L&H - 8

Yu Qing was busy filing contracts when the internal line rang. Supervisor Zhou Yunli summoned her over.

She thought another contract had arrived, but instead, she was assigned a different task.

“Busy today?” Zhou Yunli asked with a faint smile.

Yu Qing: “Quite busy—there are still many contracts I haven’t organized. Director, what is it?”

Zhou Yunli handed her a folder. “This legal opinion document has inadequate solutions. You’re the most skilled in this area. Revise it by this morning—it can’t delay the group’s work plan.”

Yu Qing opened it. One of Fu Corporation’s holding companies planned to undergo an asset divestiture.

It was indeed within her expertise, but it no longer fell under her job responsibilities.

This was the work of the colleague who had replaced her position.

Why should that colleague receive the salary while she was tasked with fixing their mistakes?

She wouldn’t let herself be taken advantage of so easily. “Director, I’m afraid I won’t have time this morning. Secretary Pan has already assigned me tasks—I don’t dare delay them.”

Zhou Yunli smiled. “No problem. Just finish it today. If necessary, take it home to work overtime tonight and give it to me tomorrow morning.” She waved her hand. “Go ahead and get busy.”

“…!!”

Yu Qing forced a cold laugh, took the folder, and left.

Near noon, Yu Qing received a call from Pan Zheng.

He asked her to come to the president’s office to discuss the details of the contract again.

Of course, this was just an excuse.

Today, Fu Ji Chen hadn’t personally called; he had Secretary Pan handle it instead.

Pan Zheng’s voice came through again: “Come up now.”

Yu Qing agreed. She would once again enjoy lunch at Fu Ji Chen’s place.

Opening her drawer, she selected a brown keychain.

Arriving at the president’s office, Yu Qing saw through the glass partition that Pan Zheng was busy on the phone. Without disturbing him, she went directly to Fu Ji Chen.

Fu Ji Chen was also occupied, approving various contract payments in the OA system.

Yu Qing helped herself, grabbing a bottle of lemon tea from the refrigerator and strolling to the window, waiting for Fu Ji Chen to finish so they could eat lunch together.

Fu Ji Chen’s office had two full-length floor-to-ceiling windows, offering an extremely broad view overlooking the busiest district.

Sitting on the armrest of the sofa, Yu Qing looked across the street at the cluster of towering buildings. From where she sat, she could vaguely see the building of her own company.

She didn’t know if Fish Demon was in the office.

She also wondered if her father was in a meeting and whether he’d think of her when he had some downtime.

Yu Qing snapped out of her thoughts, unscrewed the cap of her lemon tea, and took a sip. It was one of Dixin’s newly launched beverages this year, ranking among the top ten best-selling drinks.

The texture was soft and delicate, leaving a sweet and sour aftertaste.

Her favorite part was the slogan on the bottle: Love at First Sight .

Not long after, lunch arrived from the restaurant.

Yu Qing moved closer and opened each lunch box. “How much longer will you be busy?” she asked Fu Ji Chen.

Fu Ji Chen didn’t respond but put down his mouse and went to wash his hands.

Yu Qing savored the delicious meal. “It must be boring eating alone every day. Let me come over to keep you company in the future.”

Fu Ji Chen bluntly replied, “Allowing you to come for lunch today is only a special exception. Don’t think too much into it.”

Yu Qing immediately understood—he was simply accommodating her because she had slept so late last night, providing her a place to rest during lunch. Last night, he had kept her up until nearly 3:30 in the morning.

She didn’t know that Fu Ji Chen refused her visits not because he disliked eating in the office but because he didn’t want to waste his lunchtime. She assumed he didn’t want her presence to distract him in any way.

“I’ll come twice a week for lunch. It coincides with delivering contracts to Secretary Pan anyway, so I’ll eat here as well.”

Fu Ji Chen didn’t respond, signaling her to hurry up and eat.

Fine, she’d find other ways to persuade him.

After pondering for a moment, Yu Qing set down her chopsticks.

“Not eating anymore?” Fu Ji Chen asked.

“Mm. I’m on a diet lately—I shouldn’t eat too much.”

She picked up her soup bowl and sipped it slowly, little by little.

Fu Ji Chen thought the soup might be too hot, but after he took a few sips, the temperature was just right. “Are you really treating it like wine tasting?”

Yu Qing calmly responded, “It’s our last weekday lunch together. I wanted to savor it properly.”

Fu Ji Chen knew she was hinting at wanting to come every day for meals, but he didn’t respond.

This was already the second time he had made an exception to eat in the office.

There wouldn’t be a third.

Yu Qing waited for a response but didn’t receive one. She eyed the dish in front of Fu Ji Chen and picked up her chopsticks again. “If I gain weight, so be it. At least I won’t get to eat such delicious private chef meals in the future.”

She was waiting for Fu Ji Chen to soften and say something like, “Alright, stop being so pitiful. If you want to eat, come over for lunch in the future.”

Instead, Fu Ji Chen directly placed the dish in front of her. “It’s all yours. If it’s still not enough, mix the sauce with rice.”

Yu Qing: “...”

One day, when he falls into her hands, she’ll make him pay double.

She almost forgot—she pulled the keychain from her pocket. “Here, it’s for you. Courtesy demands reciprocity. I’ve already eaten two meals here.”

Fu Ji Chen looked at the brown basketball-shaped keychain—it was exquisite and unique.

It was from the same brand as her other small trinkets and wasn’t cheap.

But he had no use for it—he didn’t have keys or access cards to hang on it.

Seeing him hesitate, Yu Qing reassured him: “Rest assured, it’s purely a return gift. I have no ulterior motives—it’s not to extort lunches from you.”

Fu Ji Chen: “...”

--

In the afternoon, Yu Qing was busy revising the legal opinion document when Landlord Qian Boss sent her a message: [Little Yu, sorry to bother you again. I’ve arranged to meet the buyer after work tonight to hand over the deposit. I want to rush the transfer procedures.]

Yu Qing: [Did the other party raise their offer?]

Boss Qian sighed: [How could they?]

In just three words, Yu Qing could almost picture the helplessness on Boss Qian’s face.

Boss Qian sent another message: [I’ll need to trouble you to make a trip after work today. The buyer wants to sign a tripartite agreement. I’ll compensate you for what’s due—nothing less. We’ll discuss it when we meet.]

The principle of “sale does not break lease” applied, but the buyer didn’t plan to rent out the property—they intended to let their parents live there.

Yu Qing understood the landlord’s predicament and readily agreed.

Boss Qian: [I’ll have my son come pick you up.]

Yu Qing didn’t want to bother Qian Cheng: [No need—I’ll take a taxi.]

Before leaving work, Yu Qing received a message from Qian Cheng: [Sis, I’m downstairs at your company.]

She had told him not to come, but he still showed up to pick her up.

Exiting the building, Yu Qing spotted Qian Cheng by the fountain, talking to a beautiful woman.

This woman was Xiao Yilin, the Jing-Jin-Ji Regional Manager of the sales department—and also the rumored mistress of Sales Director Zhao Shuqun. The gossip about them had spread like wildfire throughout the company, though no one knew for sure if it was true.

There were countless rumors about Xiao Yilin during Yu Qing’s few months at Fu Corporation—she’d heard at least ten different versions.

Xiao Yilin was sexy, beautiful, and fiery in personality. She was decisive and hardworking, rising from regional business supervisor to regional manager in just two years.

However, some claimed that her abilities were only part of the story—the rest relied on using men as stepping stones.

Over there, Qian Cheng spotted Yu Qing and waved at her.

Xiao Yilin turned her head, glancing at Yu Qing twice, paying particular attention to the bag on Yu Qing’s shoulder.

Because of their work interactions, Xiao Yilin had seen several of Yu Qing’s bags—one uglier than the next. Yu Qing’s taste in accessories was probably the worst among the female employees at Fu Corporation.

If it weren’t for the company rule requiring uniforms during work hours, she couldn’t imagine what Yu Qing’s clothing style would look like—it was such a waste of her good looks.

Xiao Yilin turned her gaze away, said goodbye to Qian Cheng, and walked toward the parking lot.

Qian Cheng had arrived early today, parking in the open-air lot on the other side. The two chatted as they walked.

Qian Cheng mentioned Xiao Yilin: “She’s our regional manager. I happened to bump into her and exchanged a few words.”

He explained why they were in such a hurry to sell the house: “That property has already been mortgaged for a loan. Right now, we simply can’t come up with enough money to pay for the shipment.”

“This year, Dixin’s market has picked up, and the annual sales target assigned to us distributors has doubled.”

“In fact, we’ve already completed the entire year’s purchase quota. But three weeks ago, Xiao Yilin suddenly notified us that the company had temporarily adjusted the performance metrics for distributors.”

“Our family needs to ship another million yuan worth of goods.”

The assessment policy kept changing—where could they go to argue?

Big companies often bullied smaller clients.

If they wanted to keep earning money from Dixin, they had no choice but to endure.

Originally, their family had quite a bit of liquid capital, but they also acted as agents for other fast-moving consumer goods brands, tying up nearly two million yuan in inventory.

Xiao Yilin even threatened them, saying that if they couldn’t meet the targets, the company would consider replacing them with another distributor.

Qian Cheng sighed: “We’ve spent two years building this market—we’re reluctant to give it up, so we have no choice but to sell the house.”

A vibration came from Yu Qing’s bag.

Fu Ji Chen had sent her a message: [So you brought your keychain to my office just to show it off?]

Yu Qing was baffled: [?]

Fu Ji Chen stared at the question mark, then searched around the sofa again. Moving the cushions aside, he found the keychain quietly resting in the corner of the armrest—it must have slipped in while Yu Qing was napping on the sofa.

[Found it.] He replied to Yu Qing, then put on his suit and went to find Secretary Pan.

Pan Zheng was caught off guard—his boss rarely came to him unprompted.

He was still on the phone, about to hang up, when Fu Ji Chen gestured: “No rush.”

Pan Zheng couldn’t sit still and stood up instead.

On the phone, his daughter was speaking in her childish voice: “Daddy, don’t drink too much alcohol. Come home early.”

Pan Zheng reassured her: “Mm, okay. Daddy promises not to drink a single drop. As soon as work is over, I’ll come right home.”

The call was brief, and Pan Zheng ended it.

Unexpectedly, Fu Ji Chen suddenly looked up and asked Pan Zheng: “Which is harder—running a business or managing a marriage?”

Pan Zheng almost stumbled over his response. He hadn’t expected his boss to suddenly throw out such a question. “Both are difficult. It depends on the person.”

Fu Ji Chen nodded, waiting for him to continue.

Pan Zheng hesitated but decided to speak frankly: “For you, running a business might be easier.”

Running a business involved more financial investment, while marriage required investing more emotion.

Clearly, given his current status and identity, his boss was destined to have little time for family or marriage.

More importantly, given his boss’s free-spirited nature—disliking being controlled by women or being bound by marriage—his boss had no intention of maintaining a relationship that might not yield a final return but would cost him his freedom.

Previously, Pan Zheng had worried that his boss wouldn’t find a soulmate, especially since all the women pursuing him in his social circle wanted to marry him.

But then Yu Qing appeared.

Unexpectedly, Yu Qing was even more carefree than his boss. In the past, his boss feared being clung to by women; now, Yu Qing worried that her boss would demand emotions or marriage from her…

However, Yu Qing’s worries were unnecessary.

His boss had never thought about marriage.

Only then did Pan Zheng remember the matter at hand. “President Fu, what do you need?”

Fu Ji Chen: “Do you have any spare access cards and car keys? Give me a set.”

Pan Zheng couldn’t figure out why his boss suddenly needed these things. His boss had personal bodyguards who carried everything—spare keys for all the cars and access cards.

Despite his confusion, he still retrieved a spare set and handed it to his boss.

Fu Ji Chen took the small access cards carefully. “You carry on.”

Pan Zheng watched his boss leave, utterly perplexed about why he suddenly wanted to carry the access cards himself.

Before closing the office door, he glanced once more at his boss.

He saw his boss take something out of his suit pocket, then walk slowly with his head down.

All he could see was his boss’s back—he didn’t know what his boss was doing.

Fu Ji Chen carefully attached the string of access cards to the keychain.