Cheng Yun's assistant told me that Qin Jijing, since beginning university, generally didn't stay at the old house except during holidays and festivals. Even before he came of age, he held the deeds to several properties in Beijing.
But the residence he mostly stayed at was the one closest to the company right now, the Number One Mansion.
As soon as the car stopped, two young servants came forward with a wheelchair prepared in advance, and they helped her out from both sides.
"Good afternoon, Miss Jiang, my last name is Xu, and I am Qin's head butler."
The middle-aged man beside her greeted her amiably.
Cheng Yun's assistant introduced her, "Miss Jiang, if you need anything while here, you can contact Butler Xu."
"Alright, thank you."
Cheng Yun's assistant had other matters to attend to, so after placing her in the care of Butler Xu, he left.
The group escorted her inside the mansion, and because they were aware she was convalescing, Butler Xu did not plan to give her a tour just yet. Jiang Ni could only look around curiously in the brief moment before getting on the elevator.
The minimalist design certainly matched Qin Jijing's style—a matte floor, warm, embedded lighting, and open views through the panoramic floor-to-ceiling windows that connected to the courtyard. The overall black and gray colors looked somber, but they were high-quality, and not too oppressive.
The living room was sunken, with a large skylight overhead. The glass was clean and clear, creating dappled light and shadows like a flowing canvas. Sitting on the sofa, one could clearly see the shaking and scattered shadows of the trees in the courtyard.
Jiang Ni dared not imagine how pleasant it would be to sit here and daydream on a rainy day.
Throughout the residence, she saw no extravagant decorations or ostentatious symbols of status. The whole place was luxurious yet unassuming, fitting the impression others had of him perfectly.
The third floor.
"This is your bedroom, the internal line is on the cabinet to the right of the bed. Someone is on duty downstairs 24/7, so please call us whenever you may require assistance."
Jiang Ni came back to her senses, "And my luggage...?"
"Cheng Yun's assistant mentioned it earlier. I've already sent someone to take care of it; it should be here in about an hour."
"The walk-in closet is on the left, we have prepared a change of clothing and other necessities for you."
Butler Xu was very gentlemanly and polite, without prying too much. The two servants that looked after her were also proficiently compassionate, their gazes never lingered on her inappropriately.
It was as if, before her arrival, they had already received countless "female guests" just as suddenly.
After they left, Jiang Ni calmed down and lay on the bed, unable to resist reflecting on her situation.
She had investigated thoroughly beforehand. Officially, Qin Jijing had always been single. She didn't know about his private life. She had inquired to Bai Shu about any women that might have been involved with Qin Jijing over the years. She hoped to detect a significant characteristic among the women he had met in the past, to make it easier for her to grasp his preferences.
But Bai Shu had no clue.
He had gone abroad for high school and wasn't very familiar with Qin Jijing's private affairs these past years.
Perhaps it was telepathy, but it wasn't long before Jiang Ni received a call from Bai Shu.
His first sentence was, "You moved into my brother's place?"
His tone was unmistakably surprised.
He probably didn't expect that in just two days, her progress would be so rapid.
Actually, Jiang Ni hadn't expected it herself either.
"How did you know?"
Bai Shu fell silent for a moment, then mentioned a significant figure in Beijing, "Do you know Cheng Si?"
"I've heard of him, your cousin? The Chairman of Feiyun Technology."
In the Beijing Circle, wealth is also stratified, with the wealthy being plentiful, and net worth of hundreds of millions being just a stepping stone to entering Beijing's upper society. But descendants of the central courtyard clans will always prevail over these people.
The interwoven connections and friendships developed by the courtyard clans from the parents' generation are incomparable to ordinary power and influence. Among this generation, the Qin Family, the Bai Family, and the Cheng Family are all leading figures, so the younger generations are naturally closely knit.
Bai Shu sighed, "The person who brought you there, Cheng Yun, is his daughter."
"..."
The air grew still, and Jiang Ni's breath stopped.
"You really have quite the influence," Bai Shu remarked with a sigh.
"I only just learned myself that she's been assisting my brother recently. She's ambitious, probably had another argument and didn't agree with her father."
Jiang Ni quickly recalled the probing she had faced from Cheng Yun's assistant during their first meeting.
It turned out it hadn't been Qin Jijing's idea but her own curiosity.
"So... was it her who told you I moved into Qin Jijing's place?"
"No, not really. She sent my brother a message saying she'd safely dropped you off. It ended up in our group chat, and I saw it before it was retracted."
"Don't worry, she's not the kind of person to gossip behind someone's back."
Jiang Ni breathed a sigh of relief.
Through their interaction over the last couple of days, she could feel that the assistant Cheng bore her no ill will. Previously, seeing her way of speaking and doing things, Jiang Ni even marveled at why she was still just an assistant.
She hadn't realized the background was not so simple.
"Speaking of which, isn't my brother in Beijing? How did you get him to agree to let you move in?"
It's a long story.
Jiang Ni briefly described what had happened that day, and Bai Shu, who still had a conscience, showed some concern for her injuries before promptly focusing on the main point, "So, it wasn't your idea?"
"I didn't know until I got in the car."
There was a sudden silence on the other end of the phone.
After a while, Bai Shu unexpectedly blurted out, "Jiang Ni, run."
Jiang Ni: "..."
Actually, when she first saw Qin Jijing at school last year, her intuition told her... Qin Jijing liked her.
Especially after these past few days of interaction, that feeling grew even stronger.
Or maybe it couldn't be called 'liking', but he certainly had taken an interest in her.
Whatever it was, it didn't matter to her.
After an hour, Secretary Li sent a message, "President Jiang did not agree to meet with me."
Jiang Ni tossed her phone aside, no longer in the mood to look at it.
She slept until eight in the evening, and when she woke up, the servant brought up dinner.
"It's all prepared according to Assistant Cheng's instructions."
It was all food she liked.
But Jiang Ni had no appetite and just picked at it before letting them take it away.
Calculating the time difference, she tried contacting Qin Jijing.
Not long after she sent the message, Qin Jijing called her back.
Fortunately, it wasn't a video call; she was too drained to bother dolling up after the day's events.
"Awake?"
There was some background noise on his end, and it was unclear where he was.
Jiang Ni lay in bed, idly holding the phone.
"How was your sleep?"
"Pretty good..." Knowing she had something to say, he didn't make another sound, patiently waiting for her to speak.
"Thank you, Mr. Qin, for letting me stay here for the time being. I'll move back to the hotel in a couple of days once my leg is better."
"Mm."
He didn't try to persuade her to stay.
And that was to be expected; he wasn't good at that sort of thing.
He could hear her uneven breathing, as if she was weighing her words.
"Is there something else you want to say?"
"Just, will me staying here affect you at all? Because I heard from Assistant Cheng that you often stay here."
He asked what kind of impact.
"Like... affecting other girls staying overnight?"