05. Her Lips Even Brushed Against the Fabric…
Zhou Mingye did not expect that Ling Xi’s report would turn out quite well.
She had adjusted the previous format, made the language more concise and focused, and added on-site photos. He could directly use it during meetings.
Zhou Mingye scrolled to the very bottom, his gaze stopping on the screen. At the end of the report were several images, photos of him himself while he was on stage.
Zhou Mingye clicked one open, zoomed in, and looked through it several times. There were no obvious flaws. The lighting and angles were just right, but they felt somewhat unnecessary.
Ten images in total, and three of them were of him, taken from different angles.
Even if he was good-looking, was there really a need for this?
Ling Xi knocked and walked in. “President Zhou, you were looking for me?”
The content on the screen remained on the last page. Zhou Mingye’s fingers paused briefly before he looked up at her. “I’ve reviewed the report.”
Ling Xi’s heart immediately tightened.
Zhou Mingye’s gaze returned to the computer as he scrolled upward. Ling Xi quietly observed his expression. Today, Zhou Mingye looked more approachable than he had over the past few days.
“It’s written well. But there’s one issue you need to pay attention to. The viewpoints shared by several industry leaders at the summit are for reference only. They are not industry rules, so the wording needs to be more rigorous.”
Ling Xi’s brows relaxed. “Understood, President Zhou. Next time I’ll add annotations.”
Watching her frown for a moment and then curve her lips into a smile the next, Zhou Mingye found it rather amusing.
Although Ling Xi’s purpose for joining the company was not entirely upright, after reading the report, Zhou Mingye believed her ability was not lacking. As her superior, it was necessary for him to point out a few things and pull her back from the wrong path.
After looking at Ling Xi for a few seconds, Zhou Mingye leaned back in his chair and said slowly, “Also, put away those messy thoughts of yours and focus on the work itself.”
Ling Xi froze for a brief moment.
She had worked overtime to complete the report, and the boss had just expressed satisfaction. What messy thoughts was he talking about?
“Sorry, President Zhou, I don’t quite understand. Could you be more specific?” Ling Xi looked at Zhou Mingye seriously, asking with genuine humility.
Don’t understand?
Zhou Mingye thought to himself that she was probably pretending not to understand while knowing perfectly well.
Did he really have to spell it out so clearly?
“The focus of the report is the content, not the images. Why did you take so many photos of me?”
Upon hearing this, Ling Xi realized he was talking about the images. She answered honestly, “I thought that the part you shared would look more vivid with on-site photos, so I included them.”
Zhou Mingye did not quite believe her. The angles of Ling Xi’s shots were clearly carefully chosen. The intent was obvious.
“Is that so?” Zhou Mingye raised an eyebrow, wearing an expression that suggested he saw right through her.
Ling Xi could not read her boss’s meaning. Her voice dropped a little. “If you don’t like it, I’ll optimize it next time.”
The slightly lost look on her face fell into Zhou Mingye’s eyes.
Zhou Mingye studied her for a few seconds and suddenly realized that he was paying a bit too much attention to Ling Xi’s behavior. How idle was he, really?
“There’s nothing else. Go back to work.” Zhou Mingye returned to his cold expression and waved his hand casually.
After leaving Zhou Mingye’s office, Ling Xi let out a long breath.
To be honest, her answer just now was not entirely truthful.
Including a few photos of Zhou Mingye’s personal sharing in the summit report was also her private attempt to win some favor.
Ling Xi was quite confident in her photography skills. Since Zhou Mingye did not tell her to delete them, that meant he was fairly satisfied.
She thought about continuing her efforts.
*
Back at her workstation, Xu Jing was holding a stack of shopping cards and distributing them to various departments.
Seeing Ling Xi come over, Xu Jing handed her one. “Mid-Autumn Festival benefits.”
Ling Xi originally thought it was some kind of mooncake gift voucher. When she took a closer look, it was a shopping card for a high-end supermarket in the city. She flipped it over to check the amount. Five thousand!
The previous company Ling Xi worked for was not small and was developing well, yet the most she had ever received was an eight-hundred-yuan shopping card, and that was for an ordinary supermarket.
Ruisii’s benefits were indeed good.
Seeing Ling Xi with her mouth slightly open, Xu Jing laughed. “Don’t let the boss’s stern look fool you. He’s actually quite generous to employees.”
Ling Xi held the shopping card with both hands and nodded repeatedly.
To celebrate receiving the Mid-Autumn Festival benefits, Ling Xi and Xu Jing skipped the cafeteria at noon and went downstairs to have a Western-style meal.
After returning to the office, a to-do reminder popped up on the computer. Zhou Mingye had a temporary business trip scheduled for Thursday, and flight tickets and a hotel needed to be booked.
Ling Xi had just opened the airline’s official website when she received a message from Su Wanwan on her phone.
Su Wanwan: Han Zhao said he’s going on a business trip in a couple of days. Is it with that scumbag?
Ling Xi glanced at the screen and replied to Su Wanwan: Yes. But the hotel rooms are separate. Zhou Mingye gets a suite, and Han Zhao, according to company standards, gets a regular single room.
Su Wanwan: That’s way too sneaky!
It was reasonable for the president and his assistant to travel together. They also booked separate rooms, and everything was covered by company expenses. None of that proved anything.
Ling Xi comforted Su Wanwan: Don’t worry. There’s plenty of time.
She clicked on the flight schedule to check times. Xu Jing passed by behind her, glanced at the screen, and reminded her, “President Zhou likes early morning flights. Try to choose the earliest possible time.”
Ling Xi paused the cursor over the 6:10 a.m. flight. “Is this time okay?”
“Yes. He once flew to Hong Kong on a 2:30 a.m. flight.”
“What?” Ling Xi widened her eyes in surprise. “Why?”
“President Zhou seems to have trouble sleeping. He likes to catch up on sleep on the plane.”
Ling Xi muttered quietly, “He really is a strange person.”
After booking the flight, Xu Jing picked up her cup to make tea and pulled Ling Xi along to the pantry with her.
The afternoon was not busy. The two of them chose a snow pear and a lily tea bag and slowly poured hot water into their cups.
After the tea was ready, Ling Xi casually chatted with Xu Jing. “Sister Jing, does the boss always bring Assistant Han when he goes on business trips?”
“Yes. If business discussions are needed, he’ll also bring people from the sales department.”
“What if Assistant Han has something going on?”
“If Assistant Han is unavailable, he brings Director Jiang.”
Always men.
Ling Xi thought that to herself, but did not dare ask more.
In the company, many people were curious about the single and wealthy boss, and Xu Jing was no exception.
Holding her cup, Xu Jing leaned closer and lowered her voice. “The boss doesn’t like bringing female employees on business trips. Before, there was a female employee from the marketing department who went along. I heard she knocked on the boss’s door in the middle of the night, and she was fired the next day.”
“That heartless?”
Even if he was not interested in women, it did not seem necessary to fire her outright.
Xu Jing took a sip of tea. “After that, no female employee dared to approach the boss proactively.”
Ling Xi did not know whether Xu Jing was aware of the relationship between Zhou Mingye and Han Zhao.
She could only probe indirectly. “So does he have a girlfriend?”
“Probably not. Since I joined the company, I’ve never seen a woman appear by his side.”
Just as expected. Not interested in women, huh.
Worried that asking too much would arouse suspicion, Ling Xi exchanged a few more quiet bits of gossip with Xu Jing before the two of them returned to the office together.
As the end of the workday approached, Ling Xi finished writing a set of meeting minutes. After sending the email, she looked up and found that more than half of the people in the company had already left.
She stood up and stretched, just in time to see Mr. Wang from their department rush back like a gust of wind.
He had gone out on external duties in the afternoon. After finishing, he did not go home and came straight back to the company instead.
Mr. Wang was the most self-disciplined middle-aged man Ling Xi had ever met. He did not smoke or drink, exercised every day, and had a body full of solid muscle.
Seeing him take a gym bag out of his locker, Ling Xi smiled and greeted him. “Brother Wang, going to work out again?”
“Yes. If I don’t train for a day, I feel uncomfortable.” Mr. Wang changed into his sports shoes, slung the bag over his shoulder, and asked Ling Xi, “You going? I see you and Xu Jing sitting in front of the computer every day. People who sit for long periods should exercise more.”
Hearing this, Ling Xi remembered that since joining Ruisii, she had not been to the gym even once.
“I’m going!” She happened to have no plans after work, and there was no way she would miss out on this employee benefit. “Brother Wang, you go ahead first. I’ll grab something to eat.”
“Alright.”
*
In the early evening, there were only a handful of people scattered around the gym.
Most employees did not want to stay in the company for even one extra second after getting off work.
Ling Xi casually stepped onto a treadmill, set the speed, and put on her headphones.
High-rise buildings stood densely around Ruisii. Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, the indoor lights overlapped with the dusk outside. Ling Xi looked into the distance and took out her phone to capture the blue-hour moment she liked.
Seeing the sunset settle after a busy day put Ling Xi in an exceptionally good mood.
After warming up, while she still felt in good condition, she moved to a leg-training machine.
She powered through three sets in one go. Ling Xi took a deep breath to steady her breathing, then lifted her eyes and saw, not far away, a man with an outstanding physique. Broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and a straight, upright back.
He picked up a bottle of mineral water and tilted his head back to take a few drinks. His long fingers held the bottle, and even the act of drinking water looked sexy.
Tsk, tsk. How had she never known there was such a stunning presence in the company?
Ling Xi’s gaze was drawn in. She stared for several seconds. When the man turned around, her heart suddenly raced, and she hurriedly turned her head away. It was actually Zhou Mingye?
For a brief moment, Ling Xi felt a trace of regret.
Zhou Mingye was doing pull-ups alone, his movements effortless. The muscle lines on his arms were especially attractive. Ling Xi was a little stunned. She took out her phone, secretly snapped a photo, and sent it to Su Wanwan.
Ling Xi had once discussed with Su Wanwan how to judge whether a man was straight.
Su Wanwan had studied the topic in depth and listed several characteristics. Ling Xi still vaguely remembered them.
She did not rush to get up. She added another set of leg training, exerting force while secretly comparing and observing.
Over the past week, Ling Xi had interacted with Zhou Mingye several times. To be honest, when alone with him, she had not noticed anything particularly different from other men she had dealt with before.
He was wearing a black quick-dry shirt, casual shorts, and sneakers. His outfit looked quite normal.
Leaning back against the seat, Ling Xi crossed her arms and shook her head. He really hid it well.
After finishing the set, Ling Xi stood up to get some water. As she passed by Zhou Mingye, she sneaked a few more glances and lowered her head to reply to Su Wanwan’s message.
Zhou Mingye was still continuing his workout. As his body stretched upward, the hem of his shirt naturally lifted. Ling Xi inadvertently caught sight of his sharply defined abdominal muscles.
Her heart tightened. She hurriedly withdrew her gaze, but was caught right in the act by Zhou Mingye.
Their eyes met. Ling Xi panicked and failed to notice her footing. She accidentally stepped on a weight plate someone had not put away.
To keep her balance, Ling Xi instinctively grabbed the nearest piece of equipment, which happened to be the pull-up bar Zhou Mingye was using.
The sudden closeness made Zhou Mingye’s arms loosen slightly. Due to inertia, Ling Xi lurched forward, her cheek colliding with Zhou Mingye’s abdomen. Her lips even brushed against the fabric of his clothes.