After the bar incident, Chen Ningxi completely lost her distant and unapproachable image in front of Cheng Qiaobei, which made Chen Ningxi avoid Cheng Qiaobei both intentionally and unintentionally. She told Liang Lei about it, and Liang Lei laughed so hard she almost fell over.
Fortunately, Chen Ningxi began preparing materials for the job competition, and once busy, she forgot about the incident.
During lunch break, Chen Ningxi left the office to have lunch, and as soon as she stepped onto the stairs, soone called down to her from above.
"Mr. Chen."
Chen Ningxi looked up, "Manager Bai."
She followed behind Bai Haifeng, step by step, as he continued, "I know who’s on the candidate list competing with you."
In fact, Chen Ningxi was also eager to know who was on the list. Knowing one’s opponent can help in taking advantage of their weaknesses while showcasing one’s own strengths.
Colleagues walking by greeted them, and once they had moved on, Bai Haifeng resud, "Li Xiangnan from Anpu City’s second office and Zhao Ze from Furun District’s substation, these two aren’t simple. They have so family backgrounds. If it’s purely based on ability, you definitely have the upper hand, but the fear is... you get it. If not, discuss it with your dad, and let’s have a backup plan."
Although it wasn’t said outright, Chen Ningxi understood what he implied.
She nodded, "Alright, I’ll think about it."
Bai Haifeng seed genuinely concerned, "Don’t just think about it. You should discuss it. What can’t you talk about with your own dad?"
Chen Ningxi smiled slightly, "Yes, I know."
The two walked out of the office building. Bai Haifeng glanced towards the cafeteria, where more and more people gathered, and said, "I heard from Wang Zhi that there’s fish stew for lunch today, so the cafeteria will definitely be packed."
Chen Ningxi replied, "The cafeteria’s fish stew is delicious, much more flavorful than even my mom’s."
Sure enough, it was crucian carp stew for lunch. Chen Ningxi carried her tray to a corner, just as she was about to eat, her phone rang. Opening it, she saw a ssage from Cheng Qiaobei on WeChat.
Just seeing Cheng Qiaobei’s profile picture made her feel uneasy—not because of anything else, but due to that incident the other day; thinking about it was both embarrassing and mortifying.
Qiao Bei: "Does Mr. Chen have ti?"
Chen Ningxi pondered the aning behind his words—he didn’t specify any matter, just asked if she was free. The thought of a potential eting made her recall the incident, leaving her feeling extrely awkward.
She made what she thought was the smartest choice—pretend to be dead and not reply.
Just as she put down the phone, another ssage from Cheng Qiaobei ca through, upon reading the words, her eyes widened.
Qiao Bei: "Are you pretending not to see it or did you really not see it?"
"Tch," she scoffed inside, thinking, I’ll reply if I want and not reply if I don’t, as if you control .
Crucian carp was full of bones, so Chen Ningxi picked at them ticulously. Just as she brought a piece of fish to her mouth, Cheng Qiaobei called her.
Well, no pretending not to hear now.
While picking at the fish bones, Chen Ningxi answered the phone, "Hello?"
"Is Mr. Chen busy?" Cheng Qiaobei asked slyly.
Chen Ningxi said, "Not really, what’s up?"
Cheng Qiaobei asked, "I sent you a ssage earlier, and you didn’t reply. Are you still holding a grudge over the bar incident and deliberately avoiding ?"
His simple statent instantly filled Chen Ningxi with a sense of humiliation, her face flushed unnaturally, and before her brain could react, her mouth had already begun to respond defensively.
"...You’re talking nonsense, I—I’m not avoiding you, I’m eating."
Cheng Qiaobei made a sound of agreent, "Oh right, it’s lunch. I forgot about that."
Feigning calmness, Chen Ningxi asked, "What’re you looking for for?"
Cheng Qiaobei said, "Co over to get the approval docunts, we need to keep a copy too."
Chen Ningxi rembered, the last approval docunts were in triplicate, one for the power company, one for the construction party, and one for the Safety Production Supervision Departnt.
"Co to my office to get it this afternoon."
Cheng Qiaobei asked, "No ti now?"
"I’m eating now."
"Alright, I’ll wait for you then."
Cheng Qiaobei hung up, and Chen Ningxi thought he ant he’d wait until she was back at work in the afternoon. However, leaving the cafeteria, she saw Cheng Qiaobei waiting at the office building entrance.
Their eyes t, and Cheng Qiaobei stared at her, making Chen Ningxi feel utterly uneasy.
She rubbed her arms, annoyed, "Why’re you looking at like that?"
Cheng Qiaobei sniffed, amused, "Your company has good als, fish soup today, right?"
Chen Ningxi laughed awkwardly, "Your nose is quite sharp."
She didn’t say he had a dog’s nose.
As they walked into the office building, they maintained a certain social distance, but Cheng Qiaobei’s faint smile was still caught by Chen Ningxi.
His grin was harder to suppress than AK’s recoil.
Seeing his barely restrained amusent, Chen Ningxi was sure he was doing it on purpose.
Around lunchti, there weren’t many people in the office building. Chen Ningxi cryptically said,
"Don’t keep teasing about the bar night, girls out here have to use so self-defense strategies."
Cheng Qiaobei climbed the steps one by one, his tone casual, "Look, you’re overthinking again; I didn’t say anything."
It felt as though Chen Ningxi had punched cotton. She didn’t know whether to get angry or not, and not getting angry made her feel stifled.
"You did say it, you ntioned it on the phone."
Cheng Qiaobei slowed his pace, as if he were recalling, then in a delayed realization, he said, "Which part? Oh, when I said you were deliberately avoiding because of the bar incident?"
Tsk! Bringing it up again!
Chen Ningxi glared at him without good humor, "Silver-tongued."
"Hahaha..." Cheng Qiaobei laughed delightedly, "No, no, I’m not that bad."
They arrived at Chen Ningxi’s office as they talked. She took a blue file folder from the cabinet, with sticky notes marking the dates inside. She kept her head down, focused on searching, while Cheng Qiaobei sat across from her, scrutinizing her carefully.
So people look just fine until you start having feelings for them; then they seem more and more appealing.
But Chen Ningxi had clearly stated her position, and he couldn’t overstep. If she sensed it, they might not even et again.
Chen Ningxi pulled out the docunt and handed it to him, "Here."
Their eyes t unexpectedly, and heart unprepared, Cheng Qiaobei felt his heartbeat skip, but quickly adjusted his expression, calmly accepted it, and said, "Thanks."
Chen Ningxi responded, "You’re welco."
After sending him off, Chen Ningxi felt she was overthinking all along.
Leaving the power company, Cheng Qiaobei received a call from his secretary, Wei Lai.
Wei Lai: "Manager Cheng, the complaint materials have been submitted, and should have results within two or three days."
Cheng Qiaobei said, "Got it."
Wei Lai didn’t hang up right away, hesitating until Cheng Qiaobei said, "Since when did you start hesitating with ?"
Wei Lai expressed her concern to Cheng Qiaobei, "Vice President Xu isn’t very broad-minded, targeting Xu Gao ans hitting him on the face; he’ll definitely retaliate against you."
Cheng Qiaobei curled his lips dismissively, "Since I’ve made a move, I naturally have a contingency plan. If he dares to act, I’ll settle accounts with him properly."
Hearing this, Wei Lai felt reassured.
Cheng Qiaobei heard her sigh of relief, "Wei Lai, when have I ever fought a losing battle? Don’t worry. By the way, the new hotel is expected to have a soft opening at the end of next month. You can start looking for soone to take over your tasks, then co over."
Wei Lai: "Alright, Manager Cheng."
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