Reborn as an Aloof Boss, Flirting Everywhere - Chapter 4

Lin Qian’s eyes narrowed slightly. Her nearsightedness made the world a blur; she could tell someone was sitting in the car, but she couldn’t make out their face.

Su Qingmo reached for the door handle, wanting to step out. Her instinct was to get closer to her. But when she saw Lin Qian’s slightly wary expression and furrowed brow, she silently pulled the half-opened door shut.

It wasn’t time yet. It was too soon. Walking over now wouldn’t bring Lin Qian joy; it would only terrify her. Su Qingmo understood the timid Lin Qian far too well, and because she understood, she didn’t dare to be reckless.

The cat in Lin Qian’s arms seemed to sense her tension. It let out two “meows” and rubbed its head against her hand. The soft, furry sensation pulled Lin Qian back to reality, and she let out a sigh of relief. For some reason, she felt the woman had been staring at her and thought she was about to come over.

Fortunately, she stayed in the car.

After that little episode, Lin Qian didn’t want to linger. She hurried back home. As she walked toward the apartment entrance, she glanced back at the woman. Still unable to see her face clearly, Lin Qian wondered if this was the same person who usually leaned against the car “feeding mosquitoes.” Was she staying inside the car today to avoid being bitten?

Lin Qian only gave a quick glance before pushing through the unit door. Once inside, she went to the window and looked down.

The person had stepped out of the car. She was tall and slender, wearing a round-neck white embroidered shirt, light blue trousers, and high heels. Leaning against the car, she looked like a high-fashion model with an exceptional aura.

Great, she’s back out there feeding the mosquitoes again.

Lin Qian scratched a large, itchy bump on her hand. She had only been down there for a short while to talk to the cat, yet she had already been bitten several times. Since that woman stayed out there almost every day, the local mosquitoes were probably well-fed because of her.

The next morning, 9:30 AM.

Lin Qian sat at her desk, yawning uncontrollably, her eyes blinking open and shut. Last night, because she had “randomly” obtained her favorite outfit, she had spent hours fiddling with her character in the game. She was so excited she didn’t fall asleep until 3:00 AM.

The joy was real, but so was the exhaustion that made it nearly impossible to keep her eyes open today.

Whoosh.

A blast of cold air from the air conditioner hit her. Lin Qian tucked her neck in, half of her sleepiness replaced by a chill. She glanced at the AC unit facing her, which was blasting air at 15°C (59°F). Used to this, she silently picked up her blanket and wrapped herself in it. She patted her cheeks to wake herself up, put on her black-rimmed glasses, and focused on the day’s work.

Su Qingmo walked past and instinctively glanced toward the corner. She frowned slightly. Why is she wrapped in a blanket?

She looked at the air conditioner and realized what was happening. She leaned over and whispered something to Li Linlin.

When Lin Qian finished her immediate task, she let out a long breath, took off her glasses, and rubbed her sore eyes. She looked up and noticed that the AC, which had been freezing her out, had been adjusted. The temperature was now set to a reasonable 24°C (75°F).

The complaining voice of a male colleague reached her ears: “It’s boiling! Since when can’t this company afford the AC? They actually made a rule that it can’t be lower than 24 degrees. I’m speechless…”

A female colleague rolled her eyes at him. “This temperature is perfectly comfortable. You’re being dramatic. You always set it so low the office feels like a refrigerator. Even with a blanket, I was freezing.”

“I’m hot; I can’t exactly peel off my skin. If you’re cold, you can just wear more clothes!”

“That doesn’t mean you should set it to 12 or 13 degrees…”

Lin Qian set her blanket aside, feeling a small spark of secret joy. Her desk was directly in the path of the vent; when the temperature was too low, even a blanket couldn’t save her. She had caught a cold because of it once before. A rule against going below 24 degrees? That’s a great rule, Lin Qian thought, giving it a silent thumbs-up.

“Wait, where’s Chen Qi?” someone noticed his desk had been empty all morning.

“He resigned. It was so sudden. I tried to message him, but he’s already deleted me,” said a colleague who used to be close to him.

“I saw him being taken to the CEO’s office by Secretary Li yesterday. When he came back, he was pale as a ghost and drenched in sweat…”

As her colleagues gossiped, Lin Qian listened for a moment but, as usual, didn’t join in. For some reason, she felt like her life had been exceptionally “smooth” lately. The difficult Director Liu was fired, the broken streetlight was fixed, and she had won her favorite outfit for free.

Lin Qian looked at Chen Qi’s empty seat. Now, even that annoying pest was gone…

This was almost too lucky. She wondered if she should buy a lottery ticket after work; maybe she really would win.

By the time she clocked out, the idea was still on her mind. She stood in front of a lottery shop, hesitating and peeking inside. She had never bought one before and felt a bit nervous. There were three or four people inside the small, cramped shop. One man, shirtless with a cigarette dangling from his mouth, was scratching a ticket at the door.

“Dammit!” The man threw the ticket on the ground, stomped on it, and turned back inside. “Boss, give me another one! I refuse to believe I can’t win!”

Lin Qian withdrew her gaze and hurried past. Forget it. Too many people, and they seem a bit strange…

Inside a black sedan parked by the road, Su Qingmo watched the girl who had hesitated in front of the shop before running away. She let out a light laugh. Secretary Li Linlin heard the laugh and glanced over in surprise, but quickly regained her professional composure. After all, the usually stoic President Su had been acting “strange” enough lately that Li Linlin was starting to get used to it.

In mid-October, the company organized a group dinner.

Lin Qian arrived late. Standing at the restaurant entrance, she looked through the glass window. Her colleagues had mostly found their seats; most tables were full, with only a few scattered empty spots. Even those few empty chairs were occupied by bags, coats, and other clutter. Everyone was laughing and chatting—it was incredibly lively.

Lin Qian stood at the door, aimlessly swiping her phone. She looked like she was playing a game, but she was actually riddled with anxiety. Where do I sit? The empty seats have things on them; should I ask someone to move them? Everyone is sitting with people they know, and I’m not close to anyone. If I just walk over and sit down, won’t it be awkward?

She knew most people likely wouldn’t care, but she always obsessed over these awkward social details.

Someone walked past her, bringing a faint scent of lemon. The scent was familiar. She looked up and met Su Qingmo’s cool gaze. Her breath hitched.

“Hello, President Su,” Lin Qian whispered.

“Why aren’t you going in?” Su Qingmo asked.

Lin Qian hadn’t expected her to respond. Biting her lip, she made up an awkward excuse: “It’s stuffy inside. I’m just standing out here for a bit.”

Su Qingmo looked at her. Just as Lin Qian thought she would say more, the CEO simply gave a soft “Mm” and walked inside. Lin Qian let out a long sigh of relief.

Once inside the restaurant, Su Qingmo looked back at the person still standing at the entrance, her brow furrowing slightly. She knew exactly why Lin Qian was outside. Lin Qian hated these settings; she was likely struggling to figure out where to sit.

But Su Qingmo couldn’t just lead her in personally. If she did, it would draw everyone’s attention, and people would spend the whole night staring at her. That would only make Lin Qian more uncomfortable.

Su Qingmo looked at Li Linlin. Li Linlin understood immediately: “Got it, President Su.”

Su Qingmo nodded. She wanted to add a few more instructions—to make sure Lin Qian was taken care of during the meal—but then realized it wasn’t necessary. Li Linlin had been with her for years; she didn’t need a reminder.

“Hi!”

A girl in a professional suit with her hair pinned up approached Lin Qian. Lin Qian looked up and recognized her as the secretary from the CEO’s office.

Li Linlin smiled kindly. “You’re Lin Qian, right?”

Lin Qian nodded blankly. “You know me?”

Li Linlin looked at her with amusement. “We’re in the same company; of course I know you.”

Lin Qian felt like a ghost in the company; even people in her own office easily ignored her. She hadn’t expected the CEO’s secretary to know who she was.

“Why aren’t you going in? They’re about to serve the food. Come on, let’s go together.” Li Linlin invited her warmly.

Since Lin Qian was already stressing about where to sit, she naturally followed. Looking at Li Linlin leading the way, she felt a wave of gratitude. Thank god for her, otherwise I’d be standing outside forever.

However, that gratitude quickly turned into a desire to “curse” her when Li Linlin led her into a private room and invited her to sit.

“There’s an empty seat here. You can sit here,” Li Linlin said.

Lin Qian gave a forced smile, her mind practically exploding. At this table: the Sales Director, the Administrative Manager, the Vice President, and—most terrifyingly—President Su Qingmo right next to her.

Sit here? Haha… SIT HERE?!

Earlier, she thought sitting without any friends was awkward. Now… she would rather die of awkwardness at the entrance than sit here.

Su Qingmo frowned at Li Linlin. She had asked her to help Lin Qian find a seat, so why did she bring her here? How uncomfortable must Lin Qian feel!

Li Linlin guiltily looked away. She had done this on purpose. If she didn’t help the CEO out, that “relationship progress bar” was going to stay at zero forever.

Su Qingmo sighed. Since the girl was already here, she had to let her sit.

“Aren’t you sitting?” Su Qingmo looked up and asked.

The question was calm, but Lin Qian’s body went stiff.

“Sit,” Su Qingmo added.

Lin Qian sat down obediently, her body becoming even more rigid. A strange silence fell over the table. Lin Qian shot a resentful look at Li Linlin, who had sat down further away. She had thought this woman was her savior, but instead, she had been thrown into the frying pan. No entry-level employee sits at a table full of executives, let alone right next to the big boss.

The Vice President looked at Lin Qian curiously. “And this is?”

Lin Qian was so embarrassed she wanted to curl into a ball. She didn’t know how to answer.

“Let’s eat,” Su Qingmo suddenly interrupted. The Vice President immediately nodded and dropped the subject.

Throughout the meal, Lin Qian ate with trembling caution. Since it was a rotating table, she simply ate whatever dish happened to stop in front of her. Most of the time, she just ate plain white rice, trying over and over to minimize her presence, wishing she could turn invisible.

From her peripheral vision, Su Qingmo saw her eating only rice. She subtly rotated the table, bringing the Stir-fried Beef with Cilantro to Lin Qian. Su Qingmo remembered that this was her favorite dish. Sure enough, a second later, Lin Qian took a serving. Su Qingmo’s brow relaxed.

A little while later, Su Qingmo rotated the table again to bring the White Wood Ear and Lotus Seed Soup to her. But this time, Lin Qian didn’t take any. Su Qingmo frowned slightly; she remembered Lin Qian loved this soup.

She quickly understood. With Lin Qian’s “mouse-like” courage, she probably didn’t dare reach for the communal ladle. The ladle was far away, serving soup was too “loud” an action, and she might worry about someone turning the table mid-scoop.

Lin Qian looked at the soup several times but looked away each time, returning to her dry rice. Su Qingmo sighed inwardly. She picked up the ladle, unhurriedly filled a bowl, and slid it over to Lin Qian’s hand.

Lin Qian’s hand jerked back as if she’d been stung.

Su Qingmo: “…”

Lin Qian looked at the soup, then at Su Qingmo, then lowered her head and shifted her body slightly away. She bit her lower lip. What’s going on? Why did she push this over? Is it because I’m taking up too much room and crowding her?

“This is quite good. Give it a try,” Su Qingmo said.

Lin Qian looked at her, and once she realized what happened, she quickly took it with both hands and thanked her. At the same time, the eyes of everyone else at the table fell on Lin Qian with intense curiosity. Who is this girl? She’s sitting next to Su Qingmo, and Su Qingmo is personally serving her soup?

Being stared at by so many people made Lin Qian feel like her back was on fire.

Just as Lin Qian was panicking, Su Qingmo turned to the Vice President and changed the subject: “Vice President Tang, would you like to try some as well? The taste really is excellent. Shall I serve a bowl for you?”

The VP was stunned for a moment. Everyone’s gaze shifted to him. No longer the center of attention, Lin Qian let out a quiet sigh of relief.

“No, no need! I’ll do it myself. I couldn’t possibly trouble you, President Su,” the VP said, flattered and overwhelmed.

Su Qingmo gave a faint “Mm” and ignored him. Everyone kept watching the VP, and the curiosity that had been on Lin Qian was now entirely focused on him.

Su Qingmo, of course, had no actual desire to serve the VP soup. She wasn’t that bored. She just didn’t want the bowl of soup to make everyone stare at Lin Qian, so she used the VP as a distraction.

Lin Qian picked up her spoon and took a sip. It was sweet—just the way she liked it. The sugary taste seemed to soothe her frazzled nerves. As she drank, she stole a glance at Su Qingmo. Why did she serve me soup? So weird.

Su Qingmo turned her head and their eyes met. Lin Qian scrambled to look away like a startled rabbit.

Su Qingmo’s eyebrow quirked up and a faint smile touched her lips. Part of her felt happy, but another part felt a bit worried. This little rabbit was not easy to get close to; a single move could send her running miles away.

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