Chapter 47.1: I Miss You So Much
Tan Shen didn't detect the
alcoholic fatigue lurking in Chu Qianmiao's raspy voice. Still immersed in the
excitement of returning home, he said excitedly, "Ah Miao, I don't know
why my longing for you has become overwhelming during this time before I
returned. It's simply uncontrollable. So, could you please help me calm down
tomorrow and treat me to a meal?"
Chu Qianmiao rubbed her temples
with her fingers. She was beginning to be possessed by Elder Tang again.
True, he'd only been refined for
three minutes before his usual nagging nature was revealed.
She was momentarily lost for words
when Tan Shen started nagging again: "If you don't want to treat me, I'll
treat you. Just show up, that's fine. It's a one-way ticket, so whoever buys it
doesn't matter."
Chu Qianmiao wanted to interrupt
him quickly, or he'd talk all night.
"Tomorrow's not possible. I'm
trying to catch up on the project lately, so I have to work overtime."
After a pause, she said, "Is the weekend okay?"
Tan Shen reluctantly said, "I
don't really want to say yes, but what can I do? I'm willing to pamper you. So,
the weekend will do!"
Chu Qianmiao: "..." He
simply said "yes," one word. Is that so difficult?! Why did he have
to keep nagging!
After sending Tan Shen away and
hanging up, she checked the time on her phone. It was almost eleven-thirty. No
wonder the sky outside was so dark.
Thirsty, she poured herself a glass
of water and stood by the window to drink.
Outside, the sky was bright with
stars and the moon, and unknown insects chirped in the lonely summer night.
After downing a glass of water,
gazing at the stars, the moon, and listening to the chirping of insects, she
suddenly felt that no worries could be solved by a few drinks and a good
night's sleep.
She stood by the window,
stretching. She was Chu Qianmiao, the Chu Qianmiao who couldn't bear to worry
for more than three days.
Her phone dinged twice. It was the
sound of incoming WeChat messages. She walked back to her bed, retrieved her
phone, and checked it.
It was Zhang Teng, a voice message,
telling her not to go to Jialeyuan for the next few days, but to return to the
law firm and help with the information on Cheng Xiaodong's project. He said
Zhou Shuqi was busy with graduation work and couldn't help much with the
project, and Cheng Xiaodong was already sick from exhaustion and needed help.
Chu Qianmiao immediately replied,
"Got it."
Putting her phone down, she
thought, God is kind to her. It's as if He knew she wouldn't want to face
someone who'd run off mid-meal tomorrow, so He gave her a plausible excuse to
avoid him.
But she thought she might be
overthinking it. Even if she still had to go to Jialeyuan tomorrow, Ren Yan
might not go. As the central figure in the entire project, he didn't need to be
constantly on-site.
But regardless, the possibility of
not seeing him increased from 50% to 100%, which was still beneficial to her
mental health.
The next day, Chu Qianmiao returned
to the law firm and helped organize the materials as Zhang Teng instructed.
There were a lot of materials to
print, and standing and bending over the printer repeatedly was a hassle with
her hair hanging down behind her. So, Chu Qianmiao followed Gu Miaoyu's
instructions and temporarily styled her hair into a bun.
Her casual style was actually
better than the one she'd painstakingly done after an hour.
She'd been busy with the Hanhai
Home Textiles IPO and the Jialeyuan project. She hadn't noticed it herself, but
her clothes and skirts told her she'd lost weight.
So, when she entered the printing
room and bent over to place paper in the printer, her back revealed a more
slender and charming figure than before, a kind of unknowingly ripe peach charm
and allure.
The hem of her white shirt was
pinched further into her tight skirt, making her waist appear thin and
flexible. The tight skirt hugged the curves of her hips, and the hem of her
skirt revealed her slender, straight calves. She wore half-heeled shoes, and
her ankles were beautifully delicate and translucent.
Chu Qianmiao was startled when she
stood up and turned around. Her partner, Qiao Zhixin, had appeared at some
point and had been staring at her from behind for a long time. The naked,
scrutinizing look in his eyes made her stomach churn.
She suppressed her discomfort and
called out, "Good morning, Qiao Lu."
Qiao Zhixin replied with a
"Good morning," his voice laced with a hint of flirtation. He raked
Chu Qianmiao up and down with a lecherous gaze. "Qianmiao, your hairstyle
is so beautiful! You're getting prettier!"
Chu Qianmiao wanted to leave the
printing room immediately, but the printer wasn't finished yet. She waited
expressionlessly.
She hoped her stern expression
would make Qiao Zhixin respect herself a little.
Qiao Zhixin leaned toward her and
said, "Come on, Qianmiao, show me how to print data from this USB
drive!" He sniffed hard, his voice becoming more charming. "Smells so
good! Qianmiao, what kind of perfume are you using?"
Chu Qianmiao cursed inwardly,
"Smells so good!" and dodged to the side. She pointed to a USB port on
the printer and said coldly, "Just plug the USB drive in."
Qiao Zhixin leaned in again,
grinning mischievously, and asked, "Just plug it in?" He pronounced
the word "plug in" in a particularly obscene way.
Chu Qianmiao couldn't stand it
anymore. She looked up at Qiao Zhixin and said, "Qiao Lu, you're a
partner. Have some respect." She stepped past Qiao Zhixin and tried to
escape the printing room.
But the sound of the printer
suddenly stopped.
There was a paper jam.
Chu Qianmiao sighed helplessly. At
that moment, she suddenly felt that perhaps going to Jialeyuan to face Ren Yan
would be better than this.
She walked back and bent over to
disassemble the printer, trying to free the jammed paper.
A warm breath approached, and a
hand grasped her waist.
"What's wrong, Qianmiao? Let
me see!" Qiao Zhixin approached, clumsily placing a hand on Chu Qianmiao's
waist.
Chu Qianmiao jumped back as if
struck by lightning, and shouted, "What are you doing?!"
Qiao Zhixin lowered his voice,
"What's wrong? Why are you reacting so strongly? I was just trying to fix
the printer, and you're so mad and ungrateful? Don't make such a fuss over
something that just happened to you, like someone's trying to do something to
you, okay?"
Chu Qianmiao sneered in anger.
She had thrown the towel into the
fight. Regardless of whether she'd keep her job after offending a partner, she
had decided to confront him and scold him!
"Qiao Zhixin, you—" But
before she could finish her words, her voice was drowned out by Cheng Xiaodong
entering the door.
"Qiao Lu, you're such a jerk!
Your old habit of 'helping' has struck again." Cheng Xiaodong walked in,
put her arm around Chu Qianmiao's shoulders, and raised her chin towards Qiao
Zhixin. "Qiao Lu, don't go after our Qianmiao. She's still a little girl.
If you have any ideas, come to me!"
Qiao Zhixin looked at Chu Qianmiao,
then back at her, and sneered, "Cheng Xiaodong, mind your own
business!"
With that, he turned and left.
Chu Qianmiao felt a little upset:
"I wanted to scold him, but now I can't get my words out!"
Cheng Xiaodong patted her shoulder
and soothed her: "Forget it. If you really start a fight with him, there
will be a lot of people watching. The only ones who will actually side with you
might be Zhang Lu and me. Zhang Lu will be in a difficult position then."
Chu Qianmiao felt like a huge lump
of earth was stuck in her throat, choking on it with a fishy smell.
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