Chuxia usually didn’t chat much with Mr. S, only responding with a greeting if he sent her a "good morning" or "good night" message, and occasionally answering his inquiries about whether she had eaten or not, sometimes even asking him in return.
Their interactions were light and without pressure, and Ling Chuxia gradually felt that having such a friend wasn’t bad at all, akin to the "gentlemanly friendship," pure and gentle like water.
Today, as work ended, Ling Chuxia was packing up her things when Manager Chen opened the office door and stepped out, walking up to everyone and clapping her hands.
Such a gesture was familiar to everyone; it either meant overtime work awaited or some social engagements.
Sure enough, Manager Chen scanned the crowd, cleared her throat, and began to speak slowly and clearly, "Today we have to discuss a collaboration project with President Hong from Huayuan Group, Ai Li, Shasha."
After a pause, her eyes swept over Ling Chuxia and, as an afterthought, she called her out too, "Chuxia, you come with us. Get ready quickly; we’ll gather downstairs in twenty minutes."
Having said that, she gave no one the chance to refuse and promptly returned to her office.
Chuxia had been through several such business dinners and knew that refusing was hardly effective, so she just went with the flow. Especially since she had helped land the Shi Family contract, Manager Chen had been quite nice to her, not insisting that she wear revealing clothes for the dinners, and mostly, those dinners just required her to drink a bit more. The clients were generally proper, with no inappropriate advances.
So, she didn’t react much and continued to tidy up her desk. Meanwhile, Lin Shasha’s expression changed subtly, her brow furrowed, and a strong dislike flickered in her eyes as she muttered discontentedly.
Ling Chuxia didn’t catch what she said but noticed her unusual expression. She looked at her and asked softly, "Shasha, what’s wrong?"
Lin Shasha glanced at Ling Chuxia and said in a muffled voice, "Xiaxia, let me give you a heads-up. This President Hong we’re meeting today is not like the clients we’ve had before. He’s a notorious lecher who likes to take advantage of people. You need to be really careful today." The most update n0vels are published on novel※fire.net
"Really?" Ling Chuxia widened her eyes in surprise.
"Yes, really! The client I hate to entertain the most is this President Hong. He’s disgusting and fancies himself handsome, and only someone like Ai Li can flatter him without batting an eye. I do admire Ai Li for that. So just stay quiet and low-profile today, and let Ai Li entertain him."
Ling Chuxia had never dealt with the kind of clients who took advantage, and didn’t know what to expect, but she felt somewhat apprehensive after hearing Shasha’s warning.
Her phone suddenly chirped with a notification. Ling Chuxia picked it up and saw a WeChat message from Mr. S.
She tapped her phone screen lightly, opening the message, which, as always, was his cordial greeting.
Sunshine: "Off work yet? What are you planning to eat today?"
Usually, Ling Chuxia might have replied with a simple "Hmm" or something similar, but today, perhaps influenced by Lin Shasha’s words, she found herself replying without thinking much: "Not yet, have to work overtime today, going out for dinner with a client."