Return: My Hell and Heaven
Chapter 21: Onboarding (2)
Song Shu abruptly stopped in her tracks.
In that instant, almost instinctively, she reached for her left wrist, but it was empty—there was nothing there. To avoid causing trouble, she always took off that small seashell bracelet before coming to work at Vio.
By the time she realized her reaction, it was too late to remedy it.
Suppressing her emotions, Song Shu turned around, her expression showing a hint of confusion. “Mr. Qin, did you just call me? Sorry, I didn’t catch that.”
Qin Lou remained silent.
He stared at her without blinking, his eyes dark and deeply melancholic. His gaze meticulously traced every feature of her face, as if only now seriously trying to see the woman before him.
For more than ten seconds, the cafeteria was filled with their awkward silence. Yao Yiqin, as the senior in the Legal and Compliance Department closest to them, finally stepped forward.
“Mr. Qin, were you just…?”
Her tone was carefully measured, afraid of worsening the situation or implicating herself.
Qin Lou finally seemed to snap out of it with the intervention of this third person’s voice.
He didn’t turn back, just looked at the woman standing not far from him, whose smile by now had returned to calmness and serenity. Then, Qin Lou slowly curled his lips.
“Little clam shell.”
He stared intensely at Song Shu, repeating it again, his eyes deep and dark. Then, in the next moment, Qin Lou’s gaze suddenly shifted. He looked up towards the cafeteria window. “—I was asking if there’s this dish for lunch today?”
The head chef, who was watching the commotion a second ago, found himself engulfed in flames the next. He stood up in bewilderment and innocence. “Mr. Qin, are you referring to stir-fried shellfish meat or something?”
Qin Lou smiled, dark and sinister, tinged with an inexplicable and uncontrollable desire. “I want to try every way of eating it.”
As confusion spread among everyone in the cafeteria, Qin Lou turned away.
The woman who had originally stood several meters behind him was now nowhere to be seen. At some unknown moment, she had swiftly darted out of his field of vision.
Long legs, huh, little clam shell.
Qin Lou picked up the plate that belonged to Song Shu from the table, and walked unhurriedly towards the stainless steel bin in the cafeteria designated for food waste.
His expression at this moment must have been terrifying, like that of an addict who, after countless days, had once again caught a whiff of the thing that addicted him.
Now Vio was his territory, and he was no longer the child who could only go mad with no skills. He could do whatever he wanted with his possessions on his territory, including the things he desired most.
Just like those scenes that were already playing uncontrollably in his mind.
“Splash.”
The leftovers were dumped directly into the bin.
Qin Lou turned to the left, took a couple of steps, and set down the plate.
He lowered his eyes and laughed silently.
But there was no rush; there were too many old scores to settle one by one. And this time, we finally have plenty of time ahead of us… little clam shell.
As soon as his figure disappeared from the cafeteria, the employees’ discussions finally resumed.
“So, what exactly did Mr. Qin come here for?”
“Definitely not to eat.”
“Judging by the outcome, he just dumped food waste for that new employee.”
“…Is this some kind of new employee benefit?”
“You’re thinking too much. If every new hire got such a sensational ‘new employee benefit,’ then back when I—”
“What about back then?”
“Well, back then, I might have been scared out of my wits and left long ago.”
“Hahaha, can’t you have a little dignity? Look at that new person in Legal, they’re totally different from you, so calm!”
“It’s really strange, what exactly is her relationship with Mr. Qin? If there’s really something going on between them, shouldn’t we have heard or seen something by now?”
“Who knows. I’ll ask my friends in the Legal Department tonight, I’m too curious…”
Throughout the afternoon, Song Shu appeared completely normal as she sat in her cubicle flipping through legal documents and materials. Regardless of how her passing colleagues scrutinized her with either curious or knowing glances, Song Shu remained unaffected.
This continued throughout the entire afternoon, and once it became clear that there was no new gossip-worthy information to be gleaned, the curiosity of the others subsided slightly.
As evening approached, Yao Yiqin walked over to Song Shu’s cubicle desk. After pausing for a moment, she stood there with mixed emotions before finally speaking up.
“Qin Qing, aren’t you leaving work yet?”
Song Shu paused for a moment, then looked up with a bright smile. “Sister Qinqin, you go ahead first. I haven’t finished reviewing these materials yet. Once this section is done, then I’ll leave.”
Yao Yiqin nodded and said, “With Vio and its predecessor, there’s a long history, so having a lot of documents is normal. But don’t overwork yourself…”
“The predecessor of Vio? Wasn’t Vio a startup company? I’ve heard about Vio’s reputation in the venture capital industry since a few years ago when I was still a student.”
Yao Yiqin didn’t notice anything amiss and patiently explained, “Vio’s predecessor was the Qin Group. Years ago, one of Qin Group’s subsidiaries was involved in a massive and far-reaching Ponzi scheme due to senior management, resulting in significant losses. The head of the Qin family, Mr. Qin Liang, chose to take drastic measures to compensate for the losses not caused directly by Qin Group. He then appointed his inexperienced grandson, Qin Lou, to inject new ideas and initiate the transformation of the company. So, Vio’s current structure was indeed established by Mr. Qin about seven or eight years ago, allowing it to secure a place in the international venture capital industry. Mr. Qin deserves credit for this achievement.”
After blurting out everything, Yao Yiqin added somewhat embarrassedly, “Was that too much information?”
“Of course not.” Song Shu snapped back to attention, masking the deep-seated emotions with a light-hearted smile. “Who wouldn’t want to hear such a legendary business story? Especially when the protagonist is a young and promising corporate leader.”
Yao Yiqin nodded, a hint of a smile on her face. “Indeed. Whenever we talk to newcomers who haven’t experienced the initial difficulties of transformation, we can’t help but talk too much—back then, Mr. Qin was under extreme suspicion and distrust from the rest of the board. He successfully predicted market interest rate trends and led an immature team to complete several legendary hedging transactions in the industry… These things always make someone like me, who’s been with the company for quite some time, feel exhilarated.”
Song Shu lowered her eyes slightly.
After a few seconds of silence, she smiled. “Over these years, Mr. Qin has always been an outstanding person.”
“Huh?” Yao Yiqin didn’t immediately respond.
Song Shu looked up, adding with a smile, “I just feel fortunate to have such a young leader whom I can trust and follow.”
Yao Yiqin was about to nod in response, but hesitated mid-motion, showing uncertainty on her face.
Song Shu said, “Sister Qinqin, you’re my senior and the person who has been helping me adapt to the job. If you have any questions, just ask.” This chapter was taken from g.com without permission.
“…Qin Qing, please don’t blame me for being curious, but this matter has been bothering me a bit—colleagues are indeed curious whether you and Mr. Qin have known each other for a long time.”
Song Shu didn’t give a direct answer. She smiled gently, “You’ve seen my resume. I’ve been studying abroad all these years, and after graduation, I worked as an intern at a local law firm. I never returned to China until this year. It’s really impossible for me to have any connection with Mr. Qin… And if there’s really a background like Vio Capital, why would I only come here this year?”
“That makes sense. Haha, you must laugh at me, being my age and still gossiping like a young person.”
“It’s nothing. It’s human nature. Besides, getting to know each other will make it easier for us to cooperate in our work in the future.”
“Haha, okay. I won’t disturb you anymore. I’ll go pick up my child after work.”
“Alright, Sister Qinqin, goodbye.”
Watching Yao Yiqin leave, Song Shu turned back and immersed herself once again in the files in front of her.
After finishing all the documents, Song Shu snapped back to reality. Rubbing her stiff shoulders and neck, she lifted her head and noticed that the digital clock on her desk showed it was almost 8 PM.
Vio Capital’s corporate culture emphasized efficiency, with no strict requirements for overtime from employees, nor any implicit demands to burden them with excessive workloads. By this time, even those in the Legal and Compliance Department who occasionally stayed late had long since left.
The entire floor was now deserted, with only Song Shu remaining.
Closing the last file in front of her, Song Shu chuckled wryly, stood up, and stretched her sore limbs and back. Just as she was halfway through, her phone rang.
Glancing at her phone, she saw that it was Yu Qisheng calling.
Song Shu answered the phone. “Mr. Yu?”
“Haven’t left work yet?” came Yu Qisheng’s voice.
Song Shu glanced at the dark night outside the window and smiled. “There’s nothing that Mr. Yu can’t find out.”
“I know your temperament, don’t I? Come down, I’m waiting downstairs at your company. I’ll take you out for dinner and then drop you home.”
Song Shu hesitated. “I couldn’t possibly…”
“Our relationship… do we need to be polite about this? I’ve already made arrangements. It’s a private kitchen restaurant with excellent food. Let me take you there.”
“…Alright, thank you, Mr. Yu. I’ll come down.”
“I’ll come up to get you.”
“No need—”
“It’s late. It’s not gentlemanly to let a girl go downstairs alone. Wait for me in the elevator lobby.”
Song Shu sighed silently, her voice maintaining its playful tone. “Thank you, Mr. Yu.”
“…”
Ending the call, Song Shu packed up her things, grabbed her backpack, and headed towards the elevator lobby.
The lobby was brightly lit, as bright as daylight.
But as Song Shu stepped into the lobby, her footsteps halted in the very first second—
Standing by the wall next to the elevator doors, Qin Lou had been waiting there, seemingly for quite some time.
Sansukini: Well, she’s not really hiding her identity that well. Luan Qiaoqing is the only dense person.
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