Chapter 15: It's Okay, Go to Sleep

"Clang," the spoon lightly tapped against the cup's edge.

The room was dimly lit, Jiang Ni's back was to him, Qin Jijing couldn't see her expression at the moment.

Jiang Ni lowered her head and put the recently misaligned spoon back in place.

Turning around, her eyebrows and eyes slightly raised, she unsurprisingly met his gaze.

Jiang Ni pursed her lips, still looking innocent, she gestured in the air with her hand, then pointed towards the door.

Qin Jijing didn't agree, "Let's leave it at that, I have something to attend to."

That sentence was for the person on the phone; after a few murmurs of agreement, Qin Jijing pressed to end the call. He closed the folder in his hand and walked over to her.

"You were complaining about pain earlier, and now you're running around again."

Passing her rounded shoulders, Qin Jijing casually tossed the folder onto the office desk behind her. The motion of his hand stirred a breeze, brushing past her temples.

Jiang Ni's cheeks itched from the hair tied back; she reached up and scratched gently, "I'm not running around. Wasn't I just bringing you coffee?"

"Where are they?"

"Someone else was supposed to deliver it, but I felt bad always freeloading here without contributing," she replied.

The man listened and very considerately responded, "Since that's the case, later you can go find Old Xu, the weeds in the back yard are probably not cleaned up yet."

"..." Knowing he was joking, Jiang Ni pouted playfully, "Sorry Mr. Qin, I'm a patient, I can only bring coffee."

Her words were met with a light snort.

"If that's all, may I leave now? I wouldn't want to disturb your meeting."

Qin Jijing called out to stop her, "Aren't you bored?"

"A little bit..."

She couldn't go out right now, and she was not in the mood to visit the audio-visual room downstairs.

"Sit down, help me organize these documents."

Caught off guard, he had already circled to the opposite seat. Remembering what she said earlier about feeling guilty for mooching, she now could only do his bidding.

"So I just sit here?"

She pointed to the chair beside her, across the office desk from him.

He returned the question to her, "Where would you like to sit?"

"Anywhere is fine?" Her eyes gleamed mischievously, indicating she was up to no good.

Yet, he was not one to fear her little schemes.

His long legs spread slightly under the table, he patted his right thigh lightly with his palm, "Come here."

..." Jiang Ni was left speechless.

"No, no, that's not necessary."

She avoided his gaze as she sat down on the nearby chair, head bowed in a submissive posture, no longer carrying any teasing mischief.

She had thought he would be on a video conference, not convenient for her to show up. Little did she know, he didn't mind such things at all.

Qin Jijing knew she wouldn't dare, he withdrew his leg and pushed the documents toward her.

"Can you understand them?"

Jiang Ni casually flipped through them, "Yes, I can."

She studied economics in university, which was somewhat relevant. Plus, these were just some basic materials, nothing too difficult.

The meeting began, mainly revolving around several new projects recently invested in by LX Capital, so there were a lot of documents on the desk, all delivered by the president's office assistant before Qin Jijing got off the plane.

They had been organized, but after his quick perusal earlier, it was now more troublesome to search through the piled-up mess.

Qin Jijing, during meetings, doesn't rely solely on oral reports from his colleagues; he also carefully reviews the materials prepared by Assistant Yu to ensure synchronization.

When Jiang Ni heard him mention a project name, she flipped through the documents in her hand and, after a while, passed them over.

The meeting was still in progress, and Jiang Ni, like his employee, listened intently to the content as if she were attending a class.

Catching the keyword "new energy," she didn't wait for Qin Jijing to speak, and with just a glance from him, the document was already unfolded by his side.

Immediately after, she deftly pulled another document out from under his hand.

Qin Jijing's eyes softened, a fleeting ripple in his gaze.

But Jiang Ni didn't notice.

As the process became familiar, Jiang Ni did more than just pass documents—finding the task dull, she casually began to take meeting minutes as well.

A gust of wind rose outside the window, causing the papers on the table to rustle.

Jiang Ni looked up blankly at the open window. The study's window took up two-thirds of the front wall, offering a broad view that encompassed every corner of the courtyard.

At the start of the meeting, Qin Jijing had turned on the room's lights. Therefore, she hadn't noticed the gradually darkening weather outside, where dark clouds tumbled and rain washed over the magnolia trees in the courtyard, the wind stirring, and branches violently swaying.

A continual breeze poured in, chilling the nape of the neck.

Jiang Ni wanted to get up and close the window.

Across from her, the meeting suddenly paused; voices from the other side stopped abruptly as Qin Jijing gestured with his hand. When Jiang Ni looked over, he had already stood up, his tall frame casting a shadow over her, swathes of light from above her head blocked, enveloping her side in shade.

"Wait a moment, I'll close the window."

"…Alright, President Qin," the other side responded.

Although she couldn't see the computer screen, Jiang Ni guessed that their expressions were probably just like hers at the moment.

Indeed, that was the case, and the executives were somewhat puzzled as to why Qin Jijing would personally close the window. It wasn't that he was too noble for such a task. They could sense someone was there with him, although they weren't sure which assistant it was, but they were certain someone was nearby.

This was because President Qin had asked that person for documents before, and he had frequently looked away from the screen.

In their memory, Qin Jijing typically wouldn't halt a meeting unless a major risk or error was discovered.

He certainly wouldn't interrupt a meeting over such a trivial matter.

A mere glance at his assistant would have sufficed to handle the issue, sparing him the effort.

The others didn't understand, nor did they dare to question it.

A few exchanged glances, believing President Qin must have his reasons for acting this way.

Qin Jijing quickly returned to his original position.

Jiang Ni felt a little embarrassed and continued her work with her head lowered.

She looked as if she was more serious than the high-salaried executives in his conference room.

Qin Jijing's attention returned to the screen, "Continue."

As the meeting reached the latter half, Jiang Ni couldn't help but yawn. In the days since her return to the country, her jet lag had gradually adjusted, and she had the habit of taking a nap. Today, with Qin Jijing's sudden return, she lost her nap time.

Her eyelids began to fight each other. With her eyes drooping, listening to the segment still reporting several important data, the string of numbers made her head spin, and the voice in her ears became increasingly vague.

After passing the last document, Jiang Ni, unable to bear the burden any longer, leaned on her arms and drifted off to sleep.

Qin Jijing was communicating with the other side, not paying attention to her movements for the moment. The manager said a document sent over needed his signature.

The signature pen he commonly used at home was that one, which Jiang Ni had just casually taken.

He asked her for the pen without getting a response and rapped his fingers on the table as a reminder.

"Huh?" Hearing the noise, Jiang Ni raised her groggy head, unsure of what had happened. "What's up?"

Qin Jijing's finger paused briefly before he looked up. His gaze swept over the red mark pressed onto her cheek, then settled on her drowsy, half-closed eyes, his voice lowered, "It's nothing, go back to sleep."