Volume One, Chapter 7: His Consideration

Huo Sili paused for a moment. Jiang Qin stepped forward, intending to ask where he had put the gift Xie Youan had sent.

Before she could speak, a sudden, sharp pain flared in her abdomen, more intense than before. Jiang Qin’s face went pale in an instant. She instinctively clutched her stomach to provide some warmth, her waist bending slightly.

In her peripheral vision, the man, who had only paused for a heartbeat, strode forward. Jiang Qin looked up. With the dull sound of a closing door, Huo Sili’s figure vanished from her sight—cold and resolute.

"..." They had been so close. If he had only turned his head slightly, he would have seen her discomfort, but he didn't. He hadn't even spared her a glance. That, perhaps, was the difference between the true beloved and the stand-in.

Clutching her abdomen for several seconds, Jiang Qin, her lips still drained of color, forced herself to detach from the wave of sorrow. Once the pain subsided, she went to the restroom to check, and upon confirming there were no signs of anything serious, she washed her hands and headed to the staff cafeteria.

As she sat down with her tray, intending to enjoy a quiet meal, several voices called out to her, "Secretary Jiang!"

Jiang Qin turned to see staff from the R&D department—the very team behind the new product launched that day. Among them was Wen Fangchan, the R&D director, whom Jiang Qin knew well. She was the person Jiang Qin had been coordinating with throughout the project, a gentle and capable woman in her thirties whom Jiang Qin quite liked.

"Director Wen," Jiang Qin replied, offering a polite smile to the group.

Wen Fangchan spoke with a look of concern. "Secretary Jiang, are you alright? You didn't show up for the press conference this morning. We asked President Huo, and he said you were feeling unwell."

Jiang Qin froze. Suddenly, the image of the unlocked bathroom door she had seen that morning flashed through her mind, followed by the echoes of calls she had heard in a half-dream state at Yunhai Huafu last night. So, Huo Sili had thought she was unwell, and that was why...

"You’re young, but you shouldn't stay up late so often. You need to take better care of yourself," Wen Fangchan continued.

Jiang Qin snapped back to reality. "Yes, thank you for your concern, Director Wen."

It was true; they were about to divorce anyway, so what was the point of dwelling on these things? From the moment she realized Huo Sili only saw her as a stand-in for his "white moonlight," she knew there should be no future for them.

The R&D team had already finished their meal and, after a brief chat, they left. Jiang Qin finished her food and was about to get up to return her tray when her phone buzzed repeatedly in her pocket.

Curious, she pulled it out and saw a message from Xie Youan.

[Jiang Qin, I left the gift at your company's front desk. Did they contact you? I had an urgent matter at the company this morning; I meant to message you when I dropped it off, but I got distracted.]

Reading this, Jiang Qin paused, about to type a reply, when Xie Youan sent another message. Seeing it, her eyes lit up, and her face filled with undisguised joy.

She had loved a certain painter since junior high. She must have mentioned it to Xie Youan back in high school. The message explained that the envelope inside the gift box wasn't a love letter, but tickets to that very painter’s exhibition in Kyoto. The artist was famous, and while the tickets weren't expensive, they were in high demand and incredibly difficult to secure. The exhibition was finally being held in her city, and she had desperately wanted to go, but she had failed to grab tickets during all three official sales last month.

She never expected Xie Youan to surprise her with this.

Jiang Qin’s mood lifted instantly. Feeling genuinely moved, she quickly sent several replies. Xie Youan sent a voice message, and as she played it, his gentle, polite voice—the same as it had been last night—filled her ears.

"I'm glad you like it."

[I do, I love it!]

Jiang Qin couldn't remember the last time she had felt such a pleasant surprise. She was truly happy and touched; she barely remembered mentioning the painter to Xie Youan, yet years later, he not only remembered but had prepared such a thoughtful gift. It must have taken a great deal of time and effort to secure those tickets. A sense of unworthiness washed over her.

After some thought, she decided to invite Xie Youan to dinner and typed out a message: [I'd like to treat you to a meal. When are you free next week? Let me know, and we can set a time.]

Xie Youan was likely busy and didn't reply immediately. After waiting a while, Jiang Qin got up, returned her tray, and headed back to the executive office.

As the elevator reached her floor and she prepared to step out, her phone vibrated. She unlocked it just as the elevator doors slid open. A crowd of people stood outside, their voices filled with murmurs of comfort. A pungent, cloying smell of perfume hit her, and Jiang Qin frowned.

She noticed the woman in front with the curly, wavy hair—Liu Wenli. Ever since Jiang Qin had joined the company, this woman seemed to have it out for her. Every time they had to coordinate on work, something went wrong. At this moment, Liu Wenli was supporting a young girl, comforting her intently, seemingly unaware that the elevator doors had opened and that she was blocking the way.

"Director Liu, Secretary Jiang is trying to get out. Please move," someone said, nudging her.

Liu Wenli looked up, frowned, and stepped aside, though her eyes remained fixed on Jiang Qin with intense hostility. Jiang Qin was baffled by the woman's anger but said nothing, stepping out of the elevator.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"What's going on?" Liu Wenli scoffed, her voice rising sharply. "Secretary Jiang, look for yourself! Look at what the intern you brought in has done! She hit someone so hard they got a nosebleed!"

Jiang Qin’s brows furrowed tightly.

Liu Wenli continued, "This is lawless! Rude! Completely uneducated!"

Someone chimed in, "Exactly! I don't know how someone like that got into this company. If this gets out, it'll be all over the news!"

Jiang Qin glanced over and recognized the speaker as someone from Liu Wenli’s department. She looked closely at the girl Liu Wenli was supporting. The girl was holding a tissue to her nose, her long hair obscuring most of her face, but Jiang Qin recognized her—Li Nana, an intern under Liu Wenli.

She had recently appeared on the list of interns eligible for full-time conversion. However, an anonymous report had suggested that during Li Nana’s assessment, Liu Wenli had been seen outside the window holding her phone, suspected of feeding the girl answers. Jiang Qin had followed protocol and filed a request with Huo Sili for a re-test, but he hadn't approved it yet.

"What, Secretary Jiang? Don't believe it?" Liu Wenli raised her voice when she saw Jiang Qin remaining silent. She looked around, seemingly laughing in anger. "Secretary Jiang, all of us saw it! Your intern pushed Nana, causing her nose to bleed! You’re not saying anything—don't tell me you're planning to cover for her!"