Chapter 356: Indirect Kiss

Most of the boys who chose the elective table tennis class had a certain level of technical foundation, while the girls were the exact opposite—all of them were complete novices stepping into this field.

When playing against each other, their movements were clumsy and immature, and every shot looked cautious; you push, I lift, and the whole scene gave one the feeling of children playing house.

Luo Qiqi's ball skills, however, made Shen Yan look at her with new eyes; all sorts of spin shots, chops, and smashes came easily to her, as if she were a veteran who had been immersed in table tennis for years.

As the two played against each other, Shen Yan was like an impenetrable wall, relying on his superhuman reaction speed and solid foundation to perfectly block every single attack.

As he played, he praised, "Whoa! Not bad, it's rare to see a girl play as well as you do."

Luo Qiqi smiled smugly, *Bang! * Another forehand smash.

"You're not bad yourself, did you play often before?"

"I played for a while when I was a kid, and my PE teacher even suggested I go pro back then."

Playing against Luo Qiqi, Shen Yan didn't use his full strength, focusing mainly on backhands and enjoying the thrill of their back-and-forth rallies; as they moved, the table tennis ball turned into layers of phantoms, flickering back and forth across the table.

It made a "Bang, bang" sound, crisp and pleasant to the ear.

This scene left the surrounding students dumbfounded.

Damn! At this level, she's probably on the school team.

Those young girls were naturally no strangers to Shen Yan, so they immediately stopped playing their own games and gathered around, watching Shen Yan with eyes full of admiration, whispering to each other.

"Wow! It turns out Brother Rice Noodle is also so amazing at table tennis!"

"The male god is so handsome!"

"Oh my god! Where can one find a boyfriend like this?"

"Everything exists in dreams."

The boys, meanwhile, were amazed by Luo Qiqi's beauty and secretly inquired about which class she was in.

The two were long accustomed to this situation and didn't get distracted, continuing to enjoy the fun of table tennis on their own; Luo Qiqi had already noticed that Shen Yan was holding back.

But she didn't point it out, simply because this intensity of collision was more beneficial for improving her skills.

Half an hour passed like this, and Luo Qiqi was already panting, calling for a ten-minute halftime break; Shen Yan naturally agreed, and he walked to the left side of the table, picked up the mineral water on the ground, and started gulping it down to replenish his fluids.

"That..."

Luo Qiqi's mouth opened slightly as she hesitated, and two vivid blushes suddenly climbed onto her pretty face.

That bottle of water... seemed to be hers.

Shen Yan's water had always been on his side; she had put it in the wrong place by mistake after finishing her own water earlier, and she hadn't expected such a blunder to happen.

Doesn't that mean... the two of them had an indirect kiss?

How embarrassing!

"What's wrong?" Seeing her hesitate, Shen Yan's expression was slightly puzzled.

Luo Qiqi said with a flushed face, "That bottle of water seems to be mine; I didn't pay attention and put it in the wrong place earlier."

Shen Yan glanced at the other bottle of mineral water on the ground, then looked at the one in his hand; the water level was indeed not quite right. He felt it was no big deal and said nonchalantly, "I have water in my car, I'll go get you a new one."

Hearing this, Luo Qiqi felt a mix of emotions; no matter what, it was water she had already drunk from, yet Shen Yan was acting like nothing happened—could it be he didn't have even the slightest stray thought?

"Forget it, it's such a hassle to run around in this rainy weather."

After a moment of contemplation, Luo Qiqi rejected the suggestion.

She grabbed the water bottle from Shen Yan's hand and drank from it without any hesitation.

Since Shen Yan didn't care, why should she be so coy?

Now it was Shen Yan's turn to be stunned; he looked at Luo Qiqi drinking in surprise, and a thought couldn't help but surface in his mind.

Holy crap! This girl seems to really like him.

Otherwise, how could a girl be willing to drink a guy's water?

To avoid awkwardness, he didn't say anything more, but picked up the water on the ground and drank it again, which made Luo Qiqi feel a bit uneasy.

She didn't believe Shen Yan couldn't guess her intentions, but Shen Yan chose to remain silent; the reason was obvious—either he wasn't interested in her.

Or it was too sudden, and he didn't know how to respond.

See through but don't expose, and continue to be friends.

They say it's easy for a girl to pursue a guy, so why wasn't it working for her?

In fact, Luo Qiqi herself didn't know when she started liking Shen Yan, or why she liked him, even though the two didn't have much interaction.

Even when they first met, she found everything about Shen Yan unpleasant.

She thought he had very low emotional intelligence.

However, as their contact deepened, this perception of Luo Qiqi's was completely overturned.

Perhaps excellent boys are always easy to attract others' attention and affection; without realizing it, Shen Yan's shadow had taken root in Luo Qiqi's heart.

Forget it! Haste makes waste.

Let's just wait and see for now.

After the two PE classes ended, Shen Yan walked out of the gymnasium, wiped the sweat off his face, and said to Luo Qiqi, "It was quite satisfying playing with you, let's do it again if there's a chance."

"Okay!" Luo Qiqi was eager for a practice partner and readily agreed.

At this moment, the sky was gray, and the pouring rain showed no signs of letting up; Shen Yan asked Luo Qiqi if she needed a ride, and Luo Qiqi nodded her little head like a chick pecking at rice.

The rain was torrential, and she figured she would be soaked through before walking very far.

She wished she had the ability to teleport, and with a single thought, she would appear in the dormitory.

Afterward, Shen Yan drove Luo Qiqi to the entrance of the supermarket; it was closer to the dormitory here, and any further ahead was that overpass, where cars couldn't pass at all.

Watching the black car drive away, Luo Qiqi had an unreadable expression.

Returning home, Shen Yan first took a hot shower, changed into comfortable clothes, and then drove the Maybach straight to the securities firm he had cooperated with before.

It was the same familiar process: signing contracts, adding leverage...

After finishing his business, Shen Yan turned the car around and headed toward the location of Yancheng Clothing Factory in Yuhang District.

Entering the factory, Shen Yan went to the workshop to inspect the work first thing; having not been there for ten days, the workers greeted him with great enthusiasm when they saw him.

"Hello, Boss!"

"It's been a long time since you've been here, Boss!"

While observing the production situation in the workshop, Shen Yan asked about the production progress, and individual workers began to complain that Han Yi was always nitpicking, demanding everyone redo their work over the smallest issues, which seriously affected everyone's work progress.

Some were because the edge-trimming interface was inaccurate, some were quilting line issues, and some were uneven topstitching...

Batch rework made people doubt their own lives.

The workers believed that Han Yi should pay attention to the production situation at all times so that problems could be discovered as early as possible, preventing delays in production progress.

This is the difference between a worker and a manager; workers want to earn money with high efficiency, and inevitably, such and such flaws will appear.

Managers, however, must be responsible for the quality of the product; otherwise, if a problem arises, the main responsibility cannot be escaped.

"Boss..."

Han Yi was about to open his mouth to explain, but Shen Yan stopped him; after soothing the workers' emotions, he then called Han Yi outside to talk.

"Supervisor Han, your strict control over quality is excellent. Workers always think about making quick money, but quality and efficiency cannot be had at the same time. We absolutely cannot let small problems go unchecked; otherwise, over time, the workers will only become more and more slack, and sooner or later, a big problem will occur."

"I hope you continue to maintain this management style; as of now, I am still very satisfied with your work."

Hearing this, the heavy stone in Han Yi's heart finally fell to the ground; although the boss was young, he had an extremely profound understanding of production management.

"Thank you for your affirmation, Boss. I will definitely work harder and not let you down," Han Yi said with a very serious face.

Shen Yan patted his shoulder encouragingly and then returned to the office.

And he called Fang Xiang over.