Chapter 32: Still Full of Life After Making a Mistake
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Lu Qiuyi’s heart gave a sudden jolt, and an ominous feeling came over her. She hurried to clear the air first. “President He and I have nothing going on. We’re purely in a superior-subordinate relationship, so don’t get any wild ideas.”
Lin Xiaoyu and Li Xi spoke in unison, voicing the ridiculous guess that left Lu Qiuyi both amused and exasperated. “Could it be that President He fell asleep too and didn’t notice? Otherwise, Sister Qiuyi, you’d definitely have had your bonus docked again!”
The two patted their chests, wearing relieved expressions as though they had narrowly escaped disaster.
Lu Qiuyi: “…”
So that was it.
No wonder. She had been wondering how He Jingyue could possibly have undergone such a sudden transformation and become so humane.
It turned out he had fallen asleep too and simply hadn’t noticed!
What a false alarm.
Lu Qiuyi joined Lin Xiaoyu and Li Xi as they worked out how to build a “SmartSpeak” logo out of sand.
Though, at the moment, it looked more like an indescribable piece of abstract art.
Just as she was enjoying herself with sand wedged between her fingers, the phone in her pocket began vibrating at the most inconvenient moment.
She pulled it out and glanced at the screen. The name flashing there was: [Lord Yama].
Not again!
Lu Qiuyi let out a silent groan. Resigned to her fate, she swiped to answer, doing her best to keep her voice steady. “Hello, President He?”
He Jingyue’s voice came from the other end, impossible to read. “Where are you?”
“At the beach, with everyone…” Lu Qiuyi replied softly, sensing that something was wrong.
“Come over. Guesthouse, Room 301.” He Jingyue was as concise as ever.
“…”
Staring at the phone, which was already emitting a busy signal, Lu Qiuyi was so furious she wanted to throw it into the sea.
Her shoulders slumped. Turning to Lin Xiaoyu and the others, she said listlessly, “Um… President He is looking for me. It seems to be something important, so I’ll go over first.”
Lin Xiaoyu and Li Xi exchanged a glance. Their faces immediately lit up with an expression that said, We understand completely. They waved her off repeatedly. “Go, go, Sister Qiuyi. Important matters come first.”
Dragging her heavy feet and looking back every few steps, Lu Qiuyi left the lively beach, cursing He Jingyue a thousand times in her heart.
That skinflint! He wouldn’t even let people relax during a team-building trip!
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She had no idea that after she left, Lin Xiaoyu and Li Xi were watching her retreating figure and talking about her.
Cradling her face in her hands, Lin Xiaoyu wore a knowing, auntie-like smile. “I don’t know why, but after that scene in the car where she rested her head on his shoulder, I suddenly feel like President He and Sister Qiuyi are such a good match.”
Li Xi slapped his thigh. “I was just about to say the same thing. Before, whenever I saw President He giving Sister Qiuyi that cold look and scolding her, docking her bonus or making her write self-criticisms at the slightest provocation, I didn’t dare ship them at all. It seemed like a one-sided crush with him completely crushing her. But I’ve realized that I had the whole direction wrong!”
“What direction?” Lin Xiaoyu asked, her eyes shining.
“Tough love!” Li Xi declared, analyzing the situation with great conviction. “Think about it. It was precisely because of President He’s painstaking guidance that Sister Qiuyi was promoted ahead of schedule. And though President He complains about her verbally, he’s never actually done anything serious to her. Her promotion speed and special treatment are unprecedented in the company!”
“Exactly, exactly.” Lin Xiaoyu nodded vigorously, adding, “I also realized that in the entire president’s office—or even the whole He Corporation—Sister Qiuyi seems to be the only person who can make a mistake in front of President He and still carry on as lively as ever! She doesn’t seem all that afraid of him, either.”
“Right? Look, they’ve only been apart for this little while, and President He is already looking for her again. Clearly, he can’t stand to be away from Sister Qiuyi for even a moment! He just wants to be with her!” Li Xi grew more and more excited as he spoke.
“We’d better stop digging, stop digging. The more we uncover, the sweeter it gets. Our blood sugar is going to shoot through the roof!”
The two romance detectives became completely immersed in the pink bubbles they had woven for themselves, unable to pull away.
What they had no idea of was what Lu Qiuyi—whose every interaction they had insisted on interpreting as romantic—was facing at that very moment.
Inside the luxurious, brightly lit seaside suite, He Jingyue stood before the enormous floor-to-ceiling windows, tall and elegant, facing the azure sea with one hand casually tucked into his trouser pocket as he spoke on the phone.
Behind him, Lu Qiuyi looked as though she had suffered some great injustice. Holding a clothes hanger, she was taking the shirts and casual trousers from his suitcase one by one and hanging them in the wardrobe.
Honestly, he was old enough to have grown his own hands!
Did he have to make her do everything? Couldn’t he stand to see her idle for even a moment?
She complained furiously to herself as she hung up his clothes.
At last, she forcefully stuffed the final garment into the wardrobe and turned around to report, “President He, all your clothes are organized.”
“Mm.” He Jingyue had just finished his call. He slipped his phone back into his pocket and cast a casual glance at the wardrobe. “Let’s go have lunch.”
Lu Qiuyi: “…”
So she was his free maid and personal attendant now, was she?
The private beach belonged to a high-end resort operated by the He Corporation and was not open to the general public. As a result, it boasted beautiful scenery and few visitors.
After lunch and a short rest, the afternoon sun was no longer quite so fierce. More people gradually appeared on the beach, though it remained pleasantly uncrowded.
The colleagues from the project team began enjoying themselves freely—taking photographs, splashing through the shallows, playing beach volleyball. Laughter rang out without pause.
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As the person in charge, Xie Mingxiao blew a whistle and called everyone together to count heads.
The dozens of employees instantly fell silent. They quickly formed orderly rows, standing ramrod straight with solemn, serious expressions, not daring to let their eyes wander.
Lu Qiuyi secretly glanced at He Jingyue, who had appeared beside her at some point.
Sure enough, the man was a walking air conditioner. Even on such a scorching beach, he could lower the temperature around him by ten degrees through sheer presence alone.
Fortunately, He Jingyue did not seem interested in “joining the common people in their amusements.” He merely curved his thin lips slightly and said to the employees below, who stood there in terrified silence, “Have fun. There’s no need to be so formal.”
Then he turned and left.
He Jingyue was gone!
Lu Qiuyi was ecstatic. She plunged back into the group. “The devil—ah, I mean, President He is gone! Come on, let’s go have some fun. There’s beach volleyball over there.”
Yet when her voice fell, the only response was scattered applause and a few smiles from Lin Xiaoyu, Li Xi, and several others.
Most of her colleagues continued to regard her with somewhat guarded expressions. They gave her polite smiles before dispersing in small groups, with no intention of playing with her.
Lu Qiuyi: What? What was that supposed to mean?!
Did they think she was on He Jingyue’s side?
An undercover spy from the executive office sent to monitor them?
A wave of hurt and frustration surged through her all at once.
He Jingyue was reclining on a beach chair in the private section, wearing sunglasses with his eyes closed as he basked in the sun. The rhythmic sound of the waves filled his ears.
Suddenly, a clattering noise came from beside him.
He turned his head slightly. Through his sunglasses, he saw Lu Qiuyi directing the resort staff to carry over a beach chair and a parasol for her, setting them down not far from him.
The corners of his thin lips lifted almost imperceptibly. He closed his eyes again and paid it no attention.
Lu Qiuyi was in a thoroughly foul mood. After forcing a smile and thanking the staff, she sat down heavily, making the beach chair wobble.
She picked up the chilled fruit juice beside her and took a long gulp, but its icy sweetness did nothing to extinguish the fire in her heart.
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