The kitchen quickly sent over another bowl of zhajiangmian. Although it was just zhajiangmian, with a bit of king crab meat and lobster added in the sauce, Zhou Wang managed to eat it.
After finishing his meal, and scrolling through Douyin for a while, Zhou Wang was wondering why Jiang Qingkui hadn’t returned yet, when the room door was gently knocked on. From outside came Jiang Qingkui’s voice,
"Mr. Zhou, have you rested yet?"
"No, come in."
Zhou Wang, who had been laughing heartily at a silly video, quickly pulled back his smile, still looking somewhat displeased, and responded blandly.
The door was pushed open, and Jiang Qingkui, still wearing her long windbreaker, walked in. Her hands were in her pockets, maintaining her cool demeanor, paired with loose long hair, which inexplicably reminded Zhou Wang of a foreign actress—Gal Gadot.
But when you looked closely, Jiang Qingkui’s features were even more heroic and delicate... Of course, Zhou Wang had already seen her softer side, which was truly top-notch.
Thinking of this, Zhou Wang felt a strange restlessness again.
Gosh, he had just eaten not long ago...
Forcing away random thoughts, Zhou Wang merely nodded indifferently at Jiang Qingkui’s greeting. He absolutely couldn’t show her a friendly face; otherwise, where would his authoritative boss image be?
Originally, without Ding Yi’s reminder, Jiang Qingkui might not have thought deeply about it, but seeing Zhou Wang’s "pretending" appearance now, Jiang Qingkui couldn’t help but smile gently.
"What are you laughing at?"
Zhou Wang noticed and asked discontentedly.
"Nothing, just felt that Mr. Zhou, you seem to have become more handsome today."
Jiang Qingkui replied with a slight smile.
"...Cut that out. Ahem, Qingkui, is there something you need?"
"Of course, I’m here to apologize to you, boss. Earlier, I didn’t consider your feelings, which was my dereliction of duty as a Secretary. Please forgive me."
Hearing this, Zhou Wang raised his head in surprise to glance at Jiang Qingkui. Seeing her serious expression, it was hard for Zhou Wang to keep up his pretense.
He waved his hand, "It’s okay, let bygones be bygones... be careful next time."
"Okay, by the way, Mr. Zhou, I heard from Wenxi that you suddenly gave bonuses to Yun Rou and Yun Lan today. Can I ask why?"
Zhou Wang was first cautious, but after glancing at Jiang Qingkui’s expression and sensing she seemed to be making small talk, he relaxed a bit and replied casually,
"Oh, it’s nothing much, they’ve been running around with me a lot recently, working hard, so some incentive seemed appropriate... Any problem with that?"
"Of course not, that’s your right as a boss. It’s just Wenxi is a bit worried; she might fear that you are blinded by temptation..."
"What are you talking about? They gave me decent massages, and I’m not someone so easy."
Zhou Wang feigned displeasure.
"I certainly believe you. Although you’re a bit of a flirt, I don’t think you’d have no limits... Also, don’t blame Wenxi, as your financial manager and assistant, she naturally hopes for balanced spending."
Zhou Wang knew well that both Jiang Qingkui and Xu Wenqian had some bias against Yun Rou and Yun Lan. Perhaps in their eyes, they were hardly different from "loose women"...
However, Zhou Wang’s attitude towards this matter had always been candid, and Jiang Qingkui never suspected Zhou Wang would use employment as a guise for keeping mistresses... At least until today, Zhou Wang was indeed innocent.
After finishing this topic, Jiang Qingkui didn’t leave, her face showing a bit of hesitation.
"Is there something else?"
Zhou Wang asked, surprised by Jiang Qingkui’s hesitant look.
"I... don’t know."
Jiang Qingkui opened her mouth, seemingly unsure of how to express herself at the moment.
Despite knowing each other for so long, it was the first time Zhou Wang saw Jiang Qingkui show such an expression. His eyes narrowed, realizing something was off. Jiang Qingkui coming to his room probably wasn’t just about a so-called "apology"...
"Have a seat first."
Zhou Wang gestured towards the sofa, "I’ll pour you a glass of water."
Following his instructions, Jiang Qingkui sat on the sofa. When Zhou Wang handed her a cup of warm water, Jiang Qingkui felt the warmth in her palm and glanced at Zhou Wang’s concerned face. She fell silent for a short while.
After a moment, seeming to have built up some mental preparation, Jiang Qingkui took a deep breath and said,
"Mr. Zhou, I want to have a serious conversation with you. You should remember the agreement we made when I joined, right, I..."
Just as Zhou Wang was listening intently, Jiang Qingkui’s phone rang, interrupting her words.
Jiang Qingkui took a look at her phone, her face showing some surprise, "It’s Professor Chen Yanqing..."
Zhou Wang nodded, signaling Jiang Qingkui to do as she pleased. Professor Chen Yanqing was Jiang Qingkui’s previous mentor at Beijing University. Contrarily, upon knowing Zhou Wang was in Beidou, Professor Wang Hongying, who was far away in Ming City, even called Zhou Wang, hoping he could meet this Professor Chen Yanqing if given a chance.
Professor Wang Hongying’s request was definitely out of goodwill, as Chen Yanqing was not just influential in academia but also held numerous positions and had high standing in certain fields.
Jiang Qingkui didn’t avoid Zhou Wang and answered the call right in front of him, turning on the speakerphone,
"Hello, Professor?"
"Qingkui, am I bothering your rest..."
An amiable voice came from the other end, sounding very friendly.
Zhou Wang didn’t feel anything unusual, while Jiang Qingkui seemed quite surprised. Although many legal experts were humorous, like the famous outlaw Zhang San, due to professional nature, there were still more serious types.