Chapter 7: When to Get Married 7
Ning Qingqing held the phone number, feeling as if she were holding a hot potato.
Just as she was hesitating whether to pretend she didn’t notice or do something else, a sudden idea flashed through her mind. Quickly copying the number, Ning Qingqing directly searched for it in WeChat’s “Add Friend” function.
Moments later, the search results appeared on her screen—Keith.
Ning Qingqing leaned back in her chair, her mind buzzing.
Just then, the sound of high heels echoed in the office area. Ning Qingqing looked up and saw Kenny, Si Luoqing’s manager, being brought over by the marketing department manager.
Manager Chen said, “Qingqing, this is Kenny. He’s here to discuss Ms. Si’s endorsement contract with you.”
Ning Qingqing nodded. “Okay, Mr. Kenny, let’s go to the meeting room.”
Several people were already seated in the meeting room, including colleagues from the PR and marketing departments. They were mainly responsible for the communication, while Ning Qingqing needed to draft the contract, so she mostly took notes.
If she had any questions, she would ask them directly.
However, the usually difficult colleagues from the marketing department were surprisingly agreeable today, as long as the requests weren’t too excessive. Fortunately, the final price negotiations were rational and within the normal market range.
“If there are no more questions, we’ll finalize the contract as soon as possible,” the head of the marketing department said, then addressed Ning Qingqing. “Qingqing, this contract is urgent, please take the time to finalize the first draft and send it to Kenny today.”
Ning Qingqing nodded. “Okay.”
The meeting ended, and Ning Qingqing returned to her seat with the documents. She didn’t know if she was being overly sensitive, but she felt several colleagues looking at her, their eyes seeming to hold a hint of pity.
Heh, only half a day, and the whole company already knows?
That’s right, everyone in the company is watching the movements of the top-floor office. The scene of Shen Zhiqian, his father, and Si Luoqing going downstairs together at noon must have been interpreted in countless versions by the receptionists!
Ning Qingqing calmed down and drafted the contract, diligently doing her job. She wouldn’t let her personal feelings affect her work.
When she finished, it was already dark outside. Ning Qingqing picked up her phone and saw two missed calls, both from Shen Zhiqian.
She had put her phone on silent during the meeting, and she was so busy she hadn’t noticed. After seeing the missed calls, she found that Shen Zhiqian had sent her a voice message.
There weren’t many colleagues left in her office area. She clicked play.
The sound of airport announcements came from Shen Zhiqian’s side, and the man said as he walked, “Qingqing, something urgent came up with the Haiyuan project, I’m going on a business trip to handle it. If all goes well, I’ll be back the day after tomorrow.”
Then he added, “It’s going to get colder in the next few days, be careful not to dress too lightly for work, bring a trench coat to the company.”
More than ten minutes after those two voice messages, Shen Zhiqian said, “Are you busy? Don’t skip dinner, I’m boarding the plane, I’ll contact you when I get there.”
Ning Qingqing replied to his message and realized she was actually hungry. She had only eaten a little bit at noon, and after several hours, her stomach was empty.
She reviewed the contract again, sent it to Kenny, and then turned off her phone and got up.
She rarely drove to work, as her apartment was near the subway station, and the company was in the CBD, also near the subway.
Ning Qingqing came out of the building and was about to go to the subway station when someone called out to her at the intersection.
“Ms. Ning.” Si Luoqing was wearing sunglasses and a mask, with Kenny beside her.
Ning Qingqing stopped and turned. “Ms. Si, do you need something?”
Si Luoqing smiled. “I’m very sorry for making you work overtime until now because of me. I’d like to treat you to dinner as an apology.”
Ning Qingqing looked at the woman’s sunglasses. It was already dark outside, and she could only see the city lights reflected in the lenses, not the expression in her eyes.
“An apology is unnecessary,” Ning Qingqing said indifferently. “It’s my job.”
“That’s true,” Si Luoqing adjusted her glasses and extended her hand. “We’ll be working together a lot in the future, please take care of me.”
Ning Qingqing didn’t reach out. She didn’t feel the need to appease someone she disliked after work—
“Ms. Si, if you want to use a handshake to get my support, you don’t need to. You can have your manager support you. After all, it’s really hard to see in the dark with sunglasses on.”
Si Luoqing didn’t expect Ning Qingqing to directly confront her. She also withdrew her smile and lowered her voice. “The contract went so smoothly, you should know why, right?”
Ning Qingqing didn’t speak, but turned around directly.
But Kenny added behind her, “Ms. Ning, just do your job in the future. What’s not yours, no matter how hard you try, you won’t be able to keep it!”
Hearing this, Ning Qingqing’s eyes turned completely cold.
She turned around and looked at the two of them. “If I publish the voice recording of you two talking to me today, what do you think the effect would be?”
Their expressions changed, suddenly unsure if Ning Qingqing had actually recorded them.
After all, when they called out to Ning Qingqing, she was walking and looking at her phone.
“You may think he’s yours, but don’t provoke me!” Ning Qingqing locked eyes with Si Luoqing. “Do your job. I’ll return the same words to you. If you want to take what doesn’t belong to you, be careful to lose everything!”
Then, she turned and left.
As she entered the subway station, Ning Qingqing made a call. “Brother Nie, help me check the recent operating status of the Si family’s company in Di City.”
Nie Yu was Ning Qingqing’s mother’s assistant, ten years older than her, and always treated Ning Qingqing like a little sister, giving her a lot of guidance on work.
He didn’t ask why Ning Qingqing was checking on the Si family, but simply agreed. “Okay, Qingqing, I’ll tell you when I’ve checked.”
“Thanks, Brother Nie,” Ning Qingqing smiled. “I’ll treat you to dinner when I’m back in Di City!”
“You’re welcome,” Nie Yu said. “Come over when you’re on business, I’ll bring you the desserts you like from that shop.”
After hanging up the phone, she got on the subway. After two stops, it was the transfer station of two subway lines, Ning Qingqing didn’t need to transfer, so she went to the other side where the doors didn’t need to be opened.
Just then, a petite figure was pushed over, Ning Qingqing and the other person were both surprised when they saw each other.
Qiao Xiaomian was surprised. “Darling, I actually ran into you!”
They usually didn’t take the same route, Qiao Xiaomian happened to be going to a client meeting today, so she took this route. It was already past eight o’clock, and she never expected to meet Ning Qingqing here.
Seeing her best friend, Ning Qingqing’s mood immediately brightened. “So it’s fate!”
Qiao Xiaomian smiled and linked arms with her, allowing the taller Ning Qingqing to hold her hand to stabilize their center of gravity. “We can even meet here, we must go for a drink to celebrate!”
Ning Qingqing looked at her. “Aren’t you afraid you won’t be able to get up tomorrow?”
“It’s okay, the boss is away for a few days, and the project I’m in charge of just finished a phase today,” Qiao Xiaomian said. “Why don’t we go to your neighborhood? I’ll sleep at your place tonight.”
“Okay,” Ning Qingqing nodded. “But don’t kick off the covers when you sleep.”
Twenty minutes later, the two got off the subway and went to a bar near Ning Qingqing’s home.
The owner of this bar was also a great cook. Due to a coincidence, he suffered an acute appendicitis attack but couldn’t get a taxi because of a blizzard in Di City that day. Ning Qingqing happened to be having a gathering with a client’s daughter there, so she immediately drove the owner to the hospital.
So later, whenever Ning Qingqing went there, the owner would make some special dishes for her to try. This was unique to her, no one else had it, and it couldn’t be ordered.
This was something Qiao Xiaomian always craved, so she wanted to come to this bar with Ning Qingqing almost every two months.
The two sat down in the shop, a pianist gently playing in the bar area. There were groups of people sitting in the booths, drinking and chatting in low voices.
The dishes cooked by the owner himself were served, Qiao Xiaomian couldn’t wait to use her chopsticks, and after taking a bite, she praised it highly, before raising her glass. “Come on, darling, drink!”
Ning Qingqing had to work tomorrow, so she didn’t dare to drink too much, but she didn’t know if it was because of the unpleasant things that happened today, but after a glass of cocktail, she felt a little dizzy.
Qiao Xiaomian handed her her phone. “Look at the blind date my mom found for me, don’t you think he looks like a comedian?”
Hearing this, Ning Qingqing suddenly thought of the jokes Gu Youchen posted. She said, “I actually know one, he looks serious on the surface, but he might be a comedian.”
“Ah?” Qiao Xiaomian was curious. “Who is it? Do I know him?”
Ning Qingqing shook her head. “No, I met him by chance.”
As she spoke, she recounted the funniest one she had seen today.
Just then, the door of a private room in the corridor behind them opened, and a man came out and heard a familiar voice.
He paused, seeing the girl’s rosy cheeks from the alcohol.
Ning Qingqing was unaware, continuing. “There’s an even funnier one, let me show you…”
She imitated the stuttering man reporting his phone number, and Qiao Xiaomian on the opposite side immediately laughed until she fell back. “That’s so talented! Tell me, is the joke writer a handsome guy?”
Hearing this, Gu Youchen leaned slightly towards Ning Qingqing’s direction, as if a few centimeters of distance would allow him to hear more clearly.
Ning Qingqing had unconsciously drunk another glass of cocktail while telling the joke, and her mind was already a little sluggish.
She seemed to think for a moment about Gu Youchen’s appearance, then grinned:
“Handsome, very handsome, and quite sweet.”
Author’s Note:
Gu Youchen: My wife says I’m sweet~~
Qingqing: I’m talking about Tiramisu~