Chapter 6: Harassment

When he reached the underground parking lot, Lu Qi’an realized that the car key he’d grabbed belonged to the vehicle he usually drove—a car worth several million that was considered rather low-profile. But at this point, he couldn’t be bothered to care. Although the two companies were nearly across from each other, the road was divided and he could only make a U-turn at the intersection. Coupled with hitting a red light, he couldn’t get to Qin Miaoyu right away.

As soon as the light turned green, he made the U-turn. After driving just over a hundred meters, he saw Qin Miaoyu standing under the streetlamp. He breathed a sigh of relief, flicked on his hazard lights, and slowed the car to a stop. “Miaoyu, I’m here. I’m just behind the car next to you,” he said.

Hearing his voice on the phone, Qin Miaoyu felt a wave of joy. She glanced at Director Li, who had rolled his window down again. Smiling, she said, “Director Li, my husband’s here. You should head home—wouldn’t want your wife to worry.”

She walked away with a smile, but Director Li got out of his car and followed her. “Miaoyu, let me meet your husband. I’ll help look him over. Men are much better at judging other men than women are.”

Qin Miaoyu scoffed inwardly. What a high-sounding excuse; all he wanted was to see if her so-called husband was real. Still, if Director Li saw she truly had a husband, maybe he’d finally give up his sordid ideas.

Lu Qi’an, sitting in his car, noticed a man trailing after Qin Miaoyu. Worried something might be amiss, he got out and walked toward them. Qin Miaoyu ran a few steps over to him, affectionately linked her arm through his, and called out, “Honey!”

She turned to the man behind her. “Director Li, this is my husband. The real deal—registered and everything!”

Director Li hadn’t expected anyone would actually come to pick up Qin Miaoyu. The man looked like a pretty boy; girls these days really only cared about looks, never mind whether men had any substance. He was about to speak when he caught sight of the emblem on the car behind him—the starting price alone for that brand was three million! Judging by the model, it cost far more than that.

He shot Qin Miaoyu a disdainful look. “No wonder you weren’t interested in my car. Turns out you’ve latched onto someone even more impressive.”

Lu Qi’an drew Qin Miaoyu a little closer. “You’ve got it all wrong. I chased Miaoyu for a long time before she agreed to marry me. If anyone’s latching on, it’s me. Besides, who would care about your shabby Tengyue?”

Director Li bristled at the contempt in Lu Qi’an’s last words. But not knowing who this man was, he didn’t dare stir up trouble. He swallowed his anger, got back in his car, and drove away.

Lu Qi’an released his half-embrace of Qin Miaoyu. “Are you alright?”

Qin Miaoyu was touched. She saw the sincere concern in Lu Qi’an’s eyes and the fine sheen of sweat on his brow from rushing over. “I’m fine. You got here just in time—wipe your brow.”

After fastening her seatbelt, Qin Miaoyu glanced at the emblem on the steering wheel and suddenly understood Director Li’s earlier remarks. She recognized the logo—not because her family owned such a car; they weren’t wealthy enough for that. Among the rich in Nanshi, her family was at best middle-tier, maybe even lower. Her father, determined to see the Qin family rise further, never spent extravagantly on cars. The most expensive one they owned was worth just over two million, mainly for appearances.

She had no real interest in cars. She recognized the brand only because her mother had once hired someone to teach her about luxury brands, hoping she’d have more to talk about with the sons and daughters of high society.

“This car…”

Hearing her mention it, Lu Qi’an suddenly wished he hadn’t thrown away the tissue he’d just used to wipe his brow—he could have used it again now. “I lent my car to a colleague. This one belongs to my boss. It was urgent, so I borrowed it.”

Qin Miaoyu couldn’t help but worry. She hadn’t seen anyone else in the video call just now, nor heard any voices. “Is it okay to borrow your boss’s car without permission? Won’t it affect your job if he finds out?”

Lu Qi’an soothed her gently, “Don’t worry, my boss won’t mind. I’ve borrowed it several times before—otherwise, I wouldn’t have the key, right?”

Qin Miaoyu thought that sounded reasonable enough. Seeing she didn’t press the issue, Lu Qi’an started the car, relieved.

As they passed the bus stop, Qin Miaoyu suddenly remembered something. “You lent your car to a colleague—so why did you message me after eight o’clock asking when I’d be home?”

Lu Qi’an hesitated, then said, “I was planning to take the bus or subway home with you.”

“Mr. Lu, thank you so much today,” Qin Miaoyu said, her gratitude heartfelt.

Thinking back on what had happened, Lu Qi’an frowned. “Does this Director Li often act like this? This counts as harassment, doesn’t it? Doesn’t your company do anything?”

Qin Miaoyu could only smile wryly. “He’s pretty shrewd, and has a good reputation at the company. To me, it’s harassment, but unfortunately there’s no solid evidence. Even just now, he only said he wanted to give me a ride home.”

Plus, he was highly capable at work, and his wife was one of the company’s major shareholders. Reporting him wouldn’t do her any good—people might even think she was making false accusations.

“But now that he knows I’m married, and with this car making him think you’re someone important, he probably won’t try anything again.”

“That’s just your guess,” Lu Qi’an replied. “If his intentions have already turned rotten, what’s to stop him from trying again? Have you thought about changing companies? I know people in illustration and design—if you want, I can recommend you.”

Qin Miaoyu thanked him with a smile. “I’ll think about it.”

She wanted to gain more steady work experience first. Her former roommate had told her that it was tough to find a new job back home without much experience, so until she figured out her next step, she wasn’t planning to leave right away.

As for Director Li, with a strong-willed wife and his reputation at stake, as long as she didn’t fall into his traps, the worst he could do was block her from becoming a designer—he wouldn’t dare try anything else.

As for the job offer, Qin Miaoyu didn’t take it to heart. She disliked owing favors—it was a debt hard to repay.

That night, before bed, Qin Miaoyu knocked on Lu Qi’an’s door.

“Mr. Lu, I’ll be making breakfast tomorrow morning. If you’d like to try some, I can make you a portion too.”

“It would be an honor to taste your cooking, Miss Qin.”

“Mr. Lu, is there anything you don’t eat or dislike?”

“No.”

“Alright, then I’ll just make what I usually have. I’ll head back to my room now. Goodnight, Mr. Lu.”

“Wait, Miss Qin—after all this time, aren’t we friends by now? Calling each other ‘Mr.’ and ‘Miss’ feels a bit too formal. Why don’t we just use our names?”

As he finished speaking, Lu Qi’an felt a little nervous. He wasn’t sure if Qin Miaoyu would agree. Even though they’d registered their marriage and were living together as before, they’d hardly spent much time together. To her, he might still be little more than an acquaintance.