"She has already made it very clear, there's no need to overthink it."
Zhou Liao expected the rejection, so he was mentally prepared.
Thus, he could accept it with composure.
Guo Junkai: ...
Okay then.
It was his own fault for being nosy.
However, the little flame of gossip within him had already been ignited, and he was looking forward to some juicy news!
"So, who is Zhiyun exactly?"
"..."
Zhou Liao couldn't be bothered with him.
Bent over the keyboard, he typed away.
Seeing him busy at work, Guo Junkai still wouldn't give up, grinded his teeth a bit, and pretended to mutter casually, "Well, I guess you probably aren't very familiar with her."
That comment stung a little.
Zhou Liao gave him a glance, "If there's nothing else, you can leave now."
"It's my lunch break now."
Guo Junkai was determined to stay put.
His skin was thick anyway.
"You go ahead with your work, just pretend I'm not here," Guo Junkai said as he turned his chair away from Zhou Liao.
In his actions, he showed he knew his limits, but his mouth did not close, "Zhiyun, Zhiyun, this name sounds somewhat familiar, could it be that I've met her before?"
"..." This time, Zhou Liao didn't even lift his head.
He continued to hammer away at the keyboard, handling his emails.
Listening to the tap-tap of the keyboard, Guo Junkai smiled, pulled out his phone from his jacket pocket, "Fine! I know you're busy, then I'll just have to ask the almighty friend circle for help, I can't seem to remember at the moment, maybe someone else could help me..."
"From tomorrow on, I will be taking my annual leave," Zhou Liao interrupted him without hurry.
"No way!"
Upon hearing this, Guo Junkai jumped up from his chair as if his butt was on fire.
"Brother Liao, don't be rash!"
Taking annual leave meant at least half a month off.
Some of Zhou Liao's work would inevitably have to be passed on to him to follow up, and then he, as the co-owner, would definitely become just another worker, overtime and sleepless nights included.
Who would want to work overtime if they could leave on time?!
"If you want to take a break, you can take a vacation, maybe three to five days, go camping, or try sea fishing."
There was no need to take the entire annual leave at once.
Taking a break for over half a month, he couldn't handle that!
"You just got back, you must be thirsty, right? Wait, I will make you some coffee."
As he spoke, he started walking out, visibly chickening out.
Time to get out of here.
Better to lose and stay safe.
After leaving Zhou Liao's office, Guo Junkai was inwardly timid, but he had to maintain an unruffled composure on the outside, his face adorned with his usual approachable smile, he walked into the pantry unhurriedly.
"President Guo, have you eaten lunch? Would you like some dessert?"
In the pantry, several colleagues gathered around eating and casually chatting. Seeing Guo Junkai come in, those who reacted quickly offered their greetings.
It was common knowledge among all co-workers that President Guo had a sweet tooth.
"Thanks, but I've already eaten. You guys enjoy," Guo Junkai said after a quick glance at the cupcakes on the table, not lingering on the sight.
No dessert for today.
He was only halfway through his melon and felt somewhat restless inside.
Zhiyun, Zhiyun...
Who is Zhiyun, really?
Guo Junkai suddenly became anxious about his own memory.
If only his memory was a little better, he wouldn't have been a poor student in his school days!
Forget it, he should let himself off the hook.
Standing in front of the coffee machine, Guo Junkai decisively gave up on his internal struggle, took out a coffee capsule from the drawer, placed it into the machine, and then pressed the start button.
Thump, thump—
Brown liquid poured into the porcelain white cup, and the rich aroma of coffee instantly filled the air.
It smelled quite robust.
But drinking it was... incredibly bitter.
Guo Junkai always kept his distance from coffee; he found the aroma appetizing but the taste hard to swallow.
It was only Zhou Liao who liked his coffee without sugar or milk, as if it were medicine.
"Here, big guy, time for your medicine."
Guo Junkai carried the coffee back to Zhou Liao's office, placed the cup within Zhou Liao's reach, then shifted his chair and sat down again.
He really was going all out for a taste of Zhou Liao's first love scoop.
He was truly timid.
But so was his curiosity for gossip, with a determination that rivaled that of paparazzi, eagerly awaiting to dig up some juicy details.
Zhou Liao actually had a girl he liked!
It was so sudden.
For the past month, the whole company had been rushing to meet project deadlines, working overtime to get ahead, leaving little chance to meet women outside of coworkers.
So where did Zhou Liao meet Zhiyun?
On his way to work? A chance encounter, followed by love at first sight?
Or...
A long-standing affection was definitely out of the question.
As a childhood friend, Guo Junkai knew Zhou Liao well.
During his school days, in middle and high school, Zhou Liao's mind was occupied with studying and various competitions; no beauty could stir his heart.
When they got to university, he was solely focused on starting a business, and all his time was spent on his career, without the slightest interest in dating. Moreover, his companions in the struggle either were roommates or fellow students from the same school, so he didn't meet many girls, to the point where he didn't even have a close female friend.
So...
Guo Junkai concluded: Zhiyun definitely wasn't one of their former classmates or school fellows.
But why did he feel that the name Zhiyun sounded familiar?
It must have been mentioned to him before.
Recently...
No memory of it.
Last month...
Uh... I don't seem to recall anything either.
The month before that...
Hmm, there were some chance encounters with beautiful girls.
And not just a few.
The day that left the deepest impression was when his cousin's bar opened, and he dragged Zhou Liao along.
There were many people there that night to support the event, and quite a few beauties, one of whom was particularly eye-catching. At that time, Zhou Liao...
Whoa!
He finally remembered!
"Music Fans Bar..."
"That night, was the beautiful girl who played the drums and sang Zhiyun?" Guo Junkai planted his hands on his hips, his slightly chubby baby face showing a smug expression, "At the time my cousin mentioned that she was Sister Zhiwei's younger sister, no wonder her name sounded familiar to me!"
He indeed had seen her before.
"At the time you kept staring at her. When I said you were acting strange, you denied it. I was just too naive, actually believing your nonsense, thinking you just enjoyed her singing and that's why you looked a few extra times."
Heh heh...
How easily he'd been fooled.
"It's her." Under Guo Junkai's resentful gaze, Zhou Liao nodded in agreement.
"So when did you get her WeChat?" Could something have happened that night he didn't know about?
"Today."
"Uh... wait a second, let me get this straight."
"...So it was after meeting her at the bar, over two months passed before you managed to meet her again, and just today, right after you added her on WeChat, you were rejected?"
After finishing, Guo Junkai used a brief silence to sympathize with Zhou Liao for a second, "If it's her, I'm not surprised that you got rejected."
Because Lai Zhiyun was the kind of girl who, at first glance, you just knew was difficult to pursue.