Chapter 47.2: I Miss You So Much
She remembered something Ren Yan
had said to her: he said it's harder for women than men to gain equal respect
in the workplace.
She now understood this difficulty.
This difficulty stemming from the inherent gender discrimination inherited from
the dregs of feudal ideology.
—What's wrong with teasing you?
It's because I respect you.
—What's wrong with touching you?
Who told you to dress so seductively? Wasn't it you who invited me?
It's so unfair. No matter what a
woman does, she's guilty. After all, she's a woman.
"Stay away from Qiao Zhixin
from now on," Cheng Xiaodong told Chu Qianmiao.
Chu Qianmiao said, "If he
dares to be shameless again, I'll help him get rid of his shame."
Then she smiled and thanked Cheng
Xiaodong, "Sister Xiaodong, thank you for what happened just now. You were
so tough, even letting him come after you."
Cheng Xiaodong smiled and said,
"I only dared to be tough because I knew Qiao Zhixin had no intentions
towards a tomboy like me." She looked Chu Qianmiao up and down, clicking
her tongue twice. "If I were a delicate, fair, quiet, sweet girl like you,
Qiao Zhixin would be the obvious choice, and he'd want to devour her. I
wouldn't dare to be tough either, for fear he'd actually do something to
me!"
She laughed, and Chu Qianmiao
joined in. She smiled, not forgetting to offer compliments: "Sister
Xiaodong, you're cool, not a tomboy. You have a unique charm that we, the
common folk, can't match!"
Cheng Xiaodong was delighted by her
compliments. She and Chu Qianmiao pulled out the jammed paper and let the
printer continue printing.
"That's right, Sister
Xiaodong, you don't look well. Lawyer Zhang said you're sick. Are you too tired
lately?" Chu Qianmiao said, noticing Cheng Xiaodong's pale complexion. She
had just noticed that Cheng Xiaodong was still wearing a long-sleeved shirt in
the middle of summer.
"Don't mention it!" Cheng
Xiaodong complained. "Working on this project is so f*cking exhausting!
You're almost working on two projects, right? I'm still working on this one.
It's killing me!"
After complaining, she squeezed Chu
Qianmiao's shoulder firmly. "Qianmiao, thank you for coming over to help
me these past two days. Otherwise, I really couldn't handle it!"
Chu Qianmiao quickly agreed. Over
the next few days, she helped Cheng Xiaodong secure most of the information she
needed for her project.
On the fourth day, she received a
call from Qin Qianyu. Qin Qianyu first asked her, "Qianmiao, President Ren
asked me to ask why he hasn't seen you these past few days?"
Chu Qianmiao was stunned. Zhang
Teng had said he'd already informed Ren Yan, and Ren Yan probably knew she'd be
back at the law firm for two days.
She replied to Qin Qianyu,
"Something's going on at our firm, and I'm back to help out. I think
Attorney Zhang has already informed Mr. Ren, right?"
Qin Qianyu said, "Then
Attorney Zhang must have only spoken to Mr. Ren for one day, right? Because
from the second day on, Mr. Ren came to Jialeyuan every day, wanting to have a
meeting with everyone, but you were gone every day."
Chu Qianmiao: "..."
This made her misunderstand, as if
he'd been waiting for her for days.
Qin Qianyu finally asked Chu
Qianmiao, "Are you guys done with your work at the law firm?"
Chu Qianmiao said,
"Almost."
Qin Qianyu told her to get ready.
The intermediaries had planned to hold a coordination meeting on Friday. The
main topic of the meeting would be preparing to apply to the China Securities
Regulatory Commission for guidance and acceptance.
"Mr. Ren will also call Lawyer
Zhang later to inform him about this. I'll be in charge of notifying
Xiaobing." After a pause, Qin Qianyu's voice on the line softened as he
asked Chu Qianmiao, "Qianmiao, my boss seems to be in a bad mood these
past few days, which has us all worried. You're familiar with him, do you know
anything?"
Chu Qianmiao was stunned again.
Could it be that his ex-girlfriend
has returned, and they've been caught up in a love-hate relationship, and they
can't figure it out?
She shook her head, but realized he
couldn't see it, so she said, "Brother Qin, you're just teasing me. Mr.
Ren and I are nowhere near as familiar as you are. We've only known each other
for a short time!"
Qin Qianyu coughed twice. Chu
Qianmiao figured he'd been gossiping in the hallway earlier, and now he must be
surrounded by someone else. He coughed twice, sanctimoniously, as a signal.
"Well, Qianmiao, could you
come over this afternoon? Let's go over the content for Friday's meeting in
advance?" Qin Qianyu's voice was almost too serious.
Chu Qianmiao thought the man
walking past him must be named Ren.
She said, "Okay," and
after lunch, she'd take the subway to Jialeyuan, then hung up.
As Chu Qianmiao emerged from the
subway, a wave of heat enveloped her. She walked towards Jialeyuan in the
sweltering summer heat. The midday sun felt toxic, baking her for no apparent
reason. Before entering Jialeyuan, Chu Qianmiao stopped by a cafe to buy an
iced latte. Then, she decided it wouldn't be a good idea to buy just her own,
so she also bought the coffee for Qin Qianyu, the other four soldiers, and Ren
Yan, the boss.
When she entered the room with her
coffee, she was warmly greeted by Qin Qianyu and the other three. Ren Yan sat
at his desk, his head and eyes fixed on her arrival.
After the other four had
distributed their coffee, Chu Qianmiao signaled to Qin Qianyu to bring a cup to
Ren Yan as well. Qin Qianyu shook his head and whispered, "I don't
dare!"
He added, "I don't know what's
been wrong with him these past few days. He's been lashing out at us the moment
we get over there!"
Chu Qianmiao nudged him, urging him
to try.
Qin Qianyu had no choice but to
force the issue. He walked over to Ren Yan's desk with an iced latte and said
like a little boy, "Boss, some coffee!"
Ren Yan didn't even tilt his head:
"Here."
Qin Qianyu: "Okay! Okay!"
He obediently brought the coffee
back.
After returning, he shrugged at Chu
Qianmiao and mouthed, "See! You're making me give myself up!"
He shoved the coffee into Chu
Qianmiao's hand: "You, go! It's your turn! I can't be the only one to take
the flak!"
Chu Qianmiao carried the coffee
over with a nonchalant expression.
She asked, "Senior, would you
like some coffee?"
After a second, she assumed he
didn't want any, then turned to Qin Qianyu and asked, "Hey, Brother Qin,
where's Shao Yuan?"
Qin Qianyu: "His internship is
over, so he's not coming."
Chu Qianmiao said, "Oh."
Turning back, she found Ren Yan
looking sideways at her, his lips curled up in a rather displeased, half-smile.
Then he said, "What? If Shao
Yuan were still here, this cup of coffee wouldn't be mine?"
Chu Qianmiao chuckled, "If he
were, I'd go downstairs and buy another!" After a pause, she asked,
"Senior, would you like this coffee?"
Ren Yan lowered his gaze, returning
to the document on his computer. But his hand reached forward.
Chu Qianmiao handed the coffee
over, pressing it into his hands.
—Haha. If you give coffee to
someone who wants it or not, you should be willing to give it to them. You
should let them know. After all, there are others who will. Knowing someone
else wanted it, she followed suit. This is called, human nature is base.
Qin Qianyu and the others watched
this routine in amazement.
He, Sun Yi, and the other four had
created a group with Chu Qianmiao on the night of Ren Yan's birthday.
Qin Qianyu found the group and
posted: "Qianmiao, you're awesome! I don't respect anyone, I wouldn't even
lean against the wall when I'm drunk, but I respect you!"
Sun Yi said: "Qianmiao, you
don't know, these past few days I've...
None of us could ever get past the
volatile Mr. Ren, and you've already smoothed him over!
Lu Zhonger sent: Qianmiao, why
don't you switch to our company? You're a lucky star who can keep us safe and
happy!
Wang Sian followed suit: Qianmiao,
I'll send you the email address of our HR department.
And then he actually sent one.
Chu Qianmiao: Hey guys, take a look
at how many people are in this group.
Qin Qianyu and the others counted
the people and, stunned by Ren Yan, quickly retracted the message.
Ren Yan, on the other side, tapped
his fingers on the table and said coldly: "Meeting."
Everyone was terrified, afraid he'd
catch them making a mistake and start a tirade. Strangely enough, Ren Yan
seemed in such a good mood all afternoon. He didn't even throw away the empty
plastic iced coffee cup until after get off work that evening.
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