Although Han Zhen would smile mischievously at her sometimes and even call her 'wife' affectionately, most of the time, the two of them had a tacit understanding to live their own lives and not interfere with each other's affairs.
Gao Xiaoxiao constantly warned herself not to overstep the boundaries and not to have any unrealistic fantasies about Han Zhen. To her, he was just a living allowance that was given to her every month.
• • •
Traffic was a little heavy on Monday.
Gao Xiaoxiao took the public bus and alighted near her office building. It was almost nine o'clock.
She walked briskly into the building and saw that the elevator door was about to close…
"Wait a moment!" The secretary's office held meetings at 9:00 am every Monday!
The elevator door that had already closed opened suddenly. Gao Xiaoxiao ran over in surprise. A man in a smart suit smiled handsomely at her. "Xiaoxiao."
It was Yu Yuting, Han Zhen's friend.
"Good morning, Chairman Yu." Gao Xiaoxiao nodded and bowed as she entered. She reached out to press the twentieth floor but realized that he had already pressed it.
Yu Yuting's smile widened. "Are you going to be late?"
Gao Xiaoxiao was so embarrassed that she could only smile awkwardly and pray that the elevator would go faster…
"Even if you can see through the elevator, it won't speed up. Instead, there might be an accident," Yu Yuting said playfully.
Gao Xiaoxiao could not help but glare at him secretly.
He was indeed Han Zhen's sworn brother. His tongue was just as vicious!
Yu Yuting burst into laughter when he saw Gao Xiaoxiao's reaction.
Perhaps because his siblings were all brothers, Yu Yuting realized that he particularly liked to tease Gao Xiaoxiao. Although she was his "Sister-in-law", she was like a little sister to him…
The sudden jolt of the elevator stopped Yu Yuting's laughter. Before he could react, the lights in the elevator had gone out. He could not see his fingers.
"Ah!" Gao Xiaoxiao shouted angrily. "Did he have to be so foul-mouthed as to mention that an accident might happen?" she thought.
Yu Yuting was speechless. "Alright, I should go buy a lottery ticket today," he thought.
• • •
By the time the security officers restored the elevator, it was already 9:30 am. Gao Xiaoxiao was more than 30 minutes late.
She ran out of the elevator hastily and swiped her card. As soon as she switched on her computer, Secretary Zhou came looking for her. "Xiaoxiao, you weren't around during the meeting just now. Young Master Han asked you to see him immediately."
"… Okay." Gao Xiaoxiao's heart skipped a beat.
Although Han Zhen was usually frivolous, he was very serious when it came to work. He might be intentionally proving himself to Han Zhengming, but he would report to the company at nine o'clock every day, so no one in the secretary's office dared to be late.
But she was caught red-handed today…
She knocked on the CEO's office door nervously. "Come in." His deep voice sounded without any emotion.
Gao Xiaoxiao pushed the door open and caught a glimpse of Yu Yuting on the sofa. He was crossing his legs elegantly and smiling at her.
Gao Xiaoxiao walked to the desk and said respectfully, "Young Master Han, I heard that you were looking for me."
Yu Yuting chuckled involuntarily.
Han Zhen paused.
Gao Xiaoxiao did not know what to say.
After a while, Han Zhen said, "Why are you late today?"
If he remembered correctly, she had left the house before 8:00 am.
"Sorry, I'll leave early in the future," Gao Xiaoxiao continued to answer respectfully.
Han Zhen paused.
"Damn, can the two of you stop doing this? I'm not an outsider."
Yu Yuting could not take it anymore. He stood up and explained, "Well, I took the elevator with Xiaoxiao just now. It was my fault for being a jinx. I said that the elevator might malfunction, and true enough, it was delayed for a while. If you don't believe me, call the security team. Xiaoxiao wasn't late on purpose."
Han Zhen looked at him and suddenly laughed. "You have self-awareness."
Yu Yuting was wounded. He glared at Han Zhen and held back his retort.
"In that case, I'll tell Secretary Zhou later that you're not late today," Han Zhen said gently as he leaned back in his chair.
Gao Xiaoxiao accepted his offer graciously. "Thank you, Young Master Han."
Han Zhen chuckled and said, "Oh right, I already told everyone during the routine meeting just now. Because Su Cheng started her leave last Friday, you'll be my special assistant during her absence."
"… Huh?" No matter how calm Gao Xiaoxiao was, she was a little stunned now.