WTA Chapter 21

Chapter 21 – Flirtations in the Office

Novel Title: 谁把谁当真 (Winner Takes All)

Author：水千丞 (ShuiQianCheng)

Translator: K (@kin0monogatari)

Protagonists: 黎朔 (Li Shuo -MC), 赵锦辛 (Zhao Jinxin -ML)

*Please read at Novels Space.space, the original site of translation. TQ*

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The two spent another day cuddling at home. Li Shuo felt he had to go back to his own place. Since his mother last saw the kiss mark on his neck, he was afraid she might think he was out fooling around. He had been wild for a few years in his twenties. But at his current age, he didn’t want to give his parents that impression anymore.

Zhao Jinxin looked at him pitifully and said, “Why don’t you go home for dinner and then come back to me?”

“I need to spend time with my parents too,” Li Shuo tapped his nose and smiled, “Shall we go on a date tomorrow?”

“Sure, where to?”

“Where do you want to go?”

“I want to make love,” Zhao Jinxin said sincerely.

Li Shuo crossed his arms and looked at him for a few seconds, unable to hold back a laugh: “Where do you want to make love, you little kinky demon?”

Zhao Jinxin smiled mysteriously: “Come to the company tomorrow. We’ll go over the contract with the lawyer first, then I’ll take you somewhere.”

“Oh. It’s a secret, is it?” Li Shuo pointed at his cheek, “Give me a kiss. Your Shushu has to go.”

Zhao Jinxin grabbed the back of his head and pressed hard against those soft lips, kissing him passionately. Li Shuo’s eyes curved with laughter as he hooked his arms around Zhao Jinxin’s neck, responding to the sickeningly sweet kiss.

Zhao Jinxin released Li Shuo, who was almost breathless from the kiss. His peach blossom eyes were full of desire: “Will Li Shushu miss me when he’s gone?”

“I’ll miss you. Of course I’ll miss you.” Li Shuo messed up his hair and said softly, “See you tomorrow.”

Zhao Jinxin touched his lips: “Do you really have to go?”

“Yes, I do.”

Zhao Jinxin kissed him again: “Really going? Really? Really?” He kissed him with each question. His hands were gripping Li Shuo’s waist, unwilling to let go.

Li Shuo burst out laughing: “You little clingy thing. Alright, I really have to go. I’ll come to the company early tomorrow, okay?”

Zhao Jinxin pouted and reluctantly let him go: “See you tomorrow.”

Li Shuo left with a smile. On his way home, thinking of Zhao Jinxin still made his lips curl upwards involuntarily. It had been a long time since he had experienced such pure joy of being in love, especially one so abundant and fulfilling.

When he got home, seeing his cheerful demeanour, his parents could more or less guess what was going on. But they didn’t ask too much about where he had been these past two days.

Li Shuo discussed the cooperation with Ennan with his father in the study. Their thoughts were basically aligned. He also told his father that the troubles in China had been resolved, and he planned to return to China once the contract was finalised.

Mr. Li sighed: “Go back then. You’ve stayed quite long this time, your mother and I almost thought you were going to stay permanently.”

Li Shuo felt a surge of guilt: “Dad, I’m sorry for not being by your side all these years.”

“Don’t worry about that. Your mother and I are still in good health. We’ll talk about the future later. If you don’t want to come back, in a few years when I retire, I’ll take your mother back to China. The environment in Jiangnan is good, suitable for retirement.”

“Mm, I’ll come back to see you often too.”

Mr. Li smiled: “By the way, are you in a relationship again recently?”

“Ah, haha.” Li Shuo laughed dryly, “We’re still getting to know each other.” If it were anyone else, he would have openly admitted it. But with Zhao Jinxin as his partner… he really didn’t know how to explain it.

“Son, have you counted how many relationships you’ve been in?”

Li Shuo chuckled, “What’s this, are you going to criticise me?”

“I’m not criticising you. Your mother’s not here. Let’s have an open chat, just father and son.”

“Hmm… officially, there should be eight or nine.”

“When you were younger, playing around was understandable. You’re a man, and you’re quite the charmer. But don’t you think it’s time to settle down now?”

Li Shuo replied helplessly, “Dad, it’s not what you think. When I was playing around, it was mutual. But every time I’ve been in a relationship, I’ve been serious.” He could understand why his parents didn’t trust him much in this aspect. His longest relationship, with his college boyfriend, lasted only three years. The others came and went so quickly that it seemed like he was fickle. But he truly had difficulties he couldn’t express.

“You don’t have any issues with your character or personality, so why do you keep breaking up?”

Li Shuo rubbed his palms together and smiled bitterly, “I can’t explain it clearly. But it’s definitely not because I’m unfaithful or cheating. I’ve never done that, not once.” He had pondered this question for a long time. Most often, feelings would fade as time passed. Or because he was too easy-going, his partners would start excessively interfering with his work, life, and friendships. These were the most common reasons for breakups. It seemed that the harder he tried to maintain a relationship, the faster it fell apart. So he thought, maybe trying a different type – like Zhao Jinxin – might actually last longer. At least so far, the surprises and joy Zhao Jinxin had given him were almost the greatest.

Mr. Li sighed again, “Then I really don’t understand you. We don’t want to pressure you. But now that your work and life are stable, wouldn’t it be nice to find someone to be with? Maybe have a child through surrogacy?”

Li Shuo smiled, “Dad, I’ve always wanted to settle down. But it still depends on fate, right?”

“Anyway, you’ve rarely given us cause to worry since you were young, and we trust you very much. You manage your own life well. No matter what, the most important thing is that you’re happy.”

Li Shuo nodded with a smile.

While Xiang Ning was still awake, Li Shuo communicated about the progress with Ennan. After that, Li Shuo asked about the recent situation at the firm. He had been so preoccupied with worrying about his own case and Li Chengxiu’s matter that he had forgotten to check on the firm.

“Everything’s fine. We’ll talk when you get back.”

Li Shuo sensed Xiang Ning was hiding something and pressed, “Xiang Ge, has the firm been affected?”

“There’s bound to be some impact. The auditing circle is small, and we in finance are very wary of reputation damage. Although your case will eventually be cleared, outsiders will still have doubts.”

Li Shuo said in a low voice, “I’ve thought about this. But what’s happened has happened. We can only face it.” He paused, suddenly thinking of something, “Is Liang Ge having some issues?”

Xiang Ning was silent for a moment, “Let’s talk when you get back.”

Li Shuo guessed that Liang was dissatisfied with the negative impact he had brought to the firm. But Xiang Ning had kept him in check. This was understandable, after all, it was indeed his fault. He thought about giving Xiang Ning and Liang a larger share of this year’s bonus as compensation.

After hanging up, Li Shuo pondered about the firm’s affairs. As he was thinking, Zhao Jinxin’s face suddenly popped into his mind for no apparent reason.

He couldn’t help but smile.

What could he do? He couldn’t even focus on serious matters anymore.

He took out his phone and sent a message to Zhao Jinxin: What are you doing?

Zhao Jinxin quickly replied: Missing you.

Li Shuo grinned. He wanted to make a call but feared it might go on endlessly, making him seem like he had nothing better to do at his age. So he sent another message: What time should I go to the company tomorrow?

Nine o’clock is fine.

So early?

I want to see you sooner.

Li Shuo couldn’t help but smile. He still couldn’t resist and called him.

“Hello, Li Shushu,” Zhao Jinxin’s voice was lazy.

“Are you at home?” Li Shuo asked with a smile.

“Yeah, I don’t want to go out. It’s boring outside, might as well stay home and think about you,” Zhao Jinxin chuckled.

“How did you get so sweet-tongued? Who taught you?”

“No need to learn. I become naturally eloquent when I think of you,” Zhao Jinxin said shamelessly.

The two exchanged sweet flirtatious words back and forth. And before they knew it, Li Shuo’s phone had run out of battery. He fell asleep filled with sweetness.

Early the next morning, Li Shuo put on a new outfit, shaved, and carefully styled his hair. Looking at himself in the mirror, he smiled with satisfaction and left with his stuff.

At Ennan Group, Li Shuo ran into the Zhao father and son.

Zhao Jinxin’s eyes lit up when he saw him, which pleased Li Shuo greatly.

Zhao Rongtian joked, “Li Shuo, you look exceptionally handsome today. You might as well come work for our company. The KPI of our female employees would surely skyrocket.”

Li Shuo laughed, “I could help improve performance at your Beijing branch just the same.”

Zhao Rongtian laughed heartily, “Alright, you two go ahead and get busy. Finalise the contract as soon as possible.”

After Zhao Rongtian left, Zhao Jinxin grabbed Li Shuo’s arm and chuckled, “Why are you dressed up so attractively? And you dare say I’m not serious about you.”

“I just put on a new outfit. It’s not that exaggerated,” Li Shuo puffed out his chest, quite confident in his appearance.

“Why wear new clothes? They’ll just be stripped off anyway.”

Li Shuo smiled secretly, “We’re in public, mind your words.”

Turning into the break room, Zhao Jinxin locked the door and pressed Li Shuo against the wall, kissing him roughly. The sound of their lips and teeth colliding was quite suggestive.

“Alright, alright,” Li Shuo pushed him away as he panted. “Weren’t we supposed to meet the lawyer?”

“When I see you, I don’t want to do anything else,” Zhao Jinxin whispered in Li Shuo’s ear, “Except ‘doing’ you.”

Li Shuo laughed and pinched his waist, “Stop fooling around. Let’s take care of business first.”

Zhao Jinxin pouted, “Fine.”

Li Shuo straightened Zhao Jinxin’s slightly dishevelled shirt, “Let’s go.”

Zhao Jinxin pulled Li Shuo into his arms with one hand and kissed him once more before letting go.

They arrived at the legal department where the lawyer was already prepared. They began going over the contract on the spot. Since Li Shuo and Zhao Rongtian had already agreed on the general direction, today was about clearing out the details. Although tedious, progress was swift.

Zhao Jinxin, donning a neat suit and a serious face, appeared quite professional at the negotiation table. He showed none of his usual playful or indulgent demeanour. Li Shuo found this version of Zhao Jinxin incredibly sexy too. They exchanged occasional glances, sparks flying between them. Fortunately, they both remained clear-headed, managing to secretly flirt across the table while not neglecting the business at hand.

The lawyer wasn’t a fool. After catching their eye contact a few times, he gently coughed and said, “Should we take a break?”

“No need. Let’s finish going through the contract in one go,” Zhao Jinxin said, glancing at Li Shuo with a smile.

Li Shuo noticed that the lawyer seemed to have some issues with his back. He constantly shifted in his seat after sitting for a long time. So he said, “Lawyer Chen, are you tired? Let’s have some tea and relax for a few minutes.”

The lawyer looked relieved. He pressed the intercom to ask the secretary to bring some tea and snacks. He then stood up to walk around and stretch. Suddenly, as if remembering something, he asked, “Oh, right. Mr. Zhao, has Mr. Shao’s investment funds have been received?”

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*Proofread by 2024.07.30* I’m currently in the middle of the proofreading stage of my first ever translation; ‘Winner Takes All’. Lots of changes will be made especially to titles such as ‘Brother’ will be changed to ‘Ge’ and ‘Uncle’ will be changed to ‘Shushu’. I will proofread these chapters slowly when I’m free so please understand if there are any delays or discrepancies. TQ.

Proofread version of the rest of the novel will only be available on Novels Space.space while Mature Chapters will be released on Wattpad.

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