~~~
The specific layout of the top floor was unknown. Su Jinglan turned the corner and slipped out of Ning Jiuwei’s sight. The woman blocking her path kept up her professional smile, raised a hand slightly, and urged Ning Jiuwei to leave.
“Is the President’s Office that way?” As president of the Design Division, Su Jinglan had every reason to be wandering around up here. She had probably come to the top floor to report to the group president.
The blocker smiled and issued a straightforward eviction order. “Please leave.”
Ning Jiuwei could feel the arrogance radiating from the Group Headquarters staff. She glanced at the woman’s work badge, quashing any rash impulse to push past, and offered a mild smile. “Sorry to disturb you.”
The top floor wasn’t a place for designers like her. She could always catch up with Su Jinglan once she got back to her office.
“Designer Ning.” Just as Ning Jiuwei turned to go, an unfamiliar but friendly voice called out from farther down the hall behind her. Someone came jogging over, looking quite hurried.
Ning Jiuwei didn’t recognize the caller and simply waited without a word for whatever came next.
“I’m the boss’s secretary. Surname Xu.” Secretary Xu gave a quick introduction to make addressing them easier. “The boss would like you to come see them.”
Ning Jiuwei had never laid eyes on the boss, but the former Design Division president had mentioned him once: the head of Hengsu Group was a sharp-eyed man pushing sixty, with depths of cunning hidden behind an elegant, professorial air that only gave way to his merchant’s edge during key meetings and decisions.
How does the boss know I’m here?
The top floor was crawling with his informants, so it wasn’t all that surprising. Ning Jiuwei settled on that explanation and, before following Secretary Xu, asked, “What does the boss want with me?”
“You’ll find out when you get there, Designer Ning.” Secretaries knew how to keep a secret—unless you were close, they wouldn’t breathe a word.
Ning Jiuwei hesitated a moment, then followed Secretary Xu past the woman who had stopped her.
Lush green plants dotted the top floor everywhere. The wide corridor boasted a soaring suspended ceiling, and bright light poured down from above, banishing shadows from every corner. Ning Jiuwei quietly memorized the door numbers of the offices they passed.
Rounding the same corner, Ning Jiuwei slowed her steps without thinking. This was the same route Su Jinglan had taken—though Ning Jiuwei had lost sight of her right after the turn.
“This way.” Secretary Xu led from one step ahead and to the side, guiding her at just the right pace.
They followed the curving corridor until Secretary Xu halted before an expensive wooden door. A nameplate was embedded in the wall: President’s Office, bilingual in Chinese and English. Ning Jiuwei double-checked it, doubts swirling in her mind.
How had the person summoning her shifted from “boss” to “president”?
It wasn’t impossible for the chairman and president to be one and the same. Ning Jiuwei tamped down her questions. Secretary Xu rapped lightly on the door twice, then pushed it open and stood aside to announce, “Boss, Designer Ning is here.”
Meeting the boss for the first time didn’t faze her—it was just another manager, albeit higher up the chain. That is, until a familiar voice drifted out from inside. “Mm.”
Ning Jiuwei’s heart skipped a beat. She forgot all about schooling her expression, and unmistakable surprise flashed in her eyes.
A single syllable, but there was no mistaking it. The voice belonged to Su Jinglan.
Secretary Xu stepped aside to clear the path. Suddenly Ning Jiuwei’s feet felt rooted in place, too heavy to lift. She clenched her hands, then forced herself to the doorway.
With the door out of the way, Ning Jiuwei had a clear view of the occupant. In the spacious, opulent President’s Office, Su Jinglan sat with perfect composure in the boss chair. A sleek modern desk sat before her, backed by a full wall of bookshelves. Her impassive gaze fixed calmly on Ning Jiuwei.
“Have a seat, Designer Ning.” A full sofa set with its tea table waited by the window. Su Jinglan gestured toward it and directed Secretary Xu, “Tea, please.”
The little stove on the tea tray kept water simmering at all times. Secretary Xu brewed and poured with practiced ease, then withdrew from the President’s Office in under half a minute.
Ning Jiuwei glanced back at the closed door and stayed rooted to the spot.
Her heart pounded wildly, flooding her with the hot flush of having been made a fool of. She worked her lips, but it took a long moment before words would come. “You’re the boss of Hengsu Group?”
Su Jinglan offered no reply. Her icy stare plunged Ning Jiuwei into a frozen abyss, the chill seeping straight into her bones.
Ning Jiuwei advanced toward Su Jinglan step by step. “Isn’t the boss of Hengsu Group Su Zhongling?”
They shared a surname, but Ning Jiuwei had never connected the two—until this moment, when the unusual link between Su Jinglan and Chairman Su hit her all at once.
“Is that what you came here to say to me, Designer Ning?” In the end, Su Jinglan hadn’t been able to stand the thought of Ning Jiuwei being turned away outside, so she’d sent Secretary Xu to fetch her. She hadn’t anticipated delight from Ning Jiuwei—only this cold line of questioning.
Ning Jiuwei lowered her gaze, let out a soft sigh, and curved her lips into a smile for Su Jinglan. “I thought your other role was overseeing vice president for the Artificial Intelligence Department. I had no idea you were the group president.”
Her smile felt bitter. Su Jinglan would rather she spoke to her in an accusatory tone. “I never lied to you.”
Su Jinglan stepped out from behind the desk, her heartbeat quickening uncontrollably as the distance between them shrank.
“You didn’t, indeed. It was my own assumption. You and I both graduated from the Pattern Recognition and Intelligent Systems Major. You told me more than once to leave the Design Department for the Artificial Intelligence Department. I thought you were poaching talent.”
“You probably don’t like me anymore now, do you?”
Last night, Ning Jiuwei had already given her the answer. They could share intimate physical relations, kiss, make love—without any formal commitments binding them.
Ning Jiuwei smiled without a word, opening her arms without warning and pulling Su Jinglan into her embrace.
Sunlight wove through the artificial lights; dawn was breaking into a bright morning. Ning Jiuwei rarely took the initiative like this. Su Jinglan glanced uncertainly out the window. Ning Jiuwei turned her head and whispered in her ear, “Our relationship isn’t ready for my parents to know about just yet.”
Su Jinglan had heard those exact words last night. “Why?”
She hadn’t pressed then, but now she needed a straight answer.
“Who moves in together before they even start dating?” Ning Jiuwei released her. “I’m heading home tonight.”
“Oh.” Su Jinglan didn’t try to stop her. If Ning Jiuwei didn’t want to live together or date, she wouldn’t push.
Seeing the misunderstanding in Su Jinglan’s eyes, Ning Jiuwei clarified, “I’m going back to my parents’ house.”
Su Jinglan’s response was cool and detached. She turned and walked toward the sofa. “Designer Ning, I don’t understand what you’re getting at. Last night, you could have just admitted you were already dating someone—someone you were living with.”
As long as she kept quiet about it, her parents would never know they’d been intimate first and only formalized their relationship later.
Silence was her only reply.
Su Jinglan sank onto the sofa. Sunlight poured through the window, warming her back and shoulders, but it only sharpened the chill in her expression. There was a glaring hole in Ning Jiuwei’s explanation, and Su Jinglan had no intention of letting it slide. “Can Designer Ning enlighten me?”
The warmth had vanished from Su Jinglan; her presence was now commanding, intimidating. Ning Jiuwei sensed no trace of affection in her anymore. It was as if, after last night, Su Jinglan had reclaimed her heart, purging every improper emotion.
That realization clicked into place with Su Jinglan’s odd behavior since entering the office. No wonder she hadn’t hugged back. Ning Jiuwei got it now: Su Jinglan no longer needed her.
“There’s nothing more to say. I have work to do. I won’t keep President Su any longer.” Ning Jiuwei forced a smile and left. Su Jinglan called after her, but she didn’t stop—she quickened her pace instead.
The tea she’d brewed for Ning Jiuwei steamed faintly on the coffee table. Su Jinglan picked it up and drank it down, sip by sip.
She lingered in the top-floor office until afternoon. The urge to see Ning Jiuwei stirred restlessly, growing too strong to ignore. Giving in to her heart’s pull, Su Jinglan headed to the Design Division.
Ning Jiuwei was sketching design drawings, utterly absorbed and focused. No sign of emotional turmoil marred her concentration.
Sustaining a relationship took effort from at least one side. When both let go, it was over—no chance of revival.
Except for one kind.
The kind that needed no effort, no pursuit—just a quiet affection harbored in secret. A one-sided crush.
Pretending to browse files, Su Jinglan stole another glance at Ning Jiuwei.
After the evening rush had ebbed and the office emptied out, Ning Jiuwei ran into Su Jinglan emerging from the President’s Office. She offered a gentle smile and a greeting.
“Off work, President Su.” The brief softening of her heart hardened once more. The memories of this time with Su Jinglan were precious; Ning Jiuwei tucked them away carefully.
That polite detachment unsettled Su Jinglan. Intuition cut sharper than any analysis: their bond was now frailer than strangers’.
They stepped into the elevator together. In the silent, private space, only the hum of the machinery broke the quiet. Su Jinglan opened her mouth, then held back, stifling the urge to speak.
Through the reflection in the elevator wall, Ning Jiuwei watched Su Jinglan, wondering at her thoughts.
The doors slid open. Ning Jiuwei stayed put, gesturing for Su Jinglan to exit first. Su Jinglan didn’t budge. Their gazes locked.
As the doors began to close, Su Jinglan hit the open button and stepped out.
“President Su.”
“Hm?”
Su Jinglan whipped around at the sound of her voice.
She couldn’t shove her feelings back down. Ning Jiuwei decided to try once more—to test if rejection awaited. “President Su, are you free this weekend to come over for dinner?”
“Yes.” In a flash, Su Jinglan’s playful mood returned. “Just dinner?”
Ning Jiuwei bit her lip to suppress a grin, but amusement sparkled in her eyes. “If you’re in the mood, we could do a few other things.”
Having just tasted the pleasures of adulthood, Su Jinglan was easily seduced by her. Her heart and soul quivered with desire, those fragmented moans vibrating in her ear and stirring her very spirit. She was filled with a mad craving to possess Ning Jiuwei completely.
“Don’t go back tonight,” Su Jinglan murmured, pulling Ning Jiuwei close. Her scorching breath brushed hot against her skin.
Ning Jiuwei squeezed her hand in return. “Sure.”
She led Su Jinglan to her car. Su Jinglan wondered why Ning Jiuwei was pushing her into the back seat, but then Ning Jiuwei slipped in after her and shut the door, trapping her body in the tight confines of the space.
“Su Jinglan.” Ning Jiuwei clasped Su Jinglan’s wrist. Her gaze flicked over those lips before she hooked an arm around her neck and leaned in for a tentative kiss.
The pent-up emotions erupted like a volcano, searing through Su Jinglan until she melted entirely. The thought that they were in a car where anyone might see them made her tremble all over—she couldn’t tell if it was excitement or pure arousal. Ning Jiuwei rubbed the back of her neck, whispering hoarsely between deep kisses, “Do you want more?”
“What do you think?” Ning Jiuwei’s boldness was going to be the death of her. Su Jinglan tilted her head up to kiss her back fiercely, clutching the hem of her shirt and pulling the woman atop her even closer.
Finally breaking away from the fervent kiss, Ning Jiuwei settled into the back seat beside Su Jinglan to discuss their sleeping arrangements for the night. “Your place tonight, or mine?”
Su Jinglan tested the waters. “Why don’t you just move in with me from now on?”
“Alternate between them?” Ning Jiuwei preferred her own slightly smaller house to Su Jinglan’s.
Pleased with the response she’d been fishing for, Su Jinglan laced her fingers tightly through Ning Jiuwei’s. “That works. But you have to explain one thing to me: why our relationship isn’t ready for your parents to know about yet.”
Ning Jiuwei paused for two seconds, then broke into a smile. “Come to my place tonight, and I’ll tell you why.”
~~~
