Reborn as an Aloof Boss, Flirting Everywhere - Chapter 5

Buzz, buzz.

The phone in her pocket vibrated. Lin Qian took it out and stole a glance. She didn’t want to reply; after all, in a setting like this, playing with her phone felt inappropriate. However, when she saw who the message was from, joy surged in her heart.

After a moment of hesitation, she hid her phone under the table and looked down to sneak a reply: 【The company is having a group dinner. It’s not convenient to listen to voice messages right now. I’ll get back to you in a bit.】

From the corner of her eye, Su Qingmo watched her. She frowned, feeling a prick of curiosity. This little thing is so anxious she can barely sit still, yet she finds the time to chat with someone?

A thought occurred to her, and her expression darkened instantly. Is it Chu Xiaoyu? Lin Qian’s “first love”?

Everyone at the table, save for Lin Qian, was an expert at reading the room. They immediately sensed the change in Su Qingmo’s mood and fell as silent as cicadas in winter.

Su Qingmo rotated the table, moving the Stir-fried Beef with Cilantro which Lin Qian loved away from her, and replaced it with a plate of plain, bland greens.

No more beef for you. That’s what you get for chatting with questionable people!

Lin Qian watched her favorite dish drift away and felt a wave of disappointment. She dejectedly started nibbling on the greens in front of her. Su Qingmo tried to ignore her, but seeing her look so pitiful made her heart ache despite her annoyance. Ultimately, she couldn’t stay firm; she rotated the table again to bring the beef back.

Lin Qian’s eyes lit up when the dish returned. She took a large portion and began eating happily. Seeing her enjoyment, the tension in Su Qingmo’s face softened slightly.

Vice President Tang, who had been about to reach for a dish, withdrew his chopsticks and twitched his lips. When he wanted the greens, the greens were moved. When he wanted the beef, the beef was moved. And every single time, it was Su Qingmo who moved them.

He couldn’t help but wonder: When did I offend Su Qingmo? I haven’t! Was her offer to serve me soup earlier actually a warning?

Thinking this, VP Tang lost his appetite entirely. He spent the rest of the meal even more terrified than Lin Qian. When he reached for a piece of White Cut Chicken, the table rotated, leaving his chopsticks hanging in mid-air—an incredibly awkward moment.

Su Qingmo was constantly monitoring Lin Qian. Seeing that the girl seemed to want the chicken, she had immediately brought the dish to her. Lin Qian took a piece, ate it, and nodded, a faint expression of happiness on her face. Su Qingmo felt a reflected sense of joy.

Beside them, VP Tang’s heart was in his throat. Su Qingmo definitely has a problem with me! I’m always respectful to her—when did I cross her?

Halfway through the meal, Su Qingmo received a work call and had to step away. She instinctively looked at Lin Qian. Though her words were meant for Lin Qian, she addressed the group: “I have to take a call. I’ll be back soon.”

Feeling uneasy, she gave Lin Qian one last look before leaving the room.

Lin Qian stole a glance at Su Qingmo’s retreating back and unconsciously bit her lower lip. Clearly, Su Qingmo was the person who made her most uncomfortable, yet now that she was gone, facing the table without her felt even worse. In fact, she found herself wishing Su Qingmo would hurry back.

When Su Qingmo was there, Lin Qian was nervous, but she felt a strange sense of security—enough to eat a few bites of her favorite food. Now, she was riddled with anxiety. She bit her lip until it turned white, and her heart began to race.

She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. As her heart rate slowed, she felt a sudden thirst. She picked up a glass and took a large gulp.

Wait.

It wasn’t water. It was alcohol.

She looked at the glass—she had grabbed the wrong one. She had taken Su Qingmo’s glass. With the liquid in her mouth, she couldn’t spit it out but didn’t want to swallow it. Finally, she forced herself to swallow the large gulp of liquor.

She had never drunk alcohol before and had no idea it would taste this foul—spicy and burning like it was cutting her throat. Lin Qian’s expression contorted, and her entire face flushed bright red.

Li Linlin asked with concern, “Miss Lin, are you alright?”

Lin Qian was coughing too hard to speak. She grabbed her water and took a huge swig, but she couldn’t wash away the stinging taste of the alcohol. The stares from everyone at the table made her feel like she was sitting on a bed of needles.

So embarrassing…

But before the embarrassment could settle in, the alcohol hit her. The room began to sway.

When Su Qingmo returned after her call, her gaze landed on Lin Qian immediately. She noticed the girl’s face was an unnatural shade of red and she looked completely dazed. Her eyes swept to the glass on the table; half the alcohol was gone.

Su Qingmo’s brow furrowed. She scanned the people at the table with a gaze so cold it could freeze the air. Everyone shuddered.

“Who let her drink?” Su Qingmo’s gaze landed on VP Tang, her expression menacing.

VP Tang: “?”

He waved his hands frantically, almost shouting: It wasn’t me! Do I look like I have that little common sense?!

Li Linlin quickly explained, “Miss Lin drank it herself, President Su. Your glass was close to her water; she likely grabbed the wrong one. She downed half a glass in one go.”

Hearing this, Su Qingmo’s face softened slightly, but her eyes were filled with worry. Lin Qian had a slight allergy to alcohol—nothing life-threatening, but enough to cause a reaction if she had too much. Half a glass was definitely “too much.”

Inside the car, Lin Qian’s eyes were closed. Her face and neck were flushed deep red. Li Linlin handed some allergy medication she had just bought from a pharmacy to Su Qingmo.

Su Qingmo took the medicine and leaned in to examine Lin Qian. There was redness but no hives yet; the allergy wasn’t severe. Some medicine should do the trick.

“Lin Qian,” Su Qingmo called softly.

Lin Qian gave an unconscious “Mm” but didn’t open her eyes. She was clearly very drunk. Su Qingmo called her again.

Disturbed, Lin Qian’s eyelashes fluttered, and she reluctantly opened her eyes. She looked at the person in front of her, tilted her head, and asked, “Who are you?”

Su Qingmo smiled. This dazed, muddled look was actually quite adorable.

“Time for medicine,” Su Qingmo said.

“I’m not sick. Not taking it.” Lin Qian blinked, refusing to cooperate.

Regardless of what she said, Su Qingmo held the pill to her lips. The person who just said she wouldn’t take it suddenly opened her mouth obediently and took the pill. Su Qingmo offered her water, and the medicine went down easily.

“Good girl,” Su Qingmo said, stroking her hair.

Lin Qian nodded. “I am a pretty good girl.”

Su Qingmo laughed again. This little thing certainly lost her modesty when she was drunk. Regardless of whether Lin Qian was lucid, Su Qingmo warned her, “You can’t drink in the future. If you drink too much, you’ll get a rash. Do you understand?”

Lin Qian nodded dutifully. “Okay. No more drinking.”

Then, she pointed to a large bump on the back of her hand from a mosquito bite a few days ago. “Look, I have a rash. It’s so itchy.”

She began to scratch it forcefully. Soon, red marks appeared on her skin. “It itches,” she whimpered while scratching.

Su Qingmo quickly grabbed her hand, her heart aching at the sight of the reddened skin. “If you keep scratching, you’ll break the skin. No more scratching.”

Lin Qian puffed out her cheeks and nodded obediently. She didn’t get rowdy when drunk; she was quite well-behaved and did exactly what she was told. She stopped scratching, but it still itched, so she started pressing her fingernail into the bump instead. With a very serious expression, she pressed a “cross” mark into the mosquito bite.

Su Qingmo watched her and shook her head with a light laugh. She took out some ointment and said softly, “Stop pressing it. Put this on and it won’t itch anymore.”

Lin Qian understood. She thrust her hand forward, her face practically screaming: Put it on, put it on!

Su Qingmo took her hand and gently rubbed the ointment into the bite. It felt cool and soothing.

“Still itchy?” Su Qingmo asked.

“Not itchy,” Lin Qian said solemnly. “You’re a good person.”

Su Qingmo: “…”

Lin Qian took the remaining tube of ointment from Su Qingmo and stuffed it into her own pocket. “This is good stuff. It’s mine now.”

Su Qingmo: “…”

Lin Qian closed her eyes and, lulled by the alcohol, quickly fell back asleep. Su Qingmo draped her jacket over her and signaled Li Linlin to raise the AC temperature. Finally, she felt her forehead to make sure she wasn’t running a fever from the allergy.

Suddenly, Lin Qian opened her eyes. Su Qingmo was startled for a moment but then smiled. “Go back to sleep. I’ll wake you when we get home.”

Lin Qian didn’t sleep. Instead, she focused all her attention on Su Qingmo, staring at her unblinkingly while leaning closer and closer.

The distance between them shrank until they were only half an inch apart. The car’s AC seemed to fail as Su Qingmo suddenly felt incredibly hot. Her breathing became uneven at the proximity.

Li Linlin caught a glimpse through the rearview mirror. Being this close… is President Su going to get angry? She knew Su Qingmo hated people getting too close to her. Even if she liked Lin Qian, still…

Su Qingmo swallowed hard, her fingers curling into fists. A hint of panic appeared on her usually calm and composed face. Li Linlin raised an eyebrow as she realized—it wasn’t anger; it was nervousness.

“Pfft.”

Li Linlin couldn’t help but let out a snicker. Su Qingmo snapped out of it and shot a glance forward. Li Linlin immediately looked away, maintaining a perfectly professional expression as if she hadn’t just laughed.

Lin Qian reached out and pinched Su Qingmo’s ear. Su Qingmo’s breath hitched, her body going rigid. Her gaze toward Lin Qian became unreadable.

Lin Qian smiled. “This shiny thing is pretty. It’s mine.”

With that, she began tugging at the earring on Su Qingmo’s earlobe.

“Sss—” Su Qingmo hissed in pain and grabbed her hand. “You’re hurting me.”

Lin Qian backed off slightly, looking at her with confusion—or rather, looking at the earring with confusion. Finally, she apologized to the earring: “I’m sorry.”

Su Qingmo was speechless.

“You like it that much?” Su Qingmo asked helplessly.

Lin Qian nodded. Su Qingmo took off the earring and handed it to her. “It’s yours.”

Lin Qian grinned. she tucked the earring into her pocket and patted it several times to make sure it was secure. Only then did she fall back asleep peacefully.

Su Qingmo looked at her. She was so well-behaved, yet such a handful. Su Qingmo sighed, picked up her jacket which had fallen to the side, and tucked her in again.

Li Linlin kept her eyes on the road but was secretly watching from the corner of her eye. She actually gave her that earring? That was the only gift Su Qingmo’s grandmother had left her. Word was she intended to give it to her future spouse.

Li Linlin couldn’t calm her racing thoughts. It seemed President Su didn’t just want to chase this girl—she wanted to marry her.

When they arrived, Su Qingmo helped Lin Qian out of the car. Li Linlin tried to assist, but before she could even touch Lin Qian, Su Qingmo shot her a cold look. Li Linlin wisely withdrew her hand and didn’t follow.

Lin Qian had no strength left and was leaning almost entirely on Su Qingmo. But she was light, so Su Qingmo didn’t find it difficult.

However, as they passed the flowerbed, Lin Qian who had been limp a second ago suddenly stood up straight. She didn’t need help anymore and marched steadily toward the flowerbed.

“Da Pang! Da Pang!” she called out.

A little orange cat jumped out from the bushes. Lin Qian smiled, picked it up, and rubbed her face against it. Then, she pulled back with a look of disgust. “Da Pang, you’re so stinky.”

Despite saying he was stinky, she wouldn’t let go, petting and kissing the cat all over. Su Qingmo stood by and smiled, but as she watched, she felt a twinge of jealousy toward the cat.

“Today…” Even though she was drunk, Lin Qian habitually tried to tell the cat everything that happened. But after saying “today,” her brain short-circuited. “Today, what was it? I forgot…”

“I remember!” Lin Qian puffed out her cheeks. “The company dinner today. So unlucky. I had to sit at the table with the leaders. They were all so mean. Especially the one sitting next to me… she was the meanest.”

Su Qingmo: “???”

The one sitting next to her was me! How was I mean? I practically had “kind and approachable” written across my face, did she not feel it?

“But, even though she’s very mean, she…”

Su Qingmo pricked up her ears to listen.

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