Jingxia Rose

Chapter 52: Imaginary Rival

However, that hint of doting quickly blended into his unique gentleness, and Ji Xian didn't notice. She smiled and agreed with him for a couple of minutes before leaving the office.

Back in the office area, I could see Shen Jia at her workstation from afar, holding documents in her hand, but her eyes were glued to the computer screen.

She walked over, not even glancing at the computer, and asked directly, "Has the email from Gerner been printed out?"

Shen Jia panicked and quickly moved the mouse to close the webpage on the computer. She stood up and replied, "It's all printed."

"Then tidy it up and hand it to me later." Ji Xuan glanced at her computer out of the corner of his eye. "The sooner we finish, the sooner we can leave work."

"Oh."

Shen Jia responded with extreme indifference and a heavy nasal tone; the displeasure, dissatisfaction, and anger seemed to surge to the top of her head.

Ji Xian paused in his turning motion, thought for a moment, and slowly turned his gaze back. "Come with me."

Shen Jia was taken aback. "Where to?"

Ji Xian didn't say much and walked straight away. Shen Jia had no choice but to pout and take a deep breath before following him.

Their translation department is quite large, with three rest areas and tea rooms, as well as two meeting rooms.

The break room is always busy with people, so it's definitely not a good place to have a conversation.

Ji Xuan went to a conference room.

After Shen Jia went inside, Ji Xuan told her to close the door, then looked at her with a serious and cold expression and asked, "Shen Jia, have I offended you in any way these past few days?"

"If there's anything, let's get this over with. I don't want any personal matters to affect our work later on."

Her tone was unusually cold, and her gaze was no longer gentle.

He exudes the kind of powerful and authoritative aura that comes with the traditional workplace leadership.

Shen Jia was indeed taken aback, but considering that she hadn't made any mistakes recently, her dissatisfaction was now overflowing and was clearly visible on her face.

Her voice was also very aggrieved, "Sister Ji Xian, I haven't done anything wrong these days, how can you say such a thing to me?"

"..."

What did she say?

Ji Xuan couldn't understand where her grievances came from. If someone who didn't know the situation heard it, they would think that she had bullied her.

They had spent more than a year together. In her memory, Shen Jia was lively, loved beauty, and was very confident and proud, but she was also quite capable in her profession. Even if she made a mistake, she would correct it seriously and would try her best to ask for help when she didn't understand something.

That's why she was willing to bring her to Moscow and have her as her assistant.

She felt that Shen Jia had a bright future. With proper guidance and two or three years of experience, she would definitely be able to handle things on her own.

But the way Shen Jia has acted these past few days has made her almost unrecognizable.

Ji Xian disliked sophistry without evidence. She had a clear mind and wouldn't be easily led by the nose by Shen Jia. Her originally indifferent expression had already shown some displeasure.

He began, "Speak, what's the matter?"

Shen Jia hesitated for a moment, but seeing Ji Xian's expression, she found herself unable to continue.

"It's nothing, Sister Ji Xian, you're overthinking it."

Ji Xian frowned and gave her a deep look. Seeing that she was unwilling to talk, she did not force her. "Then go and organize the materials. Also, Lin Qi's speech should have been sent over tomorrow. Remember to translate it, mark the important parts, and don't forget tomorrow."

Interns can mark these things, but Ji Xian was just worried that she might be careless because of her mood, so he gave her a special reminder.

But Shen Jia felt like she was being scolded.

She's no longer an intern, so what does Ji Xuan mean by this?
Watching Ji Xian's retreating figure, he suddenly raised his voice and asked, "Sister Ji Xian, I heard that you and President Wen of Linqi were together before, is that true?"

Ji Xian was stunned, and her steps froze. After a few seconds, she turned around to look at Shen Jia's aggrieved and unbearable expression.

It's quite baffling.

But after thinking about it for a moment, she understood.

The reason Shen Jia has been treating her badly these days is that she has made her a hypothetical love rival.

She thought it was funny.

But it doesn’t matter.

Nobody goes to work to make friends. Ji Xian doesn't like to make enemies and always speaks lightly rather than deeply.

She didn't deny it, but calmly asked in return, "So?"

Shen Jia's pupils dilated slightly.

She had seen this news a few days ago from some information circulating among the wealthy families in Beijing. She was shocked and surprised to learn that Ji Xian and Wen Qi had dated for four years.

Ji Xuan and Wen Qi do look like a perfect match, and even their personalities are very similar. Shen Jia suddenly felt disgusted and repulsed, as if she had swallowed a fly.

Later, she comforted herself, saying that they had already broken up, and that someone of Wen Qi's status must have gotten tired of Ji Xian and dumped her.

Thinking this way made her feel a little better, but when she saw Ji Xian again, she saw him through the lens of a love rival.

I can't get it off no matter what I do.

She gritted her teeth, clenched her fists, and tentatively asked, "So... you don't still want to get back together with President Wen, do you?"

That's even funnier.

From this perspective, Shen Jia is not a smart person either.

Or is it that love makes anyone lose their intelligence?
"Shen Jia, you don't need to compete with me. I called you here today to talk because I'm worried that your feelings towards me might affect your work later on."

Ji Xuan's tone remained unchanged, "You should know what kind of person I am at work. Whether you resent or dislike me, I only have one principle and one bottom line: the simultaneous interpretation at tomorrow's meeting, including the subsequent translation work, must not go wrong!"

"Otherwise, my place is too small to accommodate you!"

In her conversation, she essentially acknowledged her past relationship with Wen Qi, but she didn't reveal anything else.

Therefore, in Shen Jia's view, she had implicitly agreed to wanting to get back together with Wen Qi.

He even threatened her.

Isn't this just a guilty conscience?
She was resentful and developed a great deal of hostility towards Ji Xian. After storming out of the meeting room, she organized all the materials, speeches, and attendee lists needed for tomorrow.

After handing it over to Ji Xian, she quickly packed her things and left work.

Ji Xuan ignored her, not even glancing at her. Their Russian colleague noticed their unusual behavior and asked with concern, "Demi, why does Ai Jia look so angry?"

Ji Xian didn't explain much. He picked up the two stacks of documents, each as thick as a Xinhua Dictionary, and smiled helplessly.

The colleague immediately understood, realizing that the two of them had been too busy and had too much workload lately.

He comforted her, saying, "You've worked hard."

Ji Xian said goodbye to them and left work with the documents and a few files in his arms.

She went to bed early that night and slept well.

She woke up the next day feeling refreshed. She put on some light makeup and dressed in a turtleneck sweater, a black blazer, and a brown coat.

I checked all the materials and documents I had prepared last night to make sure nothing was missing before leaving the house.

However, she ultimately overestimated the capabilities of someone who could be so easily swayed by love.