Chapter 53 - What Scheming?

Although Li Qin Yao had said that she was going to leave and return an hour later, in reality, once she stepped out of the apartment, Li Qin Yao had stayed outside Han Yue Xiu's door. Since she was not familiar with Song Yi, it would not be wise to leave him with her friend just like that. If anything happened to her friend, Li Qin Yao knew that she would regret it for life.

Li Qin Yao leaned on the wall and took out her phone. As she browsed through the internet for a good place to eat in Y City, Li Qin Yao tried to eavesdrop to whatever was going on inside the room. However, all she could hear was the screaming of a child and nagging parents from one of the apartment units.

After failing to eavesdrop to anything, Li Qin Yao put her ears on the door. At this moment, Han Yue Xiu's next-door neighbor walked out. Li Qin Yao jumped in surprise before she tried to act normal. Han Yue Xiu's neighbor looked at her with a dubious look before he walked over to the stairs.

Li Qin Yao put a hand on her chest and heaved with relief once the man disappeared behind the walls. As she thought that she should not be eavesdropping to others' conversation, Li Qin Yao went back to her earlier position and leaned on the wall and wait.

Surprisingly, Song Yi walked out of Han Yue Xiu's apartment after twenty minutes.

Song Yi paused at the door. His eyes were staring at Li Qin Yao with shock as he was not expecting to see Li Qin Yao waiting outside the door. He composed himself and nodded once at Li Qin Yao before he walked towards the stairs. Once she heard that the sound of footsteps had gradually disappeared, Li Qin Yao pressed on the doorbell and soon, Han Yue Xiu appeared at the door with a frown on her face.

"You dare to leave me with that man alone in my apartment," Han Yue Xiu said with her eyes narrowed and her arms crossed on her chest. "Were you not afraid that anything will happen to me?"

"Yue Xiu, don't be angry. I didn't really leave your side. I stayed outside your door. If anything happens, I will come in right away. I know where you hid your keys." Li Qin Yao tried to suppress her friend's anger.

Han Yue Xiu snorted but moved her body aside to let Li Qin Yao enter. Seeing that, Li Qin Yao heaved with relief. At least, her friend did not blame her for leaving her alone with her boss.

"Did the two of you had a nice talk?" Li Qin Yao asked as her gaze stayed on Han Yue Xiu's expression.

"I wouldn't call it nice," Han Yue Xiu said as she sat down on the sofa. "But I guess you could say that it ends well."

"What happened?"

"You didn't eavesdrop to our conversation?"

"I tried, but failed," Li Qin Yao shrugged. "It was too noisy outside."

Han Yue Xiu let out a long exhale before she answered. "After discussion, I agreed to return to work tomorrow."

"Why did you change your mind?"

The corner of Han Yue Xiu's mouth curled into a lopsided smile. "He begged me to stay. Then, he promised that he will no longer disturb me with work, unless if it was during working hours."

"That's good."

"Actually, I was tempted when he said he will give me a ten percent salary increment," Han Yue Xiu admitted. "Do you know how much that is?"

"I'm surprised that your boss valued you this much to come over and beg you."

"I did not work extra hours for nothing," Han Yue Xiu said with a slightly smug smile on her face. "You can say that I am the one who knows a lot among the others in my department. Since that was the case, how can my boss bear to let me leave? His company can't function properly without me."

Li Qin Yao stared at her friend for a long time and suddenly, a thought crossed to her mind.

Something does not seem right. She had known Han Yue Xiu for years and understood her temperament. Han Yue Xiu was not someone who would change her mind quickly because of money.

"Yue Xiu, Are you sure you're not scheming against your boss? You did not resign from your job dramatically only to have your boss let you have your way, did you?"

Han Yue Xiu scoffed at her best friend's accusation. "What scheming? I'm a pure girl who knows nothing about such things."

Looking at the way Han Yue Xiu blinked her eyes innocently, Li Qin Yao took a small pillow and threw it to her friend.

"That guy needs to be taught a lesson," Han Yue Xiu said as she caught the pillow perfectly. "In the future, he will no longer dare to bully me at work."

Li Qin Yao was temporarily annoyed that the pillow did not land on Han Yue Xiu's face. However, her friend was among the best basketball player in her team. How could she win against Han Yue Xiu?

"What if your plan did not work the way you want to?" Li Qin Yao asked.

"That's the gamble that I'm willing to make."

The two girls then went out and had their dinner at a restaurant near Han Yue Xiu's apartment. Then, the two went on their separate ways. Since it was still early, Li Qin Yao decided to walk around the city to enjoy the night scenery.

Though it was working days tomorrow, the street was still full of people. A few couples walked passed her, holding hands and a small group of friends were chatting among each other with a loud voice.

Li Qin Yao moved her body sideways to avoid the others. Just as she reached the corner of the street, Li Qin Yao noticed a familiar figure not far away from her.

At first, Li Qin Yao wanted to avoid stumbling into someone she knew, but once she saw that the old man was arguing with someone, Li Qin Yao changed her mind. She walked over to the old man and greeted him with a smile. "Grandfather."

Hearing the familiar voice, Zhang Jing turned around. Once he saw Li Qin Yao's face, the frown on his face gradually disappeared and a smile bloomed on his face. "Miss Li."

Li Qin Yao glanced at the middle-aged man beside Zhang Jing and saw that he was watching her with a scrutinizing gaze. Since she was not familiar with the other man, Li Qin Yao decided not to mind the other person that much and turned to Zhang Jing. "Grandfather, what are you doing here? It's late."

"I came out to have dinner," Zhang Jing cleared his throat.

"You haven't had your dinner? It's already this late," Li Qin Yao said, surprised.

"This person won't let me eat," Zhang Jing said. He then gave his assistant a dirty look.

"Chairman Zhang, it's not that I won't allow you to eat," Assistant Huo said helplessly. "But your grandson gave me instruction. You are not allowed to eat meat too much because of your health."

"Nonsense. My health is fine," Zhang Jing retorted. "Besides... Assistant Huo, were you working for me, or my grandson? Why did you choose to listen to him?"

"Of course I'm working for you. But Chairman Zhang, I'm worried about your health as well."

Li Qin Yao stood at the side and listened to their conversation. Her eyes widened with surprise at the way the middle-aged man addressed the old man as Chairman Zhang.

It seemed that this Grandfather was not an ordinary person.