Shen NingXin found that this person was immediately in a good mood after wiping off the mole under her eye.
The corners of her lips were subconsciously raised, the fatigue in her eyes diminished, and even her movement of tidying the table seemed to be more spirited.
She probably thought she did something amazing, helping her subordinate wipe something dirty off of their face.
How great, how noble!
Shen NingXin imagined her thought process and couldn’t help but let out a light chuckle.
A feeling of calmness also gradually surged from the bottom of her heart.
Oh well, it’s not a big deal.
She thought,
As long as this crybaby was happy then it’s alright. If she could also eat on time and take care of herself, that’d also be good. There were no high expectations for anything else.
Thinking about this, the smile in Shen NingXin’s eyes deepened, her eyes curving even more.
Before she could smile for long, in a blink of an eye, she discovered that Qiu YiBai had already turned off the computer and seemed to pick up a stack of documents and put them into her briefcase.
The already bulging briefcase became even fuller due to the addition of this stack of documents.
She was going to take so many things back to work on? It hadn’t been long since she returned from the business trip, shouldn’t she take a good rest?
Seeing this, Shen NingXin’s heart ached for her. After some hesitation, still concerned, she asked, “President Qiu, are these all documents you’re bringing back to work on? Aren’t there . . . too much?”
As soon as her voice fell, Qiu YiBai glanced in her direction.
Pausing for a few seconds, she then responded, “These documents aren’t to be worked on, they have other uses.”
How mysterious.
Shen NingXin thought for a while but still couldn’t figure out what they were for.
But like she said before, as long as Qiu YiBai was happy.
Thinking in this way, Shen NingXin nodded and quickly responded, “I got it.”
“Then let’s go, President Qiu,” she then added, “Shall we have a meal before going home?”
“It’s my treat this time. After all, don’t I owe you a lot of favors?”
She even purposefully took out a thousand from the savings meant to buy a house.
It had to be allowed to play its role.
“. . . . . .”
Qiu YiBai also intended to invite her to a meal.
Seeing that Shen NingXin asked first, she quickly nodded in agreement.
However, she still needed to say a few words out of pridefulness, saying that the food was expensive around here, was your salary enough?
“Enough, it’s definitely enough,” Shen NingXin quickly responded, smiling as she walked side by side with her, “President Qiu, you can eat all you want.”
When she said this, her tone was subconsciously light.
As though the person standing next to her was a very close friend, her expression and movements were also very relaxed, a smile in her eyes.
There was no sense of formality at all.
Making Qiu YiBai quickly recall the scene of them two walking slowly toward the company with a bottle of orange juice the other day.
Soon, the corners of her lips subconsciously raised into a slight smile, but after noticing that she was losing her composure through the reflection on the glass, she restrained it, coughing and secretly glancing at the Shen NingXin next to her.
She thought that Shen NingXin didn’t see her, but in fact, she saw everything.
Stop pretending.
Seeing her like that, Shen NingXin immediately began making fun of her in her heart.
You just realized it ah.
When you had already exposed it for so long.
—
Qiu YiBai and Shen NingXin chose a Japanese place in the end.
It was the kind that was rather high-end, with wooden doors, dried flowers, warm yellow lights, and small but cozy private rooms.
It was very suitable for office workers who worked late into overtime to come and have fun.
Even her heart calmed down unconsciosuly.
But that was before looking at the menu.
As long as you looked at the menu, the heart that had finally calmed down would immediately be filled with anxiety again.
As Qiu YiBai said, this restaurant was quite expensive, where any appealing-looking dish cost multiple digits.
Thankfully she mentally prepared herself.
Seeing this, Shen NingXin sighed in her heart, stretching out her hand and passing the menu to Qiu YiBai, then asking her if there was anything she wanted to eat.
Qiu YiBai answered “En”, taking the menu and browsing through it quickly. She then handed it back and pointed at the chicken cutlet and eel rice.
“Alrighty.” Shen NingXin nodded, picked up the pencil and drew a check mark on it, then asked, “What else, President Qiu?”
Qiu YiBai: “Nothing else, this is enough.”
“Nothing else?” Hearing her words, Shen NingXin was a little stunned. “This can’t be enough. President Qiu, order some more.”
After speaking, she moved toward Qiu YiBai’s direction and said to her in a low voice, “I saw it when I walked in. The eel rice is actually this small of a bowl. It’s definitely not enough.”
She even drew an image with her hands.
But Qiu YiBai remained unmoved, insisting that it was enough for her.
Shen NingXin sighed when she saw this, and guessing that this person was probably trying to save her money again, she didn’t insist on it anymore. She picked up the pencil and planned to select a few dishes that she thought Qiu YiBai would like.
But she wasn’t successful. Before she could move, Qiu YiBai quickly stopped her. “Order what you want to eat. I don’t eat much at night. This is already enough, if not, we can order more.”
She also added, “Shen NingXin, you really think I’m trying to be polite with you ah.”
She said this quite righteously.
Even her eyes looked sharp, staring at Shen NingXin earnestly the entire time, as though saying, choose wisely.
“. . . . . .”
After everything, aside from the ramen she wanted to eat, Shen NingXin only managed to add a Sukiyaki1.
This crybaby was really stubborn.
Shen NingXin didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Let’s just settle with this for now.
Shaking her head, just as she was about to pass the order to the waitress, she soon thought of something, then looked at Qiu YiBai and asked, “President Qiu, do you want to drink anything?”
“Watermelon juice, orange juice? Or do you want some Shochu2?”
As soon as her voice fell, Qiu YiBai shook her head.
Probably remembering the mess she was when drunk the other night, this time she actually said she was good with just water.
Shen NingXin, having roughly guessed her thoughts, didn’t insist at all, checking the water and passing the order to the young lady.
Before long, the dishes were ready.
Afraid that it wasn’t enough for Qiu YiBai, Shen NingXin very closely observed her demeanor the entire time, trying to see if, like she said, it really was enough.
She also asked her with concern from time to time: “Is it really enough? Let’s order some more.”
Having heard it so many times, in the end, Qiu YiBai couldn’t stand it anymore.
She sighed, then sat up straight before suddenly picking up a napkin to cover her lips.
She didn’t speak nor move, simply staying there like that.
Seeing this, Shen NingXin was a little dazed, not understanding what she was going to do.
Just as Shen NingXin was about to ask, before she could make a sound, she suddenly saw Qiu YiBai’s face bulge slightly.
Then . . . a small burp sounded in her ears.
Soon after, Shen NingXin discovered that Qiu YiBai’s face reddened.
Almost despairingly, Qiu YiBai threw the napkin aside, her eyes a little watery, and she said with extreme dissatisfaction, “I told you and you didn’t believe me, making me prove it like this!”
She was rather shy, a little grievance in her tone.
She even muttered in a particularly small voice, “My image is ruined, Shen NingXin, how amazing of you!”
Shen NingXin looked at her, and after a while, couldn’t help but let out a hearty laugh.
This was the first time she saw Qiu YiBai like this, and she suddenly felt as though the distance between her and herself had become much closer.
Look at what she forced this child to do, having to choose to prove herself in this way.
Just, how adorable.
Because of how she couldn’t restrain that laugh, Qiu YiBai immediately began to hold a grudge again.
Thinking about it, it made sense. She thought that her image in Shen NingXin’s heart was cold and serious, and when this happened all of a sudden, Shen NingXin’s impression of her definitely went down.
What’s more, she was even laughed at mercilessly.
“. . . . . .”
Qiu YiBai was about to die out of regret, not saying a single word to Shen NingXin the entire way.
Shen NingXin also knew that she was angry right now, so after some hesitation, she didn’t speak again, thinking about waiting for when she calmed down.
She turned her gaze away and looked out the car window.
It was initially rather hot today.
When she went down to get a package earlier this morning, although the trip took only a few minutes, she felt as though she was about to be cooked.
But somehow, in the evening, the sky was leaden with overcast, the temperature also dropped, and the wind was surprisingly loud, as though it was going to rain.
Shen NingXin came out in a hurry today, so she didn’t watch the weather forecast or had time to bring an umbrella. As she sat in the car at this moment, she was so anxious that her heart was almost at her throat.
She even prayed several times, hoping that it would rain later.
However, it was fine when she didn’t say anything, but when she did, it was actually counterproductive.
It began to rain all of a sudden!
Shen NingXin: “. . . . . .” It’s over.
She was startled, her mind in a daze, and almost subconsciously, she glanced at the Qiu YiBai next to her, then lowered her head to look at her own clothes.
Afterward, she started thinking about the small bag she was carrying.
It was a new one she just bought for herself recently.
Although it wasn’t very expensive, it wasn’t cheap either. If she used it to cover herself, Shen NingXin will die from the pain of thinking about the cost.
Before she could contemplate for long, the car arrived at her community entrance.
Shen NingXin thanked Qiu YiBai, raised her head to look up at the sky, and finally, lifted the small bag above her head.
She even began counting in her heart, judging how long it would take to get inside the unit door.
Her bag was black and round, and now that it’s placed on top of her head, at first glance, it looked like she was topped with the lid of a pot.
Qiu YiBai glanced at her, and finally regaining face, she immediately began to laugh at her mercilessly.
Shen NingXin: “. . . . . .
Whatever, laugh all you want, we’re even now, as long as you’re happy.
She sighed, then closed her eyes and finally got ready. Just as she raised her leg to get out of the car, before she could move, Qiu YiBai suddenly stretched out a hand and pulled her without warning.
She used quite a bit of force, stunning Shen NingXin.
In the blink of an eye, she then discovered that there was a smile in this person’s eyes.
She also saw her fumble around before pulling out an umbrella from somewhere.
“Shen NingXin, are you dumb?” Qiu YiBai said, her tone ridiculing, “Are you really going to go out like this?”
“If you don’t have an umbrella, you don’t even think about asking me for one?”
—
For outside vehicles, it took many trivial procedures for them to be allowed to enter the community.
Now that it was so raining so heavily, Qiu YiBai didn’t want to waste time, so she simply parked the car on the side of the road and personally held the umbrella over the two of them as she sent Shen NingXin in.
How caring of her ah.
Shen NingXin felt incredibly flattered by her gesture and quickly thanked Qiu YiBai, following her to the unit door.
Thanks to her, she didn’t get wet in the end, and her small bag was also saved.
But she still had some curiosities.
The first one was about why Qiu YiBai was so insistent on sending her in.
Although this person only had one umbrella, Qiu YiBai’s community had an underground garage, and they wouldn’t get wet if she simply drove all the way. All she then had to do was lend Shen NingXin the umbrella; there was no need to accompany her on an unnecessary walk.
Aside from that . . . why did she bring her briefcase along.
Was because there were important documents in there and she was afraid of losing them?
Shen NingXin wasn’t able to guess her thoughts this time, but she didn’t ask either, quickly taking out her key to open the security door before inviting Qiu YiBai in.
Compared to Qiu YiBai’s house, the interior of hers was much simpler.
As a fresh graduate, Shen NingXin didn’t have much money, so naturally, the house she rented was the cheapest. Although she added a lot of things later on, it stilled looked rather plain at first glance.
Shen NingXin was afraid that Qiu YiBai would find it off-putting, so as soon as she invited her into the house, she subconsciously raised her eyes to look at Qiu YiBai’s expression.
Fortunately, her expression looked the same as usual.
Shen NingXin let out a breath of relief, then quickly invited Qiu YiBai to sit on the sofa and went to the kitchen to pour her a glass of water.
She even purposefully chose a cute one, where there was a puppy painted on it. Although it wasn’t A Ji, Qiu YiBai will probably like it, too.
Thinking like this, Shen NingXin brought out the glass of water, then immediately took out her box of snacks, wanting to find something good for Qiu YiBai to eat.
She was quite busy.
So busy that Qiu YiBai couldn’t help but call for a stop, saying that you don’t need to trouble yourself and that I’ll be leaving soon.
“Besides, I’m full”, she said, “I’m going to gain weight if I eat more snacks.”
Turns out she was quite focused on body management.
Hearing her words, Shen NingXin paused, and in the end, nodded and went to the sofa and sat down.
Truthfully, the two of them were farther apart now then they were at the Japanese place.
But for some reason, perhaps because of the difference in environment, Shen NingXin felt nervous all of a sudden.
After all . . . this was her private domain, the place where she lived everyday, where there were traces of her and her scent everywhere.
The little doll placed on the sofa, the clothes that were not yet dry on the balcony, and the apple that was cut in half by her on the dinner table.
Anything and everything was presented openly in front of Qiu YiBai.
Along with her real self.
Her cheeks slightly hot, Shen NingXin paused, not knowing what to say. When she raised her eyes, she suddenly found that Qiu YiBai had begun to flip through her briefcase.
Afterward, she began to pull out a stack of documents.
The thickness was about the same as the stack Shen NingXin saw at the office, so it was probably the same one.
But Shen NingXin didn’t know what was going on with this person, for she seemed to be hesitating.
And the hand holding the documents was the same, where she still hadn’t completely taken them out. She appeared to be embarrassed.
Was it because she wanted to her ask to do something, but because of her face, she was too embarrassed to say it?
Seeing her like that, Shen NingXin soon had a guess in her heart.
Perhaps she should take the initiative and ask.
“President Qiu?” she said tentatively, and noticing Qiu YiBai’s strangeness, she subconsciously relaxed her tone, “What exactly is that stack of documents for?”
As soon as she finished speaking, she saw Qiu YiBai seemed to be taken aback.
Probably not expecting her to suddenly speak, she was given a fright, taking a long time before finally raising her head again.
Letting out a light cough and fixing her expression, she extended her hand and passed the stack of documents over.
Seeing this, Shen NingXin hurriedly accepted and looked down at the content.
To her surprise, the stack of documents turned out to be a summary related to the exhibition.
The writing was quite detailed, entailing the preparations made from before the exhibition, the choice of the exhibition venue, how to make the attending customers notice them, and how to stimulate customers’ desire to buy in a short amount of time.
The writing for each point was clear, filling multiple pages.
Did Qiu YiBai do this by herself?
The exhibition was so hectic that there was almost no time to do other things during the day, so the only time she could organize this was probably using the precious resting time at night.
Therefore . . . Qiu YiBai didn’t post a single Weibo these past few days because she was too busy to care about it.
When she realized this, Shen NingXin was a little dumbfounded, and she felt an indescribable feeling in her heart.
She wanted to say something, but she didn’t know where to start, falling silent for a while.
Fortunately, Qiu YiBai didn’t notice her strangeness and soon spoke up again.
This time she used the tone of a boss speaking to their subordinate.
She said, “This is a summary of the exhibition. Thinking that it’d be useful for a newcomer like you, I sorted one out. You should take a look at it when you have time.”
She also added, “Truthfully, through observation during this period, I found that Shen NingXin you are quite talented. If you work hard, you will definitely go far.”
“Grow quickly. At the end of the year, I will personally test you. If you do well, I may be willing to take you to next year’s exhibition.”
Almost unprecedentedly, she said a lot to her.
As Shen NingXin watched her, for some reason, she suddenly remembered the day she caught a cold.
That time, Qiu YiBai called her into her office and also talked to her like this, saying a lot in a serious manner.
But in the end, whether she was strict or gentle, she was trying to teach her.
This person was really considerate ah.
Shen NingXin stared at the stack of documents in front of her and nodded, quickly answering that she will definitely work hard.
“En,” Qiu YiBai responded and didn’t say any more. She raised her wrist and glanced at her watch, then after some moments, said, “It’s getting late, I’ll be going home now.”
“I’ll send you out!” Shen NingXin said, quickly standing up and following her from behind.
But before she could take more than a few steps, Qiu YiBai suddenly stopped. Not knowing what she was thinking, Shen NingXin saw her raise her eyes and glance into her kitchen.
Shen NingXin felt a little nervous when she saw this.
“President Qiu, you . . .” she began, wanting to ask what she was thinking. But before she could say it, Qiu YiBai went ahead and spoke first.
She heard her say in a very light tone, “Shen NingXin, why do you have so much groceries stored, do you usually cook at home?”
Hearing her words, Shen NingXin responded, “Yes.”
“That’s good.” Qiu YiBai nodded as soon as her voice fell. “Then the next time you want to return a favor, you don’t have to invite me to a meal outside. With the salary you have, it wouldn’t be enough for more than a few meals.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to spend it on some ribs and vegetables?” she said, “If you have that kind of money again, why not simply stew some ribs for me?”
“‘Sukiyaki’ is a Japanese dish that is prepared and served in the nabemono style. It consists of meat which is slowly cooked or simmered at the table, alongside vegetables and other ingredients, in a shallow iron pot in a mixture of soy sauce, sugar, and mirin.” “Shochu” is a “Japanese distilled beverage. It is typically distilled from rice, barley, sweet potatoes, buckwheat, or brown sugar, though it is sometimes produced from other ingredients such as chestnut, sesame seeds, potatoes or even carrots.
Shen NingXin found that this person was immediately in a good mood after wiping off the mole under her eye.
The corners of her lips were subconsciously raised, the fatigue in her eyes diminished, and even her movement of tidying the table seemed to be more spirited.
She probably thought she did something amazing, helping her subordinate wipe something dirty off of their face.
How great, how noble!
Shen NingXin imagined her thought process and couldn’t help but let out a light chuckle.
A feeling of calmness also gradually surged from the bottom of her heart.
Oh well, it’s not a big deal.
She thought,
As long as this crybaby was happy then it’s alright. If she could also eat on time and take care of herself, that’d also be good. There were no high expectations for anything else.
Thinking about this, the smile in Shen NingXin’s eyes deepened, her eyes curving even more.
Before she could smile for long, in a blink of an eye, she discovered that Qiu YiBai had already turned off the computer and seemed to pick up a stack of documents and put them into her briefcase.
The already bulging briefcase became even fuller due to the addition of this stack of documents.
She was going to take so many things back to work on? It hadn’t been long since she returned from the business trip, shouldn’t she take a good rest?
Seeing this, Shen NingXin’s heart ached for her. After some hesitation, still concerned, she asked, “President Qiu, are these all documents you’re bringing back to work on? Aren’t there . . . too much?”
As soon as her voice fell, Qiu YiBai glanced in her direction.
Pausing for a few seconds, she then responded, “These documents aren’t to be worked on, they have other uses.”
How mysterious.
Shen NingXin thought for a while but still couldn’t figure out what they were for.
But like she said before, as long as Qiu YiBai was happy.
Thinking in this way, Shen NingXin nodded and quickly responded, “I got it.”
“Then let’s go, President Qiu,” she then added, “Shall we have a meal before going home?”
“It’s my treat this time. After all, don’t I owe you a lot of favors?”
She even purposefully took out a thousand from the savings meant to buy a house.
It had to be allowed to play its role.
“. . . . . .”
Qiu YiBai also intended to invite her to a meal.
Seeing that Shen NingXin asked first, she quickly nodded in agreement.
However, she still needed to say a few words out of pridefulness, saying that the food was expensive around here, was your salary enough?
“Enough, it’s definitely enough,” Shen NingXin quickly responded, smiling as she walked side by side with her, “President Qiu, you can eat all you want.”
When she said this, her tone was subconsciously light.
As though the person standing next to her was a very close friend, her expression and movements were also very relaxed, a smile in her eyes.
There was no sense of formality at all.
Making Qiu YiBai quickly recall the scene of them two walking slowly toward the company with a bottle of orange juice the other day.
Soon, the corners of her lips subconsciously raised into a slight smile, but after noticing that she was losing her composure through the reflection on the glass, she restrained it, coughing and secretly glancing at the Shen NingXin next to her.
She thought that Shen NingXin didn’t see her, but in fact, she saw everything.
Stop pretending.
Seeing her like that, Shen NingXin immediately began making fun of her in her heart.
You just realized it ah.
When you had already exposed it for so long.
—
Qiu YiBai and Shen NingXin chose a Japanese place in the end.
It was the kind that was rather high-end, with wooden doors, dried flowers, warm yellow lights, and small but cozy private rooms.
It was very suitable for office workers who worked late into overtime to come and have fun.
Even her heart calmed down unconsciosuly.
But that was before looking at the menu.
As long as you looked at the menu, the heart that had finally calmed down would immediately be filled with anxiety again.
As Qiu YiBai said, this restaurant was quite expensive, where any appealing-looking dish cost multiple digits.
Thankfully she mentally prepared herself.
Seeing this, Shen NingXin sighed in her heart, stretching out her hand and passing the menu to Qiu YiBai, then asking her if there was anything she wanted to eat.
Qiu YiBai answered “En”, taking the menu and browsing through it quickly. She then handed it back and pointed at the chicken cutlet and eel rice.
“Alrighty.” Shen NingXin nodded, picked up the pencil and drew a check mark on it, then asked, “What else, President Qiu?”
Qiu YiBai: “Nothing else, this is enough.”
“Nothing else?” Hearing her words, Shen NingXin was a little stunned. “This can’t be enough. President Qiu, order some more.”
After speaking, she moved toward Qiu YiBai’s direction and said to her in a low voice, “I saw it when I walked in. The eel rice is actually this small of a bowl. It’s definitely not enough.”
She even drew an image with her hands.
But Qiu YiBai remained unmoved, insisting that it was enough for her.
Shen NingXin sighed when she saw this, and guessing that this person was probably trying to save her money again, she didn’t insist on it anymore. She picked up the pencil and planned to select a few dishes that she thought Qiu YiBai would like.
But she wasn’t successful. Before she could move, Qiu YiBai quickly stopped her. “Order what you want to eat. I don’t eat much at night. This is already enough, if not, we can order more.”
She also added, “Shen NingXin, you really think I’m trying to be polite with you ah.”
She said this quite righteously.
Even her eyes looked sharp, staring at Shen NingXin earnestly the entire time, as though saying, choose wisely.
“. . . . . .”
After everything, aside from the ramen she wanted to eat, Shen NingXin only managed to add a Sukiyaki1.
This crybaby was really stubborn.
Shen NingXin didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Let’s just settle with this for now.
Shaking her head, just as she was about to pass the order to the waitress, she soon thought of something, then looked at Qiu YiBai and asked, “President Qiu, do you want to drink anything?”
“Watermelon juice, orange juice? Or do you want some Shochu2?”
As soon as her voice fell, Qiu YiBai shook her head.
Probably remembering the mess she was when drunk the other night, this time she actually said she was good with just water.
Shen NingXin, having roughly guessed her thoughts, didn’t insist at all, checking the water and passing the order to the young lady.
Before long, the dishes were ready.
Afraid that it wasn’t enough for Qiu YiBai, Shen NingXin very closely observed her demeanor the entire time, trying to see if, like she said, it really was enough.
She also asked her with concern from time to time: “Is it really enough? Let’s order some more.”
Having heard it so many times, in the end, Qiu YiBai couldn’t stand it anymore.
She sighed, then sat up straight before suddenly picking up a napkin to cover her lips.
She didn’t speak nor move, simply staying there like that.
Seeing this, Shen NingXin was a little dazed, not understanding what she was going to do.
Just as Shen NingXin was about to ask, before she could make a sound, she suddenly saw Qiu YiBai’s face bulge slightly.
Then . . . a small burp sounded in her ears.
Soon after, Shen NingXin discovered that Qiu YiBai’s face reddened.
Almost despairingly, Qiu YiBai threw the napkin aside, her eyes a little watery, and she said with extreme dissatisfaction, “I told you and you didn’t believe me, making me prove it like this!”
She was rather shy, a little grievance in her tone.
She even muttered in a particularly small voice, “My image is ruined, Shen NingXin, how amazing of you!”
Shen NingXin looked at her, and after a while, couldn’t help but let out a hearty laugh.
This was the first time she saw Qiu YiBai like this, and she suddenly felt as though the distance between her and herself had become much closer.
Look at what she forced this child to do, having to choose to prove herself in this way.
Just, how adorable.
Because of how she couldn’t restrain that laugh, Qiu YiBai immediately began to hold a grudge again.
Thinking about it, it made sense. She thought that her image in Shen NingXin’s heart was cold and serious, and when this happened all of a sudden, Shen NingXin’s impression of her definitely went down.
What’s more, she was even laughed at mercilessly.
“. . . . . .”
Qiu YiBai was about to die out of regret, not saying a single word to Shen NingXin the entire way.
Shen NingXin also knew that she was angry right now, so after some hesitation, she didn’t speak again, thinking about waiting for when she calmed down.
She turned her gaze away and looked out the car window.
It was initially rather hot today.
When she went down to get a package earlier this morning, although the trip took only a few minutes, she felt as though she was about to be cooked.
But somehow, in the evening, the sky was leaden with overcast, the temperature also dropped, and the wind was surprisingly loud, as though it was going to rain.
Shen NingXin came out in a hurry today, so she didn’t watch the weather forecast or had time to bring an umbrella. As she sat in the car at this moment, she was so anxious that her heart was almost at her throat.
She even prayed several times, hoping that it would rain later.
However, it was fine when she didn’t say anything, but when she did, it was actually counterproductive.
It began to rain all of a sudden!
Shen NingXin: “. . . . . .” It’s over.
She was startled, her mind in a daze, and almost subconsciously, she glanced at the Qiu YiBai next to her, then lowered her head to look at her own clothes.
Afterward, she started thinking about the small bag she was carrying.
It was a new one she just bought for herself recently.
Although it wasn’t very expensive, it wasn’t cheap either. If she used it to cover herself, Shen NingXin will die from the pain of thinking about the cost.
Before she could contemplate for long, the car arrived at her community entrance.
Shen NingXin thanked Qiu YiBai, raised her head to look up at the sky, and finally, lifted the small bag above her head.
She even began counting in her heart, judging how long it would take to get inside the unit door.
Her bag was black and round, and now that it’s placed on top of her head, at first glance, it looked like she was topped with the lid of a pot.
Qiu YiBai glanced at her, and finally regaining face, she immediately began to laugh at her mercilessly.
Shen NingXin: “. . . . . .
Whatever, laugh all you want, we’re even now, as long as you’re happy.
She sighed, then closed her eyes and finally got ready. Just as she raised her leg to get out of the car, before she could move, Qiu YiBai suddenly stretched out a hand and pulled her without warning.
She used quite a bit of force, stunning Shen NingXin.
In the blink of an eye, she then discovered that there was a smile in this person’s eyes.
She also saw her fumble around before pulling out an umbrella from somewhere.
“Shen NingXin, are you dumb?” Qiu YiBai said, her tone ridiculing, “Are you really going to go out like this?”
“If you don’t have an umbrella, you don’t even think about asking me for one?”
—
For outside vehicles, it took many trivial procedures for them to be allowed to enter the community.
Now that it was so raining so heavily, Qiu YiBai didn’t want to waste time, so she simply parked the car on the side of the road and personally held the umbrella over the two of them as she sent Shen NingXin in.
How caring of her ah.
Shen NingXin felt incredibly flattered by her gesture and quickly thanked Qiu YiBai, following her to the unit door.
Thanks to her, she didn’t get wet in the end, and her small bag was also saved.
But she still had some curiosities.
The first one was about why Qiu YiBai was so insistent on sending her in.
Although this person only had one umbrella, Qiu YiBai’s community had an underground garage, and they wouldn’t get wet if she simply drove all the way. All she then had to do was lend Shen NingXin the umbrella; there was no need to accompany her on an unnecessary walk.
Aside from that . . . why did she bring her briefcase along.
Was because there were important documents in there and she was afraid of losing them?
Shen NingXin wasn’t able to guess her thoughts this time, but she didn’t ask either, quickly taking out her key to open the security door before inviting Qiu YiBai in.
Compared to Qiu YiBai’s house, the interior of hers was much simpler.
As a fresh graduate, Shen NingXin didn’t have much money, so naturally, the house she rented was the cheapest. Although she added a lot of things later on, it stilled looked rather plain at first glance.
Shen NingXin was afraid that Qiu YiBai would find it off-putting, so as soon as she invited her into the house, she subconsciously raised her eyes to look at Qiu YiBai’s expression.
Fortunately, her expression looked the same as usual.
Shen NingXin let out a breath of relief, then quickly invited Qiu YiBai to sit on the sofa and went to the kitchen to pour her a glass of water.
She even purposefully chose a cute one, where there was a puppy painted on it. Although it wasn’t A Ji, Qiu YiBai will probably like it, too.
Thinking like this, Shen NingXin brought out the glass of water, then immediately took out her box of snacks, wanting to find something good for Qiu YiBai to eat.
She was quite busy.
So busy that Qiu YiBai couldn’t help but call for a stop, saying that you don’t need to trouble yourself and that I’ll be leaving soon.
“Besides, I’m full”, she said, “I’m going to gain weight if I eat more snacks.”
Turns out she was quite focused on body management.
Hearing her words, Shen NingXin paused, and in the end, nodded and went to the sofa and sat down.
Truthfully, the two of them were farther apart now then they were at the Japanese place.
But for some reason, perhaps because of the difference in environment, Shen NingXin felt nervous all of a sudden.
After all . . . this was her private domain, the place where she lived everyday, where there were traces of her and her scent everywhere.
The little doll placed on the sofa, the clothes that were not yet dry on the balcony, and the apple that was cut in half by her on the dinner table.
Anything and everything was presented openly in front of Qiu YiBai.
Along with her real self.
Her cheeks slightly hot, Shen NingXin paused, not knowing what to say. When she raised her eyes, she suddenly found that Qiu YiBai had begun to flip through her briefcase.
Afterward, she began to pull out a stack of documents.
The thickness was about the same as the stack Shen NingXin saw at the office, so it was probably the same one.
But Shen NingXin didn’t know what was going on with this person, for she seemed to be hesitating.
And the hand holding the documents was the same, where she still hadn’t completely taken them out. She appeared to be embarrassed.
Was it because she wanted to her ask to do something, but because of her face, she was too embarrassed to say it?
Seeing her like that, Shen NingXin soon had a guess in her heart.
Perhaps she should take the initiative and ask.
“President Qiu?” she said tentatively, and noticing Qiu YiBai’s strangeness, she subconsciously relaxed her tone, “What exactly is that stack of documents for?”
As soon as she finished speaking, she saw Qiu YiBai seemed to be taken aback.
Probably not expecting her to suddenly speak, she was given a fright, taking a long time before finally raising her head again.
Letting out a light cough and fixing her expression, she extended her hand and passed the stack of documents over.
Seeing this, Shen NingXin hurriedly accepted and looked down at the content.
To her surprise, the stack of documents turned out to be a summary related to the exhibition.
The writing was quite detailed, entailing the preparations made from before the exhibition, the choice of the exhibition venue, how to make the attending customers notice them, and how to stimulate customers’ desire to buy in a short amount of time.
The writing for each point was clear, filling multiple pages.
Did Qiu YiBai do this by herself?
The exhibition was so hectic that there was almost no time to do other things during the day, so the only time she could organize this was probably using the precious resting time at night.
Therefore . . . Qiu YiBai didn’t post a single Weibo these past few days because she was too busy to care about it.
When she realized this, Shen NingXin was a little dumbfounded, and she felt an indescribable feeling in her heart.
She wanted to say something, but she didn’t know where to start, falling silent for a while.
Fortunately, Qiu YiBai didn’t notice her strangeness and soon spoke up again.
This time she used the tone of a boss speaking to their subordinate.
She said, “This is a summary of the exhibition. Thinking that it’d be useful for a newcomer like you, I sorted one out. You should take a look at it when you have time.”
She also added, “Truthfully, through observation during this period, I found that Shen NingXin you are quite talented. If you work hard, you will definitely go far.”
“Grow quickly. At the end of the year, I will personally test you. If you do well, I may be willing to take you to next year’s exhibition.”
Almost unprecedentedly, she said a lot to her.
As Shen NingXin watched her, for some reason, she suddenly remembered the day she caught a cold.
That time, Qiu YiBai called her into her office and also talked to her like this, saying a lot in a serious manner.
But in the end, whether she was strict or gentle, she was trying to teach her.
This person was really considerate ah.
Shen NingXin stared at the stack of documents in front of her and nodded, quickly answering that she will definitely work hard.
“En,” Qiu YiBai responded and didn’t say any more. She raised her wrist and glanced at her watch, then after some moments, said, “It’s getting late, I’ll be going home now.”
“I’ll send you out!” Shen NingXin said, quickly standing up and following her from behind.
But before she could take more than a few steps, Qiu YiBai suddenly stopped. Not knowing what she was thinking, Shen NingXin saw her raise her eyes and glance into her kitchen.
Shen NingXin felt a little nervous when she saw this.
“President Qiu, you . . .” she began, wanting to ask what she was thinking. But before she could say it, Qiu YiBai went ahead and spoke first.
She heard her say in a very light tone, “Shen NingXin, why do you have so much groceries stored, do you usually cook at home?”
Hearing her words, Shen NingXin responded, “Yes.”
“That’s good.” Qiu YiBai nodded as soon as her voice fell. “Then the next time you want to return a favor, you don’t have to invite me to a meal outside. With the salary you have, it wouldn’t be enough for more than a few meals.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to spend it on some ribs and vegetables?” she said, “If you have that kind of money again, why not simply stew some ribs for me?”
“‘Sukiyaki’ is a Japanese dish that is prepared and served in the nabemono style. It consists of meat which is slowly cooked or simmered at the table, alongside vegetables and other ingredients, in a shallow iron pot in a mixture of soy sauce, sugar, and mirin.” “Shochu” is a “Japanese distilled beverage. It is typically distilled from rice, barley, sweet potatoes, buckwheat, or brown sugar, though it is sometimes produced from other ingredients such as chestnut, sesame seeds, potatoes or even carrots.