Chapter 139: Chapter 139

"Mm. I’ll hang up then. I’ll call you when I’m about to leave."

Soon, the call ended. Hua Xiaomo let out a shallow sigh as she hung up the landline.

Just then, Qi Longbing pushed the door open and walked in. "Xiao Mo, come here and input these into the computer."

"Oh." Hua Xiaomo quickly rose, taking the documents from his hand. She then swiftly returned to her seat and diligently began typing up the documents.

Qi Longbing stood up, poured himself a coffee, then walked over to her desk and perched on the edge of it.

Watching her unwavering gaze fixed on the computer screen, he chuckled, "You don’t have to work like a robot. In my office, it’s just the two of us. You can joke and laugh with me; no one will criticize you."

"I know," Hua Xiaomo responded mechanically.

She couldn’t be bothered to decipher his words just then. However, his final comment about joking and laughing struck her as deeply ironic.

She vividly remembered how, not long ago, he had furiously berated her for eating an egg in the office when she was extremely hungry. And here he was now, suggesting they could joke and laugh together? How ironic!

"Good girl..." Qi Longbing murmured contentedly, sipping his coffee. "By the way, what would you like for lunch? Shall we go together?"

Just then, the phone on her desk rang.

Without thinking, Qi Longbing reached to answer it. Hua Xiaomo’s heart lurched. Fearing it might be a certain someone, her eyes instinctively darted to his hand. At that moment, her nerves were on edge; an instinct told her she absolutely couldn’t let Qi Longbing find out who was calling. More importantly, she couldn’t let Brother Long know she was working at the Qi family company.

Instantly, Hua Xiaomo’s hand covered Qi Longbing’s, stopping him from picking up the phone. Still, the sensation of her slender hand covering his wasn’t entirely unpleasant...

A faint, enigmatic smile touched Qi Longbing’s lips, though he didn’t dwell on who the caller might be.

As the phone rang again, Hua Xiaomo said to him, her pretty face tense, "President Qi, I’ll get it."

Just as Qi Longbing was about to say something, his own phone rang. Qi Longbing swiftly withdrew his hand, flashed her a charming smile, and stepped aside to answer his own call.

Hua Xiaomo finally let out a sigh of relief and picked up the external line on her desk. "Hello?"

"Xiao Mo, I have your number now, so let’s meet at the place you mentioned for lunch," Long Shangxuan said quickly.

"Mm," Hua Xiaomo softly acknowledged before hanging up. An unconscious softness touched her features as she gazed at the phone, momentarily lost in thought.

But as she lifted her head, she met a pair of deep, inscrutable, and stunningly handsome eyes.

"Who was that?" Qi Longbing asked, an exquisite eyebrow arched.

"It was... the lunch order. I’ve ordered lunch for tomorrow and the day after," Hua Xiaomo quickly replied.

Qi Longbing looked at her and burst out laughing. "So, you really can’t stomach the food in the staff canteen, can you?"

"..." Hua Xiaomo offered a noncommittal smile and remained silent. She quickly straightened her shoulders and resumed typing.

Qi Longbing watched her, a quiet smile on his face, saying nothing. But he had clearly seen the tenderness on her face moments ago—a tenderness not meant for him.

Soon, it was lunchtime.

"Xiao Mo, stop working. Let’s go have lunch," Qi Longbing approached her desk and said considerately.

Hua Xiaomo looked at him and smiled. "President Qi, you go ahead. I just have a little more to do."

Qi Longbing observed her determined expression, a smile touching his handsome face, though a cunning glint remained hidden deep in his eyes.

"Alright, then. Don’t work too late, or I’ll worry. I’ll have Ms. Lin bring you a boxed lunch later," Qi Longbing said.

"Thank you, President Qi," Hua Xiaomo replied with a perfunctory smile, saying nothing further.

This sense of distance felt unbridgeable. The stilted nature of their conversation also made Qi Longbing uncomfortable, yet he merely offered a faint smile and said no more. He put his hands into his pockets and quickly exited the office.

Only after Qi Longbing had left did Hua Xiaomo let out a long sigh.

My goodness, keeping up appearances is really exhausting! Hua Xiaomo let her forced smile drop. She quickly retrieved her bag from her locker, left the office, and took the elevator down.

As she exited the Qi Imperial Court building, she deliberately glanced back and, sure enough, spotted Yu Bao tailing her.

Once Yu Bao saw she had noticed him, he no longer bothered to conceal himself.

Hua Xiaomo walked over to him, a smile that didn’t reach her eyes on her face. "Mr. Yu, fancy meeting you here!"

"Heh! Hua Xiaomo, where are you off to?" Yu Bao asked, feigning ignorance.

"It’s noon, so of course, I’m going to lunch! Want to join me?" Hua Xiaomo asked with a smile.

"No need, I’ve already eaten," Yu Bao answered.

"You’ve eaten... then don’t go looking for trouble when you’ve got nothing better to do!" Hua Xiaomo’s tone suddenly sharpened. She dropped all pretense of politeness.

To be honest, she was really annoyed at being followed! It felt as if Qi Longbing’s eyes were constantly on her, leaving her with no personal space whatsoever.

Yu Bao’s expression stiffened. "Hua Xiaomo, what do you mean by that?"

"Nothing much. I just don’t want to strain our relationship, understand? If you do, then you should know what to do," Hua Xiaomo said. Without paying him any more attention, she quickly hurried away in another direction.

Yu Bao watched her retreating figure, stood rooted to the spot for a long moment, then finally took out his phone and dialed a number.

"President Qi, she’s gone."

The line was silent for a good while before a voice responded, "Let her go."

"President Qi, there’s something else. Regarding Brother Lan’s men, I’ve located them. They’re gang leaders in the Fuxing Street area. What are your instructions?"

Qi Longbing, a cigarette dangling from his lips, smiled faintly. His voice was soft and measured, "Leave one alive, but cripple a leg."

In a luxurious private dining room, a table laden with exquisite dishes sat largely untouched. A certain president was lounging on a plush sofa, legs crossed, leisurely blowing smoke rings towards the ceiling...

A thoughtful expression settled on Qi Longbing’s features, making his handsome face appear even more icily beautiful. Nᴇw ɴovel chaptᴇrs are published on 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝✶𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮✶𝓷𝓮𝓽

Qi Longbing’s smile was utterly demonic, his blue eyes shimmering with a brilliant light. You want to play? Fine, let’s play...

「At the McDonald’s in the Tonghua Street Xingda Mall.」

Hua Xiaomo arrived quickly. Unsurprisingly, Long Shangxuan wasn’t there yet.

Hua Xiaomo also took the opportunity to visit Zhou Xiyang’s office and told him she suspected Qi Longbing had seen the contents of the disc.

"Zhou Xiyang, do you have any other tricks up your sleeve?" Hua Xiaomo asked. The thought of Qi Longbing’s bewitching face made her truly want to find a way to completely unsettle him!