Chapter 19#

Qiao Nanqi was in a meeting.

The head office was extremely busy these days.

He caught He Nan and his people off guard, yielding substantial results. Those shares and post-acquisition matters all had to be dealt with one by one; just meetings alone, there were several in a row each day.

He wasn’t actually too serious in meetings, sometimes even smiling and chiming in. But if something went wrong, Qiao Nanqi wouldn’t hold back his temper; truly a strict boss, though not hard to get along with.

Fortunately, Qiao Nanqi was very focused when working usually, not even looking at his phone, extremely efficient.

Although the people under him were under great pressure, the meetings went quickly, passing in the blink of an eye, not too hard to endure.

But today he was a bit abnormal.

Xiao Wu sat beside Qiao Nanqi doing some miscellaneous tasks, seeing Qiao Nanqi, who never looked at his phone during meetings before, place his phone by his hand, and obviously message notifications weren’t turned off, the phone screen lighting up every few seconds.

Listening to others’ reports, after every segment, Qiao Nanqi would inadvertently turn his head to look at the lit phone screen.

—As if waiting for some message.

And the phone Qiao Nanqi placed by his hand was his personal phone, not the one for work.

Waiting not for work messages.

Xiao Wu’s curiosity was almost overflowing, but hindered by Qiao Nanqi’s unpredictable temperament, dared not show it, only stealing glances occasionally.

Qiao Nanqi checked his phone very frequently.

Even if the screen didn’t light up, while listening to others’ reports, he would subconsciously look down. Sometimes he got distracted while looking, and coming back to his senses, would ask the reporter to repeat.

This meeting proceeded extremely slowly. Everyone noticed Qiao Nanqi staring at the screen from time to time—except Qiao Nanqi himself.

His brows slightly furrowed, his eyes deep.

Although others didn’t say it, they all hoped this message would come quickly, Qiao Nanqi would listen to their reports seriously quickly, and end this difficult meeting.

After another half hour, Qiao Nanqi’s phone screen lit up several times in a row.

Xiao Wu only glimpsed that several messages seemed to pop up consecutively on the screen, but in the blink of an eye, one or two notifications seemed to be recalled, and the popped-up messages shortened a bit.

Qiao Nanqi, who had been paying attention to phone messages, also noticed the new notifications and looked down.

Xiao Wu could be sure that at that moment Qiao Nanqi smiled.

Perhaps seeing who the sender was, perhaps catching a glimpse of the long-awaited message, perhaps Qiao Nanqi himself didn’t notice, but Xiao Wu saw it.

Qiao Nanqi, who had kept a straight face all along, hooked the corners of his mouth at that moment.

When Mr. Qiao pulled a long face, his expression always carried some gloom, so the moment he smiled was particularly obvious.

As a result, this smile disappeared before reaching his eyes.

The man’s brows were already slightly locked. At the moment he looked down, the hooked mouth corner hadn’t completely pulled out a smile yet, the lower lash line pulled out a haze. The already sharply defined face became deeper under the gloomy complexion.

He said nothing, but the temperature around him seemed to drop to the freezing point in an instant.

The person reporting also felt this sudden change in Mr. Qiao, a sentence half-spoken, stuck in the throat daring not to jump out.

After a long while.

Qiao Nanqi picked up the phone, stood up, and said in a deep voice: “Meeting adjourned.”

He left the conference room first.

When returning to the office on the top floor, there was no one inside. Daylight scattered in from outside the floor-to-ceiling windows. The whole room was bright and spacious, but also very empty.

The high-rise approaching the clouds couldn’t see the desolate scenery of autumn, only the light-colored sky, clouds unfolding bit by bit, stretching out incompatible with the noise on the ground.

Qiao Nanqi didn’t give such scenery a glance at all.

He sat down at the desk, put the phone on the table, screen on, looking at the message from Zhao Rong.

He rarely stared at the chat box between him and Zhao Rong for such a long time.

Only a teenager experiencing first love would keep the chat box open waiting for the person opposite to reply, clutching the phone tightly amidst the thumping of the heart, looking at the motionless phone screen, nervous and expectant.

Qiao Nanqi hardly had this ignorant and impulsive puberty, nor was he ever an ordinary person needing to pursue others. He had never done such a thing.

But he stared straight at the two messages sent by Zhao Rong, and two recall notifications, not knowing how long he looked.

During the meeting, at first glance, he saw the remark at the very top of the message was Zhao Rong’s name.

At that time he thought—Zhao Rong came to explain this sudden disappearance of four or five days, should be going home tonight. Perhaps Lu Xingping was right; sometimes going along with Zhao Rong wasn’t bad.

Just as this thought sprouted, Qiao Nanqi’s gaze moved down, and he saw the first message.

Zhao Rong said not coming back.

A few days ago, Zhao Rong was leaning on him full of alcohol smell in the bar, saying “I like you”, but at this moment suddenly said not coming back.

This sentence seemed never to exist in Qiao Nanqi’s dictionary. From receiving that inexplicable call from Zhao Rong at sixteen, said to be dialed randomly, until more than ten years later, Qiao Nanqi never thought he would see such words from Zhao Rong.

He knew Zhao Rong had always been looking at him.

Also knew Zhao Rong liked him very much.

He was also willing to give Zhao Rong’s liking some space. He felt their current state was quite good. He wouldn’t take his anger out on Zhao Rong for those messy matters of the Chen family, and Zhao Rong wouldn’t be like those lovers kept outside, always making trouble without reason, with insatiable desires.

Qiao Nanqi didn’t think eternal love would exist, but at present, leaving a place for Zhao Rong in the rest of his life wasn’t impossible.

During meals, Sister Li asked several times “What time is Xiao Zhao coming home”. Although Qiao Nanqi never answered directly, occasionally he would answer lightly “Later”.

He Nan sarcastically mocked him for calculating against the Chen family two days ago, alarmistly saying he might be calculated by the person beside his pillow someday because of his ruthlessness to the Chen family now. Qiao Nanqi just said slowly: “I know my person.”

When Xia Yuantu asked him about his future plans several times, what he thought was just—whether to continue keeping Zhao Rong by his side.

Zhao Rong leaving voluntarily wasn’t an option at all.

But at this moment, this impossible option appeared.

Qiao Nanqi only felt a stifling anger from nowhere rushing straight up, like being in a foggy jungle, violent storms sweeping in at this moment.

He attributed such emotion to anger.

Like a domestic cat that had always been very obedient, suddenly one day refused to be hugged. He wanted to pick it up, the kitten not only disobeyed but turned around and scratched him. Terribly upset.

What exactly was Zhao Rong doing?

His hand placed by the table slowly exerted force, fingertips tightly gripping the edge of the table.

Not until the screen naturally went out, the dark screen reflecting light, slightly reflecting Qiao Nanqi’s face, illuminating his expression at this moment, did he see his own expression.

A knock came.

“It’s me.” Xia Yuantu’s voice.

Qiao Nanqi leaned back in his chair, eyes slightly closed, and said in a low voice: “Come in.”

Xia Yuantu opened the door and walked in.

He seemed frightened by Qiao Nanqi’s expression. After entering, his footsteps hesitated slightly, and only after a moment did he walk up completely.

Qiao Nanqi didn’t open his eyes, could also feel Xia Yuantu walked in front of him.

“What are you doing?” Xia Yuantu said, “Several people told me you left during the meeting, looking terrible. Making people start guessing if the company encountered some funding problems. I know clearly, what funding problems can we have? What’s the matter?”

“Only I dare to come ask, Xiao Wu and the others are still sitting in the conference room not knowing what to do.”

Qiao Nanqi rubbed his temples, said deeply: “Let them disperse, continue tomorrow.”

“So what is it that can make you, Young Master Qiao, not even hold a meeting?”

Qiao Nanqi glanced at him, was silent for a moment, then said: “Zhao Rong hasn’t come home for almost a week.”

“Yo, strange, what, instigated by his stupid cousin?”

“If you have nothing to do, get out.”

“Then it seems not. Did you ask him? He didn’t tell you why?”

Qiao Nanqi stopped talking.

Xia Yuantu nodded: “Then it seems asked, result not very good.”

“…”

“Did he tell you why?”

“…No.”

Said nothing.

Precisely because there was no warning and no reason, Qiao Nanqi was a bit irritable.

Didn’t come home for four or five days, he sent a message and even worse, said not coming back.

At this time, Qiao Nanqi’s phone on the table vibrated a few times.

He looked immediately—it was Xiao Wu.

Qiao Nanqi didn’t pick up, letting the phone buzz there.

“Didn’t tell you why.” Xia Yuantu touched his chin, seeming a bit teasing, “But told you not coming back—dear me, your little darling isn’t quarreling with you, is he?”

The word “quarreling” seemed to affect Qiao Nanqi’s mood even more than “not coming back”. The moment he heard it, his eyes immediately cooled a few degrees.

How could Zhao Rong quarrel with him.

How dared Zhao Rong quarrel with him.

Xia Yuantu got excited.

People like them, suppressed by Qiao Nanqi’s excellence every day, only on such topics could have a bit of say belonging to themselves. No matter how low the air pressure Qiao Nanqi emitted now, Xia Yuantu couldn’t quite hold back showing off his piled-up experience.

He said: “I originally wanted to say take this chance, advise you to simply push the boat with the current and break up, look at your expression…”

“Just quarreling. Not that I haven’t been in love. Sometimes when emotions come up, doing something threatening to the other party is normal. Actually not serious, just hoping the other party can yield. This kind, don’t look at the big battle when quarreling, who knows how much they like each other.”

“He used to like you, certainly wouldn’t have opinions on small things. Didn’t you tell me yesterday, Chen Zehe was desperate these days, looked for several people, all got shut out? Desperate already, Zhao Rong is still the one sleeping in the same bed with you, could Chen Zehe not look for him? He knew about the Chen family, felt you were too ruthless, wanted you to be lenient, right? After all, he and that group are family.”

The buzzing sound ended with his voice.

Xiao Wu seemed to indeed have something that must be instructed by Qiao Nanqi. Just as this call hung up automatically, Xiao Wu called in again immediately.

Qiao Nanqi raised his hand, tapped the answer button.

“Sir,” over there accustomed to his speed of handling things, spoke particularly fast, as if worried he would hang up anytime, “You told me before, if Mr. Zhao didn’t come to work at the company, keep his position. He came to the company now, but he went to find the people in administration, demanding to clear out the shareholder’s office for him, and no need to keep his previous position. The administration people came to ask me what’s going on, I dare not make decisions unauthorized, you see…?”

Qiao Nanqi had no mind to answer the phone at all. This call was answered on speaker by sliding casually, Xia Yuantu also heard clearly. He looked at Qiao Nanqi, raised his eyebrows, smiled and said: “Look, isn’t he here.”

Qiao Nanqi lowered his eyes.

His hands folded together, head slightly lowered, gloomy face still eased a bit—perhaps because this call revealed Zhao Rong’s movement.

Getting no response for a long time, Xiao Wu called tentatively: “Sir?”

Qiao Nanqi’s gaze moved slightly.

He didn’t listen to the question Xiao Wu cared about just now at all, only asked: “Where is he now?”