Chapter 14: Announcement

On the way back to Siningte Special from the event, they were in a company-arranged car.

Yao Qi, who was usually very chatty, was unusually quiet in the passenger seat today. Occasionally, she would glance over at Xu Xiao, her expression somewhat awkward. God knows, earlier that morning, she had mentioned to Xu Xiao that if he really was interested, she could help him gauge Jiang Nai’s feelings.

After all, she had already noticed that Xu Xiao felt differently about Jiang Nai. She had assumed Jiang Nai was single since she had never mentioned having a partner.

Who would have thought… she was already married.

Getting married at twenty-five—especially in a city like Minghai—was quite early.

They arrived at the company around four o’clock, with still two hours left until quitting time. Yao Qi and Xu Xiao went to the lounge area to grab a bite, while Jiang Nai headed back to her desk. Half an hour later, Yao Qi returned from eating and sat down, glancing at Jiang Nai with something on her mind.

Finally, she opted to message Jiang Nai privately on WeChat.

Yao Qi: [You’re really married?]

Jiang Nai: [Mm.]

Yao Qi jokingly added: [You’re an early bride; what were you thinking?!]

Jiang Nai smirked slightly and replied: [Yeah… I guess I was a bit irrational.]

Yao Qi sent several exasperated emoji: [I should’ve asked if you had a boyfriend first! I thought you were single since you usually keep to yourself and never mentioned a partner. I was even planning to set you up with Xu Xiao!]

Jiang Nai: [It’s not too late to know now.]

Yao Qi: [True, it’s not too late… that’s good.]

Yao Qi said this to ease any awkwardness between the two, but in reality, she knew that Xu Xiao had already developed strong feelings for Jiang Nai. During lunch earlier, Xu Xiao had been in particularly low spirits. After all, finding out that the person he liked was already married felt worse than a breakup!

However, Yao Qi wouldn’t voice that; instead, she changed the topic and curiously asked, [When did you get married?]

Jiang Nai answered honestly: [This year.]

Yao Qi: [A classmate?]

Jiang Nai: [No, it was arranged by my family.]

Yao Qi exclaimed, [Wow… your family knows how to pick a good one! Unlike me, my family always introduces me to some weirdos, it’s infuriating!]

Just then, Manager Liu Nian came over and knocked on the table, asking, “Is the proposal for the next quarter done?”

Yao Qi immediately snapped out of her idle chatter. “Yes, Jiang Nai, hand a copy to Manager Nian.”

“Okay.”

Jiang Nai got up and found a copy from her folder.

Liu Nian took it and casually said, “Send a copy to the boss’s office.”

Yao Qi asked, “Is our big boss in the company today?”

Li Qingji was the top executive at Siningte Special, but he didn’t come in every day. He typically showed up two to three times a week, especially during meeting days.

Liu Nian replied, “Yes, he arrived an hour ago. Jiang Nai, please take the proposal over to him.”

Jiang Nai: “……Okay.”

Li Qingji’s office was located at the far east end of the building, but despite being there for a while, Jiang Nai had never stepped inside.

Now, holding the document and approaching the office, she felt a bit nervous. She had annoyed him by getting drunk the night before…

Standing at the office door, she took a deep breath and knocked.

Upon hearing a voice from inside saying to come in, she pushed the door open.

Li Qingji’s office was larger than their entire team’s workspace. In front of a massive desk was a sofa and tea table for guests, alongside a bookshelf and a refreshment station. Outside the window, the autumn scenery showcased golden trees, with branches swaying gently, creating a unique charm.

She paused for a moment in place, glancing at the man sitting behind the desk. Unlike when he was at home in loungewear in the study, he was now dressed in a fitted shirt and suit, his hair neatly styled. When he looked over, he appeared particularly serious.

“What’s the matter?”

Jiang Nai pinched the document in her hand. “I’m delivering a document, the market plan for next quarter’s smart home products.”

Li Qingji nodded. “Just leave it here.”

“Oh…”

The floor was covered with a thin carpet, and stepping on it was completely silent.

Jiang Nai walked to the desk and placed the document down. “I’ll be going now.”

Before he could respond, she turned and left.

“Wait.”

Jiang Nai stopped and turned back. “Is there anything else?”

“Come over here.”

Jiang Nai was puzzled but returned to the desk. “What’s up?”

“I meant come to this side.” Li Qingji gestured to the space beside him.

Jiang Nai was momentarily stunned and instinctively said, “…I still have work to finish.”

Li Qingji remained indifferent. “So what?”

“No ‘so what’…”

“Then come over.”

Why does he want me to go to his side?

Jiang Nai was baffled. But this was Siningte, and he was the boss. Whatever the boss said was the rule.

After hesitating for a moment, Jiang Nai walked over. “What do you want…”

As soon as she finished speaking, Li Qingji stood up and pressed her shoulder, making her sit in his chair.

The large office chair was soft and wide, perfectly molded to the body—extremely comfortable!

But Jiang Nai couldn’t focus on that; her back suddenly stiffened as she stared at the closed door nearby, afraid that someone might push it open at any moment.

“W-what are you doing?!” Jiang Nai immediately tried to stand up, only to be pressed back down again.

“Grandma, she’s right next to me. Now you can believe it, right? I’m not just working; I’m also distracted by home,” Li Qingji’s voice came lazily and helplessly from above.

Jiang Nai glanced at the phone screen standing under the computer and realized that Li Qingji had been on a video call. He had muted his microphone when she entered, but turned it back on to speak. At that moment, the elderly person on the call was his grandmother, Fu Rongzhen.

“Jiang Nai is here too; that’s good. Jiang Nai, you should keep an eye on Qingji. He needs to rest when it’s time to rest, and eat when it’s time to eat. Don’t just work all the time.”

Jiang Nai had met the elderly woman a few times. She was the only one in the Jiang family who made her feel warm and welcoming. Hearing this, she quickly responded, “Okay, Grandma, I will.”

“Alright, you both haven’t come to see me lately. You should come over for dinner sometime soon.”

Jiang Nai said, “We’ll come over in a couple of days.”

“Eh, so obedient! You’re much better than Li Qingji,” the grandmother replied.

Jiang Nai smiled slightly.

“By the way, Qingji is no longer young. Have you two considered having children?” the elderly woman asked. “Grandma isn’t urging you; just asking for your opinion. If you’re not in a hurry, that’s fine, but if you are interested, I’d be very happy. I’m getting older too.”

“Grandma, Li Qingji is usually too busy with work; he prioritizes work matters, so we can talk about children later. Plus, Grandma, you’re in great health, so there’s no rush.”

Standing beside her, Li Qingji paused slightly, looking at Jiang Nai, who was seriously negotiating with the elderly woman, with a half-smile.

Fu Rongzhen replied, “Well, earlier is better. Qingji! What’s the matter? Are you using work as a shield?”

Being called out, Li Qingji leaned down. “We’ll come back to see you in a couple of days; I’ll talk to you later.”

“Eh, you don’t say anything when this comes up. Are you trying to drive me crazy?”

Li Qingji replied, “I’ll hang up now; you should go eat.”

As he said that, he didn’t give her a chance to respond and directly ended the video call.

“Nice job shutting that down, you’re getting more skilled at it,” he turned to look at Jiang Nai.

Earlier, when he had leaned down to watch the video, one hand rested on the back of her chair while the other supported himself on the desk. Now, he suddenly turned his head to speak to her, almost enclosing her.

Jiang Nai was slightly startled and instinctively lowered her gaze, avoiding eye contact. “Didn’t you teach me to push the questions onto you?”

Li Qingji replied, “I didn’t say you were wrong; I was complimenting you.”

Jiang Nai: “…”

Knock, knock—

Suddenly, someone knocked on the office door.

Both of them froze, and Jiang Nai, as if burned, quickly jumped up from her chair. “Move aside!”

Li Qingji was bumped back a step, while the one who caused the commotion rushed to the desk and stood there properly.

“You sit down!” she commanded him.

Li Qingji paused for a moment, snorted softly, then pulled out the chair and sat down leisurely.

“Come in.”

The person who entered was the finance department director. He hesitated for a moment upon seeing someone else in the office, then looked over and handed the items in his hand to Li Qingji.

“Mr. Li, here are the two reports you wanted.”

Seizing the opportunity, Jiang Nai quickly said, “Boss, if there’s nothing else, I’ll head out now.”

“Mm.”

Jiang Nai slipped away quickly.

Back at her desk, Yao Qi asked, “Why did you take so long?”

Jiang Nai cleared her throat and had to lie, “The boss asked a few questions about the project plan.”

Yao Qi asked suspiciously, “Was he dissatisfied?”

Jiang Nai replied, “Not really, it should… be okay?”

Yao Qi let out a sigh of relief. “That’s good, that’s good.”

—

Days went by, and soon Jiang Nai was officially promoted to a regular employee. Under Li Qingji’s leadership, the entire company saw a qualitative improvement in its business, but the workload continued to rise.

Jiang Nai, especially after her promotion, found herself with more projects assigned by Liu Nian through Yao Qi. Sometimes, she returned home still clutching her laptop, poring over product manuals.

“In a month, we’ll have a holiday! Hang in there, everyone!” Yao Qi, who had just been battling with the advertising platform to exhaustion, was suddenly pumped up in the office, filled with a contagious spirit that urged everyone to push through.

Another colleague said, “I can’t hold on anymore.”

Yao Qi’s enthusiasm faltered slightly, but she quickly regained her indifferent expression. “Do you think our boss is being too harsh? He’s given out so many tasks, and the end of the year is almost here.”

She sighed and leaned over her desk. “I want to rest, to just take it easy. I hope the boss can take it easy too, so we can catch a break.”

“What do you mean take it easy?” Wang Wenbo replied. “The year-end bonuses he gives are quite generous.”

Yao Qi asked, “Really?”

Wang Wenbo responded, “This is boss Li’s team, after all. The year-end bonuses can’t be anything less than double what we got last year.”

Yao Qi’s eyes widened, and she immediately turned her head back to her computer. “Oh, the boss is awesome! I could work here for another hundred years!”

Another colleague chuckled, “Money can work wonders; the boss has definitely got that down. Just throw money around and watch us work.”

Wang Wenbo added, “Exactly! But the boss has been busy lately. I heard he’s trying to acquire land in West City, and there are plenty of competitors. It’s not easy.”

Yao Qi replied, “No wonder we haven’t seen him around the office lately.”

Meanwhile, Jiang Nai was also thinking about how she hadn’t seen him much at home either. After finishing her work, Jiang Nai stretched her sore neck and stood up to pour herself a coffee in the break room. Just then, Xu Xiao walked in.

He seemed surprised to see her and hesitated for a moment.

“Want some coffee?” Since he revealed that he was married, they hadn’t talked outside of work.

But since they were colleagues and would be working together for a long time, Jiang Nai didn’t want their relationship to be too awkward, so she took the initiative to say, “Should I make another cup?”

Xu Xiao paused, then nodded. “Sure, thanks.”

Without saying anything else, Jiang Nai took out two cups and began preparing their coffee. Xu Xiao stood beside her and couldn’t help but glance at her a bit longer before quickly looking away.

He admitted that he had really liked Jiang Nai before, but now… he found it hard to regain those feelings, especially since she fit his type perfectly.

But he truly hadn’t expected her to get married so soon.

He wondered… what kind of person her husband was.

“Here you go.” Jiang Nai handed the coffee to him.

Xu Xiao thanked her again and took a sip.

Even though he hadn’t expressed his feelings before, being alone with her now felt a bit strange. He wanted to say something to bridge the gap as colleagues, but just then, Jiang Nai’s phone rang.

From his angle, he couldn’t see who was calling, but he noticed her brows furrowing soon after she answered. “What? Is it serious?”

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