Volume 1 Chapter 5 (1/2)
Chapter 5 – Secret Pa.s.sion Inside a Cabinet
Li Yiming almost choked on the lobster when he saw the angry woman in front him.
”Why are you here?”
The same question spoken with two different voices.
But as soon as Li Yiming blurted out his question, he realized the obvious answer. This was a Yunlong Construction Group charity event, so it was not surprising that the crown prince of the corporation brought his new favorite, so he can introduce her to upper society and show her off at the same time.
Ji Xiaoqin frowned, 'What are you still pretending at?' She turned around and glanced at the crowd, 'This is no place to talk, if he starts causing trouble, my ambitions of entering the upper echelons of society would be ruined.'
”Come with me.” Ji Xiaoqin pulled Li Yiming towards the nearest exit without explaining herself further nor letting him answer.
'What's going on?' When Chen Jiaw.a.n.g noticed the two leaving through an inner corridor, he wanted to stop them, but did not dare to voice his intentions. 'Why is the crown prince's consort pulling that man into that corridor? Why is she going toward the VIP resting area?'
'Gasp! The melodramatic life of the rich and powerful!' Chen Jiaw.a.n.g sighed. He maintained his composure despite his curiosity and shock, and took a few steps away from the exit. He pretended to have not seen anything as he silently recited article 19 of the staff rules – See no evil, hear no evil…
Ji Xiaoqin, stricken by panic, did not stop to think about where exactly to bring Li Yiming to. Her mind was besieged by anger, guilt, anxiety, and worry. She pushed him inside the first room she could find and looked at him in the eyes. It was not very different from their earlier confrontation back at the residential block, for both of them were at a loss for things to say. Furthermore, the circ.u.mstances seemed to have complicated themselves further now, so the pair simply stared at each other in silence.
”Yiming, you…” After reflecting upon the matter time and time again, Ji Xiaoqin finally decided to speak. She had yet to p.r.o.nounce a syllable when the sound of steady footsteps was heard through the door. With lightning speed, Ji Xiaoqin opened the door of a cabinet behind Li Yiming and shoved him inside before diving into it herself. The next moment, the door was flung open, and it sounded like several people entered the room.
'Close call…' Ji Xiaoqin became quite agitated; there was no way she would be able to talk her way out of being found with Li Yiming, her ex-boyfriend, at a venue belonging to her new boyfriend. It would be a scandal of egregious proportions for the girlfriend of the prince of Yunlong to be caught red-handed like that.
In the narrow cabinet, a familiar scent wafted into Li Yiming's nostrils. That fiery body, glued to him, enkindled his memories of its softness, its delicacy, the fragrance it carried and… 'No more, nothing more to add…'
”Did you get to the bottom of it?” An imposing voice was heard, timely interrupting Li Yiming's litany of nostalgia.
”Yes, mostly, Chairman Guo,” respectfully replied another voice.
'Chairman Guo?' Li Yiming and Ji Xiaoqin's hearts skipped a beat.
”Explain!”
”It was w.a.n.g Jianjun from the procurement department, sir. He embezzled two hundred tons of steel rebar. It wasn't supposed to be anything serious, given the overall length of the highway. Two hundred tons is only the equivalent of removing a single bar every three meters. However, it seemed that he didn't communicate it properly to the engineering department. By the time the project was almost finished, they realized that they didn't have enough… As a result…”
”As a result, he decided to use bamboo for the last five kilometers?”
”Y-yes…”
”Useless tras.h.!.+ IMBECILE!” Chairman Guo angrily smashed the table. ”Where is he?”
”After the accident, he escaped to his mistress's residence in Jintian. He knows that he has nowhere to run…”
”More than a hundred lives… Let him stay. Take care of this yourself. Keep a close eye on him.”
”Yes, Chairman Guo. I'll make arrangements immediately.” The footsteps were heard leaving the room.
The two inside the cabinet did not dare to go out right away. The subject of the conversation froze them in place. Ji Xiaoqin was less affected by the content itself, since her mind was still fully preoccupied by whirling thoughts of betrayal and having an affair, which shadowed over her hopes for a marriage into wealth, and made her deaf to the conversation outside. Li Yiming, however, sank into a deep rumination after overhearing the conversation.
Within the pitch-black cabinet, they could barely see each other, despite being only inches apart. Ji Xiaoqin's uneasiness grew as time pa.s.sed. It was only yesterday when she was having an affair behind Li Yiming's back, but right now, it was as if she was having an affair with him in this cabinet… Her heart tingled with an indescribable feeling.
”Let's get out.” Ji Xiaoqin said with a deep breath. It took all of her courage to give the door a push. She carefully peeked around before quickly das.h.i.+ng out of the room.
Li Yiming also sighed at the ridiculousness of the situation. He shook his head and followed her.