That night, still fitted intimately together, Luo Qi was dripping with sweat.

Jiang Shenghe did not pull away. He used his arms as a pillow for her, wrapping her in his arms. He kissed her forehead, and it was hard to tell whether the wetness was water or sweat.

The lights were turned down.

The room slowly calmed down.

There was practically no space between them, and Luo Qi could only stay still.

Jiang Shenghe hugged her close and had no plans to clean up for the time being.

He would hug her for a long time every time, and she didn’t need to say anything during this period. He would kiss her patiently, kissing her in the same places he had already kissed countless times before, kissing her again and again.

“I have something to tell you.”

Jiang Shenghe raised his head from her neck, “What’s the matter, tell me.”

After saying that, a kiss fell on her lips.

A very light kiss.

He finally stopped kissing her and waited for her to say something.

Luo Qi told Jiang Shenghe that she was going to Suzhou City on a business trip for about seven or eight days, maybe longer.

“I’ll be going with He Xu.”

“He Xu?”

“Yes. He Wancheng’s nephew.”

He realized the business trip with He Xu should be for Ruipu’s southern market.

It was just that the business trip could conflict with his birthday. If it lasted more than seven or eight days, she would outright miss his birthday. 

Jiang Shenghe asked, “When are you leaving?”

“This Sunday.”

She put her arms around his neck and said, “I’ll video chat with you while I’m away.”

“Will you stay in a hotel?”

“Stay at home.”

Jiang Shenghe looked at the person in his arms, “Didn’t you say you would take me home for dinner after the break?”

“… This is a business trip, besides aren’t you busy too?”

Jiang Shenghe smiled, “Who says I’m busy?”

Luo Qi realized that he was only teasing her and kissed him on the lips.

Jiang Shenghe said, “I should be free in November, we can go back then. It’s just in time to take a look at the villa’s design plan.” There were many things going on right now at the company, and he couldn’t spare the time to go back to Suzhou City.

He got up from Luo Qi and wrapped her in a bath towel.

“Go take a shower?” he asked her in a low voice.

Luo Qi nodded.

… …

The constant-temperature bathtub was filled with water. Luo Qi washed her hair and lay down in it to soak.

In the shower, water was also running. It was the first time that the two of them used the same bathroom together. She didn’t look at Jiang Shenghe. She leaned back on the bath and closed her eyes.

The water temperature was comfortable. Luo Qi was tired from earlier and fell asleep.

When she woke up, it was already the next morning. Jiang Shenghe had carried her back to bed last night and blew her hair dry. She had an impression of it happening, but she was too sleepy to open her eyes.

… … translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

Before going on her business trip, Luo Qi went back to the rental house to take the oil painting back to the villa. It’s been a long time, and she planned to clean the place.

Upon opening the front door, she saw that the windows were bright and clean.

On the balcony, the green plants were much more lush than when she first moved to the villa, with new branches and leaves growing down the length of the planting equipment.

Luo Qi sent a message to her cousin: [Yubao, you’ve been taking care of the house?]

Luo Yu: [Well, my other roommate and I took care of it.]

This ‘other roommate’ was not the colleague who had rented a place with her before but He Xu.

In fact, she and He Xu were not the only ones who kept the rental house clean—her brother-in-law, Jiang Shenghe, also put in a lot of effort.

After getting off work at night, her brother-in-law would go to the rental house to water her cousin’s plants. As a result, he met He Xu downstairs who had come looking for her to settle a score. Her brother-in-law saw that He Xu was quite idle, so he asked him to come clean up together.

At that time, He Xu’s face was so helpless it made her feel very happy.

[Older sister, are you in the rental house?]

[En. I’m going on a business trip tomorrow, so I came over to grab some things.]　　

Luo Yu: [How long do you plan to travel this time?]

[It’s a real business trip.]

[I know, going to Suzhou City, right?]

“…”

Luo Qi was unable to open her mouth and explain.

This was the consequence of lying before coming to bite her.

… …

The oil painting was brought back to the villa, and Luo Qi placed it in Jiang Shenghe’s study.

On the morning of the business trip, she met He Xu at the train station and didn’t let Jiang Shenghe see her off anymore.

She had bought two single-seater business seats with an aisle in between.

In the waiting lounge, Luo Qi chatted with He Xu for a while.

“After the negotiations are over, how will the contracts be signed?” He Xu knew that her rights in Ruipu were actually very limited. Even if she was able to negotiate terms with the clients, if Shu Rui refused to sign the contracts, it would only mean her hard work was in vain.

Shu Rui would not agree to abandon the high-end market, and Lingjia Capital would certainly not agree either.

Luo Qi said, “That’s easy. Bypass Ruipu, bypass Shu Rui, and go through the contract process directly through Yuanwei Group.”

He Xu looked at her for a few seconds and said, “I’m afraid that kind of contract would be invalid.”

“It’s perfectly valid. When Yuanwei acquired Ruipu, it made Ruipu sign some harsh terms. One of them was that if Ruipu’s development direction conflicted with the group’s strategic goals and affected the group’s interests, the group has the right to make adjustments on Ruipu’s market decisions.”

Abandoning the high-end market fell right under adjusting market decisions.

He Xu nodded but was still worried, “Even if Shu Rui reluctantly accepts the new contracts, you still have to consider that if they intentionally violate it or implement it passively, matters would eventually return to where they originally were.”

Luo Qi considered this situation and said, “By then, I would have gained my right to speak in Ruipu. I estimate that these new contracts should be completed before mid-December.”

Cui Peng would be dealt with at that time.

After talking about work, He Xu chatted casually and said, “By the way, do you know Luo Yu? She has the same surname as you, ‘Yu’ meaning ‘rain’.”

“She’s my cousin.” Luo Qi was surprised, “You know Luo Yu?”

“I know her, but I’m not familiar with her. I met her once at a company dinner. She is from Suzhou and we chatted a few more words. She said she has an older sister who is also in Beijing. I was wondering if it could be you, but I didn’t expect such a coincidence.”

“Really a coincidence. Are you her boss?”

“Party A.”

“…”

It turned out that He Xu was the villainous Daddy of Party A, as Luo Yu liked to call him. Luo Yu had indeed talked to her about He Xu before.

“Luo Yu has a quick temper. Please give her more guidance on her work in the future.”

He Xu said, “I don’t dare.”

How could he? She was the one bullying him.

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

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T/N: Luo Qi missed a clue! She should have asked Luo Yu how she knew that she was going on a business trip to Suzhou—a certain villain daddy told her ofc. But Luo Qi was feeling guilty for lying before, and her jiejie instincts didn’t kick in.

I missed posting this past week. I wasn’t sick this time; my laptop died on me 😭. I couldn’t buy a new laptop just yet so I brought the old one to the shop for repairs and only just got it the other day.

If you’ve been thinking about buying me ko-fi, now would be an EXCELLENT time to do it 🥰 

Chapter 50.3 — A Birthday Gift for Him
Chapter 50.4 — A Birthday Gift for Him