Did these years of sacrificing her personal life for recognition within the group and her father's approval truly make it worthwhile?
She had never wavered in her convictions before, but today she felt utterly defeated, her proud ideals shaken.
She remained in her office until it was dark outside, unwilling to go home.
Her phone vibrated intermittently with messages from her mother, none of which she wanted to read. She suspected her parents had conspired to arrange this blind date.
But she couldn't possibly spend the night in the office. She stood up, grabbed her bag, and decided she'd rather go to a bar, drink until she was satisfied, and then get a room for the night.
As she stepped out of her office, she saw that everyone else had left, yet the lights were still on. Only Song Jiaping was still working overtime.
Mengqi walked directly towards him, tapped on his desk, and said irritably, "Think you're so diligent? It just shows your work efficiency is low. If you can't finish your tasks during work hours, you have to work overtime."
Song Jiaping closed the file and looked up at her. He noticed she was still in a bad mood and said, "Diligence can compensate for lack of talent. For a newcomer like me, if I don't work hard, how can I catch up with everyone else?"
"You're wasting the company's electricity. Let's go. I'll take you out to relax." Mengqi said, and without waiting for his agreement, she went to turn off the lights in the office area.
Song Jiaping reluctantly shut down his computer. He had no choice but to leave with her, but he didn't want to go out to relax.
Outside the group's building, Song Jiaping was about to hail a taxi home when he saw her flag one down even faster.
"Don't you have a car and a driver?" he asked, surprised.
Mengqi had already hailed a taxi and opened the door. "I told the driver to go home first. I don't want to take my family's car today. Get in."
Song Jiaping tried to refuse, but Mengqi pulled him decisively. "Don't be so hesitant, big man. What, are you afraid I'll eat you?"
Song Jiaping saw that the young lady was in a bad mood and wanted to vent her frustration on him.
He found it strange. She was the eldest daughter of the Huangfu family; surely she wouldn't be without a friend or confidante to confide in when she was upset?
The taxi driver was impatiently urging them, so he had no choice but to get in and see how this young lady intended to relax.
As it turned out, Mengqi took him to a bar with extremely loud music. After ordering drinks for herself and him, she began to dance wildly on the dance floor. Song Jiaping sat to the side, drinking. No matter how much she tried to pull him, he refused to go onto the dance floor.
He couldn't stand the cacophony of the bar and found the music gave him a headache. He wanted to leave.
But seeing Mengqi clearly a bit drunk on the dance floor, with several unsavory men always surrounding her, he felt uneasy.
After all, she was his superior. Since she had dragged him out, he couldn't just leave her behind rudely.
He could only drink and occasionally glance at the dance floor. He never expected that Huangfu Mengqi, who was usually as capable as a man, would become so wild and unrestrained when she relaxed.
He had already had two special cocktails, but Mengqi showed no signs of wanting to leave.
When he ordered his third cocktail and looked back at the dance floor, two or three men were standing very close to her, deliberately forming a circle and pushing her into the middle.
He could see the anger on Mengqi's face and felt something was wrong. He stood up, walked onto the dance floor, pulled those men away, and put his arm around Mengqi, saying, "I'm her friend. Stay away from her!"
Seeing that Mengqi wasn't alone, the men dispersed.
Song Jiaping stopped her from dancing any further and forcibly steered her towards the exit. "Ms. Qi, you've relaxed enough. I'll take you back."
But Mengqi didn't want to go back. She couldn't break free from his grip and said, with a drunken slur, "I'm not going home. I'm going to a hotel to get a room."
No matter where she wanted to go, Song Jiaping first got her out of the bar, and the sudden quiet was a relief to his ears.
He hailed a taxi and put her inside.
She struggled to get out, yelling at Song Jiaping, "If you dare send me back, I'll fire you tomorrow!"
After saying that, she couldn't even sit up straight in the car. Song Jiaping thought of a compromise: whether she wanted to go home or to a hotel, she needed to sober up first.
He said to the taxi driver, "Go to the riverbank."
When they reached the scenic area of the riverbank, he helped her out of the car. "Miss, feel the river breeze and sober up."
Mengqi pushed him aside and ran onto the viewing platform. A cool breeze swept over her.
She took a deep breath, spun around, and laughed freely, "The wind here feels so good."
Song Jiaping followed her helplessly, hoping she would return to her usual serious demeanor.
Mengqi rushed to the railing, grabbed it, and shouted twice at the distant river, as if releasing all the pent-up frustration in her heart. This, however, attracted the attention of the people around them.
He tried to stay far away from her, watching her from several meters away.
Mengqi turned around and found no one behind her. She waved at him and said, "Song Jiaping! Why are you standing so far away? Come over here and look at the river view."
Song Jiaping had no choice but to walk over, still maintaining his distance, and stood by the railing. He asked, "What's wrong with you today? Did your client meeting at noon not go well?"
Mengqi looked at him and smiled, saying, "What client meeting? My parents deliberately arranged a blind date for me."
Song Jiaping said "Oh," and thought it was normal, not understanding why she was unhappy.
"Do I look old? Do I seem too mature?" Mengqi asked, wanting to shove her face in front of him.
"Not really," Song Jiaping said, gazing at the distant river.
Mengqi said with amusement, "But do you know who my parents introduced me to? A middle-aged divorced man. He treated me like merchandise."
Song Jiaping said softly, "The person the chairman introduced to you must be of considerable wealth."
"He's just the CEO of a group that's about to collaborate with us on a project. He's picky and doesn't even trust our Huangfu Group," Mengqi said disdainfully.
Song Jiaping asked, "What's this person's background? He has such high standards?"
"His surname is Yao. I don't know his specific background. He's talking directly with my father. He must have some strength,"
Song Jiaping advised her, "If you don't like him, just tell your parents clearly. No one will force you, so don't be so unhappy. They're doing it for your own good."
"For my own good? My father has never seen my abilities. He only knows to marry me off so I can be a tool for their inter-group interest alliances," Mengqi shouted loudly. "But I just want to be myself!"
Song Jiaping didn't know what else to say. Wasn't he in a similar predicament, unable to control his own life?
She could at least tell her parents she didn't want to, and even if she felt uncomfortable, she could still insist on being herself.
He didn't even have the right to choose.
Seeing his sudden silence, Mengqi assumed he thought the same as her parents: a woman's career, no matter how good, was not as important as a good marriage.
"You think I'm an old maid too, and if I don't get married soon, no one will want me?"