This Time, She Confesses First - Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Despite replacing the red wine with coke, Ke Qingyun still drank wine that night. At 2:00 AM, Jing Huan arrived at the Tan Family Restaurant to pick her up. Ke Qingyun didn’t show her alcohol intake on her face. Standing at the restaurant entrance, she greeted people with a smile, looking natural and composed, but up close, one could smell a faint scent of wine on her.

Only after seeing off the leaders did Ke Qingyun get into the car. The sense of ease and composure that had been on her face earlier vanished. She rested her head on one hand, turning to look at Jing Huan, “Did I disturb your rest?”

“No.”

Jing Huan shook her head, her eyes lowered. “You said if I swapped the red wine for coke, you wouldn’t drink tonight.” Her voice was very small, carrying a hint of complaint.

Ke Qingyun’s expression paused. She lowered her head and smiled, promising her, “I absolutely won’t drink next time.”

Jing Huan turned to look out the window, “Liar.”

Ke Qingyun stared at Jing Huan’s profile for a while, explaining softly, “Mr. Hua Rong was my mentor when I was at the headquarters. She’s returning to Beijing tomorrow, and the schedule was tight, so I had to invite her to dinner after the annual meeting. I didn’t drink much tonight, only about two ounces.”

She wasn’t that formal or constrained with Hua Rong. Having a little wine during dinner was a pleasant diversion.

Ke Qingyun’s tone was very slow, and her voice was soft, which gave Jing Huan the illusion that the person in front of her was no longer her leader, but the Jiejie who had taught her math problems back then. There was no superior-subordinate distinction between them. She could refute Ke Qingyun’s words without restraint, write her unhappiness on her face, and throw a fit or make small demands to her Jiejie.

Back then, Ke Qingyun rarely took things to heart, a faint smile always playing on her lips. When Jing Huan pouted and huffed in frustration, Ke Qingyun would poke her arm with a pen and ask, “Are you going to study or not? If not, I’m leaving.”

Ke Qingyun was Jing Yuan’s tutor, and explaining math problems to Jing Huan was purely out of politeness and goodwill, not bound by work. If she didn’t want to teach, she could simply leave.

This statement was particularly powerful for Jing Huan. As soon as she heard Ke Qingyun say she was going back to school, she immediately turned around, all her tantrums gone. “I’ll study, don’t leave.”

Ke Qingyun chuckled lightly, “Then let’s continue with this problem. Your previous solution wasn’t wrong, but it would be more troublesome and time-consuming during an exam.”

Jing Huan turned sideways, resting her chin on one hand, her gaze involuntarily landing on Ke Qingyun’s face. She wore no makeup, and her skin was smooth and delicate, even showing fine downy hair. Stray strands of hair fell beside her face, adding a touch of coolness. Ke Qingyun’s thin lips opened and closed, occasionally pursing. Her measured voice seemed to possess a magical ability to draw people in. Jing Huan wasn’t listening to the specifics of what she was saying; her mind had long drifted off. She only wished that time could stop at that moment, even naively thinking how wonderful it would be to look at Ke Qingyun like this every day in the future.

Action controlled by thought, Jing Huan impulsively reached out and grabbed Ke Qingyun’s arm, “Jiejie, stay for dinner tonight.”

Ke Qingyun paused her pen, turned her head, and glanced at her, “Listen carefully.”

“Stay,” Jing Huan wasn’t afraid of her at all, slowly leaning in like a kitten. “My mom is making braised pork tonight. It’s especially delicious, I’m not lying.”

Ke Qingyun lightly tapped Jing Huan’s forehead with the pen, her tone stern, “If you don’t listen seriously, I’m going to get angry.”

Jing Huan pouted, not daring to say anything more.

“Ms. Ke, I’m so sorry to trouble you, teaching Huanhuan math after tutoring Jing Yuan,” Jing Mama came out of the kitchen with an apron tied around her waist to fetch something. Seeing the two in the living room, she smiled and said, “Stay for dinner tonight. I’ve cooked a few dishes. You can try my cooking.”

Jing Huan immediately looked at Ke Qingyun too, her eyes pleading, “Can you go back to school after eating? Jiejie.”

Ke Qingyun couldn’t help but let the corner of her mouth curl up, but she still insisted righteously, “Let’s finish this problem first.”

“Just stay,” Jing Huan was close to hugging Ke Qingyun’s arm and acting spoiled. “If it gets too late, I can take you back to school.”

Ke Qingyun sighed softly, looked up, and smiled helplessly, “Alright, alright.”

“Are you angry?” Ke Qingyun leaned sideways and patted Jing Huan’s arm.

Jing Huan was startled, turning her head toward Ke Qingyun out of habit, but her mind hadn’t fully pulled away from the memory. “Can you drink less in the future? It’s not good for your health.”

“Okay, I won’t drink anymore in the future,” Ke Qingyun blurted out, sounding particularly natural.

But Jing Huan knew this was just to appease her. Ke Qingyun was the general manager of the campus. She not only had to host leaders from the headquarters but also deal with various inspections from the city. Although the company had regulations against unhealthy drinking culture, completely avoiding alcohol was clearly impossible.

Drinking to aid in project discussions had become a kind of unwritten rule. Jing Huan was aware that she was powerless to change this situation and had no standing to do so. She just felt sorry for Ke Qingyun, thinking that being a leader was especially tough for her—high work pressure, having to drink every day, hosting superiors, and all the various campus arrangements falling on her. It must be tiring.

If Qi Mengmeng knew she was having such thoughts, she would definitely scoff at her for sympathizing with a capitalist. The person has status and money. Does she need sympathy from an assistant like you? But then again, the “capitalist” was Ke Qingyun, and besides, Ke Qingyun hadn’t exploited her at all.

Jing Huan sighed, focusing on her duty. “I bought glucose. Do you want to drink some first, or your head will start hurting again later.”

Ke Qingyun looked up and asked, “Do you dislike me drinking?”

“No,” Jing Huan had no standing to say whether she liked it or not, so she quickly rationalized, “Actually, if work is too tiring, having a little drink to relax is quite good.”

“That’s not what you’re thinking, is it?” Ke Qingyun said, “Why don’t you admit that you care about me?”

Ke Qingyun spoke with such certainty that Jing Huan couldn’t think of a rebuttal for a moment, so she went along with it, “Yes, that’s right. I care about you. Since you’re the leader, my concern for you is expected.”

“You’ve truly grown up. You speak so flawlessly,” Ke Qingyun joked.

Jing Huan pretended not to hear, “If you don’t want the glucose, fasten your seatbelt. We’re going back.”

Ke Qingyun closed her eyes, “I’m a little dizzy.”

“?” Jing Huan looked at her.

Ke Qingyun kept her eyes closed, not speaking. Jing Huan had no choice but to lean over and fasten the seatbelt for her. Just as her hand touched the belt, Ke Qingyun suddenly opened her eyes, grabbed her wrist, and asked, “Is it only because I’m the leader that you care about me?”

Jing Huan’s heart raced. She dared not look directly into Ke Qingyun’s eyes, feigning composure, “What else could it be?”

Ke Qingyun’s gaze held for a moment, then she released Jing Huan’s hand, turned her head, and sighed heavily, speaking with both emotion and reason, “I slept at three o’clock last night, woke up at six this morning, and haven’t closed my eyes since. Mr. Hua Rong wants me to get the university president of Keda to move into our campus, but his children are by his side. No matter how good the campus is, he won’t want to move in. If I could, I’d also want to get off work early, go home, lie comfortably on the sofa, watch TV, and eat fruit. I guess I’ll only be able to live a comfortable life like that when I retire. Life is tough, so tough. But let’s not talk about it. The main thing is that I don’t even have someone who genuinely cares about me by my side.”

After saying all this, Ke Qingyun turned to look at Jing Huan and asked, “Right?”

Jing Huan was initially feeling empathetic and wanted to offer some comfort, but when the last sentence came out, the comforting words immediately went back down her throat. She said coolly, “But your salary is high. If I had a salary as high as yours, I’d be willing to work without a rest every day.”

Ke Qingyun: “…” Kids are indeed not easy to fool anymore.

“Do you know how much my salary is?”

Jing Huan’s eyes darted around. She answered, “Uh… I heard some things.”

Ke Qingyun: “How much did you hear it was?”

Gossiping about the leader is a major taboo. Jing Huan licked her lips, feeling guilty. “Just a lot. Okay, actually, I guessed it, because that’s how it’s written in novels.”

Ke Qingyun burst out laughing, lowered her eyes, and glanced at her arms crossed over her chest, asking, “In novels, do assistants also care about their leaders like this?”

“…Not necessarily,” Jing Huan said without batting an eyelid. “In novels, leaders are powerful, influential, and rich. They are very strong-willed and don’t need anyone’s concern.”

Ke Qingyun frowned and asked, “What kind of novels are you reading?”

“Business warfare.”

The atmosphere immediately soured a bit. Ke Qingyun turned her head, coughed lightly, and pushed Jing Huan’s arm away, “I’ll fasten it myself.”

Jing Huan then realized she was still leaning over, blocking Ke Qingyun. She quickly withdrew her hand and sat back, “If you’re not dizzy, you can fasten it yourself.”

“Jing Huan.”

Ke Qingyun fastened her seatbelt and suddenly called her name again.

Jing Huan was focused on the road conditions and didn’t dare to be distracted, answering faintly, “Mm?”

“Thank you for today.”

Jing Huan glanced at her out of the corner of her eye, completely confused by what this was about now.

Ke Qingyun smiled and said, “Thank you for picking me up late at night and for helping me swap the red wine for coke.”

“You are the leader. It’s my duty.”

The wait at the traffic light was unusually boring. Ke Qingyun turned to look at Jing Huan. She didn’t know what prompted her, but the more formal Jing Huan was with her, the more she wanted to say random things to tease her. “In a novel, what would a leader usually say to an assistant in this situation?”

“In novels, leaders are very aloof and wouldn’t actively chat with their assistants,” Jing Huan pursed her lips and suggested, “Ms. Ke, if you’re really interested, maybe I can recommend the novel titles to you.”

Ke Qingyun raised an eyebrow, “Sure. I’ll take the time to learn how aloof leaders in novels are.”

After a while,

The two exchanged glances and both laughed out loud.

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