CH 14

Special people always have special flavors and traces, even if they are mixed into the vast crowd.

Qi Yan stopped and kept looking back, only the back of the woman was in her line of sight - the other person didn't notice her presence, and continued to walk until she turned a corner towards the office area. The sound of high heels faded away, steady and powerful, leaving only a cold fragrance in the air.

"Yanyan, what's the matter?" Chi Nian turned back, followed her stiff gaze, and saw the back of her boss.

She knew Qi Yan's orientation, and knew better what type of woman Qi Yan liked, so she immediately understood, and kindly introduced: "That's our director." After speaking, she lightly bumped her shoulder and winked, "What do.you think, huh? There are a lot of men in the company drooling."

Qi Yan frowned slightly, watched the woman disappear around the corner, and asked, "What's her last name?"

"Lu, Lu from the land."*

*indicating her surname uses the character same as used for the word land 陆，陆地的陆

"Is she your direct superior? "

"Yes." Chi Nian nodded, her eyes were meaningful, "You don't think you have a crush on her, do you? Don't even think about it, she already has a child." 

The implication is that she is married, and married people are off limits.

Qi Yan turned her gaze back again, staring straight at the place where the woman disappeared, her amber eyes doesn't give a hint of emotion, the calmer her face, the more turbulent her heart was. Of course she knew that Lu Zhiqiao had a child, but she is not married. She just couldn't believe that things like fate were really predestined.

"You just said that the matter of cooperation fell on your supervisor?"

"Yes."

"Why?" Qi Yan looked away, turned and continued to walk to the elevator. She felt that such a question was too straightforward, so she added a joke: 

"They let her handle things that should be discussed by the bosses. Is it to bully her for being beautiful?"

Chi Nian was amused, quickly followed her footsteps, and said with a smile, "You didn't even see her face, and you started to feel sorry for her. You, really..."

.....

Meeting lasted for two hours, Lu Zhiqiao came out of the conference room, The faces were as cold as ice, and the managers who followed her were silent, not daring to vent their breath, and they went back to their posts to pretend to be ostriches.*

*feigning ignorance

"Director, this is the record of the negotiation with Senyang ten years ago. I have sent the electronic version to your mailbox." Xiao Wan put a stack of documents on the desk. After speaking, she turned to make tea.

Lu Zhiqiao hummed, sat down, and rubbed her temples wearily.

The foreign-funded factory that originally cooperated with the company to supply parts and components closed down due to the influence of policy issues, and the goods were cut off unexpectedly. The company began to look for a new factory in September, but either the production quality were not up to par, or the scale was too small and unreliable. After several rounds of screening, only Senyang Technology met the requirements.

The two companies are currently on the same scale and strength, and the partnership should be a happy one, but ten years ago, an agreement fell through, which damaged they're credibility, and now it is a bit tricky to talk to them

A few days ago, Shu Minxi went to reach out in person, but it didn't work out, so this hard nut fell into her hands. It might be difficult for others to crack, but she felt there was hope and was willing to give it a try.

Xiao Wan put the brewed scented tea on the table and walked out quietly. Lu Zhiqiao picked up the cup and took a sip, then opened the records to browse.

——

"Come in."

The office door opened and a man wearing glasses leaned in: "Director, the review case for new products...can I bring it later?"

"I said I need them before five o'clock " Lu Zhiqiao said lightly, and glanced at her watch.

"But there are still three unfinished designs in the file, and I can't catch them all at once. A conservative estimate is that it will take half an hour."

Lu Zhiqiao frowned: "What's going on?"

"The designer of our department is really annoying. I asked her to hurry up and finish the rest of the designs yesterday. But when I came to retrieve them she said she still had three unfinished ones. And said that another department sent her an urgent job."I'm too busy..." As he spoke, his voice became louder and louder. As a manager, he was so angry that he lost his composure and almost swear.

"I said, you are from our department, how can you help others first? She even argued that it was..."

"What do you think is the problem with this matter?" Lu Zhiqiao is most annoyed by complaints and excuses, and interrupted in a cold voice her tone was a little impatient.

The man said confidently: "The design team doesn't know what comes first, and other departments jump in the queue randomly. Both of them are at fault."

Lu Zhiqiao closed the folder with a "snap", leaned back against the back of her chair, crossed her fingers, and looked at him solemnly. She said word by word: "This kind of thing happened because the cooperation process between departments is blurred. What you have to do now is not to blame anyone, but to formulate cross-departmental cooperation norms and clearly write the process. Who needs to know, who needs to make a decision, who needs to be responsible. If you don’t solve the problem fundamentally, but only look for superficial problems, similar things will happen again in the future.”

Her voice was cold, and she pointed and reprimanded, leaving the man with glasses speechless.

"..."

"5:30 at the latest." After speaking, Lu Zhiqiao waved at him to signal to go out.

The office was quiet again. She pinched the bridge of her nose, drank two sips of tea, and continued to read the records. At this time, the phone vibrated, and a WeChat message popped up on the screen.

Teacher Qi: [What time do you leave work? 】【[Picture]】

Lu Zhiqiao clicked in and took a look. It was a photo of two big bags of fresh vegetables that Qi Yan bought. She replied: [six o'clock]

[Niu Niu and I are waiting for you to come back for dinner]

She was taken aback, and hurriedly edited the text, "No need to bother" before it was sent, Qi Yan posted again: [Let me take a few more pictures when filming] 

"..."

This person really knows what she's thinking through the screen, and doesn't even give her a chance to refuse. But that's fine too, human relationships, mutual reciprocation, no one owes anyone else.

The road was congested by the time she got off work, and it was almost seven o'clock when she got home.

The room was brightly lit, and the smell of food was wafting. There was a sound of spatulas clashing from the kitchen. Lu Zhiqiao stood at the door after changing her shoes, as if for a moment she thought she had entered someone else's house. She put down her bag, walked into the kitchen following the sounds and smells, and saw Qi Yan standing in front of the stove in her apron, cooking vegetables skillfully, her heart skipped a beat."

"I'll do it." She felt sorry and stepped forward to help.

Qi Yan looked startled at first, then smiled and shook her head: "No, this is the last dish it's almost done, go ask Niuniu to wash her hands and eat."

Lu Zhiqiao pursed her lips, always feeling that her eyes had something to say, but she didn't know what to say, she just turn around and go out.

The door of the second bedroom was ajar, and the head light and desk lamps were turned on inside. Lu Wei sat at the desk and buried herself in her homework. When she noticed someone coming in, she stopped writing and turned her head: "Mom!"

"Are you doing your homework?" Lu Zhiqiao squinted her eyes

The little girl nodded and raised her index finger: "It's only one question away."

After taking the medicine for a week, the child's pneumonia gradually improved, and the cough has not been much in the past two days, but the cold has not cleared the yet, and her nose is still runny. This weekend Lu Zhiqiao was able to rest for two full days, and made an appointment to take the child to the hospital for re-examination, and she will return to school after recovery.

After finishing the last question, Lu Wei consciously tidied up the stationery and sniffed, "Hmm, it smells so good." She tried to sniff the aroma of the food. 

"Well, Teacher Qi is cooking."

A smile appeared on the girl's slightly baby-fat face: "Mom, let me tell you, Teacher Qi is amazing. She knows all the math problems I don't know. She also watches English movies without subtitles. She can also translate for me. Take nice pictures…”

She counted on her fingers, her big round eyes filled with admiration.

The sound of cooking in the kitchen gradually died down, and then the range hood was also turned off. Lu Zhiqiao looked at the textbooks and exercise books on the desk, feeling suddenly heavy in her heart. She gently grabbed her daughter's wrist, pulled her into her arms, and kissed her forehead: "Niu Niu, Teacher Qi has taken care of you these days and helped you make up lessons, do you want to say thank you to her? "

"Of course."

"Then you have to promise mom one more thing."

"Huh?"

Lu Zhiqiao brushed her daughter's loose hair on her forehead, and looked into her eyes seriously: "Ms. Qi treats you well, but you can't tell anyone, especially your classmates. When you go back to school, keep a distance from Teacher Qi as before."

"Why?" The child is simple-minded and doesn't understand the twists and turns.

"If you tell it and the classmates know about it, everyone will think that Teacher Qi is biased, and think that she has received benefits that should not be received." Lu Zhiqiao smiled and explained patiently.

"It's possible that she will lose her job and have no food because of this. Teacher Qi is so kind to us. We must protect her and not harm her. Do you understand what mom means?

"Lu Wei was so anxious that her little face wrinkled into a ball, and she nodded repeatedly: "Yeah, I won't say it, and you can't say it, Mom."

"Of course."

Lu Zhiqiao smiled in satisfaction and kissed her daughter's cheek.

Outside the door, Qi Yan finished frying the last dish, and was about to call the mother and daughter to eat, she was about to knock when he hand that was about to knock but her hand froze mid-air as she hears the conversation clearly through a gap.