Momentarily, he lifted the corner of his mouth in a slight smile, his beautiful deep eyes revealing a certain resolute intention.
Xiang Mi, “Cunning CEO Loves to be Jealous”
Chapter Four – An’s Pharmaceutical Company.
“CEO, your coffee.” The elegant secretary, wearing a sophisticated suit, smiled and brought in a freshly brewed aromatic coffee.
“Thank you.” Looking at the beautiful secretary, An Zhang instructed, “Man Yue, order a bouquet of purple roses to be delivered to my home.”
Somewhat surprised by his request, Xie Man Yue still professionally responded, “Oh, okay. How many would you like?”
“Nine hundred and ninety-nine.”
“So many!”
“I think decorating a room with purple roses would be quite romantic.”
A look of surprise and alertness crossed her delicate face. “Why does the CEO want to decorate a room with purple roses?”
“I have a guest at home.”
“A woman?” Her chest tightened.
“Yes. Purple is her favorite color. I want to give her a surprise.” Mentioning her, An Zhang’s expression softened.
“Who is she?” Xie Man Yue’s face changed slightly.
Having been An Zhang’s secretary for many years, she always thought she had a chance to replace Shi Xuan and become his girlfriend. However, over the years, his attitude towards her had been ambiguous – sometimes warm, sometimes cold – making it impossible for her to understand their relationship.
These are the names of suspects we currently have under serious suspicion, and the following is the voting district distribution map for the election two months from now.” Hao Yuan handed the police-collected information to Jin Yuanhao.
Jin Yuanhao crossed his legs, biting a pen while reviewing the investigation report, “According to Interpol’s intelligence, they plan to commit crimes simultaneously in the north, central, and southern regions.”
”That means Taipei, Taichung, and Kaohsiung are the most likely crime locations,” said Fang Xinlan, who, despite being nearly forty, still had a stunning appearance.
Two days ago, when they received the notification from Interpol, the police leadership was greatly shaken, everyone on high alert.
She, Zhang Qingzhi, and Hao Yuan were temporarily assigned to form a special investigation team with full authority to command and investigate the case.
”Probably so.” Taking the police-provided materials from Jin Yuanhao’s hand, Shi Xuan secretly shook her head; the intelligence they had collected was too little and almost completely unhelpful. She glanced at her watch, “Didn’t the Radar Detective Agency say they’d be here at ten? Where are they?”
Fang Xinlan looked up at the wall clock, “They should be arriving soon. This time, the agency’s president will come personally.”
Just as she finished speaking, the phone in the conference room rang.
Zhang Qingzhi picked it up, “Okay, please send him in.” After hanging up, he said, “He’s here.” He was well aware that the police’s collected intelligence was pitifully sparse, and now everyone could only hope that the Radar Detective Agency could provide more useful information.
When the conference room door opened, everyone except Fang Xinlan was shocked and stunned to find that the Radar Detective Agency’s president was actually An Zhang, a rising star in the business world – one of the “Four Buddies”.
In Taiwan, anyone who paid attention to television, newspapers, or magazines would hardly be unaware of who An Zhang was. What was most talked about was that he and his childhood friends Qin Luo, Yin Yan, and Joe Se were dubbed the “Four Buddies” by the media.
Besides their solid background and outstanding abilities, their exceptional looks were even more eye-catching, with each of the four having an astonishingly large number of fans and admirers.
However, no one was more surprised than Shi Xuan, who never expected to see him again just a day later.
”An Zhang, we really need your help this time,” Fang Xinlan greeted him with a smile, her familiar demeanor indicating they were acquainted.
”Of course, as a good citizen, it’s our honor to assist the police.”
”So we’ll be counting on your help with our cases in the future.”
”No problem, I’ll give you a 20% discount on future cases.”
Fang Xinlan’s sharp eyes narrowed, “Didn’t you just say it was an honor? And now you want to charge money!”
An Zhang responded with a gentle smile, “That’s right. It is our honor, but my staff still need to be paid to eat, right? You can’t send hungry soldiers into battle, can you, Ms. Fang?”
”Please call me Officer Fang.”
Those Roses, That Night
“What about Yuan Hao?” After quickly unpacking at the guesthouse, she was arranged to sit in An Zhang’s car. At the time, she hadn’t noticed anything unusual, only finding it strange that she and Jin Yuan Hao were taking separate vehicles. Until now, she finally realized she had been set up.
“There’s not enough room in my house, so Officer Fang arranged another accommodation for him,” An Zhang said.
“How is that possible? You have four rooms here,” she questioned.
“You remember, right?” An Zhang smiled warmly, counting them off, “That’s correct. I occupy one room, Sister Man one room, you one room…”
“And one room is still empty, right?” She gave him a suspicious look, truly not understanding his intentions. He was the one who had decisively cut ties with her back then, so what was he doing now?
With a soft laughing voice, he slowly spoke, “No, that room is for the CEO.”
“CEO? You mean that dog also gets a room?”
Hearing about the dog, the CEO suddenly ran from the backyard, seeing her and excitedly rushing to her feet.
“Woof woof woof… Sister, have you come to play with me?” It raised its azure blue eyes, excitedly looking at her, its light golden short fur shimmering in the sunlight streaming through the window.
Shi Xuan lowered her eyes, “Uh, no.” Damn, she could actually understand what it was saying.
Watching the dog fawning over her, An Zhang laughed, “Although CEO is a dog, it doesn’t seem to think so. It appears to consider itself human, refusing to sleep on the floor or eat dog food, insisting on eating exactly what humans eat.”
Petting the enthusiastic dog licking her, Shi Xuan looked up, “I’ll go stay at a hotel. This is, after all, your private residence. I shouldn’t disturb you.”
“I don’t think you’ll disturb me. Even if you would, I’m happy to let you.”
Her emotions stirred again by his words, she glared at him, “What exactly do you want? You were the one who broke up with me back then. Now what? Not only appearing before me but wanting me to stay in your house. Are you trying to apologize or repent?”
His deep gaze fixed on her, he smiled slightly, “Repent? Apologize? Xuan, do you think I would do something so foolish?”
Fine, very fine. It seemed he felt no guilt about the past at all.
“If that’s the case, what else is there to say? Why must you insist I stay here?”
Facing her anger, he spoke in a lazy, leisurely tone, “Because we’re friends. Do I need a reason to host a friend?”
“Friends?” She was choked by these words, her throat tightening. Just for this reason?
Was it not because he still harbored lingering feelings for her?
She was so foolish. After all these years, she still harbored such a fantasy, thinking he would be as unforgettable about their past as she was. Now they were merely “friends”, nothing more.
After my mother passed away, he remarried and had two children. After I started high school, I moved out to live on my own.
“Ah, did your stepmother mistreat you?” She thought of stories about stepmothers abusing their predecessor’s children and immediately jumped off the hammock, indignant on his behalf.
