Shen Nian had been Lu Lingchuan's assistant for so many years that she knew what he meant with just a gesture.
The documents were fine.
She stepped forward and took the files back, nodding slightly to Lu Lingchuan.
"Well, Mr. Lu, I'll be going now."
Lu Lingchuan didn't even look at her.
Shen Nian left with the documents, and as she closed the door she heard Liang Jinghe's voice, "Lingchuan, cooperating with our family won't disappoint you..."
Cooperation.
It was unsurprising that Liang Jinghe's well-off family would cooperate with Lu Lingchuan.
However, Shen Nian didn't have the habit of eavesdropping. She closed the door and left.
Jiang Lingling had been waiting in Shen Nian's office area all along. Seeing Shen Nian finally emerge, she immediately came up and anxiously asked, "What happened? Sister Nian, why did you only come out now? Was there a problem?"
Shen Nian handed the folder to her, "The content is fine. Go photocopy it, remember thirty-three copies, and make three extra copies to deal with any unexpected issues. Also, get the conference room arranged."
She gave very detailed instructions, afraid that careless Jiang Lingling might anger Lu Lingchuan.
Lu Lingchuan was probably in a bad mood today after talking about Lu Lingrui in the morning. It was best if this poor Jiang Lingling didn't rush up to be cannon fodder.
"Oh, okay." Jiang Lingling always readily obeyed Shen Nian. Hugging the folder, she smiled brightly at Shen Nian.
"Sister Nian, let's go out for dinner after work today, my treat."
Shen Nian had already sat back down to tackle the backlogged work. Holding a pen, she was writing, and upon hearing Jiang Lingling's words, she paused but didn't look up. She jokingly said,
"Treat me to dinner? Don't you have credit card bills to pay this month?"
It was common for young people nowadays to be in debt.
Especially someone like Jiang Lingling who had just started working and didn't have a very high salary yet. After deducting rent, utilities, some rice and instant noodles, and credit card bills, she would find that her salary from last month had disappeared again.
It was a good thing their Lingrui Group provided free breakfasts and lunches. Employees working overtime could have free dinner too. Otherwise Jiang Lingling would have long been too poor to afford meals.
As Shen Nian continued writing, she said, "I just helped out a bit casually. No need to treat me."
"Oh..." Seeing that Shen Nian had rejected her, Jiang Lingling blinked.
She wasn't shameless. Compared to their peers who got bullied and pushed around by senior employees during internships, she was already very lucky to have found this job where someone helped her resolve mistakes, big and small, allowing her to get through the intern period without any major incidents and successfully convert to a permanent role.
Jiang Lingling was fully aware of how nice Shen Nian had been to her. So even though she knew Shen Nian earned more than her and lived better than her, she was still determined to treat her to this meal.
However, since Shen Nian didn't want Jiang Lingling to treat her, she could only...find another reason.
Jiang Lingling squatted in front of Shen Nian, hands clutching the table and chin resting on it as she stared pitifully at Shen Nian.
"I definitely want to treat you to express my gratitude for all your help. Coincidentally, I heard from my college classmate that a new hot pot restaurant opened on South Street. They're currently having a promotion where spending over 200 yuan gets 100 yuan deducted immediately - affordable, delicious and cheap! So I wanted to try it out. If I went alone, no matter how much I ate, it would only add up to a little over 100 yuan. Then I'd have to spend over 100 yuan without any discount. But if you go with me, Sister Nian, our combined appetite could easily order 200 yuan worth, and we'd get to eat our fill. Most importantly, we could take advantage of the discount! 200 minus 100, rounded up means I'd only have to spend 100 yuan. I could enjoy affordable hot pot, and also treat you to thank you for taking care of me - killing two birds with one stone!"
She made a scissor hand motion to indicate it was indeed two-fold benefits.
Shen Nian looked up to see her staring expectantly, blinking nonstop and acting cute. Shen Nian could only relent helplessly.
"Fine, I got it."
Jiang Lingling's personality was exactly the same as Lu Lingrui's in the past - enthusiastic, lively, easygoing and without malice. Hearing her speak was just like hearing Lu Lingrui speak.
She found it hard to refuse.
"Great!" Seeing Shen Nian nod, Jiang Lingling immediately stood up, hugging the documents and laughing, "Then I'll go photocopy first. Don't forget, Sister Nian! I'll come find you after work."
Then she hurried off.
Shen Nian curled her lips, and continued working with her head lowered.
After around ten minutes, the door to Lu Lingchuan's office opened. Liang Jinghe walked out from inside.
Shen Nian heard the door opening, as well as the "tap tap" sounds of high heels stepping on the floor. She knew who had come out without looking up, and continued busying herself.
She thought Liang Jinghe had already left, but a cup of coffee was suddenly pushed in front of her.
Shen Nian, who was working, paused in surprise and looked up to see Liang Jinghe standing next to her.
"Ms. Liang." Shen Nian put away the fleeting astonishment on her face and made to stand up.
"No need to be restrained." Liang Jinghe pressed her shoulder and smiled, "You've been by Lingchuan's side many years and know his temper. He's just in a bad mood today, it's not directed at you."
Shen Nian lowered her head, "I know."
Liang Jinghe went on, "I came today to discuss a partnership with Lingchuan. My dad has a project that's been shelved for a long time because he couldn't find a suitable partner before. But when he learned about Lingchuan's youth and capability, he reconsidered and felt this project could create the greatest value for Lingchuan. So he asked me to discuss it with him."
Liang Jinghe pushed the coffee she had just poured towards Shen Nian again, "I remember last time I came to the company, you said you don't often drink fruit tea or milk tea, and are used to drinking coffee. I just ground this cup using the coffee machine in the pantry."
"I was always studying abroad previously and never involved with the family business. This is the first partnership my dad has asked me to take over after I returned. We'll probably have to liaise frequently in the future, please guide me."
From before until now, there really wasn't anything dislikeable about Liang Jinghe. Perhaps it was because although she was a rich young lady, she was never arrogant or overbearing. It could also be because she wasn't pretentious and didn't deliberately curry favor like now in the office.
It was also possible that, like now, she didn't put on airs, and didn't treat Shen Nian merely as a secretary. Instead, she displayed a friendly, modest attitude.
Anyone would like such a person.
Unfortunately, as long as she and Lu Lingchuan were together, there would never be peace between the two of them.
She was Lu Lingchuan's prospective girlfriend, while Shen Nian herself...might not even be a lover, let alone anything more. Such complicated relationships meant it was destined that Shen Nian and Ms. Liang could not get along harmoniously.
