Forty-Four

 It was like a bucket of cold water being thrown, catching him completely off guard. Before Zhou Yang could react, Su Hao had already pushed him away with force. Then, she fastened her coat, turned around cleanly, grabbed her small bag, and walked towards the door.

Zhou Yang took a couple of steps back, looking somewhat disheveled. A second later, he ran outside. To his surprise, a car was waiting for her. Su Hao got into the car without even glancing at him.

The taxi sped away.

Zhou Yang cursed under his breath, buttoning up his shirt and grabbing the car keys. He pulled Aliang, saying, "Drive!"

Aliang, startled by Zhou Yang, stumbled into the car.

Zhou Yang, with a dark expression, sat in the passenger seat and pointed at the taxi ahead. "Follow that car."

He then slammed the car door shut.

He lit a cigarette, the tobacco’s taste helping him regain some clarity. The two cars sped through the night. The black Hummer was high-performance and should have caught up immediately, but for some reason, it never managed to catch up. After missing a red light, all he could do was watch as the red taxi disappeared from view.

Aliang, anxious, floored the gas as soon as the light turned green, and finally, after passing the overpass, caught sight of the taxi again.

The taxi stopped, and the woman with a well-proportioned figure got out of the car and closed the door. Her long hair flowed and scattered in the night wind. Whether viewed from the side or face-on, she was breathtakingly beautiful.

The black Hummer arrived at the drop-off point.

The figure walked up the stairs. Zhou Yang, with the minty tobacco still fresh in his mouth, looked out of the car window at the base of the stairs. She wasn’t moving quickly, so he could catch her as soon as she got out of the car. But at this moment, his calmness had returned. He took the cigarette out of his mouth and crushed it in his fingers, the flame extinguished along with it. The car was silent, and the lively atmosphere outside couldn’t penetrate here. Aliang felt that Zhou Yang was frightening. Zhou Yang rested his tongue against his cheek and glanced at the third-floor window, which was lit with an orange glow, and it seemed there was a shadow moving around.

The wind blew in, cooling the collar of his coat. Su Hao’s hand had just been there, it was extremely soft.

Unfortunately, such women were not uncommon.

Did Zhou Yang lack such a woman?

He was indeed rare.

Zhou Yang lowered his head, rubbed his lips, and said to Aliang, "Take me back to Yuwan Mountain Water."

Aliang replied cautiously, starting the car. He glanced at Zhou Yang, who, though his tone was steady, still had a grim expression.

Like a shura, his brows carried a hint of frustration and disarray, evident for all to see.

Arriving on the third floor, the draft was quite strong, and the wind made the pores on his skin open. Su Hao leaned against the railing, adjusting the neckline of her top. He had kissed her harshly in that spot, and even if she didn’t touch it, Su Hao knew there would definitely be marks. Luckily, there was concealer in her bag. She took out a mirror, applied the concealer, and then fixed her hair.

Everything done, Su Hao leaned against the wall in silence.

She was actually quite unfamiliar with kissing and sexual intimacy. Her only experience was that one time with Tang Rui, and both of them were nervous and unskilled. At that time, they were trying to see if they could develop feelings for each other, and after that night, they were both shy and avoided looking at each other the next day.

It was also around that time that the invitation from Wall Street was handed to Tang Rui. After receiving the invitation, Tang Rui's mind was occupied with it.

The attempt to develop their relationship was left behind.

Later, Tang Rui went for further studies and was away from home for ten days to half a month, leaving only a marriage certificate to maintain their relationship.

Looking at it this way,

She was actually more experienced with kissing because of Zhou Yang, who taught her and encouraged her to try more.

Is it a kind of fate that the person she liked in her youth was the one to teach her?

Su Hao thought about it and smiled.

After a while, her phone rang, and when Su Hao looked down, it was Cheng Ling calling. Su Hao straightened up, answered the call, and while doing so, she used her keys to open the door, clicking it open—

The door opened.

Cheng Ling glanced at her. “It’s so late.”

Su Hao smiled, ended the call, and said, “I was out with friends tonight and just got back. Have you eaten?”

“I have. I saved you some food for a late-night snack. Do you want it?”

“No, I don’t need a late-night snack.” Su Hao, still feeling the effects of alcohol, tied up her hair. “I’m going to take a shower. You should get to bed early.”

“I’ve put your clothes away in your room.”

“Okay.”

Su Hao went into her room, turned on the lights, and pulled back the curtains. She took her pajamas and went to the bathroom to shower. When she came out, Cheng Ling was still awake, but it seemed like she was waiting for her to fall asleep, constantly dozing off. Su Hao helplessly went up to help Cheng Ling, “Mom, go to sleep.”

“Oh, you’re done? I’ll put the clothes...” Cheng Ling started heading toward the bathroom, but Su Hao gently guided her into the guest room, saying, “Just sleep. I’ll handle the clothes tomorrow.”

Cheng Ling rubbed her forehead. “Ah, I really can’t stay up late.”

It was almost eleven.

Cheng Ling usually went to bed around eight when she was back in Jiangdong, so staying up for a few hours was tough for her. Su Hao smiled as she helped her into bed. “Don’t wait for me in the future. If you’re tired, just go to sleep. Your health is more important.”

“This body is just not holding up.” After lying down, Cheng Ling’s eyes couldn’t stay open. Su Hao adjusted the covers for her and adjusted the light before leaving the room.

She turned off the lights in the living room, leaving only a small wall lamp on. Su Hao went back to her room, where the floor-to-ceiling mirror vaguely reflected a shadow. Su Hao glanced and saw that her collar was covered in hickeys.

Luckily, Cheng Ling was too tired to notice.

She applied some concealer, then lay down to sleep and picked up her phone.

There was no activity on the phone.

Zhou Yang hadn’t sent any messages.

It wasn’t surprising that someone as smart as him would quickly understand the situation. His reaction was not unexpected.

As for why he had chased her to the door but didn’t follow, it was probably because he thought it wasn’t worth it. If he couldn’t have her, so be it. He was never short of women.

Su Hao decided to block him.

She said they were done, so she made it final.

Back at Yuwan Mountain Water, Zhou Yang took off his shirt and went into the bathroom to shower. This time he didn’t turn on the hot water but used cold water instead. The colder it was, the more awake he felt. The water droplets ran down his hair and chest. He supported himself against the wall, his chiseled profile covered in droplets, his mind full of her image with her collar open.

Her skin was so delicate that even a single kiss left a mark.

Zhou Yang sneered.

He turned off the water, grabbed a towel, and dried himself. She was just a woman; he could forget her in two days.

He walked to the door.

Barefoot, he returned to the bedside, took a sip of water from a glass, and sat by the bed, flipping through documents. The phone on the desk chimed with WeChat notifications. Zhou Yang glanced at it.

Jiang Yu: Hahaha, Zhou Yang, you were dumped by Su Hao in less than two hours? Hahaha.

Li Yi: Cough.

Xu Dian: How does it feel?

Li Yi: I heard you only made it halfway through the night.

Xu Dian: Hahahahahaha, let me laugh for a while.

Jiang Yu: What are you going to do, Zhou Yang? Did you catch up with her?

Zhou Yang: I didn’t chase her. I’m not interested anymore.

The chat group fell silent.

A few seconds later.

Li Yi: Oh, that’s good.

Xu Dian: Tsk.

Jiang Yu: Heh, Zhou Yang is still impressive.

Zhou Yang sneered, putting down his phone. He glanced at some documents for a while before finally lying down to rest. He no longer had dreams of spring, but in his dreams, there was still the image of her delicate figure, her long black hair, holding a bowl of soup, standing by the pool table, watching him tenderly, her beautiful eyes filled with a faint admiration. She smiled under the sun, revealing a cute dimple, carrying a basket and walking towards him, her skirt swaying as she brushed past. Their hands touched, burning with a slight thrill. The gentle light from the crowd at the shooting range illuminated her face, and their gazes met unflinchingly. She was slender and soft, fearless yet resilient, a touch of tenderness in a man's heart. The shards of glass on the ground pierced his heart with the shock, the panic still clear.

In the middle of the night.

It was raining in Licheng.

Zhou Yang suddenly sat up in bed, the blanket slipping off his chest, revealing his well-defined torso. He ran his hand through his hair, his brow furrowed with frustration.

He threw off the blanket, got out of bed, and stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, lighting a cigarette and staring coldly at the silent, rainy night outside.

The next day, the ground was wet, but the rain had stopped by six in the morning. Su Hao, following Cheng Ling’s advice, took an umbrella and stuffed it into her small bag.

She walked to the office and encountered General Manager Zeng in the elevator.

As soon as General Manager Zeng saw her, he immediately moved aside. “Good morning, Su Hao.”

“Good morning, General Manager Zeng.”

Su Hao walked over and stood beside him. General Manager Zeng silently took two steps back. Fortunately, there were only the two of them in the elevator at that moment; otherwise, someone might have thought Su Hao was the superior.

But soon, the elevator doors opened again.

A large group of employees poured in, including Tang Yu, who immediately hugged Su Hao’s arm upon entering. “Morning.”

“Morning.” Su Hao smiled at her.

The company’s publicity department director was also there, squeezing in next to General Manager Zeng, whispering, “General Manager Zeng, for the promotional video and magazine shoot this time, does your department need to arrange for anyone? I think Lu Mimi is good.”

General Manager Zeng was taken aback, remembering.

Time flies, and the end of the year was approaching, time to make a new promotional video.

General Manager Zeng said, “Wasn’t Lu Mimi not selected last year?”

“Yes, but let her try again this year.”

General Manager Zeng: “Alright.”

The elevator continued upward, and as employees got off one by one, only Su Hao and General Manager Zeng remained on the sixteenth floor. When they arrived, General Manager Zeng walked out. Su Hao turned towards the tea room, and he watched her for a moment. She had a graceful figure and lowered her eyes to pick up a teacup from the table.

General Manager Zeng watched for a while before striding towards his office.

He then dialed the internal line for the publicity department director.

After making a cup of milk, Su Hao returned to her office, only to see Lu Mimi applying lipstick while looking quite pleased with herself.

Su Hao took her seat.

Lu Mimi glanced at her and said, “Good morning.”

“Good morning.” Su Hao replied.

She then turned on her computer. She and Zhang Xian had little in common aside from work. Most of the time, she chatted with Tang Yu on WeChat and rarely had other topics with Zhang Xian and Lu Mimi.

Lu Mimi glanced at her a few times before looking at Zhang Xian. Zhang Xian stood up and handed a stack of documents to Su Hao. “Reorganize these. The ones you did yesterday were a mess.”

Su Hao glanced at them and said, “Okay.”

Recently, Zhang Xian had been using this reason to make her redo the work.

But in reality, the first and second attempts were no different.

Su Hao worked quickly and couldn’t be bothered to argue with her.

Zhang Xian simply thought that Su Hao was so meticulous that no faults could be found, and they were nervous because she was too outstanding. So, she kept finding things for Su Hao to do to prove that Su Hao wasn’t so perfect after all.

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