Walking this way, Jiang Shenghe couldn’t see her, and he turned a little towards her.

Luo Qi thought the boss had something to give her, so she took two steps forward to catch up, hand held out.

But Jiang Shenghe actually had nothing to say—so he just gave her the car key. “You drive.”

The off-road vehicle was in his private name and was not a company vehicle. When they got to the car, Luo Qi asked Jiang Shenghe if he had any other arrangements before returning to the hotel.

Instead of answering her question, Jiang Shenghe asked her, “Aren’t you going home to spend time with your parents tonight?”

“I’ve already gone back. My dad is away on a business trip.”

“If it doesn’t take up your free time, then just take me for a stroll.”

“I won’t be delayed, I don’t have to go back anymore.” As long as it was private time, she found that her boss was always very polite to them and would ask for their opinions before doing anything.

Luo Qi started the off-road vehicle and drove towards the new city. She could take him to the lake for a nice walk. The old city had its own charm but was too congested. Jiang Shenghe looked out of the car window, looking uninterested.

Luo Qi was thinking that the boss might be in a bad mood and wondered if he was thinking of the person in his heart again.

As soon as they left the old city, her cell phone rang in her bag.

Jiang Shenghe turned around and stretched out his long arm to get her bag from the back seat. He didn’t open it without permission and looked at her first, “Is it convenient to open?”

“It’s no inconvenience. I’m bothering you, Chief Jiang.”

Jiang Shenghe opened the bag. There were no loose things in it. There was a very thin notebook and a wallet. The mobile phone was next to the wallet. Jiang Shenghe took out the mobile phone but didn’t look at the display. He closed the bag and put it back in the backseat.

The phone was still ringing and ‘Lawyer Zhao’ was displayed on the screen.

“It’s a lawyer calling,” he said.

Pei Shixiao had given her two houses before, and she entrusted Lawyer Zhao with full authority to handle their return.

Lawyer Zhao’s call to her was probably related to the houses. There was no confidential matter, and there was nothing that the boss couldn’t listen to. Luo Qi answered the call, turned on the speakerphone, and put the phone on the center console.

“Hello, Lawyer Zhao. What’s the matter?”

“It’s all good. The house in Suzhou has been sold by President Pei. If you have any important things still in it, please pack them away as soon as possible. The house will be handed over to the new owner before the end of the month.”

Luo Qi had heard from Lawyer Zhao before that Pei Shixiao decided to sell the large flat with lake view in Suzhou, saying that since she was unwilling to take it then there was no point in keeping it, and he would just buy a new one later.

There were none of Pei Shixiao’s things in the house, but she did have some of her items there. When she was here to settle the venue for their wedding banquet, she had brought over two suitcases of clothes and daily necessities for use after the wedding.

She had bought most of those clothes herself, and there were some expensive dresses and coats that she had given to herself as birthday gifts when her family was already bankrupt. Although they were old styles, given her current living standards, she was reluctant to buy such luxurious clothes anymore.

She couldn’t just throw them away.

Jiang Shenghe asked, “Do you have anything important there?”

“Yes. I’ll go get it when I have time.”

“The schedule for the coming days are full, don’t let any little distractions affect your work.” He said without hesitation, “Go and get it now.”

Luo Qi: “…”

Was it appropriate for her to use the boss’ car to carry her own things?

But if she acted like she was uncomfortable to take advantage of his offer, it would come off as acting coquettish when he already said to do it, and then the boss would really dislike such a subordinate.

Luo Qi could only say, “Thank you, Chief Jiang.”

The bright spot was that they were already headed to the lake, so they kept on this road without needing to go around, and the off-road vehicle drove all the way to the community where the lake-view flat was located.

Because the car they were using wasn’t registered in the community’s security system, Luo Qi slowly pulled over to park the car.

Jiang Shenghe was thinking about how he felt about this development and only came to his senses when Luo Qi had already parked the car, “Why stop here?”

Luo Qi unbuckled her seat belt and said, “The license plate is not in the access control system. I’ll go down and register.”

“No need.” Jiang Shenghe lowered his chin and said, “Just go in.” He added, “I own a place here.”

Luo Qi: “…”

After thinking about it again, she felt that it was only natural. With the boss’s net worth, it would not be unusual for him to have many houses in Suzhou.

She didn’t know which building the boss’s house was in. She drove the car directly into the underground parking lot of Pei Shixiao’s building.

Jiang Shenghe didn’t get out of the car, “Would you like the property management to pack up things for you?”

“No need. There aren’t too many things.” Luo Qi took her bag and got out of the car.

Jiang Shenghe’s house was in another building and had a dedicated person to take care of it. He hasn’t been here for almost a year. While Luo Qi was packing her things, he went back to his own house.

Originally, he found someone to buy the most expensive set in the entire community. When he learned that Luo Qi was engaged, he planned to sell it, but because the total price was too high no one took it over.

Well, there was no need to sell it now.

He turned on a movie and told Luo Qi not to rush.

… …

Luo Qi still packed as quickly as possible, packing only the clothes she bought into suitcases. As for the ones Pei Shixiao had given to her, she left them and he could just throw them away.

When she finally pushed the two suitcases downstairs, there was no car in the parking space. Obviously, Jiang Shenghe had driven away.

She sent a message: [Chief Jiang, I’m ready.]

A few minutes later, Luo Qi saw the black vehicle coming from the right. She picked up the suitcase to test its weight. The suitcase was too heavy and it would be difficult to lift it into the trunk.

Jiang Shenghe stopped and got out of the car, and the trunk slowly opened.

Luo Qi pushed the suitcase to the back of the car, “Chief Jiang, no need to trouble you, I can carry it myself.”

Without saying a word, Jiang Shenghe took the bag from her hand and put it into the trunk effortlessly. He turned around and picked up another bag, motioning to her, “Get in the car, don’t waste time.”

Luo Qi peeked at him for a few moments, then sat on the driver’s seat without further ado.

‘Thank you, Chief Jiang’ she has said this to him so many times recently that even she felt annoyed with herself, so she didn’t say a word and simply drove away.

… … translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

At two o’clock the next day, they set off for He Wancheng’s company.

At this time, an uninvited guest arrived at He Wancheng’s office.

The secretary announced, “Director He, Madam Pei is outside. Can you see her?”

He Wancheng frowned. He didn’t think Madam Pei was here to discuss cooperation. But no matter what his relationship with the Pei family was, since she had come here on her own initiative, he had to give face.

He Wancheng poured tea for her personally, “What kind of wind brought Director Li¹ here?”

Madam Pei smiled and said, “I know that Director He is busy, so I will make a long story short. My son has invested in a medical technology company. You have resources in this area. I wonder if Director He could be interested in cooperation?”

She also had relevant connections, but they were nothing compared to He Wancheng’s connections and resources.

Having reached a cooperation with her son, she will help her son ease his relationship with Luo Qi’s family, and her son will get her elected when the Board of Directors changed next year.

After hearing from her son that Luo Qi was interested in 3D printing, she thought that since her son had already invested in Dongbo Medical, it would be better not to sell the shares and simply operate it herself. Her son was busy with his own investment company and had no energy to ask about the specific operations of Dongbo Medical. He was not good at this either. So she planned to take over the business, lay a good foundation for Dongbo Medical and then hand it over to Luo Qi for management and let Luo Qi take care of it. It would highlight their family’s sincerity.

He Wancheng said with a smile, “Director Li is a step late.”

Madam Pei was mentally prepared, “You already promised to help Yuanwei, right?”

He Wancheng smiled and said nothing; he picked up the tea cup and drank tea.

Madam Pei said with real regret in her voice, “I should have come earlier.”

She didn’t have He Wancheng’s contact information yet. When she finally takes control of the group and divorced her husband, she should still be able to cooperate with He Wancheng in other fields.

In the early years, her husband and He Wancheng had an unpleasant quarrel over a competition. The two only maintained a harmonious relationship on the surface but had no real contact with each other in private.

A man was very clear about who should bow his head first. But this didn’t matter to her—as long as it was profitable.

“Director He, could you please let me add your contact information? There may be opportunities to cooperate in the future.”

He Wancheng generously gave her his number. Madam Pei said goodbye, and he walked her to outside the door.

He had a complicated relationship with Madam Pei. When Old Pei cheated and wanted a divorce years ago, there had been a lot of uproar in their circle. Madam Pei was unwilling to divorce and threatened to commit suicide. He always felt that Madam Pei had such a character—that she couldn’t live without her husband, that she didn’t even want to save face and was unwilling to let her husband leave no matter what.

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

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FOOTNOTE:

¹I don’t think they ever told us what Madam Pei’s full name was, but He Wancheng definitely calls her ‘Director Li’, that’s not a typo. Married women in China don’t generally drop their maiden surnames for their husband’s surname. ↩︎

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