You're so sweet (GL) - Chapter 10
Su Jingwan kept silent, and Qin Luo was performing a solo act. Before they even reached the basement parking garage, her phone started vibrating.
Qin Luo instinctively answered the phone.
“Hello.”
“Luoluo, where are you? You finally answered the phone. Don’t be angry, okay? I’ll treat you to…”
Qin Luo didn’t even lift her eyelids, hung up the phone directly, and then blocked the number. Only then did she remember Su Jingwan was also in the elevator, and she quickly tried to mend the situation, explaining:
“It was a wrong number, so annoying.”
Truly annoying. They shared the same surname, yet how could the difference be so vast? Su Jingxun, that relentlessly harassing jerk.
Su Jingwan didn’t look sideways and didn’t voice a rebuttal, but Qin Luo clearly heard “Luoluo” said on the other end of the phone, meaning it was at least someone she knew, and a man at that.
Qin Luo didn’t have time to notice Su Jingwan’s mood because blocking was obviously useless. Soon, her phone vibrated again. Qin Luo suspected Su Jingxun might have bought a pile of SIM cards just to bombard her.
Qin Luo angrily put her phone on airplane mode, thinking it was time to change her phone number.
Unknowingly, they had arrived at the underground parking garage, and the elevator doors opened. Qin Luo was walking out with her head down when she suddenly bumped into Su Jingwan’s back.
“Ouch, why did you… stop? You scared me, hehe.”
Qin Luo only remembered to use a sweet, coquettish tone halfway through her sentence. Despite the forced change in tone, Su Jingwan’s glance remained cool and detached.
In fact, Su Jingwan might not have cared about it.
“Are you sure you want to get in my car?”
“Huh? Oh, get in the car, alright.” Qin Luo blinked, thinking, what was going on with Su Jingwan? What did the sudden change in attitude mean? It almost caught her off guard.
But then Qin Luo narrowed her eyes again. They were standing very close, and she could even smell the faint woody scent on Su Jingwan.
“Mm, I’ll give you three seconds to think about it.” Su Jingwan turned around, took another half-step closer, and looked down at Qin Luo.
This was beyond the normal social distance. Apart from Qin Luo’s deliberate closeness before, this was perhaps the first time Su Jingwan had actively approached her.
Qin Luo’s heart instantly lost its rhythm.
How dare Su Jingwan get so close to her? Did she forget that Qin Luo had forcibly kissed her before? No, how could she forget? Su Jingwan wasn’t senile.
So, was it what Qin Luo thought it meant? If so, was the previous rejection just playing hard to get? To be honest, Qin Luo found such people annoying. If you want something, say so; if you don’t, then don’t. What’s the point of all the games? The attraction between people is only so much anyway; once the time is up and the novelty wears off, it’s pretty much over.
The initial investment of energy wouldn’t have a significant impact on the outcome. If that’s the case, why waste the time?
Although Qin Luo was slightly disdainful, she had to admit that at this moment, she was also parched by Su Jingwan’s ambiguous move and desperately wanted to push Su Jingwan into the car and fondle her.
Fine, she admitted that women also had a certain weakness and easily compromised with beauties. Qin Luo was almost losing control, but then Qin Ziyuan suddenly popped into her mind. Simultaneously, the bl00d in her body felt like it had been mixed with ice cubes and instantly chilled.
If Su Jingwan really meant that, wouldn’t she be afraid that Qin Luo would go and tell Qin Ziyuan? Or was Su Jingwan aware of Qin Luo’s interest and deliberately using this to retaliate against the cheating, messing-around Qin Ziyuan?
After all, Qin Ziyuan had indeed put a green hat on Su Jingwan, and Qin Luo, coincidentally, had a small bl00d relationship with Qin Ziyuan. If Qin Luo thought about it herself, she would also feel that she was a pretty good cheating target.
Since ancient times, those so-called major families have been very double-standard about relationships between men and women. Men could go out and have fun, while women should be obedient and stay at home. The “childhood sweetheart” not only failed to be obedient but also hooked up with her half-sister. The blow to Qin Ziyuan would undoubtedly be double.
Qin Luo didn’t consider herself an honest person and didn’t care about Qin Ziyuan, but having fun was one thing; playing with someone else’s woman was not acceptable. She didn’t like it, nor did she have that kind of fetish.
With this thought, Qin Luo’s eyes became slightly colder, but the corner of her mouth curved into a slight arc. She stood on her tiptoes and leaned into Su Jingwan’s ear, “Where is Sister-in-law planning to take me?”
Su Jingwan turned her eyes to look at her. Qin Luo smiled, showing two dimples, looking harmless.
She didn’t believe Su Jingwan would dare to do anything now that she had said that. In fact, Qin Luo also had a selfish motive: if Su Jingwan was willing to cut ties with Qin Ziyuan…
“Ms. Su, Secretary Qin.”
Qin Luo was slightly startled. She turned around and saw Lisa standing behind them.
“Lisa?” Why was she here?
“Ms. Su, the car is ready. Does Secretary Qin really need to come along?” Lisa asked.
Su Jingwan curved her lips, “This is inherently work. Secretary Qin should be quite willing to go and learn.”
“Wait, work? Where are you going?” Qin Luo was a bit confused. What did Su Jingwan mean? Wasn’t it already after work hours? What was this talk about work?
“It’s like this, Ms. Su is going to have dinner with a few CEOs. The dinner is set for 8 o’clock, and we need to head over now,” Lisa smiled slightly, “Ms. Su was originally worried that Secretary Qin, being new today, wouldn’t adapt, but it seems she worried too much.”
“…” Qin Luo finally understood. Su Jingwan wasn’t asking her out at all; she was preparing to attend a business dinner for work.
Was Su Jingwan deliberately playing a trick on her? Couldn’t she just say it clearly? If Qin Luo had known she wasn’t going home but to a business dinner, she wouldn’t have bothered to follow!
Qin Luo was grinding her teeth in anger, almost wanting to just storm off. But then she had a second thought: what was so bad about going along? How could a person like Su Jingwan handle a business dinner? She was cold towards Old Lady Qin; could she really bring herself to be polite and friendly with others?
Negotiating business was different from anything else. If you wanted others to spend money, you couldn’t keep a cold face. Qin Luo felt intensely curious just thinking about it. She really wanted to see Su Jingwan show a different expression, even if that expression wasn’t directed at her; she couldn’t miss it.
“Go, go, go! CEO Su is willing to give me such a great learning opportunity. How can I possibly refuse?” Qin Luo walked forward with a grin and considerately opened the car door for Su Jingwan, “CEO, please.”
Su Jingwan sat in the car, and only as Qin Luo was about to get in did she speak, “Sit in the front passenger seat.”
“I… fine.” Qin Luo genuinely didn’t mean to flirt with Su Jingwan this time; it was purely out of habit.
When she didn’t drive, she always sat in the back seat because it had more space and was more comfortable. But what was wrong with Su Jingwan, tsk.
When they arrived, several people were already seated in the private room. They were exclusively men, some young, some old, and without exception, their eyes lit up when they saw Su Jingwan and her companions enter.
“Miss Su is late today.”
“Apologies, there was some traffic on the road,” Su Jingwan’s expression was unchanged, and she calmly took a seat.
Qin Luo followed Lisa, learning from her as she greeted everyone one by one before sitting down. Earlier in the car, Su Jingwan and her team had roughly told her who would be attending today, even showing her photos.
Qin Luo was slightly bewildered at the time, wondering if Su Jingwan had face blindness. What normal person would save pictures of company bosses in their notebook along with company details?
But she didn’t complain. After all, it was a rather charming contrast that someone with Su Jingwan’s cold personality would do such a thing.
As soon as she sat down, she attracted the attention of these men. Su Jingwan was undeniably beautiful, but Qin Luo sitting next to her was equally stunning, even looking slightly sweeter.
“This person seems new?” someone asked.
“Secretary,” Su Jingwan replied.
“I see. The people around Miss Su are also exceptionally outstanding.” Although that’s what he said, the person’s gaze towards Qin Luo became increasingly obvious.
“You flatter me.”
Qin Luo smiled outwardly, but inwardly she was rolling her eyes. These business people were so hypocritical. They clearly desired her beauty but still disliked her status. What was wrong with being a secretary? Who did she bother?
Honestly, Qin Luo hadn’t expected Su Jingwan to chat and dine so naturally with these sanctimonious people. Qin Luo felt utterly disgusted. If she weren’t mindful of Su Jingwan, she would have turned hostile and smashed the eyeballs of the man across from her.
“Miss Su is truly ambitious. Won’t Ziyuan be jealous of you coming out to dine with us like this?” One of the men smiled, but the smile contained an undisguised sense of superiority, looking very hypocritical, at least in Qin Luo’s view.
Although she hadn’t lived much in J-City, she knew that business families here were interlinked. They were either related by bl00d or had their own circles and connections.
So, she wasn’t surprised that the man making the jest was the eldest son of the Li family in J-City. It was normal for him to know Su Jingwan and Qin Ziyuan. However, this guy was truly mean. If he was afraid of Qin Ziyuan’s displeasure, why not just cooperate with Su Jingwan without arranging dinner?
“Isn’t this the necessary procedure for running a company and doing business?” Su Jingwan asked.
The implication was, are you brainless for questioning a normal procedure?
“Young CEO Li just started at his family company and might not understand yet. But it’s okay, you’ll learn slowly. When CEO Li Senior retires, Young CEO Li will surely surpass him.” An uncle on the right spoke up, and the others laughed, agreeing and jesting.
Young CEO Li’s expression changed, but he didn’t actually refute, as a large part of what was said was true.
Qin Luo narrowed her eyes. This uncle, surnamed Liu, was the CEO of a telecommunications technology company. His cooperation with JC wasn’t very close, only having some interaction.
Qin Luo had thought it was strange at the time. Now, it seemed CEO Liu might have a connection with Su Jingwan, otherwise he wouldn’t speak up on her behalf at this moment.
The dinner inevitably involved toasting and urging drinks, interspersed with some work matters. Qin Luo originally thought Su Jingwan brought them along to block drinks, but the majority of the alcohol ended up in her own stomach.
In Qin Luo’s view, someone like Su Jingwan should be delicately savoring red wine in a romantic French restaurant, or sipping a “Doomsday Enchantress” alone in a bar.
It certainly wouldn’t be like this—drinking glass after glass of baijiu and beer at a business dinner…
Qin Luo felt very uncomfortable watching this. Several times she tried to stand up to block the drinks but was gently held and pushed away by Su Jingwan.
Su Jingwan used the excuse that Qin Luo had to drive, preventing her from touching a drop of alcohol. Although the others were unhappy, they only made a few sarcastic comments and didn’t actually insist on a mere secretary drinking.
It was obvious that these people were showing respect for the Su family behind Su Jingwan, or perhaps because of Qin Ziyuan and the Qin family. But Su Jingwan? Why was she protecting Qin Luo? Was it also because of the Qin family behind her?
Qin Luo’s emotions were complex and difficult to manage. She truly hadn’t expected Su Jingwan to do so much. Su Jingwan called this “minor matters,” but it was clearly a fight with half her life.
In her opinion, this was completely unnecessary. Wouldn’t it be better to be a carefree young lady? Marrying into the Qin family as a wife would also guarantee a life of comfort, where she could have whatever she wanted. Why choose this path?
“In that case, I look forward to your visit.” After Su Jingwan finished speaking, she downed the wine in her glass. She had already drunk quite a bit. The few people opposite her were red-faced and dizzy, yet she remained as composed as jade, standing up straight without swaying.
The others finally conceded, standing up to bid farewell, and the drinking session finally ended.
Lisa went out to see them off. Su Jingwan stood by the door of the private room, watching them go. Qin Luo looked at her from the side and said helplessly, “I didn’t realize you could drink so much.”
Thinking back to their first meeting, Qin Luo almost tried to get her drunk, which now seemed terrifying. What a foolish idea; Su Jingwan would probably have drunk her under the table first.
However, drinking like this was too damaging to her health. Qin Luo hesitated for a moment but still spoke, “Look, I’m not worried about you, but you really don’t have to do this. I don’t think those people would dare to do anything to you. You could have just said a few words and left… Su Jingwan, what’s wrong?”
Before Qin Luo could finish her sentence, Su Jingwan suddenly leaned and collapsed towards her. Qin Luo quickly embraced her, half-holding and half-supporting her.
Su Jingwan rested her head on Qin Luo’s shoulder. The smell of alcohol mixed with her natural scent made the completely sober Qin Luo feel a slight tipsiness.
“Are you okay? Why were you showing off?” Qin Luo was a little afraid she might vomit but couldn’t bear to let go of her. It was a rare moment of intimate contact, but it happened when Su Jingwan was dead drunk. The thought was truly frustrating.
“I’m not taking advantage of you, okay? You threw yourself at me. Please don’t vomit.” Qin Luo tilted her face to look at Su Jingwan, and her standards involuntarily lowered again, “If you feel unwell and want to throw up, just do it, but please warn me first. I’ll take you to the restroom.”
Su Jingwan struggled to raise her eyes and glanced at Qin Luo, “Go back.”