Sixteen

 On Saturday, after a busy day, Su Hao fell asleep as soon as she touched the bed. She had planned to sleep in lazily on Sunday, but early in the morning, she received a call from Zhang Xian, asking her to come to the company.

Su Hao sat up groggily and asked, "Zhang Xian, what's going on?"

"You'll know when you come over," Zhang Xian's tone was as serious as before, devoid of any emotion. Su Hao could only comply. Honestly, after working alone until late the previous night, she was a bit tired and slightly resentful. However, she had finalized the data herself, organized it, and it seemed there were no mistakes.

Today, her rest time was taken over, calling her to the office. Su Hao sat on the edge of the bed for a while, settled her emotions, then got up. She had planned to make xiaolongbao, but now there was no time.

After freshening up and hastily eating some bread, she grabbed her bag and hurried to the company.

Yesterday, Saturday still had some people around, but today, Sunday was quiet. Only the janitor was cleaning the lobby, the floor was spotless, and the reception area was tidied up. Su Hao took the elevator straight to the sixteenth floor.

The sixteenth floor was also quiet. Only the door to the finance office was open, with the blinds also raised, and a figure inside.

Chen Yu stood in front of the safe, head bowed and silent. Zhang Xian stood with her arms crossed beside her, while Lu Mimi spun in her chair, appearing unconcerned.

As soon as Su Hao entered,

Zhang Xian pointed at her, "Come here."

Su Hao walked over.

Cash from a money box was spread out. Some had been taken out on Friday, and now less than sixty thousand remained. Zhang Xian pointed at the money inside and said, "Six bills are missing."

Then she looked at Chen Yu. Chen Yu kept her head down and murmured, "I didn't touch it yesterday. The last time was before Friday's work ended, thinking of depositing them on Monday."

Su Hao frowned.

She had a bad feeling.

Lu Mimi put down her nail clippers, stood up, and asked directly, "Su Hao, you didn't touch it yesterday?"

Sure enough, this was aimed at her.

Except for Chen Yu, both Zhang Xian and Lu Mimi stared straight at Su Hao. They knew Su Hao had definitely put the checks into the safe before leaving work yesterday.

Su Hao was the last person to touch the safe, and it was under circumstances without outsiders. Su Hao glanced at the money and said, "I didn't touch it."

"You say you didn't touch it? You really didn't touch it?" Lu Mimi immediately questioned.

Su Hao fell silent.

Zhang Xian knocked on the table, "In that case, you both will bear this loss."

Su Hao frowned, "I don't agree."

"If you're doing this job, you have to take responsibility," Zhang Xian stared at Su Hao, her tone unkind. Chen Yu admitted her mistake here and was willing to take responsibility. In the past two days, the purchasing department had spent a lot of money, plus some reimbursements used cash. Coming in and out inevitably led to mistakes. Su Hao still disagreed.

Lu Mimi raised her eyebrows, "If you don't agree, what else can you do? Can you get back those six hundred?"

The accounts were meticulously checked yesterday, and the money matched up. How could she retrieve it? Su Hao was at a loss. She looked up and glanced at the surveillance camera nearby, saying, "Check the surveillance."

"Check the surveillance. You didn't touch the safe yesterday? Didn't you reconcile with Chen Yu on Friday?" Lu Mimi pressed aggressively. Zhang Xian didn't refute Lu Mimi because, in a way, Lu Mimi was right. It was only six hundred, split between two people. Checking the surveillance would only alert those above.

Su Hao shook her head, "Check the surveillance. I didn't do anything wrong. I won't take responsibility."

Their attempt to confuse the issue was obvious. Chen Yu was primarily responsible for this matter, so she had to take responsibility. Su Hao was her assistant and should also bear responsibility. However, Su Hao was the last person to touch the safe yesterday, and if this money was lost, Su Hao would become the primary person responsible.

In the future, if something happened, Chen Yu would definitely use this matter against her, or if the same problem occurred again, the responsibility would be placed on her first. Anyway, Su Hao had a precedent.

"Su Hao!" Zhang Xian felt she was a little stubborn and not enlightened.

Lu Mimi chuckled, "If you can't afford it, just say it, I'll help you out."

"I can afford it." Su Hao picked up her mobile phone, searched for Zeng's phone number, and looked at Zhang Xian, "Zhang Xian, do you think I should call or should you?"

Zhang Xian looked at her in silence. After a few seconds, she turned away to get her phone.

The last look at Su Hao wasn't very friendly.

Five minutes later, Zhang Xian hung up the phone, walked back, and said, "President Zeng will come over later to authorize it."

Only President Zeng and above could operate the company's surveillance.

Su Hao breathed a sigh of relief. She leaned on the table, lowered her head to look at the ledger. If there were no traces found in the surveillance, could this money really have been lost during the transaction?

Or maybe there was a mistake in the accounts, but neither of them noticed.

Twenty minutes later, in the stuffy and oppressive office, footsteps were heard in the corridor. The four of them looked up together, seeing a tall and handsome man with a cigarette in his mouth walk in. His long and narrow eyes glanced lightly over them, lingering a few seconds longer on Su Hao's face.

After taking down the cigarette, he moved a disposable cup aside and flicked the ash, asking, "When was the surveillance footage taken? Give me a time."

The man's momentum was strong, and his tone was direct.

It was only then that the few people suddenly woke up, and no one could imagine who the person who came was actually Zhou Yang. Zhang Xian couldn't help but glance at Su Hao, and a sigh of relief was held in her heart.

But he had to endure it: "Zhou, how did I bother you?"

"Don't bother, on the way." Zhou Yang moved a tablet aside and opened a system.

Zhang Xian had no choice but to turn back to Su Hao, and finally chose Chen Yu. Chen Yu had already stood still in front of Zhou Yang, and she hadn't touched Zhou Yang's side. Too nervous, but didn't look so good, easily made people feel pity, like being bullied, quite easy to make people sympathize.

Lu Mimi was not far away, watching, hmm.

After waiting for a while without a response, Zhou Yang's tone remained cool, "Speak."

Chen Yu trembled slightly.

Su Hao spoke up, "From Thursday to today."

Zhou Yang raised an eyebrow and glanced at her.

Then he scanned the others without speaking, keyed in a time, unlocked it with his fingerprint, and pulled up the clearest image. Placing it on the table, he said, "Watch it through, then exit directly. Zhang Xian, come report the results to me later."

With that, he turned and walked away. Walking to the doorway, he suddenly turned around, raised an eyebrow, and tapped the door panel with his fingertip. "Yesterday after work, Su Hao didn't touch any cash because I was there."

The three in the finance room were stunned, then all three meaningfully looked at Su Hao. Lu Mimi's eyes were sharp like needles.

Su Hao remained extremely calm and explained, "Mr. Zhou came back yesterday to handle something. He saw me leaving late and came over to say hello."

Lu Mimi said, "Oh?"

Afterward, seeing Su Hao's composed demeanor, she stopped suspecting.

Chen Yu, however, felt somewhat envious. She had worked overtime many times, so why hadn't she been greeted?

Zhang Xian was somewhat surprised that Zhou Yang would speak up for Su Hao. Suddenly, she felt the weight in her hand holding the tablet.

Subsequently, they all reviewed the surveillance from yesterday. Although all four had been in the company, only Su Hao had touched the safe. With Zhou Yang's statement and the surveillance showing only Su Hao putting things in without taking anything out, Su Hao was cleared of suspicion from yesterday.

Su Hao breathed a sigh of relief.

Insisting on checking the surveillance was the right decision.

Chen Yu and the others didn't look good, remaining silent. Zhang Xian scrolled back to Friday's surveillance, showing the safe being opened three times throughout the day.

Twice by Chen Yu, and once by Chen Yu with Su Hao.

It was the last time, but Su Hao was only responsible for closing the box lid, while Chen Yu bent down to put the box in. One of these times took the longest to open.

The box was also slightly messy, with many people entering and exiting. Both the Purchasing Department and Marketing Department had come twice, the footage was clear, but nothing suspicious was seen.

Because the box had never been opened much.

Zhang Xian paused the surveillance video and prepared to go back to Thursday. Su Hao suddenly said, "Wait."

Zhang Xian's hand paused, looking at Su Hao.

Su Hao pointed to 4:30:20 PM, "Here, Chen Yu took money twice."

Chen Yu was stunned, "What are you saying?"

Zhang Xian glanced at Chen Yu and pulled up that section of surveillance. It was when Qiao Jing from the Purchasing Department came to take money, playing with a small doll on the table.

After Chen Yu took the money, she answered a phone call and then took it again. At first glance, it seemed like the money wasn't enough and needed to be added to, but upon closer inspection, it was clear that the money Chen Yu took the first time was already sufficient...

For a moment, everyone fell silent.

Chen Yu was dumbfounded.

She had forgotten about this herself.

Lu Mimi, feeling exasperated, said sharply, "I told you to pay attention when taking money! What were you doing, answering calls? Your mind was wandering, could you have done a good job?"

Tears welled up in Chen Yu's eyes.

"I... I..."

Zhang Xian set down the tablet, "Go and get that money back yourself. If you can't, you'll bear the consequences."

Seeing there was nothing more for her to do, Su Hao gathered her bag from the table, "Then I'll leave first."

With that said, she walked out without waiting for their response, entered the elevator, and her phone beeped. She took out her phone and checked.

Su Qian: Are you on vacation today? Come home, you and Zhou Yang's car.

Su Qian: You must come, I've learned a new dish recently, I want you to try it.

Su Hao was about to reply when WeChat beeped again. It was from Zhou Yang, and she opened it to read.

Zhou Yang: Leaving already?

Zhou Yang: Wait downstairs for me. You didn't even thank me, you're really something.

Su Hao: Thank you.

Zhou Yang: You're being too much.

Su Hao: ...

Not knowing who was being excessive, Su Hao arrived at the first floor. Stepping out of the elevator, the sunshine was bright outside. Su Hao took a few steps forward, then hesitated.

In the end, she decided to wait for him.

Outside the door was Zhou Yang's car.

At that moment, her phone beeped again, and Su Hao checked it.

Surprisingly, it was a message from Zhang Xian.

Zhang Xian: Su Hao, I'm sorry for my oversight today.

Reading this message, Su Hao didn't know how to respond. In the end, she didn't reply.

Five minutes later, the elevator door opened again, and Zhou Yang stepped out. Seeing her, he smirked, pressed the car key, and said, "Get in first."

Su Hao stood up from the chair, walked over, and Zhou Yang casually opened the passenger door. Su Hao could only sit in the passenger seat as Zhou Yang walked around and started the car.

Su Hao fastened her seatbelt.

The man followed suit, clicking his tongue as if he were chewing on a mint, and after fastening his seatbelt, the car started.

Driving onto the main road, trees shaded the sun on both sides. Zhou Yang tapped his fingertip on the steering wheel, remembering last night's incident. He tightened his jaw, "Did you sleep last night?"

Su Hao glanced at him and replied with a sound, "Mm."

Zhou Yang: "... Lying without thinking, who liked the post for Li Xiao?"

Su Hao glanced at him again. With the tip of his tongue not knowing what he was resisting, his cheek seemed to emerge. From this angle, he seemed a bit nonchalant and naughty. Su Hao leaned against the window, her tone calm, "Why are you making things difficult for yourself?"

"Knowing I deliberately didn't reply." Su Hao said, withdrawing her gaze and speaking frankly.

Click.

The mint is completely crushed.

Zhou Yang gave Su Hao a cold glance, feeling more embarrassed than ever before. After a few seconds, he chuckled angrily, "You sure have the nerve."

"My pursuit bothers you that much?" He couldn't believe it.

Su Hao glanced at him again.

"Yeah."

He stepped on the gas, and the car shot forward, quite fast. Su Hao instinctively pulled on her seatbelt. Zhou Yang squinted, honestly, he hated women who were moody like this, and Su Hao happened to fit that bill. He rubbed his lip, stopped at the red light, then picked up the cigarette beside him.

He lit it with a curl of his lip.

Su Hao felt his anger.

She wondered, was his pride hurt too much?

She whispered, "Why don't you just give up?"

"Maybe we're better off as friends," Su Hao advised.

Zhou Yang bit the cigarette, his mouth twitching, then he smirked, "Oh? Are you calling the shots now?"

"Why don't you consider whether I like you or not?" Zhou Yang blew out a smoke ring, his tone cooling, but the colder he became, the more composed he seemed.

Su Hao nodded indifferently, "You're pretty obvious."

Suddenly, Zhou Yang leaned over, cigarette smoke and a hint of nonchalance, almost smiling but not quite, looking at her. Su Hao immediately leaned back, eyebrows furrowing, her expression natural but with a coldness that kept people at a distance, almost critical.

It felt a bit lofty, which just happened to be Zhou Yang's least favorite type. He was used to being proactive, playful, laid-back, and most importantly, able to read the situation without being pretentious.

But...

That expression of hers.

Zhou Yang couldn't help but reach out to touch her ear.

The next moment, his hand was swatted away, Su Hao said firmly, "If you do that again, I'm getting out of the car."

"Where's your gentleness?" His hand tingled a bit, he asked softly.

The person who was feverish in the hotel that night didn't seem like her.

Su Hao sneered, "Are you worthy?"

Zhou Yang paused, his face darkening. Just as he was about to say something, the green light came on. He withdrew his hand, sat up straight, slender fingers turning the steering wheel, making a turn, then gradually returning, biting down. Along the way to her home, as they neared, Su Hao said softly, "Thank you for speaking up for me this morning."

Her voice seemed to return to its previous gentleness, touching a chord.

After Su Hao finished speaking, she opened the car door and got out directly, picked up her small bag, and walked towards the wide iron gate without looking back, as if avoiding a flood or a wild beast.

Zhou Yang watched the passenger door close, leaned against the driver's seat, reached for his cigarette again, but this time didn't light it. He pushed open the car door with one hand, his long legs planted on the ground, his expression inscrutable.

He wasn't stupid.

Su Hao's thoughts were indeed not on him now, as he had noticed in the past two days.

If she had the slightest interest in him, he wouldn't be so embarrassed today.

His phone rang at this moment, this time it was Aunt Li calling. Zhou Yang raised an eyebrow, glanced at it a few times, then answered with a smile in his voice, teasing, "What's up today? Aunt Li is calling me."

"Looking for you to pay for the strawberries, did your mom steal a whole truckload?" The woman's hearty voice came through.

"A truckload, Aunt Li? Are you sure? Wasn't it just a small basket?"

"Don't play dumb with me, Zhou Yang. With these strawberries, I'm coming to ask you for a favor." Aunt Li wasn't one to beat around the bush.

"I'm listening."

"In a few days, it's Li Xiao's birthday. You better come over. I don't care how you young people are these days, but just satisfy her this once, after she chased after you for so long."

After listening, Zhou Yang silently chuckled.

A few seconds later, he said, "Indeed, it's a big deal."

"Are you coming or not? Men shouldn't be so indecisive." Aunt Li was a straightforward person, cutting right to the chase.

"Of course..." Before he could finish, a figure appeared in the landing window of the house, slender silhouette, she tiptoed to catch the curtain hook handed to her by Su Qian.

Her hair tied up, her eyes gentle.

But just now, in front of him, she was very cold. Zhou Yang squinted, lowered his head, and changed his words, "Okay, I'll listen to Aunt Li."

"That's right, it should have been done long ago." After finishing, Aunt Li hung up the phone.

Zhou Yang held his phone, then left the driver's seat, slammed the door hard, turned around and walked to the front door of the house, directly entering and changing shoes at the entrance.

There was conversation coming from the living room.

Su Qian lowered her head and asked Su Hao, "Hey, I remember there was a boy chasing you in sophomore year, what was his name... Lin Tang, right?"

"It wasn't really chasing, we were just desk mates."

"What desk mate? Your mom told me you used to stuff anonymous love letters into your school bag. Later, when you found out he liked you, and you weren't interested, you kept your distance from him, right?"

Su Hao: "Yeah."

"With your personality, you can't be so stubborn in the future. If someone at work likes you, you should consider it. Don't push people away. Also, Shen He is quite good. Are you still in touch with Shen He?"

"We keep in touch."

"That's good. If there's a chance between you two, keep those other guys who chased after you far away! If necessary, bring Shen He out to shut them up." Su Suqian was really worried about Su Hao.

Su Hao smiled, "Yeah, I keep all the other pursuers at a distance."

In the entranceway, a man lurked in the shadows without a word. After a few seconds, he changed his shoes, put down the car keys, walked in, unbuttoned his collar, went to the liquor cabinet, poured himself a drink, opened a drawer, grabbed an ice cube and dropped it in, leaning lazily against the liquor cabinet.

Only then did Su Suqian see him.

"You were on the phone outside for so long. Who were you talking to?"

Zhou Yang looked over, tongue touching the ice cube. "Who do you think?"

"Don't play innocent with me. I don't have a son as fickle as you." Su Suqian waved her hand, then turned to Su Hao, pulling her along. "Let's go, let's get something to eat. It's almost lunchtime."

"Okay." Su Hao followed along. The two walked past Zhou Yang without a glance. Zhou Yang took another sip of his drink, his eyes fixed on Su Hao's profile.

After a while, he placed the glass heavily on the table.

Zhou Yang turned and headed upstairs.

Su Suqian knew this dish well; Su Hao could make it, pineapple stir-fried pork. Slice the pineapple, slice the meat, marinate it for a while, then stir-fry it when ready.

High heat is needed to make the pineapple crispy and the meat tender.

Su Hao praised it on the side.

Su Suqian was quite proud, adding some greens. "Su Hao will cook this dish today."

Su Hao agreed.

After a while, when it was done, the maid called Zhou Yang down for dinner. Su Hao carried the dish out, and the man happened to come down, going straight to the dining room and pulling out a chair, his eyes glaring at Su Hao. Su Hao was calm, placing the dish down, then going back into the kitchen to help.

Su Suqian followed, seeing everything.

She raised her eyebrows, wondering if she was imagining things.

The three had dinner, Su Suqian packed a thermos and asked the driver to send it to Mr. Zhou. The group had a lot going on lately, so Mr. Zhou often stayed at the company.

After lunch.

Su Suqian suggested playing chess, insisting that Su Hao and Zhou Yang play. Su Hao used to be good at it, but hadn't played in years and had almost forgotten.

Zhou Yang sat on the sofa, smoking, legs stretched out, looking proud.

"Afraid to play?" Su Hao raised her head.

Didn't respond.

Instead, Su Suqian took up the challenge. "Why not? Su Hao used to be really good at it. Come on, Su Hao, play with him. If you win, I'll make you lemon chicken feet tonight."

With that, she pulled Su Hao over, who felt like she was being forced into something she didn't want to do. She looked down at the chessboard.

General.

Rook.

Pawn.

Su Hao started to move.

Zhou Yang smoked, resting it on the coffee table, also watching. He was surprised that she was still good, especially with her slender, fair fingers handling the pieces.

Too obvious.

Distracting.

Su Suqian watched as Su Hao made good moves, smiling. She got up to cut some fruit.

One of Su Hao's pawns was taken by Zhou Yang, leaving her stunned. Thinking of moving a piece, the man's hand reached over, grabbing her fingers, his fingertips lightly touching and rubbing, looking at her fingers, he thought about putting them in his mouth. Su Hao looked up, meeting his narrow eyes. Zhou Yang raised his eyebrows. "Sorry, wrong move."

But Su Hao forcefully pulled her hand back.

She picked up a glass of water nearby and splashed it on his pants. "Sorry, wrong move."

Zhou Yang looked down.

He chuckled.

At this moment, Su Hao's phone rang, it was Shen He calling. Zhou Yang glanced over, saw it, and silently looked on. Su Hao also glanced over, her expression instantly becoming gentler. She picked up the phone, got up, and walked to the living room. Zhou Yang sat back in place, gripping the chess piece, and a few seconds later.

He threw it back onto the chessboard, leaned back, biting the cigarette in his mouth diagonally.

Su Suqian cut up the fruit and brought it out. After looking at Zhou Yang, she walked over and stuck a piece of cantaloupe into Su Hao's mouth.

There was a sound from the phone.

Su Suqian heard Shen He's voice and immediately stopped disturbing her. She turned back and saw the sunlight falling on Zhou Yang's sharp face.

He didn't have much expression.

But as a mother, how could she not know what was going on with this person? She walked over, bent down quietly, and deliberately said in Zhou Yang's ear, "You don't happen to like Su Hao, do you?"

"Don't like her, no chance."

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