His hands, usually untouched by worldly toil, were now marked with several cuts.
But the rabbit lantern he made was indeed exquisite, though no one knew how many failed attempts lay discarded.
Sang Ning snapped out of her thoughts and looked up at him, her expression calm and composed. "No need. I don’t like rabbit lanterns."
Pei Songhan paused, taken aback. "Then forget it."
Sang Ning offered a polite smile. "I’ll take my leave now."
Pei Songhan didn’t insist, nodding simply. "Alright."
With a courteous farewell, Sang Ning turned and walked away.
Pei Songhan watched her retreating figure until a manager approached, handing him bidding documents.
"Young Master Pei, here’s the list and profiles of the companies in this bid. Only three will advance to the second round. Lin Sheng has collaborated with us for years, and Qifeng’s capabilities are solid—they’re keepers. As for the remaining two, Nan Group and Yun’an are similarly qualified..."
Pei Songhan replied indifferently, "Keep Nan Group."
---
Sang Ning grabbed lunch at a random restaurant before hailing a cab back to the office, resuming her work as usual.
Thankfully, her two-month crash course in business had given her enough foundation to keep up. Though the topics were entirely new, the underlying logic was familiar.
Diligent and eager to learn, Sang Ning found her colleagues warm and patient—unsure of her background as a sudden addition to the team, they were happy to guide her. She never felt overwhelmed.
At five in the afternoon, she poured herself a glass of water and glanced at her phone. Ji Yan had bombarded her with twenty gossip-filled messages.
Ji Yan’s relentless chatter no longer fazed her.
Scrolling further, she spotted a new message from He Siyu:
"What time are you off work?"
Sang Ning took a sip of water before replying: "Not sure. Do you need something, President He?"
"Grandma asked me to deliver something to you."
She blinked. Hadn’t the gifts already been sent?
After a moment’s thought, she typed: "Around seven."
"Got it."
Got it? Who was he agreeing with?
Sighing, she pocketed her phone and returned to reviewing the day’s bidding process.
While her coworkers prepared to leave, she stayed behind to study further—she had started late and needed to catch up quickly.
By seven, when Sang Ning stepped out of the office, the sky had darkened.
Her mind felt foggy, stuffed with too much information from the day.
As she reached the roadside and pulled out her phone to call Uncle Zhang, an incoming call interrupted her.
She answered. "Hello?"
"Sang Ning, are you blind?"
"..."
The low voice came from behind her. She turned and saw He Siyu, whom she had just walked past.
He hung up and strode toward her.
"What’s on your mind?" he asked, tone dry. "Walking around like a ghost."
Sang Ning frowned. "Why are you standing here?"
"Should I be kneeling instead?"
"..."
Her eyebrow twitched, but she forced a smile. "That would be improper."
"..."
Yet her expression clearly suggested she wouldn’t mind seeing it.
"Let’s go." He clicked his car key, and the headlights of a nearby vehicle flashed.
Sang Ning followed. "What did Grandma He want you to give me?"
"We’ll talk after dinner."
"Why not now?"
"Because I’m hungry."
"..."
Without another word, He Siyu slid into the driver’s seat. Reluctantly, Sang Ning got in beside him.
With a turn of the steering wheel, the black Bentley merged smoothly into traffic. Casually, he asked, "How was your internship today?"
The question reignited her energy.
"Good! Manager Wang even took me to observe a bidding session. It was my first time seeing something like that—really interesting. He said if we win this bid, I’ll stay on the project. I spent extra time after work studying the proposal."
He Siyu’s brow lifted slightly. "Oh? Which company?"
"Xinghong Trade."
His eyes narrowed. "Isn’t that the Pei family’s business?"
"Yes," Sang Ning nodded. "I even ran into the second young master Pei."
"..."
The smile on He Siyu’s lips froze. His grip on the steering wheel tightened imperceptibly.
Sensing the sudden shift in the car’s atmosphere, Sang Ning turned to him. "What’s wrong?"
He Siyu felt an inexplicable tightness in his chest, but after a brief internal struggle, he swallowed back his irritation.
Forcing a smile, he replied in the mildest tone he could muster, "What a coincidence."
