After getting into the car, Jiang Ni found out that not only was the driver Qin Jijing's exclusive driver, but the guide was also Qin Jijing's assistant.
"..."
The assistant's surname was Cheng; she was a capable and efficient woman. "Since I'm a local from Beijing, Mr. Qin specifically asked me to come and accompany Miss Jiang for a tour around Beijing."
"Isn't it a bit inappropriate for you to sacrifice your work time to accompany me?"
Assistant Cheng explained, "You don't have to worry about that. Mr. Qin has nine secretaries and assistants in total. Although all are assistants, we have different responsibilities. Miss Jiang, you are now a part of my job as well."
"Where are you from, Miss Jiang? Have you been to Beijing before?"
On the road, Assistant Cheng seemed to ask casually.
Jiang Ni's long eyelashes trembled slightly, and when she spoke, her tone remained usual, "I grew up overseas, and this is my first time in Beijing."
Assistant Cheng did not doubt her, "Do you have any particular places you'd like to visit, or are you okay with anything?"
"You can arrange it," Jiang Ni complied obligingly.
"Do you know when Mr. Qin will be back in the country?"
"I'm sorry, Miss Jiang, I'm not sure about that at the moment," Assistant Cheng answered tactfully. "Perhaps, you can ask Mr. Qin yourself."
At noon, Assistant Cheng took Jiang Ni to a century-old restaurant for some local specialties, and they strolled around some famous attractions in the afternoon.
Assistant Cheng helped her take several standard tourist photos.
On the way back to the hotel, Jiang Ni selected the most beautiful one and sent it to Qin Jijing, along with some words of thanks.
——
The meeting room.
The mobile phone on the table vibrated, and the surroundings went silent.
The man sitting at the head of the table picked up the phone, "Sorry, please continue."
"Of course, Mr. Qin."
The executive opposite gave a light cough and continued to report on work matters.
Qin Jijing lowered his gaze and stared at the message on the phone screen for a few seconds before unlocking it and opening the message.
Suddenly, Jiang Ni's freshly taken tourist photo invaded his view.
Her style today was similar to last night's, with no striking decorations from head to toe, yet her face was anything but low-key, endearing even without a smile or expression. Not to mention, she was now slightly bending over, delicately holding a lotus flower from the pond in the palm of her hand, her eyes playful and clear, smiling coyly at the camera.
The pale pink hem of her skirt fluttered slightly, making her skin look even whiter, and her small face, flushed with a touch of red, seemed even more delicate than the fully-bloomed lotus in her hand.
It was just a tourist photo, yet passersby in the background were blatantly gazing at her.
Indeed, a young girl so bright and sunny was bound to attract attention everywhere she went.
The man tapped lightly on the screen with his fingertip but did not reply immediately.
Qin Jijing never touched his phone during meetings, but today, unprecedentedly, he not only read the message, but he also did not put the phone down right away. The others noticed too, but none dared to glance his way, their eyes fixed on the PPT opposite, pretending to be fully engaged with work.
Assistant Xiaoyu, seated slightly behind him, had a vantage point and could see by craning his neck.
He had just caught a glimpse of the corner of the photo when the screen suddenly went black.
Xiaoyu started, then looked up to meet those dark, inscrutable eyes and lowered his head in embarrassment, "I'm sorry, Mr. Qin."
"Are they still out?"
Xiaoyu hurriedly took out his phone, "Sister Cheng says they're on their way back. Miss Jiang is having a great time."
"Hmm."
Back at the hotel, Jiang Ni finished washing up, changed clothes, and quietly slipped out.
As night fell and the streetlights came on, the car got stuck for a while when passing Chang'an Street. Jiang Ni, seated in the back, didn't show the slightest impatience. Her gaze returned from the window, and she looked at the man driving in front, asking softly, "Is he doing well?"
"Don't worry, Mr. Jiang is currently fine. It's just that they are keeping a close watch on him, so it's not possible to arrange a meeting for now."
"It's okay," Jiang Ni shrugged, "meeting him is not urgent. I'm not going anywhere."
Her purpose wasn't to meet, anyway.
"When is the next time you're going to see him?"
"I have it scheduled for the day after tomorrow, early in the morning. I'm going with Lawyer Wang."
After a pause, the person in the front seat made eye contact with her through the rearview mirror, "Is there any message you want me to deliver? Or something else?"
"Forget about the stuff," to avoid being discovered.
"If he asks about me, just say I'm back in the country for a short stay. Don't mention anything else."
The person hesitated for a second, "Mr. Jiang is not easy to deceive."
"Is that so?" The girl in the back seat burst into laughter, "I'm starting to doubt his intelligence now."
"Well... every horse stumbles, and everyone makes mistakes. This time Mr. Jiang was indeed set up. As you know, Mr. Jiang has been unwell lately, and with Mr. Jiang being so busy, a moment's inattention and..."
After a brief silence, Jiang Ni leaned forward slightly, curious, "You don't run away at this time, and you're still willing to work for him so willingly."
"Secretary Li, when I get him out, would you consider working for me?"
"Miss Jiang, you must be joking." Secretary Li choked and coughed, quickly changing the subject, "Is everything going well on your end? Do you need my help?"
A certain figure appeared in her mind, and the girl's usually untroubled eyes stirred slightly, "No need."
Secretary Li paused for a few seconds, his words rolling in his mouth before he ultimately swallowed them back down, "Take care of yourself."
——
Outside the VIP ward at the hospital, Jiang Ni's gaze fixed through the glass window on the middle-aged man sleeping in the bed.
After a long while, Secretary Li hurried over from the corridor, "Miss Jiang, we should leave now. The lady... has arrived. We'll take the service exit to avoid running into her."
When parting, Secretary Li escorted her to an alley not far from the hotel. After much deliberation, he still voiced his thoughts, "The lady has been making some big moves lately. We suspect that Mr. Jiang's incident might have something to do with her."
"This time, it all depends on you, Mr. Jiang."
"Rest assured, once this matter is over, we will immediately arrange a private jet to take you away. As for the rest, we'll take care of it."
What the 'rest' referred to was self-explanatory.
At the entrance of the alley, under the dim streetlight, the shadows were stretched long. Standing at a distance, Secretary Li couldn't make out her facial expression, only faintly hearing the girl laugh lightly, responding evasively, "You've worked hard."
At a quarter past midnight Beijing time, Jiang Ni applied her facial mask, opened up her social media and sat down by the window, and posted a new update.
[So there really are people who can be so busy they don't check their phones all day, poor thing T^T]
The bait was too obvious, yet some were willing to bite.
Qin Jijing: [Where did you go today?]
Jiang Ni raised an eyebrow, [Have you just finished your busy day? It's so late to end your day.]
[Just came out of the meeting room.] Implicitly stating it wasn't intentional to not reply to her messages.
After expressing concern for a few sentences, she opened the voice message, held down the button, "I thought I was sending too many messages and bothering you, that you didn't want to talk to me. I've been waiting since the afternoon, and just a moment ago I almost fell asleep."
She lifted her finger, sending the message.
That wasn't all, she didn't forget to attach an emoji of a pitiful little cat at the end.