Reborn as an Aloof Boss, Flirting Everywhere - Chapter 2

At 9:00 AM sharp, Lin Qian clocked in just in time.

“Morning!” Chen Qi suddenly jumped out in front of her, a wide grin plastered on his face.

Startled, Lin Qian took two steps back and replied stiffly, “Morning.”

“Didn’t see you for a whole day—did you miss me?” Chen Qi said in his usual playful, loitering tone.

Lin Qian pursed her lips and frowned. She didn’t know how to respond; her only thought was to get as far away from him as possible.

Chen Qi seemed completely oblivious to her discomfort. He continued to tease her, “I’m so heartbroken. You didn’t miss me at all? Am I the only one who missed you?”

Nearby, colleagues watching the spectacle began to jeer, making “Ooh-la-la” and “Tsk-tsk” noises.

Lin Qian bit her lip awkwardly. Several times, she wanted to tell them to stop, but the words caught in her throat. She could only puff out her cheeks in silent frustration.

Fortunately, after messing around for a bit, Chen Qi and his group dispersed when they saw Lin Qian wasn’t engaging.

Since Lin Qian had arrived right on the dot, the office was already full. Some people were eating breakfast, some were applying makeup, and others were huddled together chatting. The air smelled of steamed buns and tea eggs.

“Hey, have you guys heard? Director Liu resigned,” a colleague whispered.

The news was like a drop of water in hot oil.

“What? Holy crap! Is a new era of light finally coming?”

Lin Qian had just sat down, but her ears perked up immediately. Their voices were so low that she couldn’t hear the details for a long time. Anxious to know more, she considered leaning in to listen, but when she made eye contact with a colleague she barely knew, she silently sat back up and stayed put.

“Huh? No way. Wasn’t she about to get promoted? Why would she suddenly resign?” The discussion grew louder.

“‘Resigned’ is just a nice way of putting it. She was actually fired.”

“Fired? Good! That’s fantastic! Who made that brilliant decision? I was sick to death of her. She was a total micromanager who did zero work but was always first in line to take credit.”

“Exactly! Remember that project last time? I worked so hard on it from start to finish, and she just swooped in, took the results, and didn’t even put my name on it. I was fuming.”

One could spend an entire day listing Director Liu’s wrongdoings. Her behavior had long since caused widespread resentment. Now that she was gone—whether she resigned or was fired—everyone felt like celebrating Chinese New Year.

Did my prayer from yesterday actually come true?

Lin Qian looked at the advertising copy on her computer, which she had revised countless times. As long as Director Liu was the one reviewing it, she would be scolded no matter how many changes she made. Hearing the news of her departure, Lin Qian felt a sudden weight lift off her shoulders and let out a long, secret sigh of relief.

“You’re sure this isn’t fake news?” As the words left someone’s mouth, a strange silence fell over the room.

Lin Qian’s expression froze.

With a creak, the office door opened.

Director Liu walked in carrying a cardboard box. Her expression was hideous and gloomy. Everyone fell silent, looking like they wanted to watch the drama but didn’t quite dare to. Director Liu glanced at the crowd, let out a cold sneer, and strode away.

“Pfft…” Someone couldn’t help but let out a snicker.

Soon, everyone started laughing. The atmosphere felt festive. A smile unconsciously crept onto the corners of Lin Qian’s mouth.

Chen Qi poked his head over. “You smiled?”

Lin Qian’s smile stiffened.

Chen Qi said, “Go ahead, laugh! This is definitely something worth being happy about. You should smile more. You barely say a word all day, just burying your head in work. It’s so dull.”

“Smiling is good. Talk to us more. If you really don’t want to talk to others, you can talk to me. I actually quite like talking to you…”

Here he goes again.

Lin Qian clenched her fists, gathered her courage, and cut him off. “Is there anything else you need?”

Chen Qi stunned for a moment.

Lin Qian added, “I have work to handle.”

Chen Qi looked at her for a moment, eventually nodded, and said, “Alright then, get to it.”

He didn’t linger and walked away. Lin Qian’s heart was pounding, and her face felt a bit hot.

It worked!

Yes, that’s it. Next time he comes to bother her, she would reject him and send him away just like that. A strange sense of pride rose in her heart—the accomplishment of finally finding the courage to drive away someone she disliked.

Inside the CEO’s Office

Su Qingmo stood tall and elegant by the window. She reached out to pull back a slat of the blinds and looked out. Beyond the glass was the gray-cubicle office area.

Her gaze landed unerringly on Lin Qian, and her expression softened instantly.

Then, her gaze shifted to the left, landing on Chen Qi, who was staring at Lin Qian. Her eyes abruptly turned cold.

“Call him in,” Su Qingmo said, her voice devoid of warmth.

The secretary, Li Linlin, lowered her head obediently and nodded.

A few minutes later, there was a knock on the office door.

“Come in,” Su Qingmo said without looking up, continuing to process the documents on her desk.

“President Su, Chen Qi is here,” Li Linlin said, leading him in.

Su Qingmo gave a curt “Mm” as she flipped through a file. Li Linlin nodded to Chen Qi and then exited. As the office door closed, only Su Qingmo and Chen Qi remained in the room.

Chen Qi subconsciously fiddled with his sleeve. Usually, he was like a restless monkey when messing around with colleagues, but now he stood pin-straight, not daring to make a single extra movement.

As a junior purchaser in the Logistics Department, there was really no reason for him to be personally summoned by the CEO. Whether it was good or bad, he couldn’t tell yet.

Minutes ticked by. Su Qingmo handled her work, ignoring Chen Qi. Chen Qi didn’t dare make a sound, standing there stiffly with his head bowed. The atmosphere was oppressive; the only sounds in the large office were the turning of pages and the scratch of a pen.

After an unknown amount of time, Chen Qi’s legs began to feel numb.

“Chen Qi.” Su Qingmo still didn’t look at him, her voice neither heavy nor light.

Chen Qi perked up and stood even straighter. “Yes, I’m here.”

Su Qingmo stopped working and looked up.

Chen Qi’s eyes brightened. He had caught glimpses of her before and knew Su Qingmo was beautiful, but this was his first time looking at her directly and at such close range. However, he couldn’t admire her beauty for long; he was forced back by her deep, piercingly cold eyes. He couldn’t look her in the eye, let alone admire her.

“Logistics Department, in charge of procurement,” Su Qingmo stated.

Chen Qi swallowed and replied cautiously, “Yes, President Su. I’m in Logistics. I handle procurement and some miscellaneous tasks.”

Su Qingmo casually pulled a rollerball pen from the pen holder and placed it on the desk. “Take a look.”

Confused, Chen Qi did as he was told. He walked over, picked up the pen with both hands, and examined it. He recognized it; it was from a batch of supplies he had recently purchased.

“If I’m not mistaken, you were responsible for purchasing this batch of pens. The quoted price was five dollars each. Do you think the quality is worth that price?” Su Qingmo’s tone was flat, not quite an interrogation, yet it carried an incredible sense of pressure.

It was suffocating.

Chen Qi’s palms began to sweat as guilt flooded his heart. His usual job involved buying office supplies for the staff. As for these pens, the quality was passable—one could argue they were worth five dollars if you stretched it—but if someone really looked into it…

It couldn’t withstand scrutiny. He had taken a kickback from the supplier. Of course, he wasn’t the only one; by the time the money reached him, there wasn’t much left. At most, he was just someone picking up the scraps. Director Liu was the one who took the lion’s share.

Chen Qi suddenly remembered—Director Liu was fired this morning.

Panic-stricken, Chen Qi tried to organize his words, desperate to distance himself from the situation.

Su Qingmo withdrew her gaze and returned to the work on her desk.

“Pres… President Su,” Chen Qi wiped the sweat from his forehead, his hands shaking violently. “Regarding these pens…”

Without even lifting her eyelids, Su Qingmo coldly cut him off. “You may leave.”

Chen Qi froze, his lips trembling. He didn’t dare say another word and walked out of the office on shaky legs.

When he returned to his seat, Chen Qi looked stunned. Despite the strong air conditioning, sweat continued to pour down his face.

A friend of Chen Qi’s leaned in. “Are you ready? Can you pull it off? I see Lin Qian usually ignores you. If you suddenly confess your feelings, will she even say yes?”

Chen Qi remained silent, head down.

The friend raised an eyebrow. “No way. You were so confident yesterday, saying that for a girl with her introverted, socially anxious personality, it’s a sure thing. You said you’d have her at a hotel within a day. What, are you chickening out now?”

Chen Qi suddenly looked up and snapped, “Enough! Stop buzzing in my ear. I’m in no mood for this right now.”

If she pursued the kickback issue, being fired would be the least of his worries—he could end up in jail. Confess? Confess my ass. He didn’t have the slightest mental energy left for romance.

Lin Qian stopped typing and let out a long breath. She looked around; almost all her colleagues had already finished work and left.

She prepared to leave as well, turned off her computer, packed her things, and headed toward the elevators. Out of habit, she checked from a distance. No one was there. Delighted, she jogged over.

No people is good. I like it when there are no people.

She pressed the down button and waited anxiously, scanning her surroundings. She chanted in her mind: Please let the elevator be empty, and please don’t let anyone else show up while I’m waiting…

With a ding, the doors opened. It was empty.

Lin Qian’s brow smoothed out, and she stepped inside quickly.

Clack, clack.

The sound of high heels hit the floor behind her. Someone entered the elevator right after her, and a faint scent of lemon drifted to her nose.

Lin Qian’s heart tightened instantly, but she quickly composed herself. She didn’t like riding elevators with others or having contact with people, but when contact was unavoidable, she tried her best to act like a normal person.

Lin Qian glanced to the side and froze.

Her heart, which had just calmed down, tightened again. Her entire body went stiff.

Su Qingmo!

Heavens, why was she sharing an elevator with the CEO? She would have preferred being squeezed in with a crowd of colleagues over this.

Lin Qian bit her lip, feeling incredibly conflicted. Should I say something? It would be rude not to greet the big boss while in the same elevator, right?

“Pres… President Su,” Lin Qian said softly.

Su Qingmo kept her eyes fixed forward and gave a slight nod as a response.

Lin Qian stood up straight and inconspicuously nudged herself to the side, creating a bit of distance from Su Qingmo, who was standing a half-step behind her.

From the corner of her eye, Su Qingmo watched those tiny sidesteps and raised an eyebrow.

The elevator was silent, save for the hum of the machine. Lin Qian habitually bit her lower lip while staring at the floor display. On the surface, she looked fine, but inside, she felt like an ant on a hot pan.

I should have worked overtime. I should have taken the stairs. I should have… why is this elevator so slow? Why aren’t we at the first floor yet?

With a ding, the elevator reached the first floor and the doors opened. The moment they slid apart, Lin Qian felt as if she were seeing a light at the end of a tunnel. She couldn’t wait to run toward it.

But logic told her she couldn’t do that. She forced herself to turn around. “President Su, we’re at the first floor. I’ll be going now.”

With that, she walked out, her pace getting faster and faster.

Behind her, Su Qingmo slowly stepped out of the elevator, watching the person who was fleeing as if for her life.

She really is like a rabbit. Runs fast enough.

Her phone buzzed twice. Su Qingmo answered the call.

Li Linlin’s voice came through from the other end: “President Su, the meeting starts in five minutes. Why did you suddenly take the elevator down?”

Just a few minutes ago, Su Qingmo had walked out of her office with Li Linlin following behind. They were heading to the conference room when Su Qingmo suddenly seemed to spot something, changed direction, and walked into the elevator, leaving Li Linlin completely bewildered.

“I just felt like taking the elevator,” Su Qingmo said, her mood clearly excellent.

The call ended, leaving Li Linlin with a head full of questions. Just felt like taking the elevator?

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