Thirteen

"Thirty minutes later, the Porsche arrived at Huahui Residential Area, which not only was close to the market but also had numerous restaurants, making it the perfect late-night dining spot.

Outside the residential area, it was bustling with activity.

During this time, parking here was prohibited. After the car arrived, Su Hao opened the car door and said, 'Thank you.'

Without waiting for Zhou Yang to respond, she got out of the car.

Walking around the car, Su Hao saw Zhou Yang rolling down the car window. His sharply defined face was shadowed in the darkness. Su Hao didn't hurry upstairs. She approached and said, 'Cheer up.'

'Don't think too much.' Her tone was as if advising a friend.

Zhou Yang leaned his arm lightly on the car window, raised his eyebrows, and looked at her. 'If you care so much about me, why not find out why I'm not in a good mood?'

Su Hao, petite and about 165 cm tall, carrying a small bag, pursed her lips and thought for a moment. 'You can message me later to explain.'

'But I might not reply.' Zhou Yang chuckled.

The wind was strong, lifting the woman's skirt, fluttering. He watched her like this, the wind also disheveling his shirt collar, revealing his collarbones faintly.

Su Hao noticed the lightness in his eyes, a familiar feeling.

Back inside the house, only one window was open, but it led to the back floors, so it was cool. Su Hao closed the door, changed her shoes, sat on the sofa, rubbed her feet, and suddenly remembered Li Xiu's shoes. She picked up her phone and saw a new friend request.

Li Xiu's profile picture was of herself.

Orange eyeshadow, fiery red lips, and flamboyant curls, her bangs curled into strands.

Selfie.

Such a woman, no wonder Zhou Yang liked her so much.

Su Hao considered for a moment, then typed a message.

Su Hao: Li Xiu, how much were the shoes?

Li Xiu: Su Hao, you're not asleep? I'm about to sleep.

Su Hao: Sorry, I just got home.

Li Xiu: Oh.

Li Xiu: I forgot how much those shoes cost. I'll check later.

Su Hao: Okay."

"She didn't reply. Su Hao exited that chat and noticed there were unread messages in her conversation with Liao Yun. She clicked into it, finding several more messages from Liao Yun.

Liao Yun: It's so hot over here.

Liao Yun: I went grocery shopping with your mom. She seems much better now.

Liao Yun: Ah, I miss you so much, I keep flipping through old photos.

Speaking of old photos, Su Hao scrolled up and found some she hadn't finished viewing. It was the year Zhou Yang was in his second year of high school. Su Su brought him to Huijiang City for vacation that entire summer, which was her happiest time. In every photo, she hid shyness, excitement, and people in her eyes.

During their student days, he seemed inherently bad, smoking, drinking, playing games well. He didn't touch a textbook all summer.

But he aced every exam, making this boy stand out among their group.

Every time he saw her, he smiled ambiguously, as if he could see through her thoughts.

So after entering university, when he came to Huijiang City again, she did everything she could to chase him.

Su Hao kept these old photos. After finishing, she checked the time and realized it was late. She prepared to exit WeChat.

Perhaps viewing old photos stirred up memories, coupled with the late hour, emotions easily grew melancholic and spread. Su Hao sat blankly for a while. She poured a glass of water, drank deeply, then got up to take her pajamas and go shower.

Early the next morning, Su Hao cooked yam and lean meat congee, and also made egg pancakes. Because she made too much, she packed them in a food container and brought them to the office.

Chen Yulu, Mimi Zhang, and Zhang Xian had all arrived. Without Chen Yulu greeting her, and Lu Mimi and Zhang Xian not having any spare time, Su Hao had to put down the food container and sit down to start organizing the documents on hand. Around ten o'clock, Zeng's assistant suddenly called and said the Finance Department was having a meeting.

This was Su Hao's first time attending a meeting in this department at the company.

She wasn't sure what to prepare momentarily and looked towards Lu Mimi. With a pen pinned in her hair, Lu Mimi picked up the brightly colored calendar on the table and was somewhat puzzled: "It's not the end of the quarter today, why is there a sudden meeting?"

She looked at Su Hao and shook her head: "Impromptu meeting, Sister, I don't know what to prepare either. Just bring a notebook and pen?"

"Just a notebook and pen?" Su Hao lowered her head to find an empty notebook. Because she hadn't attended a meeting yet, there were no minutes.

"Right, inexplicable, what time is it now, and they’re suddenly holding a meeting.” Lu Mimi saw a heap of bills in front of her, and suddenly felt a bit grumpy and complained.

Chen Yulu was also busy, and asked Zhang Xian: "Sister, can we not have it? We’ve got a lot of stuff to do."

Zhang Xian also didn’t know the reason. She swept over and said, "Did you talk with Mr. Zeng?"

Chen Yulu pursed her lips, only able to lower her head.

Su Hao located her notebook and pen, and then began to paste the bills; there were still two checks needing to be made out. Around ten-thirty, a few people paused their work and stood up to go to the small conference room. The small conference room was next to Zhou Yang's office. Zhang Xian pushed open the door, and Mr. Zeng and his assistant were already inside.

Sitting on a single-seat couch, their long legs crossed, and upon seeing them, they nodded their heads, "Sit down."

"Good morning, Mr. Zeng," Lu Mimi and Chen Yulu said at the same time, very polite.

Zhang Xian also handed over the files from the morning. With Su Hao also quietly yelling, "Good morning, Mr. Zeng."

Following this, the four people, seated on the couch. Su Hao alone, she sat on a single-seat sofa, Zhang Xian likewise, with Lu Mimi and Chen Yulu sitting on a double-seat sofa.

Mr. Zeng’s line of sight scanned them a few eyes, but didn’t pull out the documents on the desktop.

He leaned back, questioning Zhang Xian, “Is our office busy?”

"Zhang Xian paused, glanced at Su Hao and the others, then at herself, shaking her head: 'Not many.'

'Which department has the most people in our company?'

'The Advertising Department.'

'How do you feel about the work atmosphere in the Advertising Department?'

Work atmosphere?

It's like monsters and demons running amok, causing drama every day. The company's forum is constantly updated with gossip.

That's what she thought, but Zhang Xian couldn't say that out loud.

After careful consideration, she said, 'It's lively over there.'

'People like drama, so of course it's lively,' Mr. Zeng chimed in. 'You all privately gossip about the Advertising Department, don't you, since it's like that.'

He leaned forward and forcefully slapped the table.

Slap—!

The people on the couch were startled. Chen Yulu's face turned pale, and Lu Mimi awkwardly glanced at Zhang Xian, who pursed her lips and said nothing.

'I'm in the office, not blind. What's going on now, do you think I can't see?' Mr. Zeng pointed at each of them, but when he got to Su Hao, he stopped.

In an instant, they all understood.

For a moment, silence fell.

Mr. Zeng didn't elaborate further and left it at that. Zhang Xian, taking the lead, whispered, 'We'll be more careful.'

'Mr. Zeng.'

'Y-yes, we'll be more careful,' Chen Yulu also whispered.

Lu Mimi glanced at Su Hao, then quickly looked away, also promising to be more careful.

Su Hao kept her head down and murmured softly in agreement.

'Alright, just a few people causing cliques. Let's go, I don't want to encounter the same thing next time.' Mr. Zeng leaned back, rubbing his temples.

Zhang Xian quickly led Su Hao and the others out.

After the door closed,

Mr. Zeng finally picked up his phone and sent a WeChat message.

Zeng: Mr. Zhou, my apologies for the embarrassment.

Zhou Yang: You, a Chief Financial Officer, can't even manage a few subordinates properly. Should I laugh or not?

Mr. Zeng was silent for two seconds.

If this person weren't his superior, he really wouldn't want to respond.

Which department doesn't have this kind of internal rivalry?

If the boss had to manage each one individually, could they really handle it?"

"The Advertising Department, the Livestreaming Department, they stage palace dramas every day, and Zhou always turns a blind eye?

To put it plainly.

In his Finance Department.

There's one more Su Hao.

It's like inserting a trusted confidant for the boss.

But whether it's a confidant or the apple of the eye, remains to be seen.

Back in the Finance Department, Zhang Xian had Su Hao lower the blinds and close the door. Then she erupted in the office, directing her anger at Chen Yulu. Under her accusations, Chen Yulu finally admitted her mistake and turned to apologize to Su Hao. Lu Mimi played peacemaker, and in this situation, Su Hao accepted Chen Yulu's apology.

The office atmosphere slowly returned to normal.

Around noon, Su Hao received a WeChat message from Shen He.

Shen He: Hey there, I just woke up!

Su Hao: Headache?

Shen He: No, just that I'm heading back to Kyoto this afternoon. Can you come and see me off?

Su Hao: What time?

Shen He: 7:30 PM.

Su Hao: Okay.

After sending the message, Su Hao took a short nap during lunch break, then helped Chen Yulu with accounting. During afternoon tea, Chen Yulu came over and eyed Su Hao's pancake. Su Hao glanced at her and silently pushed the food container towards her. Chen Yulu reached out, took it, and smiled at Su Hao, saying, 'Su Hao, your pancakes are delicious.'

"Oh really? Thank you," Su Hao smiled back.

The two of them decided to let bygones be bygones with a smile.

The afternoon work went smoothly. As quitting time approached, Su Hao went to submit the accounts. Just as she left Mr. Zeng's office, she ran into Assistant Lu.

Assistant Lu cleared his throat and said, 'Su Hao, wait after work. Mr. Zhou wants to see you.'

Su Hao paused and looked towards the CEO's office.

The blinds were open, and the man stood by the window, smoking and conversing with someone. His sharp brows and serious expression reminded Su Hao of the photos she had seen last night. She turned to Assistant Lu and asked, 'What's going on?'

"Auntie Su asked you to join her for dinner. Check your phone."

Su Hao suddenly remembered she hadn't checked her phone all afternoon and quickly took it out.

There were several WeChat messages from Su Si.

Su Si: Hey there, I miss you so much. Come over for dinner tonight.

Su Si: I know you like fish. I bought salmon for tonight.

Su Si: Zhou Yang is going to the company. Come back with his car.

Su Si: After dinner, I'll drive you home.

Half an hour had passed since the messages were sent, and there was also a missed call. Su Hao edited her response.

Su Hao: Okay, I'll drop Shen He at the airport first, then come over.

After sending it.

She exited WeChat and saw a message from Zhou Yang.

She opened it.

Zhou Yang: I'll take you to the airport to see off Shen He, then we'll go back to my place. My mom keeps talking about you.

Su Hao: When will you be done with work?"

After editing the message, the man in the office extinguished his cigarette, glanced at his phone, then picked up his jacket from the coat rack, draped it over his arm, and pushed open the office door to step out. As he passed by Su Hao, Zhou Yang said lightly, "Let's go."

He then headed straight for the elevator.

Su Hao was stunned for a moment. She said goodbye to Assistant Lu and then followed Zhou Yang. However, she kept a distance. Zhou Yang entered the elevator and held the door open for a while, raising an eyebrow as he looked at her.

Su Hao smiled and walked in.

Fortunately, there was no one else in the elevator. Su Hao lowered her head to check her phone and sent a message to Shen He.

Su Hao: Are you at the airport yet?

Shen He: Yes, I just finished checking in. What about you?

Su Hao: Almost there.

Shen He: Zhou Yang is giving you a ride?

Su Hao: How did you know?

Shen He: Tsk, Auntie Su misses you and wants you to come home for dinner. She even asked me if you were at my place...

Su Hao: ......

After sending that message, Shen He felt it was too ambiguous and blushed a bit, so he didn't reply to Su Hao anymore. Su Hao quietly put her phone away and slipped it into her small bag.

Zhou Yang lowered his gaze and glanced at her, his eyes sweeping over her phone and seeing the chat messages.

They arrived at the underground parking garage.

Zhou Yang had his own parking spot. Since no one else was in the garage at this time, Su Hao and Zhou Yang walked out of the elevator. Zhou Yang casually opened the passenger door. Su Hao hesitated, didn't say much, got into the passenger seat, and fastened her seatbelt. Zhou Yang bent down, got into the car, took out a bottle of mint candies, unwrapped one, and popped it into his mouth, pressing it under his tongue.

It was very refreshing.

His mood calmed a bit.

He started the car and drove out, asking Su Hao, "Which security checkpoint is he at?"

"Let me check, it's in Zone B," Su Hao said, glancing at her phone.

As the car drove out onto the surface, the setting sun cast a glow on Su Hao's face, highlighting her long and dense eyelashes. When Zhou Yang turned the car around, his narrow eyes glanced over her face.

Su Hao was the kind of woman who was very passive.

Upon arriving at the airport, Su Hao immediately opened the car door, got out, and walked towards the security checkpoint in Zone B. Shen He was standing there, wearing a baseball cap and looking bored. When he saw Su Hao, his eyes lit up. "Hao Hao."

Su Hao smiled and walked closer, glancing at the time. "You need to go through security now; I'm late."

"It's okay, it's just nice that you came." Shen He fiddled with his ticket and chatted with Su Hao for a while. As they talked, his tone became somewhat hesitant, as if he was trying to say something but couldn't quite find the words. Eventually, he gave up.

Soon, it was time for him to go through security. Su Hao stood in place, watching him leave.

As soon as Shen He passed through security, he immediately took out his phone and began typing.

Su Hao watched him disappear into the crowd, then turned and walked back to the entrance where Zhou Yang was lazily leaning against the car window, looking down at his phone. Su Hao walked over, opened the passenger door, and got in.

Zhou Yang glanced at her.

Just as he was about to start the car, his phone rang.

Shen He: I confessed to Su Hao. Anxious.

Zhou Yang's thin lips pressed into a hard line, and his narrow eyes glanced at Su Hao again. She had her head down, her expression soft, as she looked at her phone.

Suddenly.

Beep beep.

Su Hao was startled and looked up. Zhou Yang was turning the steering wheel with one hand and honking the horn; the traffic ahead was a bit congested.

Su Hao looked back at her phone and saw a new message on WeChat.

Shen He: Hao Hao, can we be together?

Su Hao was stunned.

After a while, she typed.

Su Hao: Let's be friends first, okay? I really like your carefree personality, but we don't know each other well enough yet.

Shen He might want to hide his background, but he couldn't. Su Hao had a vague feeling about it. Besides, Shen He didn't seem like someone who could make decisions about his own life. She needed to be cautious. At this stage, no matter who it was, she had to consider carefully and handle things prudently.

He was probably boarding the plane and had turned off his phone.

Shen He didn't reply.

Su Hao breathed a sigh of relief.

The car just arrived back at the Zhou family home, where Su Qian, dressed in a beautiful qipao and holding an embroidered golden fan, was waiting at the door.

"Miss, Young Master, you're home!" Su Qian placed her hands on her hips and waved the fan, full of charm.

Su Hao stifled a laugh and walked up the steps. "Yes, we're back."

Zhou Yang scoffed, took off his coat, handed it to the housekeeper, and walked away. Su Qian glared at Zhou Yang, then turned and took Su Hao's arm, speaking softly, "Miss, come and see what I've cooked tonight. See if it suits your taste."

Su Hao replied, "It does. I could smell the fragrance from afar."

"Such a connoisseur!" Su Qian said. "I pan-fried the red fish tonight with plenty of seasoning."

She led Su Hao towards the dining room, then suddenly called out, "Zhou Yang, are you having dinner at home tonight?"

Zhou Yang loosened his tie and glanced over. After a few seconds, he lazily smiled, "Why would I come home if I'm not eating here?"

"To be a chauffeur?"

Su Qian almost retorted.

Don't you want to?

On second thought, Zhou Yang didn't like Su Hao, so he probably didn't want to. Su Qian said, "It's a privilege to be her chauffeur. Don't worry, after dinner, you don't need to drive Su Hao back; I'll do it."

Zhou Yang handed his tie to the housekeeper and loosened his collar.

He walked over and sat at the dining table, glancing at Su Hao before saying to Su Qian, "Alright, you take her."

As he spoke, he picked up his phone and opened a chat.

Zhou Yang: Oh? Did she accept your confession?

After dinner, Su Qian took Su Hao for a walk in the garden. Zhou Yang went upstairs, making a phone call by the window, his gaze falling on Su Hao in the garden below.

His long fingers tapped rhythmically on the windowsill.

Su Qian touched Su Hao's belly and said, "You need to exercise, or your belly will get bigger."

Su Hao touched her own belly and thought, "It seems fine."

Su Hao really had no belly fat; it was flat and soft. The two chatted for a while, and worried about Su Hao's work the next day, Su Qian went inside to call the driver. As soon as she hung up, Zhou Yang came down the stairs.

With a cigarette between his fingers, he said slowly, "I'll take Su Hao back. I need to..."

"No need, I've already called Old Chen to drive. You can go."

Zhou Yang: "..."

His phone rang, and he checked it.

Shen He: Take a guess.

Shen He: [Tearful]

In the dim light of the staircase, the man chuckled softly.

A car sounded outside.

By the time she got home, it was already late. Su Hao washed up and went to bed. Just as she closed her eyes, her phone beeped. She reached over to check it.

It was Shen He.

Shen He: Hao Hao, I actually guessed it already. You haven't fallen for me yet.

The next day was Friday, and Su Hao was busy all day. Fortunately, she didn't have to work overtime. She planned to buy some groceries and cook at home when she received a WeChat message.

Yun Lu: Su Hao, are you busy?

Yun Lu: Sorry to bother you. It's my birthday today, and I wanted to invite you over. Would you do me the honor?

Yun Lu was the wife of a man named Jiang Yu. At the winery, Su Hao had exchanged WeChat contacts with her and Meng Ying. Feeling it would be rude to decline, Su Hao replied:

Su Hao: Sure, send me the address.

Yun Lu: Great! It'll be mostly women, so it'll be lively.

Su Hao smiled.

Soon, the address arrived.

After checking the location, Su Hao quickly went home to change clothes. As she came downstairs, she received a call from Assistant Lu.

Assistant Lu: "Miss Su, I'm here to pick you up."

Su Hao was surprised.

Assistant Lu continued, "There's no parking here, and Mr. Zhou was worried you might have trouble finding the place, so he sent me."

Su Hao hurried her pace and soon saw a silver sedan parked at the gate. She walked over, holding a brocade box containing embroidery she had brought from Jiang City.

Assistant Lu opened the car door for Su Hao, and she got in, whispering, "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Assistant Lu closed the door and went to the driver's seat. Shortly, they arrived at Yun Lu's duplex apartment by the river. Assistant Lu escorted Su Hao to the lobby and swiped a card to take her upstairs.

Meanwhile.

Su Hao's phone in her bag beeped again.

Inside were two WeChat messages.

Li Xiu: Su Hao, take a look at this video. Zhou Yang has always spoiled his girlfriends like this.

Li Xiu: [Video]

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

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