli stood up indifferently. “Fine, you may leave.”
Without lingering, he left the office to resume the meeting.
At noon, he planned to stick each of Pao Pao’s fridge magnets onto the refrigerator.
Then he would invite her to dinner that evening.
She had promised to fulfill her commitment after returning from New Zealand.
After the meeting, Jiang Yuli took the package back to his cold, empty home.
He carefully attached each of Su Lingyu’s fridge magnets to the refrigerator door.
He took a photo, sent it to Su Lingyu, and followed up with a message:
[Received them. They’re lovely. I really like them.]
[Thank you. As a token of appreciation, may I invite you to dinner tonight?]
She replied instantly: Sure.
A slight smile touched Jiang Yuli’s lips. The still, frozen lake of his heart rippled with warmth at the sight of these quirky, life-filled magnets.
Night fell.
Jiang Yuli arrived at the reserved restaurant half an hour early.
He had declared his intention to pursue Su Lingyu and had specially prepared flowers and a gift.
He wondered if she would like them.
7:00 sharp—Su Lingyu hadn’t arrived.
No matter. It was normal for women to be a little late.
7:30—she still hadn’t appeared.
Jiang Yuli began to feel uneasy.
The private room door suddenly opened. Jiang Yuli instinctively straightened his tie and sat upright.
“Mr. Jiang, shall we serve the dishes now?” It was the waiter.
Jiang Yuli’s heart sank. “Not yet,” he replied, maintaining composure.
The waiter quietly withdrew.
Jiang Yuli’s throat felt dry. He picked up his water glass and took a few sips.
Su Lingyu hadn’t come…
Was the restaurant too remote? Maybe there was traffic? Next time, he should choose someplace nearer her home.
8:00 passed, and she still hadn’t arrived.
The waiter came in to inquire a few more times.
The other diners in the restaurant had already left.
Except for Jiang Yuli.
A group of waiters gathered to gossip.
“The super handsome guy in private room 9 got stood up!”
“Oh my god, how could someone that good-looking get stood up! What kind of stunning beauty must the other person be!”
“He looks so pitiful, desperately in need of a kind-hearted girl to heal his fragile, wounded heart!”
“You go! You go!”
“Go where? Do you think you’re the heroine of some novel?”
The manager scolded them sharply, and the group scattered like startled birds.
She pushed open the private room door. “Mr. Jiang, our restaurant is closing for the night.”
A bitter desolation welled up in Jiang Yuli’s eyes.
He had waited for over four hours, but Su Lingyu never came.
He wasn’t good enough.
He was cold, dull, couldn’t compare to Shen Qiao, couldn’t make Su Lingyu feel dependent on him. Having meals with him was probably a burden to her… It was only natural she didn’t choose him.
Someone as cold-blooded and unfeeling as him didn’t deserve Pao Pao’s care and love in the first place.
He had been too greedy.
Su Lingyu’s kindness toward him was nothing more than pity—just a little sympathy because she saw how pathetic he was.
Jiang Yuli abandoned the carefully prepared bouquet and gift, leaving the private room alone.
No one would ever love him.