Poaching
When Hao Lei came out from the kitchen to wipe the dining table, he walked in on the scene and was immediately overcome by excitement. He struggled to keep himself from laughing out loud and tip toed back into the kitchen. Once back in the kitchen, he started gesturing towards the master bedroom and his facial expression was beyond comical.
Chang Baji, who was washing the dishes, was totally confused and said, "What’s happened to you? Did you have a head concussion?"
"No, they’re embracing each other," whispered Hao Lei, pointing towards the room.
Pleasantly surprised, Chang Baji blurted out, "What? Really?"
"Hush, be quiet. Would I lie to you?"
"Looks like the fire has been kindled. Maybe we should we stay away for the time being, we two should go get a room in the hotel for tonight," Chang Baji said but immediately realized how ridiculous his words were.
"Let’s go downstairs and give the two some privacy."
Hao Lei was agreeable to the idea, so without hesitation, he and Chang Baji went out of the house and closed the door softly behind them, making sure they did not make any noise.
Back in the bedroom, Qin Sheng did not resist Han Bing’s embrace. The atmosphere turned romantic as Qin Sheng took in a breath of Han Bing’s subtly fragrant perfume.
Earlier this morning, Han Bing had confessed her fondness towards Qin Sheng. At that time, Qin Sheng did not respond, thinking that Han Bing was just grateful to him for being there for her when she was lonely and helpless and shouldering all the problem for her. Qin Sheng did not like this at all. It seemed that he had taken advantage of the situation to gain her trust and love. The kind of love he really wanted was delicate but long-standing, like how he met and fell in love with Su Qin.
However, Qin Sheng did not break free from Han Bing’s embrace. He would play along with her since she, as a lady had put aside her pride and did this, although it did not mean he was accepting her.
"Did something happened?" Qin Sheng felt the silence was suffocating if he did not speak up, so he tried to strike up a conversation.
Han Bing shook her head and said, "Nothing, I just feel like hugging you. It makes me feel safe and secure."
Han Bing and Qin Sheng would go their separate ways from this day on. They had been through much thick and thin within the past one month and Han Bing felt as if she had known Qin Sheng for years. Before Qin Sheng started working in the last few days, the two of them were almost inseparable. After Qin Sheng started working, he still came back to her every night when they could chat to each other. However, from today onwards, they would not be able to stay so close to each other and would only get to meet a few times a week, after all she could not be visiting him every day.
Qin Sheng was at a loss of how to respond to Han Bing’s words. He gradually turned to face Han Bing and said with a smile, "Those things had passed and it is now a new beginning for you."
Today, Han Bing dressed in sports gear, complete with running shoes. Moreover with a 1.7meters’ height, she was only a little shorter Qin Sheng, so she could look directly into Qin Sheng’s eyes.
As they locked eyes, Han Bing looked longing at Qin Sheng and all of a sudden Qin Sheng was at a loss of what to do. Han Bing put her arms tightly around Qin Sheng as she lifted her eyes slowly to look tenderly at Qin Sheng.
Qin Sheng dazed and his feet was planted to the floor. He could anticipate what was going to happen, but it was too late for him to break free and Han Bing’s alluring lips were on his in no time. Apparently, Han Bing had muster all her courage this time.
Qin Sheng was caught off guard and was completely stunned. He was sure that Han Bing was a decent girl who esteemed her modesty. In fact she had only been in one relationship so far, during which she had only held hands with her boyfriend and had a few kisses, and the relationship ended after a while. In this light, she was not very skilled in kissing, yet she was the one who initiated, who was in control.
Qin Sheng was but a normal man, who would also be tempted when a girl threw herself voluntarily at him. Moreover, Han Bing was no ordinary girl, but a beautiful and elegant lady. Qin Sheng could no longer resist this temptation but also responded by embracing Han Bing.
After what seemed a long time, when they were both out of breath, they eventually parted. Qin Sheng was worried that he lost his self control and did something to Han Bing. Qin Sheng instantly remembered the presence of Chang Baji and Hao Lei and quickly recovered himself.
Han Bing looked tenderly at Qin Sheng and suddenly chuckled. She had obviously laid bare her emotions
"What are you laughing at?" Qin Sheng asked, puzzled.
Han Bing giggled and said, "I thought you were a bonehead who doesn’t like girls."
"Do you believe that I would met out your punishment right here?" Qin Sheng blurted out and was instantly surprised at his own words.
In a matter-of-fact way, Han Bing said, "I would like that."
"Stop trying to seduce me," Qin Sheng put his arms in the air as a sign of surrender.
In response, Han Bing covered her mouth to suppress a laugh.
Remembering the two others outside, Qin Sheng said, "It’s getting late, let me send you home."
"Alright," Han Bing knew even if they had wanted to progress to something else, this was not a suitable place for it to happen, since Chang Baji and Hao Lei were around. Han Bing wondered if they saw what happened a moment ago. If they did, it would be so embarrassing.
However, when they came out from the bedroom, they realized that both Chang Baji and Hao Lei were no longer there. Perplexed, Qin Sheng immediately called Hao Lei to ask where they were.
"We are making space for you two! Not really, we came out to get some fruits from the the store," Hao Lei tried to explain, but burst out laughing.
"What the heck, Bing Bing is going home now. You two wait downstairs for us," Qin Sheng scolded.
Chang Baji and Hao Lei waited at the gate for Qin Sheng and Han Bing to come down the building. True enough, Hao Lei had bought some fruits. He showed them to Qin Sheng and said, "Big brother, we really went to buy some fruits."
"Idiot!" Qin Sheng knew exactly why those two men went out. They must have seen something.
Chang Baji, who had always been the one to drive Han Bing around teasingly said, "Going home, Bing Bing? Qin Sheng, enjoy your long night. We will not wait up for you. Drive carefully!"
Chang Baji’s words made Han Bing’s face turn the color of beetroots. Han Bing thought he did not have to be so blunt. By then, Hao Lei had burst out laughing, behaving like a spectator who was enjoying what he was seeing.
Qin Sheng thought if he were to stay any longer, Chang Baji would say more to make them even more embarrassed. He quickly dragged Han Bing away.
On the way to Han Bing’s place, Qin Sheng focused on driving, while Han Bing kept looking at Qin Sheng were tenderness in her eyes. One could tell the affection a person have for another by looking at the eyes. At this moment, the look in Han Bing’s eyes were sparkling with that kind of admiration and affection.
After they arrived and got down from the car, Qin Sheng proceeded to walk Han Bing to the door, during which Han Bing held on the Qin Sheng’s arm as if they were a couple. Qin Sheng did not resist her but just played along with her. Perhaps he was unknowingly but slowly accepting her.
When they reached the lift, Qin Sheng thought this was furthest he should go, so he said, "Go ahead, rest early."
"Are you not staying for a while?" Han Bing bit her lower lips in an attempt to entice him.
Qin Sheng let out a cough, feeling uneasy. He knew where this would lead to. If he were to go upstairs with her, they would be in trouble. Therefore, he stared at Han Bing and said, "Stop fooling around."
Smiling sweetly, Han Bing replied, "Alright then, I’m going up."
"Go!" Qin Sheng waved his hand.
Before Han Bing really left, she abruptly turned to Qin Sheng and gave him an affectionate kiss on his cheek, then quickly turned to leave. She was in such high spirits that she began humming a tune as she skipped away like a little kid who had done well in her exams. Finally, without turning around, she waved her hand and called out, "Goodnight."
She was indeed very adorable.
Qin Sheng was at a loss of how to react. Nevertheless, he was truly comforted to see that Han Bing had somewhat recovered from her grief and was back to her confident and carefree self in the past.
A new week had begun. To many, it was extremely stressful to survive in this city. This was especially so for those who had come from other parts of country to make a name for themselves. Qin Sheng treated all the pressure as challenges. He thought life would be boring if it was too plain sailing. He loved the feeling of swimming upstream.
Monday mornings were usually packed with various meetings in Shangshan Ruoshui, just like any other companies. Firstly, there was the company’s main meeting. Then comes the departmental meetings. To everyone’s surprise, Chen Xiangyang, the manager of the security department did not turn up for the meetings, and everyone was discussing about this matter.
The structure of Shangshan Ruoshui’s management level was rather straight forward. The company’s overall incharge was Xu Lancheng and there was no deputy overall manager. Next was the managers for the various departments and their respective deputies. It was unusual for Chen Xiangyang to be absent.
As expected, when Xu Lancheng went up to the stage, the first thing he did was to announce Chen Xiangyang’s resignation due to family reasons. Yuan Hua would be taking over as the security manager. The announcement left the people gasping in astonishment. A smile appeared on Qin Sheng’s face as it was what he had expected, although he wondered who leaked the information regarding Chen Xiangyang to Jiang Xianbang.
After the overall meeting adjourned, the various departments started theirs. Although Qin Sheng was studying under reception and security, he was more inclined towards reception. It was mostly because the relationship between the colleagues within the reception department was cordial. More importantly, the reception department was made up of beautiful ladies, while the security department consisted of men.
Within the reception department, there was an overall incharge and two deputy managers. The two deputy managers both started from the bottom rung of the ladder who later rose to the top. Ms. An was always complimenting Qin Sheng, telling the others to follow his example and learn from him. By so doing, a number of the elder were increasingly displeased, just as Lyu Yuan predicted.
Nearing noon time, Xue Lancheng came to look for Qin Sheng abruptly to inform him that Jiang Xianbang wanted to see him.
This took Qin Sheng by surprise as it was not even lunch time yet. He wondered if Jiang Xianbang wanted to check how he was doing as a grassroot?
Qin Sheng took a taxi to Jiang Xianbang’s garden villa. When the steward of the house brought Qin Sheng in, Jiang Xianbang was sitting by the dining table. Together with him was the outstanding lady, Qing’er. A sumptuous meal was served on the table and it seemed like they were waiting for Qin Sheng to join them.
Qin Sheng did not greet Jiang Xianbang but nodded to the beautiful Qing’er with a smile on his face. Qing’er, who had flowy long hair, gave Qin Sheng a forced smile, as she did not have a good impression of him.
"Why do you behave as if you were my enemy?" Jiang Xianbang said, displeased.
Qin Sheng pouted and replied, "It can’t be any thing good if you called me over."
"What do you mean by ‘nothing good’? I just wanted to ask how you have been in Shangshan Ruoshui?" Jiang Xianbang joked, "You must be hungry. Come on and eat with us while we talk."
Qin Sheng took up the chopsticks and started eating savagely. He was obviously famished.
After Qin Sheng finished an entire bowl of rice, Jiang Xianbang finally said, "You know what happened at Shangshan Ruoshui, don’t you?"
"What happened?" Qin Sheng asked, puzzled.
"I’m talking about Chen Xiangyang. That idiot was into gambling and drugs, so I fired him. Xu Lancheng said you knew about this too," Jiang Xianbang, who was an unrefined man, said bluntly.
Qin Sheng replied with a ‘oh’. This thing had nothing to do with him. Now he knew Xu Lancheng was the one who leaked the secret. However, what Chen Xiangyang had done could not be kept in the dark for long. If Xu Lancheng did not tell on him but waited until Jiang Xianbang found out the truth, Xu Lancheng had anticipated that he would be implicated.
Jiang Xianbang squinted when he smiled and said, "Do you have anyone to recommend for taking over Shangshan Ruoshui’s security manager?"
"I have no idea," Qin Sheng looked up and thought it a funny question to ask him, after all he thought he was not suitable candidate for this.
Jiang Xianbang took a sip of the soup and said, "I think your friend, Chang Baji, would be a suitable candidate…"
Qin Sheng quickly understood why Jiang Xianbang had looked for him. What the heck, he was trying to poach…