TNSFC – Chapter 40

After Gu Shanxue’s call ended, Que Yining called Li Suyin into her office.

As far as the current situation was concerned, Que Yining could tentatively confirm she hadn’t lost anything, but the specifics would have to wait until Geng Liyun was found and questioned. However, during the search for him, an investigation also needed to be conducted.

Li Suyin knocked and entered the office, standing properly in front of Que Yining’s desk.

Que Yining: “It’s almost the end of the year, isn’t it?”

Li Suyin: “Yes.”

Que Yining: “It’s time to show some warmth to every employee. Remember to ensure everyone is taken care of, keep good records, and don’t let the previous situation happen again.”

Li Suyin: “Understood.”

Que Yining: “Use my personal account. Just coordinate directly with Zhang Shiyu.”

Que Yining indeed relied more on Zhang Shiyu for personal matters, but this didn’t mean she didn’t value Li Suyin. In terms of work ability and management skills, Li Suyin was superior. She hoped her two secretaries could work closely together without any friction.

“Okay,” Li Suyin nodded in agreement. After a few moments, she spoke again, “Then, for Secretary Zhang’s family and my family?”

Que Yining replied, somewhat surprised: “You can just drop by each other’s places for that. I have full confidence in you both.”

Li Suyin nodded and left the office.

Que Yining, on the other hand, quickly touched up her makeup in the office, grabbed her bag and umbrella, and went downstairs.

Outside, the heavy rain still hadn’t stopped. Raindrops drummed dully against the glass. Dark clouds hung low in the sky. Though it was noon, the streets were dim.

A plastic bag, blown by the wind from somewhere unknown, drifted through the air, passing over Que Yining’s black umbrella.

Que Yining carefully avoided a puddle and sat in Gu Shanxue’s passenger seat, cautiously folding her dripping umbrella.

Water droplets rolled down beside her leg, wetting her pant leg.

Gu Shanxue saw her movement and knew what had happened, handing her the tissues she had nearby.

Gu Shanxue: “I saw the weather forecast yesterday, but I didn’t expect the rain to be this heavy.”

Que Yining, while wiping the water from her leg, replied: “Yes, it’s coming down harder and harder. When I left this morning, the rain was lighter. It doesn’t seem like good weather for going out, but…”

Gu Shanxue looked at her profile: “But what?”

Que Yining held the tissue in her hand, turned to face Gu Shanxue, her eyes full of a smile: “But if I’m with Shanxue, I think any day is perfect for going out.”

Never mind rain; even if it snowed or hailed, I’d still want to go out. And even if it really, really wasn’t suitable for going out, we could always meet indoors.

Gu Shanxue looked into her eyes, unsure of the expression on her own face at that moment, only feeling that familiar sensation resurface.

Clearly, the other person was expressing how much she enjoyed being friends with her, yet Gu Shanxue always felt something… an indescribable feeling.

She watched the constantly moving windshield wipers, her voice tinged with an almost imperceptible tension, and asked: “Where are we going? Is there anywhere you’d like to go?”

Que Yining tilted her head: “Shanxue, are you asking which restaurant? If it’s about eating, I think your cooking is even better than what they serve in restaurants. If it’s convenient, going to your place would be best.”

Que Yining’s words carried a hint of expectant excitement. She stared intently at Gu Shanxue, waiting for her answer.

Gu Shanxue: “I’m sorry, I don’t have any ingredients at home, and my cooking isn’t that good.”

Gu Shanxue felt a little embarrassed by Que Yining’s flattery. She knew her own cooking skills were far from comparable to a professional chef’s.

Que Yining: “That’s not true at all. For me, whatever Shanxue makes is the most delicious.”

Gu Shanxue’s expression unconsciously softened, her cool voice carrying a hint of a gentle smile: “Thank you for the compliment.”

Gu Shanxue felt that Que Yining possessed a kind of magic. If others offered such praise, it would often feel uncomfortably exaggerated or like superficial, fawning politeness. But when Que Yining said those words, one couldn’t help but believe them, believe they were genuine, her true feelings, making one irresistibly happy.

Gu Shanxue: “Then, shall we go to a restaurant opened by a friend of mine?”

Que Yining nodded readily: “Of course.”

Gu Shanxue started the car and drove towards the restaurant.

The rain poured down in torrents, and there weren’t many cars on the road.

Gu Shanxue drove slower than usual. The sound of the soft music playing inside the car seemed somewhat drowned out by the rain.

Que Yining listened to the pitter-patter of raindrops against the car window, her thoughts drifting far away, thinking about the Geng Liyun matter.

They had already reported it to the police. If something was truly lost, the amount involved wouldn’t be small, and the police should take it seriously. However, with such heavy rain, the difficulty of the search would definitely increase, and whether he could be caught was another matter.

Although Xie Yanhuai’s tendency to make enemies with nearly eighty percent of his peers was alarming, Que Yining always felt the problem likely originated from her side.

She always felt that someone in the shadows was intentionally targeting her, not Xie Yanhuai. This feeling had no basis, but Que Yining had relied on such intuition to make correct decisions and avoid many troubles, so she didn’t ignore this thought.

If it was really as she suspected, who would want to target her or the ‘original owner’?

Gu Qianqian? Wang Ruiyuan? Or her eldest brother Que Linyang, whom she had only met once? Or perhaps her second sister Que Chuling, whom she hadn’t encountered at all yet?

Thinking of Que Chuling, Que Yining realized she couldn’t find any memories of this second sister at all.

She took out her phone and sent a message to Qiao Yuchu.

Qiao Yuchu was probably not looking at her phone and didn’t reply to her message.

Que Yining held her phone, continuing to be lost in her thoughts.

Not until Gu Shanxue called her several times did she somewhat dazedly respond.

After snapping back to reality, Que Yining said apologetically: “I was just spacing out. Have we arrived already?”

Gu Shanxue nodded: “Yes. Your expression looked very serious just now. Did something happen?”

Que Yining shook her head and smiled at Gu Shanxue: “No, nothing happened.”

Que Yining didn’t intend to tell Gu Shanxue about what happened that morning. After all, in Que Yining’s view, it wasn’t a big deal, and moreover, it was a work matter, so there was even less need to mention it.

After saying that, Que Yining opened her car door, opened her umbrella, walked over to Gu Shanxue’s side, and waited for her to get out.

Gu Shanxue had her own umbrella, but seeing Que Yining ready to hold the umbrella for her, she didn’t take out her own. She bent down to get out of the car, closed the car door, and locked the car.

She was slightly taller than Que Yining and naturally took the umbrella from Que Yining’s hand, holding it for her.

Gu Shanxue was wearing a black woolen overcoat today, with a matching black scarf around her neck. The way she held the umbrella and walked forward was just as cool and indifferent as when Que Yining first saw her.

However, back then, Que Yining was watching her from the dimness of a private room, whereas now, she was watching her under the same umbrella.

Her shoes stepped on the ground, splashing small amounts of water.

Que Yining didn’t walk fast, afraid that the splashed water would get on Gu Shanxue. Careful not to bump into her, she could only follow meticulously, step by step.

This was clearly not Que Yining’s style. Gu Shanxue even thought Que Yining would put her arm around her and walk closely beside her in the next moment, but Que Yining didn’t. Instead, she slowly followed her.

Gu Shanxue, afraid Que Yining would get wet, unconsciously tilted the umbrella towards her.

“Shanxue, your shoulder is wet.”

Que Yining’s hand touched Gu Shanxue’s drenched shoulder. Her hand covered the back of Gu Shanxue’s hand and straightened the umbrella.

Gu Shanxue pressed her lips together lightly, switched hands to hold the umbrella in front of herself, and put her other arm around Que Yining’s shoulder.

“Then let’s stand a little closer.”

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