Accidental Love

The Finance Office on the eighth floor.

Following the female assistant, Zheng Shuyi was led to the financial director's office.

Along the way, the sound of keyboards and telephones sounded one wave after another. The words "finance" and "technology" were just synonymous with "busy". The same went for these managers in high-paying positions.

Some assistants and secretaries outside the office were all immersed in typing or answering phone calls.

When Zheng Shuyi passed a group of workers on the side, she glanced around and suddenly stopped.

Qin Lezhi, who was sitting there, also felt someone looking at her and raised her head.

She still had the phone between her cheeks and shoulders, and she was typing on the keyboard with her hands. She looked very busy but also froze in place.

The eyes of both of them were full of questions.

Zheng Shuyi didn't expect to see Qin Lezhi here.

Looking at where she was sitting, she had an idea of what position she was in.

Which made everything even weirder.

A dignified lady, wearing a uniform and working here with ordinary people like an ant.

But after thinking about it, even Qin Shiyue, who could easily buy down a whole store of clothes, was working in a magazine publisher earning a salary of only several thousand Yuan a month.

Perhaps the rich are becoming interested in low-end jobs.

But Qin Lezhi wasn't thinking as much as she was.

There was only one thought in her brain, how did Zheng Shuyi come up?

The two's looks clashed in the air, neither had any bit of kindness.

After a second, Zheng Shuyi looked away and walked straight to the office.

Qin Lezhi frowned, answered a few words to the other end of the phone, and hung up. Then she looked at Zheng Shuyi's back again.

——Someone knocked on her table.

Qin Lezhi turned her head and saw that Qiu Fu's assistant did not go with Zheng Shuyi and was still beside her.

"Come see Mr. Qiu after work."

After leaving these cold words, she went to catch up to Zheng Shuyi.

——

Sure enough, Qiu Fu arrived in fifteen minutes.

Zheng Shuyi was serving herself her sixth cup of coffee.

This time, she was really about to throw up.

"Miss Zheng?" Qiu Fu opened the door, placed down what was in his hand, and reached out his hand. "Sorry to keep you waiting."

Zheng Shuyi immediately put down the coffee and got up to shake hands with him. After some polite greetings, Qiu Fu sat down with a sigh,"I'm so sorry, I'll go talk to my secretary after this."

"It’s okay."

Zheng Shuyi showed a smile, but she was actually gritting her teeth.

Now that Qiu Fu mentioned, she suddenly thought of Qin Lezhi. Qin Lezhi must have purposefully not told Qiu Fu that she was coming, which was why he ended up leaving without even knowing.

"Sorry to make you come back again, we could have made an appointment for another time."

"No no, that wouldn't work," said Qiu Fu as he shook his head, "We said that the interview would be today, how can I make you come here for nothing?"

Hearing this, Zheng Shuyi smiled and suddenly thought of Shi Yan.

She felt that Qiu Fu's sudden return was probably because of her complaints.

——

The interview and inquiry went very smoothly. Since this was the first time they were publicizing information about this IPO, Qiu Fu was willing to answer a lot of questions in full detail to attract more attention from the rest of the world through the power of the media. Therefore, their chat lasted for three hours.

By the time Zheng Shuyi placed her recording pen away, the sky outside the window was already dark.

Qiu Fu stood up, picked up the telephone, and called in the female assistant.

"Please arrange a car to send Miss Zheng away."

Zheng Shuyi stood up to say goodbye to him, "Our magazine publisher will continue to follow up with your company's IPO project. Thank you so much for your time and your help in the future."

Qiu Fu drank some water, and then replied, "It's okay, we're all benefiting each other. But next time you can just directly come up, I'll let my workers know."

Zheng Shuyi nodded.

After watching her leave, Qiu Fu picked up the telephone again. "Come in."

After a while, Qin Lezhi opened the door of the office and said cautiously, "Mr. Qiu, do you want to see me?"

Qiu Fu slammed his glass of water on the table heavily. "What happened today with the journalist from ‘Finance Weekly'? Why didn't you tell me?"

As Qiu Fu's administrative secretary, Qin Lezhi was responsible for all of these things.

But she did things very carefully and rarely made such mistakes.

This made Qiu Fu, who just picked up his son from school and was preparing to eat with his family, receive an emergency call from Shi Yan telling him to come back. Now his wife and son had to eat by themselves. Anyone who was in his position would be angry.

Qin Lezhi frowned and lowered her head, "You're very busy today and I think there's an emergency video conference from the company as well. I thought that the interview from ‘Finance Weekly' wasn't as important and she could wait."

She quietly glanced at Qiu Fu's face and saw his angry expression. She continued cautiously, "Is that also very important?"

Qiu Fu didn't know how to explain the situation anymore. After holding back her anger for a while, he pointed at her head and said angrily, "Know what position you're in! Since when did you have the right to arrange work for me? Who do you think you are? Think about your family! Do you know how it feels having to bail on them?"

Qiu Fu has always been a bad-tempered person. Everyone in the company knew this.

But Qin Lezhi didn't expect that this incident would make him so angry.

Isn't it just because of a journalist?

This wasn't the first time Qiu Fu has been interviewed. Even if it was someone from the TV station, if he was really busy, he would even rearrange their appointment. In fact, sometimes, he wouldn't even bother to answer their calls.

But Qin Lezhi didn't show these questions on her face.

And she also saw through the glass that the office door was not closed tightly and several colleagues were peeking inside. She apologized and said sincerely, "I'm very sorry, Mr. Qiu. It's my fault."

"Okay, now get out!"

Qin Lezhi's face was left pale for a while. Under everyone's eyes, she turned and walked out of the office while clenching her teeth and pretending that nothing had happened.

——

On the other side, Zheng Shuyi followed the assistant to the elevator.

While waiting, the assistant was answering the phone. Having nothing to do, Zheng Shuyi just stared at the changing number on the LED screen.

They were going downstairs, and at the moment the elevator was slowly descending from the twelfth floor.

A few seconds later, there was a "ding" and the elevator stopped.

After the door slowly opened, the female assistant reached out her hand, "After you."

As soon as Zheng Shuyi took a step, she saw the person in the elevator and stopped.

"Assistant Chen?"

Chen Sheng looked up and saw Zheng Shuyi and nodded.

"You work here?"

Zheng Shuyi said yes, then studied him and asked tentatively, "You're here, does that mean Shi Yan is also here?"

Chen Sheng didn't deny, "What's the matter?"

Zheng Shuyi chuckled lightly.

You're here and you said no to me?

"Nothing." Zheng Shuyi was still standing outside of the elevator. She continued to ask, "Is he busy right now?"

Chen Sheng thought for a while, and then said slowly, "I don't think so."

"What floor is he on? Can I go see him?"

As soon as she said that, the female assistant glanced at Zheng Shuyi in surprise. And then went to look at Chen Sheng.

Chen Sheng looked down and thought for a while, then stepped out and walked towards the other elevator.

"Please follow me."

——

There were only three office areas on the twelfth floor, which was much more spacious and quieter than the tenth floor.

Zheng Shuyi saw many people walking in a hurry along the way, but she didn't hear many voices.

The door at the end of the hallway was closed. Chen Sheng took her to the door, looked at his watch, and said, "I have something to do now."

Zheng Shuyi nodded, then he turned and left.

Zheng Shuyi stood at the door and raised her head. The LED screen on top of her head had the word "Busy" lit up.

After thinking about it, she rang the doorbell first.

After a while, the automatic door opened. 

Zheng Shuyi first leaned her upper body in and looked around. Shi Yan was sitting behind an office desk.

He looked up and used his index finger to push his glasses. Zheng Shuyi immediately started to smile and walked over.

"Mr. Shi, didn't you say that you aren't here today?"

Shi Yan slowly closed his laptop and said lightly, "Do I need your permission to come to my own company?"

Zheng Shuyi: "…"

She held her hands against her back and looked around with her eyes flickering as if she was hesitating about something.

Shi Yan didn't speak either and just looked at her quietly.

Zheng Shuyi slowly walked toward his desk and whispered, "I came here to thank you."

"Oh?" Shi Yan raised his eyebrows, "Thank me for what?"

"The thing with Mr. Qiu of course," replied Zheng Shuyi, "Otherwise, I would have come here for nothing again today."

After speaking, she looked at Shi Yan.

Based on her knowledge of Shi Yan, she felt that this man would definitely deny what he did again.

However, Shi Yan just gently spun the pen in his hand and said with a calm tone.

"If I don't, are you going to shame me more with your WeChat texts?"

Zheng Shuyi pursed her lips and didn't reply.

Mainly because he was telling the truth.

The office was quiet for a while.

Zheng Shuyi moved a little bit towards him, "Um, it's so late already, and you've been working so hard. Have you eaten yet? Are you hungry?"

After speaking, she looked at Shi Yan with a faint smile.

Shi Yan glanced at her and didn't reply. He just placed the pen down on the table.

As the fingers behind Zheng Shuyi's back started to fidget anxiously, Shi Yan got up.

She opened her mouth and tried to say something, but in the end, nothing came out and she just sighed.

However, Shi Yan was already beside the sofa and he took off his coat from the hanger.

He turned his head.

"What do you want to eat?"

——

Mingyu Cloud Office Building was located in Jiang City's Science and Technology Industrial Zone. It has been there for more than 20 years and the surrounding area has long been developed into a prosperous business district.

In her free time, Zheng Shuyi liked to come and do some shopping here, so she was very familiar with the surroundings.

"It's right there, do you see it?"

Zheng Shuyi stood on the side of the road and pointed to the neon sign of the hot pot restaurant on the opposite side of the road, "This place is very famous, I'm not sure if we still have to wait in line at such a late time of a day. If we have to wait I guess we can go somewhere else."

As soon as the red light turned yellow, Zheng Shuyi immediately stepped out to cross the road.

But just after two steps, someone suddenly grabbed her hand and pulled her back.

Zheng Shuyi's staggered back and was pulled back to where she was. The next second, she was already leaning against Shi Yan's chest.

Zheng Shuyi's hair flew up and landed on her cheeks. She raised her head and found Shi Yan looking at her.

A car suddenly zoomed by along with a loud car horn.

The evening breeze seemed to have stopped.

Her hand was still being held tightly and she could feel the warmth of Shi Yan's hands.

A second later, the traffic light switched to green.1Wait, last time I checked, doesn't red light go straight to green light? I'm not really sure what's going on, but my job is to translate and not be picky about every detail. So just ignore these tiny bugs and enjoy the plot ?

The change of light was shown in the reflection of Shi Yan's lenses.

Shi Yan looked away and turned to the car that just rushed by before the green light with a dark expression.

When he looked back at Zheng Shuyi, he saw her trembling eyelashes, as if she was thinking about another up-to-no-good idea.

"Look at the road before you cross, are you reincarnated from a hungry ghost?"2Hungry ghost is used to refer to someone who is always hungry, has a big appetite, and usually places food as a higher priority over all else.

Zheng Shuyi: "…"

She was just thinking whether she should take advantage of the pull and fall right into his arms.

But now the thought has disappeared.

Shi Yan held her hand while quickly walking across the road.

Zheng Shuyi was wearing high heels and was pretty much staggering the whole way while being pulled by him.

"Why are you walking so fast? I think you're the hungry ghost."

Shi Yan didn't seem to hear her at all. He only let go of her hand after reaching the other end of the road.

Zheng Shuyi looked down and rubbed her fingers.

Why are you grabbing me so hard?

——

Perhaps they were lucky today, as there weren't many people at the hot pot restaurant. There were still several empty tables.

But this still made Shi Yan look like an outsider to this type of restaurant.

He sat in the seat opposite of Zheng Shuyi's and the waiter came up to pour the water.

Zheng Shuyi was busy checking out the menu and didn't notice Shi Yan lifting up the cup, glancing at it, then placing it down with a little look of disappointment.

"Do you eat tripe3Tripe is the rubbery lining of a cattle's stomach?"

"No."

"Goose intestines?"

"No."

"Yellow aorta?"4Meat peeled from a pig or cattle's aorta. These foods might sound a little weird, but these are popular Sichuan hot-pot dishes that actually taste quite good.

"No."

"…"

Zheng Shuyi looked up from the menu, "Then what do you eat?"

Shi Yan took the hot towel handed over by the waiter and wiped his hands, "Whatever you like."

Zheng Shuyi sneered, and buried herself in the menu again as she muttered, “You're the kind of people who always says ‘whatever' but is picky about everything."

Although she was just muttering to herself, Shi Yan still heard a word or two.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing," said Zheng Shuyi as she placed the iPad menu down and grinned, "I said you're a great person."

After a while, the waiter came with all the dishes, and the spicy soup in the pot also started to boil.

Zheng Shuyi picked up her chopsticks and dipped some of her sauce. When she wanted to taste it, she noticed that Shi Yan's bowl was empty. "Would you like for me to help you make some sauce?"

Before even waiting for a reply, she had already taken Shi Yan's bowl and began to mix the different sauces.5I don't know how many of you have eaten hot pot before, but you usually dip your food in your customized sauce to add more flavor first before eating. The sauce can be made of a combination of peanut butter, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, etc.

The heat from the pot covered the lenses in mist.

Shi Yan took off his glasses and wiped them with a cloth. When he looked up, the hazy image of Zheng Shuyi's side face appeared.

And the scene at the intersection suddenly flashed back into his mind.

At the same time, Zheng Shuyi also raised her head to look up, and Shi Yan looked away.

"Do you want to add coriander?"

"No."

"…"

Zheng Shuyi lowered her head and continued to mix the sauces.

"You're such a picky person."

However, she didn't know that it wasn't because Shi yan didn't like animal organs and coriander.

It was because he doesn’t eat hot pot as a whole.

Suddenly, Shi Yan's phone rang on the table.

Zheng Shuyi didn't mind as she just continued to do what she was doing.

When Shi Yan saw the caller, an unpleasant feeling suddenly overwhelmed him.

Sure enough, Qin Shiyue's voice was in a panic when she answered the phone.

"Uncle! Uncle! Where are you?"

"What is it?" asked Shi Yan.

Qin Shiyue seemed to be in a noisy environment on the other end of the phone. Even her voice sounded shaky, "I was driving around, and somehow, I think I accidentally hit an old man."

Shi Yan frowned, "What?"

"I don't know!" Qin Shiyue was almost about to cry, "I didn't see anything in the rearview mirror, but when I got off my car, I saw the old man lying there, clutching his legs and yelling."

"I went to help him, and he ended up just lying there. I can't even wake him up now."

"…"

"Uncle, come quick please, my parents aren't here, what should I do?!"

"I'm coming. Don't cry."

After hanging up the phone, Zheng Shuyi just finished the sauce as well.

She saw Shi Yan's expression and then thought of the phone call just now. She guessed what had happened.

"Are you busy?" asked Zheng Shuyi, "Do you have to leave?"

Shi Yan nodded and said, "I'll go pay the bill first."

Zheng Shuyi's smiling expression gradually faded, "It's so late already, is it very important?"

Shi Yan paused for a moment, "My niece is looking for me."

Zheng Shuyi: "…?!"

The faint sorrow disappeared in an instant.

It was replaced with pure anger. She could feel her brain boiling.

It's! That! White! Lotus! Again!

"Alright, you go ahead then," said Zheng Shuyi with a nod, "I'll be fine by myself."

Shi Yan squeezed the side of his lips and looked over. Zheng Shuyi had her head lowered, like a little white lotus after being blown in a storm.

"Do you know the levels of loneliness in this world?"

"Eating hot pot alone is level five."

"But that's okay. Compared to waiting for you all night at Warner Mansion, this is nothing.”

"You can go, it's okay.”

"Remember to visit me at a mental hospital next time.”

"If you want to see me at all.”

Shi Yan: "…"

Silence.

After a while, Shi Yan placed his phone back on the table.

"Please continue."

Zheng Shuyi raised her head to look at him.

He sat down in front of her.

"Aren't you leaving?"

"No."

Shi Yan smiled and looked at her, "I don't want to see you there."

• 1Wait, last time I checked, doesn't red light go straight to green light? I'm not really sure what's going on, but my job is to translate and not be picky about every detail. So just ignore these tiny bugs and enjoy the plot ?
• 2Hungry ghost is used to refer to someone who is always hungry, has a big appetite, and usually places food as a higher priority over all else.
• 3Tripe is the rubbery lining of a cattle's stomach
• 4Meat peeled from a pig or cattle's aorta. These foods might sound a little weird, but these are popular Sichuan hot-pot dishes that actually taste quite good.
• 5I don't know how many of you have eaten hot pot before, but you usually dip your food in your customized sauce to add more flavor first before eating. The sauce can be made of a combination of peanut butter, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, etc.