Besides Jiang Wen and Director Cheng Ting, there were several other employees in the secretary’s office like her.
Shi Ying had just joined, and after a whole day, she didn’t have much to do. Instead, she quickly bonded with two other girls.
The three of them chatted in a small group chat.
Jiang Mingxue: 【Secretary Jiang is really something. Yingying, you just joined and he already had you deliver documents to President Shang.】
Su Wan: 【Exactly! I’m most afraid of going in to deliver documents. President Shang’s face is like Antarctic ice.】
Shi Ying tilted her head as she looked at the chat. Were they even talking about the same person she had just met?
Shi Ying: 【Is President Shang really that scary?】
The chat fell silent for a moment.
Jiang Mingxue: 【He doesn’t scold people, but he looks at you like you’re trash. It makes you feel so ashamed you just want to dig a hole and bury yourself.】
Su Wan: 【He even said my proposal wasn’t a first draft, just a rough draft QAQ】
Jiang Mingxue: 【Such a sharp tongue. No wonder he’s almost thirty and still single.】
Su Wan: 【After all these years in the company, only Secretary Jiang can stay by his side every day. Say… do you think he likes Secretary Jiang?】
The group suddenly became lively.
In just a few minutes of Shi Ying spacing out, the two had already sent dozens of messages.
Thinking about how Shang Chenyuan had treated her earlier, Shi Ying still spoke up for him out of fairness.
Shi Ying: 【He’s not that scary…】
Shi Ying: 【He was actually quite kind just now. New employee protection period?】
Su Wan: 【……】
Jiang Mingxue: 【……】
Before they knew it, they had chatted all morning. Shi Ying stood up and stretched, then noticed people going in and out of the pantry.
Jiang Mingxue tapped her shoulder. “Company afternoon tea—there’s cake and coffee.”
Shi Ying’s stomach conveniently growled. She followed Jiang Mingxue to the pantry and, sure enough, saw a table full of small cakes.
She immediately picked out her favorite strawberry cake.
Holding the small cake, she stood at the pantry entrance chatting and laughing with Jiang Mingxue. Through the blinds, people in the office could clearly see her lips moving as she spoke.
She still loved strawberry cake the most.
The smile on her face was like warm spring sunlight. Her long ponytail swayed as she moved her head, drawing a graceful arc in the air.
The office building was well heated. Shang Chenyuan had already taken off his coat, his shirt sleeves rolled up to reveal a strong, well-defined forearm.
Leaning back in his chair, his gaze was fixed tightly on the girl.
Even though the surveillance cameras transmitted her every move in real time to his computer, simply watching through a screen still didn’t feel like enough.
He didn’t even dare close his eyes, afraid that when he opened them again, she would disappear like she had five years ago.
Unfortunately, Shi Ying didn’t stay in the pantry long. After finishing her cake, she returned to the office.
Shang Chenyuan’s eyes darkened.
Tomorrow, he would replace all the office walls with transparent glass.
He had no mind to work at all. He just sat there, staring at the surveillance feed, watching her frown in frustration at her computer, watching her light up with excitement when it was time to get off work.
At that moment, there was a knock on the door.
“Come in.”
Jiang Wen walked in and handed him a USB drive. “President Shang, this contains Miss Shi’s browsing records from social platforms today.”
Shang Chenyuan skimmed through it quickly. Most of it was her chatting with the others in the secretary’s office.
When he saw Jiang Mingxue’s message—“Does he like Secretary Jiang?”—he frowned and glanced up at Jiang Wen.
Jiang Wen hadn’t dared to look closely at the contents beforehand and was confused by the look.
“Oh, right, President Shang.” Being stared at like that reminded Jiang Wen of something. “Miss Shi asked me about the young master today.”
“Who?”
“The young master—Shang Yu.”
The emotions in Shang Chenyuan’s eyes darkened instantly, his voice turning cold. “What did she ask?”
“Nothing much, just which department the young master is in now, what he likes, when he comes to the company…”
Before he could finish, a sharp “crack” sounded.
The pen in Shang Chenyuan’s hand snapped in two.
Jiang Wen: “……”
“Transfer him away. Starting tomorrow, he’s not allowed to come to the company.” Shang Chenyuan stood up and walked to the window, lighting a cigarette to suppress his emotions. “Also, replace the glass walls outside the office—all of them, with transparent ones.”
Jiang Wen fell silent again.
All the offices in the company used custom frosted glass—uniform and aesthetically pleasing. Replace them with transparent ones?
That would be completely lacking in privacy.
But he only dared complain inwardly and responded quickly out loud.
After Jiang Wen left, Shang Chenyuan stood by the window, looking down below.
A cigarette rested between his fingers, pale smoke curling upward along his wrist, drifting around the veins on the back of his hand.
It was rush hour. Among the crowd, he accurately found the girl.
She wore a blue down jacket, moving with the flow of people, gradually becoming a tiny black dot until she disappeared from his sight.
Eight in the evening.
When Shang Chenyuan arrived home, Zhang Ma had just finished cleaning the table. Hearing the door, she hurried over. “Sir, you’re back.”
“Mm.” The man walked in, placing his coat on the sofa, and asked casually, “Has she had dinner?”
“The young lady ate a little and has already gone upstairs to her room.”
Shang Chenyuan looked toward the second floor, loosening his tie. “You can head back after cleaning up. Come again tomorrow morning.”
He didn’t like strangers staying in the house.
“Alright, sir.”
Shang Chenyuan went upstairs and gently pushed open the door.
It was a warmly decorated bedroom. A pink princess bed was filled with plush toys, and a soft carpet covered the floor. A little girl sat by the window, drawing in a sketchbook.
The moment he saw her, a rare smile appeared on his face.
“What is Niannian drawing?”
Shang Nian looked up but didn’t speak. She simply showed him the drawing.
Sitting beside her, Shang Chenyuan looked down and said gently, “Is it a little rabbit?”
Shang Nian still didn’t speak, only nodding.
He ruffled her hair. “Niannian draws so well. Will you give this drawing to Daddy?”
She shook her head.
“Why not?”
Shang Nian wrote two crooked words on the paper—“Mom.”
Seeing those two words, Shang Chenyuan froze for a moment. But soon, he smiled softly. “You want to give it to Mom?”
She nodded.
“Alright, then keep it for now. When it’s finished, we’ll give it to Mom together, okay?”
Shang Nian stared at him for a while, her grape-like eyes blinking as if weighing the truth of his words.
Gently stroking her head, he said patiently, “Mom will be back soon.”