All of this was observed by Xie Jiayi. Zhou Yuqian’s unexpected visit was something he had arranged for Secretary Ruan to handle, but he hadn’t anticipated that his most trusted secretary would bypass him and assign the task of attending to Zhou Yuqian to Lai Hui. He was torn between being grateful for Li’s recognition of his recommendation or angry that she didn’t understand the situation, pushing the one his boss loved towards a rival. Zhou Yuqian avoided eye contact with Lai Hui to prevent any gossip; after all, this was someone else’s company, and he couldn’t afford to cause her any trouble. Each held their own thoughts, but they were all rational enough to keep personal feelings separate from business. Despite the myriad of thoughts swirling in their minds, their expressions remained calm and composed. Xie Jiayi escorted Zhou Yuqian upstairs and then went downstairs to meet another client. Deputy Manager Qian led Zhou Yuqian into the reception room. Lai Hui brought in the tea, saw Qian was there, and thought her task was done. She placed the tea in front of Zhou Yuqian with a polite smile, “Chairman Zhou, please enjoy your tea!” After setting down the tray, she was about to leave when Qian’s hoarse voice, strained from years of smoking, called out, “Xiao Lai, bring the company’s new product catalog for Chairman Zhou to look at.” He then apologized to Zhou Yuqian, “I’m very sorry, I need to rush to a meeting in the engineering department. Please wait a moment; Mr. Xie will be here soon!” “No need for apologies, Mr. Qian. I hope my sudden visit hasn’t caused any trouble for your company!” Zhou Yuqian replied with a gracious smile. Lai Hui finally understood; today, all the senior executives were busy, and Zhou Yuqian’s unannounced visit at this time was quite imposing, causing a stir throughout the company. “Then please sit for a while, Chairman Zhou. I’ll go fetch the catalog for you!” Lai Hui said, standing aside with a smile, then left the reception room with Qian.
The atmosphere in the reception room was indeed odd. Zhou Yuqian sat like a guest in a southern living room, legs crossed, flipping through the catalog with a cup of tea in hand, his expression critical as he scrutinized the metal-finished products, seemingly evaluating their technical feasibility. Lai Hui imagined what Secretary Li would do in this situation – probably smile and explain each product with the catalog in hand. She decided to do the same, picking up a catalog. At that moment, Secretary Lin stood up and said to Zhou Yuqian, “I have an old classmate at MOIO. May I go and see him?” An excuse! Lai Hui’s eyes widened in disbelief at Lin’s seemingly unprofessional behavior. Oddly, Zhou Yuqian agreed without hesitation, then pointed at the catalog and said to Lai Hui, “Tell me about this new laptop model with the fingerprint recognition system.”
The conference room door was closed, but the white curtains were drawn, allowing a clear view inside. Employees, busy as they were, couldn’t help but glance in, as opportunities to see someone like Zhou Yuqian were rare. Seeing Lai Hui and Zhou Yuqian huddled together, discussing the catalog, the employees couldn’t help but feel envious, thinking they could do it much better than the new employee — “The fingerprint recognition system is mainly aimed at people of your stature…”
“Lin’s classmate is the financial director here, not that I deliberately sent him away, don’t get any wrong ideas!”
“…This system’s technology is mature and reliable…”
“Your hair is cut too short, some strands are sticking up, it looks really bad!”
Lai Hui’s fingers trembled on the catalog, holding back the urge to touch her hair.
“This was developed after much effort from our R&D team, after numerous trials…”
“Stop pretending, and don’t try to impress me. I could see you were professional from the moment you came in, okay?”
She bit her lip, her face flushing, and said stiffly, “Unless it’s you or your pre-registered fingerprint, no one can access the system…”
“Hmm, just like your heart, smart but not adaptable!”
“Chairman Zhou!!!” Lai Hui thrust the teacup into his hand and glared at him, “Drink your tea!”
“Your face is so small, did I hit the nail on the head?” Zhou Yuqian chuckled, then added, “Don’t be angry now, your colleagues are watching!” He finished speaking, then nodded towards the window. When Chai Hui turned to look outside, he grabbed her hand and hid it under the table, ignoring her blushing face. Then he whispered, “I need to return to the country this month. At the end of the month, I’ll come to pick you up to go somewhere. Guess the exact day yourself!” After saying that, he let go of her hand. At that moment, Xie Jiayi hurriedly entered the room. Chai Hui knew it would be awkward for the three of them in one room, so she quickly tidied up the photo albums on the desk and left.
Back home, Zhang Lin had already prepared dinner. Chai Hui took a shower and sat down at the dining table. Watching Zhang Lin shovel food into her mouth, Chai Hui envied her appetite, while she herself felt tasteless. She tried to eat a piece of beef, but suddenly remembered the morning scene in the office when Yu Qian had grabbed her hand. Her hand felt a tingling sensation, and the chopsticks loosened, dropping the beef onto the table. Zhang Lin looked up and asked, “Don’t like the food I made?” Chai Hui shook her head, “No, no, I just don’t have an appetite today!” Seeing her flushed face, Zhang Lin added, “Are you feeling unwell? You work late every day, don’t push yourself too hard, it ages you.” “I’m already old, not like you, not even 20 yet!” Chai Hui said, then suddenly asked, “Have you ever had a boyfriend before?” Zhang Lin thought for a moment, nodded, “Yes, in high school. He was good at studying, always called me dumb, but it was his way of teasing and caring for me.” She took a bite of rice and continued, “He never told me he liked me, but I was angry at the time. Now I realize that was his way of showing affection, maybe he liked me for being dumb.” Zhang Lin put down her chopsticks, rested her cheek in her hand, her brows furrowed with sadness, “Later, he went to university in another city and heard I was hanging out with some bad company, so he broke up with me!” Chai Hui sat in silence, thinking about the kind of men who were arrogantly self-assured, whose love was inadvertently revealed or hidden, making it impossible to discern the truth from their words. Her relationship with Yu Qian was like a game of hide and seek; she hid, he chased; she chased, he hid. When he seemed to give up, she thought he had, but when she was living her life alone, he would suddenly appear, say something enigmatic, and then disappear again, leaving her far behind!
Chai Hui knew what day it was going to be a month later – the signing day of their contract. What was he planning to do? She felt like a fool, why should she be the only one tormented by this uncertainty? Today, she was determined to get a clear answer from him. With hope, she picked up her phone to call Zhou Yuqian, but his phone was off. She tried several times, still off, and she put down the phone in frustration – always like this!
After forcing down a few mouthfuls of rice, Chai Hui went to the bedroom to look over some documents. Recently, a cold front had hit, dropping the temperature to four or five degrees. City A, known for its mild climate, didn’t have much use for heating systems, so when the cold came, the only way to stay warm was to stay under the covers. Her hand, exposed outside the blanket while flipping through documents, was freezing, wishing for a pair of thick, fuzzy gloves. In fact, the cold was so intense that she could barely focus, her mind still wandering between Yu Qian’s words, what he might do a month later, and chiding herself for overthinking – she felt possessed.
