CH 5.1

A message came in on the phone placed on the small table. His friend asked him: [What is your ETA? I will pick you up.]

Jiang Shenghe slowly took his gaze away from Luo Qi and replied to his friend: [No need, there is a car. See you in the evening.]

After responding to the message, Jiang Shenghe took off his sunglasses, exchanged it for a pair of thin-rimmed glasses, and connected his laptop to the power supply.

In the seat next to him, Luo Qi stood up and quickly sat down again. But he didn’t look there any more. He turned on the laptop to read his mail.

Luo Qi settled in her seat, picked two of the photos she took just now and sent them to Pei Shixiao, telling him that she had already set off for Suzhou City.

After half an hour, Pei Shixiao came back with only one sentence: [Not bad, there’s been progress in the camera technology.]

He didn’t ask her where she was and what she was doing. Unlike before.

She asked: [Just woke up from a nap?]

Pei Shixiao: [I didn’t sleep today, I was outside.]

Luo Qi thought he had an appointment with someone. [Then you are busy.]

Pei Shixiao: [Yeah, I’ll call you tonight. ]

Luo Qi stared at the phone thoughtfully, but did not reply. Instead she continued to  watch the movie.

The ending song soon played—more than two hours have passed without her noticing it.

After turning off the tablet, Luo Qi glanced to the right without thinking, and only when she saw the person sitting next to her did she remember that the boss’ seat was in that direction! She was about to turn her head away, but it was too late—Jiang Shenghe was a step ahead of her, and turned his head to look over at her.

The moment they looked at each other, Luo Qi felt slightly surprised. She had never seen Jiang Shenghe wearing glasses before, but she had heard the female colleagues in the company going on about it, saying how attractive and solemn the boss looked when wearing glasses.

She only felt that Jiang Shenghe who was wearing glasses had no warmth in his eyes, and looked even more unapproachable than usual.

In order to alleviate the embarrassment of suddenly meeting each other’s eyes, Jiang Shenghe did not look away, but instead allowed himself to look his fill, and first broke the silence. “Why were you calling me? I didn’t hear clearly just now.” 

Luo Qi: “…”

At this time, she, of course, couldn’t say to the boss: I didn’t call you.

Outwardly calm, she followed his lead and said, “It’s a private matter. The hotel we are booked in is not far from my home. I want to go home tonight, and I wanted to report the matter to you in advance.” 

Over the years, what Jiang Shenghe disliked the most was how she called him ‘you’ every time, but he couldn’t find a good reason for her not to refer to him that way1.

“Tonight and tomorrow morning are your free time. You don’t need to report if it doesn’t affect your work.” 

“Thank you, Chief Jiang.”

Jiang Shenghe didn’t answer anymore, and his eyes fell back on the laptop screen.

Luo Qi waited for the boss to turn away, then hurriedly looked away herself. Reminder! The boss is sitting on the right, so don’t turn your face that way!

The weather along the way changed from clear sky to cloudy, and it was cloudy and rainy by the time they arrived in Suzhou. The air was hot and humid. It has been raining for half a day, and it only stopped two hours ago.

Whenever the wind blew, large drops of water got shaken off the trees.

Jiang Shenghe didn’t take off his eyeglasses until he got off the train.

Two vehicles came to pick them up from the station: a commercial van and an off-road vehicle.

The driver of the off-road vehicle got out, handed the keys over to Jiang Shenghe, and sat in the passenger seat of the commercial van.

Jiang Shenghe didn’t let anyone follow and drove away by himself.

Secretary Ju watched the off-road vehicle drive away and said to Luo Qi, “Chief Jiang has gone to see his friends, we are free now.” 

“Why didn’t he even bring a bodyguard?” Luo Qi asked casually.

Secretary Ju was used to it. “Every time we come to Suzhou, Chief Jiang goes to meet friends alone.” Even the bodyguards were dismissed. It should be to meet a very special friend, most likely a female friend.

But of course, this was all her own speculation without any basis.

She liked shopping on rainy days the most, so she asked Luo Qi, “Where should we go shopping first?”

Luo Qi planned the route for them. “Let’s go check in first, then go around my neighborhood. If you come to Suzhou and don’t go downtown where I live, you have not really come to Suzhou City. The scenery during the day and during the night have their own characteristics. After shopping, we go to the food street to eat.” 

“I listen to you, we can go wherever you say.”

The two hit it off at once.

After checking in at the hotel, Luo Qi found a strapless dress from the suitcase, changed out of the trousers and shirt she was wearing, and took out the compact mirror to touch up her makeup.

Secretary Ju shared the same room as her, and when she came out of the bathroom, she had already finished her own makeup in there.

“Let’s go, let’s go through the waves.” Secretary Ju slung on her bag and went out of the room arm in arm with Luo Qi.

“Master, didn’t you come to Suzhou on business before? Didn’t you go shopping then?” 

“No. We usually booked hotels in the new business district. It’s the first time I’m staying in the old downtown area.” In the past, Chief Jiang also gave them private time when he saw his friends, but she was the only woman in the work group. She didn’t want to run around so far, so she stayed in a hotel room either watching dramas or doing video calls with her son.

Coming out of the hotel, the road outside was bustling with life.

Except for the few days during Chinese New Year, Suzhou City was vibrant and crowded all year round, especially during the peak tourist season.

The two chatted, and they talked about Jiang Shenghe.

“Master, you work with Chief Jiang every day. Is there a lot of pressure?”

“A lot.” Secretary Ju smiled. “Never seen me so rebellious? It’s all from working for Chief Jiang. Who made the salary so high? No matter how much the pressure is, you will bear  it. But to be honest, Chief Jiang is the best among the bosses. Just like now, we can go shopping to our heart’s content.”

While chatting, they walked to the riverside trail near Luo Qi’s house.

The landscape lights have just been turned on, with a blend of green and dark yellow, embellishing both sides of the small river.

Luo Qi pointed somewhere ahead of them. “After crossing this stone bridge, my house is in that alley, and the house right by the river is my house.”

Secretary Ju looked at the white-walled and blue-tiled houses with envy. She was from the north, and she has longed for the poetic and picturesque misty rain in Jiangnan since she was a child—especially this kind of house built near the water, where the river scenery can be seen through the windows.

“When you get married, I’ll go to your house to play. When I was a child, I dreamed of living in this kind of house.” 

“This house is suitable for travel check-in. But it’s really frustrating to actually live in. You may not be able to stand it if you live here for two days. The humidity is high, and the furniture is particularly prone to rust and mold. The cabinets and tables all have to be raised above water level. When the weather cools down, then you come to my house for a few days.”

Luo Qi took out her mobile phone, “This place is beautiful for taking pictures—you stand over there, and I’ll take pictures for you.”

The two took pictures while strolling. After a round of playing, it’s almost half past eight.

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FOOTNOTE:

1There is no way to convey this in English but Luo Qi uses very respectful speech whenever she talks to Jiang Shenghe and uses a formal ‘you’. This is, of course, appropriate for a boss-employee relationship but it draws a clear line between them and is very alienating. Our poor Jiang Shenghe wants to be called informally so they could feel closer.