The next day, Saturday, Lin Xiao and Qin Xing agreed to set off fireworks for the she-devil. Today was a nice day, sunny and cloudless.

The place where the fireworks was to be set off was nearly a hundred kilometers away from the city, so they had to get there ahead of time.

Lin Xiao was still in the company, drinking hot Americano coffee while waiting for Tan Feng to finish with his meeting. The team was having dinner together in the evening, so he had to ask for leave.

Ever since Jian Hang resigned, he has been living a godly life. He didn’t have much work to do. He basically just ran errands, and Tan Feng no longer asked him to write any personal summary.

He would take a nap at noon and wake up naturally. No one woke him up. He could sleep as long as he wanted to and could leave work at six in the evening. But his colleagues were all working overtime and were very busy. He felt embarrassed to go home early so he stays until seven or eight every day.

He had nothing to do when he got home, so he just played with Qin Xing.

Ever since they caught him, Little Olive never took them out to play again.

He was halfway through a cup of coffee when his colleagues came back one after another.

The meeting over, Lin Xiao put down his cup and went to ask Tan Feng for leave.

It was still the same office, the same door, and he still called the person ‘Boss’, but the feeling was completely different. When Lin Xiao went to Jian Hang’s office before, he would knock on the door with the tragic mentality of going in to die, but now when he went to find Tan Feng, he knocked on the door with the joyful mentality of being resurrected.

“Boss, it’s me.”

“Come in.”

Tan Feng was reading some information and didn’t even raise his head.

Lin Xiao scratched the tip of his nose. This was something he did involuntarily whenever he felt guilty. “Boss, my family is having a birthday treat tonight, but we have a team building dinner. Can I take a leave?”

“No problem.” Tan Feng still didn’t look up. He was normally very strict with the team, but because he had subconsciously excluded Lin Xiao from the team, it didn’t matter to him whether Lin Xiao went to the team building or not.

“Thank you, Boss.” Lin Xiao didn’t leave in a hurry. “Boss, I heard that we got another project.” 

In the past, whenever there was a new project, Jian Hang would always include him in the project team so he would be aware of what the situation was during the team meetings. Now that Tan Feng didn’t look for him, he could only rely on hearsay.

Tan Xun responded with a ‘hmm’.

He flipped through another page of information in his hand, taking notes as he read. He had only one principle for people like Lin Xiao who had connections: let them be.

Not too warm, nor too cold, be polite and maintain a harmonious atmosphere.

Since they themselves were not interested in making progress, he had no responsibility or obligation to supervise them, nor did he have the time to do so.

Lin Xiao was idle all day, doing nothing, and actually felt embarrassed, so he said politely, “Boss, if there is anything I can do for the project, just tell me.”

Tan Feng then raised his eyes and said, “No need. Everyone in the project team has signed a confidentiality agreement.”

Lin Xiao smiled awkwardly, wondering how could he have forgotten even this.

He was not a member of the team and has not signed a confidentiality agreement, so naturally he would not be allowed to help.

Without disturbing Tan Feng any further, Lin Xiao closed the door and left.

His colleagues in the office were all busy as hell. They were either making phone calls to communicate about project issues or working on materials.

He was the only idle person.

He sat down, picked up the half-empty cup of hot American coffee, and took a few sips absentmindedly.

He had always wanted to live a life of leisure and comfort, and it finally came true after the evil woman left. He should have been excited—but for some reason, he felt his life was boring.

After finishing his coffee, Lin Xiao perked up and sent a message to Qin Xing: [Tell your older brother that we will set off fireworks at 8 o’clock in the evening. Fruit drinks and desserts are all prepared according to the boss’s preferences.]

He had called Jian Hang ‘boss’ by habit; he added the word ‘former’ before ‘boss’.

… … translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

Ten minutes later, Qin Moling received a call from Qin Xing.

Qin Xing asked when they would leave, “Everyone else has already left.”

Qin Moling replied, “We’ll leave by five o’clock.”

It takes two and a half hours to drive from home to the fireworks site.

Jian Hang didn’t know the schedule for the evening yet; she was reading the patents case book.

Qin Moling came over and said, “Pack up and I’ll take you to watch fireworks.”

Jian Hang’s first reaction was, “Are you chasing me?”

“No. I ripped off Lin Xiao.”

“…”

Qin Moling told her what happened that night, and then said, “Quite a few people are going there.” Just treat it as an early birthday party for her. He wanted to give her the same excitement that other people had on their birthdays.

Jian Hang put away the book, “Where are there fireworks?”

Qin Moling said, “We’ll stay at a resort in the suburbs tonight.”

Jian Hang went to change her clothes and took out her suitcase.

She opened the closet and put her and Qin Moling’s clothes and personal belongings in it for a weekend day trip.

Qin Moling went to the cloakroom to pack his clothes. When he reached the door, he saw Jian Hang folding his shirt, so he went out again.

… …

At 4:50, the two set off.

On the way, Qin Moling talked to her about Lemeng.

“The former GM of the Second Division was transferred to the Overseas Division. The board of directors appointed Zhong Yanyue as the new GM of the Second Division.”

Jian Hang nodded. This was the company’s decision, and she didn’t care.

When mentioning Zhong Yanyue, one would inevitably think of Tan Feng.

Jian Hang remembered something, “I’m going to have dinner with Tan Feng in a few days.” She told him in advance.

Qin Moling didn’t say anything. He drove all the way to the intersection and waited for the red light. He said, “Well, you pay the bill then.” There was a pause in between, and he continued, “You should take care of your stomach these days and try to eat less outside. I’ll cook whatever you want to eat.”

“Okay,” Jian Hang agreed. She was only going to eat with Tan Feng, and he became a little petty again.

She opened her bag, found a makeup mirror, and asked, “Can you see the pores on my face?”

“I can’t see it.” Qin Moling held the steering wheel with one hand, looking out the window on his side, not looking at her at all.

It made no difference whether he looked at her or not; he kissed her every day, and her skin was delicate and moist, as if she had just applied a facial mask.

The red light was counting down, and there were still more than fifty seconds left, which was enough time. 

Jian Hang held the small mirror in front of Qin Moling and said, “Look at your heart.” She paused for two seconds and said, “See, they are smaller than my pores.”

Qin Moling: “…”

Jian Hang stopped joking and said, “If you mind, then I won’t go. It’s not necessary to have that meal. He just wants to repay a favor.”

Qin Moling said, “Then let him repay the favor to you.”

Jian Hang handed the small mirror to him again, “Look at your heart this time. It’s quite big.”

Qin Moling was so angry that he laughed. The red light had counted down to the fifth second. He held her hand to stop her from distracting him. “Stop fussing. I’m driving.”

At this moment, they looked like a couple playing.

But neither of them realized it.

Marriage First, Love Later translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

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Chapter 50.1 — Birthday
Chapter 50.2 — Birthday
Chapter 50.3 — Birthday
Chapter 51.1 — Undercurrents
Chapter 51.2 — Undercurrents
Chapter 52.1 — Just the Game, Not Him
Chapter 52.2 — Just the Game, Not Him
Chapter 52.3 — Just the Game, Not Him