Xiao Yan emerged from the President’s office with her head hung low. Back at her desk, she collapsed forward, her shoulders heaving with sobs.
Clearly, she had been crying.
The colleagues exchanged glances, no one knowing exactly what had happened. A female colleague close to Xiao Yan walked over and patted her shoulder. “Xiao Yan, what’s wrong?”
Xiao Yan kept her head buried and said nothing.
The colleague knelt down, asking with concern, “Are you okay? Why are you crying?”
Xiao Yan had been stifling her sobs, but hearing the kindness, her tears began to pour uncontrollably. Seeing this, the colleague hurriedly pulled out some tissues and handed them over.
Xiao Yan sobbed for a long while. As for why she was crying, she didn’t say, but it was obvious to everyone. She had come straight out of the President’s office; the reason went without saying.
Lin Qian glanced at Xiao Yan, her heart filled with trepidation. She was scheduled to go in next—was she about to be the next person scolded to tears?
Just as this worrying thought took root, Xiao Yan wiped her eyes and, with a shaky voice, offered a kind warning: “Lin Qian, you’d better brace yourself. President Su is in a bad mood today. Be careful when you go in.”
Hearing this, Lin Qian’s unease reached a new peak.
She hesitated, then asked, “Did she yell at you?”
Xiao Yan shook her head, then nodded. “Not exactly ‘yelling,’ but it was worse than that. Anyway, just watch yourself.”
Lin Qian nodded. “Thank you.”
Xiao Yan managed a smile, though it looked more painful than her crying.
Xiao Yan had a lively personality; there wasn’t a soul in the office she couldn’t strike up a conversation with. Even with someone as quiet and introverted as Lin Qian, she could chat for a bit. She was the definition of socially adept. And yet, even someone like her had been “scolded” to tears by Su Qingmo.
The thought of entering that office made Lin Qian’s anxiety hit its limit.
For the rest of the afternoon, Lin Qian procrastinated, dawdling until she absolutely could not delay any longer. Finally, she trudged toward Su Qingmo’s office.
She lingered at the door for a long time, her hand rising to knock only to drop again, over and over.
Creak.
The heavy wooden door opened from the inside.
Lin Qian’s hand froze mid-air.
Su Qingmo was wearing a white suit, her slightly curled long hair draped over her shoulders. The blue earring hidden beneath her hair glinted with a cold light.
“Pre—President Su,” Lin Qian’s voice audibly trembled.
“It’s already this late. I thought you weren’t planning on coming today,” Su Qingmo said.
“I had some urgent work just now that delayed me. I didn’t mean to be late, I’m sorry.” Lin Qian lowered her head, biting her lip.
Su Qingmo looked at her, her brow furrowing slightly. What’s wrong? Why does she seem even more afraid of me than usual? Is it because of the breakfast this morning?
“Come in first.” Su Qingmo had originally been heading out for a meeting, but she turned back into her office.
Lin Qian followed behind her, trembling with every step.
Su Qingmo sat down. Her tone was soft, her expression peaceful. She patiently pointed to the sections of the digital draft that needed fine-tuning.
“The images here need to be replaced. The gap between the event photos and the text is too large. Have the designers retouch them and change the style of the imagery…”
Standing beside her, looking at the screen and hearing her slow, steady cadence, Lin Qian felt her frantic heart begin to steady.
Lin Qian tilted her head, stealing a glance at Su Qingmo.
She felt like Su Qingmo looked a bit different today. Had her makeup style changed? It seemed much softer than before—less sharp, and less intimidating to approach.
Why did Xiao Yan say she was in a bad mood? She doesn’t look like she’s in a bad mood at all. On the contrary, she seems better than usual.
“Those are the main points. Is there anything you don’t understand?” Su Qingmo asked with a light smile.
Lin Qian hurriedly retracted her gaze and nodded. “Understood. I’ll coordinate with the design team.”
Su Qingmo’s lips curled up involuntarily. Was this little rabbit just stealing a peek at me? Her fingers tapped the desk in a rhythmic, cheerful manner.
Having clarified the revisions, Lin Qian picked up her documents. “President Su, I’ll head back to work then.”
Su Qingmo’s gaze shifted downward. She noticed Lin Qian’s shoelace was untied. She was about to point it out, but as the words reached her lips, her eyes flickered with a thought, and she swallowed the warning.
She shifted her foot imperceptibly, stepping on the loose lace.
Oblivious, Lin Qian took a step forward. Her foot was caught, she stumbled, and without warning, she fell backward—landing right in Su Qingmo’s lap.
The fresh, pleasant scent of lemon filled her nose.
Su Qingmo’s lips quirked upward.
Lin Qian was stunned, her body turning rigid. When she realized what had happened, she tried to scramble up immediately, but her shoelace was still being stepped on. She lurched upward, only to fall right back down onto the other woman’s lap.
Lin Qian’s face turned a deep, burning red.
Su Qingmo’s cool voice sounded from behind her. “Are you alright?”
Lin Qian felt her face and ears burning. Once she managed to stand up, she apologized profusely. “I’m so sorry, I…”
Su Qingmo: “It’s alright. Be careful; don’t fall again.”
Incredibly embarrassed, Lin Qian thanked her and apologized once more before bolting out of the office in a panic.
Su Qingmo watched the closed office door, raised an eyebrow, and smiled. Then, she stood up, walked to the full-length mirror, and nodded with satisfaction.
She picked up the desk phone and dialed Li Linlin. “The makeup artist, give her a raise. Have her come back tomorrow.”
After leaving the office, the heat on Lin Qian’s face had yet to fade.
Xiao Yan jogged over, studying her expression. “Are you okay? Why is your face so red? Were you scolded?”
The traces of tears still lingered around Xiao Yan’s eyes, and her voice was raspy.
Lin Qian clutched her documents tight and shook her head, feeling awkward. “No…”
Xiao Yan sighed. “Cry if you want to. Keeping it in is worse. You’ll feel better after a good cry; I feel much lighter now that I’ve let it out.”
Lin Qian: “…”
She did want to cry—she wanted to cry while finding a hole in the ground to crawl into. Heavens, how did she end up sitting on President Su’s lap?! It was too embarrassing, and far too absurd.
“I didn’t expect your stress tolerance to be even better than mine,” Xiao Yan sighed heavily. “I hope this project ends soon. I don’t want to report to Su Qingmo ever again. It’s too draining.”
Xiao Yan grumbled a bit more before leaving. Lin Qian stood there and glanced back at the office.
The door opened halfway. Startled, Lin Qian didn’t wait for it to open fully; she took off running before whoever was inside could come out.
When Su Qingmo stepped out, she saw Lin Qian’s retreating figure. A smile colored her cool eyes.
At quitting time, Lin Qian kept a sharp lookout. Over the past few days, she always seemed to run into Su Qingmo exactly when she was leaving. This time, she was determined to avoid her.
The coast was clear. To be safe, Lin Qian took a long detour to the elevator bank on the far left side.
With such a thorough detour, there’s no way I’ll run into her.
Sharing an elevator with the boss was an ordeal she couldn’t handle. She didn’t know what was going on lately—she ran into her at the elevators after work, she ran into her going downstairs… she ran into her everywhere!
It was unbelievable!
“What a coincidence,” Su Qingmo said. Clad in high heels, she approached at a leisurely pace and stood side-by-side with her. “Lately, I always seem to run into you at the elevators.”
Lin Qian’s neck turned stiffly toward her. She gave a dry laugh. “Quite a coincidence indeed, President Su.”
Lin Qian smiled on the outside but was cursing on the inside. What is going on? I changed my timing! How do I still run into her every single time?
She ran into her ten minutes late, fifteen minutes late, twenty minutes late… and today she had even changed elevators!
“However,” Su Qingmo smiled, “why did you take the long way around to use this elevator? Aren’t the ones by the entrance more convenient?”
Lin Qian felt guilty and made up a lie on the spot. “There were too many people at those elevators, so I came over here.”
Su Qingmo glanced at her and said with a smile, “I thought there were too many people over there too, so I came here as well.”
Lin Qian breathed a sigh of relief, but then a thought struck her—Wait, I was just making that up. There was no one at those elevators. Did a massive crowd show up the second I left?
While she was lost in thought, the elevator arrived at the first floor with a ding.
Relieved, Lin Qian bid Su Qingmo goodbye and left quickly.
Su Qingmo stood behind, watching her walk away. This little rabbit is getting smarter. She doesn’t just run now; she knows how to hide.
Li Linlin’s phone call came through. “President Su, the junior CEO Xu has been here for a while. She’s waiting for you in your office.”
Su Qingmo’s voice was as cold as a winter wind. “Let her keep waiting.”
Li Linlin shrank back. “Understood!”
After hanging up, Li Linlin looked at “Junior CEO Xu,” who was sitting on the sofa with her legs crossed, looking casual and sipping coffee. “Miss Xu, please wait a moment. President Su will be here shortly.”
The young CEO took a sip of coffee and asked casually, “What is she doing?”
Li Linlin replied, “She’s playing on the elevators.”
The visitor choked on her coffee and looked up. “…What?”