Chapter 42: Mountain Climbing

The exhibition lasted three days, and on the last day, when everything wrapped up, Liu Nian invited everyone to a big dinner. Jiang Nai hadn’t eaten properly at lunch, so by now she was starving. After downing half a bowl of rice, she finally felt better.

“Everyone’s worked hard these past two days. If you want anything else, just order it—don’t be shy,” Liu Nian said.

“Sure thing! Thanks, Sister Liu Nian,” Yao Qi replied. Turning to Jiang Nai, she added, “These sweet shrimps are amazing! Let’s get two more servings.”

Jiang Nai: “Sure.”

Just as she spoke, her phone rang. She glanced at it; it was Li Qingji calling. Turning slightly to the side, she answered, “Hello?”

“Are you not coming back for dinner tonight?”

Jiang Nai replied, “Ah… I forgot to tell Auntie—I’m eating out with colleagues tonight.”

Li Qingji gave a slight “hmm”: “What are you having?”

Jiang Nai told him the restaurant’s name, to which Li Qingji said, “Go easy on the seafood.”

The seafood at this place was famous, and his reminder made her hesitant to eat too much. “Okay, got it.”

“Shall I send someone to pick you up later?”

“No need. I’ll go back to the office, then drive myself home.”

“Alright.”

They exchanged a few words before hanging up.

Yao Qi nudged her, “What’s this, your husband checking up on you?”

Jiang Nai: “No, he was just asking if I’d be back for dinner.”

“He even cooks and waits for you to come back and eat?” Yao Qi’s voice was loud, so everyone at the long table heard.

Wang Wenbo teased, “Nice, Jiang Nai! You married a real homemaker.”

The chopsticks in Jiang Nai’s hand paused. A homemaker.

She gave an awkward laugh, “Well, he can’t really cook…”

“Oh, if he’s bad at cooking, you should never criticize him too much! Otherwise, he’ll hate cooking later on.” An older colleague at the table chimed in, “I’d just compliment him no matter how bad it was, and now he cooks every meal with pride.”

What Jiang Nai meant by “can’t cook” was literal, but everyone seemed to interpret it as him just not being very good at cooking.

Wang Wenbo exclaimed, “Wow, you women really are clever!”

“This is called wisdom!”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ve learned something new.”

Seeing that everyone had diverted the conversation, Jiang Nai sighed inwardly and continued eating without bothering to explain. Across from her, Xu Xiao raised his eyes to look at her, recalling Meng Xiaoyue’s comment from that day.

She said Jiang Nai had cheated, and with that person, no less…

He refused to believe it.

—

After dinner, Jiang Nai didn’t get much of a break. She had a meeting the next day where she’d need to present and summarize the exhibition, so she sat slouched on the couch with her laptop, copying the already written content into a PowerPoint, then tidying up the layout. But, perhaps from exhaustion and skipping her midday nap, she ended up dozing off on the couch.

When Li Qingji walked out of his study, he saw her curled up on the couch, small and delicate, with her laptop by her feet, the screen still on…

Li Qingji casually grabbed a cashmere blanket nearby and draped it over her. He glanced at her laptop. The content was about the exhibition. He sat down beside her and picked up the laptop. Clearly, she hadn’t finished organizing it; the layout of the last few slides was a bit messy. Li Qingji scrolled to the beginning, looking through it from the first slide. He marked areas that needed revision, and when he got to the last few slides, he went ahead and tidied up the layout himself.

Just as he finished, the sleeping person shifted, suddenly turning over and stretching her legs. Noticing her leg about to kick over, Li Qingji lifted the laptop slightly. Instead of kicking the laptop, her leg landed right on his lap.

Her slender leg rested on his black trousers, the stark white of her skin almost startling.

Li Qingji looked down, placed the laptop aside, and lightly held her ankle, his thumb grazing gently.

“Mmm…” 

The blanket slid down a bit, and the sleepy figure opened her eyes drowsily. “What are you doing…”

Still holding her ankle, Li Qingji asked, “Why are you sleeping here?”

“I was working, then suddenly felt tired.” She sat up, realizing her leg was casually propped on his lap, and quickly tried to pull it back.

He didn’t let go; instead, his hand slid further up, past her calf, knee, and onto her thigh. Jiang Nai looked slim, but touching her was different—his fingers pressed into the softness, like a piece of tempting marshmallow.

“Can you hand me my laptop?”

Li Qingji asked, “Still working this late?”

“I have a meeting tomorrow and if I don’t finish it, I’ll get—”

She was about to say, “criticized by my boss,” but then realized her boss was sitting right in front of her.

“… scolded by Sister Liu Nian,” she corrected herself.

Li Qingji saw right through her and smirked, handing her the laptop. Jiang Nai set it on her lap, accidentally trapping his hand underneath.

“Hmm? Did I already finish it?” Still groggy, she remembered the last few slides were messy.

Flipping through, she noticed some marked areas and realized Li Qingji had worked on it.

She looked up at him, “Did you help me just now?”

Li Qingji replied, “Your chaotic PPT was giving me a headache.”

Jiang Nai defended herself, “It wasn’t the final version… I hadn’t finished yet.”

“Oh.”

She glanced through a few more pages, then said, “Thanks.”

Li Qingji raised her eyebrows slightly.

Jiang Nai chuckled and asked, “Boss, should I add a bit more to answer your question?”

“Quite serious, aren’t you?”

“I have to be—just got a promotion and a raise, so I can’t afford to slack off.”

Li Qingji leaned back, a faint smile on his lips, and just watched her stare at the computer, typing away rapidly. The next day at 10:30 a.m., everyone gradually gathered with their laptops in the large conference room. 

Li Qingji arrived right on time. After signaling that they could begin, he took his seat. Liu Nian started with an overview of the recent situation, followed by each team member reporting on the details of their work. Li Qingji sat there with a calm expression, occasionally interjecting with pointed questions after each section, catching people off guard as they answered nervously.

Jiang Nai was the last to speak. Her main focus was on the exhibition activities over the past few days, as well as on the purchasing quantities from various major buyers. It took about ten minutes in total, with a few pauses, but aside from Liu Nian asking a couple of questions, nobody else had any. 

Not even Li Qingji.

She quickly finished and sat down.

[Still don’t want to believe it?]

Xu Xiao’s phone lit up with a message from Meng Xiaoyue.

Xu Xiao: [She isn’t that kind of person.]

Meng Xiaoyue: [I saw it with my own eyes. You don’t believe me? Why would a regular employee sit in the front passenger seat of the boss’s car or go shopping with them?]

Meng Xiaoyue: [Besides, it was obvious the boss didn’t want to make things difficult for her at all. He didn’t even ask a single question.]

Xu Xiao tightened his grip on his phone, pausing before replying: [That just means her report didn’t have any issues at all.]

Meng Xiaoyue: [Xu Xiao, you’re just deceiving yourself.]

…

After the meeting ended, everyone left the conference room and returned to their workstations.

Ding—

A message popped up in the company’s administrative group chat.

[The location for next week’s team-building event has been confirmed: hiking and camping on Mount Qi Feng. Check the attached file for details, and please prepare your portable overnight gear in advance~]

Wang Wenbo read the message first. “Wow, camping! Camping sounds great! I’ve heard there’s a professional campsite over at Qi Feng. I’ve been wanting to go for ages.”

Yao Qi chimed in, “Camping’s fine, but we have to hike too?”

Wang Wenbo replied, “Come on, don’t get discouraged the moment exercise is mentioned. It’s already a blessing that the team-building event isn’t a sports day.”

Yao Qi agreed, “True enough…”

Wang Wenbo continued, “And we’ll get to watch the sunrise! I should definitely bring my camera.”

Jiang Nai saw the message too. To be honest, she wasn’t great with exercise either. She had no idea how long it would take to climb that mountain…

On the weekend, motivated to finally do some proper exercise, Jiang Nai went shopping with Yao Qi and bought a set of workout clothes. When she got home, she laid the clothes out on the sofa, just as Li Qingji saw them. He asked if she was planning to hit the gym. Their community had a well-equipped gym, accessible only to residents.

“No, I’m going hiking.”

Li Qingji raised an eyebrow. “Hiking?”

“Didn’t you know? Next week’s team-building is at Qi Feng Mountain.”

Li Qingji hadn’t handled the planning for this event—it had been arranged by others on his team.

“Think you can make it to the top?”

Jiang Nai protested, “Who do you think you’re underestimating?”

Li Qingji replied, “I’ve never seen you work out. You complain about being tired whenever you’re doing something physical. You’re not exactly fit.”

“When have I ever—”

Jiang Nai wanted to retort that she’d never complained about being tired while working, but then quickly realized that by “doing something physical,” Li Qingji wasn’t talking about work but something more… private.

Li Qingji glanced at her. “Really not?”

Jiang Nai quickly grabbed her workout clothes. “…Not at all.”

She stomped off to her bedroom, leaving Li Qingji calling after her, “I suggest you join me at the gym once or twice a week.”

Jiang Nai replied, “Not happening!”

—

Mount Qi Feng could be reached by car, but there was also a wooden hiking path specifically for those who wanted to climb. 

On the day of the team-building trip, the administration team even made a banner with the company logo, which the person in the lead held up in hopes of boosting morale. For Jiang Nai, the thought of a two-hour uphill trek was… well, she could definitely use a morale boost.

The marketing department was in the second group, with the finance department behind them and administration up front. At first, everyone was full of energy as they climbed, chatting, laughing, and even snacking along the way. But after an hour, they started dropping one by one, sitting down to rest.

“It’s too steep. I think my knees are giving out,” Yao Qi said, panting heavily as she sat on a rock nearby.

Jiang Nai was also out of breath. It wasn’t just her knees—by the time she got up tomorrow, her whole body might feel wrecked.

“Let’s rest a bit longer,” she suggested.

Yao Qi and Wang Wenbo both nodded, “Let’s pace ourselves; no rush.”

“Mhm…”

Once you sit down on a hike, it takes a lot of willpower to get back up. So nobody got up for a while. Instead, they all pulled out their phones and started scrolling. The more athletic folks from finance caught up soon enough and joked with Yao Qi as they passed by. However, they kept glancing at Jiang Nai.

Noticing this, Yao Qi eventually said, “Come on, guys, we all know Jiang Nai’s gorgeous, but maybe don’t stare at her so blatantly?”

The finance team nodded enthusiastically. “Absolutely, the beauty of your department is truly something.”

Yao Qi laughed, “Of course!”

Jiang Nai, exhausted, looked up briefly and gave them a polite smile before going back to her phone, too tired to chat. The finance team moved on, but a few kept looking back and muttering among themselves as they climbed.

Yao Qi frowned, puzzled.

More people gradually passed them, including a large group from HR. At that moment, a colleague from HR, Mian Mian, approached them. She was on good terms with Yao Qi and waved when she saw her, then looked over at Jiang Nai and gestured for Yao Qi to come closer.

Yao Qi got up and walked towards her, but Mian Mian quickly pulled her away.

“What are you doing, acting all secretive?”

Mian Mian replied, “What’s up? I heard there’s some gossip in your department…”

“Huh? What gossip? I don’t know anything.”

“Come on, you and Wang Wenbo are close to her. Who would dare tell you directly? The news got out this morning through an email, then it spread like wildfire…”

“What are you talking about?”

Mian Mian glanced behind her and whispered, “It’s about… Jiang Nai.”

“What about Jiang Nai?”

“She’s… involved with the boss.”

Yao Qi froze, stunned for a few seconds before replying, “What nonsense are you talking?”

“It’s true!!”

Yao Qi frowned, “Jiang Nai isn’t like that. She’s married, remember?”

“I know, but look at this…”

Mian Mian took out her phone and showed her some pictures. They looked like they were screenshots from a video, a bit blurry, but close enough to clearly see who was in the images. In a parking lot, Jiang Nai and Li Qingji were together, with someone else helping them carry shopping bags. In the end, the two got into the same car.

Mian Mian asked, “Does this look… normal to you?”

Yao Qi’s pupils trembled slightly before she said, “It’s probably just a chance encounter.”

“A ‘chance encounter’ that lets an employee sit in the front passenger seat? And without a driver? Look at all those luxury shopping bags. Obviously, they went shopping together.”

“No way, no way. Jiang Nai has a husband. Her husband is kind and affectionate; she wouldn’t do something like that. Besides, the boss, a golden bachelor, wouldn’t go for a married woman, right? He could have any woman he wants.”

Mian Mian replied, “That’s where you’re wrong… Some wealthy people have unique tastes, and besides, Jiang Nai is really beautiful.”

…

After resting for about half an hour, Jiang Nai finally regained some strength and continued walking toward the mountaintop. On the way, Jiang Nai noticed that Yao Qi wasn’t talking much, but she didn’t think much of it, assuming that everyone was simply too tired to chat.

“Hey! Senior Xu.” Wang Wenbo spotted Xu Xiao, who had been walking a bit faster than the rest.

Xu Xiao turned his head and, upon seeing Jiang Nai next to Wang Wenbo, his expression froze momentarily.

Wang Wenbo quickly caught up, “Why are you rushing? Wait for us; let’s climb together.”

Xu Xiao responded with a grunt.

“Do you have any chocolate in your bag? The three of us didn’t bring any sweets,” Wang Wenbo asked.

Xu Xiao replied, “I didn’t bring any chocolate either.”

“Alright then…”

“Do you need some chocolate? I have two pieces.” At that moment, Meng Xiaoyue, who was with two other female colleagues, stopped and offered.

Wang Wenbo said, “Yes, yes, let’s share! I’m starving from the climb and worried about low blood sugar.”

“Sure, just a second.” Meng Xiaoyue took off her backpack, took out the chocolate, handed one piece to Wang Wenbo, and the other… passed over Jiang Nai and gave it to Yao Qi.

“Here, Sister Yao Qi, to keep up your energy.”

Yao Qi absentmindedly accepted it, “Thanks…”

Wang Wenbo was about to eat his chocolate but, realizing that this would leave Jiang Nai without any, decided not to eat it himself and instead handed it to her. “Here, Jiang Nai, take it.”

Jiang Nai protested, “No need, no need, you go ahead and eat.”

Wang Wenbo insisted, “Come on, I’m a guy; I can always ask other colleagues for some later. You eat this first.”

Meng Xiaoyue glanced at the two of them and laughed, “Wang Wenbo, you should go ahead and eat. Look at you, you’re already pale, while Jiang Nai will definitely have people giving her more.”

Wang Wenbo was confused, “Huh?”

Meng Xiaoyue joked, “A beautiful woman like her doesn’t need to worry; people will be lining up to spoil her.”

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