Ten

 "It's bitter." The medicine exploded in her mouth, and Su Hao's consciousness wasn't very clear as she murmured vaguely. Zhou Yang withdrew his finger at this point, his joints distinctively warm to the touch. He turned away, picked up a glass of water, and handed it to her, "Fever medicine, drink some water. You have a fever."

The man's voice, tinged with restraint, echoed in the room that smelled faintly of perfume in the darkness of night.

Su Hao cradled the glass of water. Illness made her more docile. Leaning against the headboard, she drank large gulps of water, which helped clear her mind.

She pressed the back of her hand against her forehead. It was all burning hot, but she couldn't tell where it was hottest.

Setting down the glass, she recognized the man before her. She said, "Zhou Yang, thank you. It must have been from getting caught in the rain last night. I thought it was nothing."

Her long hair fell loose, her eyes defenseless.

Silence for a few seconds.

Zhou Yang stood up, his fingertips unbuttoning his shirt cuffs. Tall and imposing, he looked down at her and said, "You should change into dry clothes before going back to sleep. You just spilled water on yourself."

Su Hao instinctively reached out, feeling the clothes in front of her. They were damp. She was wearing a white waist-cinched dress. Realizing this, she gently pulled the blanket up to cover the faint outline.

Her voice remained gentle. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. I'll leave now. The medical kit is on the coffee table. There's a thermometer and some common medicines inside. If your fever doesn't go down by morning, remember to take another pill." With that, Zhou Yang turned and walked out of the room, into the living room. His steps paused momentarily. There was still a hint of alcohol on his breath. He rubbed his teeth, bent down to pick up his phone and key card from the coffee table. The hand extended just happened to be the one used to offer the medicine, and his slender index finger still carried warmth.

He glanced around for a moment, then put the phone and key card into his pants pocket. Lazily pinching his right index finger, there was a soft click, and he left the apartment.

As he left, the oppressive atmosphere in the room dissipated. There was still a faint scent of alcohol in the air.

Su Hao felt weak all over and remained still. She looked towards the living room and only got up after hearing the door close. She took off her skirt, took out her pajamas to change into, realizing she was sweating. She didn't dare to shower, quickly putting on new clothes and returning to bed, pulling the covers over herself.

With the medicine taking effect and her exhaustion, she fell asleep again.

Early the next morning, Su Hao was awakened by the alarm clock. She turned over and immediately reached out to touch her forehead. It seemed like the fever had gone down. She sat up, put her feet on the floor, feeling much better. Sure enough, there was a medical kit on the coffee table in the living room. Su Hao walked over and opened it.

The thermometer was on top, very conspicuous. She took it out and pressed it against her forehead.

After a moment, she removed it.

36.7.

The fever had subsided. She breathed a sigh of relief. The phone on the table kept ringing.

Chen Yu had sent a message.

Chen Yu: Su Hao, are you coming to the office? Can you show me the last quarter's footage? We're reconciling the accounts, and there are two records with timing issues.

Su Hao instantly became more alert. She picked up her phone and started typing.

Su Hao: I just woke up. I'll send it to you later.

After sending the message, Su Hao glanced at the time. It was early. Why was Chen Yu messaging her so early today?

Chen Yu: Okay, just send it to me. Don't tell Zhang Xian, and don't tell Lu Mimi either.

Su Hao was silent for a few seconds, understanding why Chen Yu had messaged her so early. It was probably a mistake in their accounts over there. She quickly needed to report to Chen Yu.

Su Hao thought for a moment before replying: Okay.

As a newcomer and just an assistant, encountering such situations was somewhat awkward but not fatally so. She would help if she could.

Putting down her phone, Su Hao kept this matter in mind. She took some clothes and went to the bathroom to take a shower. She had been sweating and felt sticky. She turned the hot water on to the maximum, feeling much better after washing. Su Hao chose to wear a silky long skirt. As soon as she came out, she heard a knock on the door.

She walked over and pulled it open.

It was room service from the hotel. Su Hao was indeed hungry. She took the food trolley and thanked them before returning to the living room. She quickly finished her breakfast and brushed her teeth.

Then she grabbed her small bag and left.

Maybe the air conditioner in the room was on too high; outside, there was a blast of heat. The temperature difference was large, causing goosebumps to rise on Su Hao's skin. She had just closed the door.

The door of Room 603 next door opened, and a man walked out, his hand holding a suit jacket. His gaze fell directly on her. The two stood at a not-too-far distance from each other. Su Hao opened her mouth, "Good morning."

Zhou Yang nodded. "Good morning. Has your fever gone down?"

Bang—

The door closed. Zhou Yang walked towards the elevator. He glanced at her and said, "Come down with me. The car is downstairs. I'll drop you off at the office."

"Okay." Su Hao followed behind him, watching his tall figure. She thought back to last night. Honestly, she was lucky he had come to check on her; otherwise, she probably wouldn't have been able to get up this morning. The slight resistance and dissatisfaction from before had dissipated a lot. Inside the elevator, Su Hao asked softly, "Have you had breakfast?"

Zhou Yang looked down at his phone, casually flipping through it. After listening, he lifted his eyes to look at her. "Yes, and you?"

"I have too. The hotel breakfast arrived just in time."

Zhou Yang chuckled softly and asked, "Was it good? If not, you can complain."

Su Hao nodded. "It was very good."

But she could sense a teasing glint in his eyes. Was he scheming against someone?

Su Hao added, "It really was delicious. No need to complain."

Zhou Yang smiled again. He rubbed the corner of his lips and fell silent. The elevator arrived at that moment. The door opened, and Zhou Yang walked out ahead. Su Hao followed behind him. The hotel lobby was quite crowded at this hour, likely filled with tourists. Outside, there was a black Porsche parked, and the driver had opened the door and was waiting.

Zhou Yang's tall figure caught the attention of many women's eyes as he sat in the passenger seat.

The driver opened the rear door out of habit. Su Hao said thank you and then got into the back seat. The car's air conditioning was on high, and it was cool inside. Su Hao adjusted to it, but she still had some goosebumps.

The driver started the car, pulled out of the driveway, and headed towards the main road. Zhou Yang's phone rang. He took out a mint candy, crossed his long legs, and lazily answered the call. His narrow eyes inadvertently glanced at the woman in the back seat rubbing her arms. He casually tossed his jacket over to her.

The black suit jacket fell onto Su Hao's knees.

Zhou Yang withdrew his gaze and spoke in a low voice, "Put it on. We'll be there soon."

Su Hao was stunned.

A second later, she lightly pulled down the jacket, tugging it upwards to cover her slightly cooler knees, but not draping it over her shoulders.

The material of the jacket felt good to the touch, and it carried a hint of warmth, causing Su Hao to hesitantly glance at the air conditioning, only to see the driver wiping sweat from his forehead.

She decided not to speak further.

Nevertheless, they arrived quickly. The prominent logo of Fei Jie was easily recognizable. The CBD center here was larger than in Licheng. The car stopped at the intersection, and the driver got out to open the door for Su Hao. She picked up the jacket, leaned forward, and handed it to Zhou Yang, who was still on the phone. He took it absentmindedly.

His distinct fingers grasped hers when he took it, releasing immediately.

Su Hao quickly turned and got out of the car. Despite the high outside temperature, her arms, covered in goosebumps, instantly warmed up. Besides her bag, which included a tablet and a pen, both of which were quite heavy, she raised her hand to shield her eyes from the sun and waved to Zhou Yang sitting in the passenger seat.

The car window was already down. He nodded and found a moment to say, "Send me a message when you're done, and the driver will come pick you up."

"Okay," Su Hao smiled.

Under the sunlight, only one of her dimples was visible, like a crescent moon. Zhou Yang rested his arm on the window sill, one side feeling cool from the air conditioning and the other side warming under the scorching sun outside. There was a faint sense of living in two different worlds of ice and fire. He squinted his eyes, but Su Hao had already turned and walked towards the building.

The driver closed the car door and returned to the driver's seat, starting the car.

Zhou Yang watched as her slender figure disappeared from view. Turning back, he suddenly received a phone call. Without paying much attention, he answered it.

A tender voice came through the phone, "Are you on a business trip? Why didn't you tell me?"

He paused, glanced at his phone, where two calls were overlapping. He shifted it back to his ear and casually asked in return, "Are you my girlfriend now?"

On the other end, Li Xiaojiao choked up, her face turning slightly red.

Zhou Yang leaned back, one hand resting on the jacket that still held some warmth—whether it was his or Su Hao's warmth remained unclear. Tapping his fingertips, he didn't retract his hand and teased, "Even if you were my girlfriend, you still can't control me, understand?"

"You dare to pursue me now, knowing well what kind of person I am, right?"

Initially flushed with embarrassment, Li Xiaojiao's face cooled instantly upon hearing this, and she let out a sharp breath, playing a bit coy before abruptly hanging up the phone.

The call ended, naturally switching to the other line.

It was Li Yi.

There was silence for a few seconds.

Li Yi: "You, really clear about being a jerk."

Despite that, many women still liked him, which was also something he couldn't understand.

Fei Jie's branch in Haishi wasn't as crowded as Licheng's. It only occupied the fourth and fifth floors of the building. As soon as Su Hao entered the lobby, the cashier came down to greet her.

While the attitude was gentle, her eyes repeatedly assessed Su Hao.

In the finance department at headquarters, they were most afraid of Zhang Xian and Lu Mimi, as neither could let even a cent slip by.

However, this cashier, Chen Yu, was rather careless.

With a slight smile, the cashier asked, "Are you new here?"

Su Hao nodded, "Yes."

"Who are you replacing?"

"For now, I'm just assisting."

"Oh? Has no one left?"

"No."

"Who are you mainly assisting?" The person kept asking in the elevator, with a good attitude and no trace of suspicion. Su Hao glanced at her and smiled after a few seconds, "I'm assisting Sister Zhang Xian."

As expected.

The cashier's face stiffened.

The next moment, her attitude became much more respectful.

Seeing this, Su Hao remained silent.

She understood a bit more in her heart. The elevator quickly reached the fifth floor. After getting off, the cashier led her to the office. Su Hao took out her tablet, notebook, and pen, sitting down at the large desk.

There were only the cashier and the accountant here; above them were directly the administrative management.

Without a designated Chief Financial Officer, the personnel here were relatively dispersed. Invoices and bills were brought in for Su Hao to review. The personnel were quite disorganized. Su Hao paused, focusing her gaze on the cashier.

Whenever there was an issue, she would follow up directly with this cashier.

This was to prevent anyone from repeatedly procrastinating, which was detrimental to work.

After she sat down.

A few people outside the door began to talk about her.

"I heard she's under Sister Zhang Xian, but seeing how strict Sister Zhang Xian is, could this person really be under her?"

"Who knows, maybe Sister Zhang Xian is testing us. That old witch is quite confident; how could she possibly be training someone?"

"Yes, if Lu Mimi is so capable, why wouldn't the old witch take her? Would she train such a newcomer?"

"This person is definitely working with Chen Yu."

The voices were faintly audible, and Su Hao tapped her finger on the tablet.

Was it that easy to figure out?

Those people seemed to have gotten a definite answer and left, walking away. Someone else said, "Working with Chen Yu, there's nothing to worry about."

"Right."

About half an hour later, the cashier went out and came back in, bringing Su Hao an iced coffee. Su Hao tapped her fingertips and said, "Thank you."

"You're welcome." The cashier stood behind Su Hao, casually scanning her.

After managing the accounts clearly and meticulously, the cashier's expression changed slightly. Ten minutes later, Su Hao picked up her pen and, pointing out a few doubtful areas in her notebook, said, "Last month, the price fluctuations for this batch of materials weren't significant. Why are they fluctuating so much this month? Aren't they from the same supplier?"

The cashier hesitated briefly, then called the accountant over.

The two explained together, and after listening, Su Hao dialed Zhang Xian's phone.

It was quickly done. 

She informed Zhang Xian about this matter, and Zhang Xian made a phone call to inquire about it.

Half a minute later, a document was sent to Su Hao. Su Hao opened it and found the prices clearly listed, pushing it back to the two of them.

"What about the procurement department? Please ask her to come up here."

The two's expressions changed as they looked at Su Hao, unable to believe it. She was indeed brought by Zhang Xian, but her meticulous work was almost devilish.

During the morning, Su Hao identified a few minor discrepancies. Lunch was brought downstairs by the cashier, who didn't say much after placing it down. She sat down to provide Su Hao with some data. Su Hao didn't rest; after lunch, she continued with her work below. Around three o'clock, she finished a part of it.

Su Hao reported her progress to Zhang Xian and then messaged Zhou Yang.

Su Hao: I'm done with my tasks.

About twenty minutes later, Zhou Yang replied.

Zhou Yang: Alright, I'll have the driver come pick you up.

Su Hao: Okay.

Zhou Yang: You're done so early. Do you want to go to the World Trade Center area? I can have the driver take you there.

Su Hao: No, I still have work tomorrow.

Zhou Yang: Alright.

Another half hour passed, around four thirty, when the driver arrived at the entrance of the building. Su Hao came down with her small bag, holding a ledger in her hand.

After getting in the car, she received a call from Zhang Xian.

Zhang Xian called out to Su Hao.

This call made Su Hao pause.

"Sister Zhang Xian."

"Did Chen Yu make mistakes with two accounts this morning? You found them and sent them directly to her without reporting to me?"

Su Hao hesitated, tightening her grip on the ledger.

"She played tricks; are you playing along with her?"

"I'm sorry, Sister Zhang Xian."

"We may be colleagues, but this isn't how it works. Whatever your personal relationship with Chen Yu, at work, you report these things to me, not cover them up."

Su Hao breathed a sigh of relief and nodded. "I understand."

"I was wrong this time."

"Yeah, that's it." Zhang Xian couldn't be bothered to get angry. Su Hao's attitude in admitting her mistake was good, so she didn't say more and hung up after addressing the issue.

Arriving at the hotel, Su Hao's mood finally settled a bit. She kept reminding herself not to be soft-hearted next time. Back in her room, she collapsed on the couch. Suddenly, she began to miss her mother and Liao Yun.

So she alternated between calling Liao Yun and her mother, chatting with them until she felt better.

After graduating, she rarely worked, focusing all her energy on taking care of the elderly. Therefore, this society was still unfamiliar to her.

Dinner was served by the hotel's staff. After finishing her meal, Su Hao rested for a while, took a shower, and changed into comfortable pajamas. She watched the news and scrolled through her social media to relax her nerves. After a while, around eight o'clock, she went to bed.

Perhaps due to concentrating intensely during the day, she fell asleep as soon as she touched the bed.

Several hours later, she vaguely heard her phone ringing. Su Hao reached out from under the blanket, picked it up, and answered.

It was Assistant Lu.

His voice sounded urgent, "Su Hao, are you at the hotel?"

"Yes," Su Hao woke up fully, looking at the bedside lamp.

"Could you go check on President Zhou? I just called him, but he hasn't answered. He drank quite a bit tonight."

Su Hao was stunned.

Assistant Lu continued, "Please don't hang up. Just go over and check. Let me know."

Su Hao thought to herself.

What if there's someone in his room?

Su Hao whispered softly, "Is there... anyone in his room?"

"No one," Assistant Lu replied. "Half an hour ago, he had me send him a document. In just half an hour, he hasn't answered any calls."

"I'm afraid he's alcohol poisoned."

With that, Su Hao also became worried. Her other thoughts dispersed. She slipped on her slippers and said, "Okay, I'll go check."

She opened the door, called the hotel from the living room, and had someone send up a room card. Su Hao kept the call open as she took the room card and walked towards the door of Room 603, swiping the card to enter.

Both suites had the same layout.

There was indeed a smell of alcohol in the room, along with a faint scent of fir trees, the kind that Zhou Yang usually carried with him. The lights were on in the room, and Assistant Lu asked how it was going on the other end.

Su Hao walked towards the living room.

At a glance, she saw a man leaning on the couch, asleep. His tie was undone and hung loosely, his collar slightly open, revealing a bit of skin.

He looked lazy.

But there was a frown on his forehead.

Assistant Lu: "How is he?"

"It seems like he's asleep."

"He can't hear the phone when he's asleep?" Assistant Lu sounded skeptical. Su Hao approached and noticed a slight redness on Zhou Yang's neck. She had a hunch, walked over, sat on the couch, and reached out with the back of her hand, intending to touch his forehead. At that moment, Zhou Yang leaned towards her.

His arm rested on the back of the couch, chin coming closer, eyes half-open, his dark gaze locking onto her. His voice hoarse, "I think I have a fever."

Su Hao leaned back a bit, paused, and said, "I'll get a thermometer."

The man lazily responded, "Okay."

She got up, walked to the door, took a few steps, then asked, "How did you get a fever?"

Zhou Yang smiled and loosened his tie with his fingertips, "Did you infect me?"

A bit playful.

Su Hao replied, "Are you delirious?"

After saying that, she left the suite directly, returning to her own room. Assistant Lu heard everything on the other end but hesitated to speak for a moment.

Later, he thought that President Zhou was accustomed to teasing subtly. Occasionally joking was normal, especially since the target was Su Hao; it shouldn't be taken seriously.

Assistant Lu added, "President Zhou seems to have slept late last night. I heard he sneaked onto the balcony for a smoke. That's just what I heard."

"I guess it was from catching a breeze there. I'm relieved now. He drank some strong liquor tonight, and quite a bit of it, so I was worried. Thank you for your help, Su Hao."

"It's okay, I have medicine here." Su Hao picked up a medical kit, ended the call, and headed to Room 603, arriving in the living room.

Zhou Yang's long legs were sprawled out, his hand resting on his forehead.

He looked uncomfortable from the alcohol and fever. Su Hao put down the medical kit, picked up the thermometer, and called out, "Come here."

He moved then, his arm resting on his knee as he leaned closer.

Su Hao touched his forehead with the thermometer.

Upon looking at it.

Red.

37.8

Su Hao: "Do you need to see a doctor?"

"Just take the medicine." Zhou Yang pinched her wrist and glanced at the number on the thermometer.

Before Su Hao could react, he let go.

Su Hao put down the thermometer and said, "You also drank alcohol, so you need some sobering soup and then take medicine in a couple of hours."

"You're quite particular." Zhou Yang looked into her eyes. She squatted down delicately in her gray cotton skirt, very plain yet faintly exuding a womanly charm that was hard to define. He shifted his gaze away, turned to call the front desk, and requested sobering soup. The front desk confirmed they had it.

After a few lazy seconds, Zhou Yang said, "No need."

Turning back, he lightly touched his cheek with his tongue and looked at Su Hao, "Can you make sobering soup?

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

Previous                                                                                          Next