Working overtime was part of President Qin’s daily routine. He usually stayed up until the early hours, buried in work. Yet for two whole days, he didn’t do a bit of business. Instead, he took his wife camping on a mountaintop, watched a meteor shower, went rafting, and spent an entire afternoon lying in a life jacket in a mountain stream. He stayed by his wife’s side, savoring their time together and enjoying the peace and comfort.
The two-day break ended in the blink of an eye.
Monday arrived. With a mountain of work to deal with, Qin Yuhe got up at five in the morning and headed to the office.
When Song Xinya woke up and came downstairs, she saw the breakfast he had prepared for her.
Boiled eggs, milk pancakes, fried bacon, and avocado-and-crab-stick sandwiches.
Beside them was a note written in strong, forceful handwriting:
[This is my first time making breakfast. Please forgive me if it doesn’t taste good.]
Signed: Husband, Qin Yuhe
He’d even written a little note and signed it. So proper and serious. What an earnest man Mr. Qin was.
Song Xinya sampled every dish Qin Yuhe had made.
As for the taste… it was obvious this was his first attempt.
The best thing on the table was the boiled egg.
To sum it up in one sentence: home cooking—clean, healthy, rushed, and terrible.
The pampered Young Master Qin had mistaken salt for sugar.
A message from Qin Yuhe popped up:
[Is the breakfast I made delicious?]
Song Xinya replied:
[It’s the best breakfast I’ve ever had. Absolutely delicious.]
Qin Yuhe: [You didn’t even need to taste it. I knew my cooking would be excellent.]
Song Xinya: [Yep, hahahahahahahahaha.]
Qin Yuhe: [Are you being sarcastic?]
Song Xinya: [That’s my happy laugh.]
After finishing a breakfast so salty it nearly burned her throat, Song Xinya changed into the latest ivory Prada pleated satin dress and went to the office.
She stepped out of the private elevator reserved for the president and came face-to-face with Zhao Yinian, who had just emerged from the employees’ elevator.
They both froze.
They were wearing the same dress.
Zhao Yinian looked displeased. “Why are you wearing that dress to work?”
Song Xinya remained perfectly calm. “It’s not a business expense that needs a supervisor’s approval. Do I need to report to you before getting dressed? Every woman has the right to choose what she wears. I’ll wear whatever I want.”
Since Song Xinya was determined to keep wearing it and had no intention of changing, Zhao Yinian had no choice but to let it go.
Matching outfits weren’t a problem. Looking worse was.
Song Xinya’s expression remained as placid as still water. Zhao Yinian pulled a jacket from her pocket and put it on over the dress.
Song Xinya walked ahead, and Zhao Yinian hurried after her.
“I heard from Grandma that you and President Qin are trying to have a baby.”
Song Xinya said, “Is your nervous system’s reaction time long enough to circle the earth eight times? That happened two days ago, and you’re only just processing it now?”
What Zhao Yinian really wanted to ask was whether Song Xinya and Qin Yuhe had slept together during those two nights.
Song Xinya understood exactly what she was getting at. She hooked a finger into her collar and tugged it slightly open, then said with a faint smile, “It’s really hot today.”
Following the opening of her collar, Zhao Yinian saw the bright red love bites on her neck.
Zhao Yinian’s face instantly flushed with anger.
Seeing her bitter, defeated expression, Song Xinya gave a derisive laugh. If she didn’t want Zhao Yinian to know, she would have kept it to herself. But Zhao Yinian insisted on finding out, only to get upset once she did. Wasn’t she practically begging to be spun around like a top and smacked?
Zhao Yinian stiffened and said, “It’s not that easy to conceive a child for the Qin family. Grandma once said that she spent her entire life trying to get pregnant and only had one child—the president’s father.”
Song Xinya replied, “Whether it’s easy or not, Qin Yuhe’s eldest legitimate son and the Qin family’s eldest legitimate grandson can only come from my womb. You’ll never have that chance in this lifetime.”
Zhao Yinian was so furious that smoke practically came out of her ears.
That afternoon, Zhao Yinian posted the latest announcement in the work group. This year, the company was aligning itself with international standards. The selection of the Gold Medal Lecturer would no longer be decided internally; instead, it would be evaluated by an international education and training association.
In addition to looking at performance, every candidate for Gold Medal Lecturer had to prepare a PowerPoint presentation and give a campaign speech. The final result would be based jointly on work performance and the live presentation.
Eight judges from the international education and training association would score the candidates. Whoever received the highest score would be promoted to Gold Medal Lecturer.
Chen Siyan’s handsome little face immediately lengthened into a donkey’s face. “What the hell is this? I work diligently every day, teaching classes and livestreaming, and now I have to work overtime after hours to make a PowerPoint, too?”
“When I competed for Gold Medal Lecturer before, the person with the best performance was promoted directly. Now they’ve invented all these pointless complications.”
“They eat the meal and then flip over the table, leaving everyone unable to remember how good the food was—only the sound of plates shattering everywhere.”
Chen Siyan rolled his eyes at Zhao Yinian. “You turtle’s bastard.”
Zhao Yinian turned around and glared at him. “Who are you calling a bastard?”
Chen Siyan said, “I’m talking about a turtle’s grandson. What’s the matter? You’re related to them? Same clan?”
Zhao Yinian shot back, “A dog returning to its own filth is exactly what I expected. You think you’re a lady-killer, but you’re nothing more than a turtle.”
Chen Siyan said, “I was too young back then. I couldn’t tell a person from a turtle, and I mistook an old turtle for a treasure. Now I’m working for a turtle spirit.”
Fuming, Zhao Yinian marched over to the snack area, grabbed a handful of chocolate candies, and hurled them onto Chen Siyan’s desk.
Chen Siyan exclaimed, “Oh—the old turtle laid eggs.”
The people nearby burst into laughter.
Zhao Yinian cursed, “The old turtle laid you!”
Chen Siyan replied, “You laid me!”
Another wave of laughter erupted throughout the lobby.
Chen Siyan leisurely picked up his water cup and headed toward the break room. As he passed Zhao Yinian, he drawled, “They say hitting is affection and cursing is love. If you neither hit nor curse each other, there’s no love at all. President Zhao, look how much I love you.”
Zhao Yinian ground her teeth. “I love you too. I love you to death!”
Chen Siyan said, “Go easy on the love. I’d like to live a few more years.”
Zhao Yinian nearly ground her teeth to dust.
The Gold Medal Lecturer selection was about to begin. After finishing her regular work that afternoon, Song Xinya set aside some time to work on her PowerPoint.
Chen Siyan, the busy man that he was, had to teach an online class, so he began working on his campaign presentation after clocking out.
Dong Dongdong, who ranked third in performance, also stayed behind after work to prepare for the Gold Medal Lecturer competition.
The enormous office was filled with an atmosphere of fierce competition.
Suddenly, a phone ringtone shattered the silence.
Song Xinya answered the call. Both hands continued flying over the keyboard as she held the phone between her shoulder and ear.
“Hello?”
Han Jingyi’s voice came through. “Xinxin, I managed to arrange a meeting with Sheng Tianjun’s father, burn specialist Sheng Changpu.”
Song Xinya’s fingers stopped mid-typing.
“Address.”
Han Jingyi asked, “You’re coming over?”
“Of course.”
“My husband’s scar still hasn’t been treated. Naturally, I have to go.”
Han Jingyi said, “Sheng Changpu says your husband was the one who beat his son half to death.”
“That’s right.”
She admitted it so readily that Han Jingyi, who had a doctorate, was momentarily stunned. He couldn’t quite understand her logic.
“Your husband beat someone so badly that he ended up in the ICU, and you still want his father to treat your husband’s hand?”
Song Xinya replied, “Yes!”
Han Jingyi asked, “Do you really think this can work?”
Song Xinya said, “I have my ways. I can make it happen.”
Her gaze was resolute, and her tone left no room for argument. “Even if I beat his son to death, I can still make him treat my husband’s hand willingly!”
After a long silence, Han Jingyi said a single word: “Fierce.”
