Chapter 16

To SMQ and Chen Zheng, the day seemed to go by like a gentle breeze.

Chen Qi sat in the project team’s office of SMQ and arrogantly said, “Strive for the best and present a tender that will defeat all rivals. You can report to me any time you encounter any issue. Make sure it’s the best deal Ming Sheng can get. Even if some terms are outrageous, don’t hesitate to tell me. I’ll report to the Chairman and make an exception. Only success is allowed!”

Everyone responded with stern enthusiasm:

“Sure!”

“Rest assured, General Manager!”

“SMQ will definitely own this project!”

Chen Zheng nodded his head in satisfaction and exited the office building. It was dawn, and people were filling in the enormous industrial park, creating a lot of hustle and bustle. Chen, full of overconfidence, stood in front of the building.

Aidan’s sudden collapse this year had marked SMQ’s leap from number three to number two in the industry. And this spectacular advance had happened right after Chen Zheng’s succession of his father. He had opened a new chapter for SMQ.

But Chen wanted to do better.

He indeed wanted to use the Ming Sheng project to bring Aida to its knees, and to avenge what had happened after The Carcinogen Scandal. However, this was also the first time SMQ had set foot in such a large-scale project initiated by a state-owned corporation. And New Bori, the leader of the industry with its high profits, wide range of contacts, and huge influence, had always had a monopoly on such types of projects.

Cracking into the market was all Chen could think about—even if it cost him dearly with a low-price strategy.

Maybe in the near future, SMQ could officially become New Bori’s equal.

…

The same invitation to tender had been sent to New Bori Group. After receiving it, the administration department had immediately ordered a special messenger to deliver it to the penthouse, where the CEO office was located.

Ning Huai, the CEO of New Bori, wore a new suit with a rose-carmine tie that day. He sat behind the office desk with a dark luster, his amber cuffs gleaming.

When the secretary brought in the invitation to tender, Ning, who had just made the cover of Fortune magazine, was on the phone. He said tenderly and languidly, with a gentle smile on his face, “Do you like the flowers? Ah… How could I forget what day it is today? I’ll pick you up at seven o’clock this evening. Remember to wear the dress I ordered.”

After him hanging up, the secretary complimented him with a smile. “Mr. Ning, you’re so considerate to your wife! People are so jealous that you’re so close even you’re this busy.”

Ning Huai smiled. “Today is our three-year anniversary and she wants to go to a loud concert. Cancel tomorrow morning’s meeting for me—I won’t be asleep until midnight.”

The secretary nodded his head, his heart filled with admiration for this young CEO.

Ning Huai had been born and raised in an ordinary family. But now he ran New Bori Group after becoming the son-in-law of the chairman of Zhu’s. He was a man with both an amazing career and an amazing love. No one was luckier than he was.

Ning Huai took the documents, skimmed through them quietly, and smiled.

The secretary whispered, “Based on what we know, SMQ and Aida are both sure of winning this project and are likely to use the low-price strategy. Our pricing system is always stable, and our price is relatively high. The marketing department wants a clear instruction on whether we should also lower our price or not—”

“Tell them not trouble themselves,” Ning Huai interjected. “We’ll stand by this time.”

The secretary hesitated. Noticing this, Ning Huai smiled, and said with a gentle voice, “Why’re you still so rigid after being my secretary for so long? For one thing, ‘Burn not your house to frighten the mice away.’ It’ll lead to chaos if we lower our price. Also, the most important thing being in the market is to know your rival. Right now, Chen Zheng is the only one who is a threat to us. Just let him compete with Aida fiercely and lose his shirt.”

“But… It’s probable that Chen Zheng wants to challenge us for the Ming Sheng project,” said the secretary

Chen Zheng glanced up. “Then we’ll take him down,” he said.

“Noted!” said the secretary. “I’ll tell the people we put there to keep an eye on them and notify us if anything new happens.”

“Okay,” Ning Huai said softly.

…

With the bidding day approaching, Lin Qian was getting busier and busier. In the afternoon of that day, Lin Qian had moved into the same accommodations as the project team, following Li Zhicheng’s order.

With a ponytail tied, Lin Qian read the latest version of the tender crafted by the project team.

For days the project team had been writing the tender and the three executives had been examining it over and over again. Each time they checked the document the project team had to redo it, and Lin Qian had to read it along with them, which made her exhausted.

After skimming it for a while, Lin Qian put the document aside and tried to rest on the bed. But she couldn’t help thinking about how she had confessed to Lin Zhicheng that she thought him a born leader and a genius that day.

Ugh, it’s so dramatic, Lin Qian thought.

But still, it was true.

The phone rang, and it was Xue Mingtao calling. “Ms. Lin, we’ve made some alterations to the tender and just sent it to your email. Has Mr. Li slept?”

“He was just going through some material. I bet he hasn’t. Let me show it to him right now.” Lin Qian smiled as she spoke.

After hanging up the phone, Lin Qian recalled what she’d witnessed and confirmed that based on their respectful attitude, Li Zhicheng had earned some prestige within the company.

Li Zhicheng was staying next door to Lin Qian. It was already ten o’clock in the evening and the corridor was nothing but quiet, except for the illuminating road lamps. When Lin Qian arrived at Li’s room with her laptop, she found the door ajar.

It was likely that someone had forgotten to close the door after leaving because in the last couple of days, Lin Qian, Gu Yanzhi, and the others had been going in and out his room. She didn’t take notice of it and walked straight into the room after knocking on the door out of courtesy.

But no one was there.

She walked to the desk, put down the laptop and looked up, noticing the bathroom door was closed. And then she decided to wait beside the desk quietly.

Without waiting for long, someone opened the bathroom door and came out. “Boss, I brought the new…” Lin Qian hesitated, a professional smile still on her face, “…tender for you.”

The staff accommodation was neither luxurious nor spacious. A topless Li Zhicheng stood around six feet away from Lin Qian, wearing a pair of long tracksuit pants and a towel in his hands. He looked up at her, with his hair and body wet, water vapor steaming off of him and clouding his eyes.

It was not unusual to walk into a topless man in a corporate-run dormitory crowded with staff. But it was indeed a bit awkward that it so happened to be the young CEO.

Lin Qian turned her back calmly, turning on the computer while briefing him, “I’ve marked all the alterations just made. Are you going to read them now?”

Suddenly a thought struck her: There has been a lot of these awkward encounters with Boss recently.

“Okay,” still in the flat voice.

Following that voice was a ruffling noise. Li must have been getting dressed now. And even though Lin Qian stared at the words on the screen, she couldn’t help thinking about what she had just seen:

Broad shoulders, small waist, and balanced muscles, all of which composed a v-shaped body. Even more striking was the way he had stood there straight with his sculpted, nonchalant face. Around his waist were those ridiculously baggy pants. Um… The scene had looked just like a photo of a hot male model deliberately showing his body in a seducing way.

Lin Qian, that was a real treat just now, she thought to herself.

Lin Qian felt the corners of her mouth curve, and she didn’t turn her head sideways to look at him until she heard footsteps.

She was again dazed by what she saw.

Maybe because it had happened all of a sudden, but Li Zhicheng had only put on a white shirt with the first button open, and the collar was still a bit messy.

He stood in the light, looking down at her. Biting his lips, he seemed lukewarm.

She moved her eyes from him after catching a few stunning glimpses and Li’s focus turned to the computer. He bowed down and put his hands on the mouse to scroll through the pages.

Lin Qian peeked at her boss and thought, How is it possible that he looks so handsome? And every time I look at him, he just gets more handsome.

She pulled the chair from beside them over and placed it behind his back, saying, “Mr. Li, please sit.”

“Okay.” He glanced at her. “You also sit down. I’ll tell you which parts should be corrected.”

“Yes, sir.”

Little did Lin Qian know that it would take a few hours for them to complete.

Li Zhicheng made some suggestions as they read it. She marked them down in the document and sent it back to the project team when they finished. It seemed the team was inspired by the boss and sent the updated version back quickly, along with some other attachments. Li Zhicheng and Lin Qian went on reading without noticing that the time flew by.

Lin Qian eventually became exhausted when it hit three o’clock in the morning. Diligent as she was, she never stayed up late because she didn’t want to age quicker.

Lin Qian glanced at Li Zhicheng again. He still sat up straight and stared at the screen with a luster in his eyes, fully absorbed in the document. There was no sluggishness inside him.

Lin Qian yawned.

“Are you sleepy?” Li Zhicheng asked tonelessly.

I can’t say I’m tired when the boss is not, she thought to herself. And she said with a smile, “Not exactly. I’m going to make myself a cup of coffee and be back soon.”

Just as she was about to get up, she saw him frown, look up and say, “Drinking coffee in the middle of the night?” Li Zhicheng asked, calmly but firmly.

Lin Qian looked at him blankly and stood still.

Boss doesn’t want me to have coffee? Is he trying to take care of me?

Lin Qian felt warmth in her heart. But when she was just about to say something, Li said, “Go to bed and take a fifteen-minute nap if you want to sleep. I’ll wake you up later.”

Lin Qian unconsciously glanced at the bed, which was spotless, tidy and large. The quilt was folded like a chunk of tofu.

Lin Qian was somewhat of a hygiene freak when it came to bed because she thought of it as a very private place that touched her body. She never liked the idea of others sitting or sleeping on her bed, and neither did she like being on others’ beds—not to mention that this was the bed of her boss.

“There’s no need. I’ll just sleep at the desk,” said Lin Qian with a smile.

Li Zhicheng looked at her noncommittally for a second, and then turned to the computer. Lin Qian put her arms on the desk and buried her head in them.

She could see nothing with the light being blocked temporarily. But somehow what was happening around her became clearer.

She could hear the sound of his steady breath, together with that of the gently turning pages and clicking of the mouse, all of which made the night warm and peaceful.

She lifted her head and saw her surroundings, and then smiled.

The computer in front of Li Zhicheng had already been closed and the documents had been organized and put aside. It seems the work has been finished? Li Zhicheng was still sitting on the leather chair beside her, but with his hands put on the armrests and his head leaning back. He’d already fallen asleep.

Lin Qian looked down at her watch and stuck out her tongue. It was already five o’clock and she’d been sleeping for an hour.

Boss had told her that he would wake her up, but instead he’d fallen asleep himself.

When she was just about to get up and creep away, she realized that someone had put a suit coat on her. The male coat was of course too large for her, almost wrapping her entire body. She felt cozy and warm, and the smell was pure and fresh.

She looked at her scantily clad boss, took off the coat and put it on him. His body was still under the light. He seemed to have fallen into a deep sleep.

It was almost dawn. Lin Qian planned to go back to her room first without waking him up. But it was difficult to get around the burly Boss. There was only a narrow aisle between the bed and the desk. And his large leather chair was in the way, the back of the chair close to the side of the bed; his two legs stretched all the way to the bottom of the desk and his knees almost touched the desk, leaving very limited space for her to pass.

She was reluctant to step on his bed because she didn’t want to touch it. She roughly measured the distance and decided that she should be able to make it. Then she tiptoed with her body closely leaning over the edge of the table. Her legs were long enough for her to cross over him. As long as he didn’t wake up then everything was fine.

After the first move, one of her legs stood between his knees.

With a second move, she had successfully moved to the other side.

Before there was time for her to be content, the man beside her seemed to be disturbed, and his body trembled. Lin Qian lost her balance somehow, and accidentally stepped on his instep.

Although Lin Qian was following her boss’s instruction not to wear stiletto, there was still a pointy heel under her shoes. The man took a sharp breath and suddenly jerked his stepped-on foot.

How was Lin Qian still supposed to stand with such a trip? Her body swiftly started to fall to the ground.

“Ah!” she cried out.

All of a sudden, she felt a force nearing her; Li’s hand grabbed her body and pulled her into his lap.

Lin Qian turned her head and looked at him in a stupor.

He had already opened his eyes, and peered at her with a drowsy face, due to him just waking up.

“What’re you doing?”

Lin Qian stayed silent.

Boss, could you please, for once, not be so responsive? Every time I touch you even a little bit, you stop me with your grasping hands.

“I’m not doing anything. I was just trying to get out,” she said. “Did I hurt you?”

He looked at her wearily and whispered, “Um… Yes.”

Eh… Lin Qian didn’t know what to say.

During this conversation, his hands were still pressed against her waist, and Lin Qian could even smell his breath given how close they were.

And under her, his thighs were warm and firm.

She got out of his arms and stood up hurriedly, blushing.

“Sorry. I’ll leave now. Good night.”

Lin Qian felt her face after going back to her room; she was boiling.

Falling into her boss’s arms was nothing but embarrassing.

…

Dawn had arrived. After only an hour of sleep, Lin Qian couldn’t fall asleep on her bed.

Her heart was beating rapidly. A ridiculous thought struck her: Boss might have mistaken her as a spy sneaking up on him.

Of course not.

God, that was so embarrassing. That can never happen again.

Two days later, Gu Yanzhi led the project team to the headquarters of Ming Sheng Group himself. Ming Sheng didn’t announce the results on the scene.

The following days witnessed the same old Aida, with everyone overwhelmed by work. And those who had something to do with the project were anxiously waiting for the result, including Lin Qian.

She just had this hunch that Aida would win the bid.

Whenever she thought of what Li Zhicheng had said the other day, and the tender which Lin Mocheng had described as “couldn’t be better,” she became sanguine.

And she believed that the client would also be impressed.

The news came during the afternoon of the next Monday.

The executives of Aida were having a regular weekly meeting, and Lin Qian was there taking minutes. Gu Yanzhi’s phone rang in the middle of the meeting. Everyone went into silence as though they already anticipated something. He gave Li Zhicheng a wink, and picked up the phone. After saying a few words, he hummed and hung it up. He looked at everyone calmly without giving anything away.

“Ming Sheng has reached a decision. SMQ won the bidding.”