Ever since Shen Shiyan stepped into the elevator, the originally spacious car instantly felt cramped.
His presence was overwhelmingly powerful. Just standing there quietly, his cool, crisp, woody fragrance gradually occupied the entire elevator.
Qin Nuan had nowhere to hide, once again completely enveloped in that scent.
Zhao Meihua was terribly nervous and quickly tugged at Qin Nuan: “P-President Shen, you can take the car first. Little Qin and I can wait for the next one.”
As she spoke, she tried to pull Qin Nuan out with her.
Yet when she looked back, for some reason, Qin Nuan was keeping her head dropped extremely low. Her neatly tied hair had come loose, and she was frantically running her fingers through it.
Qin Nuan’s heart was practically about to explode!
She shoved her hair across her face with all her might, keeping her head stubbornly bowed.
How could this be?!
The man from that night was actually Shen Shiyan?!
Her one-night stand had turned out to be her supreme boss?! And she ran into him in an elevator!
It’s over! Will he recognize me?!
Consumed by shame and panic, she only wanted to flee this elevator immediately.
Zhao Meihua’s words felt like a lifeline. She hurriedly nodded to leave, but then she heard Shen Shiyan’s voice ring out, calm and aloof: “No need.”
His assistant standing beside him also smiled: “No need to step out, President Shen doesn’t mind these things.”
He then introduced: “This is the group’s newly appointed president, President Shen Shiyan. I am the president’s executive assistant, Li Yue.”
Since he put it that way, the two of them had no choice but to step back into the elevator.
Zhao Meihua bowed awkwardly: “President Shen, Assistant Li.”
She then gave Qin Nuan a tug, signaling her to greet them quickly.
Qin Nuan: ……
“P-President Shen… Assistant Li.” Qin Nuan’s voice was tight, her cheeks burning red with tension as she even stammered slightly.
Fortunately, Shen Shiyan didn’t seem to care.
He gave a low “Mn,” his cool, detached gaze sweeping over them briefly without lingering.
The elevator doors slowly closed. At this point, Qin Nuan had no way out and was forced to share the same car with him.
The business department was on the 28th floor, while Shen Shiyan’s office was on the top floor—the 42nd.
As the numbers ticked upward level by level, Qin Nuan felt she had never ridden such an agonizing elevator in her life.
There were only four people in the car. Shen Shiyan and Li Yue stood at the front, with Li Yue briefing the president on his schedule for the day.
Qin Nuan and Zhao Meihua shrank back at the back, hardly daring to breathe.
Qin Nuan kept shrinking into the corner, burying her head and praying endlessly not to be recognized.
Little did she know that her nervous habits—pushing back her hair, twisting her hands, and tugging at the hem of her skirt—stood out all the more clearly, reflected in the silvery, mirror-bright elevator doors.
Even Li Yue couldn’t help glancing back at her a few times.
Qin Nuan was still shifting her feet unconsciously with her head down, and before she knew it, she had drifted into a position roughly behind Shen Shiyan.
The man’s frame was tall and straight. Qin Nuan wasn’t short herself at 165 centimeters, but she still looked petite next to him.
Their silhouettes partially overlapped.
Shen Shiyan’s gaze casually fell upon the elevator door, shifting away a second later.
With a soft ding, the 28th floor finally arrived.
Qin Nuan felt there was no more wonderful sound in the entire world.
Zhao Meihua smiled apologetically as she said goodbye, but Qin Nuan couldn’t care about anything else and bolted out like she was fleeing for her life.
It wasn’t until she was out of the elevator that she felt her heart drop back into her chest and could breathe again.
Running too hurriedly, she crashed right into someone.
“Ah!”
A sharp female voice rang out.
Qin Nuan snapped back to her senses and quickly apologized: “I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to.”
“Qin Nuan, do you have eyes in your feet or what?! Did you bump into me on purpose?!” the other person scolded impatiently.
Holding a tube of lipstick, Zhang Lin was just on her way to the restroom for a touch-up when the collision smeared her lipstick clear across her cheek, making her look rather ridiculous.
Seeing that it was Qin Nuan, her temper flared even higher.
Zhang Lin was the niece of one of the company’s managers. She had gotten into the department through connections, possessed only average competence, and was rather domineering.
However, she wasn’t bad-looking and always loved wearing tight clothing to flaunt her figure. Previously, all the male colleagues in the department would hover around her with admiring eyes.
Yet ever since Qin Nuan arrived, everything changed.
Qin Nuan was drop-dead gorgeous, and her figure was even better than hers.
Even a standard uniform looked stunning on her, highlighting her slender waist, long legs, and curvy silhouette, all while maintaining an innocent, pure aura in her eyes.
Standing there, she gave off a vibe that was both angelic and alluring.
Just like that, the male colleagues’ eyes all shifted to Qin Nuan, leaving Zhang Lin harboring a bellyful of resentment.
At that moment, Zhao Meihua caught up, frowning as she asked: “Little Qin, what’s wrong with you? Weren’t you just riding the same elevator as President Shen? Why were you so nervous?”
“Riding the elevator with President Shen?” Hearing that, Zhang Lin’s eyes lit up. She looked at Qin Nuan with a mix of envy and jealousy: “You guys just ran into the new president?”
She had long heard that the new president was handsome and filthy rich, and had even dressed up elaborately this morning, only to miss out while Qin Nuan somehow bumped into him.
The more she thought about it, the more annoyed she got, prompting her to snap with passive-aggressive sarcasm: “Oh? Lost the ability to walk the moment you saw a good-looking guy? Don’t tell me some people actually think riding an elevator once gives them a chance? Let me tell you something, Qin Nuan, a man like President Shen isn’t someone just any stray cat or dog can cozy up to.”
Qin Nuan knew Zhang Lin always targeted her, but as a newcomer with no background who desperately needed this job, she usually preferred to avoid conflict and would only talk back when pushed too far.
However, her mind was already elsewhere, and hearing Zhang Lin’s words only made her feel even guiltier.
It wasn’t just riding an elevator together—they had already slept together.
At that thought, Qin Nuan’s expression grew even more awkward. She mumbled an unconvincing, “Sorry.”
Zhang Lin gave her a suspicious look, unable to read anything specific, then rolled her eyes with a “Hmph” and walked away.
For the rest of the day, Qin Nuan was completely distracted.
She read the business reports on her desk three times without taking a single word in, her gaze constantly drifting toward the office doorway.
She had been very worried that Shen Shiyan might come down to inspect the floor on his very first day.
Fortunately, aside from the manager being called away for a meeting, there was no other movement all day.
As she finally managed to tough it out until close to quitting time, Qin Nuan gradually relaxed.
With the whole day passing without incident, she figured she must be safe.
Shen Shiyan probably hadn’t recognized her after all. Maybe he was drunk that night, too.
Besides, given his status, he likely had plenty of women in private; a one-night stand was probably something he hadn’t given a second thought to.
Thinking along these lines, Qin Nuan finally set her mind at ease and prepared to focus on finishing her work.
Yet with just ten minutes left until off-work hours, the desk telephone rang.
On the other end of the line was the voice of Assistant Li from the elevator that morning, speaking politely:
“Hello, Miss Qin. This is the President’s Secretariat. I am Assistant Li. President Shen asks that you come up to the 42nd-floor president’s office right now.”
After hanging up the phone, Qin Nuan’s mind went completely blank.