Chapter 397: A Blind Date in Disguise

Ah, was this man trying to keep her within his sight twenty-four seven?

"I'd love to have you tethered to me all the time." Qi Chenglin nodded solemnly. "Sigh, aren't I just trying to pay the bill for you all?"

"Please don't add pressure to my colleagues; it wasn't easy for them to finally treat me like a normal colleague. I enjoy being able to laugh and joke with them," Ruan Danchen revealed.

Judging from her tone, Qi Chenglin felt like Ruan Danchen was complaining about him. Melancholically, he grumbled, "Fine, I won't bug you anymore."

Ruan Danchen could not help but chuckle. "Good boy!"

"..."

Qi Chenglin hung up as he did not know what to reply. He was quite confused about how he felt about it too. Although he knew that her 'good boy' was just to tease him, somehow, he still felt a little downhearted.

Ruan Danchen opened her chat with Chen Siyu and asked her where they were going for lunch.

[Chen Siyu: You're not eating with General Manager today?]

[Ruan Danchen: He has a client to entertain today. You guys must take me in today. If you leave me alone here, I'll be so lonely.]

[Chen Siyu: Alright, alright, stop acting so pitiful. You can join up for lunch.]

Ruan Danchen closed the chat with a smile. When lunchtime arrived, Ruan Danchen followed Chen Siyu and the others to lunch. When they reached the restaurant, Ruan Danchen read the restaurant's name and her lips twitched. "We're eating here?"

"Yeah. I spent quite a lot of money when I treated my clients to lunch here, so the restaurant gave me a hundred yuan voucher, expiring in two days. We can all save a ton of money by eating here," Chen Siyu explained. She grabbed Ruan Danchen's arm. "Come on, let's go."

Ruan Danchen nodded and kept silent. She followed Chen Siyu and the others into the restaurant.

Due to its location being right across Qilin, many employees chose to eat there. Business was exceptionally well during lunchtime.

Chen Siyu found a table at a corner of the restaurant, an area that was relatively private. Even so, Ruan Danchen was quite anxious that they would run into Qi Chenglin. She was worried that Qi Chenglin would think she was here because she could not bear being apart from him, even though she told him she would not come here; that would be a huge misunderstanding. It would inflate his ego by many folds.

Luckily, Qi Chenglin had come earlier and was already in a private room so she did not run into him.

It was just the four girls so they merely ordered four dishes and a soup.

Halfway through lunch, Ruan Danchen went to the restroom. On the way there, she heard someone calling from behind. "Danchen?"

Ruan Danchen was staggered. She turned around to see Chang Jingqiu striding toward her.

She was wearing brown ankle boots and light blue stretchy skinny jeans, making her legs look exceedingly long and slender. Additionally, the loosely-fitted cape-style sweater she wore also made her look remarkably slim.

Chang Jingqiu was not tall, standing at only a hundred and sixty centimeters; she was a lot shorter than Ruan Danchen.

However, Ruan Danchen typically wore flats, so Chang Jingqiu looked like she was at Ruan Danchen's height when she strode over in her heeled ankle boots.

Ruan Danchen watched her approach her with an impassive expression. Chang Jingqiu was the kind of woman who could dress herself up in a way that made her petite build look tall and slender. Although she was a hundred and sixty centimeters tall, her clothes made her look like she was a hundred and seventy centimeters in height.

From the way she walked, it was clear that she was a precious daughter from a high-status family. Her proud struts attracted a lot of attention.

"I saw you from behind just now, but I wasn't sure if it were you." Chang Jingqiu approached her, smiling. Ruan Danchen glanced at the corridor she came from; there were a few private rooms along that corridor. Chang Jingqiu continued, "I just came out to use the washroom. I didn't expect I'll run into you."

After hearing that, Ruan Danchen entered the washroom with her.

"Lately, we seem to be running into each other a lot. Must be fate," Cheng Jingqiu pointed out, giggling.

"It is quite a coincidence," Ruan Danchen stated coldly. She did not know her well, so she did not have much to say to her.

Moreover, when it came to Chang Jingqiu, she was not interested in engaging in any kind of conversation with her, even if it were just to be polite.

"Hehe," Chang Jingqiu chuckled. "What brings you here? Are you meeting a client?"

"My company is just around the corner," Ruan Danchen answered.

"Huh? I heard that you are working in Chengshi. Did you switch companies?" Cheng Jingqiu inquired curiously.

"Yeah, Qilin," Ruan Danchen stated simply. She was not interested in knowing more about Chang Jingqiu's life and did not want her to pry into her life either.

"Qilin?" Chang Jingqiu widened her eyes in astonishment. She grinned from ear-to-ear.

Ruan Danchen had always felt that Chang Jingqiu did not like her much, so she was utterly confused by why Chang Jingqiu was so delighted to hear that.

"Wow, you are amazing. I heard that it's awfully tough to get into Qilin as the whole company is full of elites. I heard that if anyone who has worked at Qilin for a few years decides to find another job, every company would be scrambling to hire them. Your value doubles instantly," Chang Jingqiu bubbled, her eyes sparkled with joy. Ruan Danchen truly could not wrap her head around why she was so exhilarated. Chang Jingqiu even seemed proud and honored.

Ruan Danchen did not have the guts to tell her that she entered the company through a backdoor. Thus, she did not dare to boast about it but merely nodded and smiled.

After entering the washroom, Ruan Danchen went into a stall. Chang Jingqiu was there to touch up her makeup.

When Ruan Danchen came out, she was still staring in the mirror, putting on lipstick.

Ruan Danchen went to wash her hands. Standing beside Chang Jingqiu, she asked out of courtesy, "What about you? Are you here on a job?"

"No." Chang Jingqiu's face lit up as if she had been waiting all day for Ruan Danchen to ask that question. "My uncle is here to discuss business with a man and in the meantime, asked me to tag along to introduce me to him."

Ruan Danchen understood what she was implying. "Oh, a blind date."

This was clearly a blind date in disguise. The aim was not explicitly stated to avoid awkwardness between the two parties. It was also used when one was afraid the other would reject a blind date, and so used a business meeting as an excuse to introduce the two to each other.

Ruan Danchen noticed that Chang Jingqiu was already blushing. Evidently, she did not feel awkward about the blind date at all. On the contrary, she could barely hide her delight. Thus, Ruan Danchen pointed out, "You sure seem to be pleased with the guy."

"It's quite rare to come across guys as good as him nowadays." Chang Jingqiu kept her lipstick in her bag and headed out.

Ruan Danchen suddenly felt that something was wrong, but she could not put her finger on it and the feeling faded away quickly. While her mind was still pondering on that ominous feeling, she did not notice Chang Jingqiu smiling at her radiantly.

"This is my stop." Chang Jingqiu stopped in front of a private room, pointing at it. "I'll head in first. I'll call you out for lunch one day."

Ruan Danchen agreed out of politeness; she knew that Chang Jingqiu only said that out of politeness too.

Nowadays, saying 'I'll call you out for lunch one day' was no different than saying 'goodbye'.

Chang Jingqiu opened the door and entered. Subconsciously, Ruan Danchen peeked inside. She saw a middle-aged man sitting in the position facing the door—it must be her uncle. There was another man facing away from her though Ruan Danchen could not see his face.

However, just from his back, Ruan Danchen knew exactly who it was. She squinted her eyes and her lips twitched. Even so, she did not say a word. When leaving, she caught a glance of Chang Jingqiu sitting down beside her uncle.

Ruan Danchen returned to her seat and continued eating. She was not the least bit upset—that was how much she trusted him.

...

Chang Jingqiu returned to her seat. Chang Zhiyuan was laughing as he revealed, "I love to collaborate with straightforward people like you the most, General Manager Qi. We've always worked so well together—I hope we can continue working together happily in the future."

Qi Chenglin put on a faint smile but did not show any kind of expression.

Chang Jingqiu turned to look at his indifferent expression. His devilishly attractive face made her heart race.

She had always thought such perfect men only existed in novels, but after seeing Qi Chenglin, that was the adjective that first appeared in her mind. Nothing else described him as well as that.

She could not help but imagine how tantalizing he must have been when he was younger.

He looked nothing like a man who had a seven-year-old son, and even if he was walking around with his son, it would not diminish his attractiveness in any way. He was so alluring and bewitching that women would willingly disregard the fact that he had a son that old and become the boy's stepmom just to be with him.

After the meal, they started to chat. Chang Zhiyuan took out a pack of cigarettes and lit one for Qi Chenglin.

Qi Chenglin did not decline and did not reject out of courtesy either. He sat straight on his seat, watching Chang Zhiyuan lighting the cigarette for him with a blank expression, despite him being the elder and was old enough to be his father.

Chang Jingqiu did not dwell much on that either. She saw it merely as an old eunuch serving the emperor.

Although her uncle had to humble himself so much, she was not irritated at all.

Her gaze fell from his enticing eyes and brows to his long and bony fingers. She watched as he took the cigarette between his slender fingers and rested his palm on the table. He tapped the cigarette with his long fingers—the ashes fell.

Any man knew how to do this, but when Qi Chenglin did it, the action became especially bewitching.

He was sitting with his back straight yet he gave off a lazy and relaxed impression. Cheng Jingqiu thought that no matter what he did, she would still like him.

Qi Chenglin took a puff at the cigarette and blew out a white cloud. Cheng Zhiyuan laughed again and revealed, "General Manager Qi, Jingqiu is now a journalist working for a financial newspaper. I know that you don't do many interviews, but there are many journalists who would love to interview you. General Manager Qi, could you help out Jingqiu with this?"

Qi Chenglin glanced at Chang Jingqiu. Chang Jingqiu returned his gaze in a dignified manner. She kept a faint smile on her face.

Qi Chenglin squinted his eyes and put out his cigarette. This gave Chang Zhiyuan quite a shock; he had only taken one puff of the cigarette after all.

Noticing Chang Zhiyuan's stunned reaction, Qi Chenglin smiled tenderly and explained, "I just remembered that I promised my fiancée I won't smoke when not under too much stress. I took a puff out of habit but when I remembered her words, I stopped."

Hearing that Qi Chenglin had a fiancée and not merely a girlfriend, the smiles on Chang Zhiyuan and Chang Jingqiu's faces melted away. How could they not know that he had a fiancée?

Qi Chenglin and Ruan Danchen did not keep their engagement a secret. Even so, they did not announce it to the world either, so it was no wonder not many knew about it. They wanted things to just progress naturally.

Chang Zhiyuan chuckled awkwardly. "Haha, I see. I've never heard that you have a fiancée, General Manager Qi."

"She has already met my family. It's just that we didn't go out of our way to publicize it. But of course, the wedding must be grand," explained Qi Chenglin patiently.

Chang Zhiyuan wanted to inquire about Qi Chenglin's fiancée; he was quite doubtful about her existence. He had indeed come with the intention of introducing Chang Jingqiu to him.

Chang Jingqiu was his niece. Both her parents had passed away when she was just a child, so her mother's family, the Chang family, brought her in. Due to this unfortunate event, everyone in the family pampered her dearly, especially Grandmother Chang. She would fulfill every single one of Chang Jingqiu's requests, and she pampered her more than any of her other grandchildren.

As for Chang Zhiyuan, he was very close to his sister that passed away and so treated Chang Jingqiu as his own daughter.

Right now, Chang Zhiyuan was suspicious that Qi Chenglin was only making up the fact that he had a fiancée as an excuse. Nonetheless, before Chang Zhiyuan could question him about it, Qi Chenglin announced, "Miss Chang, if you'd like to interview me, please book an appointment with my assistant."

Before Chang Jingqiu could rejoice, she saw Qi Chenglin look at his wristwatch.

Therefore, Chang Zhiyuan ended that afternoon's blind date in disguise.

...

Chen Siyu was drinking her soup. Just as she raised her head to talk to Ruan Danchen, she caught a glimpse of Qi Chenglin, Chang Zhiyuan, and Cheng Jingqiu walking toward the front door. "Danchen, isn't that the general manager?"

They were seated at the extreme corner of the restaurant and from there, they could see people entering and exiting the restaurant clearly. On the other hand, it was fairly difficult for people at the front door to see their table.

Ruan Danchen turned her head back, not fearful of Qi Chenglin spotting her anymore. Even so, none of the three noticed her.

She did not know if it was on purpose or not, but Chang Jingqiu was walking right beside Qi Chenglin.

Although she was wearing heeled shoes to add on to her hundred and sixty-centimeter height, she still appeared like a petite little girl next to Qi Chenglin. The height difference between them made them look like a cute couple. Chang Jingqiu's gaze was tilted down slightly. She sauntered delicately beside Qi Chenglin, her lips curled up into a faint smile.

In the eyes of those who did not know the full story, the two of them appeared like a perfect couple who complemented each other flawlessly.

Chen Siyu furrowed her brows. "I don't think that woman harbors good intentions. Why is she walking so close to the general manager? Didn't he say he's meeting a client? Don't tell me he got set up on a blind date."

"Mm, it sure does seem like a blind date." Ruan Danchen chuckled and continued drinking her soup.

"Ah, why aren't you panicking? Hurry up and go up to him. Show her that he's yours. Let her know that you're his girlfriend and she should stop dreaming," Chen Siyu blabbered. "That woman is looking at him all wrong. She's even acting cute in front of him. It's clear that she has completely fallen for him."

Chen Siyu was not exaggerating, even Ruan Danchen could tell. Although Chang Jingqiu was restraining herself, it was still clear as day that she had feelings for Qi Chenglin.

Ruan Danchen was a little upset but she was not anxious. She turned back around and continued drinking her soup. "What's there to be panicking about? He won't fall for her anyway. I trust him. He was still single and many women were trying to pursue him even before I met him, but he didn't fall for any of them. After we got together, he became even more distant toward other girls. Look at him now; he has sunglasses on and his expression is cold as ice. He barely even paid attention to that lady. That lady might be passionate toward him but he knows what boundaries shouldn't be crossed."

Chen Siyu finally started to understand why Qi Chenglin would fall for Ruan Danchen.

She could think logically and was reasonable. Men do not like women who pester them about every little thing, put them on a tight leash and explode with jealousy at the most trifling hints that another woman is interested in their men. Even so, that was inevitable when a woman falls deeply in love.

The more they cared, the more they would lose control.

Qi Chenglin was such a desirable man, and any other woman would have been awfully distressed to see him walking with another woman. When a man was too desirable, there would be women trying to pursue him even without him making a move. Women would be charmed by him unintentionally. If it were any other woman, she would have gone berserk on Qi Chenglin if he were just an inch closer to another woman.

In this situation, Chen Siyu reckoned that any other woman would have marched up there and claimed her boyfriend, even herself.

Although Qi Chenglin had no feelings toward the lady, she would still have approached him to destroy any shred of hope the lady had of dating him. However, doing so would humiliate the man, and after being embarrassed more than a few times, the man would naturally get irritated.

Both parties would be tired and their relationship would sour further and further, until the point when all they would do is fight and argue.

"I know this is the reasonable thing to do, but not many out there can actually do it," Chen Siyu praised as she turned her gaze away from Qi Chenglin since Ruan Danchen was not worried at all.

Seeing Ruan Danchen still able to maintain her appetite, Chen Siyu continued eating too.

"It's true. Even myself, who's already so old, can't stay as composed as Danchen is now," Senior Du chimed in.

Ruan Danchen smiled calmly; she truly had no doubt in her mind. "Well, that's because he's a good man who has never done anything that worries me. He always keeps proper distances when with other women and whenever he observes that the woman might have some feelings for him, he'd immediately announce that he has a girlfriend. The more the lady tries to express her feelings toward him, the more distant he becomes. Moreover, he never checked out other women and had never tried to hide our relationship. When I first joined Qilin, it was my idea to keep it a secret. He, on the other hand, couldn't wait to let the world know."

Ruan Danchen put down her spoon and stopped eating. "He's done everything he should and can, so if I still don't trust him and get jealous about even little incident, don't you think it will hurt him deeply? He's done so much, how can I still not trust him?"

Whenever Qi Chenglin got jealous over her, he only did it in private and was only trying to tease her. It did not bother her at all.

On the contrary, Ruan Danchen was secretly delighted by his little tantrums. It made her feel that he cared deeply about her.

"He told me that he's here to entertain a client, so that must be the case. If they had told him this was a blind date, Chenglin would've never agreed to come. They must've used a business meeting as an excuse to set up this blind date. Of course, they still discussed business to avoid embarrassing themselves in front of Chenglin," Ruan Danchen analyzed and expounded.

Chen Siyu gave Ruan Danchen a big thumbs-up to show her admiration. "You truly deserve a 'like'. It ain't easy to win the general manager's heart, and even after one had won him over, there's no guarantee he'd stay with her forever. Without an open mind like yours, there's no way he'd keep her around."

...

Qi Chenglin, Cheng Zhiyuan, and Chang Jingqiu stood at the front door. They had already finished their discussion so there was no reason for Chang Zhiyuan and Chang Jingqiu to follow him into Qilin. They thus said their goodbyes at the front door.

"Hehehe... I enjoyed our meeting today. Do keep in touch," Cheng Zhiyuan said as he shook Qi Chenglin's hand. "My niece is still young so if she makes any mistakes, please try to tolerate it."

"Young Master Lin, thank you so much for agreeing to an interview." Chang Jingqiu smiled tenderly, failing to hide her feelings for him in the end.

Qi Chenglin merely replied with a faint smile. He never promised her anything.

Perhaps she had misinterpreted his words just then. He merely allowed her to contact Jiang Yuan to make an appointment, but whether he had time to see her or not was a totally different matter.

He agreed to let her make an appointment but never promised that she would be able to make one.

Clearly, she had misunderstood him, but Qi Chenglin did not clarify anything; he rather saved himself the trouble and let her believe whatever she wanted.