Chapter 19: Grabbing the Office

The vacation ended, Xia Xi woke up very early, came out of her room, but saw Su Jinru had risen even earlier and already prepared breakfast.

"Are you going to work today?" Su Jinru placed the red bean porridge, beef patties, and several small dishes on the table one by one.

"Mm, I've already told the company." Xia Xi sat down, picked up a quarter piece of beef patty with her chopsticks, put it on her plate, and began eating with her head down, "Zi Heng and Youyou…"

"You don't need to worry about them; I'll go wake them up later, watch them finish breakfast, then send them to kindergarten." Su Jinru moved in to live here just to lessen the burden on her two daughters, so she could focus on work.

"Thanks, Mom." Xia Xi ate bite after bite of patty and porridge, feeling especially happy to have family nearby.

"I'm your mother, what's there to thank me for?" Su Jinru sighed, "If it weren't for having to take care of your grandmother and your sister back then, I would have gone abroad with you to help raise the kids, and you wouldn't have been stuck overseas juggling studies and work while also raising two children."

When she brought this up, Su Jinru couldn't help feeling a sour nose and teary eyes; although she hadn't seen it herself, just imagining it made her know how difficult those years abroad had been for her daughter.

Xia Xi wasn't the type to dwell on sorrow, smiling as she comforted her: "It's all in the past; isn't this good enough?"

Su Jinru turned sideways, quickly rubbed her eyes, then turned to look at her, her expression already back to normal: "Now it's fine; your sister has her own family, so I don't need to worry, and I can take good care of you."

Xia Xi: "You also need to pay more attention to your health; don't wear yourself out."

"I know." Su Jinru said, "But you being single all the time isn't good; you still need someone to rely on. Mom is getting old and can't be with you forever."

The rhythm of Xia Xi's chewing slowed as alarm bells rang in her mind; Mom wouldn't be trying to set her up on a blind date again, would she?

Seeing her daughter stunned, Su Jinru laughed through tears: "I'm not asking you to go on a blind date. Last time taught me a lesson—knowing someone's face doesn't mean knowing their heart; some people put on a good front but aren't good inside. My own marriage is a perfect example: I thought I'd found a good man, but in the end he brought disaster to the family. Mom hopes you'll pay more attention; if there's someone suitable around you, seize the chance.

Xia Xi secretly breathed a sigh of relief; as long as she wasn't forced into a blind date, everything could be worked out.

After breakfast, Xia Xi returned to her room to change clothes and put on makeup.

As she applied lipstick, she touched the scab at the corner of her lip, feeling a sting that brought back the memory of the previous night's dark, chaotic, hot kiss… Xia Xi stopped herself in time, forcing herself to stay awake, unable to think of him any further.

Xia Xi took out clothes from the wardrobe and changed; her style leaned casual—she wore a white T-shirt, layered a blue-striped shirt over it, paired with white jeans, fastened a black leather belt at the waist, and tucked the shirt's hem into the pants. Accessories were simple: silver earrings and ring, and the bag she carried was a light gray Hermès Brikin.

Xia Xi greeted Su Jinru, grabbed her car keys, and left.

She departed early; her grandmother and two children were still asleep, and the roads weren't congested.

Arriving at the office building, Xia Xi didn't go in first; she went to a nearby coffee shop and ordered a batch of coffee, asking the staff to deliver it later to the 32nd floor of the neighboring office building.

This office building houses more than just Broad and Elegant Design; Lu Mingji only rented two floors, the 31st and 32nd, preparing to lease an entire building separately once the company expands—this is Lu Mingji's five-year plan.

When Xia Xi entered, some people were already at their workstations; unlike ordinary cubicles, the open hall had many rectangular desks that people could freely combine for teamwork.

Xia Xi wore flat shoes, her steps quiet; the designers bent over their drawings didn't notice her, and she didn't disturb them, heading straight for Lu Mingji's office.

She knocked twice, heard a "come in," pushed the door open, and saw Lu Mingji hiding something under his desk.

Seeing it was Xia Xi, Lu Mingji let out a "ts," lifted his chin to signal her to close the door, then pulled out what he'd hidden under the desk—his breakfast.

A sandwich and a cup of iced Americano.

"Have you eaten?" Lu Mingji took a bite of the sandwich, "Why are you here so early?"

Xia Xi set down her bag, sat on the sofa: "I ate at home." She glanced at her wristwatch—quarter past eight, a bit early.

Lu Mingji chatted while eating about the few projects the company currently had underway, all progressing steadily.

"That's just how the domestic environment is; some large interior-fit-out projects are hard for our one-year-old startup to win. Last year we gained fame thanks to the library you designed, appearing limitless, but in reality few people pay attention to the design source behind a trendy building, making it hard to establish a brand."

Xia Xi agreed with that.

Lu Mingji summed up: "Overall, we've taken on more home‑decoration projects…" Xia Xi: "What are you getting at?"

Lu Mingji smiled like an old fox: "I'm not worried that you, my junior, would look down on me, am I? Most of the big projects you got abroad were interior fit‑outs—tech company offices, large hotels, reception halls, university lecture halls, and they paid well."

"Don't play the sentiment card." Xia Xi reminded him calmly, "You haven't forgotten, have you, that this isn't your sole company?"

Lu Mingji stopped laughing: "Oh right, if you hadn't reminded me I'd really have forgotten. It's all your fault for delaying your return home, forcing me to fight alone in the domestic market."

After their chat, the people outside had mostly gathered; Lu Mingji stood, straightened his clothes, walked around from behind his desk, and said, "Let's go, I'll introduce you to the others."

Xia Xi remained seated, giving him a look.

Lu Mingji immediately changed his attitude: "I get it, you want to keep a low profile, right?"

He flung open the office door, Lu Mingji clapped his hands; the loud sound drew everyone's attention. Once they all looked up at him, he cleared his throat and pointed solemnly to Xia Xi beside him to introduce her.

"Starting today, our company will have one more member: Xia Xi, lead designer—welcome, everyone."

Everyone clapped mechanically, yet couldn't help whispering to their neighbors.

"What's this Xia Xi's background? She becomes lead designer as soon as she joins the company."

"Seeing how close President Lu is with her, it must be a direct hire by the boss—makes sense."

"Sorry, I only noticed how pretty she is; this is the first time I truly understood what 'heavy‑makeup‑type big beauty' means."

"So much hair, such fair skin, such a slim waist—is that the difference between me and a beauty?"

"Her bag costs 150,000, my goodness…"

Amid the murmurs, Xia Xi simply said two sentences: "Hello everyone, I'm Xia Xi—the 'xia' of summer, the 'xi' of bustling prosperity; I hope we'll work together happily from now on."

Another round of applause broke out.

Lu Mingji gave a light cough, pointed to a south‑facing office, and said, "From now on you'll work here; it's already set up—let me know if you need anything, and I'll have it procured."

As soon as he said that, the surroundings fell silent, and everyone turned to look at the same person.

That person, just as everyone had expected, spoke up: "President Lu is being too biased; I wanted that office before, I wore my lips out begging, but you wouldn't give it, leaving it empty—now a newcomer arrives and you hand it over, really chilling."

Xia Xi followed the sound and saw a woman in a white suit, about thirty‑five, with long straight chocolate‑brown hair hanging over her shoulders, a slightly fleshy cheek, but sharp eyes that now showed displeasure.

Xia Xi looked at Lu Mingji: "Who is this?"

"Gao Ge, also a lead designer." Lu Mingji said.

She must have real ability, otherwise she wouldn't dare speak to the boss like that. Xia Xi thought to herself.

Having just joined the company and meaning no ill will, she smiled lightly and said, "Engineer Gao, if you like that office, go ahead and move in—I don't mind."

Xia Xi truly didn't mind; her surroundings hardly affected her, and during the toughest stretch abroad she often squatted by the roadside with her laptop, drawing.

Beep beep—

Clock in at 8 a. m.!

(End of chapter)