Fated Love With the Billionaire
Chapter 14 Who Cares if She Replies or Not

Chapter 14: Chapter 14 Who Cares if She Replies or Not

Chen Ningxi left Cheng Qiaobei’s house, wondering all the way whether there was a spark between them.

To say she liked him seemed too fast, as she had just broken up with Guo Heming, and she doubted whether she was drawn to another guy just to forget her past relationship. Yet, to say she didn’t like him didn’t fit either, because she was looking forward to spending time with him.

It wasn’t until she lay in bed that Chen Ningxi saw the WeChat message from Cheng Qiaobei.

north: Did you get home safely?

Chen Ningxi replied: Safe at home.

north: Good.

His "Good" left Chen Ningxi unsure of how to respond further. If she started another topic, it would seem like she had an interest in him, but Cheng Qiaobei had already stated they were just friends, so she chose not to reply.

Any form of initiating contact meant wanting to develop a relationship.

She slept deeply and soundly, and when she pulled open the curtains, the morning light filled the entire room with a warm glow, comforting her.

She took a photo from the window: sunlight, greenery, a waking city.

The caption was simple, just one word: Morning.

After posting it on her Moments, she went to wash up and came back to see numerous notifications from her Moments.

A bunch of people liked and replied, but she just noticed Cheng Qiaobei’s reply: Morning.

Chen Ningxi hesitated whether to reply to him. Considering the dozens of messages, she decided... forget it, why reply to anyone?

Before heading out, Chen Ningxi again opened her Moments and made a general summary: Received from all above, everyone is up early.

Cheng Qiaobei was just about to drive when he saw Chen Ningxi’s avatar pop up in his Moments. He quickly opened it, but hope and disappointment were worlds apart for what a word’s difference can mean.

Heh, a collective reply.

Cheng Qiaobei tossed the phone onto the passenger seat. Who cares if she replies or not?

Deciding to stay cool toward Chen Ningxi, the hotel was entering a recruitment phase, and Cheng Qiaobei had brought in a batch of quick learners to manage the transition work during the trial opening; important positions had already selected appropriate personnel, and other positions had started interviews successively.

At the year’s end, the pace of all industries was increasing. Cheng Qiaobei busied himself with revising the plan with the promotion company, while Chen Ningxi wasn’t idle either. Several sub-department leaders assigned tasks to ensure the safety of power equipment and facilities and the smooth power supply in their responsible areas during holidays. She spent continuous weeks traveling among the townships.

This day in Xiangma Town, checking work took a lot of time due to the many enterprises on the town roads. It was dark by the time they finished. Manager Bai suggested having dinner in town and pulled Chen Ningxi aside when they got out of the car to give a few words of advice.

"Chen, I’ll retire in a year. I submitted an application to move to a secondary line to my superiors the day before. Do you have any thoughts on advancing?"

Chen Ningxi understood Manager Bai’s intentions. Privately, from her father’s side, she called Bai Haifeng "uncle."

"Mr. Bai, thank you for trusting and thinking of me, but by rank and seniority, it’s not my turn."

"What era are we living in to still be talking about rank and seniority," Bai Haifeng glanced at a few people entering the restaurant again and lowered his voice, "I heard from Secretary Shi that he plans to fill positions based on competition and ability rather than seniority, and I think you have a chance. Among the middle management, you understand professional knowledge, and your business ability and decision power are the best, especially the handling of last time’s Nangang Town incident. Chairman Cao and Secretary Shi were deeply impressed by you. I think you should prepare. Based on my connection with your dad, I’ll push you a bit before my reassignment."

Hearing this, Chen Ningxi smiled faintly.

In her work, Chen Ningxi had always disliked involving her father’s connections, which was why she chose to start from the grassroots after graduation and worked her way up step by step to today’s achievements.

Now, Chen Ningxi needed to consider another issue, so she asked, "Did Secretary Shi imply he already has someone in mind?"

Bai Haifeng said, "Including you, there should be three candidates; he didn’t reveal exactly who."

With three people competing, the opportunity was still substantial.

After some thought, Chen Ningxi nodded, "Mr. Bai, please don’t mention the competitive selection to my dad yet. I’d like to try it myself."

"You kid, why not use your networks and resources?" Bai Haifeng was anxious for her, "What if someone else seizes the opportunity, and you have nowhere to cry?"

Chen Ningxi laughed, "I won’t end up crying."

"You... Sigh." Bai Haifeng lightly tapped her, "Consider it carefully, and you might want to keep what I told you under wraps."

Chen Ningxi said, "Understood, don’t worry."

Manager Bai moving to a secondary line meant that the people he elevated would undoubtedly remember his favor, effectively making Chen Ningxi Bai Haifeng’s future network and resource.

By the time she returned to Danjiang, it was nearly nine o’clock, and after a whole day, she was utterly spent. She planned to shower and then sleep when she received a WeChat message from Cheng Qiaobei just as she came out of the bathroom.

Cheng Qiaobei: "Mr. Chen, sorry to disturb you. The hotel plans to purchase a batch of greenery, but we couldn’t find any nearby sales points. Do you have any recommendations?"

Chen Ningxi had just finished an inspection in Xiangma Town, and there was indeed a large nursery there.

She replied: "There’s a Sunflower Nursery in Xiangma Town; you might take a look."

Cheng Qiaobei: "Do you know them?"

Chen Ningxi: "I don’t know them; I happened to be inspecting safety at this nursery today."

Cheng Qiaobei: "Tomorrow’s the weekend, do you have time to accompany me there?"

Worried that Chen Ningxi would refuse, he added another sentence.

Cheng Qiaobei: "You’re in charge of their electricity. With you there, I might snag a discount."

Chen Ningxi pouted but agreed anyway.

Chen Ningxi: "I can go with you, but I’m not sure about getting a discount, and I’m not good at haggling, so be prepared for that."

They agreed on a time, and Cheng Qiaobei would pick her up.

Exhausted from the fieldwork, Chen Ningxi fell asleep shortly after getting in the car, and Cheng Qiaobei noticed it, adjusting the heat up and lowering the GPS volume so as not to wake her.

Over an hour later, seeing Xiangma Town’s boundary marker, she blinked drowsily open her eyes as they bounced over a bumpy road leading to the nursery. "Are we there?"

She said, yawning again.

Cheng Qiaobei asked, "Didn’t sleep well last night?"

Chen Ningxi sat up straight, stretched her shoulders, and replied, "I’ve been doing safety checks in different townships all week, it’s a bit tiring."

Cheng Qiaobei fell silent, realizing her social media presence had been absent.

"You’re pretty busy."

Chen Ningxi said, "You’re not any less busy yourself."

The GPS was currently prompting to go straight, Chen Ningxi said, "Turn right, there’s a small road to the nursery."

Cheng Qiaobei turned off the GPS and drove in the direction Chen Ningxi indicated.

The nursery’s mistress noticed Chen Ningxi again, yet yesterday’s inspection should have cleared everything. Could it be she’s back to nitpick and fine them deliberately?

She spotted the unfamiliar man accompanying Chen Ningxi through surveillance—he wasn’t part of yesterday’s inspection team, so the suspicion increased.

The mistress kept a watchful eye and quickly had workers fetch the boss from the greenhouse while she handled the situation.

"Mr. Chen," the mistress smiled and asked, "did we not pass the inspection?"

Chen Ningxi replied, "The inspection’s done, don’t worry, my friend wants to see some greenery, so I thought of your place."

The mistress was briefly stunned, then enthusiastically grabbed Chen Ningxi’s hand and invited both of them inside.

"Come in, come and have a seat."