Chapter 457 - The First Song of Qin (30)
Chapter 457 : The First Song of Qin (30)
Shi Sheng bought a house for Qiao-fu nearby. After wallowing in depression for about a month, Qiao-fu got over it by immersing himself in the excitement of starting a new business.
Qin Ge’s company completely stabilised. Their robots would be able to hit the markets in two years.
And right now, the FL had already returned to the country.
Qiao Qian’qian originally planned to enter a large company, but Qiao-mu had made an utter mess of the company Qiao-fu left to her. Qiao-mu begged Qiao Qian’qian to help, so she could only do so.
No matter how small the company was, it was still a company—due to Qiao Qian’qian’s sudden appearance, despite the fact that she was the daughter of the boss, there were plenty of people who didn’t accept her.
As a result, Qiao Qian’qian had to do almost everything herself, tiring her out immensely. She really regretted agreeing to Qiao-mu’s request. Had she entered a large company instead, she wouldn’t be struggling so much.
She had to discuss business with people herself, and women were often taken advantage of in meetings like this…
“Qiao-zong, come, come, drink! Let’s not talk about business today.”
Qiao Qian’qian repressed the disgust surging in her stomach as she smiled and accompanied these people for a drink. Someone tried to take advantage of her, but Qiao Qian’qian avoided it by using the excuse that she needed to go use the washroom.
She touched up her makeup in the washroom and took a deep breath before leaving.
When she passed by a room, she froze slightly when she saw the man inside. After many years of not seeing him, Tang Jinchen had already grown into a man and now had the charm that only mature men possessed.
“Qiao-zong…”
Qiao Qian’qian subconsciously turned around just to catch a woman surrounded by a group of people emerge from the lift.
Qiao Qian’qian immediately turned back.
“Qiao-zong, Qin-zong will be here in a minute. Should we eat first or wait for him?”
“Why would we wait for him? Today’s for you guys to celebrate! He won’t starve to death from missing a meal!”
“Qin-zong will cry if he hears this.”
“Hahaha…”
The procession walked off in another direction and soon vanished from Qiao Qian’qian’s sight.
She tightly grasped the hem of her sleeve. Everyone else was doing better than her—only she was in such a miserable state.
‘Why?! Qiao Chu… She’s clearly not as good as me, so why has she ended up better than me?! What else do I have besides this damn company?!
No! If Qiao Chu can have it, so can I! Get it together, Qiao Qian’qian!’
Qiao Qian’qian returned to the room. She hadn’t been wasting her days away overseas. Since her alcohol tolerance wasn’t all that good, she made the others drink.
“I think I saw Qin-zong just now…” An assistant that entered the room spoke to the man who was drinking with Qiao Qian’qian, “Cai-zong, aren’t we negotiating a deal with them? Should we go over and offer a toast?”
“Who is Qin-zong with?” Cai-zong set down his cup, his expression turning serious.
“Don’t know. I didn’t see anyone that stood out inside.”
“I think it’s best not to go. Qin-zong isn’t easy to get along with…” Someone persuaded from the side. “I heard the last time someone interrupted him while he was eating, he refused to have any dealings with them whatsoever.”
Qin Ge’s perfectionism had always been quite famous.
Cai-zong felt that this was reasonable, and so turned his attention back to drinking with Qiao Qian’qian. ‘It’s hard to find a little beauty like her at the discussion table anymore.’
……
“Qian’qian, how was the negotiation yesterday?” The moment Qiao Qian’qian entered the office, Qiao-mu went over to her.
Qiao Qian’qian’s face was pale. She’d drunk too much last night. Had she not been sharp enough, she might’ve ended up being taken advantage of.
“He said “another time”.”
“Another time?” Qiao-mu frowned. “Why is that? Qian’qian, were you not clear with him? Our price should be the lowest out of our competitiors…”
Qiao-mu chattered on and on. Meanwhile, Qiao Qian’qian’s complexion got worse.
“Mum, I’m really tired. Can you let me rest for a while?”
“But the deal hasn’t even been settled yet. You…” Noticing Qiao Qian’qian’s complexion, Qiao-mu opened her mouth, but didn’t continue speaking in the end.
Qiao Qian’qian struggled to manage the company and keep it profitable. Meanwhile, it appeared as if someone had led Qiao-mu into the habit of playing mah-jong. It was still okay at first, since she only did so occasionally.
But it progressed to the point where she’d be stuck at the mah-jong table all day and even deep into the night.
Qiao Qian’qian tried to dissuade her a few times, but Qiao-mu wouldn’t listen, so Qiao Qian’qian simply left her to her own devices. After all, she had her hands full with the company.
Shi Sheng’s and Tang Jinchen’s successes caused unwillingness to admit defeat to well up in Qiao Qian’qian’s heart, like the grass that grew in spring—impossible to uproot.
‘If they can do it, so can I!’
Qiao Qian’qian had excelled in her studies after all. Even if there were areas she didn’t understand, she soon familiarised herself with them.
And the small company really did start to improve under her effort.
……
The government organised an awards ceremony at the end of December.
The representatives of the various major enterprises were all gathered here.
Qin Ge’s company won the Technological Innovation award of the year. The government handed out such an award to encourage these enterprises to make more technological advancements.
Of course, there were also other awards apart from this one.
At the moment, the one receiving the award was Qin Ge. The man standing on the stage seemed as if he emitted a brilliant light that held the gazes of all.
“I only have one person I want to thank…” Qin Ge’s warm gaze turned to look at the girl seated in the first row. “I would like to thank her for accompanying me through all these difficult times. Qiao Chu, will you marry me?”
Qin Ge leapt down from the stage and walked over to Shi Sheng. Kneeling down on one knee, he pulled out a box and slowly opened it to reveal a ring.
It wasn’t a diamond one, but a very beautifully designed ring that looked like vines were twisting around each other on the surface.
“Heavens… it’s the Attachment pair from the Love At First Sight series. Didn’t the designer say it wasn’t for sale?” Someone exclaimed in surprise.
Rings from the Love At First Sight series were way more valuable than any old diamond ring.
Every pair in it was unique, and even if you had the money, you might not be able to buy it. Especially so when it was the Attachment pair that the designer said wasn’t for sale.
Qin Ge had spent a lot of effort to obtain these rings.
The crowd didn’t expect that they’d get to witness a proposal at an award ceremony. They all turned to look at Shi Sheng.
She was unknown to many people for the past few years. Only when that advertisement was released did she become known.
Only now did they know that the reason why Qin-zong didn’t look for women all these years wasn’t because he was fussy and couldn’t find one he liked, but because his heart already belonged to someone.
“Qiao Chu, will you marry me?” Qin Ge was a bit nervous—anyone would be in his shoes.
Shi Sheng’s lips slowly rose, and she silently stretched out her hand.
Qin Ge’s eyes lit up as he swiftly placed the ring on Shi Sheng’s finger. He then took out another box and handed it to Shi Sheng.
She put the other ring on Qin Ge’s finger, whereupon a fierce round of applause broke out.
Amongst the genuine well-wishes was some jealousy, but in a situation like this, those people could only congratulate them no matter how unhappy they were inwardly.
Due to sheer happiness, the perfectionist CEO Qin actually talked to these people amicably.
This is the power of love.
In a seat towards the back, Qiao Qian’qian clutched her handbag so tightly veins popped on the backs of her hands. A raging flame burned in her eyes, as if she wanted to reduce the people in front of her to ash.