Her eldest cousin always remembered her birthday every year.

On the way to the tavern, he called her.

“Tell me your current address and I’ll send you a birthday present.”

Last year, her eldest cousin had sent her birthday gift to the rental house, but these days she rarely went back there.

“How are you planning to celebrate your birthday this year? Going on a trip with Jiang Shenghe?”

“I don’t have time to go out and play.” She told her eldest cousin, “I’m going to attend Chu Lin’s piano concert the day after tomorrow.”

Luo Yuli was silent for a moment, “Another concert?”

“Yeah. But this time there are only two venues: one in Shanghai and one in Beijing.”

“None in Suzhou?”

“No.” Luo Qi didn’t know the reason. “Every time she used to go on tour before, the first stop was always Suzhou.” 

Maybe she decided to forget her ex-boyfriend and start a new life.

… …

On the morning of Luo Qi’s birthday, the auntie at home handed her a document pouch brought by a courier; it was a birthday gift from her eldest cousin. She had somehow thought it would be a bag.

Luo Qi opened the document pouch and found a property certificate. This time, the house her eldest cousin gave her had been changed from an apartment in Shanghai to an apartment in Beijing. She looked carefully at the address on it and found it was the address of her rental house.

[Eldest Brother, why did you give me a house again?]

Luo Yuli: [“It’s not a gift. It’s in my name. You can just live there. You don’t have to move your things anymore.”] 

He said the same thing he said before: [“No matter how good your relationship is, there will always be arguments. You need a place of your own. When you have money, go buy a place for Second Uncle and Second Aunt first.”]

[I didn’t realize you’ve grown up so much, happy birthday.]

Luo Qi smiled and put the property certificate away.

… …

Jiang Shenghe cooked birthday noodles for her. He often made breakfast for her, but this was the first time he cooked noodles for her.

He handed her the chopsticks with his left hand, “Happy birthday, try it and see how it tastes.”

Luo Qi smiled and saw the ring on the ring finger of his left hand.

He often took it off and would put it on again after a few days.

She tasted the noodles and found them to be seasoned just right.

Jiang Shenghe said, “Today is your birthday, I will drive you to work.”

“What if someone sees us?”

“No one would doubt it even if they see it.”

“Um?”

Luo Qi didn’t understand.

It wasn’t until they reached the front of Yuanwei Building that Luo Qi understood what he meant. There were more than a dozen steps in front of the building, and Jiang Shenghe parked the car directly in front of them.

“Why stop here?”

“It’s okay. Just go down here openly, and no one will suspect anything.”

“…”

Luo Qi unbuckled her seat belt and touched her chest; her heart was about to jump out of her throat.

Her 30th birthday was more exciting than riding a roller coaster.

Taking advantage of the fact that no one was walking nearby, she quickly got out of the car and hurriedly slammed the door shut, feeling like a thief. When Luo Qi went up two steps, the car started and drove into the underground parking lot from the side.

From a distance, someone in Yuanwei saw Luo Qi getting out of the boss’ car.

It was so open and aboveboard, without any reservation, that none of them thought anything else. They naturally thought that the person driving was the boss’ driver, and that Luo Qi had accompanied the boss somewhere, perhaps to the R&D Center, early in the morning.

… …

Speaking of Ruipu, Luo Qi was criticized behind her back a lot this year because she adjusted Ruipu’s market positioning, which caused Yuanwei Medical to be cut off from the mid- and low-end market.

“I have reliable inside information: Ruipu is hiring soon.”

“Who told you that? I heard a few months ago that they were going to lay off employees.”

“No layoffs. Luo Qi handled it all.”

When Luo Qi decided to give up Ruipu’s share in the high-end market, she promised Shu Rui that they would not lay off anyone.

For a period of time, the employees of Ruipu were demoralized and had no intention to work. They already gave up on the high-end market. So why would the team that was originally responsible for this market segment still be kept?

Luo Qi told them: If anyone has to leave, I will be the first to go. What are you worried about?

In addition, everyone moved to Yuanwei Building offices which had better facilities, and Luo Qi solved the looming problem of shortage of funds for R&D. Eventually, little by little, everyone’s hearts settled down.

“I heard that Ruipu’s boss Shu and Luo Qi don’t get along.”

“How can they get along? Luo Qi, the new official, started a fire and almost burned all of Shu Rui’s old base.”

“…”

… … translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

However, it seemed that the employees of Ruipu have become accustomed to the conflict between the two big bosses.

They didn’t go to each other’s offices. If they had something to do, they would meet in the reception area. The multifunctional area was originally set up to receive customers, but later they found that Shu Rui and Luo Qi sat on the leather sofas in the reception area the most.

Luo Qi logged into the email address she used when she was at Yuanwei Capital and printed out the project plan that Jiang Sheng had sent her. It was more than a thousand pages long.

She had it bound into a thick book.

[Mr. Shu, are you free at 4 o’clock? Let’s talk.]

Shu Rui only replied one word: [Yes.]

Luo Qi took the project plan and went there two minutes before the appointed time. Shu Rui was already in the reception area, sipping his own cup of coffee.

“Look at this, there are some parts that can be used in our Ruipu.”

“What is it?”

Shu Rui put down his coffee cup.

“Around eight years ago, I interned at Yuanwei Capital and I worked on this project plan. The red portions were edited by Chief Jiang himself.”

Shu Rui flipped through two pages, then looked up at her in disbelief. “You were interested in 3D printing then?”

Luo Qi nodded. “If not, why else did I apply to work at Ruipu? Making money to pay off my family’s debts is one thing, but realizing my dream is another.”

Since December last year, Ruipu has been steadily withdrawing from the high-end market.

There were so many contracts to wade through, but they ended up having a dispute with only one of the customers. Negotiations there failed, and in the end they had to resolve it through legal means.

Because she had been under too much pressure during those months, her period was delayed for more than ten days. Jiang Shenghe thought she was pregnant and was secretly happy for a long time.

He must really want a child.

During a casual chat one time, he mentioned that some father became famous because of his son, and he also said that he would never do such a thing.

Luo Qi’s phone vibrated; Jiang Shenghe had sent her a message: [Come down in ten minutes.]

Chu Lin’s piano concert was tonight, so they would go to the theater early.

“Mr. Shu, please take your time to read this. If you have any questions, please email or contact me on WeChat.”

Luo Qi stood up and said, “I will leave work half an hour early today because I have an appointment.”

Shu Rui knew that today was her birthday. At noon, the front desk received a bouquet of roses. The person who signed for it was Luo Qi, and the signature on the card was ‘9.25’.

On her first day at Ruipu, this person had also given her two bouquets of flowers.

Shu Rui wanted to say ‘happy birthday’ to her, but the words got stuck in his throat.

Luo Qi walked away. He looked at her retreating back and swallowed the birthday wishes with the bitter coffee.

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

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Chapter 61.3 — I Wish My Luo Qi Will Always Be 20 Years Old