"CEO Zhang,.... I ..." Chen Rou Jiao hesitated when she caught the sight of her superior.
She was afraid to voice out her mind considering the current circumstances between her and Yu Sheng. However, after a long and deep thinking, she decided to get the things back into their places.
"Just call me Ren Hao." CEO Zhang stated firmly.
Chen Rou Jiao looked at CEO Zhang and raised her eyebrows. "Mn?"
"We are neither in the office nor working, so just call me by my name. No need to be too formal with me."
Chen Rou Jiao exchanged looks with Xie Rong.
When Xie Rong shrugged and signalled her to do as she was told, Chen Rou Jiao suddenly stiffened.
Zhang Ren Hao caught how they reacted. He shook his head, and sighed.
"Does my appearance scare both of you?"
Zhang Ren Hao admitted he was strict with his staff, only to get productive results from them. Well, sometimes he went overboard but still, he knew his limit.
Nonetheless, seeing Chen Rou Jiao and Xie Rong's reactions, he suddenly became curious about how they saw him.
Chen Rou Jiao and Xie Rong spontaneously gaze upon their cold boss.
"It's not like that." Chen Rou Jiao carefully uttered her explanation.
For both of them, or for every person who had experiences with Zhang Ren Hao, they would think the same. That their boss was so hard to get close to, not to mention he was hard to read. No one can predict what he wants to do next. 14 months under his leadership, Chen Rou Jiao and Xie Rong were too scared to make any mistakes.
Even when others thought Chen Rou Jiao was mean, she was nothing compared to Zhang Ren Hao.
"Just you are too serious. Always displayed a cold and stern expression. Only Miss An had the guts to approach you." Xie Rong felt at ease after coming clean about what had bothered her and Chen Rou Jiao about Zhang Ren Hao.
Nevertheless, Chen Rou Jiao was shocked with Xie Rong's honesty that she kept on checking Zhang Ren Hao's response with such straightforwardness.
Zhang Ren Hao pressed his lips tightly. He crossed his arms and kept thinking of Xie Rong words.
"Is it true Miss Chen?"
Chen Rou Jiao was stucked in the middle of telling the truth or was it better to play dumb in this situation.
If she lied, Xie Rong might be in serious trouble, but if she agreed with her, would that just be like digging her own grave?
"Miss Chen?" Zhang Ren Hao tilted his head a bit.
Chen Rou Jiao was startled when her name was called by Zhang Ren Hao.
Her eyes narrowed to her boss, devastated for real. She could not utter any words right now due to her frightenedness with Zhang Ren Hao, thus Chen Rou Jiao hesitatingly nodded.
The room became tranquil with no one making any sound and movement. Especially Xie Rong as she was terrying after realizing what she had done. Xie Rong sneakily gazed upon Chen Rou Jiao who eventually already fixed her eyes towards her friend.
"Help me." she mouthed to Chen Rou Jiao.
"How can I do that?" Chen Rou Jiao replied. She was restless the seconds Xie Rong said that. Now her friend wanted her to fix the awkwards situation between them.
"It seems..." Zhang Ren Hao fixated his seat, while he shot a serious glare towards his employees.
Chen Rou Jiao and Xie Rong simultaneously shifted their attention towards Zhang Ren Hao and waited until the man finished his lines.
"Looks like I need to change my attitude."
"What?" Chen Rou Jiao and Xie Rong were contemplating Zhang Ren Hao's resolution till they weren't sure they heard it right.
Zhang Ren Hao grinned sneakily towards the ladies before his eyes. He leaned forward, clamped his hands together and put them on the bed, beside Chen Rou Jiao's feet.
"You said to yourself, only Miss An understands me. So I will show both of you my real self. Sorry for my past attitude."
"Err..." Chen Rou Jiao looked at Xie Rong through the corner of her eyes, and Xie Rong also did the same. They both beamed awkwardly.
"As long as you are happy, both of us are okay with it." Chen Rou Jiao said steadily. Xie Rong nodded, agreed with her best friend.
"Okay then. Well what do you want to say earlier?"
"Oh. About that.." Chen Rou Jiao remembered what she wanted to ask her boss, but the main thing got diverted by another main thing. She laughed inside.
"I wanted to ask you about Yu Sheng."
Zhang Ren Hao raised his eyebrows. "What about him?"
"Errr... If you can release him from prison. I became like this not because of him." Chen Rou Jiao bit her upper lips. Took a glimpse at Xie Rong who apparently also focused on her.
"He does have a part for my condition, but not until I pass out. It's all because of me. Can you ask the police officers to release him?"
Chen Rou Jiao started with full of hope over her boss, but that man did not appear any different on his charming face. Instead, he chuckled and looked her straight into the eyes.
"Although I did not understand why you kept defending Yu Sheng, you don't have to worry about his imprisonment. He was already released, an hour after he was placed in the jail."
"Already been released?" Chen Rou Jiao startled.
"Yes. Did Miss Xie not tell you about it?"
Chen Rou Jiao turned to Xie Rong. She caught that girl grinned at her.
"You..!" Chen Rou Jiao, annoyed by the fact she was clearly being deceived by Xie Rong, pinched her friend's arm.
Xie Rong shrieked in pain but then she laughed because she managed to prank her best friend. Zhang Ren Hao was stupefied with their reaction but calmed down at the time Xie Rong burst into laughter.
Xie Rong stil in her happy and satisfied face, turned to Zhang Ren Hao, "Mr. Zhang, looks like Rou Jiao can be discharged tonight. She had enough energy to hurt me. Hahaha..."
Zhang Ren Hao didn't know what to do with the two good friends in front of him anymore. All he could do was shake his head, and sighed; watching them happy together.
In the meantime, the door was opened from the outside by force.
"Chen Rou Jiao!" A man with a worried face rushed to her with something in his right hand.
Right away, Chen Rou Jiao and Xie Rong stopped fighting and looked to that person who hurried his steps to the bed where Chen Rou Jiao was. Zhang Ren Hao turned his head to the same direction, but then he calmly rose from his seat, and greeted that person.
Chen Rou Jiao was almost dumbfounded seeing her father was here. Standing at the end of the bed, looking at her. From that distance, she assured her father was lacking sleep these few days.
"Dad? What are you doing here?"
"Looking for you of course. What else am I doing in this hospital?" he said neither in an angry way nor in distress.
"How did you know I was here?"
"Aa.. I forgot to tell you." Xie Rong slapped softly on her forehead with her hand. Slammed her head for her forgetful mind.
Chen Rou Jiao's eyes moved directly to Xie Rong. Asking for an explanation.
"The night after you were brought to hospital, your father came to your apartment. Luckily I was there at that time." She swallowed her saliva. Chen Rou Jiao glared and was killing her inside to make her dad worried.
However, Chen Zong didn't let Chen Rou Jiao blame Xie Rong for her honesty.
"Thanks to this lady, I got to know your condition. Don't you know how shocked I was when I acknowledged your situation?"
Her eyes changed. Now she looked softly at Xie Rong. How thankful she was, having a caring friend. But when she shifted her eyes to Chen Zong, she pouted.
"I am not mad at her, just I did not want to make you worried so much."
"Aiyaa.. this lil girl. Not matter what you do, I always worried. Even when you married one day, as a father, my mind will still fuzzy about you, and Liang Shu."
"Dad... who said I want to marry? I want to stay single. I want to take care of you forever." Chen Rou Jiao wrapped her arms around her body, eyes stared at her father; mouth pouted.
Chen Zong sighed heavily. "Aiyaa. This girl. What can I do to make you stop being a child."
Chen Rou Jiao wrapped her arms around her body, swayed her head away from Chen Zong. "Hmph.. I will never stop."
Zhang Ren Hao gave a signal to Xie Rong. Leave this room, not involved in this family bickering, and fortunately Xie Rong also had the same thinking, and they politely permitted themselves from Chen Zong and Chen Rou Jiao before they got dragged into their childish argument.
Zhang Ren Hao and Xie Rong left the room immediately then they took a walk to the cafe.
They were only halfway to the cafe, and waited in front of the elevator to bring them down. Xie Rong was thinking that she must solve everything before it's too late.
"Mr. Zhang." she called her boss with a small voice but it was enough to be heard by that man.
Zhang Ren Hao turned to the voice. He only realized that Xie Rong was standing next to him and her round and determined eyes staring at him.
"What?"
"Mr. Zhang. I want to apologize for Yu Sheng after what he did at the office."
"Hmm...." Zhang Ren Hao stared at the timid Xie Rong with sympathy and anger. He turned to close the elevator, looking at his reflection at the door.
Sympathy because for another person, no matter who he was to her, she willingly downgraded herself to make such an apology. And he was angry toward that guy who did not appreciate a girl like Xie Rong and was still making fuss in his place.
When he examined her face, the guilt she shouldn't have in the first place, will make her life miserable if he did nothing to wipe it off.
"Miss Xie." He called her name softly.
"Mn?"
He then turned to face Xie Rong.
"I don't know what is the problem between you, Miss Chen and Yu Sheng. But what I can say is, stop defending that guy. He is big enough to know what he did was wrong. And as an adult, he shall be the one to apologize to you and Miss Chen."
Xie Rong chewed her lower lips. "But... I also ..." The elevator opened its door, cutting everything she wanted to say.
"Now enough." Zhang Ren Hao lifted his palm up to the air. Signalling Xie Rong to stop, and Xie Rong did. "Let's get something to eat. My stomach is growling right now." Zhang Ren Hao walked into the elevator.
Xie Rong finally gave up her attempt because her stomach was also begging to be filled. When they got a call from Li Da Zhan about Chen Rou Jiao's condition, they were just about to buy their dinner. But, they dropped their intention and went back to her room.
Resulted in the growling in their stomach.
"Aren't you coming?"
Xie Rong woke up from her deep thoughts. "Huh? Oh, yes. I am sorry."
She quickly entered the empty elevator before her boss closed the door.