The first floor lobby of Ao Xiang Group was transformed by the administrative and front desk female employees into a festive Christmas atmosphere after a day of busy work.
Tianyi and An Jing returned from attending to business outside and greeted the busy employees, thanking them for their hard work. The female employees, upon seeing the two handsome CEOs, became visibly excited, with shouts of "It's not hard work!" echoing around.
After the two entered the elevator, the employees put down their small fairy lights and ornaments and gathered together to gossip. "So handsome, so handsome!" exclaimed a newly hired employee. An older employee reminded the young newcomers, "Don't even think about it. President Qin and President Xiao are both taken, and they are men who dote on their wives immensely." A wave of sighs and envious murmurs followed. With no hope, everyone returned to their work.
Xi Xianya sadly hung a small ornament on the Christmas tree, feeling that Qin Tianyi, despite knowing she worked at the front desk and must have seen her, had completely ignored her. To him, she felt like transparent air.
At this moment, her front desk colleague, who was hanging decorations with her, leaned closer and asked, "Xianya, don't you know President Xiao? How do you know him? Are he and his wife really in love?"
"I don't know, we're not that close," Xi Xianya replied dejectedly. "That's true," her colleague said, "I've never seen President Xiao talk to you either; you're no different from us." The colleague then moved on to gossip with others.
Xi Xianya, feeling annoyed, didn't want to decorate the Christmas tree anymore. However, she overheard other colleagues discussing that Qin Tianyi was hosting a Christmas party at his home that evening, inviting several high-level executives from the group. They also mentioned that Qin Tianyi and Xiao An Jing had both lived abroad for a long time, which was why they celebrated Western holidays like Christmas every year.
Her heart ached with the desire to attend the Christmas party tonight, but she wondered how she could possibly get in. Qin Tianyi and Xiao An Jing were completely ignoring her, treating her like any ordinary employee. She had been distracted all day, unable to focus on her work, and had managed to find out which executives were invited to Qin Tianyi's party. Among them was a director from the Human Resources department who had interviewed her. She thought she might try approaching this female director.
After work, she arrived early at the building's underground parking lot and waited by the Human Resources Director's red car, hoping to offer her services. When the Human Resources Director arrived at the underground parking lot, she had already changed into a different outfit and put on makeup, a stark contrast to her professional image at the group.
Xi Xianya hurried forward and said, "Director Jiang, are you going to President Qin's party? Could you take me with you?" Director Jiang glanced at her and replied unceremoniously, "What are you young girls always thinking about? The group isn't a place for you to dream; focus on your work." With that, she opened her car door, showing no intention of taking Xi Xianya with her, and clearly disdainful of her behavior.
Unwilling to give up, Xi Xianya said, "Director Jiang, Director Jiang! Do you remember what special skills you asked me about during my interview? I can sing, and I sing very well." "Oh, when the company has an employee gathering, I'll let you perform," she said, already getting into the car and checking the time, preparing to head to President Qin's place.
"Director Jiang, take me with you, and I can sing to liven up the party tonight," Xi Xianya pleaded, holding onto the car door. Director Jiang looked at her and said, "Don't think I don't know what you're thinking. If you continue like this, I'll fire you tomorrow." She then slammed the car door shut, locked it, and drove away.
Xi Xianya quickly got into her own car and followed Director Jiang's car from behind. She really wanted to know where Qin Tianyi lived and what his home was like. Even if she couldn't get in tonight and participate in the party, just seeing it from afar would be good.
When they reached a road with less traffic, she didn't follow too closely. On a quiet mountain road, she saw a brightly lit house in the distance. As Director Jiang's car arrived at the gate, she reached out from the car and pressed the doorbell. The gate automatically opened, and the car drove straight in. She stopped by the roadside for a moment, gathered her courage, and drove her car forward, mimicking Director Jiang's action by pressing the doorbell. To her surprise, no one questioned her through the intercom, and the gate automatically opened.
Suppressing her excitement, she drove her car in and discovered a spacious yard in front of the house, with several cars already parked there. Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, she could see that the house was lively, with several children running around the adults. It was clearly a family-style gathering. She turned off her car lights and sat inside the car, gazing at Qin Tianyi's every move within the house.
He would sometimes converse with people, sometimes whisper to his wife with his arm around her, and at other times pick up a child and kiss them. He was completely different from the distant and unapproachable person he appeared to be at the company. At this moment, he was the perfect husband, father, and the perfect host of the party tonight…
Xi Xianya felt like the little match girl. No matter how much she longed to stand by his side, it was an unattainable dream. Her eyes saw no one else, and she couldn't feel the warmth of this family gathering. Her eyes and heart were filled only with his image. She had never imagined she could be so infatuated with a man. Sitting in her car like this, she unknowingly fell asleep.
After the Christmas Eve party ended, Tianyi and Susu successively saw off their friends. Yanan and Kangxi were the last to leave. She and Tianyi walked them out, and they chatted for a while in the yard, watching them drive away. Susu was in a good mood; the party tonight had made her very happy. Huo Zheng had also come with Shishi, and it was clear they were a couple, though they still bantered with each other. Seeing her friends find their own happiness and good lives filled her with indescribable joy.
Tianyi put his arm around her and said, "Let's go inside. It's cold outside at night; be careful not to catch a chill." "Mm," Susu replied, hugging him back as they prepared to go inside. As they turned around, they encountered Xiao Lin coming out of the house. Xiao Lin called out, "Young Master, Young Madam, good night," and headed towards the garage where he lived. Susu responded, "Good night, and thank you for your hard work tonight too."
"Young Master! Whose car is this?" Xiao Lin suddenly noticed a small car parked in the yard. It wasn't their car, and their guests had all left. Tianyi and Susu hadn't noticed it before. Now they both looked at the car, realizing it was unfamiliar, and they couldn't recall any of their friends driving such a car.
Susu saw someone in the driver's seat of the car and stepped forward to get a clearer look. Tianyi stopped her, saying, "Be careful, don't go closer." He then gestured to Xiao Lin, and together they went to check the car. They opened the car doors simultaneously from both sides and saw a woman asleep, leaning against the driver's seat. In the warm yellow light of the yard, Tianyi recognized Xi Xianya's face and exclaimed, "How is it her?" "Young Master, do you know this person?" Xiao Lin asked.