Lin Qian sat by the flowerbed, cradling the ginger cat in her arms. As she stroked it, the kitten let out a comfortable, rhythmic purr.
“I had a savory crepe this morning. President Su made it. It was actually really good—better than the ones at the street stalls. But it’s so strange; why would she make that for me?”
“Speaking of which, I remembered that I accidentally fell onto her lap today…” Lin Qian groaned and shook her head. “I can’t think about it. Don’t think about it. It was so embarrassing.”
“She said she’d make me white fungus and lotus seed soup tomorrow. She was probably just talking, right? But then again, I thought she was just talking about the crepes, too…”
“She’s so strange. But the crepe was really delicious.”
“Oh, right. Xiao Yan cried today. I wonder why? President Su looks intimidating and mean, but I don’t think she’s actually ever been mean to anyone.”
“Wait, no. She was mean once. Back when I tried to return her earring, she was quite harsh.”
“I keep running into her at the elevator. Maybe I should start taking the stairs…”
She rambled on for a long time, not even noticing that almost every sentence—good or bad—revolved around Su Qingmo.
Lin Qian let out a cough. Her throat felt a bit scratchy. When she got home, she made herself a glass of lemon honey water.
As she sliced the lemon, she paused. She picked up a slice and held it to her nose.
Su Qingmo seemed to smell like this. Well, not exactly like this—hers was fainter, much more pleasant.
Lin Qian shook her head and tossed the lemon back. Where is my mind wandering off to?
Once the drink was ready, she curled up comfortably on the sofa and took a sip.
She frowned at the glass. The flavor was right, but it just didn’t taste as good as the one Su Qingmo had made for her.
Why am I thinking about her again? Strange.
Her gaze landed on the coffee table, specifically the box containing the earring. She set her glass down, picked up the box, and opened it.
The blue earring sparkled like a star in the night sky—dazzling, yet far, far away.
She closed the box and tucked it away in a drawer.
Picking up her lemon honey water again, she tilted her head back and finished it in one go. Her dry, itchy throat felt much better.
Lin Qian stretched and logged into her game.
The moment she went online, she received an invite from Qing.
Lately, whenever she logged on, Qing was there to invite her almost immediately. The punctuality made her feel a little overwhelmed by the attention.
As usual, they ran dungeons and explored maps together, occasionally chatting. Of course, Lin Qian only communicated through text, never turning on her mic or sending voice messages.
Unlike in the real world, Lin Qian was quite talkative in the digital realm. When communicating through text, she had a much greater desire to share and vent.
Gui Yin: The new potted plants at the office are so ugly. They have a weird smell when they bloom.
Gui Yin: This outfit I’m wearing is so pretty, hehehe. The ‘Ink Rain’ set is the GOAT.
Gui Yin: My upstairs neighbor is at it again. So noisy.
Early the next morning, Lin Qian prepared to head to work, yawning all the while.
Just as she reached the door, she heard voices outside. She froze, her hand on the knob, and pressed her ear to the door to listen.
She wanted to wait for the people outside to leave before going out.
However, the person outside seemed to have run into an acquaintance and started a conversation.
Lin Qian checked the time; it was still early. She decided to wait. If they kept talking, she’d eventually have to brave the encounter—she couldn’t let herself be late just to avoid saying hello to a neighbor.
“Hey, did you hear? The person in 602 moved out overnight. They were in such a hurry; I heard they didn’t even have time to pack all their bags.”
“Why the rush? Did something happen?”
“I heard someone offered a high price to buy the place.”
“In this old complex? Someone paid a high price for that?”
“Well, the owner of 602 was way too loud. I don’t know if they were dancing or what up there every day, but the floors would shake. It gave everyone a headache.”
The person upstairs moved? Lin Qian instinctively looked up at the ceiling.
She wasn’t intentionally eavesdropping, but the soundproofing was terrible. Standing by the door, she could hear everything clearly.
She felt a surge of secret joy. The heavy feeling of having to wake up early for work was lightened considerably by this news. Finally, she wouldn’t be kept awake in the middle of the night by the noise from upstairs.
The people outside chatted for a bit longer before leaving. Once the hallway was silent, Lin Qian finally pushed the door open.
She walked to work, clocked in, and sat down at her desk. There, sitting right in the center, was a prominently placed, beautifully packaged breakfast.
Lin Qian opened it. It was white fungus and lotus seed soup. Even though she had mentally prepared herself, she was still surprised.
Lin Qian looked toward the President’s office in confusion.
The crepe hadn’t been a joke, and neither was the soup. So, what was Su Qingmo’s angle? Did she want her to eat the breakfast and then work her heart out?
Director Chen had mentioned that Su Qingmo valued this project highly and wanted to oversee most of it personally, which was why Lin Qian had to report to her directly.
Lin Qian convinced herself this was the reason. She nodded with every sip of the soup. I have to work even harder now. I can’t eat her breakfast for nothing.
The taste suited her perfectly—not too sweet, not too bland. Just right.
Did Su Qingmo really make this? Is she that good at cooking? It seemed unlikely. She probably bought it from somewhere to motivate her employees. It wouldn’t make sense for a CEO to cook personally.
Xiao Yan leaned over from across the way and teased, “Since when did you get so close to Secretary Li? Crepes yesterday, and now this today.”
Before Lin Qian could respond, someone else chimed in.
“Some people really are full of surprises,” the speaker said. She was wearing a floral dress, had a long face, and eyes so small they looked like slits. “She ignores us because she looks down on us. If you’re going to make friends, you go for someone like Secretary Li. We’re obviously not worthy.”
Xiao Yan frowned and looked at her. “Liu Jie, Lin Qian didn’t do anything to you. Stop talking such passive-aggressive nonsense.”
Liu Jie shrugged. “Am I wrong?”
Xiao Yan: “You’re full of it.”
Liu Jie snorted and turned her gaze to her computer screen. It was her chat window with Chen Qi, but a large red exclamation mark had appeared next to her messages.
Chen Qi had resigned suddenly a while back and had blocked all her former colleagues—including Liu Jie.
This had bothered Liu Jie for a long time. She had thought her relationship with Chen Qi was good enough; she had even hinted at taking things further several times, but…
She shot a resentful glare at Lin Qian. What’s so good about her? Chen Qi used to be so attentive to her. Lin Qian was just a dull, quiet girl who hid behind black-rimmed glasses and couldn’t squeeze out a word to save her life.
Now, she had even managed to climb the social ladder to Secretary Li. The more Liu Jie thought about it, the angrier she got.
She stood up and walked over. Feigning an accident, she slammed into Lin Qian’s chair.
Thump.
The half-finished soup was knocked over, spilling all over the desk.
Lin Qian stood up in a panic. She was both heartbroken over the soup and frantic as she grabbed tissues to wipe up the mess.
Seeing the mess, Xiao Yan snapped, “Liu Jie, are you blind? The path is so wide, yet you had to hit her chair. You did that on purpose!”
Liu Jie spared Xiao Yan a glance and said airily, “My bad, then.”
With that, she strode away.
Xiao Yan was fuming.
Lin Qian bit her lip and said nothing, continuing to clean up the mess on her desk.
Xiao Yan looked at her and comforted, “She’s been crazy for a long time. Don’t be too upset. Just think of her as a bad smell.”
Lin Qian smiled. “I’m okay. Thanks, Xiao Yan.”
Xiao Yan waved it off. “Don’t mention it. It’s nothing.”
Inside the President’s office, Su Qingmo lowered the blinds. Her eyes were as cold as frost.