091 Flirtation
Since eliminating the Old Fox and driving off the Black Bear, Lin Qi could clearly feel that his standing within the Golden Sun Group had risen by a great margin.
Gong Jun, the head of the security department, treated him with scrupulous deference whenever they met and no longer dared to provoke him.
Secretary Zhou also showed him the utmost courtesy, speaking in a manner as gentle as a spring breeze.
As for the managers of the branch company, they looked at him with the reverence one might reserve for a deity.
Even Song Qingzhu had grown much kinder to him; her words were no longer so cold, and she would even occasionally toss out a joke or two, leaving Lin Qi pleasantly flustered.
Seizing the opportunity, Lin Qi said to Song Qingzhu, “Last time, when I was dealing with the Old Fox, Manager Zhan helped me a great deal...”
Before he had finished, Song Qingzhu immediately understood what he meant. “I’ll transfer him back right away.”
That very afternoon, Manager Zhan returned to headquarters.
So moved that he was nearly in tears, Manager Zhan bought all kinds of tea, cigarettes, and liquor and sent them to Lin Qi. After receiving them, Lin Qi simply handed everything over to the staff around Song Qingzhu—he was not especially generous, merely genuinely disdainful of such things.
Manager Zhan also made occasional inspections of the construction site. Whenever he happened to see Luo Feifei, he was exceedingly respectful, treating her with near-reverence.
Thus, in the branches of Longyue Group, Luo Feifei likewise came to hold a lofty position. Everyone knew that the Luo Lake Commercial Plaza project had been secured by her single-handedly.
On the day Luo Feifei was officially promoted to deputy manager, she declined the company department’s celebratory banquet, went home early, cooked a few simple dishes, and drank a bottle of fiery sorghum liquor with Lin Qi.
To anyone looking at them, she was the deputy manager of a branch of Longyue Group, while he was Song Qingzhu’s bodyguard and driver—an ideal match in every respect.
Luo Feifei’s parents called her several times in succession, urging her to marry Lin Qi as soon as possible.
But Luo Feifei refused, saying, “My brother-in-law hasn’t fallen in love with me yet.”
This left her parents utterly helpless.
That morning, as usual, Lin Qi drove Song Qingzhu to the front of the headquarters building of the Golden Sun Group.
“President Song, I’m going across the street for breakfast. Would you like to come along?” Lin Qi asked as casually as ever.
Ever since becoming deputy manager, Luo Feifei had been swamped with work every day and had no time to make breakfast, so the two of them now ate separately.
Song Qingzhu would normally have refused. With her status, she could simply have anything sent to her, and if need be, she could order takeout. In any case, there was no way she would line up at a breakfast shop; Lin Qi was only asking out of politeness.
But this time, Song Qingzhu nodded. “All right.”
Lin Qi was momentarily stunned, thinking he had misheard.
Song Qingzhu’s expression darkened. “What, you don’t want me to go?”
Lin Qi hurriedly said, “No, no, of course I do! To have President Song accompany me is truly my honor!”
After parking the car, Lin Qi and Song Qingzhu crossed the road together.
Across the street stood a row of breakfast stalls, most of them doing business primarily with the Golden Sun Group. There were steamed buns, soy milk, wontons, rice noodles, and scallion pancakes, and the customers dining there were all employees of the group.
Long lines stretched before every stall.
But people quickly noticed Song Qingzhu’s arrival. No matter which stall she approached, everyone would voluntarily part to make a path for her.
Thus, Song Qingzhu and Lin Qi very smoothly got themselves rice noodles and soup dumplings.
While eating, Lin Qi grinned and said, “President Song, being with you means I don’t even have to queue. Why don’t you eat breakfast with me every day?”
It was habitual for Lin Qi to tease Song Qingzhu with such flirtatious remarks. Every time, she either ignored him or shot him a frosty glance, but this time she actually nodded. “All right.”
That simple “all right” left Lin Qi entirely bewildered.
What was wrong with this woman today? Why wasn’t she playing by the rules?
Song Qingzhu gave him a sidelong glance. “What, you’re unwilling?”
“不... 不是，我当然愿意了...”林奇嘿嘿笑着：“跟我一个小员工吃饭，就怕宋总觉得委屈...”
“不会。”宋青竹低头嗦了一根米线，轻轻地道：“和你在一起，我觉得很有安全感。”
这句话颇有点“调情”的味道了。
林奇不敢想歪，也只能说：“那就好，那就好，说明我的工作得到了宋总的认可。”
吃过饭后，二人从早餐店里出来，一起步行前往对面的集团总部。
但还没走一步，宋青竹突然脚下一歪，差点摔倒在地。
“宋总！”林奇叫了一声，赶紧伸手扶她。
“脚崴了……”宋青竹疼得直流冷汗。
“我叫医生！”林奇立刻拿出手机，集团大楼里就有专业的医疗团队。
“一点小伤，不碍事的，去办公室抹点红花油就好。”宋青竹淡淡地说：“你背我上楼吧。”
“啊？！”看着左右人流如织的金阳集团员工，林奇有点不好意思。
宋青竹微微皱眉：“平时骚话连篇，还说要泡我什么的，现在连背我上楼都不敢了？”
“谁说我不敢的？上来！”林奇立刻弯下了腰。