PSMD – Chapter 138

Shen Ningruo didn’t respond. Lao Yu didn’t say anything further, and the call ended. She watched the phone screen go black, then let out a heavy sigh.

She unlocked her phone again, opened her contacts, and saw the words “Dad” listed there. Her fingertip hovered hesitantly, but ultimately, she didn’t press it. She locked her phone again.

Forget it.

Let him misunderstand for now.

Shen Yuankai deserved the torment he was currently experiencing; Shen Ningruo hadn’t forgotten the things he had said before.

People always had to bear the consequences of their words.

Qiu Yang was showering and didn’t know Shen Ningruo had taken that call. Shen Ningruo didn’t tell her after she finished showering either, instead putting on a smile and pretending nothing had happened.

There was nothing to talk about.

However, Qiu Yang didn’t notice any of this. The closer it got to work time, the more she felt a bit dazed.

The personnel notice was issued last Friday, which meant that starting tomorrow, Monday, she would officially be working under the title of “Department Head,” and she would also be facing a new manager she had never interacted with before.

Both of these things made her briefly anxious.

She knew anxiety was useless and it would be better to rest well. After thinking it through, she was mentally prepared to face anything.

Shen Ningruo knew what she was thinking. Before going to bed that night, she even held a little workplace mini-lesson, sharing things she thought were important with Qiu Yang. However, it ended up being more like a hypnotic mini-lesson, and Qiu Yang started getting sleepy as she listened.

Shen Ningruo chuckled softly, leaned down, and pressed a kiss on her forehead before falling asleep herself.

Because she was meeting her new superior today, Qiu Yang put on some light makeup after getting up and applied lipstick to look more energetic.

It was best to leave a good first impression. Otherwise, if she looked tired and out of sorts, her work ability might also be questioned.

She arrived ten minutes earlier than usual. Although her position had been promoted, her workstation was still in the same spot, still with a clear view of the manager’s office.

Qi Rong also arrived relatively early today. She had also put on light makeup. Seeing Qiu Yang, she smiled and said, “Yangyang, congratulations.”

Qiu Yang’s eyes curved into a smile. “Thank you, Qi Jie.”

Qi Rong patted her shoulder, then sat down in the chair next to her. While booting up her computer, she whispered, “Manager Duan is coming to the company today. I have some gossip, want to hear it?”

Qiu Yang was surprised. “Again?”

“Yeah, everyone in the group is incredibly resourceful, they know everything,” Qi Rong said, leaning closer. She tilted her chin towards the manager’s office, keeping her voice low. “I heard Manager Duan is only 28 this year and used to work at Wanming Group’s headquarters.”

“Ah…”

“I thought everyone could guess that?”

Qiu Yang was momentarily stunned.

Qi Rong was speechless, then added, “It’s different. Manager Duan was personally promoted by President Wen’s mother.”

“Got it.” Qiu Yang understood. “So Manager Duan is President Wen’s mother’s person and isn’t easy to mess with.”

“Exactly!”

Most of the other colleagues in the office had also arrived; no one would be late.

After all, today was the new manager’s first day.

Qi Rong stopped talking about these things with Qiu Yang. After turning on her computer, she started calculating data, while Qiu Yang glanced at her watch.

There were three minutes until work started, and Manager Duan hadn’t arrived yet.

Just as she looked away, she heard the crisp sound of high heels outside the door. Her gaze, which had been fixed on the computer, shifted, and she saw a woman in formal wear walk in. The woman’s work badge hanging around her neck displayed her position and name.

Duan Qingzhu had a delicate appearance, but her eyes held little warmth. She scanned everyone in the office, nodded slightly, and introduced herself, saying, “I am Duan Qingzhu.”

Without any extra words, she entered her office and even closed the blinds.

Qiu Yang picked up the water on her desk and took a sip.

This Manager Duan was clearly the type who was capable and spoke little, a very direct contrast to the gentle type like Qu Yan.

This was good; there wouldn’t be much personal interaction. Qiu Yang felt relieved.

But it had to be said that Duan Qingzhu’s ability was outstanding. In such a short time, she had taken over all of Qu Yan’s work. As a result, the morning meeting went very smoothly, and she was able to accurately call out everyone present by name.

Well.

Self-introductions were saved.

Qiu Yang didn’t know what the other colleagues thought, but she had a good impression of Duan Qingzhu. This reminded her of Shen Ningruo.

Being straightforward like this was also quite good.

After the meeting, Qiu Yang went to the office again to report on her work. Duan Qingzhu maintained a poker face throughout, occasionally responding with her views and opinions. Not a single word was wasted; her work efficiency was very high.

Qiu Yang liked this kind of work interaction; it also made her feel very motivated. But she didn’t expect to receive a notice the next day telling her she had to go to Liucheng for a business trip to negotiate a deal.

Afternoon flight, returning Wednesday afternoon.

Shen Ningruo received Qiu Yang’s message just as she came out of a meeting room. She had also just finished discussing a collaboration with another company. Seeing the message from Qiu Yang, she couldn’t help but be stunned.

This meant that after finishing work in the morning, Qiu Yang would have to go home, pack, and head to the airport. They wouldn’t see each other until tomorrow night.

Shen Ningruo’s brows furrowed as she realized something—

Since they had gotten together, they hadn’t been apart.

Now, not seeing Qiu Yang for over a day, she definitely wouldn’t be used to it. So, Shen Ningruo used her lunch break to go home. She had to see Qiu Yang. It was a bit far from here to the airport, but today wasn’t the weekend, and the traffic wasn’t bad. Taking Qiu Yang to the airport wouldn’t be a problem.

Qiu Yang wasn’t going on the business trip alone; two colleagues were going with her.

Everyone was a bit surprised upon receiving the notice, and the timing was tight. Fortunately, having worked for so many years, such sudden situations weren’t uncommon, so they were used to it. The three of them agreed to meet at the airport check-in counter.

“Xiao Yang.”

“I’ll have to sleep hugging a plush toy tonight.”

On the way to the airport, Shen Ningruo sighed.

She and Qiu Yang were still in the honeymoon phase, and facing separation would naturally make them reluctant. But they weren’t children; they knew what was important. However, this didn’t conflict with her reluctance to part with Qiu Yang.

Qiu Yang looked at Shen Ningruo’s profile, a smile on her lips. “Who isn’t?”

“I even specifically brought Little Lemon.”

She had bought a lemon-shaped pillow before. It didn’t take up much space, so she simply brought it along. She had sprayed some of Shen Ningruo’s perfume on it.

She liked it very much.

Shen Ningruo let out a sigh and said nothing more.

Their first farewell since being together had arrived just like that. She was still a little unaccustomed to it.

Ten minutes later, Qiu Yang got out of the car. She checked the time and, worried that Shen Ningruo would be late getting back, didn’t let Shen Ningruo take her all the way to the terminal.

Shen Ningruo: …

Shen Ningruo said, “You really are my good girlfriend.”

“Director Shen, I’m a fan of your career.” Qiu Yang tried hard to break the sad atmosphere. She kissed Shen Ningruo’s cheek, then said softly, “Okay, be good. See you tomorrow.”

Since Qiu Yang had expressed herself this way, what reason did Shen Ningruo have to be stubborn?

She could only say helplessly, “Okay, see you tomorrow.”

Shen Ningruo drove away, leaving Qiu Yang’s line of sight. Only when she could no longer see Qiu Yang in the rearview mirror did she flutter her eyelashes.

Qiu Yang hadn’t even reached the main hall when she received a call from Shen Ningruo. The corners of her mouth curved up. With one hand pulling her suitcase and the other holding her phone, she asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Missing you,” Shen Ningruo’s voice was a little muffled.

Qiu Yang lowered her eyes. “Drive safely.”

“Don’t you miss me?” Shen Ningruo countered.

“I’m missing you properly,” Qiu Yang’s words were exactly the same as what she used to say.

Both of them reminisced about the past, and Shen Ningruo’s mood finally lightened a little. “Go check in. I’m going back to the company to work seriously now.”

“Okay.”

“Wait for me to come back.”

The call ended. Shen Ningruo felt a little wistful. She was somewhat surprised by how deeply she had come to like Qiu Yang.

They didn’t see each other during workdays anyway, and this time it was only one night they wouldn’t see each other, yet she was reacting so dramatically.

Shen Ningruo returned to the company and suppressed these thoughts. However, she remembered something about Qiu Yang’s mother. Taking advantage of Qin Yu’s break, she went to the general manager’s office to ask about the situation.

Or rather, to fish for information.

Qin Yu immediately became wary of Shen Ningruo’s arrival. “What bad idea are you cooking up now?”

Shen Ningruo felt like black lines were appearing above her head. “So, whenever I look for you, I’m cooking up a bad idea?”

“Aren’t you?”

“Am I?”

Qin Yu cleared his throat. “Alright, what do you want to know from me?”

“What’s the progress on President Wen and his sister recognizing each other?” Shen Ningruo asked as if casually bringing it up.

Hearing this, Qin Yu’s brows instantly furrowed. “I’m not too sure. I asked Xiao Yuan, and he said he thinks his sister might have guessed something and is deliberately avoiding contact with him.”

“Is that so?” Shen Ningruo tapped her fingers on the desk. She hadn’t heard Qiu Yang mention this, but she knew it was something Qiu Yang would do.

Especially since last Friday, Qiu Yang had asked about it to the colleague named Qi Rong right in front of her.

Qiu Yang was very smart and her mind worked quickly when thinking things through. It wasn’t strange for her to guess these things.

“See? I told you this, and you still ask ‘Is that so?’ Then why did you ask me?” Qin Yu feigned anger.

Shen Ningruo’s lips twitched. “Sorry, it’s a habit.”

“By the way, why are you so concerned about this?” Qin Yu was a bit confused. “In my impression, Shen Ningruo isn’t like this. Even if you care about my relationship progress, you never came to ask me before.”

Shen Ningruo pondered for two or three seconds. “Maybe it’s because I might be your brother-in-law in the future.”

She wasn’t sure what the correct term was, so she temporarily used “brother-in-law” as a substitute.

“What are you talking about…” Qin Yu didn’t quite understand, but as soon as he finished speaking, he recoiled slightly. He looked at Shen Ningruo in horror. “Department Head Qiu is Xiao Yuan’s sister?”

“Yes.”

Qin Yu: “What the fuck…”

Qin Yu’s expression changed instantly, and he chuckled again. “Not necessarily, Xiao Yuan might not like me.”

Shen Ningruo was momentarily speechless. Sometimes she thought Qin Yu was a bit simple-minded.

On this matter, was Qin Yu being optimistic or pessimistic?