Shen Qi had heard Han Xueyou talk about her brother before and she had revealed that he was treating her rather indifferently. Han Xueyou was also worried that she would be neglected because she only got to reunite with them after some time.
Shen Qi had tried to console Han Xueyou but she had suddenly thrown a tantrum for some reason.
Right now, since Han Qing mentioned his sister, it went without saying that Shen Qi would want to put in some good words for Han Xueyou as she was her best friend.
Han Qing’s eyes turned somewhat gloomier as he did not respond to what she said.
After a short while, he asked, “In that case, do you know basically everything about her and vice versa?”
Although Shen Qi had not the faintest idea as to the reason behind his question, she nodded.
Of course, Han Xueyou and her were inseparable.
Once again, the inside of the car plunged into silence as Han Qing did not talk and Shen Qi had no idea what to say to him.
They maintained in such a state throughout the entire journey up until they reached her destination. When the car stopped, Shen Qi glanced out of the window before expressing her gratitude toward Han Qing. “Thanks for giving me a ride, President Han. Goodbye now.”
Just as she opened the door, lowered her head and bent down in order to alight the car, Han Qing called out to her.
“Miss Shen, may I contact you through social media?”
Shen Qi’s movement froze in midair because of his question, and even Su Jiu could not help but widen her eyes in surprise. After working for him for years, she had never seen him using social media applications.
Right now, he was actually willing to use one for the sake of Miss Shen. Did he even know how to use it?
Han Qing’s request took Shen Qi by surprise and it took her a long while to recover. I suppose he just wants to ask me things about his sister? Only then did she tell him her ID but to her astonishment, Han Qing handed her his phone directly. “Please help me do it.”
Wordlessly, Shen Qi could only take his phone. It felt icy in her hands and she noticed that his account was newly registered. Not daring to snoop around in fear of catching something she was not supposed to see, she then searched for her ID and added herself as a friend using his account before returning it to Han Qing.
“It’s done, President Han.”
“Okay.” Han Qing nodded and kept his phone away.
“In that case… I shall get going. Thanks for the ride.” Only then was she finally allowed to go.
After Shen Qi’s departure, Su Jiu gaped at Han Qing for a long while. She wanted to say something but chose not to do so in the end.
“Do you have any questions?” Han Qing glanced at her.
Su Jiu came to her senses and cleared her throat before asking, “President Han, do you know how to use that app?”
Han Qing was stunned for a brief moment before turning to look at her with his cold eyes. “I’m learning.”
Su Jiu asked, “Do you need help?”
“No, I don’t. I know the basics.”
With that, Han Qing ignored Su Jiu, leaned on his seat and closed his eyes to rest. Su Jiu thought better than to comment further.
Her mind was filled with doubts as Han Qing’s attitude toward Shen Qi was way too bizarre. It was true that he was always looking at Shen Qi but there was not a trace of romantic feelings in his eyes. She literally had zero idea about what was going on with him.
Several days went by and Shen Qi got better and better at managing the mall. At the same time, the celebration for the anniversary of the founding of Ye Group was just around the corner. The staff in charge of it had already started the preparation and therefore, Shen Qi’s department had to help out too.
As a lot of tiring and tedious work needed to be done at the venue of the celebration, a few members from each department would be chosen to help out.
Because Shen Qi had offended Xu Liao prior to this, it went without saying that she was included in the list together with Gao Yun and Cui Minli.
When they reached the venue, the staff in charge ordered them to pump the balloons. Although the three of them came from the same department, Gao Yun and Cui Minli pretty much kept to themselves and gave Shen Qi the cold shoulder.
“I don’t understand Xu Liao. Why didn’t he take care of us considering our relationship with Qiangwei? He has actually sent us here to do all these tiring chores! I wonder what is in his mind.”
Cui Minli was grumbling unhappily as she pumped air into the balloons.
Gao Yun pursed her lips and cast a glimpse at Shen Qi who was standing not far away from them. She was alone while the two of them had each other as company.
At such thought, Gao Yun curled her lips upward. “Perhaps Xu Liao did it on purpose.”
“Did he really do it on purpose? What a jerk!” Cui Minli angrily smashed the balloon at hand toward the pile of balloons on the ground but because they were filled with air, the balloons merely scattered all over the floor without much damage; it was not a good way to vent out anger.
Gao Yun let out a sneer instead. “Why are you so frustrated and angry? Don’t we still have each other?”
“So what? I’m furious that he sent us here for such meaningless chores. Xu Liao has really gone out of his mind. When I get back to the office, I will certainly complain about him to Qiangwei.”
“Cui Minli, are you dumb? Didn’t you hear what I said? Xu Liao sent Shen Qi and both of us here so that we could stay near to her and sabotage her.”
Cui Minli could not understand her. “Huh?”
“What do you mean, huh? Are you really that stupid? Don’t you see? Xu Liao has followed Miss Qiangwei’s instruction and created chances for us.”
After listening to Gao Yun’s explanation, it finally dawned upon Cui Minli. “I see. In that case, should we seize the chance to sabotage her now?”
“There’s no rush. The celebration of the anniversary is still half a month away. We have to come up with something big so that she will know that we are not ones to be trifled with.”
Cui Minli got extremely enthusiastic at the mention of the chance to take revenge on Shen Qi and immediately did everything Gao Yun said.
Time flew and a week went by.
Being the helpers at the venue of the celebration, not only did they have to help with the chores, but they also had to stay under the sun sometimes. Gao Yun and Cui Minli’s skin turned darker by a shade but Shen Qi’s complexion still remained fair and smooth which got everyone green with envy.
Both Gao Yun and Cui Minli were consumed by jealousy.
As for Xu Liao, he was comparing the three girls in his mind and concluded that Shen Qi emerged to be the prettiest among them, and his desire toward her grew even more intense.
Therefore, he made his way to the venue, claiming that he was there to monitor their progress and asked to see Shen Qi.
“Shen, I suppose you’ve worked very hard lately?”
Shen Qi appeared indifferent as she answered, “It was okay.”
Xu Liao took two steps forward, stretched his hand and was about to give her shoulder a pat. Yet, before his hand could even touch her, she had already taken two steps back. “Supervisor, how can I help you?”
“Nothing much. I just wanted to check on you and find out whether you can cope with the work here. If you find it too demanding, you may appeal to me. I have the power to transfer you back to the department.”
Shen Qi snapped, “It’s not necessary. I find the work here still manageable.”
It turned out he had not given up on her at all.
Stunned, Xu Liao then shook his head in resignation and sighed. “Shen, I have come across many girls who are as stubborn as you but they only remained so at the very beginning. You might think that these tough works are acceptable now, but what about in the future? If you were to suffer something like this everyday or something even worse than this by ten or hundred times, would you be able to withstand it? A wise man would choose his actions according to the current situation. Instead of suffering a miserable life full of regret, why don’t you just be with me?”
“Supervisor Xu, you’re joking. It’s human nature to aim high. Although I was demoted, I still have the ambition to achieve better things in life and I really have no interest in you.”
Xu Liao’s face changed as he pointed at her furiously. “Do you think you can still return to the top?! Just how are you going to do that?!”