Chapter 32

The birthday Wei Xiaolu spent with Shen Siyan looked plain and simple on the surface.

There were no flowers, no candles, no birthday crown; no ten-course meal, no gifts, no dazzling lights. Just the two of them, finishing two slices of cake.

And beneath Wei Xiaolu’s calm exterior, waves were crashing and surging.

Shen Siyan knew her sexual orientation, so why was she still saying things like that to her?

It didn’t make sense. It wasn’t logical.

So Wei Xiaolu, who was very good at refusing PUA-style manipulation, couldn’t help wondering: was Shen Siyan using this kind of closeness to win higher loyalty and more dedication from her subordinate?

Besides, Shen Siyan was just that kind of person. She got along well with everyone; it wasn’t as if she behaved this way only with her. Maybe Wei Xiaolu was just overthinking it because of her own thick filter.

There were plenty of people in this world who used an almost-lesbian attitude and vague, ambiguous words to draw closer to other women. Wei Xiaolu had seen a lot of them; sometimes even she would unconsciously use that trick herself. A simple “I really like you,” when said between two people who had only just met, really could be a shortcut to closing psychological distance and breaking social barriers.

There was no helping it; humans were like this. They always liked hearing nice things.

Even if the intent behind such sweet talk wasn’t pure, once it was used widely it still became an habitual skill for maintaining relationships, and even evolved into a kind of personality mask that made someone more acceptable or more likable.

...Which was probably exactly why so many people fell for straight women. Flirting with girls came way too naturally to straight women.

That night, after celebrating Shen Siyan’s birthday, Wei Xiaolu lay awake until past one in the morning.

Luckily, she had very thoughtfully booked a flight for after eleven. No need to get up early; once she slept and woke, got herself together, and hurried to the airport with Shen Siyan, there would still be nearly an hour before boarding.

Shen Siyan handed her the suitcase and stood up, glancing around. “What do you want to eat?”

“I’m not very hungry,” Wei Xiaolu said, sitting down. “CEO Shen, do you want to grab something first?”

Shen Siyan’s gaze paused.

“I’ll go buy us two shengjian.”

“Oh,” Wei Xiaolu said. “Okay.”

Wei Xiaolu stayed seated on the waiting-area bench, watching Shen Siyan walk off.

Until Shen Siyan entered the shengjian shop.

Wei Xiaolu suddenly sprang to her feet—no, no, this was wrong. Having a leader buy me food? Wasn’t that turning the world upside down?

But it was too late to chase after her now. Wei Xiaolu craned her neck to check; Shen Siyan had already paid and was waiting for the food.

Five minutes later, Shen Siyan came back carrying two portions of shengjian and handed one to her.

Wei Xiaolu took the plastic bag and felt the warmth, carrying the fragrance of meat and sauce, press against the back of her hand.

Oh my god, this is so awkward. Should she transfer her money or something?

“Thanks, gorgeous,” Wei Xiaolu said, scooting a little to the side. “I’ll buy you dinner after we land.”

Shen Siyan sat down naturally beside her, tied up her hair with a hair tie she took from her bag, and smiled. “I probably have something to attend to tonight; I’m supposed to have dinner with a few bosses from Qiding Technology.”

Great, even more awkward.

Wei Xiaolu was just about to say she’d bring Shen Siyan breakfast tomorrow morning when she remembered the hotel included breakfast... never mind, let’s not bring that up.

“Then do you need me to go with you tonight?” Wei Xiaolu asked.

When Shen Siyan was about to spear a shengjian with a bamboo skewer, she paused slightly and looked over. “You don’t have to go. There are a few scenic spots around here; you could take the chance to go out and look around.”

But then she changed her mind. “Though I’m not very comfortable with you going alone so late at night...”

“It wouldn’t be any fun if I didn’t go with you,” Wei Xiaolu said with a smile. “How about I keep you company at dinner?”

“That works too.” Shen Siyan nodded, and bit into the shengjian with a teasing look. “Then you’ll have to stay close to me. Don’t let those bosses lure you away.”

Wei Xiaolu knew she was joking, so she played along. “Anyone but you, CEO Shen, and it won’t work.”

Shen Siyan said nothing.

She just ate her shengjian, her eyes holding tiny, bright fragments of a smile.

Wei Xiaolu suddenly felt like that joke didn’t sound like a joke at all. She was turning into the straight woman who flirted with girls.

She blinked, then smiled back and quickly lowered her head to start eating the shengjian in a flustered mess.

...It really was a mess. She bit too fast and hot soup spurted out, spilling all over her arm. Even after wiping it off with wet wipes, the smell still lingered, so she had no choice but to open her suitcase and change into another jacket.

It was a tiny mishap, but Wei Xiaolu still felt terribly embarrassed, as if she couldn’t lift her head in front of Shen Siyan.

But Shen Siyan wasn’t lifting her head either.

She was quite busy, taking out her tablet to deal with some work. It was only after Wei Xiaolu went to check the time and urged Shen Siyan to board that they finally got on the plane.

The aircraft shot up into the sky; the ringing in Wei Xiaolu’s ears gradually faded, settling into a steady calm.

Leaning against the window, she watched the scenery for a while, then couldn’t help thinking of how she’d felt yesterday after Shen Siyan said she’d leave her time for more important people and things.

“Right...” she had remembered herself saying foolishly, repeating the words, “Our time should be left for important people and things.”

“Mm.” The corners of Shen Siyan’s lips had lifted slightly. “So I came back and ate cake with my little sister.”

At the thought of that, Wei Xiaolu’s whole body went soft and fizzled, her brain buzzing into a mess.

It really wasn’t her fault for overthinking. Shen Siyan’s skill at hooking people with a curl of her finger and a raised brow was too practiced. She was calm now, but back then, for a brief moment, Wei Xiaolu had really imagined her as being into women, and her heartbeat had thundered like a drum.

Wei Xiaolu covered her face and looked over again.

Shen Siyan was sitting on her right, a tablet spread across her lap. On the screen were detailed materials about Qiding Technology and diagrams of its product architecture.

She was reading intently, her fingertip slowly sliding up the screen, her brows faintly furrowed as if she were considering something.

Wei Xiaolu had only looked for three seconds before Shen Siyan seemed to sense it and suddenly turned her head, catching her gaze.

“I heard you come out in the middle of the night,” Shen Siyan said softly. “Sleep for a bit. Catch up on some rest.”

Wei Xiaolu’s face was still hot. Hearing that only made it hotter. She hurriedly stammered, “I... I was just really excited because I thought I’d get to come today, so I couldn’t sleep at night and went out to find something to eat. Ah, I’ll sleep for a while.”

Then she immediately turned away, hugged her arms, and shut her eyes as if dead.

A soft laugh came from beside her.

Wei Xiaolu also pressed her lips together; if she hadn’t, she probably would have laughed too.

This act actually worked, and she dozed off in a daze. When she opened her eyes again, Shen Siyan was calling her. “Wake up, Xiaolu. We’ve landed.”

Rubbing at the corner of her mouth, Wei Xiaolu slowly sat up.

As soon as they left the airport, they saw people from Qiding Technology waiting to receive them. After the pickup, they went straight to the company for an on-site tour.

Qiding Technology’s headquarters was located in the internet industry base. Its scale was impressive, on a completely different level from the company Wei Xiaolu had visited before with Ai Jin.

They were first led through the company’s development history by a business representative, then brought to the product exhibition hall.

Their data-processing products were truly abundant, basically covering ninety percent of the needs on the market. They had only made it through less than half the hall when Wei Xiaolu found several technologies they might currently use for integration projects.

Shen Siyan naturally noticed them too, and went deeper into the details of a few products. The business rep, catching the opportunity immediately, launched into a passionate explanation of the technologies’ advantages.

At first it was actually pretty interesting to hear the functions, but later it was all bragging, and Wei Xiaolu got tired of listening. She drifted off to the other side to look around on her own.

“Over here are the schools, government departments, and business partners we’ve worked with, along with their reviews,” the business rep said to her in time.

“Oh, oh.” Wei Xiaolu nodded and clasped her hands behind her back, examining them with mock seriousness.

Even more boring.

Because all the partners’ reviews of Qiding Technology were over-the-top praise, and each one praised them in a different style. After looking at a few, she felt this was probably just like getting a free dessert for leaving a five-star review at a restaurant; all formality for a bit of self-interest.

She even saw the chairman of Zhaolan Group’s review of Qiding. It was absurdly extravagant, talking about “technological disruption, a beacon of the industry,” and hoping for “mutual binding and deep alliance.” They were practically praising them to the heavens.

“Xiaolu,” Shen Siyan’s voice sounded. “Let’s go; let’s take a look at the tech department.”

“Coming, CEO Shen.” Wei Xiaolu turned and caught up with her.

Qiding was solid enough in data processing to stand firmly on its own. Today’s timing was also quite coincidental; they had arrived just as Qiding Technology was co-hosting a data-mining competition with several universities. After talking with the technical staff in the tech department, Shen Siyan suggested they go take a look at the competition.

“Has it started yet?” Wei Xiaolu was afraid of missing it.

“They’ve been competing all afternoon,” the business rep said. “You can go watch on-site first. Our boss is on the way over; later, he’ll take you straight to the restaurant.”

Wei Xiaolu looked at Shen Siyan.

“Let’s go.” Shen Siyan tilted her head.

The business rep led them to the venue and left them there to observe, then stepped back outside to wait.

Wei Xiaolu had also once participated in a similar data competition in her third year of university, and even won first prize. Being back at a competition site now, she felt excited from the bottom of her heart. Gripping the chair with both hands, she leaned forward to watch each team’s data-processing progress.

“That one, the team called Data Is My Glory,” Wei Xiaolu said, unable to look away. “I’ve used their method before!”

“Oh?” That was Shen Siyan’s voice.

“I’m betting on them.” Wei Xiaolu quickly compared the rankings. Data Is My Glory wasn’t even in the top five at the moment, but she had confidence in them. Overtaking the others was only a matter of time.

“Are you sure?” Shen Siyan asked.

“Sure, absolutely sure. My intuition is never wrong,” Wei Xiaolu said, glancing at Shen Siyan before looking back again. “Trust me, no problem. Their approach is obviously the work of seasoned hands; rock solid!”

Shen Siyan smiled.

“They’re moving up,” Wei Xiaolu said, staring at the screen. Even her breathing slowed. Then Data Is My Glory’s ranking started to rise; in excitement, she grabbed Shen Siyan’s arm and shook it twice. “Did you see that? Up they go, up they go! I told you so!”

When she got too excited, Wei Xiaolu really had a hard time noticing when her behavior crossed the line.

But when Shen Siyan, maintaining that posture, leaned slightly toward her and, amid the noise of the competition hall, a laugh clearly slipped into her ear, she found it impossible to ignore how intimate the moment was:

“Mm, I saw it.”

Slowly, Wei Xiaolu let go of Shen Siyan’s arm, still pretending to be overjoyed. “My judgment was right, wasn’t it!”

“Mm.” Shen Siyan nodded, then leaned in a little closer and said beside her ear, “Our Xiaolu’s eye for things has always been accurate.”