Chapter 364: The Director Was Fully Aware That Mrs. Qi"s Words Were The Law Here
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"You"re an a.s.sistant designer, so this is your job. Why are you here if you don"t need to do all these? Just go home," quipped Zhang Jitong before walking away.

He was Manager Zou"s confidant, and Manager Zou texted him stealthily just now to let him treat Yao Jingfei as harshly as he could.

Zhang Jitong was curious at Manager Zou"s instructions. Yao Jingfei was the precious daughter of Board Member Yao, but who did she offend to be able to let Manager Zou punish her without restrictions?

In the end, Yao Jingfei failed to complete all her work until lunch hour. She tidied her doc.u.ments and planned to complain to Yao Qingzhi.

Zhang Jitong called out to her just as she was about to stand up and leave. "What are you doing?"

"Lunch," Yao Jingfei replied harshly.

"Have you completed all the work that I a.s.signed to you just now? I made an appointment with a client at two o"clock in the afternoon so I need them later. Are you sure you can finish them before two o"clock?" Zhang Jitong questioned her.

Yao Jingfei was about to retort when Manager Zou came out coincidentally. It appeared as if he had predicted what was about to happen. He pretended like he just noticed the commotion and asked, "What happened again this time?"

Zhang Jitong then explained everything from the beginning. This time, Manager Zou advised her patiently unlike his stern and flat tone this morning. "Xiao Yao, why was your temper so bad when you just started your work here? All the fresh graduates who started their work here took every matter cautiously and seriously, and they"d get worried if their work got lesser as compared to others. Almost everyone here worked seven days a week and worked overtime every day. Why is it different when it comes to you? This is your job; who should do it if you don"t? Your actions not only made us feel uneasy, but you embarra.s.sed Board Member Yao himself too. Do you realize what kind of impact it brings when rumors about Board Member Yao"s precious daughter showing off her ident.i.ty—acting like a tyrant, demanding salary without working—went flying thick in this company? Board Member Yao won"t be able to protect you if this sort of rumor traveled to the Qi family"s duo. Let"s be honest here; do you want to continue working in Qilin?"

Yao Jingfei had no choice but to stay in the office, gritting her teeth in exasperation while she continued her work.

She took a peek at Ruan Danchen who was tidying up her doc.u.ments and said suddenly, "Ruan Danchen, since we"re both new here, it"s illogical that I"m busy as a beaver here while you"re just sitting here at your leisure. Since Manager Zou mentioned that newcomers should be busier than the rest, so come and help me with my work! I noticed that you were free this whole morning without much work to do."

Ruan Danchen still needed to have lunch with Qi Chenglin later. He most likely would come down and looked for her personally if she was late, and it would be disastrous when that happened.

However, she really had nothing much to do this morning so it was unwise to reject Yao Jingfei.

Ruan Danchen was scrupulous in separating official and private matters, and she did not mind the extra work even though she disliked Yao Jingfei.

Manager Zou replied before Ruan Danchen could say anything, "What"s the matter with you, Xiao Yao? Do you realize your current job position? Danchen is a designer and you"re an a.s.sistant designer, which means you"re her a.s.sistant. Do you think it"s logical for a designer to a.s.sist an a.s.sistant? This isn"t her job so she doesn"t need to help you at all. You"ll finish your own work independently. Let this be the first and final time I saw this, or else I"ll issue a warning letter next time."

Yao Jingfei was recalcitrant towards Manager Zou as she felt he was taking side with Ruan Danchen openly. Why was he so kind towards Ruan Danchen?

Suddenly, the staff who had not left the office faced the office entrance and greeted. "Mrs. Qi."

Ruan Danchen turned towards the sound and saw Song Yu standing at the doorstep with a gravid abdomen. Her gaze was soft and gentle as she smiled and greeted the staff.

"Danchen, I heard you came here for work so I came to visit," Song Yu walked towards Ruan Danchen and said.

Manager Zou suddenly recalled that General Manager Qi"s wife and Mrs. Qi were best friends and they had worked together in the same company before!

Manager Zou quickly put a smile on his face and greeted, "Madam."

"Manager Zou." Song Yu smiled.

Manager Zou felt Mrs. Qi"s gaze radiated approval when their eyes met. Did she overhear his reprimand on Yao Jingfei?

Only then did the staff realized. It was no wonder Manager Zou chose to stand on Ruan Danchen"s side and acted all too kind to her. It was all because Ruan Danchen had ma.s.sive support from Mrs. Qi.

Mrs. Qi"s ident.i.ty and background had more influence than Board Member Yao.

Mrs. Qi"s words had the ultimate authority as the director would always listen to her, disregarding if it was justified or not. The director was fully aware that Mrs. Qi"s words were the law here. It was undeniable that Mrs. Qi brought a greater impact that the director himself.

If Ruan Danchen was bullied and complained to Mrs. Qi who would then complain to the director himself, the outcome would be disastrous.

Looking back at Song Yu who purposely came to the design department with a gravid abdomen just to visit Ruan Danchen, one would believe that they shared a close bond.

Fortunately, the staff was kind towards Ruan Danchen and they could not help but wipe the sweat off in relief.

Yao Jingfei thought Ruan Danchen had her back supported by Song Yu too and wondered contemptuously. Did Manager Zou not mentioned that he would treat everyone equally without considering their backgrounds?

Ruan Danchen raised her eyebrows curiously at Song Yu stealthily. Did Qi Chenglin send Song Yu to fetch her?

Song Yu put on a diffident smile and asked, "Why haven"t you left when it"s lunch hour now?"

"I"m leaving now," Ruan Danchen replied and left the office with Song Yu under the public"s gazes.

Naturally, Song Yu brought Ruan Danchen straight to the private elevator, and due to the fact that it was lunch hour now, many staff noticed the duo while they were on their way towards the elevator.

Ruan Danchen raised her eyebrows and questioned Song Yu after they entered the private elevator. "Did Chenglin ask you to come?"

"Haha!" Song Yu did not deny but grinned in response to her question. She then said, "He was worried that it"d raise others" suspicions when they saw you going to the top floor alone. It"ll be perfectly justified if I bring you up myself."

"Still trying to cover this up?" Ruan Danchen was unsure how to respond then. "Does that mean you"ll have to keep on finding me every single day? It must be him who thinks that he can"t help me himself when I"m bullied so he brings you to me."

Ruan Danchen was getting more familiarized with Qi Chenglin"s train of thoughts by now.

Qi Chenglin promised her to stay low profile, but there was no mention of him not able to ask others to help her.

Song Yu"s face was filled with expressions as she grinned. "Both of you look like husband and wife now. You"re very familiar with his thoughts right now!"

Ruan Danchen stared at Song Yu and joked, "Why do I feel like our positions have changed? I was teasing you before this, and now you"re taking revenge on me?"

"That"s really the case now," admitted Song Yu with a nod.

Ruan Danchen smiled and s.h.i.+fted her gaze to Song Yu"s gravid abdomen before putting her hand on it. "How are you feeling right now? Are you nervous since it"s close to the expected date of delivery?

"Oh G.o.d, I"m really nervous about it. I couldn"t refrain myself from worrying about it whenever the due date is getting closer. The more I think about it, the more anxious I get, and every single time I"ll get out of breath from overthinking."

Ruan Danchen understood Song Yu"s concern since she had experienced it once when she gave birth to Youxuan. Then, she said, "How should I put this; my situation was a little different than yours. I gave birth prematurely in the eighth month of pregnancy, and that was more than a month from the expected date of delivery so I didn"t worry as much on this matter. I"d occasionally feel worried as I feared I couldn"t withstand the excruciating pain from the delivery. I was totally unprepared when my baby was going to be delivered prematurely, and I was terrified that my baby may not make it at that time. I didn"t go through the pain from v.a.g.i.n.al delivery since I underwent a lower segment Caesarean section at that time, but the fear and worry remained for the wellbeing of my baby. I a.s.sume it"s the same feeling that you"re experiencing right now, so don"t you worry. When the time comes and you"re lying in the delivery room, you"ll feel extremely brave and all the negative thinking will cease. You"ll want to give birth to a healthy child with all your attention. You"ll even ignore the pain while doing so."

Ruan Danchen was unsure whether her speech had any effect on Song Yu"s mindset. Song Yu caressed her abdomen, then she suddenly recalled something and said, "Come to my house this Sunday, Dongge and Chengyue will be there too."

Ruan Danchen agreed without question.

The elevator reached the twenty-fifth floor.

They saw Qi Chengzhi and Qi Chenglin standing side by side like two threshold guardians when the elevator doors opened.

Qi Chengzhi"s initial stony flat expression softened immediately upon seeing Song Yu, and he then offered his hand to her.

Song Yu fixed her gaze on Qi Chengzhi"s face and let him helped her out of the elevator before turning towards Qi Chenglin and smiled. "I brought you your woman."

Ruan Danchen was embarra.s.sed and before she could protest, Qi Chenglin pulled her out of the elevator.

Staring at Qi Chenglin, Ruan Danchen felt that he was too high profile to ask Song Yu—who was also Mrs. Qi—to visit Ruan Danchen in the design department in person. However, she did not mind it, since she could not change whatever decisions Qi Chenglin made.

Qi Chengzhi brought Song Yu back to his office. Even though he ordered food delivery from Dynasty just like Qi Chenglin did, he made no attempt to invite Qi Chenglin and Ruan Danchen for lunch together. It was obvious that he did not want Qi Chenglin and Ruan Danchen to interrupt their sweet moments together.

Ruan Danchen was not bothered about Qi Chengzhi"s att.i.tude. After all, he was born this way and shared almost the exact same personality with Qi Chenglin.

On the other hand, Qi Chenglin was exhilarated since he preferred not to have Qi Chengzhi and Song Yu to be the third and fourth wheels. He was not paying attention to his work this whole morning as the thought of him flirting with his subordinate during lunch hour induced excitement in him and he was unable to calm down afterward.

Ruan Danchen was unaware of Qi Chenglin"s indecent thoughts. She just felt peaceful when she stared at his calm and steady expression from the side, feeling his hand wrapping around hers firmly.

Ruan Danchen was pulled by Qi Chenglin into his office after bidding goodbye to Qi Chengzhi and Song Yu.

She came to his office last time when she was having an interview in Qilin, but today, she experienced it differently from the first time she came here.

She was his girlfriend and subordinate now. It was an indescribable feeling.

The food delivery from Dynasty was placed on the coffee table. The food remained warm and when Ruan Danchen was about to take out of food from the container, Qi Chenglin stopped her.

"The food is still hot, let me do it," Qi Chenglin said, reaching out to those food containers and opened them with his long and elegant fingers.

Ruan Danchen stood aside and watched. Her heart would have wrenched if his elegant hand was burned instead of hers.

She leaned forward slightly and supported her cheek, staring at Qi Chenglin"s actions as she spoke suddenly, "All those that are above Manager level in Qilin knew my ident.i.ty now, right?"

Qi Chenglin remained silent. His hands were nimble as he placed the food containers right in front of Ruan Danchen, and was considerate enough to pa.s.s the bowl and chopsticks to her too.

Ruan Danchen fought the urge to laugh upon seeing him pretending to remain calm. "There"s no need to dissimulate, I"m not blaming you. It"s alright to speak the truth, no need to create lies on purpose for this sort of issues. I know you wanted them to take care of me in fear that I"ll receive unjust treatment in the office."

Then only Qi Chenglin turned his head towards her, making sure that she was not angry with him. He let out a sigh of relief after knowing she was not mad at him at all. "I"m worried after what had happened in Chengs.h.i.+."

Qi Chenglin felt that it would be an irresponsible act and incompetency towards Ruan Danchen if he did not take any precautions for matters that could potentially happen. It would reflect on how mentally r.e.t.a.r.ded he was.

His intellect was intact, and most importantly, he insisted on being a qualified boyfriend to her.

Ruan Danchen used a pair of chopsticks to pick up a piece of sweet and sour pork strip, which was Qi Chenglin"s favorite dish, and fed him with it.

He was unsure was it because the sweet and sour pork strip was fed by Ruan Danchen, but it tasted extremely delicious which surpa.s.sed Dynasty"s usual standard. Its sweetness and sour taste were palatable; crispy and crunchy on the outside but tender and juicy on the inside.

"I was treated well in the company today. Manager Luo, Manager He from the human resources department, and Manager Zou from the design department were nice to me, but their kindness embarra.s.sed me," Ruan Danchen said and smiled when Qi Chenglin picked up a piece of pan-fried cod fish and fed her.

Qi Chenglin was greatly satisfied after he heard what Ruan Danchen said.

Then, he asked again, "I knew Yao Jingfei was working in the same office too. Did she cause any trouble for you?"

"Not really. She"s quite ill-mannered but Manager Zou managed to sort it out whenever she attempted to cause trouble. Manager Zou took the lead and instructed the staff to give quite a number of their ch.o.r.es to her, so I guess now she"s still working overtime in the design department," Ruan Danchen told him the truth, bypa.s.sing those details regarding what Yao Jingfei did. It was not necessary to blurt out those details as Qi Chenglin would punish Yao Jingfei and inevitably would start an argument with Yao Qingzhi in the end.

Ruan Danchen would tell him the truth because she thought Qi Chenglin would ask Manager Zou anyway. Since Manager Zou would tell him everything, there was no point in her trying to hide the truth.

Qi Chenglin appeared as if greatly satisfied by all these.

Ruan Danchen appeared tired after lunch and even yawned.

"Tired after working for the whole morning?" Qi Chenglin asked gently. If she said yes, then he would instruct Manager Zou to a.s.sign lesser work for her.

"No. To be honest, I didn"t have much work to do this morning, I merely scanned through the doc.u.ments to familiarize myself with the work in the design department. I think it"s because it"s been a long time since I last worked and I"ve been living my life too comfortably at home. Now I haven"t acclimated myself to the working environment yet." Ruan Danchen felt especially secure when she rested her head on Qi Chenglin"s shoulder.

"Why don"t you take a half day"s leave later and rest at home? I"ll instruct Xiao Yang to fetch you back later." Qi Chenglin lowered his head, feeling his heart wrenched when he gazed upon Ruan Danchen"s exhausted appearance while brus.h.i.+ng his soft, warm lips against her forehead.

"How can I take leave on the first day of work? I"m not tired too." Ruan Danchen broke into laughter.

"Then take a nap here for a while," Qi Chenglin said and forced Ruan Danchen to lie down on the couch. He then took a blanket and a pillow out of the cabinet and covered her with it.

The blanket and pillow were newly purchased for Ruan Danchen to use in his office at every lunch hour.

Then, Qi Chenglin picked up the leftover containers and threw them away to prevent the smell from lingering in the office and induced discomfort in Ruan Danchen.

The secretary"s room was empty now that everyone went out for lunch.

Qi Chenglin threw the garbage out and when he came back, he saw Yao Qingzhi and Yao Jingfei standing on his office"s doorstep, waiting for him to return to the office.

Yao Qingzhi smiled and greeted when Qi Chenglin was almost at the doorstep. "General Manager Qi."

Qi Chenglin looked down on Yao Qingzhi and asked lightly, "Yes?"

"Haha… There are some issues that I want to discuss. Should we have the discussion in your office?" Yao Qingzhi suggested with a smile.

"My girlfriend is resting inside so now isn"t a good time. We can discuss any issues right here," Qi Chenglin replied with a flat tone.

Qi Chenglin said confidently as he thought he was not publicizing after recalling Ruan Danchen"s instructions.

Yao Qingzhi was frozen to the spot and glanced at the closed office door unconsciously.

Yao Jingfei was shocked too as she did not expect Qi Chenglin to have a girlfriend already.

Yao Qingzhi brought Yao Jingfei to meet with Qi Chenglin at an annual meeting in Qilin last time and she immediately had a crush on him at first sight. She felt Qi Chengzhi was too stern and old for her. Moreover, Qi Chengzhi was married now, which extinguished any thoughts she had on him.

Even though Qi Chenglin had a son before marriage, his market value had not decreased since then. There were still a lot of women who wanted to be his son"s stepmother.

Qi Chenglin"s calm and steady temperament and his occasional smile which brought a sense of gentleness were irresistible to others and they would be unable to s.h.i.+ft their gazes elsewhere.

It was an easy task to be acquainted with Qi Chenglin based on his father"s ident.i.ty. Yao Jingfei thought it was impossible for a fresh graduate, young lady like her to be incompatible with an old man with an illegitimate son like Qi Chenglin.

Her children would be the official direct descendant of Qi Chenglin once they were married. Qi Chenglin"s illegitimate son would not be able to get anything even if he was the oldest among the children.

It was unexpected that Qi Chenglin had a girlfriend now and even brought her to the company. Did he plan to reveal his girlfriend"s ident.i.ty and marriage since he was acting so high profile?

Yao Qingzhi"s expression appeared unnatural now since he was unable to hold on to that smile any longer.

However, Qi Chenglin put on the impatient look, signaling Yao Qingzhi to speak here or get lost. Yao Qingzhi had no choice but to voice out his intention. "General Manager Qi, I"m not sure if you remember but this is my daughter, Yao Jingfei. You met her at the annual meeting last year."

Qi Chenglin took a glance at Yao Jingfei and replied with a flat tone. "Don"t remember."

Yao Qingzhi and Yao Jingfei were stunned at his response, but Qi Chenglin remained impatient and frowned. "What is it?"

"It"s like this. I came to you before this and requested for a vacancy slot for Jingfei in the design department, right? In the end, she worked as an a.s.sistant designer despite the fact that she had graduated from a reputed university as a professional designing student. Is it a great talent gone to waste for her to a.s.sist designers? It"s beneficial for her to stand from the side and learn some experiences, but she even did ch.o.r.es like serving tea and drinks. I couldn"t help but feel like the design department is trying to overthrow newcomers," speculated Yao Qingzhi.

Qi Chenglin remained silent and just stared at Yao Qingzhi coldly.

Yao Qingzhi was unable to continue this conversation but Yao Jingfei gave his elbow a nudge stealthily.

Yao Qingzhi had no choice but to continue. "I heard that there"s a new designer who"s close to Mrs. Qi. Is it possible that Manager Zou was trying to please Mrs. Qi and show partiality for the new designer, disregarding the fact that who was in the wrong?"

Yao Qingzhi pouted when Qi Chenglin remained silent and said, "Jingfei likes to stay low profile and didn"t mind them at all, but I hope that Manager Zou won"t take matters any further."

Qi Chenglin raised his eyebrows and finally opened his mouth. "I knew what had happened, Manager Zou told me everything about it. I think he did a good job and didn"t show any favoritism on this matter. Let me make things clear since Miss Yao is here; Qilin prioritizes capability rather than personal background. Miss Yao kept mentioning about Board Member Yao in the design department and was fearful that others didn"t know regarding her ident.i.ty. Based on this fact alone, I think Manager Zou deserves a compliment and a.s.surance since he was undisturbed by a stronger authority."

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Extra Mini-Scene:

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Qi Chengzhi was too good-looking when he was born. One would believe when told that he was a girl.

Grandmother Qi stared at his grandson"s cute appearance and asked Xia Wenna, "He was given the name Chengzhi, how about his nickname?"

Xia Wenna hugged Qi Chengzhi and said, "Let me think. I think we should call him Chengcheng. Mom, what do you think about it?"

Grandmother Qi nodded. "It"s a good name."