Is not being able to do as you please also called rebirth?

Chapter 198 Li Qingning's Little Thoughts

Jiang Xun withdrew his arm, a subtle movement that made Li Qingning's long eyelashes tremble.

She didn't open her eyes immediately. Instead, like a lazy cat, she snuggled closer into Jiang Xun's warm embrace, her nose brushing against his firm chest, letting out a satisfied yet sleepy hum.

Finally, she slowly opened her eyes. There was no trace of confusion upon waking in her charming eyes, only a hint of amusement.

When her gaze focused and she saw Jiang Xun's young and excessively handsome face so close to hers, the lingering, unforgettable memories of last night instantly flooded back, causing her red lips to curve into an alluring smile.

"Mmm~" she murmured lazily. Instead of running away, she stretched out her slender fingers, still warm from just waking up, and gently traced his handsome features with bold and passionate eyes.

"President Jiang... are you awake?" Her voice was hoarse from the early morning, but it was even more alluring and magnetic than usual.

Jiang Xun smiled and nodded gently: "Mm."

"Is your arm numb?" Li Qingning asked knowingly. Instead of moving away, she deliberately shifted her body, pressing her smooth skin even closer to his, and could clearly feel the tension in his body.

She sat up slightly, the silk quilt slipped down, revealing a patch of snow-white skin covered with suggestive marks. She didn't seem to care; instead, she smiled like a cat that had just stolen some cream.
"Then... I'll go wash up first?" The words were a question, but the actions carried an undeniable sense of initiative.

She nimbly rolled out of bed, her bare feet touching the carpet, and bent down to pick up the clothes scattered on the floor—a beige cashmere coat, a dusty blue turtleneck sweater, black underwear, and crisp trousers…

These clothes in her hands were no longer armor symbolizing professionalism, but rather trophies of last night's passion.

She put on each piece with graceful movements, her actions carrying a deliberate, captivating rhythm.

After putting on her high heels, she turned around, gave Jiang Xun a captivating wink on the bed, and said in a tone of intimate command, "Mr. Jiang, don't stay in bed, you have a very busy schedule today." Then, she walked into the bathroom with a charming air.

However, her slightly stiff movements as she walked revealed the fact that she was somewhat overwhelmed.

In the bathroom, she looked at the huge floor-to-ceiling mirror, at the woman in the mirror whose eyebrows and eyes were full of spring and whose whole body exuded fatal attraction.

The cold water splashed on her face, and she felt her cheeks getting hot. She never expected that she would actually manage to seduce her best friend's boyfriend.

Although she had already received instructions from Yang Huimin, she still felt somewhat ashamed.

In the master bedroom.

Jiang Xun listened to the sound of water coming from the bathroom, his eyes deep. He got up and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window to overlook the vast city.

Having a relationship with Li Qingning wasn't a big deal for him, and if he wanted to completely hand over his work to her, it seemed he would need a closer relationship.

This woman is like a blazing fire—intelligent, ambitious, and adept at utilizing all her advantages.

She recognized Jiang Xun's future potential and was very fond of him, which is why she always subtly sent out some flirtatious signals.

Last night, it was less a torrent of desire and more a meticulously planned approach. She knew all too well what she wanted and how to use this intimacy to bind herself even tighter. She needed the convenience and power this relationship offered.

The bathroom door opened, and Li Qingning came out.

She wore the same off-white coat, trousers, and high heels, her hair was perfectly styled, and her makeup was exquisite and appropriate.

But at this moment, she exudes a deadly aura that is a perfect blend of extreme sexiness and competence.

She walked to Jiang Xun's side, naturally straightening his neatly combed collar, her fingertips lightly tracing his Adam's apple, her voice carrying a seductive, formulaic quality:

"President Jiang, breakfast has been delivered to the reception room. Also, I have prepared all the materials for Mihoyo's 'Elemental Reaction' system meeting at 9:30 this morning."

"Hmm, Secretary Li is really capable." Jiang Xun said with a light laugh, holding Li Qingning's soft waist with both hands.

He deliberately paused on the word "capable," which earned him a playful punch from Li Qingning.

The atmosphere was subtle during breakfast in the reception room.

Li Qingning sat opposite Jiang Xun, sipping her coffee, her gaze lingering on him without any attempt to look away. Suddenly, she put down her cup, leaned forward slightly, revealing a glimpse of her skin at her neckline, and spoke in a low, seductive voice:

"Jiang Xun, what happened last night won't affect your work, trust me." She looked up at him with a charming gaze.

"Mm." Jiang Xun responded, reaching out to pinch her chin, and chuckled, "Don't worry, Sister Qingning, I keep my personal and professional matters separate, but..."

Li Qingning smiled, waiting for him to continue.

"However, I get to decide when it's public and when it's private." Jiang Xun's lips curled up, revealing a mischievous smile.

Li Qingning gave him a charmingly disdainful look.

She stood up, walked around the table, went to Jiang Xun's side, leaned down and whispered in his ear, her warm breath brushing against his earlobe:

"President Jiang, I understand. When there's work to be done, the secretary does it; when there's nothing to do, the secretary does it, right?" She lightly tapped his chest with her fingertip and chuckled.

Hearing her say those words warmed Jiang Xun's heart, but just as he was about to grab the woman and teach her a lesson, she chuckled and dodged away.

"I've always been good at knowing my limits. Just watch how I perform in the morning meeting," she said, giving Jiang Xun a flirtatious wink before turning and leaving the room.

……

The atmosphere was completely different in miHoYo's conference room.

The three founders, Cai Haoyu, Liu Wei, and Luo Yuhao, all had flushed faces with excitement.

Jiang Xun's concept of "elemental reaction" opened a door to a whole new world for them.

After several days of urgent research and brainstorming, the technical team reported that although it was quite difficult to implement, it was not a pipe dream, and if successful, it would bring a revolutionary gameplay experience!

"President Jiang, President Li!" Cai Haoyu excitedly opened the PowerPoint presentation. "Regarding the elemental reactions you proposed, we've done some preliminary breakdown and prototype design. Look at this... Fire + Water = Evaporation, causing instantaneous high damage; Fire + Lightning = Overload, triggering an area explosion; Ice + Water = Freeze, controlling enemies..."

He gave a detailed and engaging presentation of the initial interactive element model and the envisioned renderings.

Jiang Xun listened very attentively, offering key suggestions for revision from time to time:

"The damage coefficient of 'Vaporize' needs to be precisely calculated to find a balance point; too high a value will disrupt class balance, while too low a value will render it meaningless. The timing of 'Freeze' is crucial; it needs to provide players with room for maneuver without becoming a purely unsolvable bug. Furthermore, the utilization and diffusion mechanism of environmental elemental fields must also be part of the core gameplay..."

His every word hit the nail on the head, demonstrating a profound understanding of the core logic of game design, which made the founders nod frequently, their eyes filled with even more admiration.

Li Qingning sat to the side and slightly behind Jiang Xun, quickly taking notes on the key points of the meeting and the financial, legal, and resource allocation issues that required her follow-up. Her gaze never left Jiang Xun, her eyes carrying a burning intensity and intense affection that no one else could perceive.

The meeting lasted nearly three hours and was efficient and productive.

The core framework of the elemental reaction system and the next steps in the research and development plan have been determined. A draft adjustment of the payment points based on the concept of "role value mining" has also been discussed in the preliminary stage.

After the meeting, Jiang Xun and the three founders had a private chat about team morale and recruitment plans, while Li Qingning stayed behind to coordinate budget adjustments and capital increases with miHoYo's finance manager. If subsequent R&D costs exceed expectations, Xunyang Venture Capital will need to provide timely financial support.

After finishing all this, it was nearly 2 p.m.

The two walked out of miHoYo's somewhat simple but vibrant office. The winter sun brought a touch of warmth, but it could not dispel the invisible chill that lingered between them.

"What are the plans for this afternoon?" Jiang Xun asked Li Qingning, who was sitting next to him, as he got into the car.

Li Qingning spoke clearly and quickly: "President Wang of Anjia.com is signing a real estate contract. At 3:30 PM, I have arranged a meeting at the company with Wei Ming, the core technical expert of 'BTCC'."

Jiang Xun nodded without saying anything more and closed his eyes to rest. These were all minor matters; Li Qingning would arrange everything.

Li Qingning didn't disturb his rest. After all, the two of them had been having a wild night until midnight, and he would definitely be tired since he still had to work all day.

Only someone with his ox-like physique could withstand it; anyone else would have been bedridden at home. In any case, Li Qingning's whole body was still sore and weak, and she hadn't moved much at all.

Thinking about some of the details from last night, Li Qingning still felt her cheeks burning and her heart pounding. She finally understood why Yang Huimin always showed off in front of her; this feeling was truly irresistible.

……

At the Xingyao Cloud sales office, Li Qingning efficiently assisted Jiang Xun in handling the contract throughout the entire process.

Watching his calm demeanor as he signed and transferred the huge sum of money, her admiration and desire to conquer him grew even stronger.

This man, in any state, always fascinated her.

A few minutes later, Li Qingning led in a simply dressed young man with black-rimmed glasses and a somewhat dull demeanor.

"President Jiang, this is Wei Ming. He was deeply involved in the design of early Bitcoin transaction programs and is also one of the core members of the team currently independently developing a platform similar to 'BTCC'." Li Qingning's introduction was concise and professional.

"Hello, Mr. Jiang, I've heard so much about you." Wei Ming pushed up his glasses, his tone carrying the typical restraint and a hint of excitement of a tech geek. Clearly, he had heard of Jiang Xun, the mysterious young tycoon who had made significant investments in the Bitcoin market.

Jiang Xun stood up and took the initiative to shake his hand: "Engineer Wei, it's a pleasure to meet you. Please sit down, Qingning, pour some tea."

The talks focused on the technical architecture, security, compliance risks, and future development prospects of Bitcoin trading platforms.

Although Wei Ming is not good with words, he speaks fluently about technical details and has a clear vision and passion for building a stable, secure, and user-friendly trading platform.

Jiang Xun listened attentively, occasionally asking crucial questions that directly addressed the core pain points.

Li Qingning took careful notes and added her insights on market analysis and compliance as needed.

"Security is of paramount importance." Jiang Xun tapped the table lightly with his finger, his tone grave. "Is a cold/hot wallet isolation solution feasible? How can we defend against large-scale DDoS attacks? The fundamental risk of centralized exchanges lies in 'trust.' How can we achieve transparency and trustlessness as much as possible technically? These are matters of life and death."

Wei Ming's expression turned serious: "What you've mentioned are all core challenges. Our team is currently developing a multi-signature cold storage solution to isolate hot wallet risks to the greatest extent possible. Regarding DDoS defense, we're considering introducing cloud protection and high-defense node clusters. As for transparency and trustlessness..."

He adjusted his glasses, his eyes gleaming with a tech-obsessed fervor. "We're trying to introduce a mechanism similar to 'proof of reserves,' which, while not entirely trustworthy, can increase transparency..."

The meeting lasted for more than an hour, and the atmosphere was warm and professional.

Jiang Xun expressed initial approval of Wei Ming's team's ideas and technical capabilities, and also pointed out several areas that need to be strengthened.

He promised to keep a close eye on their progress and hinted that if the platform prototype meets expectations, Xunyang Venture Capital would consider becoming an important early-stage investor or even a deep partner.

After seeing off the hopeful Wei Ming, only Jiang Xun and Li Qingning remained in the office once again.

The sky outside the window had darkened, and the lights of Shanghai gradually lit up, sparkling like a galaxy.

Li Qingning looked at Jiang Xun's back as he stood by the window and said:
“President Jiang, I will continue to follow up on Engineer Wei’s team’s proposal. Also… my plane ticket is booked; I’m flying to Beijing the day after tomorrow afternoon.” She paused, her tone carrying a hint of casual probing, “Do you need me to come along?”

"I'm going to study, why are you coming with me?" Jiang Xun asked with a smile.

“You have a company in Beijing, right? I can go and help you,” Li Qingning said, sounding unusually coquettish.

Jiang Xun could understand her feelings. No matter how capable and rational she was usually, she would feel a little empty inside after having to part with him so soon after their first time.

He gently pulled her into his arms and whispered in her ear, "Tomorrow was specially set aside to spend time with you. There's another team in Beijing, and I need you to oversee things here. You understand."

"Yes, I understand." Li Qingning nodded and rested her head on Jiang Xun's shoulder. She found it hard to believe that her little daughter was thinking this way. When did Li Qingning start having these kinds of feelings?

At this moment, Jiang Xun continued, "This house also needs to be furnished with household goods and basic furniture. You can arrange it as you see fit. As for the keys..." He hadn't finished speaking.

Li Qingning had already reached out her hand, her fingertips boldly slipping into Jiang Xun's suit jacket pocket, groping around, and quickly pulled out a set of keys.

She twirled the keys between her fingers, making a crisp sound, her eyes alluring yet bold, and her red lips curving into a seductive smile:

“Understood, boss. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure Mr. Jiang’s secret base is very comfortable… for your next ‘inspection’.” She deliberately emphasized the word “inspection,” making it highly suggestive.

After saying that, she even provocatively put the key to her lips and gently bit it.

Jiang Xun looked at her bright face so close to his and her aggressive gaze, his eyes darkening further.

"Get ready and come eat with me." Jiang Xun picked up his coat.

"Yes, ma'am~" Li Qingning smiled like a triumphant fox, deftly picking up her bag and documents.

As the elevator descends, neon lights flicker in the cramped space.

Standing beside Jiang Xun, Li Qingning didn't look at the fluctuating numbers, but instead turned her head to admire his handsome profile with intense gaze.

She leaned slightly towards him, her shoulder brushing against his arm almost imperceptibly, and a satisfied smile curved her red lips.

(End of this chapter)