Ji Rui finished dealing with the matters at hand and walked out of the office, the entire company was silent.
Raising his wrist to check his watch, it was almost nine o'clock. At this time, others would probably be nestled at home watching TV.
But he, on the other hand, had long been accustomed to treating the company as home.
Glancing at the spot visible upon stepping out, it was equally empty with no one there. That spot was where his secretary sat, and since Le Tong took over the position six months ago, the person sitting there often accompanied him working overtime.
Today, she seems to have left early.
Was she unwell? Or did she want to avoid him?
Judging by her performance today, it seemed she had no intention to trouble him about last night's event, but it was better to be cautious.
In this era, there are too many women exchanging their bodies for benefits. Hadn't he himself come across such a woman?
Ji Rui stopped his wild thoughts, withdrew his gaze expressionlessly, and strode into the elevator.
It had been raining all day, and it was still drizzling, the traffic on the road was a bit slow, with a long line of cars ahead that made one dizzy.
Ji Rui tilted his head slightly, his gaze inadvertently fell on the sidewalk beside him. In such weather at this hour, there weren't many people on the sidewalk, and the occasional ones were hurried.
Under the dim street lights, the fine rain was like a curtain, the colorful neon lights in the rain appeared hazy and dreamy like a fairyland, even someone as devoid of romantic cells as himself felt a sense of surreal dreaminess.
A pure white umbrella abruptly entered his view, instinctively the attire under the umbrella looked familiar. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be the standard work outfit of the Ji Family.
And the person under the umbrella, walking slowly with a drooping spirit, was the secretary Le Tong who usually stayed late but was already gone today.
Ji Rui's gaze was sharp, staring at that figure for quite a while, his first reaction told him that her low spirits might be related to last night, which is to say, related to him Ji Rui.
Thinking about this, Ji Rui hesitated slightly: Should he kindly give her a ride?
After all, he wasn't exactly compassionate last night; it's cold and rainy...
The green light just happened to turn on then, his action directly made the decision for him, he stepped on the gas, and the car sped away like a wild horse set free.
The occurrence of last night's event truly took him by surprise. This seemingly docile and hardworking secretary might not be as simple and compliant as he thought.
As a man, he had to admit, Le Tong after drinking seemed like a stranger, a woman like that, probably few men could refuse.
He never had high opinions about women, especially those so-called socialites who eagerly presented themselves, their pretentious and coquettish posturing always made Ji Rui nauseous.
But Le Tong apparently didn't belong to the type that made him feel nauseated and repulsed.
He wouldn't admit to having any thoughts about Le Tong, but even someone as detached as he was merely driven by instincts, if he let her into his car now, he might incur a big trouble afterward. How could someone like Ji Rui do such a foolish thing?
His home wasn't far from the company, roughly only half an hour's drive. Today there was a bit of a traffic jam, Ji Rui wasn't in a hurry to rush home, so he moved along with the traffic like a snail, anyway, that home to him was just a place for sleeping, with no particular allure.
It took him almost an hour to reach the doorstep. As soon as the door opened, footsteps rushing towards him could be heard. Holding the wall with one hand, kicking off his shoes and loosening his tie wanting to take off his coat, with the approaching footsteps, a gust of wind swept by, and in an instant, there was a little figure by his side.
"Daddy, daddy, why are you so late? I was waiting to have dinner with you!"
The little one hugged his leg tightly, face raised, the beautiful eyes brimming with a smile.
Ji Rui pulled off his tie and tossed his coat along with his bag onto the storage rack at the entrance, bending down to pick up his son Ji Yu, who looked just like him.
The ridiculous incident from yesterday might allow Ji Rui a period of peace, but Ji Baby managed to offend nearly every socialite heiress known in high society. According to the butler, last night Mr. Ji had rarely given Ji Baby a stern talk. It seemed this little guy was here to seek refuge.
The old man indulging Ji Baby in such a farce was originally to use him as an aid in selecting a wife for him, he naturally knew, but he didn't stop it, only planning to deal with the women privately after Ji Baby selected a few.
To his and Mr. Ji's surprise, Ji Baby turned away all five hundred elite socialites and ladies carefully selected by Mr. Ji and Old Mrs. Ji. Mr. Ji was naturally furious, but Ji Rui, on the contrary, felt quite delighted.
"Baobao, why are you here again, didn't I tell you to stay obediently at Grandpa's house?"
Due to his nature, even facing his son, his expression remained impassive, and his tone, aside from a slight hint of reproach, didn't carry much more emotion than when he was at work.
Ji Baby, with a cute mushroom haircut, hugged his neck with one hand and turned his face with the other. His red plump lips quickly planted a kiss on Ji Rui's face, which was as stiff as a steel plate.
"Daddy, Baobao missed you…" The soft childish voice was heavenly, capable of turning people into jelly, but Ji Rui was an exception.
"Speak properly, don't use a Taiwanese accent!"
Ji Rui said this with a stern face, picking up Baobao and heading to the dining room. Only when reaching the table did he gently place him on the high chair, Baobao's soft hair with a milky scent brushed against his face. Unintentionally, Ji Rui softly brushed the fine hair with his lips, his expression instantly softened, though he hadn't noticed this subtle change.
Ji Baby didn't seem to mind his daddy's grumpy attitude towards him. When Ji Rui came out after washing his face, Ji Baby was holding a spoon standing on the chair trying to scoop some soup. Seeing Ji Rui come out, his eyes immediately curved into crescents.
"Daddy, come have some soup."
Ji Rui responded with a faint "Hmm," dragging the chair next to his son indifferently, sitting down, and taking a tiny sip of the cream of mushroom soup his son personally served him.
"Cough cough cough…"
Despite being mentally prepared, Ji Rui was still choked by the intense wasabi flavor and coughed violently for a while. After wiping the liquid from the corners of his eyes and nose with a tissue, he looked up to meet Ji Baby's pair of innocent beautiful eyes.
"Daddy, is the soup good?"
Ji Rui silently nodded, placing his big hand on Baobao's head, and gently ruffling his hair, calculating in his mind that it had probably been half a month since he last visited the old house to see this little demon.