A small candy

Chapter 32 Do You Think You Are Good Enough of Cheng Zhixu?

Jian Ling finished her work and it was time to get off work. She didn't dare to keep Cheng Zhixu waiting for too long, so she hurried out with her bag without even putting on some makeup and took the elevator to the underground parking lot.

Cheng Zhixu's car was indeed parked there waiting for her. This time he didn't turn on the hazard lights. She walked over quickly, opened the back door and sat next to Cheng Zhixu.

The car door closed, and Cheng Zhixu told the driver in front the address of the restaurant.

Jian Ling ran out of the elevator. Her hair on her forehead was a little messy. She took out a mirror from her bag, adjusted her bangs with her hand, and found that the sides of her nose were a little oily, so she took out her powder and pressed it twice, and then put on some lipstick.

After finishing her makeup, she held the mirror further away, tilted her face left and right, and checked it carefully to make sure it was perfect without any flaws. Only then did she smile with satisfaction.

Jian Ling stuffed the mirror back into her bag and her fingers touched a small cylindrical bottle. She took it out and saw that it was a niche brand of perfume she had bought last week. She had unpacked it and tossed it into her bag without using it once.

On a whim, Jian Ling sprayed some into the air, then took a deep breath with her nose curled up. The top note was rose, with a hint of raspberry, which smelled quite nice.

Cheng Zhixu sat quietly by the side, watching the girl pull out all kinds of bottles and jars from her bag like magic, smearing them on her face or spraying them on her body. Finally, he couldn't help but ask, "What are you doing?"

"I'm not going to lose the battle even if I lose the fight." Jian Ling gave him a look and continued fiddling with her bottles and jars. She found a pearl hairpin and half-tied up her long hair that was spread out on her back. She pulled out two strands and let them hang down on the sides of her face, looking gentle and charming. "Of course, I won't lose the fight either."

Every time Jian Ling thought about the last time when she faced the exquisite and beautiful Shen Qinghe at home with her sloppy image of a sick cat, she felt depressed and wanted to get back at her. She didn't expect the opportunity to come so suddenly.

Cheng Zhixu didn't quite understand what she meant.

After finishing her makeup and hair, Jian Ling finally turned her full attention to the man beside her. The girl had clear almond-shaped eyes, rosy lips, and white teeth. Her face was filled with confidence and boldness. As she spoke, her red lips moved, bright and charming. "Although I trust you very much, jealousy and trust are two different things. If I don't act superior to my rival, am I still a woman?"

Anyway, he said she was jealous last time, so she didn't mind admitting it more directly. Although she denied it last time, it was just a woman's pride that was at work.

Cheng Zhixu was defeated by her convincing theory. After a few seconds of silence, he picked out the key point: "Love rival? Are you talking about Shen Qinghe?"

"Yes, she must be interested in you." Jian Ling nodded with great certainty. "You know what? I once read that when a man can't tell whether another woman is interested in him, he should just ask his girlfriend. If his girlfriend says yes, then she must be. You have to trust a woman's intuition about some things."

Cheng Zhixu laughed and rubbed her head. Without asking her where the scientific basis for this statement came from, he nodded obediently: "Well, trust your intuition."

In fact, it would be a lie to say that he was completely unaware of Shen Qinghe's thoughts.

Shen Qinghe and he were high school classmates and university alumni, and she always kept a distance from him. She was very good at judging the limits, and she knew when to advance and retreat. She never said anything inappropriate, nor did anything that went beyond the scope of friendship.

Even when she graduated and Cheng Group extended an olive branch to her, she rejected it outright and turned to join Junlan Group, which was a rival to Cheng Group.

Even if he occasionally noticed her feelings, he would quickly dispel his doubts, because her sense of propriety was so strong that no one could find any fault with her.

The only time Shen Qinghe lost her composure was when she came to his house last time and ran into Jian Ling. She said some sarcastic words before getting down to business.

The reason why he didn't expose her at that time was because she was responsible for coordinating the entire later cooperation. The consequence of tearing off the mask would put both of them in an awkward situation, so he didn't say it too clearly that day.

-

Half an hour later, a high-end western restaurant came into view. The first-floor lobby was brightly lit, and the bright light poured out from the huge floor-to-ceiling glass windows like water. It was cut into several pieces by the steps outside the door, and the light was bright with the moonlight scattered on the ground.

Jian Ling got out of the car. Cheng Zhixu walked around from the other side, took her hand and walked in. As soon as they stepped onto the first step, Jian Ling suddenly thought of their current relationship. She decisively broke free from Cheng Zhixu's hand and whispered a reminder, "I'm Secretary Jian now. Don't touch me."

Cheng Zhixu's palms felt empty, and he paused for two seconds, speechless at the three words "Secretary Jian".

He shouldn't have cooperated with her willful behavior. Playing this kind of role is really a headache.

The two of them arrived at the reserved private room. It was Shen Qinghe who opened the door. She held the door handle and the first thing she saw was Cheng Zhixu's handsome face. A smile crossed her lips. She noticed Jian Ling, who was a head shorter than him. Her expression changed subtly, but returned to normal in a second. She smiled and said, "Vice President He and I just mentioned you. Come in."

Jian Ling followed Cheng Zhixu into the box, watched him greet Vice President He, and politely followed suit.

He Yanping shifted his gaze to Jian Ling and asked with a hint of doubt, "Who is this?"

Cheng Zhixu's mouth twitched, and he couldn't utter the word "secretary." Jian Ling, on the other hand, was very calm and took the initiative to introduce herself: "I am Jian Ling, Mr. Cheng's new secretary."

He Yanping smiled and said, "Boss Cheng is really thoughtful. If we bring Special Assistant Ming with us, then our Manager Shen will be the only lady here, and I'm afraid she will feel uncomfortable."

Shen Qinghe's eyes flickered slightly, but he didn't respond and led the others to their seats.

After they each ordered their meals, they chatted about the details of their collaborative project. Jian Ling, not involved in the project, found it difficult to follow. She didn't understand a lot of things, but was too embarrassed to bring them up at that moment. She could only pretend to understand, nodding along from time to time, but she didn't seem to be nervous at all.

Shen Qinghe occasionally glanced at her, seeing her blank expression for a moment, a hint of mockery flashed in her eyes. Cheng Zhixu and He Yanping were chatting happily and probably didn't have the energy to pay attention to Jian Ling, but Shen Qinghe could tell at a glance how much she weighed.

The excuse of being a "secretary" was fake; the real reason was that she never missed any opportunity to pester her boyfriend.

Shen Qinghe usually hated women who were dependent on men, and even more so women who couldn't distinguish between the important and the occasion. Coincidentally, the woman across from him was both of these.

Soon, several waiters came in with meals. Shen Qinghe picked up the water cup and drank some boiled water, then joined the conversation with the other two and no longer paid attention to Jian Ling.

After the dishes came, a few people ate and chatted. The atmosphere was not as serious as before. Occasionally, some jokes were told, mixed with laughter.

When Jian Ling lowered her head to eat the third crab leg, someone suddenly pinched the back of her hand. She was so startled that she almost knocked over the bowl. She looked over suddenly and saw Cheng Zhixu with a calm expression. He gave her a look that was very clear in his eyes.

Jian Ling understood and silently picked up the crab legs from the bowl and placed them on a plate. Her cough hadn't fully healed yet, so she really shouldn't eat too many cold foods. Perhaps it was because she'd been avoiding a lot of foods during her recent health regimen, so she hadn't eaten many of her favorite foods. She'd recently stopped taking her medication, so she was craving them.

Shen Qinghe turned around and saw the two people's eye contact. The temperature at her fingertips froze, a chill. She shrank her fingers, put down her chopsticks, stood up, said hello, walked out of the box, and went to the bathroom at the end of the corridor. After several days, she thought she could calm down.

However, that was just what she thought.

Even if Cheng Zhixu's girlfriend was a woman with strength that matched his, she would not be so unwilling.

Shen Qinghe came out of the bathroom, stood in front of the washbasin and stretched out her hand. Warm water immediately flowed out of the sensor faucet, pouring on her palm, and then flowed through her fingers into the sink below, making it impossible to hold it.

Just as she was distracted, she heard hurried footsteps. Jian Ling rubbed the hem of her clothes with a napkin, but found that she couldn't get it off, so she took some water and continued to wipe it.

She accidentally spilled vegetable juice on her clothes. It was a new sweater she had just worn today and she loved it very much. If she didn't deal with it in time, it would be ruined.

Jian Ling pumped a pump of hand soap, rubbed out the foam, and then rubbed the stained area bit by bit with a wet tissue. She watched the color of the stain fade and finally become invisible, with only a small wet mark left. She finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Do you think you are worthy of Cheng Zhixu?"

Suddenly, a familiar and cold female voice came from the side.

Jian Ling was so focused on saving her stained sweater that she didn't notice who was next to her. Shocked, she looked up and saw Shen Qinghe's face in the mirror. On that face, usually as pure as a lotus, was undisguised irony and arrogance, a blatant contempt.

Perhaps not expecting her to be so blunt, Jian Ling was genuinely stunned. After a long moment, she asked uncertainly, "What did you say about me? I'm not worthy of Cheng Zhixu?"

"Did I say anything wrong?" Shen Qinghe pulled out a few tissues to wipe the water off her hands. Her eyes were sharp, and her tone was chilling, as if covered in ice. "You're not his secretary, just an insignificant employee of the Cheng Group. I don't know how you got together with him, but have you ever thought about the consequences of dating your boss?"

Jian Ling didn't bother to wring out her wet clothes. She straightened up and looked at her, realizing that she was not trying to hide it, but was going to pick up the sword to kill her heart.

"Then, what is the position of Manager Shen in saying these things?" Jian Ling pulled the corner of her lip and asked naively.

Shen Qinghe had encountered all kinds of people in the workplace, so she wasn't at all stumped by Jian Ling's casual words: "He and I have been close friends for many years, and I have his affairs..."

"Shen Qinghe, if you had just said you liked Cheng Zhixu and were thinking about him wholeheartedly, I would have thought more highly of you." Jian Ling said with a smile, "Why do you have to pretend to be friends? I haven't experienced much, but I'm not a fool."

Shen Qinghe was stunned. She had not expected Jian Ling to have such an imposing side.

She underestimated the girl.

Jian Ling took a few steps, pulling the tail of her clothes under the dryer to dry, but her eyes never left Shen Qinghe: "You've liked Cheng Zhixu for a long time, right? Otherwise you wouldn't be so upset and run to me to say this. You obviously had so many opportunities, but you missed them because you had too many concerns. It's not my fault."

A crack appeared in Shen Qinghe's tense expression, and the barrier he had built in his heart began to crumble.

Having her long-buried thoughts exposed in public was a huge shock to her. She pursed her lips tightly, raised her head in defiance, and took a long time to calm herself down.

"I like Cheng Zhixu, so what?" Shen Qinghe maintained her superior attitude, speaking word by word, "A man as bright and elegant as him deserves the best woman." She continued with the same question from the beginning, "Do you think you are worthy of him?"

Jian Ling smiled slightly, and she finally admitted it.

If the timing wasn't inappropriate, she really wanted to shout out: My intuition is so accurate!
Jian Ling met Shen Qinghe's gaze, neither nodding nor shaking her head. "When I had a crush on Cheng Zhixu, I was humble. I thought he was good in every way and I wasn't worthy of him. But as long as Cheng Zhixu liked me, he and I were equal. Even if I was just an ordinary clerk, I was worthy of him. Why should love be ranked? I want to be with him for the rest of my life, not to fight alongside him."

After saying that, she tilted her head. What's with the rhyme?

I don’t know which words touched Shen Qinghe’s nerves. She staggered back a step, and the blood color on her face faded in an instant, turning pale.

In high school, Cheng Zhixu was the most dazzling student in his class because of his grades, looks, and family background. Many girls were attracted to him. She was lucky enough to be in the same class as him, sitting at the desks in front and behind him. Compared to other people, she had more interactions with him.

She never dared to reveal her feelings, due to her personality and of course her inferiority complex. She always thought that one day when she would become brilliant, she would boldly tell him that she liked him, and had liked him for a long time.

So, after learning about Cheng Zhixu's college entrance exam application, she applied to the same university and major as him. Unfortunately, she was unlucky and wasn't assigned to the same class. But she was content. At the time, open classes were shared with several classes, so she could still get up close and personal with him and ask him questions.

Because of their high school friendship, Cheng Zhixu would never reject her. He was actually quite aloof and hard to approach. When other girls asked him questions, he would respond based on his mood. She was happy for a long time because she thought she was a little special to him. Even if it was just a little bit, it was enough.

Three years ago, after graduating from graduate school, she submitted her first resume to Cheng Group. After successfully passing the interview, she got the offer, but changed her mind at the last minute.

She didn't want to be Cheng Zhixu's subordinate, a mere employee obeying his orders. She resolutely went to Junlan, a company that rivaled the Cheng family. After three years of expatriation in North America, she returned and was immediately promoted to a manager, the head of a major project. She stood before Cheng Zhixu as an equal, allowing him to look directly at her, rather than down at her...

Jian Ling's sweater hem was half-dried by the oven. Seeing Shen Qinghe's grim expression, as if lost in thought, she curled her lips and said indifferently, "If you're still unwilling, why not pursue him openly? As long as we're not married, you still have a chance."

Jian Ling let out a light breath and pretended to be calm: "I won't laugh at you, because I have also been pursuing him for a long, long time, but please don't say such sarcastic words to me in the future. I don't want to quarrel with you. Goodbye."

Jian Ling clutched the wet corner of her clothes with her fingers, not knowing whether she had won or lost the argument. She felt a little upset and turned the corner with her head down.

The next second, she was caught off guard and bumped into a solid chest. She immediately covered her forehead and cried out in pain.

　Jian Ling: I usually don’t argue with others, because it’s easy to get angry, and that damn desire to win!

　　Cheng Zhixu: ...I was scared. I will never argue with you again...

　　ps: Shen Qinghe didn't know that Jian Ling was the eldest daughter of the Jian family. If she knew, she probably wouldn't say it so seriously... After all, the two of them getting married has no impact on Cheng Zhixu, but rather is icing on the cake.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)