Gao Jian glanced at Shen Qingqing, looking somewhat hesitant. Shen Qingqing, sensing the situation, took her drink and returned to her office.
The closing door muffled Gao Jian's voice.
A short while later, Gao Jian entered.
Shen Qingqing looked up at him, "Are you planning to go back to the company to handle things?"
Gao Jian stiffened for a moment, then sighed in resignation. "It seems nothing can be hidden from you. There's been a hitch in the project I've been responsible for. Our partners are very dissatisfied with the design proposal we submitted, and they've specifically requested that I return to negotiate..."
If it were any other project, Gao Jian would have ignored it. But this was a project he had painstakingly built from scratch, pouring in endless hard work and effort. He truly didn't want to see it halted.
Shen Qingqing waved her hand, "I understand you're worried about the company. You should go quickly, don't delay any longer, or they might refuse to talk to you!"
Gao Jian said gratefully, "Thank you, President Shen. Once I've finished with the company matters, I'll return immediately. After this, I won't bother with company affairs anymore."
"If you could truly let go, you wouldn't be saying this to me today." Shen Qingqing didn't believe him at all. Gao Jian, despite his outward coldness, was actually a soft-hearted do-gooder.
Gao Jian scratched his head and gave a sheepish grin.
"Alright, alright, stop grinning foolishly in front of me. Go on now." Shen Qingqing found his silly demeanor rather displeasing to the eye.
However, he left and didn't return the next day.
Lü Shu was very worried, "Could something have happened to him again?"
Ke Lin comforted him, "What could possibly happen? His stepmother is already in jail. There's no one left to trouble him."
"That's not necessarily true." Lü Shu, being a young man who had consumed a lot of comics and games, naturally had a vivid imagination. "Don't you think he's like the Calabash Brothers saving their grandfather? Every trip he makes, he gets lost."
Ke Lin was amused by his analogy. "I think you're just worried about him, but you refuse to admit it. You always say one thing and mean another."
"Don't talk nonsense. I'm not worried about him." Lü Shu, as usual, denied it.
Shen Qingqing watched them bicker and felt quite cheerful. "Don't worry. Yesterday, I heard him say that the company matters seemed a bit complicated and might take some time to resolve."
"I hope he hasn't run into trouble again." Lü Shu pouted. After hearing what they said, he didn't dwell on the matter any further. If they both said it was fine, then it was fine.
But to everyone's surprise, he still didn't come to work the next day.
Now, not only Lü Shu, but even Ke Lin felt something was wrong. He looked at Lü Shu, "Could you have been right after all? Is he really like the Calabash Brothers saving their grandfather, going and never returning!"
Lü Shu rolled his eyes at him. "I told you something was wrong, but you two insisted it was fine. I called him this morning, but his phone wouldn't go through. Should we call the police?"
"Even if he's missing, it hasn't been 24 hours yet. What's the point of calling the police?"
Shen Qingqing sighed softly, genuinely feeling that Gao Jian had a perpetually troublesome fate. She called Gao Jian again.
This time, the call went through, but the person who answered wasn't Gao Jian.
"Miss Shen, is there something you need regarding my son?" It was Mr. Gao's voice. Shen Qingqing asked, "It's nothing, really. It's just that he hasn't come to work, and I'm a little worried."
"You don't need to worry. The child is fine. He accidentally fell yesterday while handling matters at the company and fractured his lower leg. He's recuperating at home now."
"Fractured his leg?" Hearing this, Lü Shu became somewhat animated. He pointed at himself, then at the other two, making a walking motion with two fingers, and then pointed to his eyes. His meaning was clear: he wanted to visit.
Shen Qingqing ignored him. "Is his injury serious?"
"It's not exactly severe, but his lower leg is injured and he can't walk. Mr. Gao sighed. "This child is just too impatient. Otherwise, he wouldn't have fallen and broken his leg. The doctor said he needs rest, so he'll be staying home for a while and won't be going to the company for now. I'll apply for a few days of leave for him."
"Then please have him rest well. I'll make time to visit in the next couple of days." Since it was a fracture, Shen Qingqing couldn't force him to return to work.
Mr. Gao said, "There's no need to trouble you to visit. He's not in a very good mood lately and has quite a temper. He'll return to work once he's better. To ensure he rests properly, I've taken away his mobile phone. If you need anything, you can call me, and I'll relay the message."
"Alright, goodbye, Mr. Gao." Shen Qingqing hung up the phone and relayed Mr. Gao's words to the other two.
Lü Shu breathed a sigh of relief. "This guy is really unlucky. How did he break his leg again? He was just discharged not too long ago!"
Ke Lin wasn't as naive as him. "There might be something more to this."
Lü Shu blinked. "Isn't his leg already fractured? What could be the issue? It couldn't be that his father broke it, right!" He finished speaking but received no retort, and his heart sank. Had he actually guessed right? "No way, I just said it casually. No matter what conflict there is between father and son, breaking someone's leg is too much!"
"That's not necessarily true." Shen Qingqing didn't jump to conclusions. "Perhaps he really is injured. But even if he is injured, there's no need to confiscate his phone."
"Maybe it's because of the radiation from the phone?"
Shen Qingqing gave Lü Shu a helpless look. "With a fractured leg, he can't get out of bed and can only lie there. It's already boring enough. If you take away his electronic devices, aren't you trying to make him so bored he molds?"
Lü Shu heard this and found it made sense. "Could it be that his father is trying to force him to submit by doing something outrageous, which is why his father is treating him like this?" For an internet-addicted youth, nothing was more terrifying than having their electronic devices confiscated.
Shen Qingqing sighed helplessly. "He's not like you, who can't go a day without these electronic gadgets. But having even his phone confiscated is very suspicious."
"It seems like he's intentionally preventing him from contacting the outside world." Ke Lin summarized.
Shen Qingqing nodded. "It's certainly possible. However, this is ultimately a matter between father and son. I believe he won't go too far, and it's not really our place to constantly interfere."
Ke Lin felt the same. Only Lü Shu was anxiously hopping around. "If that's the case, we have to go save him! Otherwise, he won't even be able to get out of the door. He's too pitiful."
"You have this much free time to worry about others, you should focus on yourself." Shen Qingqing turned the computer screen towards him. "Is this how you've implemented the program I taught you?"