Chapter 394: What Was Going On With His Tone?
Qi Chenglin and Ruan Danchen had initially planned to register for their marriage during working hours but Qi Chenglin received an unexpected call last night and had to depart to H City in haste.
Qi Youxuan experienced the greatest disappointment in this matter. They would be declared as an official family after his parents received the marriage certificate, but Qi Chenglin had to go outstation for a business trip unexpectedly.
Qi Youxuan asked when they were leaving the house together in the morning, "Dad, when are you coming back?"
"Thursday, I guess. I'll try my best to return as soon as possible. I want to marry my wife earlier too," Qi Chenglin glanced at Ruan Danchen and held her hand.
Ruan Danchen recalled the moment when Qi Chenglin went on a business trip last time; Qi Youxuan and her were living in her small rented apartment.
She liked Qi Chenglin at that time but due to the fact that they just started a relationship, she did not dare express her emotions fully even though she missed him.
However, it felt different this time as Qi Chenglin was going on a business trip.
She started to miss him before he even left the house.
"How I wish that you can return home earlier too. It'd be best if you can leave in the morning and return home at night just like the normal working schedule, but don't exhaust yourself when you're outside, alright? Don't be anxious and rush back home if it can't be settled quickly, Youxuan and I will be good at home. Take care of yourself, don't smoke too much when you're tired, remember to eat on schedule, and don't drink too much alcohol." Ruan Danchen gave his hand a gentle squeeze and stared at his handsome face, reluctant to let him go.
Qi Chenglin decreased his smoking frequency since they embarked on their relationship. Still, he would smoke a little if he felt exhausted at work.
Ruan Danchen could detect the faint cigarette smell lingering in his office whenever she came to find him every afternoon.
Qi Chenglin agreed on her every instruction, and it was a rare sight for Qi Youxuan to not insist Ruan Danchen accompany him in the back of the car.
Thus, Ruan Danchen sat in the passenger seat, turning her head to look at Qi Chenglin from time to time.
When the traffic light turned red, Qi Chenglin reached out to her and stroked her hair to the side, caressing her delicate cheek gently with his long, slender fingers. Her face turned red wherever Qi Chenglin touched it, as though his fingers had paint on them.
He grabbed her hand too from time to time.
Qi Youxuan, who was sitting on the back of the car, rolled his eyes at the sight of his parents showing affection publicly in his presence. He thus pretended to have fallen asleep.
They sent Qi Youxuan to Jade Field Park before Qi Chenglin sent Ruan Danchen to Qilin.
Qi Chenglin stopped the car at Qilin's main entrance instead of going into the carpark, calling Xiao Yang afterward and informed him to fetch him to the airport.
Since Xiao Yang had not arrived yet, Ruan Danchen unfastened her seatbelt and turned to face Qi Chenglin, taking his hand with her.
She lowered her gaze to his elegant hand; the veins were especially prominent on the back of his fair-skinned hand. His finger pulp was soft and she could easily identify the phalanges.
Her thumb that rested on the back of his hand started moving along his long, slender finger, feeling its distinctive phalanges structures. She could not help but gave his finger joints a gentle squeeze.
Ruan Danchen was all too reluctant to let Qi Chenglin leave her side for a business trip.
Qi Chenglin flexed his fingers and brought her hand into his palm. "Don't want me to go?"
Ruan Danchen admitted openly without pretending to be coy. "I'm already missing you even before you go; I don't know how badly I'll miss you when you're truly gone."
She then leaned forward and kissed him on the lips.
Qi Chenglin felt touched and his long arms encircled her tightly. When she wanted to back off from him, he followed up closely and kissed her, covering her mouth with his and started sucking on it. He pressed his tongue into her and delved inside her mouth, wantonly tasting her every scent.
Ruan Danchen kept backing off due to his constant pressure on her, and he would feel powerless if he was going to lean further forward, so he lifted her onto his thighs without hesitation. Unconsciously, her back was pressed against the steering wheel.
However, none of them noticed it as they were immersed in a euphoric bliss right now. Qi Chenglin merely wanted to exert more pressure on her as it was not satisfying enough to just holding her in his embosom. In the end, due to the intense pressure—
'Beep!'
His car let out a loud horn sound all of a sudden, which gave Ruan Danchen quite a shock. The sudden noise also drew the attention of the staff who came for work in the morning. When they noticed that the sound came from the general manager's car, they became curious. Why did he press the car horn?
Ruan Danchen experienced palpitations due to the sudden shock. Her face was flushed red and even her lips were swollen after Qi Chenglin sucked on them.
Her lips felt numb and swollen even after she sucked on her lips in embarrassment.
Her mind was in a chaotic mess under Qi Chenglin's burning gaze. Her gaze started to drift away and suddenly, she noticed Xiao Yang standing outside the car with his back toward them. She did not know when he arrived.
"..." Ruan Danchen felt utterly embarrassed at that moment.
Even though Qi Chenglin's car windows were heavily tinted, one could still visualize the car's interior if they were close enough to the window. She was unsure what Xiao Yang had noticed since his arrival.
Ruan Danchen pushed Qi Chenglin away and asked him to put her down quickly.
Ruan Danchen's outfit was a mess after all the smooching so Qi Chenglin did not let her go immediately and started tidying her outfit instead. She had taken off her scarf when she entered the car as it grew warmer once the car heater was turned on.
Qi Chenglin took Ruan Danchen's scarf back and wrapped it around her neck. It was beneficial for her to put the scarf on since she could use it to hide her face and embarrassment when she got off the car later.
After Qi Chenglin tidied Ruan Danchen's outfit, he put her back on the passenger seat.
"Let me know when you got off the plane," Ruan Danchen said quickly in fear that she might hold up too much of his time. Moreover, it would be embarrassing to let Xiao Yang stand too long in a cold environment.
She lifted her head and stared at Qi Chenglin again. The disadvantage of Qi Chenglin's handsomeness was that one would not get enough of it and would feel reluctant to let it disappear. She kissed him again quickly before instantly getting off the car afterward.
Her action was so fast that Qi Chenglin could not pull her back in time and kiss her aggressively; a pity for Qi Chenglin.
Ruan Danchen greeted Xiao Yang hastily before covering her reddened face with her scarf and ran into the company.
Qi Chenglin exited the car and entered the back seat, giving the driver seat to Xiao Yang.
...
...
Ruan Danchen received a lot of warm blessings upon entering the office, and even Manager Zou was acting unprecedented as he did not instruct the staff to return to their seats and start working. Instead, Manager Zou followed the crowd and surrounded Ruan Danchen to congratulate her.
"Danchen, since your relationship with the general manager went public and it was great news too, it was a lucky charm for the design department! Maybe the general manager could treat us dinner as a celebration tonight?" Zhang Jitong leaned against the table with one hand supporting his body on the table. His legs were crossed as his right leg bent slightly with his toes slanting towards the left of his left foot.
She would not mind to treat them dinner if Qi Chenglin did not go on a business trip, and she did not want to disappoint her colleagues.
However, Qi Chenglin went on a business trip now, so she had no choice but to answer, "He went on a business trip this morning."
Chen Siyu's expression became interesting as she patted her chest lightly and lifted her head slightly. "You knew the general manager so well and was fully aware of his whereabouts. What kind of sweet and happy feeling is this?"
Ruan Danchen realized that these colleagues were not so bad after all, especially when they worked together for quite some time and after the replies these colleagues gave on her social media last night. The office now was in peace and quiet after Yao Jingfei resigned.
They managed official business affairs strictly, and even when there were small mistakes or arguments at work, they remained friendly, chatting and joking with each other after official business time was over. This was a good atmosphere in a company.
Perhaps it was due to the fact that she was in a relationship with Qi Chenglin. Naturally, they would treat Ruan Danchen kindly, but she felt more comfortable socializing with her colleagues here than when she was working in Chengshi.
She smiled at their playful teases towards her without feeling even the slightest discomfort. She then answered, "I'll treat you guys for dinner since he isn't here tonight, but I'll need to bring Youxuan along."
To be honest, Qi Youxuan could stay overnight at Jade Field Park though he obviously had no intention of doing so. Inevitably, it would be too late when she was done with the dinner celebration with her colleagues tonight—approximately eight or nine o'clock at the earliest. Qi Youxuan would most probably be asleep when she returned to Jade Field Park afterward. Even so, she could not really wake the child up and bring him back home.
Even though the staff in Qilin had never seen Qi Youxuan's face, they knew his name well enough. Senior Du and Chen Siyu recalled the fact that they saw Qi Youxuan before when they were going on a business trip, which most probably meant that Ruan Danchen was already in a relationship with Qi Chenglin at that time.
"Of course, no problem." Senior Du nodded. It was alright to bring a child along, and besides, that was the general manager's son.
The crowd went back to their stations for work after official business time had started. Ruan Danchen figured Xiao Yang was still driving towards the airport at this hour so she called Qi Chenglin directly instead of giving Xiao Yang a call.
"Miss me so soon?" Qi Chenglin said immediately after picking up the call.
"..." Ruan Danchen purposely went to a corner of the corridor as she felt too embarrassed to make the phone call in the office. Moreover, there were only a few passers-by in the corridor as almost all the staff were working in their respective stations.
"You expressed our affections a little too much last night, so my colleagues in the design department wants you to treat them a meal today. I told them I'll treat them dinner tonight since you went on a business trip, right? I was thinking of asking Xiao Yang to fetch Youxuan and I later at night, and we can go back home together after dinner too."
"Alright, have you chosen a place to dine in? Dynasty, Shengyue, or Red Roof?" Qi Chenglin asked.
"I think I'll choose Shengyue." Ruan Danchen felt that Dynasty and Red Roof were too high-class for her to treat her colleagues to dinner; they might think that she was trying to show off.
Moreover, they would usually choose Shengyue to discuss business projects or treat their clients a meal, so they should feel more relaxed since they were familiar with that place.
"Shengyue, then. I'll call Shengyue later and let them charge the bill on my account. Consider it my treat to your colleagues." Qi Chenglin smiled faintly with a gentle gaze.
Ruan Danchen agreed to it without feeling embarrassed since the staff would feel happier if they knew Qi Chenglin was the one treating them to a meal.
"You're starting to have an imposing manner as the General Manager Qi's wife." Qi Chenglin grinned.
Ruan Danchen continued the conversation for a while with a reddened face, but she did not dare speak for too long since she had a lot more to worry about now that her relationship with Qi Chenglin went public.
The others would keep everything to themselves even if they felt exasperated toward Ruan Danchen due to her current identity and status difference, which was exactly why she did not dare to demand special privileges with her current identity.
It was good enough that the cadre in Qilin treated her kindly as usual, but she would not perform her job carelessly.
Ruan Danchen thus bade Qi Chenglin goodbye hastily before hanging up the phone and returned to her seat to continue her work.
Approximately two hours later, she received Qi Chenglin's text message stating that he was boarding the plane now.
[Okay.] Ruan Danchen replied.
It required two and a half hours from B City to H City by flight. It was a quarter past one in the afternoon—lunch hour—when Ruan Danchen returned to the office after lunch with her colleagues and was currently lying down on her table.
Jiang Yuan was on the top floor but she did not go up since Qi Chenglin was not in the office.
Her phone rang when she was in deep slumber in her seat.
Ruan Danchen noticed that the call was from Qi Chenglin so she accepted it quickly. "You arrived?"
"Yes, just got off the plane." Qi Chenglin felt quite irritated during the flight initially, but his mood improved after hearing Ruan Danchen's voice.
He could not wait to buy the flight ticket back to B City immediately after he settled all business issues quickly.
"Have you had lunch on the plane?" Ruan Danchen asked.
Ruan Danchen initially wanted to prepare lunch for Qi Chenglin to eat on the plane, but she rejected her own thought since it would be harmful for him to consume a cold lunch due to his gastric issue. Moreover, he bought a first-class plane ticket; the food prepared should be better than in economy class.
"Yes, I ate even though it didn't taste good," Qi Chenglin replied honestly.
The manager from the sales department walking with Qi Chenglin backed off a little and gazed at his subordinates. When he saw the astonished look on their faces as well, he felt better instantly.
However, what was going on with Qi Chenglin's tone, sounding like an honest child reporting to his parents that he was being a good boy today?
Ruan Danchen felt happy if Qi Chenglin could have his meals on time. She lifted her head to take a look at the surroundings. Some of her colleagues were playing cards around a table, two of her male colleagues were playing ping pong in a glass cubicle just behind the design department, and a few other colleagues were surfing the Internet. None of them noticed what she was doing at the moment.
Ruan Danchen then made a kissing voice on the phone. "Mwah, this is your reward."
A wide grin broke across Qi Chenglin's face immediately. Fortunately, the manager from the sales department and his subordinates were walking behind Qi Chenglin, else they would tremble with astonishment after noticing the smile on his face.
"Reward me with something more realistic when I'm back home," Qi Chenglin said lightly. His tone was deep and husky which sounded especially attractive.
Those passers-by could not refrain from giving Qi Chenglin a stare when they heard his soft and attractive voice which brought a sense of indecent jokes.
Men's reaction was normal, but women would melt when they heard his mellow voice. When they turned around and stared at his handsome face, they were all frozen to the spot. They envied the lady on the other line and sighed at the thought that they were not the lucky one to be with such a handsome man.
There were even tomboys who were willing to support his whole life based on his face alone!
Naturally, Qi Chenglin ignored his surroundings since he was chatting with Ruan Danchen attentively all this while with a warm smile on his face.
He thought that Ruan Danchen would feel embarrassed after hearing his statement initially, but her soft and naughty voice traveled to his ears unexpectedly. "Alright, I'll give you a reward when you're back."
Qi Chenglin was stunned, unsure whether what he heard was 'reward' or 's*x' 1.[1]
Qi Chenglin remained silent for quite a while now, which made Ruan Danchen happy since she finally succeeded in flirting with this man. She only felt slightly regretful that she could not witness his shocked expression.
However, she heard Qi Chenglin's playful tease momentarily, "I'll workout with you when I'm back home. I'll even allow you to ride on top of me the whole night."
Initially, Ruan Danchen was drinking a glass of water happily, but after hearing his statement, she nearly choked and fought the urge to vomit.
The manager from the sales department was not too far behind Qi Chenglin, but he got shocked upon hearing Qi Chenglin's tease and quickly backed off further from him.
It was best not to listen to the lovers' prattle!
The statement made by the general manager was too unorthodox and inharmonious with his usual self.
Qi Chenglin reached the baggage reclaim area unwittingly after chatting with Ruan Danchen for a while.
Qi Chenglin remained on the phone as the manager from the sales department reclaimed his baggage naturally without the need for him to do it personally.
Qi Chenglin then pulled his luggage and walked toward the exit. When he saw the person responsible to pick him up, he then bade Ruan Danchen goodbye before hanging up.
The general manager from the other party brought his chauffeur and assistant to welcome them personally. Qi Chenglin returned to his usual self—stern, restrained and sexually continent—when he started chatting with the other parties after hanging up the call, which made the manager from the sales department and his subordinates applauded deep down.
Footnotes:
Ch 394 Footnote 1
Reward and sex were pronounced as 'Shang' in Chinese hence Qi Chenglin was unsure what Ruan Danchen had mentioned.