“What has your cousin been busy with lately?” Jian Hang asked, bringing up Fang Nan.

Fang Nan was an illustrator. When the three of them were having dinner together in Oia Town, she was so busy talking to Tan Feng about work that she only exchanged a few words with Fang Nan and didn’t exchange contact information.

“Do you need to see her?” Tan Feng asked.

“Yeah.” Jian Hang didn’t say what it was about, only adding, “Could you help me make an appointment to meet her for next week?”

Tan Feng didn’t ask any more questions. “Okay, I’ll call her tonight and see which day she’s free.”

While they were talking, Jian Hang received a phone call.

Qin Moling was about to take a nap, but before he did, he called her, “What did you have for lunch?”

“Liangpi. I’m at my grandma’s shop.”

“Why did you decide to go to the store?” And you even took Zheng Yanshu with you.

Jian Hang, unaware that he was having a mental digression, explained, “It’s hot and I wanted something refreshing, so I came to visit my grandparents. I have a lot to do this weekend, and I won’t be free on Saturday, so I came to see them today instead.”

She added, “And what a coincidence, I ran into Mr. Tan eating liangpi here.”

There was a sudden silence on the phone.

Jian Hang heard Qin Moling pouring water. After a few seconds, he said, “When you get back to the company, come to my office.”

“Okay. I’m going to eat now.” Jian Hang hung up the phone immediately.

Qin Moling wanted to say a few more words, but the call was cut off.

After eating watermelon and liangpi at the store, Jian Hang didn’t linger and went back to the company to find Qin Moling.

Tan Feng wasn’t in a hurry to leave. He had been coming to the store to eat since junior high school and was very familiar with her grandparents. Sometimes he would chat with them for an hour or two.

… …

On the way back, Zheng Yanshu drove again, and Jian Hang sat in the passenger seat, taking out her laptop and opening it. She carried her laptop with her wherever she went, and could open it to work on documents at any time.

Zheng Yanshu tried to tell himself not to interfere, but he couldn’t help but ask, “That Mr. Tan’s cousin works at an advertising company?”

“No. She’s an illustrator.”

Zheng Yanshu thought for a moment. There was nowhere to use an illustrator in the Fourth Division, but he was still uneasy. He advised her, “President Jian, even if you think the beverage bottle is tacky, you have to report to the senior management first. They can then talk to the advertising company. Lemeng has advertising companies we’ve been working long term with. Don’t do it blindly. Find a company to design it for you.”

Jian Hang’s attention was focused on the laptop, her eyes glued to the screen. The problem with the soda itself hasn’t been resolved yet, so she didn’t have the energy to think about the bottle. “Let’s put the bottle problem aside for now.”

… …

Back at the company, lunch break was over.

Qin Moling couldn’t have a good nap, so he rolled up his shirt sleeves and went to the bathroom to wash his face. The tap water in the summer wasn’t cold enough to wake him up.

Jian Hang arrived right after he washed his face.

Qin Moling came out of the restroom with a towel in his hand.

The water on his face hasn’t been dried yet; his hair and nose were covered in water droplets.

“Isn’t market development the responsibility of the sales and marketing departments?”

“They are under my jurisdiction, so it’s still my business.” Jian Hang held out her hand. “Give me a towel, I’ll help you dry off.”

“No need.” Qin Moling slowly wiped his hands with a towel.

Jian Hang, not forgetting official business, asked, “Why did you call me here?”

“It’s nothing.” He turned around and hung the towel in the bathroom.

Jian Hang looked at his back and belatedly realized that he seemed to have been wearing a white shirt in the morning, but this one was a black shirt.

Was that for when they would have lunch together?

When Qin Moling came out, she walked over to him. She put her hands in the pockets of her white trousers. She didn’t hug him and just quietly looked at him.

Qin Moling didn’t hug her. After gazing at each other for a long time, he lowered his head and kissed her lips.

Jian Hang kept biting his upper lip without letting go and nudged him with her elbow.

Qin Moling pulled her into his arms and lifted her up.

She whispered against his lips, “Both your shirts look great today.”

Jian Hang asked, “Are you sure there’s nothing specific you’re looking for me for?”

Qin Moling released her. “There is something. I’ve already asked the finance department to assign someone to handle the Fourth Division’s advance payments. See who you can assign to work with the finance department.”

Jian Hang said, “Each distributor has a different payment requirement, and that needs to be kept confidential.”

“I’ve already asked our legal department to draft a confidentiality agreement.”

“Thank you, Mr. Qin.”

Jian Hang wanted to hug him, but she restrained herself. After all, it was work time, and she couldn’t keep fooling around. That kiss just now was already considered fooling around.

Qin Moling took the new cup to pour water. “How was your day running around the market?”

Jian Hang kept it a secret, saying, “I won’t tell you yet, you’ll find out on Monday.”

… …

For the next two days, Qin Moling hardly saw Jian Hang. She left early and returned late, and no one knew what she was busy with. When asked, she wouldn’t say.

Monday morning at nine o’clock, in the conference room on the 22nd floor, a routine meeting of senior executives.

Today, more people from the R&D center attended. Zhong Yanyue was originally going to visit Mr. Zhao in Suzhou, but she had to postpone her business trip because of this meeting.

Jian Hang had been looking at documents ever since she entered the conference room, and she didn’t look up no matter who came in.

Today’s battle would be very difficult.

Sitting next to her was the General Manager of the First Division. They were chatting with Zhong Yanyue and jokingly said, “Old Ji really favors the Second Division. Every time Second Division releases a new product, there’s always one that becomes a bestseller.”

Zhong Yanyue laughed, “Maybe Mr. Ji likes to drink fruit juice.”

At the entrance to the conference room, Qin Moling and Ji Xianggu’s laughter could be heard. Qin Moling stood by the door and let Ji Xianggu enter the conference room first.

Apart from Jian Hang, everyone else had dealt with Ji Xianggu before.

Jian Hang looked over upon hearing the sound and saw that the person walking in front of Qin Moling must be Ji Xianggu. He was tall and thin, with gray hair, dressed casually in sneakers, gray sweatpants, and a bright red shirt advertising Lemeng drinks.

He carried a slightly worn eco-friendly cloth bag in his hand, seams bulging, one corner of which was frayed. It didn’t have holes, so it was still usable.

Everyone greeted him warmly.

Ji Xianggu simply nodded, sat down, took out his reading glasses and put them on. He instantly turned serious.

That’s how he worked; they’re used to it.

At the start of the meeting, Vice President Wu introduced the newly appointed Zhong Yanyue and Jian Hang.

Ji Xianggu didn’t care who was the General Manager of which Division; it wasn’t really his concern.

He took out several data summaries from all the Divisions from his cloth bag, and then took out a leather-bound notebook. There were some questions he wanted to ask the Division General Managers directly.

His biggest concern was the regional differences in production and taste in the products, and how to account for these differences going forward.

They started with the First Division, then would proceed in order.

As the discussion went on, Jian Hang reviewed the materials she had prepared over the past few days. The new products from the other three Divisions all had considerable market share this year. In particular, the Second Division has released another blockbuster product, which, despite its high retail price, was still sold out.

Jian Hang glanced at Qin Moling’s water glass and noticed it wasn’t his regular glass.

Qin Moling was also looking at her, and their eyes briefly met.

If he didn’t argue with her during the meeting, she would ask him for a similar cup after the meeting.

“How are the new juices from the Second Division? Which regions aren’t they selling well in?” Ji Xianggu asked Zhong Yanyue.

Zhong Yanyue smiled and said, “This year’s mangosteen juice is selling well in every region, with the East China region having the highest sales.” Even she thought it tasted good—sweet and sour, cool and refreshing.

She added, “However, the sales of blueberry juice in East China are not as good as in other regions. It’s not because of the product itself, but because the market is being squeezed out by mangosteen juice. The market is only so big, so it’s a zero-sum game. There’s nothing we can do about it.”

Ji Xianggu hummed in agreement. “Initially, no one was optimistic about blueberry juice, saying there was no market for it. But as long as the product is good and you find the right marketing angle, there’s nothing that can’t be sold.”

Zhong Yanyue laughed and said, “That’s right. We adjusted our advertising focus in time, starting with the fact that blueberry juice is good for the eyes, and the results exceeded our expectations.”

After that came the Third Division. And finally, the Fourth Division.

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

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