Chapter 151: Becoming the Third Wheel
The experts spoke about the scandal, debated the rights and business ethics. The impacts. And Yun Qian Meng just listened to all of it.
She had expected the gossip rags to pick up and even the newspapers, but primetime news channels and finance and business shows rarely spoke of suck matter.
[Did you do this?] she asked him.
[I just gave them an opportunity to raise their TRP and ad revenue.]
So confident.
She looked at the text for a minute before responding.
[First kickboxing class today. Maybe the trainer will look better than you in shorts.]
She smirked and put her phone away.
Why did she do that? No reason. Just to get on his nerves. She told him she didn't want his help but he went ahead and did something for her. If it hadn't been for the good judgment of the panelists, she might have been angry. But because they didn't say anything bad about her and the company, she would let the matter slide without choking him for going behind her back.
By lunch that day, things were back to normal at the office. Work fell into a comfortable routine. There was no more flirting. No texts to make her stomach clench. In fact, he didn't respond at all.
Qian Meng did catch glimpses of him at the window, watching her window quite intently. He didn't contact her, though.
Or maybe, it was just her imagination.
He was still a hot-tempered dragon at the end of the day. Workers fled from his office in tears on a daily basis. That day was probably not an exception. Just the sound of his voice paralyzed his employees on the spot.
Qian Meng stopped that train of thought.
At the end of the work day, Qian Meng strolled down the street to the corner and entered the gym. All the formalities had been taken care of, so she just needed to change into clothing to start training.
"Why did you join this class?" the coach, a very buff man around her age, asked.
"I want to learn a few self-defense moves," she told him. "I am not looking to be a mixed martial arts champion. I just want to poke an attacker's eye out if it comes to that," she shrugged.
The trainer, Rory's eyes roved over her body. "You took the mandatory training when you went to college, right?" he asked gruffly.
She nodded vehemently. "It was years ago, but they did make us do drills and throw some punches," she joked.
Rory blinked and nodded. "We will begin with some warm-up and I will check your strength."
She warmed up and knew she was mildly sweating. The rounds of punches, kicking, and combinations looked easy enough, but she lacked strength, Rory told her.
Qian Meng discovered kickboxing was hard. Really hard. She had excelled in everything so far in life and had thought this would be a breeze too.
Mo Qingchen had made it look so easy. Thankfully, Rory was patient with her. She wound up making a fool of herself more than anything.
While attempting a roundhouse kick for the third time, she ended up doing a warped concoction that landed her flat on her back. Rory burst out laughing hysterically. She couldn't help but join in.
He fell over the mat next to her.
Becoming a ninja would take a little more time than she had expected. Her hair was all over her face. She pushed it away while Rory kept laughing at her smooth move.
He finally stood up and held out a hand for her to take, which she quickly grabbed. He brought her up to her feet and held her steady as she wobbled a bit.
His hands were on Qian Meng's waist, keeping her from falling over. Apparently, acrobatics made her slightly dizzy because the room had a slant to it. She gripped his shoulders to stay grounded.
Her eyes closed momentarily. But that was a bad idea. She swayed completely off balance. Her eyes flew back open immediately and landed on the tall figure standing at the door.
And he wasn't happy.
She knew many of Mo Qingchen's expressions. This was one she had never seen before. But he definitely wasn't happy. He stormed across the room before Qian Meng could blink.
"What is going on here?" He glared at Rory murderously.
"I was showing Qian Meng some moves," Rory responded automatically. "Who are you?" he asked, finally catching his mistake. "This is a private class."
"A long-time member and majority investor's son," Mo Qingchen said smoothly. "She doesn't look like she has learned anything," he challenged the trainer.
"Ah, she is trying. But as you can see, she is not a fast learner."
Mo Qingchen scoffed. "Perhaps if her instructor spent more time instructing and less time flirting, the lesson would be more productive." His eyes were dark as coal and they scanned down to where Rory's hands were on her waist before snapping back up at him.
Rory released Qian Meng immediately. She swayed a bit but wasn't nearly as off-balance as when she first stood up. Then, she felt Mo Qingchen's hands on her waist.
"Are you alright?" his voice sounded concerned. It took her by surprise.
She nodded dumbly. Between his close proximity and the way he was looking at her, she was frazzled on the spot.
"Are you sure?" he didn't sound convinced.
How could Qian Meng tell him that other than being spell-bound by how good he looked in that sleeveless sports shirt and shorts, she was fine?
She tried pulling herself together, but it wasn't easy. His fingertips were on her waist. Her eyes flickered up to his lips which were frowning down at her.
She was about to do something bad when someone cleared their throat beside her.
Oh, she had forgotten all about Rory.
"Should I leave you two alone?" he asked awkwardly.
"Oh… no. You should continue with the class. He's here to keep an eye on me and work out himself," she mumbled like an idiot. She wanted to smack Mo Qingchen for making things awkward too.
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