Honored Mother had truly been a perfect helper. Ever since she brought Ruibao over last time, Chi Ruanli no longer avoided him in a cautious, evasive way. She had returned to her usual respectful attitude toward her superior.
Although there had been no real progress yet, it was enough to make Sheng Yanqing happy. As long as she was not avoiding him, it counted as progress.
Recently, Chi Ruanli’s appetite had greatly increased, and along with it, her weight had also been creeping up rapidly. When she changed clothes in the morning, she was shocked to discover she had developed a small belly. That realization left her gloomy all morning.
At lunch, she controlled herself and ate less. During the break, she went alone to the stairwell and went up and down the stairs repeatedly.
Chi Ruanli changed into flat sports shoes. Her footsteps were silent. When she reached the 28th floor, faint “tsk-tsk-tsk” sounds echoed in the quiet stairwell.
Chi Ruanli lacked experience and initially thought there were mice. She was about to quickly step up the stairs when she turned the corner—
and saw a girl with long wavy hair being pressed against the wall by a man in a suit and kissed passionately.
The wet “tsk-tsk” sounds became clearer in her ears, making her face heat up slightly.
From the back view alone, Chi Ruanli recognized the man as Jing Xun. Then, noticing the long wavy hair, she blurted out unconsciously, “Yangyang.” After calling out, she belatedly covered her mouth.
She silently scolded herself: Chi Ruanli, are you stupid! You should’ve quietly left instead. There was no need to end up in this awkward situation where they were all staring at each other.
Hearing someone call her name, Yang Yang suddenly pushed Jing Xun away. After meeting Chi Ruanli’s gaze and freezing for a few seconds, even with her outgoing personality, she couldn’t handle it and let out a startled “ah” before turning and running off. She moved so quickly that Jing Xun couldn’t even grab her sleeve.
Watching Yang Yang’s flustered retreating figure, Jing Xun couldn’t help but chuckle softly.
After a moment, he looked at Chi Ruanli with a faint, languid expression and said shamelessly, “Secretary Chi, you’re very rude.”
Chi Ruanli stuck out her tongue and gave him an awkward smile. “Sorry, Assistant Jing, my brain short-circuited.”
“Hmph.” Jing Xun rolled his eyes at her. She had ruined his good moment—he had coaxed Yang Yang for a long time before she finally agreed to meet him during lunch break.
With a sigh, Jing Xun muttered as he walked away, “We can’t do it in the stairwell anymore.”
He would still have to coax Yang Yang into going to his office…
Yanse
A Cayenne pulled to a steady stop at the entrance. The manager immediately stepped forward and personally opened the car door. “Young Master Yan and the others are already waiting in the private room.”
Sheng Yanqing nodded to indicate he understood. He paused, waiting until Chi Ruanli walked to his side before striding forward.
Yanse—Chi Ruanli knew this place. It was a high-end private club under the Sheng family’s enterprise, one of Beijing’s most famous “money-burning paradises.”
The first floor was a bar. Even before entering, deafening music could already be heard.
Inside, the lighting was dim, filled with flashing neon lights of various colors that occasionally illuminated people’s faces.
On the dance floor, men and women dressed lightly were happily dancing. The noise was chaotic but carried a strange sense of relaxation.
Concerned that Chi Ruanli might not be used to it, Sheng Yanqing instinctively shielded her side with his arm as soon as they entered, carefully observing her expression.
Seeing her lightly shaking her head while looking around with bright, wide deer-like eyes full of curiosity, he finally relaxed.
When they pushed open the private room door, the first thing they saw was a silver head of hair—simply because it was too eye-catching.
“Little sister, come sit here,” Xu Wenzhi greeted first, patting the seat beside him and gesturing.
“Idol!” Seeing a familiar face suddenly, Chi Ruanli became excited. Before she could even walk over, Sheng Yanqing grabbed her wrist and led her to the double sofa, placing her directly opposite Xu Wenzhi.
“Tch.” Xu Wenzhi sneered, giving Chi Ruanli a roguish wink before lowering his head to fiddle with his phone.
Sheng Yanqing naturally noticed his small gesture and frowned deeply as he stared at Xu Wenzhi: he’s asking for trouble again.
“Oh? And this beauty is…?”
In the dim light of the private room, Chi Ruanli was startled by the sudden voice.
She looked over and saw a gentle-looking man in a white shirt smiling warmly at her.
His sleeves were rolled up twice, revealing a red string bracelet on his wrist, which made his skin look even more like polished jade.
Chi Ruanli returned a friendly smile, but before she could introduce herself, Jing Xun walked in holding Yang Yang’s hand.
He spoke lazily, “Song Monian, your smile is ugly.
Secretary Chi, don’t be fooled by this guy. Among all of us, he’s the most hypocritical.”
Song Monian rotated his red bracelet and didn’t respond, only leaning back into the single sofa with a faint smile.
“Ah, so it turns out to be a secretary,” another deep, slightly hoarse male voice came from the darkest corner.
Only then did Chi Ruanli notice that two people were sitting there.
Even though the sofa was spacious enough for two, the man insisted on sitting tightly beside the woman, as if he would only be satisfied if she sat on his lap.
“We all brought our partners. You brought a secretary—what’s that supposed to mean?”
The man tightened his arm around the woman’s waist and glanced lazily toward Sheng Yanqing.
Sheng Yanqing frowned and shot him a sharp look. After a moment, he said coldly, “Qin Chunyi, control your man!”
Oh? So it turned out to be Sister Yiyi. She had said the man’s back looked a bit familiar—so that man should be Yan Yiqian. Chi Ruanli shifted her gaze to the man’s face.
His hair was slightly long, just barely covering his eyebrows. His eyes were narrow and elongated. Although his build was robust, he somehow gave off a “yandere-like” aura.
Qin Chunyi pinched the man’s waist, stood up from his embrace, and casually fanned herself left and right with a folding fan before speaking naturally, “Ruanruan, don’t pay attention to them. None of these men are decent.”
After saying that, she winked at Chi Ruanli. Her long phoenix eyes were overflowing with seductive charm, making Chi Ruanli’s face heat up slightly.
Yan Yiqian was the jealous type reincarnated. The moment Qin Chunyi left his arms, he frowned tightly.
When he saw her smiling flirtatiously at someone else, he could no longer hold back. He shot Chi Ruanli a warning glance, then wrapped his arm around the woman’s waist again, pulling her back into his embrace before his brows finally relaxed.
He then turned around, ignoring everyone present, and kissed her red, glistening lips deeply and forcefully, with a hint of punishment.
Qin Chunyi’s jade-like fingers gripped the man’s collar tightly. Seeing that she couldn’t push him away, she simply yielded to him.
Her pale arms wrapped around his neck as the two kissed inseparably.
Chi Ruanli was stunned by what she was seeing. Only when a large hand covered her eyes did her vision go dark. Her face flushed bright red as she lowered her head in embarrassment.
Sheng Yanqing leaned closer, his warm breath brushing against her ear as he teased softly, “Not suitable for children.”
The little woman lowered her head even further, as if she wanted to bury herself in the ground. In the end, she silently muttered inwardly: She wasn’t a child!
“Crazy people!” Jing Xun cursed under his breath while watching the couple in the corner kissing without restraint. He then sat down beside Chi Ruanli, bringing Yang Yang with him.
As soon as they sat down, the two girls immediately clung to each other and began whispering. The two men watching them both frowned at the same time.
“Yangyang, you’re not being honest,” Chi Ruanli said, looking at her with a teasing smile. “You were hiding things from me.”
She pressed her index fingers together, her eyes full of gossip. “Are you two dating?”
Yang Yang rarely became shy. She glanced at Jing Xun, who smiled at her indulgently.
“Sort of,” Yang Yang answered vaguely.
She actually found it difficult to define their relationship. She hadn’t wanted to come at all—Jing Xun had kissed and coaxed her in the car, and later even threatened her: Yanse vs. the car prison, choose one.
As long as one wasn’t stupid, the choice was obvious. And she wasn’t stupid.