"Where have you been? Why are you only coming back so late?"
Zhou Jin'an mumbled with a muffled voice.
He was shirtless, his chest burning hot; his powerful arms enclosed her, and Qiao En could not break free.
"I went back home."
Zhou Jin'an released a stifled sigh and buried his head in the nape of her neck.
He held her very tightly.
"Mr. Zhou, you shouldn't have come."
Qiao En sighed.
An unfinished tale, with lingering sentiments, only leads to mutual hurt.
Zhou Jin'an did not reply, one hand wrapping around her neck, and the other hand slid down to her lower abdomen.
His fingertips were rough, electrifying every spot they touched.
He knew the passwords to her body and how to unlock her.
In the past, she would confidently entrust herself to him.
Through clouds, in mists, in water, and in fire, wherever he took her, she would follow.
But now—
"Mr. Zhou, we can't do this!"
Qiao En grabbed Zhou Jin'an's large hand.
She did it with a lot of strength, very resolutely.
"What's the matter?"
Zhou Jin'an asked, knowing full well.
He never forced Qiao En to do anything against her will; when she resisted, he would let go.
"Mr. Zhou is already engaged to Miss An, so it's inappropriate for you to come here."
She spoke the truth.
But Zhou Jin'an seemed not to enjoy listening to it.
He leaned back against the headboard and lit a cigarette.
The room was dark; with a hard drag, the cigarette end glowed bright red.
"Are you jealous?" he deflected lightly.
"No."
"Then what is it?" Zhou Jin'an took another drag on his cigarette, pressing for an answer.
"I don't want to be the third person."
For three years, she had been the woman in his shadow, unseen by the world.
Shameful.
But being single, she was not demeaning herself.
Now, though, things were different. He was engaged, and if she continued to frolic with him, it meant debasing herself.
"So, what do you want?"
Zhou Jin'an's gaze was intense as he looked at Qiao En.
What did she want?
Even if she wanted something, what could it change?
"To part ways, to stop entangling with each other."
Qiao En was very clear in her intention.
Zhou Jin'an finished his cigarette and got out of bed.
He got dressed and walked toward the door.
As he passed by Qiao En, he suddenly stopped, clamped her chin with one hand, and kissed her fiercely.
The crisp tobacco smell, mixed with his unique hormonal scent, spread in her mouth.
His kiss was domineering, rough, passionately crazy, and reluctant to let go.
But soon, he let go.
In the darkness, he strode towards the door, his frame tall and his silhouette free-spirited.
As the door closed behind him, he did not look back.
Qiao En leaned against the door for a long time, feeling a severe congestion in her heart.
This time with Zhou Jin'an, they had finally made things clear, right?
From now on, they would go their separate ways; there would be no more intersections between them, right?
This was the outcome she wanted, but it didn't make her feel any better.
Later, Qiao En climbed into bed in the dark.
The bed was full of Zhou Jin'an's scent.
She was very tired but had no desire to sleep.
Not until dawn, when his scent had faded, did sleepiness finally overpower her.
She slept through the morning, well into the afternoon when the sun was tilting west.
There were several unread messages on her cell phone.
One of them was from An Kexin.
[Secretary Qiao, let's have dinner together tonight, I'll introduce you to a friend.]
An Kexin moved so fast that Qiao En was somewhat taken by surprise.
The other party's intentions were clearly not just about the dinner.
To refuse would only make her suspicions seem greater.
[Alright, Miss An has gone to so much trouble.]
Qiao En replied to the message.
Soon after, An Kexin sent her the time and place for the meeting.
She didn't make any special effort to dress up, just wore a dress that was slightly more colorful than usual.
Light makeup, no jewelry, her whole appearance emphasized simplicity and unadornment.
At six-thirty in the evening, Qiao En appeared at the Western restaurant.
An Kexin had already arrived early.
As usual, she was immaculately made up and dressed in luxury. Seeing Qiao En, she waved at her from afar.
"Secretary Qiao, over here."
Qiao En followed the voice, and sitting across from An Kexin was already a man.
By sight, he was no more than 1.7 meters tall but definitely weighed more than 170 pounds.
An Kexin rose to her feet and pulled Qiao En to take a seat beside her.
"Song Lian, this is the Qiao En I told you about. She's kind-hearted and especially capable. I'm introducing her to you as a favor, so don't disappoint me!"
Song Lian raised his languid eyes and sized up Qiao En from head to toe.
"Her?"
"Song's family is in the building materials business, quite wealthy, and he's an only son. You better seize the opportunity."
An Kexin leaned close to Qiao En, whispering in a voice only she could hear.
She patted the back of Qiao En's hand, signaling her to take the initiative and greet Song Lian.
Qiao En obediently smiled and exchanged pleasantries.
"Hello, Song!"
The man called Song Lian looked at Qiao En with disdain on his face.
Compared to An Kexin, she was indeed quite "plain."
He didn't look favorable upon her, and he didn't hide it.
"Miss Qiao, have you ever been in a relationship?"
The moment Song Lian spoke, his words were sharp.
"Yes," Qiao En replied with a faint smile.
Song Lian's eyebrows furrowed slightly, twisting like two earthworms, "To what extent?"
The question was even sharper.
Qiao En was not someone who had never seen the world.
In the past two years, before Zhou Jin'an became a CEO, she had worked on many projects with him. She had not only encountered arrogant and rude people like Song Lian but had also clashed with them, gaining quite a bit of experience in handling them.
However, today was different, An Kexin was present, and Song Lian was the person she had introduced, so Qiao En had to keep her edge in check.
Thus, she sat demurely there, holding a cup of water and sipping it in small mouthfuls, not responding.
An Kexin gave Song Lian a disdainful glance, "You're scaring Secretary Qiao. Who asks people such questions at a first meeting?"
She pretended to be annoyed, backing Qiao En up.
"Secretary Qiao, don't mind him. Song has always been straightforward in his speech, lacking subtlety."
Qiao En nodded slightly.
The dinner was somewhat uncomfortable.
An Kexin was very keen on playing matchmaker for Qiao En and Song Lian.
Throughout, Song Lian acted high and mighty, commanding with an air of superiority, flaunting his wealth.
Qiao En played along with the charade, demure and well-educated.
The meal ended around nine o'clock.
An Kexin received a phone call, saying she had an emergency and had to leave first.
She left Qiao En and Song Lian to continue their awkward conversation.
With her gone, Song Lian became even more unrestrained.
"Are you still a virgin?"
He leaned back in his chair, picking his teeth with a toothpick, his eyes unabashedly fixated on Qiao En's chest.
The question was offensive.
"I guess you're still a virgin," she retorted with a devilish smile.
Her pointed comment went over his head, as he was too obtuse to understand the depth of her words.
"Are you or aren't you?" Song Lian demanded.
"You're convinced you are," Qiao En replied, provocative and offbeat, responding to his questions with answers that clearly irked him.
As expected, Song Lian blew up.
"I don't wear shoes worn by others, I'm not picking up trash, no way." His words were rude and unsavory.
Qiao En didn't know if he was trying to test her, or if he was doing it on behalf of An Kexin.
While he couldn't keep his composure, she remained as steady as Mount Everest.
Qiao En rested her chin on her hand and scrutinized Song Lian for a long time, "Song, how tall are you?"
"What's that got to do with you? You're just one centimeter taller than me, what's so great about that! Although I'm only 167cm, the empire I've built is as high as Mount Everest," he bragged.
Clearly, he was very self-conscious about his height.
Qiao En didn't let up and continued to probe, "Then surely you weigh more than 167, don't you?"
"Do you think I'm fat? This physique of mine can at best be described as robust. Look at your skinny arms and legs, clearly suffering from malnutrition."
Song Lian's chubby face turned red with anger, the fat under his chin quivering. Qiao En couldn't help but snort with laughter.
That laugh made Song Lian's expression even uglier.
"What are you laughing at?"
Qiao En covered her mouth, trying to hold back the laughter, shaking her head and finally managing to suppress it.
"Would you mind revealing the size of yours?"
She asked casually, without raising her heartbeat or blushing, her eyes gleaming with curiosity as she stared at Song Lian.
Song Lian might have never encountered such a shameless woman before; was she really making fun of a man's dignity?!
"You—"
He stood up angrily, his trembling finger pointed at Qiao En.
"This long?"
Qiao En gestured towards his little finger and muttered to herself, "Little kids are about this long."
Before Song Lian could react, she flashed her thumb.
"This long?"
There's no greater insult to a man than this.
Qiao En laughed as if she were naive, yet her laughter was like a knife twisting into someone's heart.
Meetings of equals; Song Lian was at a disadvantage.
Yet unwilling to concede, he grumbled as he left his seat, "You just wait."