This project discussion would last for two days. Jiang Shenghe was to attend the opening ceremony in the morning of the first day and the signing ceremony in the afternoon of the second day.

He was a special guest of the organizer this morning and sat in the front row.

Luo Qi was part of his entourage. During the opening ceremony, her seat was on one side of the hall, far away from Jiang Shenghe, with dozens of people in between.

Jiang Shenghe turned his head and looked around but couldn’t find her.

He sent her a message: [Where are you sitting? I will leave my phone with you.]

When Luo Qi saw the text, she went over, walking tall and straight. Even though she was wearing an ordinary suit, many people’s eyes were glued on her as she walked past. Among them, there were even two ladies who eyed her suit with a little envy.

“Chief Jiang,” Luo Qi said when she reached him.

Jiang Shenghe didn’t just stay seated and give her his mobile phone. He stood up, handed over a report and two mobile phones, then proceeded to introduce to her the two people seated next to him.

One was surnamed Ren and the other was surnamed Ye. Of course, Luo Qi already knew their names before this.

Jiang Shenghe introduced Luo Qi to them in turn, “This is my new Special Assistant, Luo Qi. She used to be my aunt’s Assistant.”

The two people who were introduced also stood up and exchanged a few polite words.

Luo Qi never thought that she would be treated and shown such respect like this in public. And this respect was given to her by Jiang Shenghe, the big boss.

The three of them sat back down, and she returned to her seat with the cell phones and a copy of the report.

Only a few people in the venue knew Luo Qi. Those who had dealt with Jiang Yueru before knew who she was and what her business capabilities were, but most of them didn’t know her. They only had one impression of her: that of a vase¹.

Watching Luo Qi sit down, someone whispered, “She is Jiang Shenghe’s Special Assistant?”

“Yes, she replaced the former secretary. Within Yuanwei, the actual power she wields is greater than that of a vice president.”

“Ah, is that so? She’s so beautiful, I thought she was just for decoration.”

During the intermission for today’s meeting, Luo Qi became the focus of attention. People came up to talk to her one after another, and the conversation always ended with adding her contact information.

She was now Jiang Shenghe’s Assistant. Jiang Shenghe was not only the big boss of Yuanwei Group, but also the third son of the Jiang family. Naturally, she has become the person one needed to be friends with.

At 12:10, the opening ceremony ended.

Jiang Shenghe did not stay for the conference meal but left after greeting the head of the organizer.

When they got to the car, Luo Qi returned the two mobile phones to Jiang Shenghe, “There were three calls in total.” They were all calls on his personal mobile phone, and she did not answer them on his behalf.

Jiang Shenghe only took his personal mobile phone and gave the other one back to her, “I’ll leave it with you for now. If anyone calls me, no matter what, you can make arrangements as you see fit.”

“Okay.” This was not a problem. Luo Qi has learned from Jiang Yueru how to make decisions for the boss as appropriate.

Jiang Shenghe took the initiative to bring up the two friends he introduced to her that morning. “You don’t have to be mentally burdened about it. Introducing them to you will make it easier for you to handle work in the future. Those present now know what role you play, and when you deal with people in the future, your words will carry weight.”

“I understand.” How could Luo Qi not know that the words of people in low positions had no power?

Even though it was for work, she was still grateful to him.

Jiang Shenghe told the driver, “Find a restaurant nearby.”

The driver was stumped. There were many restaurants nearby. Was it Chinese food or Western food, hot pot or stir-fry? Should it be a Suzhou specialty restaurant or just a random one?

“Chief Jiang, which one do you want to go to? I’ll call and reserve a table now.”²

Jiang Shenghe replied, “No need to reserve a table, it’s for a work meal.”

When the driver heard that it was a work meal, he understood and found a chain restaurant. The per person consumption would be less than 100 yuan, and the dining environment was not bad.

The car stopped, and Luo Qi and Jiang Shenghe got out.

It would only be the two of them eating. On the way, Luo Qi had already begun to think about what would be appropriate to say during the meal.

Don’t talk too much, and don’t make awkward conversations.

In the past, she didn’t have this problem when eating out with Jiang Yueru. She could just say whatever she thought of.

The waiter led them to a table for two.

Jiang Shenghe rarely ate work meals outside. It was his first time coming to this restaurant, and he didn’t know much about the food, so he asked Luo Qi to order.

He picked up the glass teapot, poured two cups of tea, and gave the first cup to Luo Qi.

“Thank you, Chief Jiang.”

“Aren’t you tired of saying ‘thank you’ a hundred times a day?”

“…”

It seemed that Xiao Jiang and the others said it several times a day, and he was tired of hearing it.

Luo Qi pretended not to hear the admonition and changed the subject, “Chief Jiang, what kind of soup do you want to drink?”

Jiang Shenghe said casually, “The third soup.”

Because of this, Luo Qi thought that he came here often and was already familiar with the menu.

While waiting for the food, Jiang Shenghe asked her, “Have you read the report?”

“I’ve read it.” Luo Qi opened the bag. She had put notes on the margins of the report he handed her at the opening ceremony, and now she handed it back to the boss.

Jiang Shenghe looked through it and found that in some cases, her ideas and his were very similar.

He looked up at her and said, “Dongbo Medical—they’ve decided to acquire it.”

Luo Qi hesitated for two seconds before she realized that he was referring to Yuanwei’s Board of Directors and senior management. As before, she refused to comment on its feasibility. “Vice-President Li is responsible for acquisitions?”

After all, Li Rui was in charge of Yuanwei Medical.

Jiang Shenghe looked at the information and said “hmm”.

The project plan Luo Qi gave him six years ago was related to medical technology. It was obvious that she was very interested in 3D printing and had done a lot of background work.

If it weren’t for Pei Shixiao being involved in this matter, he wouldn’t have left it to Li Rui to participate in this merger and instead given it directly to Luo Qi to handle.

Seventh Year of My Secret Love for You translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

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FOOTNOTE:

¹A vase is someone useful for their beautiful looks and not much else. ↩︎

²The text left this dialogue hanging but I think Luo Qi said this, not the driver. ↩︎

T/N: Their first ever meal together by themselves, and it’s a chain restaurant where the consumption is less than a hundred yuan per person. That poor uncle driver won’t get his bonus 😂

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