The meeting lasted for over half an hour before it finally ended.
When it was over, Zhang Qian checked the time on his wristwatch. He rushed forward and said to Qin Chengyao, "Mr. Qin, it's already ten - plus minutes past the time. The people from JM should have arrived."
"They're late. You go and handle this. First, apologize, and then start talking about the cooperation. I'll go back to my office to change clothes first."
"Okay."
Instead of going back to his office, Zhang Qian walked straight towards the meeting room. As he approached the door and was about to push it open, a woman wearing sunglasses and a hat suddenly walked out, brushing past him.
He didn't get a clear look at her face, but she seemed vaguely familiar.
Strange. Why did he have such a feeling?
When he entered the meeting room, only Qing Ying was there.
He was stunned again.
"It's you?"
"Yes, it seems Assistant Zhang is quite surprised." Qing Ying had long anticipated that it would be him.
"How come... Are you the assistant to the president of JM? Then who was the person who just left?" A bad premonition suddenly welled up in Zhang Qian's heart.
"Let's talk about the cooperation first. That person is my boss. She suddenly had something to attend to."
"Then let's wait. Mr. Qin told me to come here to apologize first and then discuss the cooperation. It'll be difficult to proceed if your boss isn't here."
Qing Ying said, "It'll probably be a long time before Ms. Ji comes back."
"Ms. Ji?" Zhang Qian stared in disbelief. "So that was... So you were... back then."
Qing Ying smiled but didn't answer. All the answers were in that smile.
Zhang Qian said nothing. He just stood up, said "Sorry," and left.
He pushed open the door of the president's office and saw Liu Xuejiao sitting inside. Qin Chengyao was working and seemed a bit reluctant to pay attention to her.
"Didn't I teach you to knock before entering?" Qin Chengyao looked at Zhang Qian, his face turning cold.
Apparently, Liu Xuejiao had just said something that made him unhappy, so Qin Chengyao took out his anger on Zhang Qian.
But Zhang Qian didn't care about this at the moment. He rushed directly to Qin Chengyao's ear and whispered something.
Liu Xuejiao watched as Qin Chengyao's face remained unchanged after hearing those words, but he snapped his pen in half forcefully, his knuckles turning white - gray.
"Go and block all the passages in the company. Mobilize all the security guards and find her."
"Yes."
"Find who?" Liu Xuejiao stood up, crossing her arms. "What do you mean?"
Qin Chengyao looked at Liu Xuejiao, showing such a troubled expression for the first time in over two years.
Just as Liu Xuejiao was wondering what Zhang Qian had said, Qin Chengyao said, "Zhang Qian, take Miss Liu away first. Something has happened in the company."
"I'm not leaving! I'm your fiancée. Why can't I share weal and woe with you?"
"Do I need to remind you how you became my fiancée?" Qin Chengyao said coldly. Immediately, Liu Xuejiao lost her confidence and slunk away with Zhang Qian.
After that, everyone in the company knew that the company was suddenly closed down. It seemed they were looking for someone. All the security guards were mobilized. To avoid affecting the work, the company gave the employees an hour's break so that they could stop working for a while.
When not working, people tend to gossip.
"Hey! Have you heard who the woman who came to our company for cooperation today is? I just found out!"
"Who is she?"
"She's the new executive chairperson of JM. She's only 23 years old, but she's already climbed to that position."
"So amazing?"
"Sure! I heard she slept with someone from the US headquarters to get this chance and came back. Just recently, she found out she's pregnant. People in their company are all talking about it. Two people who talked about this were even fired!"
"Really? This woman is quite capable!"
"Sure! This Ms. Ji is a well - known figure. If you don't believe it, go check [date] on the Internet. You can find enough gossip to last you a whole day. She's also a bit related to our president. Do you think the company closed down in a hurry to look for her?"
"I don't think so..."
Just then, a person emerged from the side. The women who were gossiping immediately fell silent and looked at him timidly.
Who could tell them why the high - and - mighty president was standing at the door of the marketing department's tea room?
Qin Chengyao walked in with a cold face. He filled a paper cup with water, took a big gulp, then gasped and crumpled the cup before throwing it into the trash can.
"Do you think Mr. Qin heard what we just said?"
"I think he probably did. Will we get in trouble?"
"People outside say that Qin Chengyao hates that woman. If they're really looking for her, we'll be okay."
...
Ji Siyue was sitting on the toilet. The phone in her hand was an old - fashioned model from three years ago in today's perspective. But no matter how much money she made, she still used this phone because it stored too many memories.
Now, Ji Siyue was flipping through the photos taken in the past. As she looked at them one by one, her heart grew heavier with sadness.
She had no idea what was going on outside, so naturally, she didn't know if she could leave.
"Ugh, so annoying!"
Ji Siyue put away her phone. Just as she was about to push the door open and go out, she heard two women gossiping outside.
"Do you think they can find that person?"
"I think it's a bit of a stretch. Maybe she's already run away."
Ji Siyue looked confused. "Run away? What run away?"
She walked out calmly, washed her hands, and then dried them. During this time, the two gossiping women looked at her in surprise.
Although Ji Siyue was confused, she didn't interrupt them and walked out leisurely.
She had already made up her mind that she couldn't see Qin Chengyao. Even if he already knew, she couldn't go. She had to come up with an excuse before going out.
What she didn't know was that as soon as she walked out, the two women rushed out and called the internal line to inform Zhang Qian. Zhang Qian immediately informed Qin Chengyao: Ji Siyue hadn't left yet and had just appeared on the 16th floor of the company!
When Qin Chengyao learned this, he was on the 15th floor!
He was stunned for a few seconds, then ran up the stairs.
Coincidentally, he ran into Ji Siyue, who was running down the stairs.
The two of them stood there, one above and the other below, separated by a dozen steps, looking at each other. The emotions in their eyes were indescribable even in ten sentences.
Ji Siyue's body froze in place. She watched helplessly as the man with a gloomy face walked towards her in silence...