Chapter 8: Come To My Office Tonight x2

Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=5310224
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com

In the darkness, Ji Lianxing stared at her phone screen for a long time but still didn't receive any message from Jiang Shu.  

Had she fallen asleep? Maybe, after all, she was so busy. How would she have time to reply to her?  

So Ji Lianxing went to sleep as well.  

Summer always changes unpredictably, and heavy rain can come at any time.

In the early morning, Ji Lianxing was woken up by the sound of rain. Drop by drop, it pitter-pattered against the glass window, gathering into streams of water that flowed down with a whoosh.  

She got out of bed and opened the window, and a gust of wind mixed with rain blew in, feeling chilly. Looking up, she saw a deeply overcast sky.  

The old building across the street appeared solemn and oppressive under the dense clouds as if a crow might fly out in the next second.  

She didn't like cloudy days.

While washing up, Ji Lianxing ran into another roommate. She told Ji Lianxing that she was going to leave this city and had already posted the sublease information online. She estimated that she would move out in a few days.  

Ji Lianxing just nodded. She wanted to say something but felt there was nothing worth saying.  

They were strangers, to begin with; meeting and parting were unpredictable.  

"Don't worry, I will sublet to a girl. No men and I won't rent to anyone with bad habits," the roommate said.

"Hm-mm, then—" Ji Lianxing rarely showed a smile, "I wish you a safe journey."

****

The heavy rain coated the city in a shiny, dark gray. The fine, dense rain fell from the sky, landing on the colorful umbrellas.  

Pedestrians hurried along with their umbrellas, indifferent to the faces of strangers.  

Ji Lianxing, holding an umbrella, emerged from the subway entrance and quickly ducked into a convenience store.  

Before long, the convenience store door opened, and a gust of wind lifted her black hair. She raised her umbrella, tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and held the same Paike Americano and toast as yesterday.  

There were 28 seconds left on the red light. She stood at one end of the crosswalk, holding a black umbrella. Her slender figure had already blended into the gray and black world.

The red light turned green, and a dense line of people, as if wound up like clockwork, automatically walked toward the office building.  

As Ji Lianxing crossed the crosswalk, Jiang Shu's car happened to be waiting at the traffic light.  

She just watched her walk past the car like this.  

Her long, black hair draped over her shoulders, revealing a delicate side profile. Her skin was so fair that it seemed like a touch would make water drip from it.

She was hidden under that black umbrella, which added a touch of mystery to her.  

Jiang Shu watched her, seeing her figure gradually grow smaller until she finally disappeared into the office building...

****

"Xiao Ji, Xiao Ji!!!" Lu Fan's voice was deep and muffled, like that of a man in his forties or fifties, but he was actually quite young. With his round-framed glasses, he gave off a rigid and honest impression.  

Ji Lianxing placed her coffee on her desk and sat down, ready to listen to Lu Fan speak.  

"A new employee is coming, and the team leader seems to want you to guide her. You left early yesterday, so I am passing on the message."  

"Me, train a newcomer?" Ji Lianxing thought to herself, I only just became a full-time employee not long ago, how could I be qualified to train a newcomer?  

"Yes, yes, you will be her mentor. Don't worry, we won't put you in a tough spot. Everyone started this way; it's just practice, a bit of casual guidance, no problem at all."  

Ji Lianxing recalled when she had just joined the company four months ago, it was Lu Fan who had guided her, and he was also the least experienced among them.  

Alright, thinking about it, it didn’t seem like such a big deal after all.

Actually, Lu Fan hadn't taught her much at that time; it was mostly basic operational issues. As long as her professional knowledge was up to par, it shouldn't be a big problem, so she agreed.  

At nine in the morning, the team leader brought in the new employee, a girl of similar age. Ji Lianxing looked up and thought she looked somewhat familiar.  

"Hi, Xiao Ji."  

Ji Lianxing was a bit surprised. The other person knew her last name was Ji?  

"Hello," Ji Lianxing replied with a standard smile.  

"I'm Mia, do you remember me?"  

No, she doesn't...  

So Ji Lianxing could only continue smiling.  

The team leader assigned Mia to the workstation next to Ji Lianxing and instructed her to ask Ji Lianxing if she had any questions.  

As soon as Mia sat down, she turned to Ji Lianxing and said:

"Don’t you remember me? Freshman year, the club? The etiquette team? It's me, Mia, the one next to you!"  

As soon as Mia mentioned the etiquette team, Ji Lianxing remembered. No wonder she looked somewhat familiar. But since Mia had left the team in less than a week, the impression wasn't very strong.  

So... was she meeting an old classmate? Or was she just very friendly?  

"Oh my God, I can’t believe I’m meeting you here! I thought you were so beautiful back then! #$@!$#@$....." Mia launched into a rapid stream of words, making Ji Lianxing quite frustrated.  

She was too noisy. Maybe some people liked such talkative individuals, but Ji Lianxing couldn’t stand it. First, Ji Lianxing's personality was more reserved, and she wasn’t the talkative type. Second, and most importantly, she couldn’t fake it with strangers.  

Can't pretend at all.

"Um, Mia..." Ji Lianxing interrupted her. "How about this: you start by turning on your computer, and I'll explain what we do in our daily tasks. Then you can try doing them, okay?"  

Mia seemed to swallow her previous words, and said, "Ah? We’re starting now? Alright then."  

Afterward, Mia asked a variety of strange questions, and Ji Lianxing tried her best to answer them patiently.  

When lunchtime finally came, and Ji Lianxing was about to head to the cafeteria, Mia said she wanted to come along.  

It seemed Mia wasn't asking but rather cheerfully said, "I just joined the company and only know you, so take me to the staff cafeteria to have a look~"  

It was the kind of tone that was hard to refuse.

It would be a bit too unkind to say no.

The two went to wait for the elevator together. Ji Lianxing saw the elevator coming down from the 28th floor and felt a bit nervous upon seeing the number 28. If she remembered correctly, Jiang Shu was on the 28th floor, right?  

Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=5310224
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com

"Is the staff cafeteria free?" Mia asked her.  

"Yes."  

"Can we take food to go?" Mia's eyes lit up.  

Ji Lianxing replied, "Yes, you can."  

"I’ll pack some for my boyfriend. That way, he won’t have to order takeout. Saving a little here and there is worth it, don’t you think?" Mia was already calculating how much she could save.  

"Yes, that's fine," Ji Lianxing thought that everyone probably had different habits.

The elevator doors soon opened, and Ji Lianxing immediately saw Jiang Shu standing inside.  

Today, she wore a black suit with a French-style shirt underneath. The top two buttons of the shirt were undone, revealing two straight clavicles. The elegant bridge of her nose was framed by silver-rimmed glasses, giving her a look that was both cool and professionally alluring.  

“Hello, President Jiang."  

"Good noon, President Jiang."  

"President Jiang..."  

Everyone greeted Jiang Shu, who merely nodded in response. She seemed to be one of those employees who was taciturn and did not like to speak.  

Ji Lianxing silently stepped into the elevator, positioning herself in the farthest corner from Jiang Shu.  

Mia couldn’t help but sneak a glance at Jiang Shu. Noticing the gaze, Jiang Shu looked back, and Mia quickly shifted her eyes away.

Ji Lianxing wondered why she was seeing Jiang Shu more frequently. It used to be that she wouldn’t see her even once a month, but now it felt like seeing her once a day was rare.  

As she thought about this, she kept her eyes on the changing elevator numbers, not daring to glance at Jiang Shu even once.  

Soon they reached the 18th floor, and everyone started to exit the elevator. Ji Lianxing led Mia toward the staff cafeteria, thinking that Jiang Shu probably wasn’t coming here for lunch. The management team ate on a different floor.  

Out of curiosity, Ji Lianxing couldn’t help but glance back.  

!!!  

She was there! And she was right behind them, less than three meters away!  

Though they only made eye contact for a second, Ji Lianxing saw Jiang Shu smile.  

She actually smiled! What’s so funny?!  

"Was that our boss just now?" Mia started asking questions again.  

"Yes, it was," Ji Lianxing thought, Keep your voice down. The boss is right behind you.

"She’s so beautiful! Her aura is just too strong. I was so curious that I sneakily glanced at her, and she stared right back at me. My heart is still racing!" Mia said, covering her heart and gasping for air.  

Ji Lianxing thought, Was it really that frightening? She avoided Jiang Shu purely out of embarrassment and didn’t find her intimidating. Maybe because Jiang Shu mostly smiled, Ji Lianxing found her quite gentle?  

The two of them got their trays and started serving themselves food. During this time, Mia continued to chatter on about Jiang Shu.  

She talked about how Jiang Shu’s clothes were expensive, her watch was pricey, and even the glasses were worth almost ten thousand. In short, the topics revolved around "designer brands," "so rich," and "so envious."  

Ji Lianxing merely responded with "hmm-mm" and didn’t show much interest. She was more curious about where Jiang Shu went. One moment she was there, and the next, she had disappeared like a ghost.

"Xiao Ji, how much do you think her shoes cost? They’re new, and they’ve been out less than a week. I probably couldn’t buy them even with half a year’s salary," Mia’s eyes sparkled as she talked about it, unable to stop.  

Ji Lianxing sighed, placed her tray on the table, and began eating, not wanting to engage in the conversation.  

"Being rich is really great~"

Ji Lianxing: “...”

Help, someone save me. How should I respond?

"You’re not saying anything? Don’t you think so?" Mia continued to press her.  

"The clothes she wore were quite nice," Ji Lianxing said, trying to change the subject. "This braised pork is pretty good. You should try some."  

"Ah." Mia sighed, took a small piece of braised pork, and put it in her mouth, but found it tasteless. She started a new wave of complaints: "I wish my boyfriend was rich too."  

No need for that.  

Ji Lianxing really wanted to say those four words but held back, swallowing her words instead. It’s better to say less in the workplace.  

Throughout the meal, Ji Lianxing was distracted, glancing at the crowd from time to time, trying to see where Jiang Shu was. She looked several times but couldn’t spot her anywhere.

It seemed that Mia noticed Ji Lianxing’s lack of response and became much quieter. After lunch, they went back upstairs.

The one-hour lunch break was Ji Lianxing’s only rest period. She usually took a short nap at her desk. She set her alarm and prepared to sleep when a WeChat message popped up:

[You seem to really like braised pork?]

It was from Jiang Shu.

How should she describe this feeling? She was somewhat happy.

Actually, she was very happy. Removing all the confusing factors, she really wanted to receive a message from Jiang Shu, perhaps subconsciously she had been waiting, waiting for her reply since last night.

[It's not bad, the company’s braised pork is quite good.]

The other side showed "typing..."

[I originally wanted to chat with you at lunch, but it seems you had plans with a colleague.]

[Mm.]

After sending it, Ji Lianxing felt like a cold-hearted person. She wasn’t good at chatting with others, especially over the phone. Unless necessary, she rarely initiated conversations.

[Come to my office tonight. We’ll have a face-to-face talk.]

Seeing the words "office," Ji Lianxing's heart raced, and her hand holding the phone began to sweat.

Her mind went into alarm mode, signaling: sensitive word! Sensitive word!

Why is she going to the office again?!