After pausing, she added, "And then...she realized her mistake, and wanted to apologize to me, but she felt that in the company, in front of so many people, at such a serious occasion, she couldn’t swallow her pride."
Huo Tingdong’s face changed suddenly, turning somewhat livid: "Is there even a need to apologize? Who is she?"
Lin Qi said, "You definitely don’t know her, someone from our project team... a team leader? Are you coming? If you’re not, we’ll just go home."
Huo Tingdong asked, "No need, just have Qi Lichuan fire her."
Lin Qi nodded: "She said she would apologize to me, and I want to see if she’s sincere in her apology! If not, I’ll have Qi Lichuan fire her!"
The quieter she spoke, it was because she noticed that Huo Tingdong’s gaze had turned colder.
Huo Tingdong said, "Does she know you’re my person?"
Lin Qi knew he must be angry, and it was because he was worried about her: "She probably doesn’t know! Otherwise, she wouldn’t have dared to lay a hand on me. Actually, she’s always disliked me, but I never expected her to actually get physical."
This was already tantamount to workplace violence!
The thought of her scorched collarbone, if the temperature had been slightly higher, blisters might have formed.
He knows how beautiful her collarbones are, and how much he likes them.
Huo Tingdong said with suppressed anger, "You should have told me about this earlier."
Lin Qi said, "I know... you would definitely have my back, but I didn’t want to pull rank, I believe in handling things impartially, we should do what’s right! She’s been a veteran employee in the project team, contributed years of hard work, and my thought was, if she has a good attitude and sincerely apologizes, promising not to trouble me anymore, I can let bygones be bygones!"
But Huo Tingdong didn’t want to beat around the bush: "For people like her, just fire her outright, there’s no need to give her a chance to apologize!"
Lin Qi said, "Then... according to you, we shouldn’t give her a chance to apologize?"
Huo Tingdong: "Lin Qi, actually, you don’t have to cater to others at all."
He could guess with her straightforward personality, it was easy for her to be wronged in the workplace.
Especially in companies like Huace, where elites abound.
Where there are abundant interests, disputes are often inevitable.
Those who smile with daggers hidden are not uncommon.
Lin Qi said somewhat aggrieved, "I actually quite job and am adapting well. I think I’m someone who can’t stay idle, if I just lounge around at home all day, living a life of leisure, I’d find it very unfulfilling! I’m not the type to stretch out my hand to ask a man for money; I aspire to a relationship where we’re equally matched but take care of each other!"
Yet, Huo Tingdong was amused by her naïve and cute tone of voice: "Equally matched?"
Lin Qi caught the mockery in his eyes: "What’s with that look? Do you think that no matter how hard I try, I’ll never catch up to you?"
Huo Tingdong said, "You don’t need to think about catching up, what’s mine is yours."
Lin Qi said, "I know, I know that when you love someone, you give her the best in the world. But... I also want to give you the best in the world!"
Although she had such a loving husband and such a loving son, she could lie back and relax.
But she also thought, if she were to become a full-time housewife in the future, when she wanted to buy a gift for him, it would all be with his money.
But if she bought him gifts with her own hard-earned money, that would mean something completely different.
Huo Tingdong said, "I understand, I’ll go with you."
He wanted to see who dared to bully his wife.
She treasures this job so much, so the only thing he can do is one thing – whoever dares to bully her, he will not show mercy!
Everyone had their fill of food and drinks, and once they arrived at the KTV section, they booked a presidential suite and started singing.
Han Na saw the text message from Lin Qi, "Nana, I’m here. What’s the room number?"
She immediately sent the room number and stood up to tell everyone, "Lin Qi is here!"
Maeve sat on the couch, somewhat dispirited, dreading the moment Lin Qi would arrive, having to toast her, apologize, and make amends. The thought made her skin crawl with discomfort.
Though the ambiance here was much more relaxed compared to the serious workplace setting for apologies, she just couldn’t bring herself to respect Lin Qi. The idea of bowing her head to such a person made her stomach turn.
The manager immediately consoled her, "Xiao Fu, don’t mess this up! When Lin Qi comes, give her a proper apology and we can turn the page on this matter! Sometimes, you have to know when to put aside your pride!"
Maeve replied impatiently, "I know!"
Suddenly, a waiter knocked on the door.
The door to the suite was pushed open from the outside.
Han Na immediately paused the music and walked to the door to greet the newcomer.
Everyone else also stood up, looking towards the door.
Some whispered among themselves, "Is Lin Qi bringing her husband along?"
"Not sure... she said she was waiting for her husband to get off work before coming together!"
"Her husband couldn’t really be one of Huace’s high-level executives, could he?"
"Maybe! I’ve seen a few of Huace’s directors, they’re all quite old, men on their second or third marriages..."
While everyone was still whispering, they saw Han Na freeze at the door, eyes bulging, looking completely out of her element.
She blocked the doorway, and no one could clearly see who was standing there, but given her spooked expression, everyone began to feel tense.
"Han Na, what’s with that look on your face?"
Maeve also felt something was off and slowly stood up.
Han Na stood at the door like she was petrified, her gaze drifting past Lin Qi and settling on the man behind her, trembling with nervousness. The man was so tall she had to tilt her head up, causing her neck to stiffen.
Lin Qi couldn’t help but feel a bit amused and nervous because of Han Na’s reaction, "Nana... Don’t just stand there, let me in..."
That snapped Han Na back to reality, her breathing became erratic. As her gaze slowly lowered, she saw Huo Tingdong and Lin Qi arm in arm, a flurry of thoughts crossing her mind, "Lin Qi... who is he..."
She was deliberately playing dumb; she knew this was Mr. Huo, the lofty CEO of Huace. But she wanted to confirm once more what exactly was the relationship between Lin Qi and Huo Tingdong, how could she be so intimate with Mr. Huo!
Lin Qi also felt a bit awkward, "Nana, I haven’t formally introduced him to you, this is my husband..."
Han Na gasped in shock, instinctively stepping back, "Oh my God..."
Embarrassment washed over Lin Qi’s face.
She looked uneasily at Huo Tingdong, who didn’t look particularly fierce or menacing, was he really that scary?
Huo Tingdong’s brows were deeply furrowed.
He too was bewildered by Han Na’s reaction.
At this moment, he felt like a ferocious lion, as if he appeared so terrifying that he could eat someone, otherwise, why would someone be so frightened!