Aside from Jiang Wen and Director Cheng Ting, there were several other employees in the secretary’s office around Shi Ying’s age.
Since she had just joined the company, she barely had any work to do throughout the day. Instead, she quickly became close with two of the girls in the department.
The three of them chatted nonstop in their private group chat.
Jiang Mingxue: 【Secretary Jiang is so shameless. Shi Ying just joined today, and he already made you deliver documents to President Shang. 】
Su Wan: 【Exactly. I hate going in there to deliver files the most. President Shang’s face is colder than Antarctic ice. 】
Shi Ying tilted her head while looking at the chat history.
Were they really talking about the same person she had met earlier?
Shi Ying: 【Is President Shang really that scary? 】
The group chat fell silent for a moment.
Jiang Mingxue: 【It’s not that he yells at people. It’s just that he looks at you like you’re trash. One glance and you’ll feel so ashamed you’ll want to dig a hole and bury yourself on the spot. 】
Su Wan: 【He even said the proposal I wrote wasn’t a first draft — it was just a rough scribble. QAQ】
Jiang Mingxue: 【His tongue is vicious. No wonder he’s still single at nearly thirty. 】
Su Wan: 【In all these years at the company, only Secretary Jiang has managed to stay by his side every day. Say… do you think he might actually like Secretary Jiang? 】
The group instantly exploded with excitement.
By the time Shi Ying snapped out of her daze a few minutes later, the two of them had already sent dozens of new messages.
Thinking about how Shang Chenyan had treated her earlier, Shi Ying still felt obligated to defend him a little.
Shi Ying: 【He’s not THAT scary…】
Shi Ying: 【President Shang was actually pretty gentle with me earlier. Maybe it’s the newcomer protection period?】
Su Wan: 【……】
Jiang Mingxue: 【……】
Without realizing it, they chatted all morning long.
Shi Ying stood up and stretched lazily, only to notice people constantly entering and leaving the break room nearby.
Jiang Mingxue patted her shoulder.
“It’s the company afternoon tea. There’s cake and coffee.”
Right on cue, Shi Ying’s stomach growled twice.
She followed Jiang Mingxue into the break room and immediately spotted all kinds of delicate little cakes arranged neatly on the counter.
Without hesitation, Shi Ying accurately picked out her favorite strawberry cake.
Holding the small cake in her hands, she stood near the doorway chatting and laughing with Jiang Mingxue. From inside the office, everyone could clearly see her lips moving through the blinds.
She still loved strawberry cake the most.
The smile on the girl’s face was as warm as spring sunlight. Her long ponytail swayed back and forth as she talked, tracing beautiful arcs through the air.
The heating inside the office building was strong. Shang Chenyan had already removed his suit jacket, and the sleeves of his dress shirt were rolled up, exposing part of his lean, well-defined forearms.
Leaning back against his chair, his gaze remained firmly fixed on the girl.
Even though the surveillance cameras outside transmitted her every movement onto his computer screen in real time, simply watching her through a monitor still didn’t feel like enough.
He didn’t even dare close his eyes.
He was terrified that the moment he opened them again, she would disappear just like she had five years ago.
Unfortunately, Shi Ying didn’t stay in the break room for long. After finishing her cake, she returned to the office.
Shang Chenyan’s eyes darkened slightly.
Tomorrow, he would replace all the office walls with transparent glass.
He had absolutely no mood to work.
He simply sat there motionlessly in his chair, staring at the surveillance feed without blinking, watching her frown helplessly at the computer, watching her light up excitedly when work hours finally ended.
At that moment, someone knocked on the door.
“Come in.”
Jiang Wen entered and handed him a USB drive.
“President Shang, this contains Miss Shi’s browsing records from social media today.”
Shang Chenyan scanned through the contents rapidly.
Most of it consisted of conversations between her and the others from the secretary’s office.
When he saw Jiang Mingxue’s message saying, “Maybe he likes Secretary Jiang,” Shang Chenyan frowned and lifted his eyes toward Jiang Wen.
Jiang Wen hadn’t dared examine the contents of the USB drive too carefully before coming in. Being stared at like this left him utterly confused.
“Oh, right, President Shang.” Jiang Wen suddenly remembered something under that oppressive gaze. “Miss Shi asked me about Young Master today.”
“Who?”
“Young Master. Shang Yu.”
The emotions in Shang Chenyan’s eyes darkened almost instantly, his voice turning cold and heavy.
“What exactly did she ask?”
“Nothing much. Just things like which department Young Master currently works in, what he usually likes, when he comes to the company…”
Before Jiang Wen could finish speaking, a sharp crack suddenly sounded.
The fountain pen in Shang Chenyan’s hand had snapped cleanly in half.
Jiang Wen: “……”
“Transfer him away. Starting tomorrow, he’s forbidden from coming to the company again.” Shang Chenyan stood up and walked toward the window, lighting a cigarette to suppress the emotions surging inside him. “And replace all the glass walls outside the office. Make them all transparent.”
Jiang Wen fell silent once more.
Every office in the company used custom frosted glass. It was uniform, elegant, and private.
Replace them all with transparent glass?
Wouldn’t that completely destroy everyone’s privacy?
Of course, he only dared complain internally. Out loud, he agreed immediately.
“Yes, President Shang.”
After Jiang Wen left, Shang Chenyan remained standing high above the city, looking down through the windows below.
A cigarette rested between his fingers as pale smoke slowly curled upward along his wrist, winding around the veins faintly standing out on the back of his hand.
It was right around the end of the workday.
Amid the endless sea of people below, he found the girl’s figure instantly and precisely.
She wore a blue down jacket as she gradually disappeared into the crowd.
Until finally, she became nothing more than a tiny black dot vanishing from his sight.
***
Eight o’clock that evening.
When Shang Chenyan arrived home, Zhang Ma had just finished cleaning the dining table. Hearing the door open, she hurried over immediately.
“Sir, you’re back.”
“Mm.”
The man walked inside and casually draped his coat over the sofa.
“Has she eaten dinner?”
“She ate a little. She already went upstairs to her room earlier.”
Shang Chenyan looked toward the second floor while loosening his tie.
“You can head home after finishing up. Come back tomorrow morning.”
He disliked having strangers in the house.
“Understood, sir.”
Shang Chenyan walked upstairs and gently pushed open the bedroom door.
The room was decorated warmly and sweetly.
Various plush toys sat atop the pink princess bed. A soft carpet covered the floor. Sitting by the windowsill was a little girl holding a sketchbook, quietly drawing inside it.
The moment he saw her, a rare trace of gentleness appeared on Shang Chenyan’s face.
“What is Shang Nian drawing?”
Shang Nian raised her head but didn’t speak. She simply showed him the sketchbook in her hands.
Shang Chenyan sat down beside her and lowered his head to look.
“A little rabbit?”
His voice was soft and patient.
Shang Nian still didn’t speak, only nodding quietly.
Shang Chenyan gently rubbed her head.
“Shang Nian draws so well. Will you give this drawing to Daddy?”
Shang Nian shook her head.
“Why won’t you give it to Daddy?”
Using clumsy handwriting, Shang Nian slowly wrote two crooked words on the paper—
“Mommy.”
The moment Shang Chenyan saw those words, his gaze froze briefly.
But very quickly, the corners of his lips curved upward once more.
“You want to give it to Mommy?”
Shang Nian nodded.
“Alright then. Shang Nian can keep it for now. Once you finish the drawing, we’ll give it to Mommy together, okay?”
Shang Nian stared at him for a long while.
Her grape-like black eyes blinked slowly, as though she were carefully considering whether his words could truly be trusted.
Shang Chenyan gently stroked her head and patiently repeated,
“Mommy will be back very soon.”