Six

 Shen He: Not yet, but soon.

Seeing this reply, Zhou Yang tossed his phone into the slot, buckled his seatbelt, started the car, and drove off. Before long, WeChat chimed again.

He paused at a red light and glanced at it.

Su Hao: Zhou Yang, thank you. I'm deeply grateful for your thoughtfulness.

After drinking her milk, Su Hao picked up a book and started reading. A few minutes later, her phone rang. She picked it up and looked at it.

Zhou Yang: You're welcome.

Su Hao looked at the message for a few moments before slowly putting down her phone. Her mood was much calmer than before, no longer as turbulent as when she first arrived. Between her and him lay a galaxy; she didn't even know what he liked or loved. How could she have dared to talk about liking him back then?

Before going to bed, Su Hao had a video call with her mother. Her mother, who had just recovered from an illness, looked pale but smiled as she spoke, "I've been walking in the garden these past two days, breathing in the fresh air. I feel much better."

"Show me your surroundings," her mother requested.

Su Hao turned on the room light, put on her slippers, and got out of bed. "It's a two-bedroom apartment, the rent isn't expensive. When you feel better, you should come over. There's a place for you to stay."

"Alright," her mother said, glancing around. Despite the house being old, it was indeed quite spacious. "Did Su Qi help you find this place?"

"No," Su Hao replied, pausing for a moment.

Her mother was taken aback and then asked with a smile, "Zhou Yang should be getting married soon, right? Families like his are always particular about matching social status."

Leaning on the armrest of the sofa, Su Hao understood her mother's meaning. She had advised her not to entertain such thoughts. Su Hao looked up and smiled, "Yes, I know."

Cheng Ling, understanding that her daughter got the point, didn't continue. She only asked, "Do you have enough money? I put a card in the pocket of the black coat in your suitcase."

"Mom!"

"That card is for you to use," Cheng Ling said gently. "I don't need that much money. It's not easy for you out there..."

Su Hao took out the card, feeling helpless as she met her mother's gaze in the video. They had similar brows and temperaments. They stared at each other for a long time.

Su Hao glared at her.

Cheng Ling smiled warmly.

After chatting for a while longer, they ended the call. Su Hao looked at the time. It was late, so she went back to bed, put down her phone, turned off the light, and fell asleep.

The next day, Su Hao woke up early, made breakfast, and walked to work after eating.

Chen Yu and Zhang Xian had already arrived. They were eating breakfast in the office, and the smell of stir-fried rice noodles and soup filled the air. Su Hao greeted them.

"Chen Yu, Sister Zhang Xian, good morning."

"Good morning. Did you sort out yesterday's receipts? If so, submit them with these," Zhang Xian said, handing over a stack of documents and an account book.

Su Hao walked over to take them. Suddenly, Chen Yu grabbed a stack of reimbursement forms in a hurry, with rice noodles still in her mouth. "I... I forgot to record the accounts last night. Su Hao, can you help me finish this and submit it together?"

"Why do you always leave things unfinished?" Lu Mimi, who had just walked in, scolded while putting down an apple and a box of milkshake.

Chen Yu, still chewing rice noodles, mumbled, "They only submitted these after work, insisting they had to be reimbursed today. I finished their work after office hours."

"Useless."

"You..."

Su Hao quickly stepped in, "I'll do it. I'll do it."

She took the reimbursement forms, returned to her desk, and began organizing and recording them. This delay caused the assistant to President Zeng to call twice.

Since Su Hao was doing it, they started rushing her.

Although it was a bit chaotic, Su Hao remained steady. Even if she couldn't work quickly, she couldn't afford to make mistakes. Eventually, Chen Yu finished her breakfast and came over to help.

By then, Su Hao had nearly finished. They double-checked the numbers, which matched. Su Hao then took all the account books and receipts to President Zeng's office.

In her rush, she glanced at the time and realized she was over an hour late. It was almost 10:30, and she felt a bit nervous as she knocked on the door.

"Come in," President Zeng's voice came from inside.

Su Hao pushed the door open, walked in, and placed the documents on the large desk. President Zeng didn't look at her, his eyes fixed on the computer screen as he asked calmly, "What time is it?"

"10:30," Su Hao replied, feeling a pang of anxiety.

"You do know the time," President Zeng said, flipping through the account book. His gaze landed on the neatly written reimbursement forms. The handwriting was beautiful and clear.

"Don't make me rush you for these things again," he said, closing the book.

"Yes," Su Hao nodded.

"Leave."

Su Hao breathed a sigh of relief, quickly turned around, and noticed Zhou Yang sitting on the sofa, legs crossed, sipping coffee. He was flipping through a magazine and didn't look up.

Su Hao paused, then hurried to the door. After leaving the office, she took a moment to collect herself before heading back to her desk. She noticed some news notifications on her phone and started reading.

Chen Yu approached her, clearing her throat. She pulled up a chair and sat down, resting her hand on the desk. "Did President Zeng scold you just now?"

Su Hao put down her phone, "Yes. Let's finish our work before the end of the day from now on."

Chen Yu, relieved, quickly nodded, "Alright, alright."

Her expression brightened as well.

Su Hao smiled.

The whole day was busy. In the afternoon, there was a meeting attended by many people, including Zhang Xian. However, Zhou Yang seemed furious, remaining silent in the conference room, with complaint forms spread out on the table. After the meeting, everyone looked pale. Zhang Xian also looked very pale, and soon after, a group of people passed by outside. Zhou Yang led the way, walking briskly.

After he left, Zhang Xian's complexion improved.

Lu Mimi asked, "What happened?"

Zhang Xian ignored her, while Chen Yu tugged on Lu Mimi's sleeve, signaling her not to ask.

Gradually, the office atmosphere improved. Su Hao focused on her work, finishing the reimbursement forms with Chen Yu before the end of the day.

They finished around six and clocked out.

Su Hao, carrying her small bag, left the elevator and saw a red Maserati pull up at the entrance. The car stopped abruptly.

The door opened, and Li Xiu, removing her sunglasses, stepped out. She spotted Su Hao and raised an eyebrow, taking out her phone to call Zhou Yang.

A minute later, she hung up and called out to Su Hao, "Are you off work?"

Su Hao, about to walk to the sidewalk, paused and replied, "Yes."

"Is Zhou Yang not at the office?" Li Xiu asked arrogantly.

Su Hao hesitated, "He seemed to have left this afternoon."

"Oh, really." Li Xiu glanced at her plain face, then said, "Where are you headed? I'll give you a ride."

"No, thank you," Su Hao replied, feeling uncomfortable with Li Xiu's assertive demeanor.

"I insist," Li Xiu said, staring at her. Whether it was Su Hao's intuition or not, she felt her heart race when she saw Su Hao.

Su Hao frowned.

"If you don't let me drive you, I'll follow you," Li Xiu said, patting the car door.

Su Hao looked at her for a few seconds, about to speak when Li Xiu's phone rang. Her eyes lit up when she saw the caller ID.

Answering the call, she said sweetly, "Zhou Yang!"

"Why didn't you answer your phone?"

"I came to your company."

Whether intentionally or not, she had it on speaker.

On the other end, Zhou Yang's voice was low and lazy, "How many times did you call?"

"I couldn't find you..."

"Can't find him, so you bomb his phone with calls? Who taught you that?"

Su Hao walked toward the sidewalk, disappearing at the corner, missing the rest of the conversation. She still had groceries from yesterday that she hadn't cooked yet.

Once she was upstairs, she started making dinner. She quickly made a soup and stir-fried a dish, then sat down to eat by herself. After finishing her meal, she washed the few dishes and wiped her hands.

Back in the living room, she sat on the sofa and glanced at her phone. The group chat with six people had a lot of messages.

She casually clicked into it.

[When Will Love Arrive (6)]

Chen Yu: @Lu Mimi, look, President Zhou returned to the company for Miss Li! They’re eating in the company cafeteria!

Lu Mimi: Shut up, I didn’t see it.

Chen Yu: President Zhou didn’t refuse Miss Li this time, he must be considering marriage.

Lu Mimi: Shut up.

Chen Yu: Haha, you have no chance!

Su Hao read a few messages and then exited the chat.

Two more days of work passed, and the weekend arrived. Su Xi had been inviting Su Hao over for dinner, so Su Hao made some lemon chicken feet and brought them to the Zhou family home. Su Xi offered to pick her up, but Su Hao declined and took a taxi herself. Su Xi, wearing a pink apron, was delighted to see her.

Su Hao put down the lemon chicken feet.

Su Xi glanced at them and her eyes lit up. "Your mother's recipe."

"Yes, Auntie, it’s been a while since you had it, right?" Su Hao opened the box and used a toothpick to pick up a piece for Su Xi to eat. Su Xi took a bite, her eyes squinting with pleasure. "So delicious! Your mom's been making this for years; she used to send it to our dorm all the time."

"Right, she said I should make it more often for you here." Su Hao fed another piece to Su Xi.

Su Xi took a bite, looking at Su Hao’s pretty face and sighed internally. A few seconds later, she asked, "Hao Hao, how’s Shen He?"

Su Hao paused, put down the toothpick, and smiled. "He’s good."

Su Xi sighed again and patted Su Hao’s shoulder. "Consider him seriously, he’s really a good guy."

Not wanting to scare Su Hao by mentioning Shen He’s family background, Su Xi pulled Su Hao by the wrist. "Come, watch me cook."

Su Hao followed her to show her support.

They had lunch just the two of them, and after lunch, Su Xi suggested they go strawberry picking.

The strawberry field wasn’t far, located behind the villa area at a friend’s estate. Su Xi, wearing a sunhat, handed another hat to Su Hao.

They descended the slope, baskets in hand, as if they were sneaking around. The ground was muddy, probably recently watered, and Su Hao was glad she wore black shoes. She followed Su Xi, crouching down to pick strawberries hidden among the green leaves.

Su Xi whispered, "Let’s pick and then leave."

Su Hao hesitated. "Shouldn't we inform the owner?"

"It’s fun to make her jump."

Su Hao: "...Alright."

With Su Xi's words, Su Hao felt a bit nervous and lowered her hat, picking strawberries carefully. After a while, a deep male voice called from above, "Mom?"

Both women looked up.

On the slope, Zhou Yang stood in a white shirt and black trousers, raising an eyebrow at their sneaky behavior.

A few seconds later, he squatted down, smiling. "Wait until Aunt Li finds out..."

"Shut up," Su Xi said, lifting the basket and standing up, shushing several times. Su Hao stood up as well, smiling at Su Xi's antics. The sunlight softened her features, highlighting her dimples.

Zhou Yang glanced at her, his eyes lingering for a moment before she calmly looked away.

Su Xi checked Su Hao's basket, noting it was quite full, and decided it was too sunny. She pulled Su Hao along. "Let's go, we've got enough. Back home."

Su Hao obediently followed.

However, instead of taking the sloped path with stairs, Su Xi chose the steeper slope. Zhou Yang extended a hand, naturally grabbing Su Xi's wrist and pulling her up. Su Xi dusted off her hands and adjusted her hat. "Su Hao, you too, come up."

Su Hao handed her basket to Su Xi, and although she hesitated to take the stairs, the slope had footholds that made it easier to climb. As she grabbed the footholds, Zhou Yang reached out and firmly grasped her wrist, pulling her up.

With a strong pull, Su Hao quickly reached the top, but she slipped.

Zhou Yang caught her by the waist and took a few steps back.

In those few steps, the scent of her perfume became overwhelmingly strong.

..................................................................................................................

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