Chapter 160: Chapter 160

Ji Rui stepped out of the elevator and habitually glanced through the glass partition towards the secretary’s desk. Seeing the familiar dark head through the glass, he inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief, and somewhere deep inside, a string of bubbles named joy fizzed up like a shaken soda from his heart.

In reality, ever since that newspaper article about Luo Yifan and his little secretary came out, Ji Rui had been in a state of unexplainable confusion.

Rationally speaking, he wished she would just resign, so he wouldn’t have to be inexplicably furious every time he saw her, and he wouldn’t get annoyed by watching her flaunt her love, swallowing his irritation.

But the irrational part of him was slightly apprehensive, afraid she would really leave Ji Family to become a rich wife, hence seeing her there made him subconsciously relieved.

As for why he was apprehensive, he blamed it on her outstanding work ability. If she left, where would he find such a dedicated and compatible secretary in a short time?

Ji Rui’s steps became unconsciously light. The little secretary, hearing footsteps, looked up from her seat. Seeing it was him, she stood up, showing a formulaic smile and nodding slightly, "President, good morning."

Ji Rui nodded slightly, feeling a bit displeased in his heart.

Previously, he hadn’t paid attention to what Le Tong looked like, so he never really cared about her expressions or demeanor towards him.

But somewhere along the way, he not only remembered her features and demeanor but also could decipher the changes in her expressions.

When facing Yang Sheng, Zhong Hao, or Luo Yifan, she usually smiled brightly and sincerely. But with him, like now, she only had a superficial polite smile without any genuine joy in her eyes.

Nicely put, it was good manners; bluntly put, she was just dealing with him like wearing a mask.

"If you don’t want to smile, then don’t!"

Ji Rui suddenly got a bit angry, cast her a glare, accepted the stack of documents she handed him, threw out this sentence, and strode into his office, slamming the door behind him.

Le Tong looked at the closed office door with confusion, shook her head helplessly, and sat down.

The President Ji these days seemed increasingly difficult to please. He was her bread and butter; if she didn’t smile at him, should she keep a cold face?

Knowing she couldn’t change anything about Ji Rui, Le Tong only fretted for a few seconds before putting the problem aside.

She had always been an action-oriented person; in her view, instead of endlessly worrying, it was better to concentrate on her own duties and not give President Ji any reason to vent his anger on her.

During lunch, Le Tong went to the cafeteria and sat with the people from the finance department as usual. As soon as she sat down and took a few bites, the phone in her pocket began to ring.

Looking at the display showing "Baobao", Le Tong sneaked a guilty glance around. Not seeing Ji Rui, she silently sighed in relief, gestured with her phone to Aunt Huang and the others, then got up and pushed open the terrace door to go outside.

This small terrace outside the cafeteria used to be a favorite spot for lunch in summer, but with the current low temperatures, naturally, no one wanted to face the chill wind.

Le Tong casually found a chair on the empty terrace to sit on before connecting the call.

"Sister!" Ji Baobao’s soft voice came through, making Le Tong feel like the surrounding temperature rose by a few degrees. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ novel⦿fire.net

"Baobao, did you skip school again today?"

Le Tong wasn’t very clear about how Ji Rui educated his child, but she felt Baobao was much smarter than average kids. It’s likely Ji Rui wouldn’t use conventional methods on Ji Baobao, so perhaps school wasn’t a necessity.

"No, Baobao is calling you from under the blanket at kindergarten!"

Ji Baobao’s voice, holding back laughter, allowed Le Tong to easily imagine the little ghost sneaking a call from under the covers.

Unconsciously, Le Tong’s lips curled up, "Tsk, Baobao is not being good!"

"No, Baobao is very good! Using a blanket to not disturb the other kids napping."

Ji Baobao’s voice lowered even further, showing clear caution.

"Alright, what does Baobao want to talk to Sister about? Sister has to work, and Baobao needs to nap, so we can only chat for five sentences." Le Tong found it hard to resist Ji Baobao, yet she adhered to her principles.

"Sister, Baobao can’t sleep..." Ji Baobao whined softly.

"Four sentences left!" Le Tong started counting down, unfazed.

"Sister... Baobao misses you..." Ji Baobao tried charming her with a melodious Taiwanese accent.

"Three left!" Le Tong was adamant, believing that if she indulged Ji Baobao today, this little guy would surely call every day during nap time in the future.

"Sister, you’re so mean! Alright, Baobao really misses you, when will you play with Baobao?"

Ji Baobao, realizing the limited chances, wisely got to the point.

"Sister has been busy lately, working overtime a lot, maybe later!"

Le Tong wasn’t unwilling to spend time with Ji Baobao, but mindful of his status as the Crown Prince, she couldn’t get too close.

This was the line Le Tong set for herself regarding Ji Baobao.

There was a brief silence from Ji Baobao’s side, seemingly considering what request Le Tong might agree to.

Thinking he was upset, Le Tong realized her tone had been too harsh earlier and softened her voice to suggest, "Baobao, you can take the kitty for a play outside. Isn’t there a park near your house? Taking it out to enjoy some sun is nice too."

"Sister, can Baobao call you tonight?" Ji Baobao, seemingly ignoring the suggestion, asked pitifully.

This request, Le Tong couldn’t refuse. She had no excuse to decline.

"If Baobao behaves well, then yes, but not too late."

"Baobao will nap right now, remember to answer the phone, Sister!"

"Sister, give Baobao a kiss!" The little guy on the other end cheekily insisted.

Le Tong had a premonition she was indeed tangled with this ghost spirit of Ji Baobao, though she hadn’t seriously thought about why he latched onto her.

"Sister..." Ji Baobao coaxed in a soft voice.

Le Tong took a deep breath, feeling like a fool for arguing with a five-year-old.

She softly kissed towards the phone and quickly heard Ji Baobao reciprocate loudly, then happily bid farewell, "Sister, good afternoon!"