With three chances to make mistakes, Luo Qi instantly felt relaxed. She said ‘Thank you, Chief Jiang’ the most often, and she was afraid that she would accidentally open her mouth later and the words she was most used to would come out.

She could sing well, but she didn’t want to sing in front of her boss!

Secretary Ju was watching the fun and didn’t think it was a big deal; still, she gamely threw herself into the mix. “No, I still don’t trust you all. I’ll make a sign for you to hold.”

“What sign?”

“You’ll know in a minute.”

Secretary Ju went over to the waiter and asked for a whiteboard marker, a pair of scissors, and a piece of cardboard from the top flaps of a beer box.

She cut the cardboard into the shape of a ping pong paddle and wrote in large letters:

Don’t say ‘Thank you Chief Jiang’!

Don’t say ‘you’!

Secretary Ju capped the marker and handed the handle of the reminder card to Luo Qi across the table, “Listen to me, you can keep it in your hand and you will never be punished to sing.”

Xiao Jiang, as ever, was the most active, “This is absolutely practical. Sister Luo, we have to help each other tonight. Every time I speak, you hold up a sign to warn me.”

Luo Qi was easy to talk to, “No problem.”

Secretary Ju had many ideas: “The warning sign is not enough, what if you forget to lift it while drinking. If any of you say something wrong, the others should interrupt quickly, speak louder, and interrupt the person who said the wrong thing.”

Xiao Jiang raised his hands in agreement, “This is necessary. We can’t fight alone. We have to pay attention to strategy and tactics. Sister Luo, you are most likely to be wrong. Don’t worry, I will cover you. I am the loudest in our Secretariat Office.”

Luo Qi smiled, “Okay. I’ll treat you to coffee tomorrow.”

She used the sign as a fan and fanned herself several times.

A few strands of hair were blown up.

Jiang Sixun leaned back in his chair and ate candy lazily. It was quite interesting to watch a bunch of opera actors perform hard. 

With the sign now in play, he took a few pictures with his phone.

Jiang Shenghe sat quietly and began taking off his cufflinks, listening to them loudly discussing how to cheat collectively.

He took off the cufflinks, placed them directly on the table, and rolled up his sleeves.

They were still blatantly discussing how to fool him.

Jiang Shenghe leaned against the edge of the table and drank from a water cup. “Please keep your voice down when you discuss cheating, I fear that I won’t hear you clearly.”

They all laughed; Luo Qi’s giggle was almost soundless—she was closest to the boss, so she had to restrain herself.

While they were joking, the waiter brought the food.

The menu arranged by Xiao Jiang included Chinese and Western food, and everyone’s preferences were taken into account.

Jiang Shenghe tilted his head slightly, looked at Luo Qi’s profile and said, “I hold the chopsticks in my left hand and it’s easy to bump with your chopsticks. Do you want to change seats with Jiang Sixun?”

If she had to choose between sitting next to him or sitting opposite him, Luo Qi would choose the former without hesitation—at least then she could avoid looking at him.

“It’s not necessary, th—.”

As soon as she began saying ‘thank you’, Jiang Shenghe raised his hand and tapped the cardboard sign in her hand.

Luo Qi smiled and put her hand on her forehead. If the boss hadn’t reminded her immediately, she would have almost certainly blurted out the words ‘Thank you, Chief Jiang.’

Today, she smiled the most since the breakup.

Finally, her heart wasn’t so heavy.

… …

The waiter brought two jugs of rice wine. Jiang Shenghe stood up and motioned to the waiter to give him one of the jugs. Anyone who came to this tavern for the first time must try their home-brewed rice wine.

He took the rice wine jug, walked over to Secretary Ju’s side, and poured some for Secretary Ju. “First glass—congratulations to Manager Ju on your promotion, and thank you for your dedicated service to the President’s Office over the past few years.”

Secretary Ju was still flattered, holding up the rice wine cup with both hands, “’Thank you’. I only did what I needed to do.”

After saying that, she added, “No foul on my part! I didn’t say those prohibited words.”

The others roared with laughter.

Xiao Jiang gave Master a thumbs up.

Jiang Shenghe poured rice wine for everyone in turn, except Luo Qi.

Everyone learned from Secretary Ju: just say ‘thank you’ in English and get away with it.

Jiang Shenghe said, “The end of the year is coming soon, and we have to work hard again.”

“Chief Jiang is polite, it’s as we should.”

“You can drink with whoever you want. You don’t have to follow the rules of a dinner party.” Jiang Shenghe sat back in his seat and said to Luo Qi, “You can drink tea.”

Luo Qi didn’t want to be special, “It’s okay to drink half a cup.”

Jiang Shenghe couldn’t resist her, so he poured her half a cup. He toasted her with his own wine cup. He poured wine for everyone tonight but only toasted her, “To a good time working together.”

Luo Qi drank the half-cup of wine and said ‘thank you’ in Suzhou dialect.

Jiang Shenghe liked to hear her speak in Suzhou dialect, no matter what she said, whether he understood it or not.

… … translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

Halfway through the meal, the people at the table seemed to divide into two distinct groups, looking like they were just sharing space.

Luo Qi and Jiang Sixun were familiar with each other. The two had many things to say, and Jiang Shenghe occasionally chimed in. The three of them were in one group.

Secretary Ju joined the other group and even moved their chairs a little. The six of them took a deck of cards and started playing a game, with the loser drinking as forfeit.

There was constant laughter.

Jiang Shenghe asked the waiter to bring them a jug of the best rice wine to play games with and advised them not to drink too much.

Xiao Jiang boldly asked, “Chief Jiang, do you two want to play games?”

Jiang Sixun took the opportunity to egg him on, “Your Chief Jiang is the most boring and disappointing person. He usually just eats with me and never joins the games.”

Jiang Shenghe stretched out his hand and said, “Give me the cards.” He asked, “Which one of you will play? If I lose, I will drink myself. If you lose, Jiang Sixun will be responsible for drinking.”

They laughed and cheered, “Okay, okay.”

Jiang Sixun: “…”

He had just put a cigarette in his mouth and was about to go out to smoke. When Jiang Shenghe said this, he felt more anxious to win. He took out the cigarette and decided to go into battle himself, “I’ll do it. You shuffle the cards first.”

Cigarette in his hand, he took the lighter and went out to smoke.

Xiao Jiang brought the cards over, and everyone else stood behind the boss or Jiang Sixun’s chair, looking to watch the fun.

Jiang Shenghe put down his chopsticks and took the cards.

The table was full of food. Luo Qi helped move the dishes and also brought the boss’s dinner plate over to create enough space to play.

Secretary Ju took a table runner, folded it a few times and placed it on the now empty space so they could play cards.

Luo Qi took a tissue from her bag, spread it on the table, and placed the boss’s black cufflinks on it so that it would stand out and avoid being covered by the plates.

Jiang Shenghe caught a glimpse of her every move from the corner of his eye.

Soon, Jiang Sixun came back.

Jiang Shenghe shuffled the cards and the card game began.

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

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