On the other end of the phone, Cui Peng was anxiously waiting for Pei Shixiao’s reply. Pei Shixiao’s secretary had called her and asked her to come to his office. She thought it was Pei Shixiao who was looking for her, but she was confused when she saw the person sitting on the sofa.

She has never met Pei Shixiao’s mother before and has only seen pictures of her on his cell phone. She had a much more dignified presence in person.

Her entire body exuded a sense of superiority, and her eyes were piercing.

Madam Pei put down the tea cup, “You don’t have to wait for him. He’s not coming.”

She said calmly, “Do you know where my son is?”

Cui Peng pursed her lips slightly and said nothing.

Madam Pei smiled. “Why, he didn’t tell you where he’s going?”

Cui Peng’s face flushed. She really couldn’t stand Madam Pei’s strange temper, “Auntie–”

“I dare not accept this title,” Madam Pei interrupted her. “Don’t include me in your family. I don’t have a niece like you.”

Cui Peng could only endure. “You may have misunderstood me. President Pei and I–”

Madam Pei interrupted her again, “Do you think I am so incompetent that I would come to you indiscriminately? You can stop the charade. I am not a man, and I will not be fooled by your tricks. My son could be purposely blind, but I am not blind.”

Cui Peng told herself over and over not to be angry. She was Pei Shixiao’s mother, and when she was with him in the future, she could not avoid his family. No matter how much she disliked his mother, she had to endure it, and when she felt she couldn’t bear it anymore, she just needed to think about Pei Shixiao again.

She followed Pei Shixiao’s mother’s words, “I will not explain then. You are in a bad mood. I understand. You are angry at me, and no matter what, it was my fault that caused today’s situation. I did not maintain my sense of proportion.”

Madam Pei sneered coldly, “Since you know you were wrong, I will give you a chance to repent. You will hand over your work this week and leave the company next week!”

Cui Peng instinctively explained, “I didn’t intend to stay long, I only stayed temporarily because–”

Madam Pei waved her hand and said impatiently, “Enough! I don’t have time to listen to your chatter. You may not be busy, but I have a lot of things to do in my company, so let’s save each other’s time.

“Do you know where my son is now?” Madam Pei returned to the original topic.

Cui Peng tried to control her expression and calmed her voice, “I really don’t know this. Except for necessary matters, I have not contacted him.”

“Really?” Madam Pei drew out this one word, her tone laced with obvious sarcasm.

“Then let me tell you: tail between his legs, he ran all the way to Beijing. He went there yesterday and hasn’t come back yet. Luo Qi doesn’t want to see him at all, but it doesn’t stop him from begging in vain.

“Pei Shixiao only looked at you because of a man’s base nature, just looking for some excitement. I heard that you were beaten up that day. You may not know, but if anyone ever dared to lay a finger on Luo Qi, they would be risking their life to face his wrath.

“By the way, he knows that I am coming to the company today. I told him last night that I would fire you. Do you think he cared?”

Cui Peng lowered her eyes and squeezed her phone so hard that her hands were shaking. Pei Shixiao’s secretary and Pei Shixiao’s mother’s secretary were both standing nearby, and they watched as her dignity was trampled on.

Madam Pei stood up and said, “Do you really think that just anyone can come in through the door of our house? I’ll leave you with some face today. But if I have to see you again next week, don’t blame me for slapping you in the face in public. You take care of matters yourself.”

She took her coat and bag and didn’t look at Cui Peng any more.

The sound of high heels clicking on the floor slowly faded away. Cui Peng’s tears fell on the phone. This humiliation was a hundred times more hurtful than when Luo Yu hit her.

She was unwilling to let them get their wish, so she sent a message to Pei Shixiao: [Your mother has left. I’m sorry that I caused you to have conflicts with your family. You don’t need to reply to me when you see the message. I’m fine. I understand your mother is very angry. I will resign next week. You don’t have to worry about the project, my resignation won’t have any impact. During this period, I have actually started handing it over already. I was worried that unexpected situations may occur and delay the progress. Fortunately, I prepared.]

[There will be no contact from now on.]

Like Luo Qi, she deleted Pei Shixiao’s WeChat account and added his number to the blacklist.

Who didn’t know how to do this?

… …

The dinner was at seven o’clock, and at 6:05pm, Jiang Shenghe was still in the office.

When they got back from the signing ceremony, everyone else in the President’s Office had already gotten off work. He and Luo Qi were the only two people in the entire office area on the 42nd floor. If he left for the dinner party, she would be the only one left in the huge office, so he worked overtime with her.

Luo Qi filed all the documents, locked the door, and prepared to get off work. By habit, she went to check her boss’ office. The door was half open and the lights inside were still on.

She went over to knock on the door and reminded Jiang Shenghe, “Chief Jiang, you have a dinner party tonight.”

Jiang Shenghe closed the document he was reading and said, “Going early is only to play cards.”

Luo Qi came in, “Please go ahead. Leave the files there and I’ll clean them up. I’ll turn off the computer.”

Jiang Shenghe put down the documents and let her organize them for him.

There were some things that he, the boss, could not rush to do, and his care for her could not be too obvious.

There were not many documents on the table, and it would only take two minutes to organize them, and it would take no more than three minutes to turn off the computer.

Jiang Shenghe picked up his suit jacket and left first, but he couldn’t help but slow his steps down as he walked to the elevator.

He waited for two minutes at the elevator entrance before stepping into the elevator. It only took a few dozen seconds for the special elevator to reach the lobby of the building. 

When Luo Qi arrived in front of the elevator, Jiang Shenghe’s special elevator had already stopped on the first floor. She didn’t know that the boss had especially waited for her.

… … translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

On his way to the dinner party, Jiang Shenghe announced in the work group: [Arrange for Assistant Luo’s welcome dinner on Friday night. Also invite Secretary Ju to celebrate her promotion.]

[@XiaoJiang You arrange the venue.]

Xiao Jiang: [Okay, Chief Jiang.]

The others all responded.

In the past, when the President’s Office held a welcome party for a new arrival, the boss was only responsible for footing the bill and never attended the dinner party. Of course, there was no way the boss would not go to the welcome party this Friday so Xiao Jiang was worried about which venue to choose.

Jiang Shenghe didn’t have this concern at all and was typing a message for Jiang Sixun: [Come back on Friday and join us for dinner.]

[The President’s Office is having a welcome dinner party for Luo Qi.]

[You are familiar with Luo Qi, come over and help ease the atmosphere.]

Jiang Sixun’s personal mobile phone was never muted, and he was woken up by the vibration: [It’s not daylight here yet! Can you calculate the time difference next time you ask me for a favor?]

Jiang Shenghe turned a blind eye to this very valid complaint and texted, [Let Xiao Jiang book a flight for you later.]

Jiang Sixun: [… I have my own secretary, so you don’t need to order yours! Can you please stop texting me? I want to sleep some more, my life is important too!]

He lived to be thirty-one years old and ended up having to fly across the oceans to work as a waiter.

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

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T/N: Every time Madam Pei appears, my soul rejoices in satisfaction. 

Also, Jiang Shenghe and Jiang Sixun grew up together. How bullied Jiang Sixun must have been in his own house hahaha.

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