"Let's go, accompany me to buy something!"
Ji Rui stood straight beside her, holding a bag in one hand and the other hand slanted in his pocket, his gaze cold and features handsome, looking down at her from above.
"Eh?!"
Le Tong's mind short-circuited a little, not sure whether it was because the handsome guy was too close, causing her primal hormones to surge and drop her IQ instantly, or because President Ji's words themselves were shocking enough to fry her brain into a short circuit.
But Ji Rui had no intention of repeating himself, he only said, "Deal with the materials tomorrow!" and turned away before Le Tong could refuse.
Le Tong felt like crying, no way, tomorrow is Saturday, my rare day off!
Thinking of her original promise to accompany Yuan'er all day tomorrow, now broken because of Boss Ji's casual words, Le Tong felt like life wasn't worth living! Because when Miss Luo throws a tantrum, it's not a good temper that can be calmed with just a few words!
But no matter how bad Miss Luo's temper is, it's ultimately not as important as Boss Ji holding the key to her livelihood.
After a quick assessment, Le Tong spent a few minutes gathering her materials, strapped on her bag, and when she was about to leave, saw the half-eaten bread on the table, so she grabbed it and headed toward the elevator.
Ji Rui's car was parked in his designated spot, and as Le Tong approached, the car door silently opened. She got in, and President Ji was sitting in the back seat with his eyes closed, resting.
Le Tong didn't dare disturb him. After sitting down, she quietly unwrapped the bread and started nibbling on it while turning her head to look at the scenery outside the window.
Ji Rui had unbeknownst to her opened his eyes, half-squinting as he secretly observed Le Tong.
From childhood to now, his feelings about women could be summarized with just one word: "annoying."
Of course, the women he encountered in work situations were not included in this, because, in his mind, there are no gender distinctions in a work context.
Le Tong, originally for him, was also just a genderless secretary until something happened at the Ji Family's anniversary gala, and he realized that describing Le Tong seemed to require more than just the word "annoying."
Of course, she's also "annoying," but aside from annoying him, she invoked many complex and inexplicable emotions in him. Moreover, her image in front of him was growing more vivid and multi-dimensional. It seemed that all these years, she was the only woman who made him genuinely perceive that she was a vibrant person.
Watching her chew on the dry bread with apparent enjoyment, Ji Rui slightly frowned, increasingly unable to understand what kind of woman she truly was.
Occasionally, she seemed very materialistic, but most of the time, she appeared very aloof, so which one was the real her?
Or perhaps she was just pretending, trying to confuse him on purpose?
"Are you very short on money?"
Ji Rui hadn't anticipated himself asking Le Tong such a question, but the words were out, and though he regretted a bit, he couldn't take them back. Besides his son, he rarely showed concern for anyone, least of all a woman.
Le Tong turned sharply, glancing at Ji Rui under the dim street lamp in confusion.
"Eh?!"
"The bread..." Ji Rui slightly raised his chin to gesture at the bread in her hand.
Only then did Le Tong realize, "Oh... President, you're referring to me eating bread? I usually do eat meals; today, I just felt like a different taste."
Of course, Le Tong wasn't going to say that she couldn't afford the kind of takeout the President ordered, and she felt too frugal to even buy the ordinary twenty-something yuan takeout.
It's true that Ji Family paid her a very high salary, but she had only been with the company for half a year, and when her mother passed away, all their savings were depleted, even the place she lived in was rented.
She had low personal demands for her lifestyle, but she had already planned to buy a small apartment, so that even if she remained single, she'd have a place to stay and wouldn't end up on the streets.
Luo Yuanyuan sneered at her plan, "Tongtong, what are you worried about? With your conditions, you could easily find a rich and handsome man to marry; that would be a long-term meal ticket, why bother buying a pigeonhole-like apartment?"
Le Tong smiled bitterly to herself; there were some things she couldn't say to Luo Yuanyuan, even though she was her best sister.
Perhaps, that one thing, she would never tell anyone until her death.