Forty-Seven

 He had never bowed his head to a woman in his life, but at this moment, the words lodged in his throat.

He looked at her.

It was almost as if he wanted to say it out loud, but because of this, he had to grip Su Hao's wrist tightly. Su Hao, caught off guard, nearly lost her balance. When she looked up and saw Zhou Yang's face, she felt a bit dazed.

It was probably because they hadn't seen each other for over a month since that time she rejected him.

"Mr. Zhou, is there something you need?" Su Hao's tone remained distant and calm.

It was as cool as the night.

Her wrist being held made her hands come together in front of her, and her collarbone bent with the movement, forming a graceful curve. Zhou Yang's gaze swept over it.

Just that glance, and Su Hao caught it. She suddenly showed a mocking smile, then forcefully shook off Zhou Yang's hand and turned to walk toward the apartment complex.

Zhou Yang instinctively followed.

Looking at her graceful figure, he wanted to hold her, trap her in his embrace.

But the smile she had just shown flashed in his mind. Zhou Yang stopped, his hand hanging loosely by his side, watching her figure disappear at the stairs.

She didn’t look back even once.

And here he was, doing what?

Was he just bowing his head to her?

The tip of his tongue pressed against his teeth.

The scent of wine lingered. Her tongue, which always hid away, never proactive during kisses, remained concealed.

She was actually quite innocent.

Zhou Yang's tongue was bitter.

He still didn't want to bow his head, gritting his teeth.

A few seconds later, he turned and walked toward the Hummer. His hand touched the car door, and the tall man suddenly turned around, striding toward the stairwell. Three steps at a time, his shirt collar slightly shifting, he reached the third floor. Zhou Yang knocked on the door, and while waiting for it to open, he instinctively adjusted his collar.

The door opened.

A room's light spilled out.

But the person who opened the door was Cheng Ling. Cheng Ling looked at Zhou Yang with surprise. “Zhou Yang, it's so late. What brings you here?”

Seeing Cheng Ling, Zhou Yang's rationality returned somewhat. His narrow eyes softened with a hint of a smile as he curved his lips and said, “I was just driving by, so I came to have a look. Aunt Cheng, are you getting used to living here?”

His gaze, however, swept around the room. Since he was about a head taller than Cheng Ling, his view was clear and comprehensive.

The master bedroom door was ajar.

An indistinct shadow was visible; she was near the bedside! Hearing the noise, she glanced outside, then calmly withdrew her gaze.

Just that one glance.

Zhou Yang's Adam's apple bobbed.

“Getting used to it. Your mother came over yesterday afternoon and had dinner with us. I heard you were on a business trip?” Cheng Ling had been in better spirits recently with her daughter’s company, and seeing Zhou Yang, she had a full face of smiles.

“Yes, I was on a business trip. It has been quite busy.” Zhou Yang couldn’t help but keep glancing toward the master bedroom, but the door was pushed closed by a slender hand.

His eyes narrowed.

Cheng Ling then realized, “I almost forgot. Would you like to come in and sit?”

She immediately took a step back, inviting him.

The man outside carried the chill of early autumn, his shirt collar slightly open and casual, but with a commanding presence. Cheng Ling was unsure of what to talk about but felt it was hard to deny him entry, especially with his eyes narrowing in a somewhat intimidating way.

Zhou Yang came back to his senses, looking at Cheng Ling. Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at the tightly closed master bedroom, and with a smile, replied, “No, it’s too late. The car is still outside. Aunt Cheng, good night.”

Cheng Ling sighed in relief. “Oh, good night.”

Zhou Yang smiled, touched his brow with his fingertips, and turned to go down the stairs.

Cheng Ling paused for two seconds and closed the door.

Bang— The hallway fell into darkness.

Zhou Yang pulled out his cigarettes and lighter from his pocket, leaning against the wall. He lit a cigarette without smoking it, just playing with it. His long fingers flipped it over, watching the slender cigarette spin in his palm, only moving with his actions. In the flickering light, it seemed to imprint the woman’s face.

And her little dimples.

And her slender figure.

Men are driven by their desires.

He is a prominent figure among them.

But his heart was pounding, and there was nothing he could do about it.

This was something she had given him.

After closing the door, Cheng Ling thought about the smile Zhou Yang had shown, his fingers touching his brow. A man like him, indeed, was a menace. Clearly, he was a tall and strong man, but he was also charming and flirtatious. When he smiled, he seemed full of affection, and it was obvious he wasn’t content. He looked so much like Zhou Qinkai, but Zhou Qinkai was steady and refined and had never smiled like that.

She wondered what kind of environment had shaped Zhou Yang into the person he was now.

"Why did you suddenly close the door?" Cheng Ling asked, as Su Hao emerged from the master bedroom holding her pajamas. "You’re changing clothes?!"

Su Hao acknowledged and went into the bathroom with her pajamas.

The bathroom was filled with a fragrance. Even if she didn’t use the new shower gel she had bought, there was still a faint scent. Cheng Ling wasn’t used to it; she usually used soap, so the shower gel was used only by Su Hao. She stood under the shower, warm water pouring over her head. She tilted her head back, wondering if Zhou Yang was still thinking about her because he hadn’t gotten what he wanted?

It seemed very much like Tang Rui’s change of heart now.

One by one, it was really amusing.

Su Hao closed her eyes, squeezed some shampoo, and began washing her hair.

The white foam touched her cheeks and shoulders. Even the strongest and most understanding person has a heart of flesh. When Tang Rui first brought up divorce, she was initially somewhat at a loss. But she knew he had received an offer and had always been ambitious, so her sadness only lasted one night. The next day, she had to forget that bit of sadness.

When Shen He was about to give up, she understood his intention. She swallowed the words she was about to say and waited for him to speak first.

Shen He’s lack of reluctance indeed made her a bit sad.

Zhou Yang was the only one who made her feel a sense of satisfaction. The kiss that reached her collarbone was a forbidden area. He was probably quite astonished.

At the moment she turned to leave, she truly felt the comfort of having the initiative in her hands.

But when she got home, this man only went downstairs, just as she had expected, but the precision of this expectation made her smile bitterly.

It seemed she was indeed of no use.

No one could be kept.

The sound of water splashing.

Su Hao had finished washing her hair and body with shower gel, dried herself with a large towel, turned on the ventilation fan, and put on her pajamas before opening the bathroom door.

Forget it.

Relying on herself is more important.

“How was your dinner with the new colleagues tonight?” As soon as she came out, Cheng Ling, still struggling against sleepiness, asked. Su Hao was taken aback, went over to turn off the TV, and asked, “Why are you still up?”

“I was curious about your new job.”

Su Hao nodded. “It’s great. They’re all a bunch of enthusiastic people.”

It was truly enthusiastic. The new company Su Hao had joined was called Meitong, a self-developed shopping website similar to Amazon but targeting Southeast Asian countries. The company was small, with only a few people. Su Hao was the only full-time overseas sales person among a total of six people. The accountant was the boss's wife, the boss was in charge of operations, and the other three were all developers.

Su Hao was the first full-time overseas sales employee recruited by the boss, and being a beautiful woman, she received unanimous welcome. The boss’s wife arranged a dinner that evening, and Su Hao was the only woman in the entire company; the rest were men.

Su Hao felt their welcome was sincere.

“That’s good. I was worried,” Cheng Ling said, feeling relieved.

“No need to worry.” Su Hao smiled as she helped Cheng Ling up. “Go to sleep.”

“Mm-hmm.”

The next day was Tang Yu's birthday. In the afternoon, Su Hao received a text message from Tang Yu.

“Tang Yu, you’re having dinner tonight.

Tang Yu, it’s my birthday. You must come.”

Su Hao agreed. After finishing work, Tang Yu drove over to pick her up. Tang Yu rolled down the car window and looked at the apartment complex in surprise. “There are companies hidden here?”

Su Hao opened the car door and sat in the passenger seat, saying, “Yes, there are quite a few companies hidden here.”

“They're all small companies, right?” Tang Yu knew that many small companies choose such apartment complexes to reduce costs. Su Hao replied, “Yes.”

Tang Yu clicked her tongue. “Small companies offer good opportunities. If you're not careful, you might become the boss.”

She glanced at Su Hao.

She recalled the big shake-up in the company yesterday.

Three people were fired in one go, all because of Su Hao. This morning, the finance department was left leaderless. Mr. Zhou was furious, not caring about the company's well-being because of a woman.

Assistant Lu and General Qi were pitifully handling the accounts.

Mr. Zeng had to step in personally.

Tang Yu thought, Su Hao has quietly hooked a major player.

She was about to say something, trying to test the waters.

At this moment, her phone rang. She looked at it.

Shocked.

“Zhou Yang, are you with Su Hao?”

“Zhou Yang, it’s your birthday today? I’ll come to celebrate with you.”

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