Before Luan Qiaoqing came back for the second time, Song Shu had already found an empty table in the cafeteria. After placing the plates for the two of them, she propped her head with her hand, looking out the French window in boredom.
The office building where vio capital is located has a typical modern and cold office style. From the 1st floor to the 22nd floor, the exterior is made of floor-to-ceiling fiberglass with anti-peeping treatment. From the inside to the outside, you can see things unobstructed, but from the outside to the inside, even to the lower floors like the cafeteria, you can only see the dazzling light reflected on the glass in colorful spots, and the figures inside are blurred and difficult to distinguish.
So Song Shu could watch the people coming and going and the hustle and bustle of traffic outside the window without worrying about anyone noticing.
But given her personality, even if she was really caught by someone, she would just smile and nod at the other person and then look away, without any ripples in her heart.
-Except for those who have grudges, love and hate with her, Song Shu has never been too lazy to care about them. She has known this since she was a child and has never thought about changing.
In the past few years, she has been busy collecting evidence for her mother Bai Song's case, studying law and finance, analyzing similar financial cases, and not missing a single clue... Time flies in the busy life, and every day it seems that she has no extra time to think about issues other than clearing her mother's name.
Now that the matter has been resolved, she feels a sense of bewilderment and at a loss.
The year is coming to an end, and large companies like VIO Capital are responsible for managing numerous large-scale assets that require year-end summary reports. As a special assistant, she is often very busy.
But my body is busy with work all day long, but my mind seems to be floating very high, drifting to the edge of the clouds or the end of the sky, with no destination...
"Hey."
Suddenly, a strange noise was heard beside his ear, bringing Song Shu back to his senses.
With a light tap on her left shoulder, Song Shu paused, turned to the right, and not surprisingly saw Luan Qiaoqing tiptoeing to approach her from the right.
Luan Qiaoqing's face fell immediately after Song Shu glanced at her. "What's wrong with you? Do you have eyes behind your head? I clearly tapped your left shoulder, why did you turn to the right?"
Song Shu's lips curled slightly, "The finger on my shoulder is facing the wrong direction - next time you tap my left shoulder with your right hand, I will probably look to the left."
"… "
Luan Qiaoqing was stunned for a moment. She looked down at her left hand that had just patted Song Shu, and stood there thinking for two seconds before she realized, "Yes, if I was standing to your left, I would normally have used my right hand to pat you."
Song Shu: “.”
Song Shu sighed silently in his heart. If such a silly sister met a creature with a Tyrannosaurus Rex skin but a fox heart, it would be strange if she was not eaten clean.
As Song Shu was sighing, the "silly sister" was completely unaware of her cousin's criticism and sat down opposite Song Shu happily, feeling that she had gained new experience and skills.
"Sister, what were you looking at just now?"
Song Shu was stunned for a moment, then raised his eyes slightly, "Didn't I tell you not to address me like that in the company?"
"I'm not making a lot of noise, so no one can hear me. Don't worry." Luan Qiaoqing muttered softly, coughed lightly and cleared her throat, "So, 'Assistant Qin', what were you looking at just now?"
Song Shu didn't care about Luan Qiaoqing's deliberate weirdness and weirdness, and lowered his eyes lightly, "I didn't see anything."
"What is it that you didn't see?"
"." Song Shu glanced at her helplessly, "Is it okay to be in a daze?"
"… "
Song Shu didn't hear a response for a long time. Accustomed to Luan Qiaoqing's 24-hour non-stop chattering when she was by her side, she looked up with some surprise, and saw Luan Qiaoqing staring at her with his chin in his hand with a worried look on his face.
Song Shu put down his bowl and chopsticks, "Just say whatever you want to say. It's not your character to hold it in."
"It's nothing, it's just a feeling..."
"Um?"
"It seems like you've always seemed distracted since that case was solved."
Perhaps he was surprised by Luan Qiaoqing's sensitivity. Song Shu was slightly startled, then smiled faintly, "It's just that the string has been taut for too long, and I'm a little uncomfortable with it suddenly loosening up."
Luan Qiaoqing wrinkled her nose at Song Shu, revealing a look of disdain, "Yes, that's the expression you have now. Every time you show it, I feel like you are the most absent-minded - you don't even bother to think about how to be sincere and perfunctory - if you were like this before, I wouldn't have noticed it until then."
"… "
Luan Qiaoqing's eyes also showed a little suspicion, "So you were just perfunctorily trying to fool me, and you didn't really feel that way, right?"
Song Shu came back to her senses from her daze. She sighed silently and returned her gaze to the food in front of her. "Don't think too much," Song Shu picked up the bowl and chopsticks. "If you have that time, you might as well use this rare smartness on yourself."
Otherwise you won’t even know you’re about to be “eaten”.
Luan Qiaoqing naturally couldn't hear Song Shu's subtext. She reached out and held Song Shu's hand without thinking, "Don't try to avoid the topic. Sister, cough... Assistant Qin, your current state is really worrying, you know?"
"What are you worried about?"
"It's... it's a feeling." Luan Qiaoqing frowned and tried to describe it, "I always feel like you're made of air, and you'll be blown away in the next second if a gust of wind comes."
Song Shu lowered his eyes slightly and smiled, "Have you watched too many science fiction movies?"
Luan Qiaoqing looked at her more suspiciously: "Then tell me, why have you been unwilling to find a way to restore your original identity?"
Song Shu didn't raise his eyes, "It's too troublesome, and there's no need for it."
"What's the trouble? How can it be unnecessary?"
"There are only a few people left who are truly related to that identity. You and Qin Lou are both here and know about it. That's enough. What else is necessary?"
"… "
Luan Qiaoqing was speechless.
After a few seconds, she reluctantly raised her chopsticks and poked the rice in the bowl to vent her anger. "But it feels like you're ready to leave at any moment."
Song Shu was stunned.
It was not until Luan Qiaoqing's words at this moment that she felt the truth beneath the emptiness hidden deep in her heart was revealed.
It turned out that after she was freed from the bond with Bai Song, she felt like a rootless duckweed, without a center of gravity or direction, and could not see where she came from or where she was going.
And at least here, this city that left her with the pain she least wanted to recall, is not her home in her heart.
Luan Qiaoqing was unusually alert, and she became alert from Song Shu's stunned expression, "Do you really think so?"
"… No," Song Shu came back to his senses and regained his focus, "at least not now."
Luan Qiao listened to her firm tone, which did not sound perfunctory, and asked hesitantly: "Why? Is it because of me—" Luan Qiaoqing's eyes lit up.
Song Shu shattered her fantasy in time: "Because Qin Lou is busy right now."
Luan Qiaoqing: “…”
Song Shu calmly explained while eating, "This is a good opportunity. The benefit of the turmoil in the top management of the board of directors is the replacement of the old with the new. Vio is now in the period of adjustment and replacement of the top and middle-level backbones. This rare opportunity to purge the old system must not be missed for Qin's company. Qin Lou has no way to get away at this time, so of course I have to accompany him."
Luan Qiaoqing's mouth twitched, "Just for him, she's gone?"
Song Shu blinked, smiling, "What else?"
Luan Qiaoqing pointed at herself expressionlessly, "I am no longer considered a human being in your eyes, am I?"
Song Shu smiled, "Qiaoqiao, you are already in your twenties, don't act like a child. Just like I will leave, there will always be new people who will appear and accompany you as more inseparable people."
"...!" Luan Qiaoqing was so anxious that her eyes turned red. She reached out to hold Song Shu's hand, "I don't want anyone else to accompany me! I want to stay with you all the time—"
"You're dreaming."
A cold and indifferent voice ruthlessly interrupted Luan Qiaoqing's words.
Song Shu's hand, which Luan Qiaoqing had not yet grasped, was held in the palm of the man's hand with a hook of his knuckles. The man who was speaking glanced at Luan Qiaoqing nonchalantly while sitting down.
"It's impossible for you to stay with her forever. You'd better not even think about it."
Luan Qiaoqing was furious and glared at the man who was called down by her but did not show any mercy to her.
It was only at this moment that Song Shu realized that the cafeteria had become much quieter at some point. Apparently it was because of the arrival of the company's top boss. The voices of chatting or discussing had been muted - and Song Shu and Luan Qiaoqing had been so engrossed in their conversation that they hadn't noticed it at all.
Song Shu recalled Qin Lou's schedule and asked in a low voice, "Why are you here? Wasn't there an annual report of the Investment Decision Committee this morning? Hasn't it been completed?"
"No." Qin Lou glanced at Luan Qiaoqing, who immediately lowered her head in guilt after hearing Song Shu's words. He retracted his gaze and fell on Song Shu, "I just heard that you came to the cafeteria. Considering that there have been some false rumors in the company recently, I came to officially correct them."
"…What false rumors?"
Qin Lou recalled, "For example, you are only glorious on the surface, or I am not good to you, so you have fallen out of favor?"
Song Shu: “.”
Song Shu turned his head with a wooden face and looked at Luan Qiaoqing.
Luan Qiaoqing was also looking at Qin Lou in surprise. After receiving Song Shu's dangerous gaze, she immediately shook her hands vigorously, "It has nothing to do with me, really! I didn't say anything. I just said that you were bullied in the cafeteria. I didn't tell him these specific words - Qin Lou, can you read minds?"
"… Pay attention to the address." Qin Lou frowned, "Besides, this is in my company. After confirming the time, place and people, is it difficult for me to know what happened?"
Luan Qiaoqing: “…”
Under her cousin's gradually cooling gaze, Luan Qiaoqing slowly lowered her guilty head and said, "I'm sorry, I won't tell tales again."
Out of sight of the two, Luan Qiaoqing gritted her teeth in anger: Especially to a heartless person like Qin Lou, if she says it again she'd be a fool!
Qin Lou had already come down, and Song Shu knew that it was useless to argue with Luan Qiaoqing. She stared at Luan Qiaoqing helplessly for a few seconds, then turned her head to look at Qin Lou.
"As the general manager of the company, you still need to set an example, especially during this critical period. If you leave the meeting without permission, what will other employees think..."
"I'm hungry." Qin Lou suddenly spoke.
Song Shu's words stopped automatically. At this moment, the corners of the peach blossom eyes of the person in front of her drooped slightly, and he deliberately made a pitiful look, with a dim look in his eyes, "I had a meeting all morning, and it was almost 12 o'clock and it was not over yet, so I came down as soon as I heard you were downstairs."
Song Shu couldn't say anything else. She was silent for two seconds, then stood up helplessly, "I'll go get you a meal, wait for me here."
"Um."
"… "
Watching Song Shu's back as he walked towards the cafeteria window, Qin Lou turned his gaze back and met Luan Qiaoqing's face full of disgust.
Qin Lou's pitiful mood disappeared in an instant, and he glanced at Luan Qiaoqing expressionlessly, "What are you looking at?"
Luan Qiaoqing: "You were a lunatic before, but you weren't such a dramatic person. Ever since my sister came back, why do you act like you're ready for an Oscar every day?"
Qin Lou sneered, "I'm happy to do that."
Luan Qiaoqing was choked by his light words and laughed angrily: "You even resorted to such childish methods as pretending to be pitiful. Mr. Qin, you are already 26 or 27 years old. Aren't you ashamed? Aren't you too unscrupulous and unscrupulous?"
"What did you say."
"..." Luan Qiaoqing's heart skipped a beat when she heard this, thinking that Qin Lou was angry. But when she looked up, she saw the man sitting opposite her, holding Song Shu's water cup and playing with it in his palm, looking nonchalant.
Luan Qiaoqing breathed a sigh of relief, and became more confident, "I told you that you would do anything to achieve your goal."
Qin Lou didn't hesitate and nodded calmly, "You are right."
"..." Luan Qiaoqing choked again.
Qin Lou put down the water cup and looked at Luan Qiaoqing calmly, "I was too restrained before. I always worried about and paid attention to some unnecessary details, and then was bound and restrained by those details and didn't express myself - that's why I almost lost her."
“—”
Luan Qiaoqing's expression froze.
Of course, she understood what kind of "loss" Qin Lou was talking about. That memory was a tragedy that both she and Qin Lou absolutely did not want to recall, but they had to remind themselves all the time that it must not happen again.
“So now I won’t.”
Qin Lou lazily supported his cheekbones and looked back at the figure in front of the cafeteria window. The corners of his mouth curled up slightly, and his eyes, which were turned sideways with their backs to the light, were dark and bottomless.
"No matter how unscrupulous the means, I will fight for it. I want to show her all my desires. It doesn't matter if I have no face or skin, and it doesn't matter if people laugh at me and talk about me. Compared to losing her before I can say or do anything, compared to the regret that can kill people every moment after that, what are those things worth caring about?"
Luan Qiaoqing didn't say anything for more than ten seconds.
After a moment of silence, she asked softly, "What are your plans for the future? My sister may not really want to stay in Q City."
"I'm already looking for a professional manager. After Vio's blood transfusion period is over, I will go out with her."
Luan Qiaoqing frowned slightly, "Since you are ready to leave, why do you have to wait?"
"I don't care, but she won't agree to leave now." Qin Lou thought for a while, "It should be the sequelae of being a top student. She requires herself to achieve an A+ grade in everything that can be evaluated. She has such requirements for herself and the people she cares about. You should know this better than me, right?"
“… … ”
Luan Qiaoqing's face suddenly turned dark as some painful memories from her student days were brought back.
Before Luan Qiaoqing could say anything else, Song Shu had already walked back with the food tray.
Qin Lou seemed to have eyes on his back. He stood up as soon as he heard the footsteps behind him and asked Luan Qiaoqing, "Which table was talking about her before?"
Luan Qiaoqing was stunned for a moment, "Why are you asking this?"
"Don't talk nonsense. Aren't you asking me if I care? Just tell me."
Luan Qiaoqing hesitated for a moment, then looked back and said, "The table at the entrance to the cafeteria."
"Who said that?"
"The one with the red nails, the one on her left, and the one in blue... What are you going to do?"
Before Luan Qiaoqing finished speaking, she saw Qin Lou holding Song Shu's plate and approaching Song Shu, "Let's sit somewhere else."
"?" Song Shu was stunned and looked at Luan Qiaoqing in slight surprise.
Luan Qiaoqing immediately shrugged and acted innocent, "It has nothing to do with me - you can change it if you want. It just so happens that I don't want to eat a lunch that tastes like dog food."
"… "
Before Song Shu had time to think, Qin Lou was leading him by the hand and walking towards the table in front of the cafeteria.
Song Shu noticed something after walking a few steps. She tried to pull back the hand that Qin Lou was holding on her wrist, and lowered her voice, "Qin Lou, stop making trouble."
"Making a fuss?" Qin Lou smiled, and looked back with a look of madness in his eyes, "It's just lunch, how can it be considered a fuss?"
"… "
Seeing that someone was determined to leave, Song Shu let him drag him over with a headache.
As early as when they saw Qin Lou coming in, the staff at this table who had discussed Song Shu before had a bad feeling. When someone noticed Qin Lou pulling Song Shu over, several people exchanged glances and stood up one after another without caring about their unfinished lunch.
"Hello, Mr. Qin."
"Yeah." Qin Lou replied with a lazy smile, "I don't mind sharing a table with you guys."
"…" The staff didn't dare to say they minded, and all nodded with stiff smiles, "No, no ...
Qin Lou put down Song Shu's plate and said, "Why don't you sit here?" Then he took the food Song Shu had prepared for him and said, "I'll sit opposite you."
Song Shu glanced at him helplessly and sat down under the awkward and cautious gazes of the employees.
Qin Lou handed the newly picked chopsticks to Song Shu. As soon as he sat down, a female employee a few seats away from Song Shu stood up with a bad look on her face and forced a smile, "Boss Qin, I'm done eating, first—"
Qin Lou raised his eyelids and glanced lazily at the female employee's nails.
Red.
He raised the corner of his mouth, his smile was cold, "Don't worry, I have the virus? You want to leave right after I sit down?"
The female employee was so frightened that she trembled. After several seconds, she came to her senses when she was pulled by someone beside her. "No... No, no, it's not..."
"If you don't want to, just sit down and eat before leaving." The smile on Qin Lou's face faded and disappeared in a few seconds.
The female employee sat back tremblingly.
Having learned a lesson from this precedent, the other few who originally wanted to leave early were so scared that their faces changed and they swallowed back the words that were about to come out of their mouths.
After Qin Lou finished speaking, he seemed to no longer care about their existence. His gaze returned to Song Shu opposite him - the girl in a light-colored professional suit had an indifferent expression and was drinking her soup as if nothing had happened.
The emotion in Qin Lou's eyes flickered.
“Is it delicious?”
"…?"
Song Shu slowly raised his eyes.
She was so familiar with Qin Lou that even if there was just a slight upward sound at the end of the voice that was different from usual, she could tell that someone was trying to cause trouble.
The wisest choice is to ignore him - but sitting next to so many company employees, the consequence of ignoring Qin Lou is definitely that you will hear new rumors tomorrow like "The new assistant Qin Qing is so arrogant that she doesn't even hear what President Qin said."
Song Shu could only look at Qin Lou silently, reminding him with his eyes not to cause trouble.
Qin Lou pretended not to hear it and repeated patiently, "Soup, is it delicious?"
“… Not bad.” Song Shu had no choice but to smile and respond.
Qin Lou nodded, "I want to drink too."
Song Shu: “.”
Song Shu pretended not to hear his subtext, "I'll go get you a bowl."
Qin Lou was also too familiar with Song Shu. He had already guessed how Song Shu would respond before he opened his mouth. So without waiting for Song Shu to stand up, Qin Lou, who had already expected this, reached out and pressed her wrist.
Then someone curled the corners of his mouth and smiled like a madman and a devil.
"I want to have your share."
Song Shu: “…”
She just knew it.
Song Shu was silent for a few seconds, and pushed his bowl in front of Qin Lou. "I only drank one sip, don't mind, Mr. Qin. Saving food is a good habit. I will convey your ideas to the employees below."
Qin Lou's smile faded and his eyes became resentful.
"You know I want you to feed—"
"Boss Qin." Song Shu almost gritted her teeth to keep smiling. She interrupted Qin Lou's words and pointed down with a cold look that was completely different from her gentle tone, "The soup should be cold."
Qin Lou received a level one warning, sighed, and gave up what he had not finished saying.
However, this was enough for the employees sitting at the same table to "understand".
Everyone looked sympathetically at the people who had mocked "Qin Qing" before. The one with the ugliest expression was the female employee with red nails - she was the one who had mocked "Qin Qing" the most before.
Qin Lou enjoyed the lunch, Song Shu didn't care, but the employees who didn't participate in the discussion tasted the newly developed "dog food flavored" lunch in the company cafeteria with mixed feelings. As for the remaining few, the only way to describe their lunch experience was that it was tasteless.
Qin Lou finally put down his bowl and chopsticks and seemed ready to leave. Everyone thought that this "torture" was over, but Qin Lou, who had stood up with Song Shu, suddenly stopped.
As everyone's heartbeats almost stopped, Qin Lou curled the corners of his mouth and stared at the pale-faced female employee.
"I'll ask you two simple questions. Don't say too much. Just tell me the answers."
The female employee's lips trembled slightly, "Mr. Qin..."
"What's your name? Which department?"
"!"
The female employee's face turned pale.
Song Shu had also heard the voice and turned sideways, "Qin Lou."
Qin Lou didn't even listen to Song Shu's words. He stared at the female employee with a cold look, "Answer?"
The female employee finally couldn't bear it anymore, her eyes turned red, and her fingers tightly grasped the hem of her clothes, "I'm sorry... I'm sorry, Mr. Qin, I will never talk nonsense again, I know I was wrong... Please forgive me this time, I will never, never dare to do it again-"
Qin Lou sneered and turned away.
"Didn't I just tell you not to talk too much? I hate talkative people the most. It seems that not only do you like to talk a lot, but you also never listen to what others say?"
The female employee also tried to beg Qin Lou for forgiveness, "Boss Qin, I really know I was wrong—"
Qin Lou's last bit of patience was gone. He glanced at the other pale-faced employees at the same table, "What's her name? Which department? If I can't get the answer to these two questions, then you should be prepared to accompany her..."
The unfinished ending suddenly disappeared.
The employees who had been looking down unexpectedly raised their eyes, and then froze in astonishment one after another—
Song Shu frowned slightly, climbed onto Qin Lou's shoulders, then stood on tiptoe to kiss the corner of his lips.
The man didn't move, as if he was stunned.
After a short pause, Song Shu took a half step back and raised his eyes helplessly—
"Is this okay, Mr. Qin?"
"… "
Qin Lou finally came back to his senses from the kiss.
After being silent for a few seconds, he lowered his head and laughed, his voice unable to conceal the joy.
"If I say no, will there be a second one?"