Su Jinglan hadn’t slept well the night before. She arrived at the company with a frosty expression, radiating a dangerous aura from head to toe. Li Yao spotted her from afar and promptly veered toward the Design Director’s Office instead, opting to postpone her work report rather than be the first to face the boss’s ire.
“Director Zhang, I’ve finalized the guest list for the Quarterly New Product Launch. Take a look. Oh, and since Shen Lanyan’s signing ceremony is part of it this time, should we invite more media outlets?” Li Yao handed the invitation list to the design director for her input.
The Quarterly New Product Launch could stick to the tried-and-true format from previous events—no need for extravagant innovations. The segments featuring signings from multiple brand spokespersons would proceed as usual. Zhang Xiaoyue flipped through the list and pointed to the name of DM’s new Chief Designer Fei Yuan. “I hear Fei Yuan’s got a huge ego and a short temper. Can we even get her to come?”
Li Yao arched an eyebrow. “You seriously don’t know?”
“Know what?” Director Zhang looked utterly baffled and took a wild guess. “Is she your girlfriend?”
“I wish. But would a young woman like her give a second glance to a middle-aged lady like me, old enough to be her elder by a full generation?” Li Yao sidled up to Zhang Xiaoyue and whispered, “Fei Yuan’s real name is Wen Wanyuan. She’s your star Designer Ning’s childhood friend. She’s visited our company several times, always heading straight for Designer Ning.”
“But there are no designs from Designer Ning in the quarterly new products. Why would she come?”
“Why not? Can’t she drop by for drinks and a catch-up with Designer Ning?” Li Yao laid a subtle trap for the design director. “If I hand this list to President Su, what do you think she’ll say?”
No one in the room was a rookie in the corporate world. Zhang Xiaoyue narrowed her eyes. “Director Li, you have ulterior motives.”
“What ulterior motives could I possibly have? Don’t you have work to report to President Su as well? Come on, let’s go together.”
With the design director successfully roped in as company, even if President Su blew up, at least the heat would be shared.
~~~
Ning Jiuwei woke to find the spot beside her empty. It came as no great surprise. She pushed herself up from the bed slowly, the blanket slipping away to reveal her pajamas intact beneath—just rumpled with sleep creases.
The bedroom felt familiar enough. Ning Jiuwei rubbed her temple, her bleary vision sharpening along with her mind and the memories that flooded back.
You don’t dare. You won’t even date me.
After Su Jinglan had delivered those words, Ning Jiuwei offered no reply. The arm around her waist withdrew slowly—a silent admission that she’d hit the mark.
They exchanged no further words. Su Jinglan was visibly furious. She bundled up the covers, implicitly telling Ning Jiuwei to get out of her bed.
The weather had warmed; going without a blanket was no hardship. Ning Jiuwei stayed put, letting Su Jinglan yank away every last bit of bedding. She lay there on the soft pillow alone, drifting toward sleep.
Before long, faint rustling sounds came from beside her pillow. Ning Jiuwei cracked her eyes open. Su Jinglan had propped herself up and draped half the blanket over her. It carried the faint scent of perfume, warm with her body heat.
Even in anger, she couldn’t bring herself to let Ning Jiuwei truly freeze. Just like in her memories, Ning Jiuwei’s lips curved into a smile.
But before they could date, some matters had to be settled first.
Ning Jiuwei schooled her expression and reached for her phone to send a message.
A car key sat beside the phone—one Ning Jiuwei recognized as her own. Su Jinglan had promised to return it that morning, and true to her word, here it was.
Nothing else cluttered the bedside table. Ning Jiuwei set the key aside and checked her unread messages. There were ones from Assistant Tan, Designer Jiang, and Shen Lanyan—but nothing from Su Jinglan.
Taking the initiative, Ning Jiuwei messaged her: Has President Su arrived at the company?
It was the sort of message that demanded a response. Su Jinglan saw it but left it unanswered, flipping her phone face down on the desk. Out of sight, out of mind.
“President Su, are you busy?” Zhang Xiaoyue knocked lightly on the office door, her timing impeccable.
“Come in.” Su Jinglan’s voice was frigid, her gaze sharp as a blade poised to carve out a person’s heart a thousand times over. The chill made Zhang Xiaoyue’s resolve waver.
Now she understood why that cunning old fox Li Yao had scurried to her office at the crack of dawn. Zhang Xiaoyue and Li Yao entered one after the other and approached the desk to deliver their reports.
Li Yao wasted no time on small talk, diving straight into business. She slid the invitation list across. “President Su, here’s the guest list for the press conference. Please take a look.”
A good subordinate knew how to read the room. Li Yao kept a close eye on the president’s expression, ready to pivot at a moment’s notice. “This time, we’ve invited not just our business partners but also some industry peers and a few up-and-coming designers with solid reputations.”
Su Jinglan’s eyes darkened upon spotting Wen Wanyuan’s name on the proposed list. A chill descended over the office, the air thick with oppressive tension.
Ning Jiuwei dared to date Wen Wanyuan—but not her.
“No need to invite Wen Wanyuan.” Su Jinglan snapped the folder shut and slammed it onto the desk. The abrupt thud sent Li Yao and Zhang Xiaoyue’s hearts leaping into their throats.
Li Yao reached out with trembling hands to take the document. Su Jinglan’s cold gaze landed on the file, and as Li Yao moved, she lifted her eyes. “Who came up with the idea to invite Wen Wanyuan? You, Director Li? Or someone else?”
The “someone else” President Su mentioned—Li Yao could never have imagined it pointed to Chief Designer Ning Jiuwei.
“I’m sorry, President Su. I should have checked with you first before drafting the guest list.” She’d hosted far too many Quarterly New Product Launches and had forgotten the Design Division now had a new president. She needed to get a rough idea from her on whom to invite before finalizing the specifics.
Su Jinglan’s gaze sharpened, falling silent. Li Yao had no idea what she’d said wrong. She tugged at the corner of her mouth, forcing a smile. “Is there anything else on the list that needs changing? I’ll go revise it right away.”
“Was it Designer Ning who suggested inviting Wen Wanyuan?” Li Yao hadn’t answered directly about who proposed it, and a flicker of anger showed in Su Jinglan’s eyes.
There might have been some hidden grudge between the president and Designer Ning, but Zhang Xiaoyue had witnessed Ning Jiuwei giving Su Jinglan the cold shoulder before. She realized at once that the issue wasn’t Wen Wanyuan herself, but Designer Ning, who was closely tied to her.
She absolutely couldn’t admit it was Ning Jiuwei, or President Su would lose her temper for real.
Zhang Xiaoyue shot Li Yao a meaningful glance and gave a subtle shake of her head, urging her to deny it.
It hadn’t been Designer Ning’s idea anyway. Li Yao was baffled by the gesture—what was she getting at?
Neither woman’s exchange escaped the president’s notice. Su Jinglan’s eyes flashed sharply, and Li Yao’s heart sank. She was done for. “The guest list is the Promotion Department’s responsibility. Designer Ning’s in the Design Department; she just handles the design drawings. Once we had the list ready, I only showed it to Director Zhang.”
Su Jinglan’s gaze shifted to the design director, pinning her in place. Zhang Xiaoyue felt like she was treading on thin ice but nodded along. “That’s right. Just before we came to see you, President Su, Director Li asked me to review it for any changes. Fei Yuan’s been making waves overseas with her awards, so Director Li figured inviting her would drum up some buzz.”
It wasn’t the full truth, but it hit on what Su Jinglan actually cared about: the invitation hadn’t come from Ning Jiuwei. After a moment’s thought, she told Li Yao, “Fine. No changes needed. Send out the invitations as they are.”
Li Yao acknowledged the order and hurried out. Once she was out of sight of the President’s Office, she let out a long breath of relief.
The president was terrifying—one slip-up, and her job was on the line. Thank goodness she’d had the smarts to rope the design director into coming along. Li Yao wiped her forehead and found it slick with sweat.
Now Zhang Xiaoyue was left alone with the president. She switched to her most professional demeanor and reported on the progress of the Annual New Product design drafts.
As head of the Jewelry Design Department, keeping tabs on her designers’ progress was part of the job.
“Designer Ning’s still outpacing everyone; she’s already brainstorming her second piece.” Zhang Xiaoyue demonstrated the fine art of tactful speech to perfection.
She believed her protectiveness toward Ning Jiuwei was subtle, but Su Jinglan saw right through it.
“I recall Director Zhang praising her extraordinary talent. It’s been days since her first piece, and she still hasn’t finished the second?”
Cold sweat beaded on Zhang Xiaoyue’s brow as she jumped to Ning Jiuwei’s defense. “She’s been tied up with custom designs. She can only squeeze in time for the Annual New Product on the side.”
“She seemed to have plenty of free time, though. Enough to go sit in on classes at school.”
Zhang Xiaoyue: “…”
Su Jinglan spared her and moved on from the topic of Ning Jiuwei. “A costume drama crew wants custom jewelry. The collaboration email landed in my inbox; I’ve forwarded it to you. Put together a team and handle it.”
“Got it, President Su. I’ll head back and get started.” Zhang Xiaoyue jumped at the chance to make her escape.
Su Jinglan pulled out her phone but ignored Ning Jiuwei’s WeChat messages. Not long after, Ning Jiuwei sent a few more, explaining she’d be late to the office today.
Last night hadn’t worn her out one bit, and now she needed to come in late?
Remembering Ning Jiuwei’s silence, Su Jinglan shut down WeChat in irritation and glanced across the desk.
She sped through the documents needing her signature, then headed back to the top floor before Ning Jiuwei could arrive.
To her surprise, they crossed paths halfway there.
They came face-to-face right by the open-plan office, under the covert scrutiny of countless curious eyes. Ning Jiuwei offered Su Jinglan a mild, polite greeting. “Morning, President Su.”
“Mm.” Su Jinglan’s response was icy, her eyes devoid of any warmth or smile as she brushed past.
A spat like this wouldn’t happen in front of an audience. Outsiders couldn’t detect the growing distance between them, but Ning Jiuwei, as one of the parties involved, felt it keenly.
She paused for half a second at the sound of retreating footsteps, then turned casually and followed at a careful distance—not too near, not too far.
Su Jinglan stepped into the elevator. Ning Jiuwei quickened her pace, slapping her palm against the slowly closing doors to hold them open, and slipped inside.
“This is the elevator going up, Designer Ning. Take the one next door downstairs.” Su Jinglan kept her eyes straight ahead, her tone as chilly as if she were speaking to an ex-girlfriend after a breakup.
The cold shoulder stung. Ning Jiuwei closed the elevator doors and asked Su Jinglan, “Are you still mad about last night?”
Su Jinglan said nothing.
The elevator rose three floors before coming to a stop at the top floor. Without so much as a glance at Ning Jiuwei, Su Jinglan strode straight out.
The top floor of Hengsu Group’s office building was reserved exclusively for the company president and chairman. Aside from the President’s Office and Chairman’s Office, it housed the President’s Office department, Directors’ Office, and Secretaries’ Office—specialized teams dedicated to serving the president and chairman.
Ning Jiuwei had never been up here before, but she had a rough idea of how the departments were arranged. After hesitating for a few seconds, she followed Su Jinglan anyway.
“Sorry, who might you be?” She had only taken a few steps when someone blocked her path. “You can’t just wander around up here.”
Su Jinglan didn’t turn back. Ning Jiuwei introduced herself. “I’m Ning Jiuwei, a jewelry designer from the Design Division.”
“Only vice presidents and above are allowed in here. Of course, assistants or secretaries to a vice president would be fine too—but you’re a designer.” The woman blocking her smiled politely, without emphasizing that she wasn’t allowed.
Ning Jiuwei’s eyes stayed fixed on Su Jinglan, but Su Jinglan never slowed her stride or glanced back. She didn’t say a single word in Ning Jiuwei’s defense.
~~~
