4 – Chance Encounter at the Elevator
On the morning of her first day at work, Su Qinghe spent the time buried in a pile of documents, poring over past design portfolios and the daily workflow charts of the design department.
When lunchtime rolled around, Li Jiajia, who sat at the neighboring desk, rolled her office chair over to Su Qinghe and said, “Qinghe, want to go out for lunch together?”
“Sure, sure.” Su Qinghe nodded without hesitation.
“Then let’s go.” Li Jiajia rolled her chair back to her own desk.
Su Qinghe followed Li Jiajia down in the elevator. A large wave of colleagues streamed out of the elevator and headed toward the main entrance.
In the bustling crowd, Su Qinghe spotted that tall, upright figure at a glance. He was wearing a sharply tailored suit and stepping out of the back seat of a Maybach.
He seemed to be walking in this direction.
Su Qinghe’s heart suddenly tightened. It couldn’t be that much of a coincidence, could it?
The man she’d mistaken at the blind date—he also worked at this company?!
Without a moment to think, Su Qinghe quickly brushed her hair forward over her forehead, covering most of her delicate, fair face.
As she passed by Lu Yanci, Su Qinghe deliberately walked on the other side, using Li Jiajia to block part of the view.
Only when she reached the entrance of the office building did she let out a soft breath and tidy up her slightly tousled long hair.
Li Jiajia had been looking down at her phone the whole time while walking and hadn’t noticed Su Qinghe’s little maneuver.
Lu Yanci stood at the elevator entrance, gazing at the receding figure. He couldn’t shake the feeling that she looked somewhat familiar.
Zhou Shiyu, standing beside him, followed Lu Yanci’s gaze and asked with some confusion, “President, is there a problem with those two female employees?”
Lu Yanci withdrew his gaze and said indifferently, “No problem.”
Zhou Shiyu didn’t continue on that topic. When the elevator arrived, he held the door open and let Lu Yanci enter first.
Su Qinghe followed Li Jiajia to a self-serve fast food restaurant behind the office building.
After picking up their trays, selecting their dishes, and paying, they found a seat and sat down.
During the meal, Li Jiajia finally put away her phone.
“Jiajia, that man who got out of the Maybach earlier—is he a company executive?” Su Qinghe asked.
“Hmm? Maybach?” Li Jiajia tilted her head and thought for a moment, then said, “As far as I know, the Maybach is the President’s usual car.”
“The President…” Su Qinghe was taken aback.
The next second, a thought flashed through her mind: she wondered if it was still too late for her to resign right now.
Li Jiajia said with a grin, “The President is really handsome, isn’t he? I heard he’s unmarried and doesn’t have a girlfriend either. A lot of the female colleagues in the company admire him.”
“Is that so?” Su Qinghe smiled thoughtfully. “You too?”
Whether these people admired the man himself or the position of being the President’s wife—that was probably something only they knew in their own hearts.
Li Jiajia shook her head repeatedly. “Hey, I wouldn’t dare to daydream about marrying into a wealthy family. I know very well what I’m worth.”
Su Qinghe agreed wholeheartedly. “Yeah. I don’t have that kind of dream either.”
“Qinghe, you’re so pretty—who knows, you might actually have a chance,” Li Jiajia said seriously.
“Forget it. Marrying into a wealthy family isn’t that easy anyway. I’d rather marry an ordinary man.” Su Qinghe said softly.
Li Jiajia nodded. “That’s true. I’ve heard that in wealthy families, marriages are basically between families of equal status. If an ordinary girl marries into one, most mothers-in-law won’t accept her. After the wedding, she’ll be bound by a ton of rules.”
“Yeah, well, it has nothing to do with us anyway.”
Su Qinghe’s standards for a partner weren’t particularly high—just that the man had decent features, a moderate income, no bad habits, and good character.
As for a house and a car, it would be best if the man had them.
If not, it didn’t matter. Those things could be worked toward slowly, and they could buy them together in the future.
Despite these seemingly modest standards, she hadn’t met the right person so far.
In the few months since returning to the country, under her mother’s urging, Su Qinghe had met over a dozen blind date prospects, and every single one was a piece of work—either a mama’s boy or a cheapskate.
How cheap were they? Well, on a blind date, they couldn’t even bear to find a restaurant to sit down and talk. They made Su Qinghe sit with them on a bench by the roadside, claiming it was “getting close to nature.”
After lunch, Su Qinghe walked back to the office building with Li Jiajia.
Female friendship was a strange thing—after sharing some gossip, the two suddenly seemed much closer.
The office was very quiet. Many colleagues would nap at their desks during lunch so they’d have energy to keep working in the afternoon.
After returning to her workstation, Li Jiajia leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes to rest.
Su Qinghe didn’t have the habit of taking a midday nap. She pulled out her phone from her pocket and sent a WeChat message to her close friend He Nanzhi.
Su Qinghe: Nan Zhi, are you awake?
A few minutes later, a reply came through.
He Nanzhi: Mm, I’m awake. Just eating some noodles.
He Nanzhi: How was your first day at work? Going smoothly?
Su Qinghe: Uh… it’s alright, I guess. The colleagues are easy to get along with.
He Nanzhi: Alright?
As expected of a longtime friend, He Nanzhi could sense something was off from just one casual word from Su Qinghe.
Su Qinghe continued typing her reply: Nan Zhi, I want to quit.
When He Nanzhi saw Su Qinghe’s message, she was immediately shocked and dialed Su Qinghe’s number right away.
Fortunately, Su Qinghe’s phone was on silent, so the incoming call didn’t disturb anyone else. She walked to the fire exit before pressing the answer button.
“Hello? Nan Zhi.” Su Qinghe called out softly.
“Qinghe, you need to calm down. Shengshi Group is one of the top companies in the imperial capital. You worked so hard to get in—don’t give it up so easily.” He Nanzhi launched into a string of persuasion the moment she spoke.
Su Qinghe let out a soft sigh. “Nan Zhi, I ran into that man.”
“What man?” The topic suddenly shifting to a man caught He Nanzhi off guard.
Su Qinghe explained, “The man I mistook for my blind date and who left me his jacket—he turned out to be the CEO of this company.”
“Huh? That just means you two are destined to meet.”
Su Qinghe heard He Nanzhi burst out laughing and couldn’t help but remind her, “Girl, please laugh a little quieter. If he ever recognizes me, it’ll be really embarrassing.”
He Nanzhi coughed a couple of times to stifle her laughter, then asked, “Hehe, is that why you want to quit?”
Su Qinghe replied, “Mm, yeah.”
“I think this isn’t that big of a deal. Maybe he’s already forgotten about it long ago.” He Nanzhi continued analyzing, “Besides, he’s the CEO and you’re just a regular employee. He probably won’t even notice you.”
As the saying goes, the player is blind, but the onlooker sees clearly.
After hearing He Nanzhi’s words, the anxiety in Su Qinghe’s heart eased considerably.
Indeed, the CEO had a mountain of things to deal with every day—he had probably forgotten all about this by now.
“Nanzhi, thank you. There really is no need to overthink it. I’ll keep pushing forward.” Su Qinghe said with a smile. “I’ll treat you to a meal sometime.”
“Alright,” He Nanzhi said. “You just focus on your work and strive to realize your dream of buying a house sooner.”
After finishing the phone call with He Nanzhi, Su Qinghe walked back to the office.
In the afternoon, while reviewing the company’s introductory materials, Su Qinghe came across the CEO’s name—Lu Yanci.
Su Qinghe silently repeated it in her mind.