After Being Forced to Kiss My Superior (GL) - Chapter 2

After hanging up the phone, Li Wanqiu felt a wave of embarrassment.

She wasn’t someone who usually talked about others behind their backs. It had just come up in conversation, and she ended up saying a bit too much. She never imagined that before she could even finish speaking, Ji Jinyan would suddenly appear in front of her.

She had no idea whether Ji had overheard anything.

Clearing her throat awkwardly, Li Wanqiu lowered her eyes and fiddled with her hair, trying to regain her composure. Once she steadied herself, she returned to the reception room. As she pushed open the door, she saw her father already chatting with Ji Jinyan.

In the world of business, ability mattered more than age or experience. Compared to Bixia’s powerful wine empire, the Li family’s company was clearly much smaller. The gap in status was obvious, and Mr. Li couldn’t help but speak with a slightly flattering tone. “President Ji, you’re truly impressive for someone so young.”

“Not at all,” Ji Jinyan replied with a gentle smile, shaking her head. She poured tea for both Mr. and Mrs. Li. “I’m just lucky to have people willing to support me.”

Her voice was soft and polite, with no trace of arrogance, making her instantly likable. Mrs. Li nodded in agreement, smiling warmly. The atmosphere was relaxed and pleasant.

Before long, the polite small talk ended, and they got down to business.

It took more than two hours to travel between the city and the vineyard. Ji Jinyan wasn’t the kind of person who liked to waste time. Since she had agreed to meet them, it was clear she was also open to the idea of Li Wanqiu joining the company.

Still, there were some things that needed to be said in private.

Mr. and Mrs. Li quickly picked up on that. Before Ji could say anything, they got up on their own, exchanged a knowing glance with their daughter, and made an excuse about being busy with work to take their leave.

As their host, Ji had already arranged everything. Once they stepped outside, someone came over and handed them two bottles of aged red wine as a gift.

Soon, the reception room fell quiet again.

Ji Jinyan glanced down at her watch out of habit.

“You probably have other things to take care of,” Li Wanqiu said, picking up on her cue. “If so… I can talk to someone else about the rest.”

Ji looked up at her, paused for a moment, then gently lowered her sleeve to cover her watch. Her lips curved into a faint smile. “It’s alright. I’m not in a hurry.”

“Come sit here,” she said, gesturing to a chair at the table. Then she casually pulled a stack of papers from the drawer. Out of instinct, Li Wanqiu glanced at them—and was surprised to see they were all about her.

“You’ve worked at five different companies,” Ji said as she flipped through the documents. “But each time, you left pretty quickly—no more than three months at most.”

“Can you tell me why?”

Li Wanqiu hadn’t expected her to know so much. The question caught her off guard. After a moment of silence, she finally replied, “I wasn’t good enough.”

“I see.” Ji nodded, without making any judgment. “So, how familiar are you with the wine industry, Miss Li? Do you feel confident that you can do this job well?”

“Because… honestly, it doesn’t really seem like you want to be here.”

She saw right through her.

Li Wanqiu was stunned by how direct the question was and didn’t know what to say. But Ji, noticing her discomfort, gently continued, “It’s alright. The wine industry is actually really interesting. I believe you’ll grow into it and come to enjoy it in time.”

“You’re only twenty-three. Being young is your greatest advantage—it’s never too late to start something new.” Her tone was light and encouraging. She looked into Li Wanqiu’s eyes, and there was a deeper meaning behind her words. “Not like me.”

“I’m already too old.”

“……”

Li Wanqiu spent the whole morning in a daze.

She didn’t know much about the wine industry, and for now, she wasn’t qualified for most of the positions. Coincidentally, one of Ji Jinyan’s secretaries had just resigned, and Li ended up landing the role by sheer luck, filling the sudden vacancy.

Ji Jinyan’s expectations were quite simple: the job had flexible hours, weekends and holidays off, and it didn’t matter if she came in late or left early as long as she was responsible with her work. There were just two conditions—take the job seriously, and be available whenever Ji needed her.

Honestly, the terms weren’t unreasonable. In fact, for someone new to the industry, getting this kind of arrangement should’ve made Li Wanqiu happy.

But at the moment, she just couldn’t bring herself to feel cheerful. One sentence kept echoing in her mind.

—Too old… too old…

She wanted to find a wall and bang her head against it.

She had never been good at dealing with people older than her, especially someone like Ji Jinyan—a beautiful, successful woman who seemed able to see right through her. Next to her, Li Wanqiu felt constantly exposed and awkward.

Even trying to apologize didn’t go well. Ji had a meeting coming up and disappeared before she could finish her sentence.

Feeling a little dejected, Li got out of the taxi and walked into her apartment complex, eyes downcast, lightly kicking at small stones on the path. Just as she neared her building, her phone rang—it was Yan Weiwei calling again.

“How’d it go?” came Weiwei’s voice as soon as the call connected.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Li Wanqiu mumbled. “I got the job, but… it didn’t go smoothly.”

“Oh.” Weiwei responded briefly. After more than a decade of friendship, she knew Li Wanqiu inside out. Hearing the discouragement in her voice, she didn’t push for details and simply invited her out instead. “Come hang out. Just the two of us today. I’ll keep you company.”

Li Wanqiu nodded, and for the first time that day, the corners of her lips lifted slightly. “Alright.”

Spending time with Yan Weiwei was always more relaxing and fun than being around anyone else.

Weiwei worked at a private club and knew a ton of people. She was a bit of an expert when it came to food, fun, and entertainment. To cheer Li Wanqiu up, she planned out a full day of pampering—food, shopping, movies—the works. Even a rock could’ve been coaxed into smiling.

Sure enough, Li Wanqiu started feeling much better. They were just about to head to another store when Weiwei suddenly got a message—something urgent had come up at the club and she had to go right away.

“Then go,” Li Wanqiu said. “I’ll finish browsing this store and head home.”

“You sure you’ll be okay on your own?” Weiwei sounded a little worried. “Our dear Miss Li is so cute, sweet, and charming—if you go missing, I’ll cry my eyes out.”

“That’s a bit much.” Li Wanqiu narrowed her eyes in mock annoyance, but her beautiful eyes were clearly smiling. “You’re being dramatic.”

“I’m being honest.” Weiwei grinned and gave her a big thumbs-up. Realizing it was still early and they weren’t far from Li’s home, she finally relaxed. After a few more words of caution, she hurried off.

Li Wanqiu waved at her friend, watching until Yan Weiwei’s figure completely disappeared from view. Only then did she turn back and continue browsing the store.

This place really did have what she was looking for.

Contrary to what her mother often said—claiming she was lazy and useless—Li Wanqiu had her own strengths. She was especially gifted in art. If it weren’t for her mother constantly standing in the way, she might have achieved something far greater by now.

“A lot of the time, we don’t really get to choose our own path, do we?” she murmured to herself. As she spoke, she absentmindedly reached out and straightened a little weather charm doll hanging on the display rack. Then she gathered the drawing supplies and paper she wanted, paid for her things, and walked out.

She had barely taken a few steps when she heard a man calling her name from behind.

“Miss Li?”

She turned around in response but didn’t recognize the man. Before she could ask, he had already walked quickly over to her.

“It really is you, Miss Li! What a coincidence—we’re meeting again,” he said warmly, but his eagerness felt a bit too much. Li Wanqiu instinctively stepped back, eyeing him cautiously.

“And you are…?”

“I’m Wang Yong,” he explained. “We met at the party last night. I wanted to ask for your contact info, but you left so quickly.”

“I didn’t expect to run into you again tonight. Must be fate.” He smiled, pulling out his phone. “Let’s exchange contact info.”

“I’m sorry, I’ve got something to do soon. Maybe another time,” Li Wanqiu replied politely, shaking her head as she turned to leave.

But before she could get far, he stepped in front of her again.

“Come on, it’ll just take a second,” he said. “Let’s just add each other—we can hang out sometime. I’ll treat you to dinner.”

As he spoke, he reached out and grabbed the sleeve of her coat. His voice dropped a little, and his intentions couldn’t have been more obvious.

Li Wanqiu’s temper flared.

She was usually polite and well-mannered, but that didn’t mean she didn’t have boundaries. Back when people caused trouble at Yan Weiwei’s club, she was the one who stood up and shut them down—word by word.

With someone like this, being nice wasn’t going to work.

She frowned at him, thinking quickly while slowly reaching for her phone to handle the situation.

But before she could act, a car pulled up beside her and stopped. The window rolled down, revealing a refined, striking face.

“Li Wanqiu,” Ji Jinyan called out from the car, her voice calm but with a sharp edge—completely different from the gentle tone she’d used that morning.

She said, clearly and firmly, “Get in.”