Chapter 345: My Path in Art Has Always Been Abstract
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

When Qi Chenglin came in earlier, the first thing he told Qi Chengyue was that he had ordered the design department to add another position. He wanted Qi Chengyue to call Ruan Danchen and inform the latter of the vacancy.

In retrospect, Qi Chengyue realized that her elder brother understood his future wife rather well. He knew that Ruan Danchen did not like to rely on him when it came to work, so he used Qi Chengyue as his mouthpiece to relay the news.

"No ifs," Qi Chenglin said confidently and stood up. "I"m going now. Do your work properly. Don"t secretly play games on your computer all day."

"…" Ruan Danchen looked at the game that she had opened in her computer. She wondered how he knew when the sound was silenced and the screen was out of Qi Chenglin"s view.

Ruan Danchen had a tough time finding a suitable job opening online and shut her laptop after having decided not to continue searching. A call then came.

She picked her phone up and the caller ID was Director Zhao.

Her pleasant mood soured immediately.

Ruan Danchen pursed her lips and took a deep breath before picking it up. She greeted frigidly, "Director Zhao."

"Hehe, Xiao Ruan, you knew it was me?" Director Zhao chuckled and asked.

His fake laugh caused gooseb.u.mps to form all over her entire body.

"The caller ID says it"s you," Ruan Danchen replied frankly. "Is there something you need from me?"

"Hehe, Xiao Ruan, where are you right now?" Director Zhao asked.

"At home." Though her voice may sound cold, she was actually feeling rather warm in her heart when saying those two words.

In all her twenty-six years of life, it was the first time she felt like she actually belonged somewhere, and for the first time ever, she experienced what it meant to be at home.

"Ahh, that"s perfect! You haven"t left anywhere yet! I called just in time," Director Zhao said.

Ruan Danchen c.o.c.ked her brow and wondered what the h.e.l.l was Director Zhao babbling about.

"Director Zhao, what is it you want to say?" she asked, with her brow still c.o.c.ked.

"Hehe, Xiao Ruan, I know you"ve been working for a good half-year without taking a break. I apologize that I have to call you back when you"re having your hard-earned break."

"Director Zhao, what are you trying to tell me? Can you please get to the point?" Ruan Danchen took a deep breath and spat out.

Director Zhao"s lips were twitching. Ruan Danchen was being nothing short of rude, but he was too afraid to get angry.

The same thing that happened with Song Yu in the past was now happening with Ruan Danchen. "Why am I the depressed one when I"m supposed to be the boss!"

"Xiao Ruan, it"s like this. Do you still remember when General Manager Qi came looking for you the other day?" Director Zhao asked.

She c.o.c.ked a brow and was surprised that Qi Chenglin was the subject matter of what Director Zhao wanted to talk about.

"Mm, I do. I also remember Yang Yunshu accusing me of seducing General Manager Qi. Does she really think that I go around seducing everybody?"

"Xiao Ruan, don"t take it to heart. It"s just that she talks too much." Director Zhao glared at Yang Yunshu. He was extremely unhappy.

"Why does this woman bring so much trouble!

"Last time it was Song Yu, now it"s Ruan Danchen."

Director Zhao, however, forgot that his cell phone leaked sound quite readily. Yang Yunshu just so happened to be near him and was therefore able to hear their phone call with crystal clear clarity. She was left fuming after listening to the conversation.

"Oh, is that so? I remember you trusting everything she said, Director Zhao. I wouldn"t be on holiday now if it weren"t because of that," Ruan Danchen aimed a sarcastic jibe at him.

Director Zhao explained hastily, "Xiao Ruan, listen to me. When you left, I quickly began an investigation. I"m so sorry to have misunderstood you. I apologize for that."

"Director Zhao, why are you being so nice all of a sudden?" Ruan Danchen continued the sarcasm.

"It"s not just me being nice. I"m being genuine here," Director Zhao said immediately. "Xiao Ruan, you should come back as soon as you can. General Manager Qi is very satisfied with your design. All that"s left is for you to come back and sign the papers."

"Design? What design?"

Ruan Danchen felt it odd, but after some thought, she finally realized that Qi Chenglin found an excuse to head to Chengs.h.i.+ and took revenge on behalf of her.

She could not help but break into a smile. There was an indescribable feeling of sweetness in her heart. It was the first time in her life that she felt the feeling of having someone to rely on. Come rain or s.h.i.+ne, someone would always be there to s.h.i.+eld and protect her. At the first sign of injustice, the person she relied on would immediately avenge her.

All Ruan Danchen wanted to do was hang up and call Qi Chenglin.

"Director Zhao, I"m planning to resign. I don"t want the project anymore," Ruan Danchen replied curtly.

Director Zhao was stunned silly. Dazed, he stood there for some time before beginning his sentence incoherently, "No… This… Xiao… Xiao Ruan, everything"s all… It"s all been good, why do you want to resign all of a sudden? If it really is because of the misunderstanding, I"ll apologize to you and I"ll tell Xiao Yang to do the same. You did a good job here at Chengs.h.i.+, and it won"t be easy if you go out in search of another job. Even if you can find a new job, you"ll have to start from scratch. Wouldn"t it be better if you stay put rather than putting yourself out there again? Besides, the MU incident has definitely impacted you. This may sound harsh, but other companies might not necessarily want someone like you for the same position.

"And Xiao Ruan, Qilin"s project is a big one, and if you manage to complete it, you have nothing else to worry for the rest of the year. It"ll be such a pity for you leave and give up on this. You might not even get the same kind of opportunity elsewhere," Director Zhao advised. Chengs.h.i.+"s year would end on a high if the project was a success.

"Director Zhao, I don"t want the project and I don"t want to be in the same company with Yang Yunshu. I said it before, I"ll resign if my name is cleared, so since you said it yourself that it"s a misunderstanding, I can resign without worrying," Ruan Danchen said.

The outcome was vastly different from what Director Zhao had in mind. He pleaded, "Xiao Ruan, I know you"re angry. How about you come back and I"ll let Yang Yunshu apologize to you in front of everyone? I"ll call a meeting and have her do it there. How about that?"

Yang Yunshu opened her eyes wide. She could not possibly apologize in front of everyone!

She was so preoccupied with being shocked that she did not notice Jiang Yuan smiling.

Ruan Danchen smiled icily. She had already made the decision to resign anyway, so she did not bother being courteous and simply said, "I don"t just want her to apologize to me. I want her to resign after apologizing. If you want me in the company, then she has to go. Simple as that."

"Xiao Ruan, you"re putting me in a difficult spot." Director Zhao"s reluctance stemmed not from how much he treasured Yang Yunshu as an employee, but from the mere fact that he could not possibly set such a precedent.

How then, if any employee gets a similarly big contract in the future and hangs it over the boss" head just to override any decisions made by human resources?

Ruan Danchen twitched her lip. "Director Zhao, those are my conditions. If you can"t do it, I won"t insist on it. You can think about it. I"m appreciating the holiday actually. It"s a really good time for me to rest and be with my family."

She hung up immediately after finis.h.i.+ng her words.

Director Zhao placed his phone down sullenly and smiled bitterly at Jiang Yuan. "Mr. Jiang, it"s rare for her to take a break, so she doesn"t want to come back yet."

"…" Manager Xu rolled his eyes surrept.i.tiously. The sound leakage from Director Zhao"s phone was so bad that everyone could hear their conversation so clearly, but the man still wanted to put on a façade.

Jiang Yuan smiled. "There"s some difficulty, it seems. I"ll be off then."

"Mr. Jiang, can you give me a few days" time? I"ll try to advise her," Director Zhao requested.

Jiang Yuan thought for a moment and said, "Negotiating the details with other companies will take a bit of time. I can only give you about another week"s time."

"Okay, okay!" Director Zhao was content with having one week and he nodded his head immediately.

He was confident that he could persuade Ruan Danchen to come around within that one week.

Barely minutes after returning to his office, Qi Chenglin received Ruan Danchen"s call.

When the three characters of her name were seen, Qi Chenglin smiled knowingly and picked up. "What is it?"

"You went to Chengs.h.i.+ and helped me vent my anger?" Ruan Danchen curled her lip ever so slightly. His magnetic voice alone made her feel so blessed.

"I told Jiang Yuan to go. It"ll be too obvious if I go." Qi Chenglin swiveled in his chair and faced the gla.s.s wall of his office. He looked down and observed the hustle and bustle on the street.

Ruan Danchen could not control herself from beaming with a huge smile. She wondered how the man could be so two-faced regardless of the time and place.

"Director Zhao apologized to me, but I"ve decided to resign. Even if you can look after me with all your projects, I don"t want Chengs.h.i.+ to reap the benefits."

"I support your decision," he said gently. He sounded as though he would say the same thing, even if Ruan Danchen had wanted Chengs.h.i.+ to be run to the ground.

Ruan Danchen smiled shyly and said meekly, "Thank you. I feel happy knowing that you helped me vent out my anger."

"That is why you must let me know if anything else happens in the future." Qi Chenglin smiled handsomely.

"Mm," Ruan Danchen answered softly. "I won"t keep you from your work."

After hanging up, Qi Chenglin stared at Ruan Danchen"s name for a moment. He tapped on the setting to edit her contact information and deleted the three characters of her name. He changed it to Softie [1].

In the afternoon, Qi Chengyue sent an email to Ruan Danchen regarding the contents of the written examination, the interviewer"s information, and the possible questions that would be asked during the interview.

Ruan Danchen began preparing immediately without delay.

Later that afternoon, Qi Chenglin brought Qi Youxuan home from school. Ruan Danchen packed up her things and went out of her room.

She stood at the entrance hall and saw Qi Youxuan standing in front of Qi Chenglin. The boy was the first to come in. He called out "Aunt Ruan" and ran into the kitchen to fetch himself a gla.s.s of cold water from the fridge. He filled up his big gla.s.s and gulped it down to quench his thirst.

It was then that Qi Chenglin stretched his long legs over and set his warm gaze onto Ruan Danchen"s face.

Ruan Danchen looked behind her to check that Qi Youxuan was not yet out. She then tiptoed and gave Qi Chenglin a quick peck on the lips.

Just as she was about to push him away, Qi Chenglin wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her to himself. He lowered his head and said, "That"s all? Where"s your sincerity?"

Then, he slammed his lips onto hers and kissed her pa.s.sionately.

Ruan Danchen"s lips nearly went numb because of his kiss, and the constant a.s.sailing on her lips made her unable to breathe. That was when Qi Chenglin let go of her, just moments before Qi Youxuan ran out, having quenched his thirst.

"Dad, Aunt Ruan, why are you both being such slowpokes at the door. It"s time to eat," Qi Youxuan shouted from the living room.

His eyes were filled with immense happiness after seeing her beautifully-pinkish face.

He held her hand and led her to the living room. Qi Youxuan"s tubby and fair-skinned hands were still holding the cup. He looked at the two adults suspiciously, s.h.i.+fting his eyes between the two of them a couple of times. Then, he shook his head—perhaps because he found the two of them so ineffable—and went to the dining hall.

Aunt Zheng joined them for the meal. Qi Chenglin asked Ruan Danchen, "What"s your plan after resigning?"

"I"ll find the same job. This is the only thing I know. I"m planning to apply for a position at one of the companies in the next few days," she said.

Qilin was the company that she was going to apply to, just that she kept it from him.

Qi Chenglin looked at her, causing her to feel guilty. She had a nagging feeling that he knew something and that her efforts to conceal it from him were futile.

"I"ll be busy preparing for the interview these few days. It"s a written exam and an interview," Ruan Danchen said. "I hope I can make it."

After the meal, Qi Youxuan ran into his room and brought out a bag of stuff. He searched high and low in the living room, but Qi Chenglin was the only person present there. The man was swiping on his iPad.

"Dad, where"s Aunt Ruan?" Qi Youxuan went over and asked.

"She"s preparing for her job application in her room." Qi Chenglin s.h.i.+fted his attention away from his iPad and onto his son. "What do you need to do?"

"The teacher gave us an a.s.signment to do some arts and crafts. We were given materials and we"re allowed to use them to our creativity to do whatever we want." Qi Youxuan carried the bag and climbed up onto the sofa, taking his seat beside Qi Chenglin.

He dumped out the contents of the bag and noticed that there were a few colored-cloths, a wad of cotton, and thread.

"Teacher says we need to pa.s.s it up tomorrow." Qi Youxuan looked earnestly at Qi Chenglin. He looked at his father with his dark pupils and big, dewy eyes.

Qi Chenglin had a rather nasty thought when he likened his son"s gaze to that of a little puppy begging for food.

Unable to withstand his son"s fervent stare, Qi Chenglin reached out with his long fingers and pinched an orange-yellow cloth. He scrutinized it carefully. After a long while, he finally said, "Get a pair of scissors from Aunt Zheng."

"Are you helping me do it, Dad?" Qi Youxuan"s monochromatic eyes glimmered and his face was full of glee.

Qi Chenglin was getting uneasy because of the boy"s stares. The man"s expression became stiff. During his younger days at school, he never did all those arts and crafts homework that the teacher gave.

"Don"t dilly dally. Go," Qi Chenglin said and glanced at him.

Qi Youxuan climbed down the sofa immediately and moved those two little legs as fast as he could. He disappeared into the kitchen and reappeared sometime later, with a huge pair of scissors. He gave it to Qi Chenglin and said, "Dad, here."

Qi Chenglin held the scissors in one hand and the yellow cloth in the other. He began cutting the cloth into a weird shape. Qi Youxuan had no idea what it was, but he dared not ask either.

His father had a stern expression, frowning even. Though Qi Chenglin"s fingers were slender, he gripped the needle in a very awkward manner. He looked helpless while holding all those things.

"Dad, are you okay?" Qi Youxuan asked eventually.

Half an hour pa.s.sed, but there was still no inkling of what Qi Chenglin was going to do. All that changed in that half hour was the addition of another weirdly-shaped cloth. The edges of both cloths were st.i.tched together.

Qi Chenglin pursed his lips and became annoyed due to his inability to get it done. He placed both cloths on his thighs and said, "How about you give it a go?"

"Dad, didn"t you teach me to finish something that has been started? I think it"s best that you do it." Qi Youxuan held up the cloth and gave it back to Qi Chenglin.

"Isn"t this supposed to be your homework? By right, you should be the one finis.h.i.+ng it by yourself," Qi Chenglin c.o.c.ked his brow and said plainly.

"Dad, I"m still young. It"s too dangerous to be playing with needles." Qi Youxuan shook his head.

Qi Chenglin snickered and twitched his lip. He then took all that stuff back up and began to st.i.tch them back again.

In the end, Ruan Danchen came down from upstairs and saw Qi Chenglin doing some sewing. With a manner so elegant and a dress sense so stylish, the sight of a needle and thread on his handsome fingers made for an extremely quirky scene.

"What are you doing?" Ruan Danchen walked over and asked curiously.

"Aunt Ruan, are you finished?" Qi Youxuan got down from the sofa and looked at Ruan Danchen as if she was his saving grace.

"Mm, I"m done for today. I"ll continue tomorrow." Ruan Danchen sat beside Qi Chenglin. She carried Qi Youxuan onto her lap in the most natural manner ever.

As she stared perplexedly at everything that Qi Chenglin was holding, Qi Youxuan began explaining. "My teacher told us to do some crafts. Dad"s making one for me."

Ruan Danchen became even more curious. She peered closer and was still unable to understand what Qi Chenglin was trying to do, so she asked, "What are you making?"

"…" Qi Chenglin looked at her in silence. It took him some time to begin speaking. "A duck."

Ruan Danchen was lost for words.

Qi Youxuan could not bear the sight of it and proceeded to look away in silence.

Ruan Danchen, however, did not have the heart to say anything about it. It was rare indeed that the man put so much heart into something and did those crafts together with Youxuan. As ugly as it was, he still did it with the utmost sincerity.

Nevertheless, his actions looked undeniably silly. He was a grown man, so it was a bit hard on him to let him do all that needlework.

Ruan Danchen took them from him and said, "Let me do it."

Qi Youxuan breathed a sigh of relief and went down from her lap.

Ruan Danchen"s movements were swift. Soon enough, she completed the sewing according to Qi Chenglin"s outline and stuffed the cotton into it.

"There." Ruan Danchen gave it to Qi Chenglin.

"…" Qi Youxuan took it from her, and even though she played a part to complete the article, the duck shape was still lacking.

"Dad, what did you say it was again?" Qi Youxuan held the "duck" and looked teasingly at Qi Chenglin.

"…" Qi Chenglin looked at it for quite some time before lifting his hand and reached for the teacup on the coffee table. He took a sip and asked, "Have you finished all your homework?"

"We had a period for individual study, so I finished them all already!" Qi Youxuan said happily.

Qi Chenglin was speechless.

The topic, however, had been successfully dodged by Qi Chenglin, and thus Qi Youxuan did not ask that question again.

The next day in cla.s.s, the teacher came to collect all their finished articles. Everyone"s creation would be hung on the wall behind their cla.s.sroom and displayed to the parents during parents" visitation day.

The teacher went to Qi Youxuan"s seat and looked at the yellow thingamabob on his desk. She stared at it for some time but could not decide what it was exactly.

All the teacher could do was pick it up, turn it around, but was still clueless as to what it was.

"Qi Youxuan, what did you make?" the teacher asked.

Qi Youxuan stood up politely and looked at the teacher with his big eyes. With an expression bursting with sincerity, he said, "This is the yolk that comes out from a sunny-side-up egg."

The teacher simply kept quiet.

Qi Youxuan lifted his head and said with conviction, "Teacher, my path in art has always been abstract."

The teacher could only muster a gentle laugh before bringing Qi Youxuan"s "egg yolk" away.

Qi Youxuan submitted his homework at about ten-thirty in the morning. At the same time, Grandmother Qi and Guan Liya made their way to Chengs.h.i.+.