“But Director Li, how do you know President Ji was looking for a birthday present for his son?” Cheng Liu asked.

She didn’t see Director Li talking to Ji Mushan before this.

“That, ah,” Director Li slapped his leg. “Ji Mushan spends so much energy choosing a birthday gift for his son every year—everyone in the circle knows that.”

“So that’s how it is.” Cheng Liu was not really interested in other people’s gossip, so she didn’t ask any more questions.

At this time, He Bai came over and sat at the chair vacated by Ji Mushan, an unsightly expression on his handsome face. “Cheng Liu, you spent five million on one of these things?”

He didn’t expect her to bid such a big amount.

Cheng Liu opened the first page of the auction booklet, tapped a paragraph on it with her fingertips, and said, her tone indifferent, “The proceeds will be donated to public welfare.”

She has gone through the auction booklet. This was a jewelry auction for charity. The base price of all the items will go to the seller. Ninety percent of the price increase will be donated, and the remaining ten percent will go to the auction house.

This was also the most important reason why the auction guests will not fight or grab for lots.

Cheng Liu didn’t think it was a loss to spend the money. Bosses of other companies spend several million to buy a car or a watch casually, or play with other things that cost a lot money.

But she has never had any hobbies. In the past few years, except for work needs, the money in her bank card was hardly touched.

It’s just a gift for her boyfriend, and the extra money she spent will be used for charity, so in the end, she really didn’t mind spending it.

“… but if you do this, you will offend President Ji.” He Bai raised his hand to push his glasses and resumed his job as chief assistant, “If you plan to cooperate with a car company in S City, Tianqi is one of the options. “

Cheng Liu leaned back and replied, still indifferent, “If President Ji is the kind to mix business and private interests, then Tianqi wouldn’t have reached its current heights.”

That’s for business affairs. As for private matters… she and Ji Mushan don’t need to get along with each other. There was no point of intersection at all in their private lives, so why even worry about it?

“…”

He Bai had to admit that Cheng Liu was right: Ji Mushan was not a person who disregarded the difference between business and private matters.

“I’ll go ahead first.” Director Li patted Cheng Liu on the shoulder, “If you want to pay me back, next time you invite me to dinner, you have to bring your boyfriend.”

The flame of gossip in the hearts of middle-aged men will never go out!

“Okay,” Cheng Liu readily agreed. “And in the future, I will have to invite Director Li to my wedding.”

Director Li’s eyes lit up, “It’s a deal.”

… …

After Director Li left, He Bai finally recovered from his shock. “Wedding?”

She and Wang Hongyang have reached this point?

“It’s still early,” Cheng Liu waved her hand. Her boyfriend was still angry—she dared not even touch his hand, let alone get married.

He Bai’s originally tense heart relaxed; it should have been just small talk with  Director Li.

“I won’t be attending the auction dinner.” Cheng Liu got up, “I’ll go through the formalities now and just pick up the item later.”

“… Okay.” He Bai couldn’t leave; his sister asked him to stay.

Cheng Liu followed the auction staff to go through the cash withdrawal procedure, which was a bit troublesome. It took several hours before she could finally pick up what she bought.

… … 

In the R&D lab of Ranshan, Ji Chaozhou was wearing a white lab coat and transparent protective glasses. His body was slightly bent, one hand holding a dropper over the petri dish.

After several distilled ingredients were mixed together, the petri dish began to emit a certain aroma.

Ji Chaozhou smelled it only once, then put the petri dish back down, picked up the notebook next to it, and crossed out the current ratio of ingredients with a red pen.

The notebook was filled with notations, more than a dozen pages, all of which were crossed out with red lines. These were all perfume combinations that Ji Chaozhou considered as failures.

Finally, after crossing out several pages worth of scent blends and using up all the scent extracts, Ji Chaozhou laid down his work, left the lab, changed back into his normal clothes, and prepared to go back home.

He had kept his mobile phone in the pocket of his usual coat, and it wasn’t until he was about to go home that evening that he was able to look at the messages he received.

Ji Mushan: [Picture.jpg Do you like this jade diorama?]

The message was sent at two in the afternoon.

Ji Chaozhou put the phone back in his pocket without replying.

It’s so late—no matter whether he replied or not, Ji Mushan must have already bought it.

When Ji Chaozhou returned home, it was already 9 in the evening. He was covered with various scents from the R&D room—which was not pleasant for people with a keen sense of smell.

He stayed in the bathroom for an hour, washing away all kinds of lingering smells on his hair and body.

As soon as Ji Chaozhou came out of the bathroom, the doorbell rang.

He frowned slightly, then walked towards the entrance. When he opened the door, he saw the bodyguard named No. 6 holding a wooden box in her hands.

Ji Chaozhou was startled. “What are you doing here?”

“A gift for you, see if you like it or not.” Cheng Liu raised her head just a fraction. She seriously worried that she would have another nosebleed.

She didn’t expect that the door would be opened by her boyfriend who had obviously just taken a shower. He was wearing white, cotton pajamas, and his hair was still dripping a little. Drops of water slid down his neck onto his shoulders, wetting the white pajamas, making the fabric cling to his shoulders, and one could clearly see that small patch of skin through the nearly transparent fabric.

The boyfriend didn’t have the scent of a usual shower gel but instead had a faint smell of bitter coffee mixed with moist water vapor; Cheng Liu thought it smelled very good.

… …

When Ji Chaozhou saw the words ‘auction’ stamped on the wooden box in her arms, he wasn’t surprised.

He didn’t reply to the message, and Ji Mushan simply decided things on his own.

Ji Chaozhou would not embarrass a bodyguard, he stepped aside, “Come in.”

This was the second time she has entered her boyfriend’s house. Cheng Liu felt happy. She turned to her boyfriend and asked, “Where do you want me to put this?”

Ji Chaozhou pointed to a corner next to the wall. “There.”

There were many procedures to get through before she was able to pick up the item she bought at the auction. Cheng Liu had waited from afternoon to evening. After she put down the wooden box, she remembered that her boyfriend had just finished taking a shower, so after a moment of hesitation she asked, “Are you ready to rest?”

Ji Chaozhou nodded, “You can go back now.”

It was past ten in the evening, and the other party had a child at home, so he didn’t ask her to return the gift to Ji Mushan for now.

“…Okay, then you go to bed early.” Cheng Liu turned and walked to the door, then glanced at her boyfriend before closing the door.

Strange, why didn’t her boyfriend look happy at all, even after she gave him a gift?

Was his work too tiring?

If It’s Wrong Then It’s Wrong by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

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