Qiu Zheng Qing is stunned. Indeed, getting straight to the point is a career woman’s style.
If they are going to date, of course marriage is their end goal. He has certainly no time to play love games, neither does he has the mood. To him, Mao Hui Zhu is indeed a special existence and they indeed have a lot of similarities. It is pleasant talking to her. But the way she suspected Yin Ting and nagged about him lending money earlier is a little offensive to him. She is a very dominant woman, she also likes to interfere with these little matters. Well, he is not sure himself. He does not immediately agree.
To be honest, prior to their meeting, he can already somewhat sense that perhaps Mao Hui Zhu is interested in this matter. Perhaps it is the intuition of a man. He was also a little happy, looked forward to it even. Call it men’s vanity. Even if she had no such interest, he was still happy to meet her. In conclusion, rationality tells him that she is the most ideal partner for him, no matter if it is in terms of education, experience or character. But it is also his rationality that tells him that she is not that ideal after all.
As a workaholic, career-minded man, he does not mind marrying a similar-minded wife. He thinks that it is good for his other half to have her own career, it suits his character. But if the person is dominant and also fussy about little matters, he will not like it.
She notices his brief hesitation and smiles. Gently she adds, “You don’t have to answer me now. After all, this is a serious and important matter. You can consider it first. We can keep in contact and when you have made your decision, you can tell me.”
He breathes a sigh of relief and returns her smile. “Okay then.” Indeed he still needs some time to evaluate and to consider. Due to his responsible nature, plus the scarcity of his time and energy, he would definitely put in all his effort into reaching their marriage goal once they agreed to date. This is certainly an important matter, he cannot make a decision without serious consideration.
He likes her open-mindedness and secretly gives her some additional points in this aspect.
Three days later, Wednesday.
It is almost five in the evening, Qiu Zheng Qing is having a meeting with his subordinates. The meeting is drawing to an end, the sales a.s.sociates are making their final pitch. It is at this time he glances outside through the open gla.s.s wall and sees Yin Ting walking past. He remembers what happened on Sunday and guesses that she is here to return the money.
As per his expectations, he sees Yin Ting stops at his office door. She is telling his secretary something, his secretary is probably telling her that he is in a meeting. She turns around and looks in the direction of the meeting room. She sees him and waves at him, lips revealing a wide smile. She points at the envelope she is holding and motions that she is handing it over to his secretary.
He nods a little and considers it acknowledging her words. He guesses that the envelope contains money. He turns around and continues listening to his subordinates’ report. He also makes concise and straight-to-the-point remarks about their reports and then ends the meeting. The number of meetings he must attend are not few, so he hates wasting time talking about nonsense during meetings. Not only does it wastes his own time, it would also waste others’. It will hamper their work efficiency.
He takes the initiative to walk out of the meeting room. When he pa.s.ses by his secretary’s table, she hands him Yin Ting’s envelope. “Miss Yin Ting says that this is the money you lent her.”
He nods and returns to his office. He lightly touches his stiff neck and notices out of his eye that the cup on his table is empty. He decides to pour himself a cup of tea. He prefers making his own tea and coffee at the pantry. Firstly, it is one of his few opportunities to move around after being cooped in his office all day. Secondly, walking to pantry would require him walking past the open area. He can monitor the progress of his subordinates. He is someone who does everything with all his might, therefore he takes note of all his subordinates’ working att.i.tude. Judging from this aspect, he can be considered as a strict and difficult superior.
When he pa.s.ses by Qin Yu Fei’s office, he hears Yin Ting’s voice.
“A lucky star falls on my lap.”
Her voice is bright and clear, he can even imagine her expression of joy and mirth. He slows down his steps having heard Yin Ting continue her talk. But her voice no longer has the same brightness as when she mentions the lucky star. He cannot listen well and can only hear faintly words like “Please be more serious”, “girlfriend”, “taking my bike for repair” and “third wheel”. He feels like she is definitely talking about him.
“Please be more serious” these four words stir a great interest in him. What does it mean? Could it be a nickname, such a long and meaningful nickname?
He gives in and directly stands in front of Qin Yu Fei’s office door, listening to what Yin Ting is talking about.
Indeed she is gossiping about him. She is saying that she thinks he and that Zoe has the look of a married couple, they even have similar temperament and interests. She complains that she cannot understand what they were discussing and then complains that he has no taste in picking restaurants. She also says that at that time she really wanted to recommend a few restaurants that are suitable for dating but because the timing was not right, she restrained herself.
He pursues his lips. Dating? He has no interest in dating, he does not think dating is more interesting than work. But she is right, he and Mao Hui Zhu are indeed on the same channel. Neither does he think Mao Hui Zhu needs dating. It is only that the time has come for them to start a family. They are both kindred spirits, they should be quite compatible partners. He a.s.sumes that Mao Hui Zhu is of similar thought.
Yin Ting as a stranger actually managed to see that they are compatible partners in such a brief time. Perhaps she is right, they are truly compatible. In his mind, he increases the possibility of such a project.
The conversation between the girls have move on to the topic of how Yin Ting’s numerous failures in courting men. Qin Yu Fei, who is having problems with her boyfriend, asks Yin Ting, “You’ve been disappointed in love so many times, how did you got through it?”
“Well, I told myself that there are plenty of fish in the sea. If this one doesn’t work, then I’ll fish another one. I’ll eventually fish one that is just right. Even if I’m unlucky enough to not have found even one, then I think I’ll consider my life well spent at least. Compared to secretly admiring someone in the shadows, loving openly is better.”
Qiu Zheng Qing curves his lips into a smile. He feels like laughing. She is really a little girl, she knows how not to take things to heart. He plans to leave. Such girlish conversations are not suitable for him to listen to. He should also be reminding Qin Yu Fei later that even though she is the boss’ precious daughter and Yong Kai Corp’s princess, she is still a part of the company. During working hours, she should be working seriously. But since she is having a guest over, he would not say it now.
But the moment he is about to turn away, Qin Yu Fei sees him. The moment she notices him, Yin Ting also follows her gaze to look at him and they both catch him eavesdropping. He feels that it is inappropriate to leave immediately, thus he clears his throat and says, “First I need to make it clear, that woman is my university cla.s.smate. She is still not yet my girlfriend.”
“Oh.” Yin Ting nods rather pragmatically. “Not yet meaning she will be in the future?”
He raises an eyebrow. How should he define this? If he puts it into words, he would need to take responsibility. But he has yet to make the decision to date Mao Hui Zhu. When Yin Ting sees him deliberating the matter seriously, she tells Qin Yu Fei, “My information cannot be considered incorrect. It is only a matter of time.”
He frowns and decides to let it go. There is no need to explain it to them. But he needs to know an answer to a question. “What do you mean by ‘please be more serious’?”
Qin Yu Fei pretends to be ignorant and keeps quiet. Yin Ting blinks and then answers, “That, en, that is your nickname.”
“…” It really is. He did not mask the expression on his face.
The one who came up with the nickname must not have known the term “conciseness”. But it is quite a meaningful nickname because he really wants to tell these two princesses the exact same phrase – Please be more serious. Being born in a well-off family, they should know how to appreciate it and be serious and responsible towards their work.
But Qin Yu Fei quickly smashes his “proactive and progressive” life philosophy. She says, “Director Qiu, Xiao Ting came to me for something. I’ll get off work now, I’ll be leaving a little early.” When she finishes, she very obviously shoots Yin Ting a meaningful glance.
He cannot be bothered about her. “So not only did Miss Yin skipped work and came to our place, she even kidnapped one of my employees?”
Yin Ting is a little stunned. She gapes. Right, even though that is not her intention but the current state is indeed as he had said.
Qin Yu Fei certainly does not pay attention to their reactions. She is having an argument with her hospitalised boyfriend Gu Ying Jie and now she is regretting it, she wants to see him. No one can stop her! She packs up her bag and drags Yin Ting off with her. Yin Ting looks behind her and sees Qiu Zheng Qing staring after them. She suddenly feels that this Great Director Qiu is a little pitiful. He only knows how to work, he has never even been to a pub, and now he is even bullied by Qin Yu Fei.
But the expression on his face indeed very solemn. It was such a severe expression that it makes her want to laugh. Yin Ting cannot help but pull a face at Qiu Zheng Qing. “Please be more serious, luckily you’re not my boss.”
She is a person without ambition or career aspirations. If she ends up being his subordinate, she would really be suffering.
Amitabha, she is indeed lucky.
Qin Yu Fei and Yin Ting manage to escape. Qiu Zheng Qing slowly makes his way to the pantry and on his way there, he sees some of his subordinates watching Qin Yu Fei skip work. Their expressions are full of envy. When he stares at them, he does not even need to speak before those subordinates lower their head and continue to work. But it is true, she is the boss’ daughter, of course she can skip whenever she wants.
He can guess their thoughts. Unhappily he finishes making his tea and returns to his office. He must really have a good talk with Qin Yu Fei. It is not the first time she displays such unprofessionalism. Her actions are such a bad example to the rest of the employees. She would make the rest believe that being such an idle worker can also be considered as contributing to the country. It is also a bad influence, she would make them feel that they should not be working too hard since they are not born in a well-off family anyway.
This is not right. Truly, she is a bad example. He does not want the rest to think this way.
In his opinion, no matter what background someone comes from, it is not the deciding factor in which how one would live their life. If one does not put in enough effort, they should not be finding excuses for their failures. Even though it is true that having poor qualifications means more obstacles, but opportunities are for those who are prepared for it. He is a prime example of this. That he managed to enter a large company after graduation, climb the corporate ladder step-by-step, get invited by Qin Wen Yi into this company, and become a young and formidable force in his field, all that is based on effort. He has no parents to support him. He has no family connections to help him. Everything is his effort.
That is the correct way.
He is thinking about approaching Qin Yu Fei for the talk tomorrow while opening Yin Ting’s envelope. When he opens it, he is a little stunned. Other than the 500 yuan, there is also a tiny red packet. He opens the red packet and a red thread falls on his table.
What is the meaning of this?
He wants to call her to ask but realizes he does not have her number.
It is at this moment, his phone rings. He answers. The person on the other end of the line is actually Yin Ting. “Is this Director Qiu?”
“Yes.” How coincidental. He is just thinking about her.
“I forgot to tell you, there’s a red thread in the envelope. That is something I got from the temple, it will increase your love luck. Put the thread in the red packet and then carry the packet wherever you go. You can put it in your wallet, that’s good.”
He raises an eyebrow. “Many thanks.” How should he put it? “I’ve troubled you.” What a big present. He sees the red thread on his table. Since when did they become close enough to gift each other something like this?
“Don’t worry about it. When I went to the temple, I got five of them. I left one for myself and gave the rest to my girlfriends. One of them actually got blitz-married, she no longer needs it. So there’s one left. Judging from your date the other day, I think you’d need it so I gave it to you.”
He sweat-dropped. She might as well not explain. Never mind the fact that the thread is just leftover for him, what does she mean by she thinks he would need it? How much is she looking down on him?
“You must keep it probably, okay. It will bring you good luck. My three other girlfriends have already found their prince charming, it’s quite effective.”
He quietly thinks, then what about you? You even went and prayed yourself, why are you still single? But he would not say such malicious words to a girl.
Who knows the next second, Yin Ting says, “You must be thinking what about me, why am I still single? Let me tell you, the numerous obstacles I’m facing means that I’ll definitely have a very, very big happiness in the future. You must look at the bright side and not disbelieve these things. The power of thought is very important.”
Alright then. Since she also has her proactive side, even though it is not about work, he will reluctantly accept that she also has positive energy.
Qiu Zheng Qing glances at the red thread. “Okay then, then I’ll keep it. You have such spirit, you’ll definitely be able to make the sale.”
Sale?
Yin Ting spends quite some time to digest that term.
Such a.n.a.logy is really – original.
She is going home in a taxi. She looks outside the window and imagines the word “Sale” etched on Zoe’s forehead. She cannot help her outburst of laughter. Sale. She wonders if Zoe will be satisfied with this nickname.
Qiu Zheng Qing has no idea what is she laughing about. He then hears her say, “I also hope that you make your sale. Then I’ll hang up. Bye.”
Both of them hang up at the same time. He looks at the red thread again. After thinking about Yin Ting’s words, he puts the thread into the red packet and puts it away in his wallet.
Inside the taxi, Yin Ting opens her purse and looks at the red packet inside. She cannot resist smiling. When she is able to find a boyfriend in the future, she wants to call him Mr Sale. Such a nickname is really fun.
