Extra 3
Main Story Extra
“Director Lin must be in love recently.”
The woman mysteriously moved closer to the adjacent workstation and whispered, causing her colleague to look away from the computer screen in confusion.
“Huh? What did you say, Sister Li?”
“I said Director Lin must be in love!”
With the urgency of someone eager to share a shocking secret, Sister Li repeated herself patiently, lifting her head proudly.
“…Why?”
The young colleague, having heard the secret, still looked utterly clueless and showed none of the excitement Sister Li had expected. Sister Li couldn’t hold back anymore; she moved even closer, lowering her voice as she excitedly shared her reasoning process.
“You can tell you haven’t been observing Director Lin carefully. Lately, she comes to the office every day with a full face of makeup!”
“Eh—”
The young colleague’s face displayed a clear “so what” expression. Feeling unconvincing, Sister Li, in frustration, slapped her thigh.
“It’s normal to wear makeup to work…”
Listening to the colleague’s matter-of-fact muttering, Sister Li snorted from her nose, elegantly crossed her arms, and spoke in a teaching tone.
“You’ve only been here a few days, so you might not know, but I’ve been working here for seven or eight years. I’ve watched Director Lin since she started.”
“Let me tell you.” Sister Li’s gaze sharpened, and her tone became solemn. “Lin Qing—Director Lin, she never used to wear full makeup every day. At most, she’d put on light makeup and lipstick. Most of the time, she came to work with a clean face.”
“Oh, so that’s how it is!”
By this point, the colleague understood the deeper meaning of Sister Li’s words and clapped her hands in realization.
“Sister Li means that Director Lin is now more attentive to her appearance, so she must be in love?”
“Yes, exactly!”
Sister Li was delighted, nodding vigorously at her colleague, feeling a sense of relief from successfully sharing the gossip. She sighed regretfully, “I wonder what kind of person Director Lin likes. You wouldn’t believe it; she looks great even without makeup. Now that she’s wearing makeup, I can’t help but compliment her—”
“Wait, Sister Li, hold on.”
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Who knew the colleague would interrupt her mid-sentence. Sister Li closed her mouth resentfully, frowning as she looked over, seeing the colleague with an awkward smile.
“…Sister Li, can I ask you a small question?”
What could be so urgent to ask now? She still had so much to say. Young people these days are so impatient—
“Have you noticed the ring on Director Lin’s ring finger…?”
“…………”
Sister Li was stunned.
The colleague glanced at her with a complicated expression and said tactfully.
“I saw her wearing it from my first day at the company. She’s never taken it off…”
Sister Li’s pupils quaked.
“…It doesn’t look like she’s wearing it for fun. It seems like a serious one.”
Sister Li wished she could rush into Lin Qing’s office and scrutinize her hand.
How could young people get married so early these days? How could Detective Sister Li miss such a crucial clue?
Sister Li wrinkled her face, racking her brain. Just then, a slow, steady sound of high heels echoed down the hallway. Sister Li turned her head in a daze, seeing the very person they had been discussing walking by. Her features were exquisite, her eyebrows perfectly drawn, and her presence quieted the bustling office. For a moment, Sister Li almost mistook the company hallway for a red carpet.
Perhaps feeling Sister Li’s intense gaze, Lin Qing hesitated and paused her steps. Sister Li snapped out of her daze, withdrawing her overly blatant stare. Lin Qing walked past, leaving behind a lingering fragrance.
Sniffing the air, Sister Li recalled seeing the unmistakable silver ring flashing on Lin Qing’s ring finger.
…How did she never notice this? She could tell Lin Qing was wearing full makeup, yet missed the ring?
Frustrated, she decided to buy some steam eye masks to strengthen her eyesight as soon as she got home.
But wait, if Lin Qing was already married, why would she suddenly start dressing up now? She even wore perfume today, and it smelled wonderful.
Sister Li took a deep breath, suddenly enlightened, and squinted her eyes thoughtfully.
“Could it be the charm of rekindled romance—”
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“Alright, that’s enough, Sister Li. Any more, and it’ll get inappropriate.”
Her colleague interrupted decisively, giving her a helpless look before returning to work with a sigh.
…Somehow, Sister Li felt her authority had taken a serious hit.
Feeling dejected, Sister Li turned back and immediately ordered the steam eye masks on her phone, deciding to ask Lin Qing about her perfume brand later.
“What kind of person do you think married Lin Qing?”
“…Again?”
Her colleague paused typing, turning around with a wry smile.
“Sister Li, aren’t you paying too much attention to Director Lin…”
“I-I just realized my previous understanding was wrong, so I’m curious.”
Blushing, Sister Li honestly admitted her earlier deductions were entirely incorrect.
A few days later, she couldn’t contain her curiosity about Lin Qing’s lover anymore. She couldn’t help but confide in her good-natured young colleague again.
“It’s not that I want to gossip about her, it’s just, look, Lin Qing is too perfect. I used to think she was the kind of workaholic who wouldn’t get involved in romantic relationships—”
“No, that’s exactly gossiping about her, isn’t it…?”
Ignoring her colleague’s soft retort, Sister Li forcefully continued the conversation, clearing her throat to begin her reasoning.
“First! I think he must be wealthy!”
“…”
The young colleague’s expression changed multiple times, finally settling on a look that seemed to say, “Is this the best explanation you could come up with?” Sister Li hurriedly added more details.
“No, what I mean is—Lin Qing’s ring is expensive! I took a good look these past few days, and the diamond is huge!”
Regretting her previous oversight, Sister Li had been staring at Lin Qing’s ring whenever she saw her these days. A few times, her gaze was so intense that Lin Qing felt uncomfortable and frequently looked at her in confusion, but she never tried to hide the ring, always wearing it openly.
“Just think about it, Lin Qing’s qualities demand someone even better, otherwise, it’d be too much of a loss for her.”
Sister Li quickly came to terms with this, nodding in agreement, feeling an inexplicable sense of comfort.
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“Also, I think he must be good-looking!”
“…Sister Li, it sounds more like you’re describing your own ideal partner rather than speculating about Director Lin’s.”
Sister Li felt a bit choked and decided to pretend she didn’t hear that. “At least he must be as good-looking as Lin Qing, right!”
“Wow, Sister Li, do you realize how high you’ve set the bar with that simple statement?”
…Thinking about it, it might indeed be too demanding, considering he must also be wealthy.
Seeing her colleague’s troubled expression, Sister Li reluctantly conceded, “Alright, let’s change it to, at least he shouldn’t be too ugly.”
“But that doesn’t really matter.” Sister Li quickly convinced herself, getting excited again, “Anyone who Lin Qing likes couldn’t be ugly. He must be, must be—”
Sister Li dragged out the word, frowning tightly. No matter how hard she tried, she could only imagine a blurry-faced person standing beside Lin Qing.
“…Forget it.” She gave up decisively, waving her hand dramatically, “Anyway, no one is good enough for Lin Qing. As long as she likes him, that’s fine.”
“Although that makes sense… Sister Li, you sound like Director Lin’s mother when you say that.”
“Nonsense! Do I look that old?”
“Oh, that’s not what I meant…”
Although she glared at her colleague on the surface, Sister Li couldn’t deny that she might be overthinking things.
She was more than ten years older than Lin Qing. When Lin Qing first joined the company, Sister Li was the one who trained her. She thought the young girl was incredibly beautiful and spoke to her in a soft voice without realizing it. Unexpectedly, Lin Qing was not only beautiful but also very capable, getting promoted quickly and eventually becoming Sister Li’s superior.
Sister Li didn’t mind this—Lin Qing genuinely had the ability, and Sister Li was clear about that. Since Lin Qing could be considered someone who came from under her guidance, Sister Li, naturally a worrywart, felt a need to look out for her more.
Especially since some people in the company were not as understanding as Sister Li. Lin Qing’s quick promotions made them jealous, and they often gossiped about her. For example, after General Manager Qiao praised Lin Qing’s department at the annual meeting, rumors about Lin Qing and General Manager Qiao’s relationship spread.
Sister Li would scold anyone she caught spreading such rumors. General Manager Qiao could be old enough to be Lin Qing’s father, yet people were still spreading these malicious rumors.
Besides, this was Lin Qing they were talking about. Anyone she liked couldn’t be ordinary.
As she thought about this, Sister Li’s curiosity grew even stronger.
When she couldn’t resist asking Lin Qing about it a few days ago, the young girl blushed for the first time in front of her, vaguely saying she would introduce him when there was a chance.
…When would that chance come? Tonight maybe?
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Oh no!
Sister Li burst into the break room in a panic, leaning against the door with a bang, startling the person making coffee inside, causing them to spill it.
“…Sister Li, what happened? Why do you look like you’ve seen a ghost?”
The young colleague grimaced from the scalding, rinsing her burned fingers under the tap while frequently glancing at the startled Sister Li, expressing concern.
“I-I just went to the restroom and happened to see Lin Qing there…”
Sister Li was still in shock from what she had seen earlier. She subconsciously answered the question.
“And… and she said the weather was too hot, so she tried to tie up her hair in front of the mirror. I saw she wasn’t very skilled at it, so I thought I’d help her, but when she lifted her hair, I saw—”
Her words stopped abruptly. Realizing she had almost misspoken, Sister Li quickly took a sharp breath and covered her mouth, making a sound like a choked pigeon from stopping too suddenly.
She couldn’t say anything! This wasn’t something to share!
Sister Li felt very conflicted.
Though she had been curious about Lin Qing’s lover and even suspected she might be married, when faced with concrete evidence, she suddenly felt the need to keep it secret.
Why, you ask…
Sister Li recalled the scene she saw when she lifted Lin Qing’s hair and blushed.
…Oh my, young people have such stamina. Those red marks on the back of Lin Qing’s neck were definitely not from mosquito bites.
Although she had mentally prepared herself, seeing those marks still gave Sister Li a shock, shattering her image of Lin Qing as a cold, untouchable beauty.
And… although it wasn’t intentional, she still felt guilty and uneasy.
“Tying, tying up her hair?”
In her emotional state, she didn’t notice her young colleague’s face becoming strange, and her voice lowered.
“…Is her hair tied up now?”
“No, no, that wouldn’t do! I advised her to let it down!”
Sister Li shook her head wildly. After seeing the state of Lin Qing’s neck, she understood immediately that Lin Qing was unaware of the marks. Debating whether to tell her, she ultimately couldn’t bring herself to do it. Instead, she put Lin Qing’s hair back down, ensuring it covered everything, and flicked away the hair tie.
‘—Oh no, I dropped the hair tie. Lin Qing, I think today’s not a good day for tying hair, and you look better with it down!’