Pampered by Short-Lived Bigshot-Chapter 965 - 576: Treating Him Like One of Her Own, Letting Down Her Guard (Second Update)
The weekend mall crowds were more than imagined. The two took the escalator to the 4th-floor dining area, where almost every restaurant had people waiting at the door.
"Is there anything you particularly want to eat?" Jiang Chengsi glanced at the waiting crowd, feeling a bit of a headache, is business this booming?
"There are too many people." She rarely returned to Beijing and was here for the first time.
"Let’s go somewhere else."
The two had to turn and head downstairs. Jiang Chengsi turned his head to look at the person beside him, "Is there anything you particularly want to eat?"
"I don’t often come back to Beijing, so I don’t know what’s good to eat. You can recommend something."
"Any dietary restrictions?"
"I’m okay with anything."
For normal people, Jiang Chengsi would just take her directly to a club, but that would be too perfunctory. This person was an old client of Tang Wan’s, but he wasn’t familiar with East City, so he thought for a moment and sent a message to Qi Zeyan.
[Where’s good to eat in East City? Answer quickly.]
Qi Zeyan was a businessman, socializing everywhere, and guessed he’d been to most of the good places to eat in Beijing.
When he received the message, he was bored, wearing headphones and playing games, somewhat surprised to see the message:
[What are you doing in East City? Who are you inviting for a meal?]
[None of your business, just tell me where the good food is.]
[At least tell me who it is, their age, and your relationship, otherwise how can I recommend something? If it’s a business partner, I’ll definitely recommend a decent restaurant, but if it’s a girl, that’s different.]
Jiang Chengsi frowned. What’s supposed to be a decent restaurant, could there also be indecent ones?
[Female, early twenties, not very familiar, I owe her a favor, preferably somewhere nice and with flair.]
Qi Zeyan perked up at this description and called him right away, only to be hung up on ruthlessly.
Jiang Chengsi frowned:
What’s this idiot doing calling me when I asked him to recommend a restaurant?
He didn’t notice at all that the person walking beside him was constantly examining him. White shirt and slacks, very tall, and looked good. In the mall’s fluorescent lighting, every inch of his facial features seemed meticulously carved, extremely refined.
At this moment, Jiang Chengsi’s phone received several restaurant recommendations from Qi Zeyan, and he turned to look at her, almost meeting her gaze.
"My friend recommended a few restaurants, they should all be good. Shall we take a look?" Jiang Chengsi spoke to her politely and cautiously.
"Okay."
"But they’re not nearby, we might need to drive. Did you drive here?"
She shook her head, "No."
"Then just take my car. After dinner, I’ll drive you home."
She nodded in agreement, little knowing that the people from her family were still waiting in the parking lot...
The young lady only said she’d go out to meet someone and would leave quickly. They didn’t leave, just sat in the car waiting around, expecting a message to come saying she was done and would head home, directing them where to pick her up. Unexpectedly, the message was:
[I have a bit more to do, you can go back first.]
Huh?
Just letting them go like that? What’s going on?
Wasn’t she supposed to be back in half an hour?
Not planning to go home for dinner either?
...
After sending the information to Jiang Chengsi, Qi Zeyan’s game ended, reported by teammates for leaving midway, losing interest in playing. Only then did he realize it was mealtime, yet Ruan Mengxi didn’t seem to have cooked or called him.
He opened the door and went out, his strained ligament had mostly healed, although he still limped a bit and couldn’t exert too much force.
Her door was ajar, and through the gap, he saw her buried in a pile of documents, seriously engaged in something.
Although Ruan Mengxi was on holiday, Xiaozhu occasionally assigned her some work. Although it could be done at home, it didn’t mean the work wasn’t challenging.
Qi Zeyan remembered she started working right after lunch. How was it not finished yet?
"Still not done?" Qi Zeyan knocked on the door.
"Huh?" Ruan Mengxi snapped back to reality, looking at the time, realizing how late it was, "Sorry, I forgot to cook dinner."
"It’s okay, you keep at it, I’ll cook tonight." Qi Zeyan wasn’t there just to have a good time; he couldn’t just act like a boss because he was sick.
"Call me if you need help." Ruan Mengxi was already overwhelmed by the pile of files in front of her, as this was her weaker area.
Xiaozhu’s current boss could be considered Old Master Qi, and his way of reviewing documents was different from Qi Zeyan’s, so the requirements for making tables were also different, which was the biggest headache.
Qi Zeyan went into the kitchen to see what ingredients were available, while internally mocking:
Never thought Xiaozhu, who seemed so harmless in front of him, was quite adept at using subordinates in private. Even on break, assigning her so much work she couldn’t finish in an entire afternoon.
You can’t tell just by looking, this guy is pretty capable.
It’s already past seven now, and cooking is quite a hassle, so he chose the simplest method—boil some noodles. While waiting for the water to boil, he went to Ruan Mengxi’s room to check, saw her cup was empty, and refilled her tea.
"Thanks." Doing this kind of data sheet requires extreme focus. It wasn’t until Qi Zeyan brought the tea that she snapped back to reality, feeling a bit flattered.
"Focus on your work, don’t worry about me." Qi Zeyan casually flipped through the files on the table and glanced at her computer screen.
He was raised by his grandparents since he was a kid, and his grandfather taught him business hands-on. Just by looking at this sheet, he could tell it was made for his grandfather, and he quickly noticed there were errors in it...
He lifted the folder in his hand and gently tapped her on the head.
"Huh?" Ruan Mengxi was stunned by the tap.
It hurt a little, too.
Instinctively, she covered her head, rubbed it a couple of times, and frowned at him, "Boss?"
Qi Zeyan was holding a file; he had long since bought himself a set of pajamas, light gray loungewear. Tall and straight, with his buttons fastened to the top one, he looked down at her with an air of superiority. Whenever it came to work, he exuded a sense of rigor.
His eyes were dark, looking at her in a way that was hard to read.
Ruan Mengxi frowned, what’s up with this guy? Is it because I didn’t cook? Or does he think just because he poured me a glass of water, he can hit me?
Qi Zeyan pointed at her computer, "You’ve been with me for so long, how can there still be such obvious low-level mistakes in your data sheet? Where’s your brain?"
"If my grandfather saw something like this, I’m afraid he would scold you to tears."
"The old man is very serious in business matters. I thought you were up to something all afternoon, and it’s just this? Why didn’t you just ask me?"
Having said that, Qi Zeyan tossed the file aside, bent down, and took the mouse from her hand, "Make some room for me."
"Oh... okay!" Ruan Mengxi quickly scooted her butt to the side, giving him two-thirds of the chair.
Qi Zeyan narrowed his eyes, his gaze becoming sharper as he looked at her:
"Ruan Mengxi... you really don’t see me as an outsider, huh."
In this situation, usually, she would get up and leave, giving him the seat, but no, she was ready to share the chair with him?
Ruan Mengxi paused, fixed her gaze on him:
Of course, I don’t see you as an outsider, I’ve already seen you as one of my own.
She swallowed, under his gaze, it felt like the little secret hidden in her heart was being dug out bit by bit, even the fingers rubbing her head paused.
"Does it really hurt?" Qi Zeyan frowned, thinking he didn’t hit hard, is she really this delicate?
"Huh?"
He jumped from one topic to another, completely throwing Ruan Mengxi off track, leaving her utterly confused.
"I mean your head."
"It hurts—" she said seriously, making Qi Zeyan chuckle, "How much does it hurt?"
"Pretty painful." Ruan Mengxi once again rubbed her head with exaggerated seriousness, but Qi Zeyan leaned forward, slightly bending his waist to check her head; there was a bit of redness on the side where he had tapped.
At that moment, he was struck by a naughty impulse and lightly tapped her again with his finger, "How much does it hurt?"
His fingertip was warm, that light tap.
It was as if it suddenly poked at the tip of Ruan Mengxi’s heart, making it tremble, feeling like her whole body turned soft, looking at him with eyes...
Directness mixed with a hint of shyness.
Qi Zeyan bent down and looked at her, slightly startled, withdrew his hand, "You go cook, I’ll help with this, consider it a compensation for you."
"Okay." Ruan Mengxi couldn’t wait, quickly getting up.
"There are differences between men and women, if you’re not in a close relationship, don’t casually share a chair with a man, and don’t casually invite others to your home, especially those of the opposite sex." Ruan Mengxi usually did things a bit carelessly, Qi Zeyan assumed she was just socially clumsy, so he kindly reminded her.
Little did he expect Ruan Mengxi to reply directly, leaving him speechless:
"Besides you, I’ve only shared a chair with my dad, and I’ve only invited you to my home."
"I’m not that casual, I just..."
"I’m just not on guard with you, to me, you’re a special person."
After Ruan Mengxi spoke, she turned and went out to cook, leaving Qi Zeyan with a slight warmth in his ears.
Those words, they almost sounded like a confession.
To her, it’s special because I pay her salary? I’m her financial backer and her boss?
Qi Zeyan might be a bit slow on emotions, but he’s not truly dumb. As adults, some words shouldn’t be said casually; he clenched his jaws, feeling like he had discovered something yet internally denying it. It couldn’t be possible, right?
She is Tang Wan’s best friend, and she knows I used to have feelings for Tang Wan. It was because of her that I transferred her to my side, under such circumstances, how could she possibly...
I’m just overthinking!
