Qin Yinan responded with a soft “hmm”, urging his secretary to continue.

“The lady has the surname, Cheng…”

The lips of Qin Yinan, who could maintain his cool in every kind of situation, twitched tensely when he heard the name ‘Cheng’.

“Full name, Cheng Qingchong. She wished to talk to CEO Qin personally, so CEO Qin, should I schedule…”

It was then that the secretary realized that something was off about Qin Yinan’s expression. With a flash of surprise in his eyes, he stopped talking altogether. Even though he had only been Qin Yinan’s secretary for a few months, Qin Yinan’s temper, or the lack thereof, had already become a stuff of legend. He had never been angry no matter how big the mistake his worker made; he would always discuss it calmly with everyone to come up with the solution.

Chen Yang had never heard a single curse word come out of Qin Yinan’s mouth. Even if he was busy and someone needed to see him, he would vacate his time to the best of his ability to listen to the other party.

Chen Yang studied Qin Yinan for a while before confirming his boss was truly angered. He suppressed his burgeoning surprise and finished his earlier sentence. “… schedule a meeting?”

Qin Yinan stopped typing. He didn’t look up at his secretary but stared at his computer screen for a long time. Instead of answering the question, he said, “Leave me to think about it first.”

During the meeting that afternoon, Chen Yang kept observing Qin Yinan, but the man was no different from his usual kind, gentle, polite, and humble self. It was as if the displeasure he had seen that afternoon was merely a figment of his imagination.

The work that day continued until 7 pm. Before leaving work, Chen Yang dropped a document Qin Yinan wanted in his office. Qin Yinan wasn’t working but stood before the window, smoking a cigarette.

When he heard the door open, he merely turned around slightly. He raised his hand rather mechanically to take a deep breath before turning back to the window to slowly create several smoke rings in the air.

Through the reflection on the window, Qin Yinan could see his secretary place the document on his desk and bow at him before turning to walk toward the door. Just as Chen Yang pulled the door open, Qin Yinan suddenly said, “Wait a minute.”

Chen Yang turned around. Qin Yinan frowned like he was deep in thought. After snuffing the cigarette out, Qin Yinan slowly turned around, and leaned slightly against the window and remarked, “There’s a brief opening in my schedule tomorrow, yes?”

“Yes, CEO Qin.”

“Give her a reply to inform her to come to the company tomorrow.”

Chen Yang was baffled by Qin Yinan’s sudden declaration before he soon realized that the “her” referred the Miss Cheng who had called that morning. He nodded in a hurry and said, “Of course.”

Qin Yinan lowered his head wordlessly.

His secretary bade him farewell and left his office.

Qin Yinan leaned against the window and stared at the shining chandelier in his room like there was something about it that captured his attention before sighing an exceptionally long breath.

…

Due to her meeting with Qin Yinan that afternoon, Cheng Qingchong had a very restless sleep. She woke up several times in the night.

Qin Yinan’s secretary had only told her that Qin Yinan could see her in the afternoon without a specific time, so she arrived at Qin Yinan’s company at 12 noon.