“Excuse me, coming through.”
Arriving at work right on the edge of being late at nine o’clock, Chi Ruanli took advantage of her petite five-foot-three frame and squeezed through the crowd.
Just as she was about to board the elevator, her cute little nose wrinkled slightly.
She caught a familiar scent—a woody fragrance blending grapefruit and cedar.
She was about to turn around and look for the source of the smell when the crowd pushed her into the elevator.
Meanwhile, on his first day officially taking up his position at Shengshi Group, Sheng Yanqing had just stepped out of his car and had not yet entered the lobby when he felt an arm bump into his waist.
His sharp brows instantly furrowed, suppressed irritation flashing in his dark eyes.
Before he could react, he saw a young woman stride past him.
She was only about shoulder-height on him. Her brown woolly curls cascaded lazily over her shoulders. She wore an off-white mid-length cashmere coat and a pair of thick-soled knee-high boots.
For no apparent reason, his annoyance vanished immediately.
Sheng Yanqing cleared his throat and asked, “Does the company hire child labor now?”
The senior executives who had come to greet him were completely baffled.
Standing only a step away from him, Assistant Jing chuckled.
“Are you saying a girl isn’t allowed to be short?”
Sheng Yanqing turned to look at him.
The meaning in his cool gaze was obvious:
You talk too much.
Jing Xun shrugged innocently and leisurely followed behind Sheng Yanqing toward the president’s private elevator.
“Sweet Pear, I’ve only gone two days without seeing you, and I already missed you to death!”
No sooner had Chi Ruanli sat down at her workstation—without even taking off her coat—than Yang Yang from the neighboring desk threw herself into her arms.
“Yangyang, I missed you too.”
Chi Ruanli smiled so brightly that her eyes curved into crescents as she hugged her back.
The friendship between young women sometimes came out of nowhere.
The two of them had entered the company on the same day and had known each other for less than three months, yet they were as close as if they had been friends for over a decade.
After finally getting enough of the reunion, Yang Yang released her and stared at her for a long moment before leaning in mysteriously.
“Sweet Pear, be honest. Do you have a man now?”
Chi Ruanli froze.
A rosy blush immediately spread across her cheeks, and unmistakable shyness filled her eyes.
“No such thing, Yangyang. Don’t talk nonsense.”
She quickly turned around and began tidying her desk, somehow managing to turn an already neat workspace into a complete mess.
The guilt was written all over her face.
“Tsk. Still saying no? Look how flustered you are. You even put the lipstick cap on wrong.”
Hearing that, Chi Ruanli immediately scanned her desk.
After searching for a while, she realized there was no lipstick anywhere.
Only then did she realize Yang Yang had tricked her.
Stamping her foot lightly, she complained in a spoiled tone,
“Yangyang, stop teasing me.”
Yang Yang raised her elegant brows and ran a hand through her voluminous wavy hair.
Her clear peach-blossom eyes sparkled with amusement.
“You definitely got yourself a boyfriend. Look at your complexion. You’ve obviously been spoiled and pampered.”
“Yangyang!”
Chi Ruanli’s voice rose instantly.
Her bright deer-like eyes shimmered with moisture, looking as though she might burst into tears if Yang Yang said another word.
Alright.
She had pushed too far.
Yang Yang immediately zipped her lips and made a zipper-closing gesture across her mouth.
She stayed quiet for less than three seconds before scooting over again.
“Hey, Sweet Pear, did you hear? The young master of the Sheng family officially took over the company today and got parachuted straight into the president’s position.”
Having just reorganized her desk, Chi Ruanli instantly spun around.
The power of gossip was impossible to resist.
“What happened?”
She had heard that a new executive was coming, but she had no idea it was the president.
“What about our previous president? Did he get pushed out? Is this one of those legendary rich-family power struggles?”
“Not at all. The brothers get along great…”
The two girls leaned their heads together as Yang Yang prepared to tell the whole story.
Click, click, click.
A series of footsteps approached.
Looking up, Chi Ruanli saw her immediate supervisor, Sister Linda, walking into the executive office area in eight-centimeter heels.
Behind her followed a large crowd.
The two women immediately returned to their desks and sat up straight like obedient students.
Zhao Linda clapped her hands, signaling everyone to pay attention.
“This is the new president of Shengshi Group—President Sheng. Please welcome him.”
She then stepped aside.
The man who had been surrounded by the crowd at the center stepped forward with long, measured strides and stopped at the front.
The moment Chi Ruanli saw the new president’s face, her already-round deer eyes widened even further.
Her mouth fell slightly open as she sucked in a sharp breath.
She froze in place for a full three seconds.
Then she lowered her head.
What do I do? What do I do? Why is it him?!
Seeing her one-night stand unexpectedly appear before her, Chi Ruanli panicked instinctively.
Within those few short minutes, she had already mentally drafted a resignation letter.
She did not hear a single word Sheng Yanqing said.
When she finally looked up again, all she saw was his retreating figure.
Dressed in a perfectly tailored black custom-made suit, he appeared restrained, noble, and untouchable.
An aura of keeping strangers at a distance radiated from him.
He was like a rare flower growing atop a cliff—something to be admired from afar but never approached.
Unfortunately, Chi Ruanli had seen what he was like on that ship.
That night, they had gone at it several times.
His current aloof demeanor was nothing more than a fake act of coldness.
“Sweet Pear? Sweet Pear…”
It took Yang Yang calling her several times before Chi Ruanli snapped out of her thoughts.
The moment she realized what she had been thinking, she felt deeply embarrassed.
She was about to resign anyway.
Why was she still thinking about such things?
Then suddenly, another thought occurred to her.
Wait.
He didn’t know who she was!
From the moment they met that night until they entered the room, she had been wearing a mask the entire time.
The next morning, she had been the one who woke up first.
Thinking about it, a blush spread across her palm-sized face.
That man had an exceptionally good sleeping posture.
Even when she slipped out of his embrace, he had merely turned over and continued sleeping.
As a result, after getting dressed, she had even taken the time to do her hair and makeup before confidently striding out of the hotel.
So what was there to worry about?
There was no way he could recognize her!