Unexpected Second Chance at Love

"Achoo-!"

Back in Imperial, Yue Ling suddenly sneezed while looking over some reports. She sniffles with a frown and sets the papers down.

Is someone talking about her?

"Is someone talking about you?"

Just as she thought the question, Liu Shan asked aloud as he entered her office. He had heard her sneeze and found it odd since no windows were open and the company is always clean without a speck of dust.

Yue Ling glances at her assistant and slightly narrows her eyes.

"I think I have my suspicions on who it is."

Liu Shan scoffs in utter disbelief. He comes to a stop in front of her desk with the black design book in his left hand.

He bent his right arm and placed his hand on his hip. He also didn't forget to fling his head like he was throwing his long invisible hair back.

"Boss."

He makes a stern expression with a voice full of fierce attitude.

"If I were going to talk about you, I would have talked about you to you."

He scoffs and rolls his eyes like a prideful woman but fakes a sob.

"I can't believe you would think such way about your most loyal subordinate."

"..."

Yue Ling stared with heavy eyes and didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She was being sarcastic, but Liu Shan took her sarcasm to another level.

She lightly shakes her head and puts her hand out without a word.

Liu Shan knew he had gone a little bit overboard and cleared his throat. He was sure that if his boss was not Yue Ling but someone else, his behavior would have long made him jobless.

He clears his throat again and

takes a step forward. He places the black design book in her hand and steps back.

"I've already informed Cloth Co. They'll let us know when the fabrics are ready."

Yue Ling nods and opens the book. She flipped the pages for the designs they were currently working on. She closed the book and set it aside when she saw what she needed to see.

"When I leave with Jianan, I need you to take Liu Ye and Liu Jingyi with you."

She opens one of the drawers attached to her desk and takes out a small envelope. She hands it to her assistant and picks up the report she was reading before he entered the room.

"Max it out if you have to."

Liu Shan turned confused by her words. He took the small envelope and opened his mouth to ask but stopped when he felt something.

He quickly opens the envelope and takes a glance inside. When he saw the contents, he sucked in his stomach to inhale a gasp.

"This..."

Unable to finish his remaining words, he looks at his boss with wide eyes.

"You want me to take them shopping?"

He held his hand out to her. His movement shows the inside of the envelope that contained a black bank card.

"Are you sure you want to use this card? What if you go broke? Can you really trust me with something as valuable as this?"

Yue Ling kept her eyes on the report in her hand, but she was continuously rolling her eyes deep inside. If she didn't trust him, she wouldn't have handed him the bank card.

"I work hard for a reason, and it's times like this that my hard work should be put to use."

She averts her gaze from the report to her assistant and smiles a smile that turns her eyes into upside-down crescents.

"You can treat yourself to some things too."

Liu Shan's jaw dropped to the floor. Whether his expression was one of shock or horror, no one will ever know.

After what felt like an entire day had gone by, he finally returned to reality.

He narrows his eyes as if to read what his boss is thinking.

However, unable to read her mind, he heaves a long sigh.

"Seriously, I can never understand you sometimes."

His boss is a wealthy woman and a famous one too. However, despite having money, she hardly ever spends it on herself.

Instead, she spends her hard-working income on others or donates to charities around the world.

Sometimes, he just wishes she would be a little selfish and put herself first.

Yue Ling heard his sighing words. She puts the report down and leans back on her chair.

Her arms cross over her chest, and she slightly tilts her head with eyes on her assistant.

"Should I give this task to someone else?"

Liu Shan snapped back from his thoughts. He scoffs with attitude and shoves the envelope into his pocket.

"What are you talking about? This task was made for me."

He smiles a wink and snickers with an idea.

"I promise I won't disappoint you."

He says no more and dashes out of the room. He was afraid that Yue Ling might change her mind and give the task to someone else.

Yue Ling chuckles at her assistant, frantically running out the door. She shakes her head and continues going over the reports.

However, within seconds, she recalls his wink, and she sighs.

"I hope he does buy himself something."

She wasn't afraid he might go on a shopping spree with the bank card.

She was afraid that he would come back with random things for her again.

Unable to focus on her work, she pinches the space between her eyebrows.

"Should I have just given this task to someone else?"

* knock knock

A knock sounds from the door and interrupts her. She thought Liu Shan had returned to start a fight, but thinking again, she knew who it was.

"Come in."

The door opened, and it was as Yue Ling guessed. It was Jiang Shengyi.

The secretary enters the room wearing a white turtleneck sweater and black slacks. In her hands was a stack of documents.

"CEO Han, sorry to interrupt your work."

Jiang Shengyi was deeply apologetic. She had come from her desk to give some finished documents to her boss. However, she saw a frantic Liu Shan dashing out from their boss's office.

Not only that, he was running as if the devil was out for his soul.

When she saw him, she could only assume that Yue Ling must have been angry about something.

At first, she decides to wait a bit before seeing her boss but remembering that Yue Ling is leaving work early, she gathered all her courage and knocked on the door.

She was sure she would get scolded, but she was met with a calm and collected woman upon her entrance.

Yue Ling was calm, but that was only on the outside. Deep inside, she wanted to burst out laughing as she could see what her secretary was thinking.

She clears her throat and sits up in her chair.

"You're not interrupting my work. What can I help you with?"

Jiang Shengyi relaxed and walked over to the desk. She puts the papers in her hands down.

"I've finished sorting out any remaining problems in An Qing."

An arched eyebrow occurred on Yue Ling's face. She stares at Jiang Shengyi then smiles a smile that reaches her eyes.

"I'm impressed by how quick you get the job done."

She reaches for the papers and flips through the pages.

"Thank you for your hard work."

Jiang Shengyi couldn't help but smile at Yue Ling's praising words. She felt like she had won an award.

"I did the best I could since you've treated me fairly."

She was grateful that Yue Ling saw her potentials and saved her from Fang Fabrics. She promised herself that she would not let her new boss be disappointed in hiring her.

Yue Ling finished scanning the papers and set them down. She looked at Jiang Shengyi and was proud to have someone like her as an employee.

"I'll be leaving early, so you can have the rest of the day off."

Her words took Jiang Shengyi by surprise. She stares at her boss in bewilderment as this is the first time she's encountered such a situation.

Then a thought came to her, and her complexion turned pale.

"I..."

She utters a word but swallows a hard gulp before continuing.

"Did I do something wrong? Were the documents not to your liking? If you tell me, I will correct it right away."

Yue Ling chokes a cough at her sudden frantic words. She pats her chest and sticks a palm out to stop the woman.

"You didn't do anything wrong. I told you, I was impressed by how quickly you were able to take care of the situation."

She chuckles a smile.

"Don't worry. I still need you here at De L'amour. Also, I gave everyone else the rest of the day off too."

Jiang Shengyi was in complete shock. She stared at Yue Ling with slightly widened eyes as she couldn't process what she heard.

What kind of boss is Yue Ling?

She's letting her employees leave work early because she is leaving early?

She is happy but dumbfounded at the same time.

After a long year passed by, she finally blinked her eyes, and before she knew it, she was standing in front of her desk.

Her head darts in every direction as confusion wash inside her.

"What? When? How did I get here?"

Wasn't she standing in Yue Ling's office?

"You walked here."

A man's voice sounds from the left of her. She turns her head in the direction of the person only to see Liu Shan.

She takes in his words and furrows her eyebrows with a murmur.

"How?"

Liu Shan was on his way to his office after making his usual rounds in the company. He had just exited the elevator when he saw the secretary walk out from his boss's office in a daze.

He even greeted her, but she was too lost in thought that she didn't even hear him.

However, hearing her words after returning to her senses, he grins with an idea.

"I can show you."

He straightened his posture into a stiff position and stuck both his arms out in front of him. His head drops to the side, and his eyes roll slightly up as he moans like a zombie.

"Brains. You. Walked. Here. Like. This. Brains."

He starts walking one step at a time, going forward, then stops.

He returns to normal, looks at the woman, and wipes his forehead.

"Phew. For a second there, I thought you had finally lost it. You looked so scary. My soul almost went to heaven."

"..."

The corner of Jiang Shengyi's mouth twitched. She felt a tingling sensation in her fingers that made her want to strangle the assistant to death.

Liu Shan read her expression and laughed. He decides not to tease her anymore and dashes away.

"I was just kidding. You didn't look that, but you did come here on your own."

"...."