```
The fourth-floor banquet hall had two rooms, and Bai Shu and his friends were playing cards in one of them.
The thick, arched doorway was pushed open by waiters, one on each side. Hearing the commotion, Bai Shu lifted his head to glance at the entrance and casually set down his cards, "Brother, you're finally back."
The others followed his gaze, each setting down their cards and getting up to respectfully greet "President Qin."
They were all Bai Shu's fair-weather friends from Beijing, who usually had no chance to mingle with Qin Jijing, so they didn't dare to casually call him "Brother Qin" like Bai Shu did.
"We've been waiting for you for ages, what did uncle want with you?" Bai Shu signaled someone next to him with his eyes, who comprehended and vacated their seat.
"Nothing much." Qin Jijing stepped forward two paces, then turned back when he didn't hear footsteps following, "Aren't you coming in?"
At the sound, everyone finally noticed the person behind him.
"Who's that?" Bai Shu asked.
"Your girlfriend."
"My girlfriend..." Bai Shu's eyebrows slightly raised in a nuanced expression as he called Jiang Ni to come over, "Took you so long to come up, did you get lost?"
"Oh." Someone looking for a bit of fun teased, "Isn't this Miss Jiang, the one you've been mentioning all the time?"
Bai Shu smiled without a word, which to the others looked like a tacit confirmation.
He beckoned Jiang Ni to come over and sit.
The seat beside him was empty on his left, and diagonally across from him was Qin Jijing.
Jiang Ni walked over, but before she could get close, someone sat down in her spot—it was one of Bai Shu's friends, smiling at her with ill intent: "Sorry, Miss Jiang, but I need to watch the cards for my friend. There's no other seat, why don't you sit with Bai Shu?"
Jiang Ni remained silent, looking at Bai Shu.
The latter cooperated by patting his own leg, indicating for her to sit on his lap.
"..."
Jiang Ni didn't move and looked down as she declined, "No need, I don't know how to play cards. Since there's no seat, I'll go down first."
"Hey, hold on." The one in her seat didn't give up, stretching out a leg to block her way, "It's Bai Shu's birthday today, Miss Jiang. It wouldn't be nice to be a spoilsport"
"We're all adults here, what's there to be shy about?"
Bai Shu didn't speak up for her, and the others grew more unrestrained in their words, starting to say she was disrespectful, lacked sense, was no fun, and not as good as the girls Bai Shu had been with before.
"Exactly, it's just sitting on a leg, it's not like we're asking you to do...."
The even more embarrassing words were still en route when suddenly there was a rustling noise, and the freshly stacked cards scattered all over the table.
Everyone was taken aback.
Jiang Ni, too, was startled by the noise and turned with a surprised look to see who had caused it.
It was Qin Jijing who had pushed the cards in front of him.
The lively atmosphere suddenly fell silent, awkwardly heavy with tension.
Except for Bai Shu, it was the first time for everyone at the scene to interact with Qin Jijing. They had only heard that he wasn't someone to be trifled with, but no one knew where his limits lay. Now they all didn't dare to breathe too loudly, unsure what had offended the formidable man.
It was Bai Shu who broke the silence, "What's the matter, brother?"
"You called me here just to watch this vulgar show?"
"..."
The remark seemed to chastise their outdated jests, but also seemed to hint at something deeper through this facade.
A jolt ran through Bai Shu's heart.
He glanced at Jiang Ni, who showed no particular reaction.
```
The boy who had taken Jiang Ni's seat blushed, realizing the joke had gone too far. After apologizing to Qin Jijing, he quickly stood up and vacated the seat, "Sorry, Mr. Qin, it was my bad, my bad. Miss Jiang, please sit here..."
Before he could finish speaking, Qin Jijing kicked the chair beside him with a force that was neither too hard nor too light.
The person sitting on it stiffened, looking at Bai Shu uncertainly and with pleading eyes.
Bai Shu waved his hand, signaling for him to scram.
Quietness descended once more around them.
For a moment, no one knew what to do, some bold enough hesitantly offered Qin Jijing a cigarette as an apology.
The man didn't move an inch until the one offering the cigarette started to tremble from holding his hand up for so long, then he graciously accepted it.
The other person quickly fetched a lighter to light it for him.
It was then that Jiang Ni took her seat.
She walked around the table and sat in the spot that Qin Jijing had just cleared.
"..."
Under several surprised gazes, Jiang Ni placed the item she had in her hand in front of Qin Jijing and smiled, "I found Mr. Qin's lighter in the hallway just now."
The others hurried to see Qin Jijing's reaction.
Qin Jijing responded without much emotion.
It seemed he hadn't planned on smoking that cigarette, as he simply placed it beside the lighter.
——
With the pretext of returning the lighter, Jiang Ni naturally took a seat next to Qin Jijing. Her spot was right at a corner of the table, wedged between Qin Jijing and Bai Shu, leaving no room for objection from others.
From this angle, she found it easier to see Qin Jijing's tiles.
However, she didn't know how to play mahjong, but fortunately, Qin Jijing was skilled at the game, and after watching a few rounds, she roughly understood the rules.
Halfway through, Bai Shu took a phone call and asked Jiang Ni to substitute for him. Before she could refuse, Bai Shu had already left the room.
With Qin Jijing present, the others at the table had already wisened up, and their words were far more pleasant than before, "No worries, just play casually. Bai Shu just won a lot, you've got plenty to lose."
Jiang Ni nodded, mimicking their way of drawing tiles, and serving as their tile holder.
Someone calculated Qin Jijing's tiles, hoping to intentionally lose to him, so they flatteringly discarded a one-dot tile.
Before Qin Jijing could make his play, Jiang Ni spoke up, tentatively asking the person she was most familiar with and closest to. Her tone couldn't hide her excitement, "Mr. Qin, could you help me see if I have won?"
Qin Jijing glanced at her upturned lips and then at her tiles, "Mhm."
"..." The one who discarded the tile didn't expect her to be so clueless and quietly reminded her, "Miss Jiang, it's Mr. Qin who has won."
Jiang Ni's smile froze, and she awkwardly turned her head, "You... won with this tile as well?"
By order, if Qin Jijing had also won with that tile, it would mean she could no longer claim victory.
The person beside her calmly dropped his tiles and fixed her with a stare, "What, are you letting me win?"
"How could it be letting? If Mr. Qin has won with this tile, then it would naturally be his win. It wouldn't be my turn at all."
Hearing her words, Qin Jijing suddenly felt the urge, and with that impulse, he asked, his tone half serious, half teasing, "And what if I don't win with this tile?"
"Then which tile will you win with?" Her limpid eyes looked directly at him, and in a whispery voice, she stealthily spoke to him, "Tell me, and in the next round, I'll quietly play it for you!"
Jiang Ni had touched up her lipstick before going upstairs, her lips glistening like a piece of jelly, appearing tender and pink. Even the words she spoke sounded sweet.
After watching her for a few seconds, Qin Jijing chuckled ambiguously and pushed his tiles aside.
This round, he conceded to her.