Chapter 8 Your Place is in the Kitchen

She took the initiative to help Mrs. Hui prepare breakfast in the kitchen. Soon the breakfast was ready, and Su Jinqi brought each dish to the dining room one by one. At this time, Li Jinghan also came down from upstairs, dressed in a dark blue suit, tall and upright, with his hair meticulously groomed. However, his face looked somewhat exhausted, with dark circles under his eyes, clearly indicating a bad night's sleep.

"Good morning, Mr. Li," Su Jinqi greeted him. She felt strange inside; previously, she would see Mr. Li at the company, but now the location and their relationship had changed, which gave her a sense of novelty.

She asked, "Mr. Li, for breakfast Mrs. Hui made pumpkin porridge and millet yam porridge, along with some side dishes, including xiaolongbao and shrimp dumplings. Which would you like?"

Li Jinghan looked at her with a stern face, his eyes cold as if he harbored a deep grudge against her.

Su Jinqi, puzzled by his stare and feeling uneasy, wondered if she had done something wrong yesterday besides those few words in the car, why was he looking at her with such a murderous gaze?

"Mr. Li, did I do something wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked, confused.

Li Jinghan, thinking about her sleepwalking incident from the night before and finding it ridiculous, retorted sarcastically, "What do you think you did?"

"I didn't do anything. After I came back last night, I just went to my room. I didn't offend you, did I?" Su Jinqi was even more perplexed.

"Heh!" Li Jinghan sneered, "Su Jinqi, let me tell you, last night you sleepwalked into my room. Get treated early if you're sick. This time I'm giving you a chance, but if it happens again, I'll throw you out!"

"Ah? I sleepwalked?" Su Jinqi exclaimed in shock, her eyes wide, clearly unaware of her actions, and unable to believe it.

"Pumpkin porridge, shrimp dumplings." Li Jinghan, not wanting to discuss further, asked her to bring over the breakfast.

While Su Jinqi was internally puzzled, as no one had ever told her about her sleepwalking, she promptly served him the porridge and put three or four shrimp dumplings on his plate.

Seeing that he was ignoring her, Su Jinqi didn't dare to ask more, but she knew he wouldn't lie to her. Yet, she couldn't believe she would sleepwalk; it was too outrageous!

She temporarily put aside her confusion, served herself a bowl of millet yam porridge, and four or five xiaolongbao, and began to eat quickly. She had to hurry or she'd be late for work.

Li Jinghan's breakfast was set before him untouched, his attention on his tablet, but the sound of clinking bowls and chopsticks reached his ears. Slowly, he raised his head, frowning at Su Jinqi. Where are the manners? Who told her to join the table? And her eating manners are so unsightly!

But Su Jinqi, engrossed in eating quickly, failed to notice his gaze or realize he was annoyed.

Li Jinghan put down the tablet on the table with a heavy thud. With a stern face and an unhappy tone, he said, "Su Jinqi, your place is in the kitchen, you are not to dine at the same table as me, remember the house rules!"

Startled by his voice and demeanor, Su Jinqi looked somewhat awkward. Although she felt unjustified and found it somewhat ridiculous, she acknowledged it, understanding that rules aplenty in a wealthy family.

"Mr. Li, since that's the case, please also tell me explicitly where I am not allowed to go in this house, or places where I cannot appear with you, so I can be mindful."

Li Jinghan took a sip of the porridge, "In this house, only your room is yours. Stay there honestly, and don't wander around! Especially when you're asleep at night, control yourself!"

Biting her molars in frustration, Su Jinqi nodded, "Alright, I understand." She then took her bowl and chopsticks to the kitchen.

After breakfast, Su Jinqi washed her bowl and chopsticks and hurried out of the villa, immediately hit by gusting wind and snow that made it hard to open her eyes. She pulled up her scarf, looked down at the courtyard blanketed with snow, and felt a burst of excitement, hopping and jumping like a rabbit leaving footprints toward the gate.

"How is Secretary Su still acting like a child, playing with snow footprints, yet strangely adorable," Ming Can's car slowly followed behind Su Jinqi, teasingly remarked.

Upon hearing this, Li Jinghan subconsciously raised his head to look outside and sneered mockingly: "Adorable? More like pretentious with all that hopping around!"

Ming Can silently smiled and drove past Su Jinqi.

The car squeaked as it pressed into the snow. Watching Li Jinghan's car leave the yard filled Su Jinqi with envy, prompting her to quicken her pace and battle through the snow towards the subway station.

Hastily, Su Jinqi managed to clock in at the company at the last second and rushed into the General Secretarial Office.

"Secretary Su, you really made it quite early today!" Secretary Jin held a folder, assigning the day's work tasks to everyone, and sarcastically commented as she walked in.

"Secretary Jin, I'm sorry, I'll be more cautious next time," responded Su Jinqi without much explanation and quickly returned to her desk.

Secretary Jin stared at her with a hint of hostility in her eyes, which soon disappeared.

Su Jinqi's job remained simple yet tedious, whether she was in the printing room or running errands between departments, sticking on labels, making calls, and the morning swiftly passed.

During the lunch break, Su Jinqi joined everyone to the cafeteria for lunch. There are about seven or eight people in the General Secretarial Office, and they usually eat together at noon, chatting about company gossip comfortably.

At a long table, the secretaries ate and talked. Su Jinqi, who spoke the least among them, neither had the interest in gossip nor the material, just quietly listened.

Suddenly, a phone rang on the table—it was Li Su'e calling, and it was a video call. Su Jinqi furrowed her eyebrows slightly and answered.

"Hello, Aunt," Su Jinqi put down her chopsticks, stood up, and left the cafeteria to enter the fire escape. No need to ask, she could guess that the aunt probably wanted to talk about the Li Family's dowry; it wouldn't be good for her colleagues to overhear.

As expected, Li Su'e went straight to the point as soon as she spoke.

"Qiqi, did you talk about the dowry with Mr. Li last night?" she asked with a flattering smile on the video.

Su Jinqi suppressed her displeasure, leaned against the wall, looked around, and whispered: "Aunt, Mr. Li and I are secretly married, it's not appropriate to talk about dowry."

"Why isn't it appropriate? Since you are registered, you are part of the Li Family, and paying the dowry is only right," Li Su'e said with a grin, her usual sharp demeanor softened.

Su Jinqi took a deep breath, gave it some thought, and said: "Aunt, to tell you the truth, Mr. Li and I signed a one-year marriage agreement. After one year, we will get divorced!"

Su Jinqi told her also hoping that the aunt wouldn't ponder over the dowry anymore, letting her know it was impossible. However, to her surprise, the aunt didn't believe it at all.