Pei Kexin was awakened by a barrage of phone calls.
Still groggy from lack of sleep, her phone vibrated incessantly, so much so that she felt like smashing it.
As she fumbled for it with her eyes closed, she raised her arm and felt a searing pain, as if she'd been beaten all over.
What was wrong? Why did her body ache so much?
Where was she?
Her memory of the previous night hadn't returned. When she opened her eyes, she was stunned by the objects within her sight.
Clothes were strewn everywhere on the clean floor, in disarray.
Black and white, for both men and women.
That wasn't the point. The point was, the white lace underwear was hers, and the black ones lying next to it…
She pushed herself up with her arms, and at the same time, her foot bumped into something hard.
Not only hard, but warm.
It seemed to be another person's foot.
Pei Kexin stiffly turned her head to look.
To her left, a man was lying there.
He had neat short hair and was lying on his back, his face hidden from her.
She could only tell that his back had smooth lines, his neck was long and slender, and his skin was fair, comparable to a woman's.
His fair back was covered in red marks, as if scratched by a cat.
Memories surged into her mind like a tide.
Pei Kexin finally remembered.
She had fallen for Pei Zongrui's trap yesterday, drinking drugged wine. In a daze, she had encountered her husband, Jiang Jingchen, who had taken her to a hotel, and they…
No, it was clear now that they had slept together.
Even though she had been the more active one, she had been out of her senses then. This damn Jiang Jingchen, why didn't he refuse?
Her body ached terribly, and her heart was filled with annoyance and anger. All emotions flooded her. Pei Kexin realized what had happened and her face turned red with rage.
She had never even dated anyone before! Let alone…
To think that a beggar she'd picked up had taken advantage of her!
Moreover, he was supposed to be on a business trip, but she had run back to sleep yesterday. What about the company?
Despite all her resentment, in the end, she could only blame her own bad luck.
Calming herself down, Pei Kexin sighed and decided to let it go.
Work was more important.
Not wanting to wake Zhan Jingchen and face an awkward situation, she quietly got out of bed.
Unexpectedly, before she could even grab a piece of clothing, Zhan Jingchen woke up.
"Where are you going?"
His voice was low and pleasant. She had grown accustomed to it in the past few days, but hearing it now inexplicably added a… sexy… quality.
Pei Kexin felt too embarrassed to hide back under the covers, but her strong-willed nature wouldn't allow it.
She pretended to be indifferent, continued picking up clothes, and even put them on in front of him.
"To buy you a coffin. What style do you like?"
Zhan Jingchen had known she was a virgin last night. Pei Kexin was attractive, and she suited him in other aspects too. He didn't have anyone he liked recently.
When they went to sleep, he had already decided that if things went well, he would make it official and marry her, since he had to marry a woman eventually.
Therefore, he didn't mind Pei Kexin's scolding.
"How thoughtful! Thank you. I like a double one, remember to buy a big one. We'll lie in it together."
Pei Kexin: "…"
Shameless!
As expected, no man is good!
"Dream on! I don't have time now. I'll settle the score with you when I get back."
"Don't sleep, get up quickly. You need to go to the hospital!"
—
The journey from Nancheng to Harbin was arduous.
Because the city was located in a remote area with underdeveloped transportation, after taking a flight from Nancheng to the provincial capital, they had to take several hours of train and bus rides to reach their destination.
Upon arriving the day before, it was already very late. Due to the fatigue of the journey, Pei Kexin didn't assign any other work to everyone.
After a simple check-in, they all returned to their rooms to rest.
At seven o'clock the next morning, everyone boarded a rented commercial vehicle and officially entered the client's company.
The client company was located in a newly developed industrial zone in the area.
Upon entering, they had a meeting first.
The two parties had specific discussions about the purpose of their visit, product quality issues, and solutions. Only after confirming that everything was in order did they begin their work.
The products delivered by logistics were the first batch of four thousand sets and the second batch of six thousand sets, a total of ten thousand sets.
To ensure that the quality was flawless, all of them had to be inspected and tested.
There weren't many people from the Pei family, and they were all technical personnel whose physical strength hadn't been developed. The client company arranged four groups to assist them, led by Pei Kexin and three technical engineers, to carry out the work separately.
It was the end of May in the lunar calendar. Nancheng still had a climate with gentle breezes, but because Harbin had longer daylight hours and a large temperature difference between morning and evening, the temperature in the warehouse had already reached thirty-seven to thirty-eight degrees Celsius during the day.
In the stuffy, hot, and messy environment, coupled with a full day of high-intensity work, by the time work ended in the afternoon, everyone was exhausted.
The engineers' hairstyles were disheveled, and their high-quality shirts were soaked with sweat, clinging to their bodies.
Pei Kexin hadn't applied makeup, and her face was also drenched in sweat layer after layer. Her top stuck to her body, and she was too tired to say an extra word.
The driver drove them back to the hotel. On the way, Pei Kexin leaned back in her seat and sent a message to Zhan Jingchen, asking about the old man's condition.
Zhan Jingchen had been quite honest, staying in the hospital room diligently for three days. He quickly replied that the old man was doing well and could now speak simple words, asking her not to worry.
Although Zhan Jingchen could be annoying sometimes, he was generally reliable in his actions.
Except for the accident that happened when he took leave that day.
Pei Kexin trusted him inexplicably, and upon hearing his words, she was relieved.
Upon returning to the hotel, after washing up, she was too tired to even eat dinner and fell into a deep sleep.
This busy state continued for five days.
After five days, two-thirds of the work was completed.
Since the client company's employees had mastered the skills themselves and didn't need them to oversee everything, everyone felt more relaxed. The sixth day was basically spent on technical guidance.
As they became more familiar with each other, they could even chat and laugh at times.
The eight-hour workdays passed very quickly and pleasantly.
On this day, at five o'clock in the afternoon, after work, before returning, Pei Zongrui went to talk to Pei Kexin.
It had been too busy lately. Although the aunt and niece saw each other every day, they hadn't really spoken much.
It was hot, so Pei Zongrui unbuttoned three buttons on his shirt.
Pei Kexin was in the warehouse office, tallying the day's work. He sat down opposite her, propped his arm against his face, and tilted his head to look at her, "Auntie."
That day at the club, when the fire inspection suddenly arrived and the matter of Yao Dongzhu causing trouble was interrupted, it was left unresolved.
Afterward, Pei Zongrui took the initiative to admit his mistake, expressing his fear and vowing never to act recklessly behind her back again. Pei Kexin forgave him and took him on this business trip.
He had performed well these past few days, not bringing shame to the Pei family, which somewhat comforted Pei Kexin.
She glanced at him, "What's wrong? Tired? Your performance these days has been quite good. You've left a good impression on the client and brought honor to our Pei family. You deserve praise."
Pei Zongrui: "I don't care if I left a good impression on others. What I care about is whether you have a different opinion of me… Since you say I'm good, aren't you going to reward me?"