Chapter 39: Sunday

On Saturday night, a heavy rain poured, continuing into Sunday morning. The sky outside was dark and overcast, and the second bedroom was almost devoid of light. The blanket had been turned to one side, lying somewhat messily across the bed. Beneath it, the two people slept soundly, their bodies bare, the sound of the rain gently pattering in the background.

Half an hour later, there was some movement in the bed. The corner of the blanket was lifted, and Li Qingji got out of bed. He grabbed a robe from the side, tied it loosely around his waist, and walked out of the room.

“Good morning, Master. Would you like something to drink?” the smart assistant activated.

“Coffee.”

“Got it. Please wait a moment.”

The smart coffee machine hummed as it began to work. Li Qingji walked over to the sideboard, first drinking a glass of cold water.  The coffee machine continued to hum, but Li Qingji didn’t immediately go to check on it. Instead, he poured another glass of warm water and returned to the bedroom.

The person on the bed shifted, probably waking up. Li Qingji lay back down. “Are you hungry?”

Jiang Nai curled up in the blanket, half of her head emerging, still half-asleep, “Hmm? A little…”

The room had not yet been lit, and the bed curtains were still open. Only the faint light from the door illuminated the room, enough for him to see her current state. Her hair was a bit messy, half covering her face, her lips slightly curled, looking dazed but adorable.

But looking lower, it was no longer cute.

Beneath the blanket, there was a clear, undulating motion…

Li Qingji’s gaze deepened. He picked her up. “Drink some water.”

Jiang Nai was utterly exhausted, her body soft and limp, her throat parched as if it were on fire. She leaned against him, half-closing her eyes, and drank most of the warm water. But drinking while leaning against him wasn’t very convenient. She drank too quickly, and the water easily overflowed, sliding down her chin and dripping onto her neck…

The winding water stains left a clear trace on her skin.

Li Qingji just watched her drink, and the emotions in his eyes grew intense.

“All done…” Jiang Nai’s throat was still a bit hoarse from the water.

Li Qingji hummed in response, took the cup from her, and set it aside. Then he leaned down and kissed her at the corner of her mouth. Jiang Nai was physically weak, but she was still sensitive to these things. She turned her face away, not allowing him to kiss her.

Li Qingji held her chin firmly. “How can you make such a mess just drinking water?”

Jiang Nai: “It’s not… only a little leaked.”

“A little?” 

His fingertip traced down to the water stain, and Jiang Nai shuddered slightly. “Don’t…”

Li Qingji didn’t listen to her, slowly kissing down the trace of water from her mouth…

Ding ding—

At that moment, the ringing of a phone suddenly interrupted the quiet room. Li Qingji paused his movement and glanced at the phone. It was his.

“Answer the phone.”

Jiang Nai pushed his head away, and Li Qingji took a deep breath, sitting up and picking up the phone. “Hello?”

“Hello, Boss, we have an emergency.” It was Liu Nian on the other end.

Li Qingji pressed his fingers to his temple. “Speak.”

“Liu Nian, the vice president of Rt posted some remarks on Twitter last night, involving insults towards China… the news came out this morning.”

Rt is a well-known international brand for trendy home goods, extremely popular among young people. Over the past few years, many domestic celebrities, influencers, and online personalities have been using their products. Some time ago, Siningte had successfully negotiated a collaboration with them to create co-branded home appliances, aiming to expand their market among young people.

Everything was ready—the marketing plan was set—but no one could have predicted that, just before the launch of the co-branded products next week, the vice president would suddenly post inflammatory remarks online, essentially insulting their country.

Liu Nian saw the news early this morning and nearly lost her mind. 

Li Qingji furrowed his brows.

Liu Nian: “Boss, what should we do now? Should we demand an apology from Rt immediately? Their vice president has to apologize, or this will seriously affect our products!”

“An apology is a given, but these products also need to be canceled.”

“What?”

“Cancel the release. Launch another series next week instead.”

“But that would be a huge loss—”

“This isn’t just a minor employee’s mistake. It was the vice president who made these remarks. Even an apology can’t undo the damage,” Li Qingji said in a low voice. “Principles can’t be compromised. Collaborating on this product line will only tarnish our brand.”

Liu Nian gritted her teeth. “Got it…”

Jiang Nai, who was lying nearby, vaguely sensed that something bad had happened. After Li Qingji hung up, she asked, “What happened?”

“Liu Nian called.”

Jiang Nai’s eyes shot open, as she had initially thought it was something related to Hengchuan. “Liu Nian? Did something happen with the company’s products?”

“Yes, the vice president of Rt posted some remarks about our country online. We can’t cooperate with them anymore.”

Jiang Nai sucked in a sharp breath, immediately grabbing her phone to check the trending topics. Sure enough, she saw the news about Rt. Although she wasn’t directly involved with the co-branded product team, she understood how disastrous this was. It meant all the preliminary investment would go to waste.

“How could this person be like this? Collaborating with us and then posting such insulting remarks about our country… they’re simply two-faced.”

“Yeah, this person has to be permanently blacklisted.” Li Qingji glanced at the time. “I’ll leave this matter to Liu Nian and the team. Are you hungry? Let me order breakfast first.”

As soon as he finished speaking, his phone rang again. This time, it was Jiang Nai’s phone, but the caller still showed as Liu Nian. Jiang Nai glanced at Li Qingji, signaling for him to stay quiet, before answering the call.

“Hello, Liu Nian?”

“Jiang Nai, are you awake?”  

Jiang Nai cleared her throat. “Awake, awake. By the way, Liu Nian-jie, I just saw something online about Rt…”  

“I called you about that. The boss said we won’t be launching the co-branded product anymore, so that means next week we must focus on other series. It would be great if you could head back to the office today.”  

Jiang Nai immediately sat up. “Ah… okay.”  

“Hurry over. We’re having a meeting first.”  

“Mm.”  

After hanging up the phone, Jiang Nai grabbed her hair and said, “I’ll leave now.”  

Li Qingji furrowed his brows. “Where are you going?”  

“Back to the office.”  

“Now?”  

“Yes, now. Our team’s product needs to be pushed forward ahead of schedule.”  

Jiang Nai looked around and noticed that her nightgown had fallen to the floor. She pressed the blanket to her chest as she bent over to grab it. However, this movement exposed her entire back, revealing numerous marks on her skin.  

Li Qingji’s gaze darkened slightly. “Did Liu Nian really insist on using her day off?”  

Jiang Nai quickly pulled on her nightdress. “It came up suddenly, otherwise there wouldn’t be time.”  

“Can you manage?”  

Yesterday, Jiang Nai had almost spent the entire day in bed, but not sleeping. She really wanted to sleep now and just stay in bed, but… clearly, that wasn’t an option.  

“Who’s to blame if I can’t get up?” she mumbled softly, then got out of bed. After a few steps, she winced.  

Li Qingji looked over. “Are you feeling uncomfortable?”  

Her whole body felt like it had been run over by a car, so naturally, she wasn’t comfortable. But she wasn’t in the mood to focus on that right now. She mumbled “It’s fine” and went to the master bathroom. She quickly washed up, changed clothes, and got ready to leave.  

“I’ll drive you to the office.” Li Qingji walked over.  

Jiang Nai replied, “I’ll drive myself.”  

“The office is pretty empty on weekends, you don’t have to worry about being seen.” Li Qingji didn’t give her a chance to refuse and walked toward the hallway. Jiang Nai had no choice but to follow him.  

Soon, Li Qingji drove her to Siningte.  

“Breakfast is ready at the front desk. Go grab it yourself after you stop on the first floor.”  

Jiang Nai was surprised. “When did you order it?”  

“While we were leaving.” Li Qingji glanced sideways. “There’s no one here, go ahead.”  

Jiang Nai said, “…Thanks.”  

Li Qingji looked at her briefly, and Jiang Nai gave him a slight smile. “I’ll be going now.”  

“Mm.”  

Jiang Nai quickly got out of the car and headed for the elevator. Li Qingji stayed in the car for a while before restarting the vehicle and driving out of the parking lot.  

—  

When Jiang Nai arrived at her workstation with breakfast, Wang Wenbo and the others had already arrived, all sitting sluggishly.  

“You got here pretty quickly.”  

Wang Wenbo sighed. “What a curse… I just crawled out of bed, haven’t even eaten yet.”  

“I bought breakfast.” Jiang Nai opened the bag and pulled out a cinnamon raisin bagel. “Do you want this?”  

Wang Wenbo said, “Ah, no, I couldn’t. If I eat this, what will you eat?”  

Jiang Nai took out another bagel. “There’s another one.”  

Wang Wenbo was surprised. “Jiang Nai, I didn’t expect this from you! You can eat so much for breakfast.”  

Jiang Nai didn’t know what Li Qingji was thinking, but he bought her double the amount, almost as if he were afraid she might go hungry…  

“Well… I thought I could just share some with you guys.”  

Wang Wenbo laughed. “Thanks, thanks!”  

“Is everyone about ready? Let’s head to the meeting room.” A few minutes later, Liu Nian walked in.  

The group immediately grabbed their laptops and made their way to the meeting room. Since the product launch had been moved up, the incomplete project plans had to be quickly finished within these few days. The team stayed in the meeting room the entire morning. During lunch, they ordered takeout, ate a little, and then returned to work.  

Around four in the afternoon, Jiang Nai’s phone rang.  

“Hello?”  

“When are you coming back?”  

Jiang Nai paused for a moment. “Probably pretty late.”  

“Come back for dinner?”  

“Not sure. You don’t have to wait for me to eat.”  

…  

After hanging up, Jiang Nai stretched. She felt like her back was about to snap.  

“Is your husband rushing you to come home?” asked Yao Qi from the side.  

Jiang Nai replied, “He didn’t rush me… just asked when I’ll be back.”  

Yao Qi said, “How nice! There’s someone waiting for you at home. But, will he mind you working on the weekend? Wang Wenbo said his girlfriend was furious because they had planned to go watch a movie.”  

Jiang Nai cleared her throat. “He won’t mind…”  

“Wow, that’s amazing.”  

“He’s busier than I am usually.”  

Besides, right now she was basically working for him too. How could he mind?  

—  

At six in the evening, Liu Nian was about to call for dinner when someone suddenly knocked on the meeting room door twice.  

Liu Nian turned around, and upon seeing who it was, she paused for two seconds, then immediately stood up. “Boss.”  

The sound of papers flipping and keyboards clicking stopped instantly. Everyone in the room stood up when they saw who was at the door. Jiang Nai froze, sitting still in her seat. Li Qingji scanned the room, his gaze briefly landing on Jiang Nai before moving away indifferently.  

Liu Nian stepped forward. “What brings you here?”  

“I had something to do nearby. I knew you’d be working late because of Rt, so I came to check on you,” Li Qingji said with a businesslike tone. “How’s everything going?”  

With the big boss inspecting, Liu Nian was a bit nervous. She hurriedly said, “Everything’s going smoothly, don’t worry. It’s all under control.”  

Li Qingji nodded. “That’s good. I ordered dinner for you all, it’ll be here soon.”  

Liu Nian’s eyes brightened. “Really?! Thank you, boss. I was just about to call for dinner myself.”  

Li Qingji replied, “Take a break and eat when it arrives.”

“Okay, okay.”

Li Qingji gave a slight nod, then casually glanced at Jiang Nai. He didn’t enter but turned around and left. Once he was gone, the people in the meeting room started to stir.

Wang Wenbo: “The boss even came to see us. I’m honored.”

“Time to eat!! So happy!!!”

Yao Qi: “Damn, he’s so handsome. Just a glance and I feel motivated to work again. I must be the chosen one for this job.”

Jiang Nai: “…”

A few minutes later, just as expected, takeout from the restaurant arrived.

“Damn!! It’s food from Minghe Zhai!! I love the boss!!”

“Usually, we have to make a reservation and wait in line to eat at Minghe Zhai, and it’s super expensive. Today, we’re really living the good life.”

“Suddently not tired at all, haha.”

…

Everyone gathered around the table and began eating their dinner.

Jiang Nai’s lips curved up slightly. In the middle of the meal, she sent Li Qingji a message: [Thank you, boss. It’s really good.]

Li Qingji quickly replied: [Not much meat, but if it’s good, eat more.]

Jiang Nai was unwilling to admit it—who doesn’t have meat… there’s meat where it should be.

She didn’t reply. A minute later, Li Qingji sent another message: [I’m in the office. Tell me when you’re done.]

Jiang Nai was a bit surprised: [Aren’t you going home?]

Li Qingji: [Got some things to handle, might as well do it now.]

Jiang Nai: [Oh.]

After finishing the meal, everyone worked a bit more, and by 9 PM, they packed up to go home. Worried about running into colleagues in the parking lot, Jiang Nai went down the stairs and walked outside the company, waiting by the road for Li Qingji.

Li Qingji’s car arrived soon. She opened the door, sat inside, and buckled her seatbelt. “Alright, let’s go.”

Li Qingji looked at her tired face and said, “Sleep a bit. I’ll wake you up when we get home.”

“It’s fine, we’ll be home soon…”

She said that, but not long after the car started moving, she closed her eyes and fell asleep. Li Qingji smiled slightly, turned off the music, and drove toward home. By the time they reached the garage, she hadn’t shown any signs of waking up. Li Qingji sighed and went around to the passenger side, unbuckled her seatbelt, and directly carried her out.

At the noise, Jiang Nai finally opened her eyes. “Hmm? We’re here?”

Li Qingji replied, “Mm.”

Jiang Nai: “Let me down, I can walk by myself…”

Li Qingji said in a calm tone, “You’re practically out cold. Just sleep.”

Normally, Jiang Nai wouldn’t have let him carry her like that, but maybe because she was too tired, or perhaps because their relationship had grown more intimate, she was more open to such closeness. So she didn’t bother to move and let Li Qingji carry her upstairs.

The house was already spotless, and Li Qingji carried her to the master bedroom and laid her on the bed.

“I haven’t showered yet…” She groggily remembered that detail.

Li Qingji gave a slight smile: “Want me to carry you to the shower?”

Jiang Nai quickly became more alert. “No.”

Li Qingji slightly leaned in, his hand sliding around her waist. “You don’t want me to help you with your shower?”

His fingertips lingered with intent, and Jiang Nai immediately became cautious. “I’ll rest for a while first, then I’ll get up to shower on my own later.”

She pressed his increasingly bold hand down and, half pleading, half firm, said, “…Not today. Absolutely not.”

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