Luo Qi’s cell phone suddenly rang. It was the boss.
Jiang Shenghe rarely called her after she got off work, unless there was something important.
She immediately answered, “Chief Jiang.”
“You’re at the tavern?”
“… Yes.”
“I saw your car,” he said.
The tone was easy-going, unlike a boss to a subordinate.
Luo Qi asked, “Do you have any work for me?”
“No work,” Jiang Shenghe replied. “Qin Moling and I came over for dinner. Did you bring the card with you?”
“I brought it.”
“Then you can settle the bill for my table later. No receipt needed.”1
“Okay.”
It seemed there was nothing else to talk about. Luo Qi was about to hang up the phone, but Jiang Shenghe asked her again, “Have you been drinking?”
“I didn’t drink.”
“That’s good. If you drink too much, you’d have to go to the hospital again.”
Jiang Shenghe hung up the phone after that.
Luo Qi was in a daze for a few seconds staring at the phone in her hand, then scolded herself for being too emotional. If it was Xiao Jiang who couldn’t drink, the boss would also express concern and tell him to drink less.
The boss was downstairs right now—should she go downstairs and see him?
In the past, if she ever encountered the boss after getting off work, she would hide if she could.
But, somehow, she didn’t think about hiding today.
Just when she was debating whether to say ‘hello’ or not, Jiang Shenghe’s message came in: [I’m talking to Qin Moling. You don’t need to come down specially.]
… …
Luo Qi and Chu Lin chatted until almost early in the morning. There were only two tables still occupied downstairs when they got ready to leave. It seemed that the boss and Qin Moling had already left.
When Luo Qi went to the cashier to pay, Chu Lin smiled and said she will give her a friend’s price: a 50% discount. Taking into account Luo Qi’s face, it was better to give a discount.
But if it’s Luo Qi herself who comes to eat, then it’s free.
Luo Qi paid for the boss’ bill.
She didn’t understand why the boss brought Qin Moling to the tavern for dinner. Chu Lin opened this tavern just to give herself a place to go. It was originally conceived as a place where she could relax, and she never thought about making money from it, so the food was pretty average. The only good thing on the menu was the lamb chops—and it was actually ordered from the restaurant next door.
… …
The time to accompany the boss to Jian Hang’s house for dinner was at the end of a busy work day.
It was another Friday, and Luo Qi’s outfit was no different from other work days. She was going there as an assistant, and she didn’t deliberately dress up.
On the way to Jian Hang’s house, Luo Qi asked her boss for advice on what to bring their host.
“I’ve prepared tea. Jian Hang’s father likes tea. Let’s buy a bouquet of flowers. Teacher Chen likes them.”
“Flower basket or bouquet?”
“You decide.”
The car stopped at the door of the flower shop, and Luo Qi went down to buy some flowers.
Jiang Shenghe sat in the car and watched her enter the store through the car’s window.
Tonight would be better if he was taking her back to his home.2
… … translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com
It turned out that they would arrive earlier than Qin Moling and Jian Hang; it seemed that Qin Moling was still in the company.
Jian Hang’s parents—Chen Yu and Jian Zhongjun—were both teachers. Chen Yu was already retired. Jian Zhongjun, however, was still teaching mathematics at a middle school.
The doorbell rang. Chen Yu went to open the door and urged her husband, “Jiang Shenghe is here. Please collect your test papers quickly and pour them a cup of tea.”
Jian Zhongjun had brought back the test papers from his last class today for checking.
“Jiang Shenghe is not an outsider, nor is this his first time here.”
“But there is also his assistant. Not a single test paper is allowed on the coffee table!”
If he could bring her back for dinner, then she was no longer an outsider. Jian Zhongjun got up to pour tea but didn’t clean up his papers.
The door opened, and Jiang Shenghe said with a smile, “Teacher Chen, we’ve come over to have some dinner.”
“I wish you would come have dinner here more often. I have nothing to do now that I’m retired, and I’m not used to it without students making noise.”
Chen Yu looked at Luo Qi with a smile on her lips, “And this must be Luo Qi. A schoolmate of our Hang3, right?”
“That’s me, Auntie.”
“Okay, you two, come in quickly.”
Jiang Shenghe said to Luo Qi, “This is our primary school teacher, Teacher Chen, who I often tell you about.”
Jian Zhongjun also came over to welcome them.
After greetings, Chen Yu invited them to the living room.
Luo Qi liked the layout of Jian Hang’s house; it was warm and cozy. There were bookshelves along the one side of the living room.
When Chen Yu saw the test papers still covering most of the coffee table, her head ached. “Didn’t I tell you to put them away?”
Jian Zhongjun said helplessly, “But I haven’t finished correcting them yet.”
He turned to Luo Qi and asked, “Did Xiao Luo perhaps help her teachers correct test papers when she was in school?”
“I helped correct, yes. I was often called to the office by my teacher to do this. But I only corrected objective questions.”
The long-forgotten memories from her student days actually came back.
“Then come over and help.” Jian Zhongjun gave her a red pen. “Just sit here and correct it. Wait, I will find a test paper with a perfect score for you to use as answer key.”
Luo Qi smiled and said, “Then it must be the test paper of a top student.”
When it came to easing the atmosphere, teachers were always the best. With just a few words, Luo Qi was able to blend in, and she lost the sense of restraint she felt when she first entered the unfamiliar house.
Chen Yu was originally dissatisfied with her husband for making a mess on the coffee table, but now she understood her husband’s intention.
“You talk, I’ll go and cook for you.”
Jiang Shenghe took the initiative to go to the kitchen to help. “Teacher Chen, I will help you.”
“No, you can’t do the chef’s job.”
“I don’t like correcting test papers, so I’ll just chat with you.” In fact, Jiang Shenghe wanted to learn how to make leaf-wrapped pork rolls from Teacher Chen.
Entering the kitchen, Jiang Shenghe rolled up his sleeves and took the initiative to put on an apron, “I’m causing trouble for you and Uncle Jian.”
Chen Yu joked, “I’m used to it. You and Qin Moling have always caused me trouble when you were kids.”
Jiang Shenghe smiled and said, “Teacher, don’t expose my shortcomings today.”
… …
In the living room, Luo Qi began to correct the test paper. She has a good memory and has already memorized the answers after reading them a few times. After a while, she didn’t need to refer to the perfect test paper anymore.
Jian Zhongjun began chatting, “Do you still have any impressions of these topics?”
“Yes, I’m surprised too.” Right now, if you let her take this test, she could probably still get a high score. “Uncle Jian, the final exams are coming soon, right?”
“The final exam will start next Tuesday,” Jian Zhongjun replied. “It will be easier the next time you come over to visit. You won’t have to help me correct test papers then.”
Luo Qi smiled. “This job is not tiring at all, and it’s actually quite fun.”
Jian Zhongjun joked, “Jian Hang and Qin Moling haven’t come back until now. They probably don’t want to help me correct the papers. They want to be lazy and hide away.”
As they chatted, more than forty test papers were graded.
Luo Qi helped organize the papers.
Jian Zhongjun wanted to go back to the study to tally the scores on the computer. “Xiao Luo, sit down. If you’re bored, just turn on the TV and watch.”
He pointed to the bookshelf. “Or there should be books you’d find interesting over there. If you want to read any, just go and look.”
“Okay, Teacher Jian. Please go and do your work.”
Luo Qi didn’t randomly browse the bookshelf; she took the remote control and turned on the TV to pass the time.
Jian Zhongjun suddenly came out of the study, “I have such a bad memory, I forgot my cell phone in the office.” He took the car keys and hurried out the door.
Luo Qi was not in the mood to catch up on dramas and turned down the TV volume.
She was now alone in the living room of an unfamiliar house, and she couldn’t help but turn to look towards the kitchen from time to time.
This time, when she turned her face to look, she met Jiang Shenghe’s eyes.
Jiang Shenghe had come out of the kitchen, bringing a plate of fruit.
Seeing him unexpectedly gave Luo Qi a sense of security.
“Have you finished correcting the test papers?”
“Yes. Teacher Jiang went back to school to get his mobile phone. He seems to have forgotten it.”
Jiang Shenghe gave her the fruit plate, “I’ll wash more for you after you finish it.”
“Thank you, this is enough.”
He sat down next to her, picked up his water glass and drank.
The boss currently sitting next to her was both familiar and yet unfamiliar. This was another side of the boss she had never seen before. He was no longer reclusive; he was so casual and easy-going that it was unreal.
Truth was, she was bored sitting here alone. She wanted to go to the kitchen but was afraid of disturbing the chat between teacher and former student, so she asked, “Do you need my help in the kitchen?”
“No need,” Jiang Shenghe replied.
His help was enough; she didn’t need to get her hands wet.
Luo Qi has never taken the initiative to talk to her boss about things other than work. But the atmosphere right now seemed to be right for it, so she asked, “Chief Jiang, do you know how to cook?”
“Not really.”
But he wanted to learn. Perhaps he can cook a dish for her one day.
But he didn’t have any talent for cooking, so he didn’t know if he could really learn how to.
He stayed with her for a while. He finished a cup of tea before returning to the kitchen.
Seventh Year of My Secret Love for You translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com
T/N: If Jian Zhongjun suddenly running off seemed a bit random, it’s because there’s a parallel story happening with Qin Moling and Jian Hang during this visit. Father-in-law and son-in-law bumped into each other outside the house and talked.
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Chapter 33.3 — Fortifying Step By Step
- Jiang Shenghe meant there was no need to reimburse his dinner as corporate expense. ↩︎
- I think Jiang Shenghe meant if he was bringing Luo Qi to his family’s main house—that is, to meet his parents. ↩︎
- They probably mean same foreign university, because Luo Qi grew up in Suzhou and the Jian family lives in Beijing. ↩︎
WHITE MOONLIGHT TRANSLATIONS 
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