11 – Su Qinghe Went on a Blind Date Again
The next afternoon, in the CEO’s office of the Shengshi Group.
Upon hearing Lu Yanci say that Su Qinghe had rejected his proposal for a contractual relationship, Zhou Shiyu found it utterly baffling.
Was this girl out of her mind? This was probably the closest Su Qinghe would ever get to marrying into a wealthy family.
“President Lu, Su Qinghe turned down your relationship contract. So, are you just going to give up?”
Lu Yanci tapped the desk with his slender index finger and gave an ambiguous reply, “What do you think?”
Although Zhou Shiyu had no idea when Lu Yanci had taken an interest in Su Qinghe, he was certain that, given Lu Yanci’s personality, he wouldn’t give up so easily.
Zhou Shiyu’s lips moved slightly, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.
Lu Yanci raised an eyebrow. “Shiyu, just say whatever you want to say.”
“Uh, it’s nothing really. I went to the design department to deliver documents this morning and happened to overhear Su Qinghe on the phone at the back stairwell. It seems she has a blind date tonight.”
As he spoke, Zhou Shiyu kept a close watch on Lu Yanci’s changing expression.
Sure enough, the moment he finished speaking, Lu Yanci’s gaze turned icy cold.
“Heh…” Lu Yanci let out a cold laugh. “Very well. She turns me down, and the very next day, she’s off to meet another man.”
Zhou Shiyu thought for a moment, then suggested, “President Lu, why not have Director Chen assign her some extra work?”
If Su Qinghe had to work overtime tonight, she wouldn’t have time to go on that blind date, would she?
“Let her go.” Lu Yanci’s dark eyes narrowed slightly, and he pressed his thin lips together before telling Zhou Shiyu, “Go find out where Su Qinghe’s blind date is today.”
“Understood.” Zhou Shiyu acknowledged and turned to leave the CEO’s office.
As for how to find out, Zhou Shiyu had his own ways.
At 3:30 in the afternoon, there was a fifteen-minute employee tea break. Zhou Shiyu grabbed a few cups of coffee and headed down to the design department.
After about ten-odd minutes of casual conversation, Zhou Shiyu managed to get a rough location out of Li Jiajia.
Among the colleagues at the company, Li Jiajia was closest to Su Qinghe. They had lunch together every day and walked to the subway station together after work.
Li Jiajia was outgoing and cheerful, treating people with great sincerity.
For a shrewd operator like Zhou Shiyu, getting information out of Li Jiajia was as easy as pie.
He even casually added Li Jiajia on WeChat.
Given how much Lu Yanci seemed to value Su Qinghe, Zhou Shiyu figured it was essential to maintain good relations with Li Jiajia.
That way, he could get first-hand information as quickly as possible.
After work, Su Qinghe left the company right on time. The restaurant for the meeting was at Sun City Plaza, not far from the office.
She walked to Sun City Plaza and entered through the mall’s main entrance. Glancing down at her phone, she saw that her blind date had already arrived at the restaurant.
Putting her phone back in her bag, Su Qinghe took the elevator up to the 7th floor. The reserved restaurant was just a short walk from the elevator.
As she reached the restaurant entrance, the hostess stepped forward with a smile and said, “Hello, ma’am. How many in your party?”
Su Qinghe replied softly, “We already have a table. My friend arrived earlier.”
“Of course. Right this way, please.” The hostess gave a slight bow and gestured for her to enter.
It was a stylishly decorated Western restaurant, with soft, soothing piano music filling the entire space.
Under the warm glow of the lighting, diners enjoyed their meals in quiet tranquility, occasionally exchanging soft words—a scene of serene elegance.
In the quietest corner of the restaurant, Su Qinghe spotted today’s blind date.
To avoid another mix-up like last time, she had exchanged photos with her date beforehand.
Her date spotted her at the same moment and waved in her direction.
Su Qinghe took a seat across from Qin Junbo, her red lips curving into a slight smile as she greeted him, “Hello, Mr. Qin.”
“Hello, Miss Su.” Qin Junbo gazed at Su Qinghe, a flicker of admiration passing through his eyes.
“Sorry to keep you waiting.” Su Qinghe’s gaze was soft as water, casually sweeping over Qin Junbo.
Qin Junbo worked as a lawyer. He wore a navy blue suit, with his tie and collar perfectly neat, meticulous in every detail.
A pair of gold-rimmed glasses rested on the bridge of his nose, giving him a refined and scholarly look.
From his attire, Su Qinghe gathered that Qin Junbo was probably a rather meticulous person.
Qin Junbo’s eyes brightened slightly as he smiled at Su Qinghe. “No worries. Having the chance to wait for you is my honor. Take a look first and see what you’d like to eat.”
Su Qinghe smiled softly, reached out to pick up the menu in front of her, and after a few minutes of browsing, quickly made her choice.
Closing the menu, she said to the waiter beside her, “Hello, I’ll have the Angus ribeye steak, Parma ham with melon, and a bowl of porcini mushroom soup.”
“Certainly, ma’am.” The waiter noted down the order and turned to leave.
Su Qinghe picked up her glass, took a sip of lemon water, and looked up at Qin Junbo, asking, “Mr. Qin, I heard from the matchmaker that you’re a local of the imperial capital?”
“Yes, I am. I’m a local of the imperial capital and graduated from the Imperial Capital University of Political Science and Law. After finishing my master’s degree, I’ve been working as a lawyer ever since.” Qin Junbo added, “My father is in business, and my mother is a doctor.”
From Qin Junbo’s words, it wasn’t hard to detect a sense of superiority.
However, given Qin Junbo’s credentials, he did have reason to be proud.
Su Qinghe’s lips curved slightly as she complimented him, “Mr. Qin is truly accomplished at such a young age.”
As for the superiority Qin Junbo displayed, Su Qinghe didn’t find anything wrong with it—his qualifications were indeed quite impressive.
When you come out for a blind date, you lay all your cards on the table.
“Miss Su flatters me.” Qin Junbo smiled warmly. “May I get to know you a bit better?”
“Of course.” Su Qinghe nodded and continued, “My hometown is Suzhou, and I studied at a design school in Italy for university. After graduating, I interned in Italy for a year and only returned to work in the country six months ago.”
Qin Junbo paused thoughtfully, a hint of deeper meaning in his eyes, and spoke as if casually, “Italy is a wonderful place—the men there are quite romantic.”
Clearly, there was a subtext to his words; he was likely probing, in a roundabout way, into Su Qinghe’s romantic history abroad.
Qin Junbo’s behavior left Su Qinghe somewhat disappointed.
In a detached tone, Su Qinghe replied, “Italy is indeed quite romantic. If you ever get the chance, you should go for a few days’ visit.”
Seeming to sense the shift in Su Qinghe’s mood, Qin Junbo quickly changed the subject. “Do you work nearby?”
“Mm, yes.”
“There seems to be a very tall building around here—what was it called…” Qin Junbo thought for a moment before it came to him. “Right, the Shengshi Group.”
“Um, I just work somewhere nearby.” Su Qinghe pursed her lips, not wanting to go into too much detail.
The dishes they ordered were brought out quickly, and Su Qinghe chatted casually with Qin Junbo.
When the meal came to an end, Su Qinghe propped her chin on her hand and casually scanned the room.
Suddenly, her gaze froze—Lu Yanci was sitting at a table diagonally across from her.
Lu Yanci was accompanied by Assistant Zhou, along with another man who looked fairly familiar, as if she’d seen him at the new product launch event.
Noticing Su Qinghe’s gaze, Lu Yanci raised his wine glass, gave it a gentle swirl, and flashed her a carefree, lazy smile.