Chapter 35: Aftereffects

After arriving at the company in the morning, Jiang Nai had barely sat down when Yao Qi came over to show her a picture of a guy.

“What do you think?” Yao Qi asked.

Jiang Nai glanced at it twice: “What about it?”

“First impressions, like his appearance and such.”

Jiang Nai: “Hmm… He looks kind of gentle?”

Yao Qi sighed heavily when she saw how hard it was for Jiang Nai to come up with an opinion: “Okay, just admit it, he looks kind of awkward, right?”

Jiang Nai: “Well… some people just don’t photograph well, and they’re not used to facing a camera, so they end up looking stiff when their photo is taken.” She added, “Who introduced him to you?”

“It’s my aunt, she insists that I go meet them.” Yao Qi clicked her tongue. “It’s so annoying. Why does it matter to them if I don’t get married? They keep bothering me, and every time they introduce someone, they’re all unattractive.”

Jiang Nai: “If you don’t like them, you don’t have to force yourself to meet them.”

“If I don’t meet them, they just keep nagging me.” Yao Qi sighed. “It’s miserable. Just when I finally meet someone I like, they’re not interested.”

Yao Qi was talking about Pei Xuan. A few days ago, Jiang Nai had subtly conveyed Pei Xuan’s lack of interest to Yao Qi. Yao Qi was a straightforward person, so once she realized Pei Xuan wasn’t interested, she didn’t bother him again.

Jiang Nai took a sip of her coffee and opened her laptop. Yao Qi was also about to turn on her computer, but her eyes accidentally landed on Jiang Nai’s hands resting on the keyboard. At that moment, Jiang Nai had removed her outer jacket, wearing only a shirt. The cuffs of her shirt were unbuttoned and, due to her movement, they slid up, revealing her fair forearm.

“What happened to your hand?” Yao Qi asked curiously.

Jiang Nai followed her gaze and noticed a fresh red mark on the inner side of her forearm. She froze for a moment, then suddenly remembered a scene from the previous night. She had been overwhelmed and almost cried out as she tried to push him away, but he grabbed her wrist and pulled her back down.

The mark on her forearm was from that moment—either from a bite or a hickey. Jiang Nai’s ears instantly turned red. She quickly pulled down her sleeve and buttoned it tightly.

Yao Qi had only casually asked, but Jiang Nai’s reaction piqued her interest. After a moment of observation, Yao Qi chuckled softly. “Your husband seems to have quite the playful side.”

Jiang Nai: “…It’s not like that.”

Yao Qi didn’t care about her denial and looked at her computer with a sad expression. “When will I be able to have a flamboyant romance?”

Romance.

Jiang Nai pursed her lips. The premise of romance was attraction. Jiang Nai knew she could feel attracted, just like the night before, but she often suppressed that feeling. Her relationship with Li Qingji was very contradictory. She felt secure in some ways, but insecure in others.

The security came from knowing that as long as the Jiang and Li families were on good terms, their relationship would remain stable, and they would have a normal “married” life.

But the insecurity stemmed from knowing that in his heart, business and profit came first. She was the daughter of the Jiang family, so she was his wife. She couldn’t hope that Li Qingji would love her, or love her in a way that was purely about her as a person.

So, she didn’t want to become someone like that—falling in love with Li Qingji, becoming infatuated with him.

—

At 2 PM, Jiang Nai, Yao Qi, and Xu Xiao had finally finished all the preliminary work for the day. The three were on the second floor of the company, waiting for the spokesperson team to arrive. There was a large studio on the second floor, used for company photoshoots and live broadcasts.

About ten minutes later, the spokesperson arrived. Xu Yan. Jiang Nai had met her during a previous offline event. Her popularity was indeed high, and it was said that a large group of fans had gathered outside the company, with some employees even sneaking over to catch a glimpse.

Jiang Nai had no interest in celebrity worship. Besides, she had interacted with star teams so often that she had lost any sense of awe towards the stars themselves. As Yao Qi had said before, whenever she thought of how various plans had been blocked or criticized by their team, she almost wanted to vomit. At that point, there was no room left for any star-struck feelings.

After Xu Yan arrived, she changed clothes, got her makeup done, and started the photoshoot. Jiang Nai sat beside her, keeping an eye on the process. Halfway through, she received a message on her phone.

The Great Demon King: [Where are you?]

Jiang Nai felt a bit odd seeing Li Qingji’s message and replied: [At the company… where else would I be?]

The Great Demon King: [I couldn’t find you.]

Jiang Nai knew that Li Qingji was probably looking for her in the office on the fifth floor. She replied: [I’m in the studio. Is there something?]

The Great Demon King: [Are you still not feeling well?]

Jiang Nai froze for a moment, instinctively pulling her phone away, afraid that someone might see something.

But everyone was focused on Xu Yan at that moment, and no one was paying attention to her. Jiang Nai let out a sigh of relief and replied: [I’m fine!]

On the other side, Li Qingji sat in his office, seeing the exclamation mark at the end of her message. His lips curled into a faint smile. At that moment, Chen Min knocked on the door and entered from outside.

“Boss, these are the documents sent over by the finance department.”

“Hmm.”

As she was about to leave, Li Qingji asked, “Did the people from the planning department go to the studio today?”

Li Qingji usually didn’t concern himself with such trivial matters, but Chen Min quickly understood that he was asking about Jiang Nai. “Some members of the team went. Since Xu Yan is here for a product shoot today, Miss Jiang and her team are handling it.”

Li Qingji nodded.

After a moment, Chen Min added, “By the way, Miss Jiang has been busy with preliminary preparations since noon. She probably hasn’t come out of the studio yet and may not have eaten.”

Li Qingji raised his eyes to look at her. “She hasn’t eaten?”

Having worked as his assistant for so long, Chen Min knew exactly what information the boss was looking for. She replied directly, “I saw them running around a lot, looking really busy. They probably haven’t had time to eat. Boss, should we prepare some delivery for her?”

Li Qingji replied, “Go prepare some afternoon snack for her.”

“Okay.”

Li Qingji paused for a moment and added, “Make sure to send it to everyone in the studio.”

Chen Min understood and said, “Got it.”

During the break in the photoshoot, the administrative team brought in a lot of food. Jiang Nai was still watching the product shots when Yao Qi called her over for food. She was a bit surprised.

“The treats are so good today.”

Yao Qi, enjoying her meal, replied: “Yeah, the admin said it’s from the boss, saying we’ve worked hard.”

Jiang Nai took a bite of bread and paused. “The boss?”

Yao Qi responded: “Yeah! Wow, this is so good, you should try one!”

At that moment, Xu Yan, who had been sitting nearby, suddenly spoke up: “Is Mr. Li in the company today?”

She also had some afternoon tea from the administrative team in front of her, but since she still had to shoot, she didn’t dare eat and had only drunk a few sips of coffee.

Yao Qi said, “Yes, here.”

Xu Yan smiled and asked, “What floor is his office on?”

Yao Qi paused for a moment and replied, “Fifth floor.”

“Alright, thanks.”

After a normal break, the shooting resumed.

Yao Qi burped and whispered, “Why did she ask what floor our boss’s office is on?”

Jiang Nai replied, “Maybe she wants to talk to him.”

“What could be so important that she’d go straight to the boss? We communicate with his team all the time, okay?” Yao Qi whispered again. “Probably just trying to find him in person.”

Jiang Nai paused for a moment but said nothing. After the shoot, Jiang Nai packed up the department files and prepared to take them upstairs to Liu Nian, while Yao Qi and the others stayed behind to handle the follow-up work.

While waiting for the elevator, Jiang Nai saw Xu Yan walking over.

“Jiang Nai.”

Jiang Nai nodded. “Miss Xu.”

“Are you going upstairs?”

“Mm.”

“Could you please show me the way to your boss’s office?”

Jiang Nai smiled politely, “The thing is, I’m not sure if the boss is free right now.”

“It’s fine, I’ve already contacted him.”

Jiang Nai froze for a moment. “Oh, alright then, follow me.”

The elevator ascended to the fifth floor. Jiang Nai led Xu Yan to the office door, knocked lightly, and after hearing a response from inside, she pushed the door open. Li Qingji was surprised to see her. She rarely came to his office unless Liu Nian had asked her to deliver something.

“Finished with your work?” he asked.

The next moment, a woman followed her in. “Mr. Li, long time no see.”

Li Qingji had almost swallowed his words. He glanced at Jiang Nai before turning his attention to Xu Yan. “Miss Xu.”

Jiang Nai’s expression remained calm, with a hint of tiredness from a full day of work. “Boss, Miss Xu got lost, so I brought her here. I’ll leave now.”

She didn’t wait for him to reply, turning to leave the office and closing the door behind her. 

Li Qingji’s expression darkened.

Xu Yan, unaware, elegantly stepped forward. “Mr. Li, I didn’t get a chance to thank you properly at the Shiguang Gala last time for the movie deal…”

After handing the documents to Liu Nian, Jiang Nai returned to her desk, sighed in relief, and glanced at the tightly closed door at the end of the hall.

Long time no see.

Oh, it seems they know each other. It made sense, though—Li Qingji was well-known in the business world. Who wouldn’t know him? Besides, this spokesperson had been chosen by him personally. Jiang Nai shook her head, trying to dismiss some odd emotions, and prepared to get back to work.

A few minutes later, Li Qingji sent her a message: [Come to my office]

Jiang Nai hadn’t expected him to reply so quickly. [What for?]

[You bring people in, you take them out.]

Jiang Nai: [What do you mean? She said she had contacted you, so you must have asked her to come.]

The Big Boss: [I told her on the phone that I’m busy and have no time. You’re so helpful, just brought her right up.]

Jiang Nai: “…”

The Big Boss: [Come over to notify me, I have a meeting.]

Jiang Nai put her phone down, looked toward his office again, and realized he wasn’t planning to meet with Xu Yan. Well… looking at it this way, it really was her problem. She locked her computer, got up, and walked over.

*Knock knock—*

“Come in.”

Jiang Nai pushed the door open and saw Li Qingji sitting in his office chair, with Xu Yan seated on the sofa.

“Sorry to interrupt, Boss, but your meeting starts in five minutes.”

“Mm.” Li Qingji glanced at Xu Yan. “Miss Xu, should I have someone from your team come up to take you?”

Xu Yan’s expression stiffened slightly, and she stood up. “No need, I can go down myself.”

Li Qingji gave a faint smile. “Then I won’t see you out.”

Xu Yan nodded, but then suddenly glanced at Jiang Nai. “Miss Jiang, see you next time.”

Jiang Nai froze for a moment and turned to look at her, but Xu Yan had already gone out the door.

*Miss Jiang?*

Jiang Nai remembered that she had always addressed her by her full name before.

“Jiang Nai.” Once the door had closed, Li Qingji spoke again. “Come over here.”

Jiang Nai hesitated. “…I still have work to do.”

Li Qingji’s gaze remained calm as he looked at her for a moment before pointing to his computer. “There’s a document for you to look at. It’s for your department.”

“Document? What…”

As soon as work was mentioned, her focus shifted, and she was now fully alert. Li Qingji motioned for her to stand next to him to view the computer. Although Jiang Nai was suspicious, she still walked over. However, once she reached the desk, there was nothing on the computer screen at all.

“Which one?” she asked.

Before she could finish her sentence, he suddenly grabbed her wrist. With a slight force, she was pulled onto his lap.

His thighs, encased in black suit pants, were firm and warm, radiating strength.

Jiang Nai’s back stiffened as if she’d just sat on a hot stone. She instinctively tried to stand up, but in the next moment, he restrained her, holding her around the waist and forcing her back down. The last time he had made her sit in this chair, she had been flustered enough. But now, sitting directly on his lap… 

“Li Qingji!” Jiang Nai kept her voice low, but it trembled noticeably.

Li Qingji, however, remained calm. “Shouldn’t you be addressing me as ‘Boss’ right now?”

Jiang Nai’s face turned red, and she opened her mouth, but no words came out. Those two words were stuck, and she couldn’t bring herself to say them.

“Don’t panic,” he continued. “You should be used to it by now. The door to the office won’t just open randomly.”

Jiang Nai responded with a firm, “…I still won’t sit!”

“Alright, stop moving.” Li Qingji’s arm wrapped around her, and his tone turned serious. “Does it still hurt?”

Jiang Nai pressed her lips tightly together, still feeling a sense of unease about this situation. But at this moment, there was no way she would tell Li Qingji anything about it.

“If it’s serious, I’ll have Chen Min arrange a doctor—”

“No!” Jiang Nai’s eyes widened, quickly stopping him, “If you dare to tell Sister Chen Min, I…”

“I’d rather die.”

Li Qingji frowned. “If you don’t need a doctor, when we go back, I’ll help you apply some medicine.”

“Medicine? It’ll heal by itself…” Jiang Nai said, “Don’t Google things if you don’t understand.”

Li Qingji pinched her forearm with one hand, hearing this, he chuckled lightly and said indifferently, “Yes, compared to your vast experience, I really don’t know much.”

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