Pharmaceutical Negotiator - Chapter 23

The morning sky was bright and clear, white clouds drifting by. Tall trees and low shrubs layered in green unfolded in an orderly fashion, nestled among the buildings of the residential complex, as if drawn by an angel of Raphael with a ruler peaceful and precise.

Qi An was so sleepy she could hardly open her eyes her head felt like it was barely hanging from her neck, safe only when resting on a pillow.

Zhang Sitan didn’t wake her. She was busy alone in the kitchen making sandwiches. Unsure whether Qi An liked pork floss, she made one normal and one with less.

Earlier, when she went out jogging, she noticed the little octopus plush on the shoe rack had been flipped the orange side with the crying face was now facing out. She found it funny and knew it was Qi An’s doing. She didn’t flip it back she wanted to see how long before Qi An would.

When Qi An finally got up twenty minutes later than usual there was no time for a leisurely breakfast. Zhang Sitan wrapped the sandwiches in paper to take to the office.

At the subway station, Qi An was starving. Last night at Zou Le’s place, there was no staple food, just dishes she came back half-full at best.

She wanted to grab a sandwich from Sitan’s bag, but with so many people in the subway, it felt awkward. The smell of food would drift around and only make the tired commuters resentful.

So she endured, sitting hungry until their stop.

Zhang Sitan stood beside her, face expressionless, not looking at her phone just resting, zoning out.

To see Zhang Sitan’s face, Qi An had to lift her chin slightly, and from that angle she saw Sitan’s defined jawline and long neck and suddenly imagined another picture.

If she had a car, Sitan-jie could drive them to work. Sitan would drive, and Qi An would sit in the passenger seat, feeding her. One sandwich in each hand she’d eat one herself and hold the other up for Sitan. At a red light, Sitan would bend her graceful neck down to take a bite, then quickly raise her head again to check traffic. Maybe some salad dressing would stick to her lips, and Qi An would lean over with a napkin to wipe it off.

“Hehehe.”
Qi An laughed out loud, then froze why did she laugh?

She looked up and caught Sitan’s gaze.

The blank look in Sitan’s eyes faded, focus returning, her gaze resting on Qi An.

“What’s so funny?”

“Just… thinking about food,” Qi An answered guiltily.

She’d actually been thinking about Sitan and even imagined wiping salad off her lips.

If last night she only felt something odd toward Sitan-jie, now she was sure: she really liked her.

Because Qi An had slept in, they arrived at the office later than usual.

Inside, Li Hua was already there.

When he saw them come in together, he called out, “Finally! Qi An, you don’t know yesterday you weren’t here, and Director Zhang couldn’t even focus on work!”

Qi An sat down and glanced across at Zhang Sitan, who was pulling out her office chair. She wanted to see if that was true.

Sitan ignored him, just smiled faintly and turned on her computer.

Li Hua didn’t ask why Qi An had been absent that was personal.

“You two always come in together. Do you live nearby or something?”

Qi An was about to say she lived at Sitan’s place, but Sitan replied first: “Yeah, just a coincidence.”

Li Hua chatted a bit more before everyone got back to work.

Qi An tilted her head, confused why didn’t Sitan say they lived together?

She propped her phone up in front of her monitor and opened a car website.

From Sitan’s perspective, it looked like Qi An was staring intently at her computer, focused on work.

On the phone screen was a description of a MINI car. When Qi An was little, she’d read Naughty Boy Ma Xiaotiao, where the principal drove a red Beetle so dashing. Qi An had dreamed of owning one someday.

But the Beetle was discontinued. Luckily, she had a new goal now an olive green MINI. Its smooth body and compact shape made it perfect for women, easy to park.

The thought of buying a car grew stronger in her heart. The total cost would be under 220,000 yuan, within Sitan-jie’s rule that her car couldn’t be pricier than Director Zhang’s. Qi An planned to buy it during her vacation in Qingdao and register it there.

While she was scrolling, she heard dragging footsteps behind her. Instinctively, she knocked her phone flat and covered it with her arm.

It was Director Zhang, heading to Li Hao’s desk. Hearing the thud of the phone, he glanced over and saw Qi An’s panicked expression.

“Hey, Xiao An been a month now. How’re you settling in?”

“Fine, fine!” Qi An nodded quickly.

“Good. Got any work on hand?”

“No.” She didn’t want to admit it, but her screen saver was glowing for all to see pretending to be busy would be pointless.

“Alright then, draft this speech for me. Send it over once you’re done.”
He placed a document on her desk.

He’d originally meant for Li Hao to write it, but since Qi An looked free, he passed it to her instead.

“Okay, thank you, Director Zhang.”

Qi An smiled a deathly smile in her heart: You bastard. You absolute bastard’s bastard.

After he left, she sighed, shut her phone, and opened WPS to start typing.

The white handbook Sitan had given her came in handy again she pulled it from the file rack and began the word weaving process.

She was a liberal arts student, so writing speeches wasn’t unbearable. But somehow, writing for fun and writing under orders felt completely different.
Her inner voice screamed: Ugh, I hate this. Don’t wanna write.

And she wasn’t stupid she’d noticed that Director Zhang usually gave such “extra tasks” to Li Hao.

Sitan was too capable and adaptable to be wasted on drafting speeches. But Qi An was Sitan-jie’s assistant why should she have to do it?

Later that afternoon, Luo Murong was scheduled to meet them. Sitán looked up and asked, “We’re signing the contract with young President Luo this afternoon. You still coming?”

“Of course.” Qi An replied instantly then glanced at the nearly blank document on her screen.

“Sigh, Sitan-jie, just split me in two and use both halves,” Qi An groaned.

“Heh, serves you right for playing on your phone,” Sitan teased. “Next time, just say no.”

“What? But he’s the boss!” Qi An exclaimed.

“So what?” Sitan’s tone was calm as she flipped through papers.
“If you refuse reasonably, he’ll just think you’re organized that your schedule’s full, that you’re in demand.”

“Oh…” Qi An looked amazed. “Can I still refuse now?”

“What do you think?” Sitan shot her a glance.

Qi An shrank back and muttered, “So even if I finish early, I can’t play on my phone. What should I do then?”

“Pretend.”

“Huh?”

“Pretend to be busy.”

Li Hua burst out laughing beside them.

“You could learn from your Brother Li,” Sitan said with a grin.

“Exactly,” Li Hua chuckled. “I look busy all day, but I hardly do anything real.”

“But if everyone slacks off, how does anything get done?” Qi An asked, wide eyed.

Li Hua laughed again. “Important stuff never lands on us anyway. And besides, we’ve got a pro right here.”

“Cut it out, you two. If Director Zhang sees you slacking, I won’t save you,” Sitan warned lightly.

“Hahaha, you’ll understand once you’ve worked a couple more years,” Li Hua said, leaning back in his chair.

Qi An sighed, frustrated. “Li Hao isn’t even in administration. Why’d Director Zhang give her writing tasks? Why should we do work that’s not in our job description?”

Sitan, who’d been joking before, now turned serious. “It’s good you can think like that.”

“Li Hao has her own reasons for not refusing. She’s different from you she knows what she wants, and she accepts doing extra work.”

“But you,” Sitan looked directly into Qi An’s eyes, “your growth path isn’t in writing speeches. This time it’s punishment for being on your phone. Next time, just say no.”

“I’ll back you up,” she added.

Qi An met Sitan’s shining, thoughtful eyes and felt her heart skip.

So moved.

“Still writing?” Sitan asked.

“Yes!” Qi An replied, suddenly full of energy, fingers flying over the keyboard.

Luo Murong had booked a conference room in the same building. Sitan had wanted to use their office one, but Luo refused he didn’t want to go to his own company either, said it felt stifling.

All meeting rooms looked similar anyway Luo just liked showing personality by paying for an external one.

Sitan and Qi An took the elevator up no need to leave the building.

The rented room was indeed more luxurious. The fruit platter and juices were already arranged, part of the pre-ordered meeting package.

He hadn’t arrived yet, so only Sitan and Qi An were there.

Qi An dragged over a chair, excited. “Can I eat these?”

“Go ahead.”

Hearing Sitan’s permission, Qi An happily picked up blueberries to munch.

“No wonder he wanted to book this place even the fruit’s better than ours. And I’ve only ever had one meeting with fruit platters before.”

“The juice’s handmade, too,” she said, holding up a paper cup with a minimalist watercolor sleeve.

Sitan said nothing, focused on reviewing the contract.

When Luo Murong and Liu Yujing arrived, Qi An was just rearranging the fruit plate evening out the spots she’d eaten from so it looked untouched.

The door opened, and the two walked in, handbags in hand.

Sitán stood to greet them and shake hands.

They all sat down. After brief small talk, Liu Yujing took the contract to review.

Luo didn’t look at it like Qi An, his eyes went straight to the fruit. It was his chosen platter, full of favorites.

He picked a plump red raspberry and popped it in his mouth. The burst of flavor hit sweet scent first, then such sourness he winced.

Seeing him eat, Qi An relaxed and joined in, her cheeks puffed as she chewed, lips shiny with juice.

While Sitan and Liu discussed the contract, Luo and Qi An just sat there munching.

They were basically extras anyway the others didn’t bother with them.

The signing went smoothly. Seeing Luo Murong’s scribbled signature, Sitan felt a bit of relief.

Qi Dong’s team would handle the promotional video Sitan’s work on this project was now much lighter. She planned to let Director Zhang handle the TV distribution later.

When it all wrapped up and they were about to leave, Luo looked up from the fruit plate. “You’re leaving already?”

Neither Sitan nor Liu answered. Qi An kindly gave him a small nod.

“Alright then,” he said, wiping his mouth with a napkin, picking up his half cup of juice, and heading out.

At the door, he suddenly turned. “Hey, Qi An, you free this weekend? Come play badminton with my mom.”

“Uh… am I free…” Qi An hesitated. She’d met Zou Le twice she was warm and friendly, easy to get along with. Seeing her again wouldn’t be bad.

“I’m free,” she said finally.

“Great, see you,” Luo grinned, striding away.

Liu Yujing, unaware of their fake relationship, gave Qi An a curious look.

Once they were gone, Sitan returned to the table to pack the signed contract.

Qi An leaned over. “Can we take this fruit platter back?”

“Take it.”

Sitan straightened up and looked at her. “When’s Zou Le getting Luo’s SUV reimbursed?”

“Soon… probably soon,” Qi An blinked what a sudden topic change.

“Hmm. Be careful with yourself.”

“Huh?” Qi An heard the seriousness in her tone and quickly explained, “We’re just pretending! We only act close when his mom’s around. Luo’s super self-absorbed he ignores me, I ignore him. Honestly, he’s probably tired of it too. Maybe one more badminton match and we can ‘break up.’”

Sitan glanced at her oddly. “Oh. No need to explain so serious.