Limited-Time Attachment - Chapter 10

Ruan Jinjin didn’t leave.

This was to be expected. Given her proud and stubborn temperament, how could she possibly leave without achieving her goal?

“…Just how exactly did you provoke her?” Ji Shan stood on the second floor, looking through the one-way glass wall of the lounge at the ill-tempered Ruan Jinjin. He spoke with a lingering sense of trepidation. “She’s so relentless about settling the score with you.”

Song Ming stood beside Ji Shan, truly at a loss for how to answer. She didn’t feel like she had done much “provoking.”

The two fell into silence. Ji Shan didn’t feel particularly awkward. Song Ming was often like this, not much of a talker, prone to sudden lapses into silence.

“Strange. In the past, you were never this well-behaved when facing a situation like this,” Ji Shan shot her a suspicious look. “Are you brewing up some other bad idea?”

“I’m really not that bored,” Song Ming replied, her hands shoved in her pockets.

Suddenly struck by a wave of gossip-fueled curiosity, Ji Shan leaned against the glass to take another look. “Isn’t she quite beautiful? That fiery temper of hers should be right up your alley, shouldn’t it?”

It was a casual remark, but it struck Song Ming unexpectedly, hitting a hidden nerve with sharp precision.

Her jaw tightened. Before the listless expression on her face could even fade, the inability to let go of the past had already caught up to her.

Receiving no response, Ji Shan turned to look at her in dissatisfaction, only to be stunned by her expression. “You… are you okay?”

Song Ming said nothing. The perpetual aura of lazy relaxation surrounding her vanished without a trace. As she looked down at Ruan Jinjin through her lowered lashes, it was as if she were looking through her at someone else entirely.

Ji Shan swallowed instinctively, feeling that Song Ming’s gaze was cold enough to kill.

Ruan Jinjin, sensing something, looked up toward them.

Across the barrier of the one way glass, Song Ming turned and walked away.

Downstairs, Ruan Jinjin frowned, withdrawing her gaze from the dark decorative wall. She looked at the administrative staff beside her with blatant displeasure. “You said you’d notify her. Exactly when will that happen? When is Song Ming coming?”

The administrative assistant smiled with a gentle, apologetic air. “I’m so sorry, we really can’t be sure. Teacher Song is very busy…”

The wind brushed past her ears, the sunlight was silent. Song Ming noticed none of it, her mind filled with the voice of another person.

The Yuexi office was located in an office building in the A City CBD. There was a well-decorated lounge area on the rooftop terrace. Song Ming leaned against the railing, her expression still overcast.

She and Ji Shan hadn’t exactly bared their souls to one another, but through some miraculous intuition, Ji Shan had managed to nail her personality perfectly.

Song Ming did indeed like those with a “fiery” temper.

Ruan Jinjin’s temper wasn’t just fiery, it carried a hint of obsession. If it weren’t for that, Song Ming might have actually liked her.

Obsession was no good. Any quality that bore too much resemblance to that certain person was no good.

Song Ming turned her gaze toward the shadow of the sunlight. Using the city center as a dividing line, Yuexi and a workspace of the Zhong Group headquarters sat at opposite ends of the same district.

With a distant glance, the image of Zhou Jibai handling affairs with shrewd efficiency in that building surfaced in Song Ming’s mind. But she hadn’t set foot in that building for a long time.

Since Zhou Jibai left, she had never collaborated with the Zhong Group again.

“…President Song, do you have different thoughts regarding the positioning of this new advertisement?” The Art Director from Jiaxin stood before the presentation screen in the conference room, his smile becoming increasingly strained.

Song Ming sat in the lead seat on the Yuexi side, her smile gentle and shallow. In her grey-green eyes, her expression was peaceful. “Not at all. I only understand filming. Channel promotion and positioning aren’t my specialties. I can’t offer much of an opinion.”

The Art Director’s throat tightened, rendered speechless under Song Ming’s gaze.

Is it really my problem? Even the Art Director, seasoned by years in the corporate world, found himself rarely doubting his own competence in front of a client, thanks to Song Ming’s nonchalant yet naturally perfect eyes.

Lin Yu sat opposite them, casting an inconspicuous glare at the dazed Art Director before speaking with a smile. “President Song is too modest. I’ve had the honor of witnessing your brilliance before. The speech you gave at the Innovation Concept Promotion Meeting is still used as research material for the Zhong Group’s internal R&D team. If you say you aren’t familiar with a stage of the product launch process, then none of us are qualified to be sitting here.”

Song Ming sat with her legs crossed, one hand on her knee, her slender fingers lightly tapping a rhythm. She gave a smile that seemed almost indulgent. “Hardly. Since you’ve made it to Vice President, you naturally have your merits.”

Lin Yu: “…”

Ji Shan silently raised a hand to cover his forehead, unable to bear watching the reaction of the Jiaxin team.

Lately, Song Ming seemed to be holding a grudge against someone, her expression was always dark when she was undisturbed. Ji Shan had accidentally noticed this and realized he shouldn’t provoke her, spending these past few days steering clear of her to avoid being an eyesore.

It just so happened that the concept exchange meeting with Jiaxin was scheduled for now. Lin Yu’s group had essentially walked right into the line of fire. Before entering the conference room, Ji Shan knew things were going south just by looking at the expression on Song Ming’s face.

It was the expression of someone who had finally found a punching bag to vent their frustrations on.

Lin Yu remained silent for a moment, then shifted the topic as if nothing had happened. “The interpretation of a concept isn’t set in stone. To make a product more adaptable to the market, it is essential to constantly refine the strategy.”

He spoke these words lightly, as if the efforts of the colleagues responsible for the project before the meeting were not even worth mentioning.

Song Ming watched Lin Yu in silence for a moment, her eyes tinged with scrutiny. She seemed to be considering whether to continue making things difficult for this man, who didn’t know on whose behalf he had come.

Lin Yu’s attitude was very submissive, waiting calmly and candidly for Song Ming’s response.

Forget it. Song Ming withdrew her gaze. Regardless of who it was, bickering with Lin Yu lacked class.

Since the other party wanted to establish contact with her so badly, she would let them have their way.

She wanted to see what other tricks they could pull.