Jingxia Rose

Chapter 53: Keep Your Distance

At 9:30, Ji Xuan arrived at the conference hall of Gerner.

Shen Jia arrived shortly after her, about four or five meters apart. Shen Jia didn't greet her and went to her interpretation room as if she didn't see her, then went to make preparations with her staff.

Ji Xian didn't pay any attention to it, and even thought her behavior was childish.

After communicating with the staff, she went over to ask Shen Jia about her preparation of materials. Shen Jia responded casually and perfunctorily.

When Wen Qi and the others arrived, she seemed to change her expression completely, immediately greeting them with a beaming smile, "Mr. Wen, did you sleep well last night?"

Ji Xuan only took a few steps forward, stopped two meters away, and nodded slightly to him as a greeting.

This greeting has actually been given more than once.

But for some reason, when Wen Qi looked at her indifferent eyes and brows, he sensed a certain distance between them.

Although Ji Xian's attitude towards him had been polite and distant since their reunion, he could now sense something was amiss.

However, he didn't have a chance to investigate further, as Hall and executives from Gerner's side arrived, and the two sides exchanged pleasantries and jokes upon meeting.

Shen Jia didn't receive a response from Wen Qi, so she could only translate first.

As the meeting was about to begin and everyone took their seats, Wen Qi didn't even glance in her direction. Reluctantly, she walked towards her interpretation booth.

At the beginning of the meeting, the Chinese executives shared their impressions of the inspection and their requirements for planning cooperative projects.

Ji Xuan translated methodically, with clear pronunciation and fluent grammar.

Everything went very smoothly up to that point.

Just as it was time for the Russian side to give their planned speech, Shen Jia in another interpretation room panicked.

She rummaged through the pile of documents on the table and looked in her bag, but couldn't find the speech she had brought home the night before.

My first thought was, "That's it."

Did you leave the speech at home?
She was annoyed, muttering to herself, "This shouldn't be happening." She had checked it before leaving home that morning...

I just didn't look too closely. Everything was packed together last night, so there shouldn't have been anything missing.

She was both anxious and annoyed, while the Russian spokesperson had already gotten up and taken the stage. There was nothing she could do but bite the bullet and go on stage. Fortunately, she had attended similar meetings before and was familiar with the general process.

It's just a translation.

Thinking this way, the anxiety that had been lingering in my heart gradually subsided.

The Russian spokesperson spoke slowly and methodically at first, but then he started speaking faster and faster, especially on the numbers in micrometers and nanometers, without pausing for a moment.

Shen Jia had no prepared speech, so she had to take notes while simultaneously translating for the Chinese side.

Wen Qi frowned halfway through the conversation, and only spoke after the person above finished speaking and Shen Jia finished translating.

Ji Xian then translated for the Russian side.

After several exchanges, it was discovered that both sides had made mistakes in their statements. One side was talking about raw materials, while the other was talking about industrial technology. Ji Xuan then realized that the problem lay with the translation on Shen Jia's side.

Her face was somber, and a rare hint of anger flickered between her gentle brows.

What happened with the translation?

Wen Qi's equally displeased and cold voice came through the Bluetooth headset.

Ji Xuan knew that he was questioning Shen Jia, so he quickly came out of the interpretation room and gave a brief explanation to both parties. Then Shen Jia also came out reluctantly.

The pink on her face was a mixture of embarrassment and annoyance, or perhaps the stuffiness of the cramped space.

She apologized, and Ji Xian immediately understood what had happened. His anger intensified, but he couldn't lash out directly. He restrained himself and asked, "Where's your speech? I reminded you yesterday to mark the key points and review them several times!"

"I...I'm familiar with it." Shen Jia's ears turned bright red, and her voice was a little weak. "It's just that...I forgot my speech at home."

Ji Xian almost choked on his breath. "Shen Jia, you've been in this industry for a while now, how could you make such a basic mistake!" "I..."

Shen Jia bit her lip, her eyes welling up with tears, looking extremely aggrieved.

Ji Xuan didn't care about her emotions at the moment. Such a low-level incident at such an important occasion was definitely Cheng Kong's responsibility.

She once again solemnly apologized to both parties.

Wen Qi pursed his lips, unable to bear seeing her bowing and apologizing like that, and directly interrupted Hall's anger, giving both sides a way out.

Ji Xian said, "I will translate for both sides from now on."

Hall didn't make things difficult for her; he simply shook his head at Shen Jia and returned to his seat.

Ji Xuan didn't even look at Shen Jia. He asked the staff to reset the Bluetooth on both sides, and soon the meeting was proceeding smoothly again.

Shen Jia stood silently at the doorway, two obvious tear tracks running down her fair face.

She stared blankly at Wen Qi's face. Just now, when Ji Xian was apologizing to Hall, Wen Qi glanced at her, and that glance contained displeasure and reproach, and even seemed to contain a trace of annoyance.

She always felt that she had misjudged the situation.

But after that, no matter how many times she glanced at him, Wen Qi never looked at her again.

The meeting ended close to 12:30, and both sides reached a consensus on cooperation directions and strategies. The atmosphere was quite harmonious.

Lunch was again served in the upscale cafeteria in Gerna.

Shen Jia followed at the back of the crowd, feeling somewhat lost and aggrieved.

After making such a basic mistake, let alone offering comfort, no one even bothered to come over and talk to her.

I made a mistake, and I don't know why I'm feeling so wronged.

After finishing their meal, the group left the cafeteria. Wen Qi turned back to look at Ji Xuan, paused a few steps, and waited for her to come over before asking, "Is your throat alright?"

Today's situation was discussed in even greater detail than at the last meeting.

Wen Qi was also worried that her throat wouldn't be able to handle it, so during the meeting, he deliberately slowed down his speech and occasionally paused to give her time to drink water to soothe her throat.

My throat only got a little better after drinking rock sugar pear soup for a few days, but I'm afraid it'll be back to normal after today.

It seems to be even more serious than before.

Ji Xian was somewhat surprised upon hearing this, and smiled slightly, "It's alright, thank you for your concern, President Wen."

The tone and smile were the same, but what hit me was that familiar sense of alienation.

He even caught Ji Xuan taking a small step back.

It's clearly a matter of keeping your distance from him.

Yes, they've been broken up for over a year, so they should definitely keep their distance.

Besides, she already has a boyfriend.

The bitterness in his heart welled up again. He pursed his lips, thought for a moment, and swallowed back the words that were about to come out.

After walking a few steps, he couldn't help but speak up, "It looks like the weather in Moscow is going to change again in a few days, so be careful... protect your voice."

"I understand." Ji Xuan nodded. "I apologize on behalf of Cheng Kong for the inconvenience caused to President Wen during the morning meeting. I will explain to the company later and send another translator."

Upon hearing that someone was going to be replaced, Wen Qi expressed his resistance, wanting to say "It's good to have you," but just thinking about it made him realize that the words were too ambiguous.

It would be inappropriate to say it out loud.

Finally, he nodded and said, "We have to go back to the hotel for a meeting this afternoon. If there's nothing else, you can go back and rest."

Let Mr. Wen hold it in a bit, he'll be bursting soon.