Chapter 454 I Am Not That Strong Yet
Never did Qin Sheng plan to keep the information of his family members from Lin Su. However, he was afraid that if he told Lin Su everything at once, Lin Su would feel somewhat frightened. That was the reason why he had informed her in advance, telling her some information about his family members vaguely and roughly. He knew Lin Su, who was so smart, would find out who his family members were sooner or later. In that case, he would rather let Lin Su discover the mystery on her own gradually than take the initiative to enlighten her.
Qin Sheng did not plan to keep his family background from Lin Su, nor did Qin Ran, who thought highly of Lin Su. Consequently, she did not need to be so defensive about her family background information. After all, based on the relationship between Qin Sheng and Lin Su, these issues did not need to be taken into account. They also didn’t need to test Lin Su with other things, which would otherwise overdo it.
It turned out that it was Wu Han who went downstairs to pick Lin Su up. Wu Han was Qin Ran’s temporary secretary and assistant in Shanghai right now, which was somewhat unworthy of her talents. After all, she had been an elite in charge of the projects in a top-level investment bank abroad previously. However, Wu Han did not have any problem with her current position at all, which was nothing but a temporary job. She would only go to take the position in the headquarters in Beijing after she was done with the issues in Shanghai.
It was true that the workload in recent days was not heavy, which was to organize all the projects that the company had invested in abroad, including all the relative parties and financial transaction records involved, the evaluation of the current value of the projects, the withdrawal plans, and so on. Although Wu Han had worked in a top-level investment bank, she felt somewhat stressed by the current workload. Fortunately, Qin Ran had told her yesterday that she had hired another assistant to help her with the workload so that Wu Han could alleviate her pressure. Moreover, the efficiency of her team could be thus improved.
After Wu Han met Lin Su, she found out surprisedly that the assistant Qin Ran had hired turned out to be such a beautiful lady, who she was somewhat inferior to. However, what the financial industry needed was not a beautiful appearance but an authentic capability, which Wu Han was confident about.
After they went out of the elevator, Wu Han stared at Lin Su’s distracted look and asked confusedly, “What’s wrong?”
After Lin Su came to her senses, she shook her head smilingly and said, “Nothing. Since I have not been working in some time, I feel somewhat emotional to come back to the kind of familiar working environment like this.”
Back when Lin Su had asked Song Chu and Tan Jing to accompany her to go window shopping in the Shanghai International Finance Center yesterday, she had bought two sets of business suits for work conveniently. That was because she knew that the dress code was strictly implemented in the financial industry, which, after all, was a top-level industry of the pyramid.
Wu Han warned Lin Su out of kindness as she said, “Lin Su, you need to be mentally prepared in advance in case you are unable to withstand it. We have been fighting a tough battle recently. Every member of our team works overtime almost every day.” She was afraid that this beauty could not put up with the workload. However, she did not doubt Lin Su’s capability at all. Otherwise, Sister Qin Ran would not have asked her to join her team.
Lin Su smiled gently as she said, “I got used to the kind of life like this before.”
There were unknown bitterness and hardships behind every glorious and dazzling industry. Although the financial industry was seemingly high-class and enviable, ordinary people could not conceive how many efforts and sacrifices that the people who engaged in the financial industry had made. However, of course, those sacrifices were paid back greatly, motivating them most directly.
After Wu Han led Lin Su into Qin Ran’s office, she knocked on the open door gently several times. It was not until Qin Ran raised her head that she walked in slowly and said, “President Qin, Lin Su is here.”
Qin Ran stood up smilingly and said, “Susu, I told you that you should rest for a few more days. However, you insist on coming to work today. In that case, don’t complain about me in the future.”
Of course, Lin Su understood what Qin Ran’s words meant. On the contrary, Wu Han was confused.
Instead of addressing Qin Ran as her sister in the company, Lin Su said, “President Qin, it’s better if I register in the company and come to work as soon as possible.”
Qin Ran nodded quietly and stared at Wu Han as she said, “Then I won’t be polite to you. Let me do the introductions. This beauty is my temporary assistant, an elite who came back from a top-level investment bank abroad. Originally, she was assigned as a general manager of a department in the headquarters in Beijing. However, I asked her to stay by my side in Shanghai temporarily. During this period, both of you will act as my temporary assistants, helping me organize these projects well within the shortest period.”
Lin Su asked thoughtfully, “President Qin, then what should I be in charge of?”
Qin Ran smiled and said, “Your position is the same as Wu Han’s. Both of you are my assistants. As for your detailed job responsibilities, Wu Han will tell you. If you are confused about some things, feel free to ask me. All right. Let’s not delay here. Wu Han, I will leave Lin Su to you.”
Qin Ran acted differently in life and work. In usual life, she was quiet and easygoing, whom people found comfortable to get along with. However, when it came to work, she was a career woman, who was decisive in talking and vigorous in carrying out the work.
After Wu Han left with Lin Su, Qin Ran became intensely engrossed in her work. In the next 24 hours, she would be fully occupied with things that were indeed extremely important for the Qin Family. Compared with her state, her old man in Beijing had been working day and night.
The reason why they were so busy was that if they could not handle some issues well now, and those issues might end up being a bomb that might blow up the Qin Family in the future. After all, numerous tycoons and financial groups had collapsed because of some petty issues in the past years. Since there were so many vivid examples, the Qin Family dared not to act carelessly. Whether it was Qin Changan or Qin Ran, both of them sensed a crisis was going to fall upon the Qin Family. It was instinct for a great family to take precautions.
Although Qin Sheng sensed something had gone wrong, he was powerless even though he wanted to help them now. The only thing he could now was take care of himself well instead of pulling his family members’ legs.
After Qin Sheng got up, he tidied up the house, went to the market to buy some necessities, and so on. After that, he drove to the old lady’s place for lunch. Currently, the most important thing for him was to accompany his grandmother.
The old lady, who had known her grandson would be here for lunch, asked the chef in the kitchen to cook more dishes. When it came to a simple thing like this, the old lady had asked the maidservant to call Qin Ran specifically, asking what her grandson’s favorite foods were, making Qin Ran, who was having a meeting now, burst into laughter. Qin Ran felt somewhat jealous about how dearly the old lady favored Qin Sheng.
Only Qin Sheng and the old lady had lunch there. The old lady’s food and drink were specifically stipulated by the medical staffers. Never would they allow the old lady to eat and drink whatever she wanted. Consequently, a tableful of dishes was all for Qin Sheng.
Qin Sheng was somewhat overwhelmed by how his grandmother treated him. To make his grandmother happier, Qin Sheng took in the dishes with a sweeping glance. The old lady stared at her grandson smilingly and took her time to pass the dishes to him. On usual days, Qin Sheng could only finish two bowls of rice. However, he finished four bowls of rice today and even took in more than half of the dishes on the table.
Was Qin Sheng full? Of course. However, if he could make his grandmother happier by doing so, it did not matter to him at all, even though he was full. At worst, he would go for a run or exercise later on to digest what he had eaten. If it did not work, Qin Sheng would choose to take in some digestive pills.
The old lady simmered with affectionate laughter as she said, “Sheng’er, eat slowly, eat slowly. Why do you act like you were reborn from a hungry ghost?”
Qin Sheng replied without ever lifting his head, “Grandma, after all, these dishes are all my favorite. If I didn’t eat more, I’d feel sorry for myself.”
The old lady replied smilingly, “All right, all right, all right. If you like them, you should eat more. Then you should eat here more frequently in the future. I will ask them to cook more dishes that you like.”
Qin Sheng accepted his grandmother’s request gladly. Before the classes for advanced studies at Tsinghua University started, Qin Sheng would stay by his grandmother’s side all the time in Shanghai and put other things aside.
It was not until his grandmother had a rest in the afternoon that Qin Sheng left the old-style villa on Sinan Road and headed for another old-style villa on Middle Huaihai Road, which belonged to Uncle Jiang. Since the Academy of Music did not formally open yet, Qing’er had not been busy in recent days. Most of the time, she stayed in the old-style villa, reading, practicing the Chinese Zither playing, and so on. As a quiet woman by nature, she felt fine as long as the time was still and life was stable.
After Qin Sheng arrived, the old housekeeper walked him in happily. Qing’er was playing a song called “Singing Fishman under the Setting Sun” on a Chinese zither in the living room and she did not stand up at all. The reason why she had done so was probably either she was familiar with Qin Sheng or she did not want to pay him any mind. Instead, she kept playing the Chinese zither expressionlessly, immersing herself in her spiritual world.
Qin Sheng did not interrupt Qing’er’s playing. Instead, as he saw that some fragrant Puer tea was boiling on the charcoal stove, he poured a cup of tea on his own. After that, he lay on the sofa and enjoyed the comfort as the sunshine shone on him. As he enjoyed the melodious sound from the beauty’s playing and sipped the high-class Puer tea, he felt so relaxed and comfortable.
It was not until Qing’er finished playing the song that she stood up. She was not as cold and distant as before. It seemed that she had remembered the agreement she had made with Qin Sheng last time. She, who looked extremely elegant and graceful, was blushing somewhat.
Qing’er asked in a low voice, “Why are you here?”
Qin Sheng crossed his legs as he replied, “I am here to check on you. After all, from now on, you are my girl. Anyway, I should be nice to you.”
What Qin Sheng had said was a deliberate joke, which was rather flirting with Qing’er. Although Qing’er glared at Qin Sheng indignantly, the look in her eyes was somewhat shy. When it came to some things, she had resigned herself to fate. Since she had consented to Qin Sheng, never would she go back on her word. In that case, her destiny in the future was set. She felt fine as long as she could pay back Uncle Jiang’s loving-kindness.
Qin Sheng, who did not act slovenly anymore, said somewhat solemnly, “I am just joking with you. I am here to visit you in passing. Since you did not give me even one call all day, I had no other way to check whether you were fine or not. Sine Uncle Jiang asked me to take care of you, I don’t want to break my promise.”
Qing’er replied gently, “I am quite fine. You don’t need to worry about me. I’m fine as long as you keep in mind what you promised me.”
Qin Sheng replied honestly, “Rest assured that I won’t forget the agreement. I have been quite busy recently. After I arrive in Beijing in a few days, I will start inquiring about the news and take care of the connections.”
It did not occur to Qing’er, who had thought that Qin Sheng had started to take action, that she needed to wait for some more time. Although she felt somewhat disappointed in secret, she did not speak her thoughts out. After all, she knew that it would not be so easy to get the issue done. As long as Qin Sheng could get the issue done, she had enough time to keep waiting for his update.
Qin Sheng could not understand why Qing’er was living such a life. She did not have any friends. Never had she been in a relationship. On usual days, other than attending classes, she almost always stayed at home. Moreover, she was unwilling to go outside. If ordinary people were leading such a life, they would be doomed early.
Qin Sheng said subconsciously, “Qing’er, since you’re alone here, I wonder whether you ever feel lonely and solitary.”
Qing’er took a sip of tea and replied somewhat confusedly, “No.”
Qin Sheng let out a sigh and said, “Then you are indeed amazing. If I were asked to live your life, I would have gone crazy long ago.”
Qing’er said thoughtfully, “Am I? I have a good time sipping tea, reading, playing Chinese zither, and taking care of the flowers every day. According to my uncle, as long as one has a fulfilled spiritual world, never will one feel lonely and solitary.”
Qin Sheng let out a sigh and mumbled to himself, “What you say makes sense. Some people are seemingly quite busy all day, attending to many things, many friends, and many social entertainments. However, in the end, besides feeling exhausted, they still feel lonely and solitary. Only when one’s spiritual world is fulfilled can they be called authentically strong ones. I am not that strong yet.”