Susu took out her cell phone to order a cab since she was late for work and didn't have time to go home and get changed. The moment her phone was switched on, her eyes couldn't catch up with the number of unread messages from different apps and missed calls that popped up on her notification screen.
Chen Mu:
"Where are you..?"
"Are you okay?"
"Are you still at the party? Don't drink too much."
"Let me know if you need a ride home. I'll come to pick you up no matter how late it is. Message me."
"Yin Susu! I've called and messaged you like what? Thirty million times! When we meet, you need to treat me to a big meal!"
"Okay, I'll stop calling you dear for... an hour. Please answer back (Crying emoticon)"
While scrolling from the very first message all the way to the... well.. no end because she never reached the end of the messages as it could match up to the length of the Great Wall of China. Her eyebrow raised seeing that the person who called her throughout the night was Chen Mu.
Chen Mu was Tian Yuo's childhood friend, who also came from a prestigious family, but had a flirty mouth. He always loved teasing her and annoying her, but somehow the long list of missed call logs and messages made her smile after a chaotic morning.
Before she unlocked her phone screen, Chen Mu's drooling, sleeping face appeared on her screen. She huffed out a small laugh, "Hello, young master Chen Mu."
"Yin Susu! Do you know how many damn freaking times have I called you since last night??? Where the heck have you been? I even bombarded the phone companies to look for you, but they said you had your phone off!!!" He sounded like a father scolding his daughter coming home after sleeping over at a friend's place without permission.
"My phone was turned off because of Karen and Tian Yuo's...engagement. I was told to entertain some guests while I was at the party and... well.. that's about it." Her voice trailed off and faded after mentioning the party from yesterday.
Sensing her changed tone, he coughed on his side of the call, "Uhm... Are you alright?"
Quickly snapping out of her deep thoughts, she adjusted her voice, "Why would I not be okay? It's just a man. If I wanted to, this Miss here could get all the men she wants lining them up all the way to the deep holes in space."
"Pffft, yes, yes. Our Miss. Yin is the National Wife that everyone would be as lucky as winning the jackpot if they get you. By the way, aren't you supposed to be at work today?" He sounded curious because she usually ignores all calls during her shifts.
"Ack! Because of you, I totally forgot to call my cab!!!" She smacked her forehead and let out a deep sigh.
"Hehe~ Someone seems to be in a hurry~ Where are you now? I'll come to get you and help you out." He teased in a gentle tone.
"I'm standing in front of the grand hall from yesterday." She accidentally spilled out the words that she didn't want him to know. Usually, Chen Mu may seem to have a low IQ and EQ, but he always had the sharpest instinct when it comes to awkward situations.
"Miss. Yin, don't tell me that you spent your night at the grand hall? What? Did you get drunk and woke up next to a stranger in the guest room or something?" He jokingly spurts out his thoughts while driving to pick her up.
Facing the silence that followed after his words, his tone became serious, "I'm right..? Then...who..."
"Tian Yuo." Her voice trembled as she tried to control her long suppressed emotions back to its place.
"I'll be there in five minutes. We'll talk then. Actually, no, be on the call with me so I know that you're not going to hide somewhere and disappear on me." Her eyes were filled with tears, and her head was tilted facing towards the blue sky and white clouds from above. For some reason, her tears weren't listening to her demands and kept attempting to escape from her eyes.
She repeated to herself as she walked in circles, hoping her tears would be like snot and get sucked back into her body. 'Come on Yin Susu... what is there to cry about? Why are you such a crybaby? You need to be strong. You can't let Chen Mu see this side of you. You never showed this side to anyone.'
Exactly four minutes and fifty-nine seconds later, a BMW stopped right in front of her and the windows of the passenger seat rolled down. "Yo!" Chen Mu waved his hand and walked out of his car to greet her with a tight hug.
His short styled hair, dazzling smile, and warm embrace comforted her deeply. His tidy suit and rarely used cologne hinted that he was heading back to his office for an important meeting. Even though she could already guess that he went out of his way just for her, she couldn't resist his hugs. A hug was exactly what she wanted and wished for at the moment. She hid her face in his suit so that he wouldn't notice her reddened eyes.
They stood there for a whole three minutes before Chen Mu whispered, "Dear, I would love to hug you all day long, but the day is not getting any longer and your time is getting shorter. Shall we go?"
Though he sounded calm, his head was filled with ideas on how he should comfort her or cheer her up. 'Hey, if a hug doesn't do it, there are always belly dancing and Kisses (chocolate).'
He handed her a bag with an office outfit inside with a charming smirk on his face, "Change into this outfit before going to work."
She nodded, but curiously asked, "This is a female outfit. Why do you have one in your car?"
He chuckled, "If I say I had a woman in this car.... hahaha, I'm kidding. That's from my mom for you. She said she came across it while shopping and thought that it would be a perfect fit for you. So thank Madam Chen, not me."
It took him less than fifteen minutes to reach her work place. She worked under one of the Chen Corporation's main headquarters as an intern. Although she could've been placed in a higher position, she requested to start from an office assistant to gain more experience.
The moment he stepped into the office, the manager greeted him politely. He explained that he had assigned a project related to the upcoming seasonal sale designs, which delayed her punctuality for the day. Quickly, she sat in her chair and waved him goodbye.
He smiled in her direction until the elevator doors closed. His eyes darkened and fists clenched tightly revealing his white knuckles, "She was crying again. Not the first time she tried hiding it from me and wouldn't be the last time either. I never forced her to express her emotions in front of me, but this time... What kind of bullshit did those two clowns do to her this time?"
Bzzt! Bzzt!
Seeing the caller ID on his cell phone screen, he casually picked up the call, hiding his anger, "What's up? Okay. I'll see you tonight then."
After the phone call ended, Chen Mu's expression looked calm, but as the saying goes... "The calmness before the storm.."