Chapter 465

Chapter 465 Knowing Nothing When Asked

Hearing this, Cao Tianping’s eyes went wide, and Su Rui also perked up his ears!

The chairman’s assistant actually had a man she liked — this was absolutely bombshell news, the kind that could send every male employee at Bikang into a frenzy for an entire day!

However, unlike Cao Tianping’s surprise, Su Rui had already vaguely guessed what Xia Qing was about to say.

He gave a slight shake of his head, a wry smile crossing his face.

It wasn’t because he was confident or narcissistic — it was that he had been watching Xia Qing’s behavior all these days. They say the eyes are the windows to the soul, and through Xia Qing’s gaze, Su Rui could easily tell what was on her mind.

“What? You have someone you like?” Ma Lan immediately said anxiously. “You girl, how come you never mentioned it before?”

“It’s only been a recent thing.” Xia Qing’s pretty face flushed slightly, like an autumn apple — absolutely lovely.

Shi Cheng, sitting across from her, nearly froze at the sight of that charming look!

Hearing Xia Qing’s words, a secret delight welled up in his heart.

A recent thing? Wasn’t “recently” exactly the period since he had just returned to the country?

Shi Cheng had quietly investigated Xia Qing before, so he naturally knew that this beautiful girl not only had no boyfriend, she didn’t even have any rumors attached to her name. Although many people had tried all kinds of ways to express their feelings to her, Xia Qing had turned every single one of them down without exception.

They had grown up together since childhood — calling them childhood sweethearts wouldn’t be an exaggeration. Shi Cheng had begun to think that this reserved girl must have liked him for many years. Otherwise, why did she have no one she liked before he returned to the country, and then immediately have someone right after he came back?

Who was that person? Obviously, it was him!

Thinking that such an exceptional girl was about to fall into his hands, Shi Cheng could barely contain a grin!

Getting Xia Qing would not only give him satisfaction on both a physical and emotional level, but would also be a tremendous boost to his career.

Although Tenghui Pharmaceuticals was one of the world’s top mega pharmaceutical giants, its influence in the domestic Chinese market still needed further expansion. If they could form a partnership with a local pharmaceutical company like Bikang, it would be enormously beneficial for Tenghui’s deep development in China.

If even the chairman’s assistant at Bikang was already sharing his bed, would he still need to worry about the two sides failing to reach a partnership?

When that day came, he would have scored a major achievement — enough to perhaps earn him the position of Vice President of Tenghui Pharmaceuticals’ Greater China region!

With that thought, the look Shi Cheng directed at Xia Qing grew even more burning with desire!

Yet despite how excited he was inside, Shi Cheng still put on an air of composure, took a sip of coffee, and feigned a look of regret, saying: “I really don’t know who’s lucky enough to have won Xia Qing’s heart.”

Hearing this, the blush on Xia Qing’s face deepened even further, and the sight made Shi Cheng’s heart pound all over again!

Why did she immediately get so shy the moment he asked? The answer was already obvious!

Xia Min, whose face was usually stern, also let a faint smile show. He had been retired at home for many years now. Back in his working days he had been tireless and dedicated, becoming a division-level official before the age of 40, with a bright future ahead and a very real chance of stepping up into the city-level leadership. But at that critical moment, a major accident with casualties occurred at a company in the development zone under his supervision, forcing Xia Min, as the person primarily responsible, to leave his post and step back early into a secondary role.

All these years, the only thing that had brought Xia Min any comfort was watching Xia Qing grow up. Now he desperately wanted his daughter to hurry up and give him a grandchild, to bring some comfort to his lonely later years.

Meanwhile, Xia Min’s former deputy — Shi Cheng’s father, Shi Huabin — had already become the local mayor. Compared to Xia Min, the two of them were worlds apart, which was enough to make anyone sigh.

“Xia Qing, you’re still hiding things from your own parents. News this good and you didn’t rush to tell us.” Xia Min said cheerfully, glancing over at Shi Cheng as he spoke.

The old couple both seemed to assume that the man Xia Qing had her heart set on was Shi Cheng.

“He…” Xia Qing started to speak, then stopped herself.

“Xia Qing, go ahead and tell us — let us all help you size him up. Don’t be shy.” Shi Cheng took another sip of coffee. He had already started thinking about what to say next — should he go with a passionate, enthusiastic confession, or something more gentle and bashful… What a delightfully agonizing question.

“I don’t even know if he likes me back.” With her family right there, Xia Qing was no longer the polished top-tier professional — she had reverted to the look of a shy, gentle girl.

After saying that, her face had turned completely red.

Shi Cheng worked hard to suppress his excitement, clenched his fist, and said: “A girl as wonderful as Xia Qing — if that guy doesn’t like you back, he must be completely blind! If he’s really like that, I’ll be the first one to go punch him!”

After saying this, Shi Cheng thought to himself: “Say whatever tough words you want right now, because I’m not going to punch myself.”

Ma Lan laughed and said: “Xia Qing, hurry up and tell us — who exactly is he?”

“He’s a colleague at our company. His name is Su Rui.” Xia Qing bit her lip and finally said it.

The moment those words landed, Xia Min and Ma Lan’s expressions both went completely rigid, and Shi Cheng’s smile instantly froze solid!

Was this a joke? It wasn’t him?

Clearly, Xia Qing’s answer had caught both her parents off guard. They had been planning to bring Xia Qing and Shi Cheng together, and yet their daughter had pulled this move — the whole scene sank into an awkward silence that no one knew how to break!

At the neighboring table, Su Rui had been somewhat prepared, but hearing Xia Qing say his name with such tender feeling still left him with a complicated mix of emotions.

Comrade Cao Tianping had completely frozen. He had been in the middle of drinking his coffee, and now he had forgotten to swallow — his mouth hung open as coffee kept dribbling out, soaking his entire front!

Good lord, comparing yourself to others is enough to drive you crazy. Cao Tianping’s heart was in absolute turmoil — Lin Aoxue, Xia Qing, Zhou Anke, all three of the company’s top beauties had somehow gotten tangled up with Su Rui!

Su Rui made a helpless expression, the meaning perfectly clear — I have no idea how this keeps happening, maybe I’m just too charming.

“Xia Qing, you’re not joking, are you?” Shi Cheng worked hard to adjust his stiffened expression and said: “How come I’ve never heard you mention this before?”

“It’s only my own feelings, so I never said anything.” Xia Qing pressed her lips together — this was the first time she had ever spoken the feelings in her heart aloud.

Silently repeating that name, Xia Qing’s mind filled with the image of Su Rui, and the corners of her mouth couldn’t help but lift into a smile of happiness that anyone could see right through.

This was the first time Shi Cheng had ever found a beautiful woman’s smile so infuriating! Why wasn’t he the man she had her heart set on? And just who the hell was this Su Rui?

If Su Rui at the next table could hear Shi Cheng’s thoughts, he would be one hundred percent certain to grab this guy by the collar and throw him out!

“Stay composed, stay composed — nothing is set in stone yet, no need to get so worked up.” Shi Cheng clenched his fist and gave himself a very serious talking-to, working hard to get his emotions back under control!

After a long silence, Ma Lan gave Shi Cheng an awkward smile, then turned to Xia Qing and said: “Xia Qing, who is this Su Rui?”

“A colleague at our company.”

“How old is he?”

“Not sure exactly — he looks like he can’t be over thirty.”

“Where is he from?”

“I’ve never heard him say.”

“What’s his family situation like?”

“Not too clear on that.”

“What do his parents do?”

“I’ve never asked.”

“What’s his annual income?”

“That’s personal — it wouldn’t be appropriate to ask.”

“Then how tall is he, how much does he weigh?”

“Not too tall, not too short, not too fat, not too thin.”

…………

One question after another, and Xia Qing didn’t know the answer to a single one!

Xia Qing’s parents nearly fainted from frustration — had their daughter lost her mind? She didn’t even know the basics about this person, probably nothing more than his name!

Shi Cheng, on the other hand, felt happier with every answer he heard! It was obvious that Xia Qing was completely in the grip of unrequited feelings! She didn’t even know if the other person was single, or whether he had a wife and kids!

Looking at it that way, he still had a very real chance!

“Xia Qing, what is going on here? You don’t even know the most basic things about him, and you’ve already fallen for him?”

Xia Min was always serious and traditional, and seeing his daughter do something this reckless, his expression couldn’t help but darken.

“He’s a good person.” Xia Qing wanted to say a few words in Su Rui’s defense, but what she said really didn’t carry much weight — she couldn’t produce a single convincing piece of evidence.

“Whether he’s good or not isn’t for you to say.” Xia Min said gravely. “Can he possibly be better than your brother Shi Cheng? You don’t even know who this person really is, and you’ve already secretly given him your heart. I think this so-called Su Rui falls far short of Shi Cheng — at the very least, you two grew up together, our two families know each other inside and out, and Shi Cheng has deep feelings for you!”

Hearing this, Shi Cheng nearly wanted to drop to his knees and kowtow to Xia Min right then and there, all while shouting at the top of his lungs: “Father-in-law, please accept your son-in-law’s bow!”

This future father-in-law was no ordinary ally — clear in his views, strong in his arguments, truly worthy of someone who had been a leader!

However, Xia Qing heard her father’s words and looked a little surprised, then laughed and said: “Dad, what are you talking about — ‘deep feelings,’ really. Brother Shi Cheng has always treated me like a little sister, that much I do understand. Don’t go mixing things up.”

Xia Qing’s parents were completely speechless. Their daughter was nearly unbeatable when it came to being sharp, so how could she be so clueless about this? If Shi Cheng didn’t like her, would he take care of her like a little sister?

Seeing the situation getting awkward, Shi Cheng realized he needed to make a move, and quickly stepped in to smooth things over: “Xia Qing, relationships are something that really need to be approached carefully — they can have a very serious impact on a woman’s entire life. I think you should be more cautious about this. When two people are together, they really need to know each other inside and out.”

Xia Qing nodded. Even though she felt she knew too little about Su Rui, she was willing to trust the feeling in her heart.

Xia Min nodded as well, gave Shi Cheng an approving look, and said: “Xiao Shi is right. How about this — you invite that Su Rui out, and we can help you size him up.”

“Invite him out to eat with you?” Hearing this, Xia Qing’s face filled with hesitation.

Su Rui didn’t even know how she felt about him yet, and now she was supposed to have him meet her parents? Wasn’t that a little too obvious?

“Xia Qing, you’re not getting any younger — keep dragging your feet and you’ll be thirty. You might not be in a hurry, but your dad and I are.” Ma Lan waved her hand. “We rarely come to Ninghai, so we absolutely need to vet this properly. If I’m not satisfied, you need to put a stop to these feelings.”

“Then… alright.” The truth was, Xia Qing also wanted Su Rui to meet her parents. The way things were going, if she refused, this would never end.

Xia Qing hesitated for a moment, then took out her phone and dialed Su Rui’s number.

The next second, Su Rui’s distinctly recognizable ringtone — the Chinese national anthem — rang out boldly and triumphantly from the neighboring table!