The elevator was full of people—colleagues from her own company and others. So the two, who were used to butting heads, remained unusually quiet.
But once they reached their floor, the two stepped out one after another, and the facade of a harmonious superior-subordinate relationship completely crumbled.
Duan Jinchen snorted, avoiding Jiang Ruoqi's gaze, and whispered sarcastically with feigned ignorance, "President Jiang isn't putting on airs today?"
Given her position, the company didn't actually require Jiang Ruoqi to clock in and out. Plus, when she was in Gangcheng, working hours were flexible, so she wasn't used to the 9-to-6 routine in the mainland. But President Jiang insisted on "doing as the Romans do," arriving early and leaving late. While despising such hypocrisy, she was forced to adapt to the modern mainland workplace.
Duan Jinchen, on the other hand, had almost stayed out all night drinking with his rich second-generation friends at a bar. He had drunk a bit too much and didn't dare drive himself. It was rare for him not to go through the underground garage directly, and he happened to run into Jiang Ruoqi, who was about to be late. He had seen her get out of that car—the same Mercedes he had spotted last time. He still couldn't see the driver clearly, but the fact that he drove her to work early in the morning naturally spoke volumes about their relationship. Duan Jinchen couldn't shake the ingrained concept of male-female relationships in his circle. He secretly thought that Jiang Ruoqi hadn't been back in the mainland long, yet she was busy with work and her personal life hadn't slowed down either.
She moved fast, but the quality was mediocre. The man's asset level looked quite average, certainly not the type who would be allowed to be brought home.
But casual flings were nothing even among ordinary people their age. Among those with money, it was even more common to find someone good-looking to keep around for a while. Duan Jinchen thought that no matter how different Jiang Ruoqi seemed, she would eventually end up the same color after being soaked in the same dye vat.
Jiang Ruoqi obviously couldn't guess the twists and turns of Second Young Master Duan's train of thought. She smoothed her hair and put on a composed fake smile. "I'm just working day and night for the company, worrying all the time, and that's why I overslept. If Second Young Master wants to show some consideration, I suggest you put in a good word with your dad for me and maybe give me a raise."
With a tsundere like Duan Jinchen, Jiang Ruoqi had no trouble handling him.
"Damn, Jiang Ruoqi, how thick-skinned can you be?" Duan Jinchen couldn't help but curse.
"That's the truth. I've always been like this." Jiang Ruoqi clocked in and looked down at her phone, then turned to give Duan Jinchen other instructions.
"Later... around ten o'clock, there's an internal company meeting in Conference Room 1 upstairs. Heads of all departments will be there. It's a summary of this quarter's sales, and also preparation for next week's group inspection. Prepare the materials we have and come with me."
"Oh." Assistant Duan had no right to resist, but he raised a very constructive question: "Do all department heads bring their assistants to such meetings? Can that many people fit in that conference room?"
Jiang Ruoqi thought for a moment. "Most don't."
"Then why are you dragging me along!" Duan Jinchen muttered, "I have so much on my plate! I can't manage it all! You want me to listen to a bunch of boring people speak in bureaucratic jargon? Do you think I have too much free time?"
"Duan Jinchen, wake up. Everyone knows you're not really a regular assistant." Jiang Ruoqi explained, "This is the first general meeting of the subsidiary. Department heads know you're in marketing. I have to show you around to the departments. Also..."
"Also, in case the CEO finds fault, seeing you here might make him think twice and save me some face."
Duan Jinchen silently complained that this was probably the real reason.
"What fault can he find? We've done everything we're supposed to. If the new product design is crap, even if marketing tries to polish a turd, it's still a turd. If they think sales will explode, they're dreaming..."
"Well said, but stop there." Jiang Ruoqi agreed wholeheartedly but had to remind the reckless Second Young Master, "The design and production both went through group approval and supervision. You're insulting your dad's aesthetic."
Duan Jinchen was unfazed. "His aesthetic is crap anyway."
Jiang Ruoqi nodded and gave him a thumbs-up, not daring to comment on the father-son conflict. She remembered something else. "There are 58 minutes until the meeting..."
Before she could finish, Duan Jinchen automatically picked up: "Iced Americano, dark roast with an extra shot. I know."
Assistant Duan had been conditioned.
Jiang Ruoqi was quite satisfied but added, "Make it hot today. Same for the rest. Thanks."
However, taming him didn't stop the complaints. Duan Jinchen threw his trendy jacket with metal accessories onto a chair and headed out again in a hoodie and shirt. "Hmph, next week the group is sending people. If you dare not let me buy coffee, I'll look down on you!"
Jiang Ruoqi paused as she was about to enter her office.
What a dramatic, immature kid. As if I'd dare not.
But mentioning next week's trouble made her briefly soothed anxiety resurface.
Jiang Ruoqi exhaled, but it didn't help. At the same time, she felt the throbbing pain of hangnails on both sides of her nail beds, making her even more irritable.
Better to suffer a short pain than a long one. She pinched the edge and pulled hard. Blood immediately oozed from the torn skin. She didn't take it seriously, grabbed a tissue to cover it, and clenched both the tissue and her finger in her palm.
She hoped that the secretary accompanying the boss for the inspection would still be Sophia, so they could have a good talk and resolve their differences.
But compared to next week's troubles, Jiang Ruoqi had something important to do this weekend.