Listening to the beeping sound on the phone, Manager Wang stared at the ceiling, lost in thought for quite a while.
In the dead of night, President Qin's personal phone, the girl's cold voice, the canceled morning meeting, and the inconvenient reason.
Manager Wang frowned, realizing that things were not simple.
Could it be that something big is coming?
...
Nothing big came; the big one was sleeping in bed, sleeping until noon.
Bai Ningning opened her eyes and found that she had woken up earlier than Qin Yue. The overworked big sister was still sleeping soundly.
Feeling a bit hungry, she decided to get something to eat.
Dressed in a cat maid outfit and a small apron, Bai Ningning walked into the kitchen and saw several maids busy inside.
"Good afternoon, Miss Ningning," Aunt Zou greeted her, "Has the young lady woken up?"
"No," Bai Ningning replied, "She is still sleeping."
Aunt Zou sighed: "Miss Ningning, the young lady has been very busy at the company these days; you shouldn't… sigh."
"Yes," Bai Ningning took a bag and nibbled, "She really shouldn't."
Clearly, there was work to do and meetings to attend; she could have just had a good night's sleep. Instead, she forced her to meow, wasting her precious energy and stamina.
"Miss Ningning, I hope you too," Aunt Zou said with difficulty, "can restrain yourself a little… at least until school starts."
By the time they started school, Qin Yue's projects at the company would probably be completed.
Bai Ningning's pretty little face tightened: "It has nothing to do with me; this kind of thing requires Sister Qin to be self-aware."
If you don't provoke her with a needy look, will she be unaware?
The maids all understood this clearly but couldn't say it out loud.
Forget it, let's have lunch.
In the afternoon, the maids took out clean clothes that would be needed soon and hung them on the windowsill corridor on the third floor to dry. With nothing to do, Bai Ningning helped out.
Most of these clothes were worn by Qin Yue, mostly loungewear and casual outfits, with fewer formal clothes and uniforms. It seemed that after this project was completed, President Qin would get a little vacation.
Bai Ningning focused on helping to count the clothes that were hung up. As the saying goes, love your job, and wearing a maid outfit, she was just doing her part as a maid.
Now counting the clothes Qin Yue would wear soon: plaid shirts, lace pajamas, knitted tops, ruffled skirts, cropped pants, Asuna's Blood Oath Knight uniform, Elena's white shirt…
Wait a minute, what is this?
"Aunt Zou," Bai Ningning looked at the head maid, "it seems that some strange things have mixed in with the clothes that are needed soon."
"Not strange, those are also needed soon," Aunt Zou said lightly, "the young lady personally instructed it."
Bai Ningning tilted her head: "Is she going to wear them herself?"
"Of course not, just look at the sizes, they are all for you."
Isn't that right? These clothes, whether low-necked, high-necked, or collarless, all have a large bust. Although Qin Yue is not small, she is slightly inferior compared to Bai Ningning.
"But I shouldn't be wearing them recently."
"You will wear them," Aunt Zou continued hanging up those cosplay outfits one by one, "the young lady said that once she finishes her busy schedule, she wants to make up for the regrets from before with you."
Bai Ningning was shocked: "But I…"
"Ningning, you promised before, you won't go back on your word now, right?"
Um…
"Please continue with your work."
Bai Ningning had no choice but to continue writing in her little notebook.
Rem maid outfit, Emilia's regular clothes, Radiant Bride, Fearsome Maid outfit, Belfast Christmas…
I'm numb.
...
After Qin Yue got up, she finished a video conference, didn't stay for dinner, and didn't go to the company.
She went back to her family's home.
"Yueyue is back? Come sit down, dinner will be ready soon," Qin's mom greeted her at the door.
Qin's dad was sitting on the sofa watching TV, and when he saw her come in, he also greeted her: "Good evening, Yue, have you eaten?"
"No, that's why I came here to eat."
"...."
The polite greetings had become a bit awkward, but Qin's dad quickly changed the subject:
"How's the company doing lately?"
"Pretty good, very smooth."
"That's good. How's your health?"
"Still… okay."
Just a bit tired occasionally, overworked.
"By the way, about that matter you mentioned before…"
"I can handle it."
"Alright, it's your personal matter, I won't ask too much," Qin's dad seized the opportunity and casually said, "Qin Xin has started college, at Xicheng University, the one near where you live."
Qin Yue was slightly taken aback, then nodded: "Oh."
Qin's dad quickly added: "You sisters haven't seen each other for a long time. It's rare that she's in college so close by, you should keep in touch."
Qin Yue softly responded with an "mm," as a form of agreement.
Qin's dad breathed a sigh of relief.
The family situation had turned out this way mainly because of him. Since there were only two daughters in the family, in order to ensure they could smoothly take over the family business and even take it further, Qin's dad deliberately cultivated a sense of competition in them from a young age.
Sister Qin Yue was nearly ten years older and was exceptionally outstanding, which led to a rather poor childhood environment for the younger sister.
From a very young age, Qin Xin was compared to her sister from all sides, and the evaluations given by people generally stated that she was not as good as her sister.
On the other hand, Qin Yue, who was focused on her career, was emotionally detached and naturally wouldn't go out of her way to be friendly.
Thus, the relationship between the sisters, Qin Yue and Qin Xin, cannot be said to be bad, but rather like strangers.
As Qin's dad grew older, his views began to change slowly. He gradually stopped focusing on the family business and became more concerned about family harmony and enjoying family time.
In middle age, Qin's dad's biggest wish was to see the sisters reconcile and become good sisters.
"Qin Xin's school is very close, right?" Qin's mom also came over to say, "How about this, Yueyue, you let her stay with you, would that be convenient?"
Qin Yue hesitated slightly.
She initially wanted to refuse outright, but since it was a family request, refusing would seem very cold-hearted.
Forget it, the house is so big, having one more person doesn't matter.
"Okay," Qin Yue said, "let her complete the procedures for being a day student and come over."
Students at Xicheng University need to complete procedures to be day students.
As for how she knew? Bai Ningning was from Xicheng University, and it was Qin Yue who helped her with the procedures back then.
"Great, great," Qin's mom smiled happily, "I'll call her later."
Qin's dad took a sip of tea: "Qin Xin starts school the day after tomorrow, right?"
"Mm."
Bai Ningning also starts school the day after tomorrow, but she is a sophomore, while her sister is a freshman.