"Not drinking? Don't like champagne?" He sat down beside her, picking up the glass in front of her.
"I don't drink alcohol," she replied somewhat awkwardly.
"Don't drink? Working in a jewelry company, you don't need to entertain clients?" He seemed a bit surprised.
Anna chuckled, teasingly saying, "I'm just a small employee; no need to entertain big clients."
Daniel smiled, took a sip of champagne, elegant and composed.
She felt a bit uneasy. There always seemed to be an insurmountable distance between them. Even though he treated her kindly, his every word and action made her feel like she was facing someone from another world.
"Do you plan to continue in jewelry appraisal, or do you have other plans?" he asked casually.
"I haven't thought that far ahead. Right now, I just want to do my current job well," Anna answered sincerely.
Daniel nodded, giving her a deep look but saying nothing more.
When night fell silent, Anna lay in the spacious guest room bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. She admitted the environment was very comfortable, and the bed was soft enough, but for some reason, she couldn't settle her thoughts.
At dawn, Anna emerged from the room with dark circles under her eyes. Daniel was sitting at the dining table, holding a financial newspaper, his expression indifferent. Hearing her, he looked up, and upon seeing her dark circles, a faint smile played at the corners of his mouth.
"What happened?" Anna asked somewhat embarrassed.
He put down the newspaper, teasing in a calm tone, "I thought I saw a panda."
Anna's face instantly turned red, and she couldn't help retorting, "You're so mean!"
Daniel just smiled, not continuing to tease her, and invited her over for breakfast.
Breakfast was prepared early by the housekeeper—a simple yet hearty meal. Porridge, fried eggs, steak, and even a fruit salad.
Anna ate hastily and nearly choked. Just as she clutched her chest looking for water, a warm glass of milk was pushed in front of her.
"Thanks, but you can have it," she hurriedly said.
"I don't drink milk," he replied blandly, turning to pour himself a cup of black coffee—dark as ink, bitter without a hint of expression change.
She watched him silently, unable to help thinking: What a tasteful yet peculiar man.
After breakfast, Daniel looked at her, his gaze steady. "You seem to have a lot on your mind. Why not share it?"
Anna was startled, half-jokingly saying, "Mr. Anderson, can you read my thoughts?"
He didn't answer, just gave a slight smile. "No need to read minds; it's written all over your face."
She couldn't help but laugh, but soon she became serious and said, "Actually... your lifestyle is really enviable, but it also feels a bit like 'feasting in grand mansions while others freeze outside.'"
Hearing this, Daniel put down his coffee cup, frowning slightly, his gaze becoming complex.
Realizing she might have said too much, Anna quickly added, "You asked me to be honest! I didn't mean anything by it."
He didn't say much more, just smiled lightly—a smile that seemed gentle but carried unfathomable meaning.
At seven in the morning, Anna's phone suddenly rang. She opened it to see a message from Rachel, reminding her of an important business meeting that day.
"You're going to the office on a Sunday?" Daniel frowned as he watched her hastily prepare to leave.
"I have a meeting to attend," she replied casually, busy organizing the documents in her bag.
"Aren't these things handled by agents?" He raised an eyebrow, his tone flat.
"My agent has other clients; she can't handle everything personally," she explained with a wry smile.
He gave her a meaningful look, paused, and said, "Actually, changing an agent isn't difficult."
Anna was taken aback, looking down at him. Her mind couldn't help but recall the keys and elevator card he handed her last night.
Her heart skipped a beat, feeling both shy and uneasy.
After leaving Daniel 's apartment, she returned to her place to start packing for the move. Her friend Sarah helped her sort things and said reluctantly, "You're really moving out? I'll miss you."
"Don't worry, I'll come back to visit often," Anna said with a smile.
That week, she didn't have much going on. Work arrangements were light, so she took advantage of the free time to pack her belongings and prepare to move into the new apartment.
One afternoon, Anna received a call from Sarah. She hurried to the scene, only to find the situation had become uncontrollable.
A chaotic crowd had gathered below the headquarters of Everest Jewelry. The building was located in the most bustling commercial center of the city, right next to the financial district. It was a weekday, and such a commotion attracted many passersby and media reporters, their cameras flashing incessantly.
Squeezing through the crowd, Anna saw Sarah's brother, Mark, standing among the people, shouting passionately. Confronting him were the security guards of Everest Jewelry and several senior managers.
"What's your brother doing?" Anna pulled Sarah aside, whispering.
"Ugh, don't mention it! He's gone crazy!" Sarah stomped her foot in frustration. "He used to work in Everest's gemstone procurement department. A few months ago, he went to a mining site for inspection and accidentally got his foot crushed by a rock. He was hoping for company compensation, but not only did he not get it, he was fired! Now he's unemployed, and the company took back his employee housing. His wife is even threatening to divorce him!"
Anna felt a heaviness in her heart. She knew Mark had a fiery temper, but she never imagined he would cause a scene in front of the company. Making such a fuss, who in the industry would dare hire him in the future? If anything else happened, things would only get worse.
She gritted her teeth, pushed through the crowd, and rushed up to try to hold Mark back. "Mark, let's go home and talk. Making a scene won't solve anything."
Sarah joined in to help persuade him. The family stood amid the crowd, looking rather disheveled. Anna felt the situation was extremely embarrassing, with onlookers pointing and whispering.
Just then, the crowd suddenly quieted down as people made way.
Anna looked up, and her heart sank—she saw Daniel stepping out of a car, accompanied by senior executives from Everest Jewelry.
Her emotions were complicated; she didn't know how to face him. His gaze was indifferent as he surveyed the scene, showing no sign of recognizing her. Then he turned to a middle-aged man beside him and said, "Mr. Thompson, letting this continue won't look good. It won't do the company's reputation any favors if this escalates. Let me have a word with them to disperse the crowd."
The chairman of Everest Jewelry nodded grimly, clearly unwilling to let the situation develop further.
Daniel then walked up to Mark and said something. The previously agitated Mark gradually calmed down. He then turned to Mr. Thompson and apologized calmly, "I'm sorry, I misunderstood. The company had already handled the compensation issue; it was all a misunderstanding."
Mr. Thompson seized the opportunity, forcing a smile. "Since it's a misunderstanding, it's resolved then. Let's cooperate well in the future."
The farce ended hastily. The onlookers began to disperse, and the reporters packed up their equipment. Without any sensational news to capture, they left disappointed.
Standing aside, Anna breathed a sigh of relief, but her feelings were mixed. She glanced down at the slight scrape on her ankle, injured earlier in the crowd.
"Are you okay?" Daniel 's deep voice suddenly sounded beside her.
Anna looked up to find him standing before her, his gaze on her leg. She quickly shook her head. "I'm fine, just a minor scrape. I'll take care of it when I get home."
"Get in the car," he said flatly, offering no further explanation, his tone leaving no room for refusal.
Anna wanted to decline but hesitated for a moment and obediently got into the car.
This was Anna's second time in Daniel 's office.
Compared to the first time, her feelings were more complicated. She sat on the sofa, her mind a jumble. The earlier incident left her feeling ashamed but more so helpless. She knew Daniel had helped her immensely, but she didn't know how to face him.
The office was quiet, the only sound the ticking of an old clock—a vintage piece whose metal face glinted softly in the afternoon sun.
Anna fiddled with her fingers, occasionally glancing at Daniel , who was silently reviewing documents behind his desk. He seemed entirely unbothered by the earlier events.
"Come in," Daniel suddenly said calmly.
The door opened softly, and a uniformed female assistant entered, carrying a tray with disinfectants and bandages.
Anna glanced at the tray, feeling a bit embarrassed, and looked down without speaking.
"Anything else?" Daniel handed a document to the assistant, signaling she could leave.
The assistant took the document, nodded politely, and quickly exited, gently closing the door behind her.
Sitting on the sofa, Anna lowered her head, pondering how to explain today's events to him. As she was deep in thought, she heard footsteps approaching. Looking up, she found Daniel standing beside her, holding tweezers and antiseptic.
"Brave enough to cause a scene at Everest, but now you can't even look at me?" he teased.
Anna's face flushed instantly. She muttered in dissatisfaction, "I wasn't causing a scene! I didn't call the media."
He raised an eyebrow, smirking slightly. "Isn't that guy your friend? Or were you not there?"
His retort left Anna speechless. Indeed, no matter how she explained, she had been involved in the chaos. The outcome wouldn't differ much.
Daniel continued coolly, "Don't act so impulsively in the future. Get involved when you should, and stay out when you shouldn't. Did you consider how you'd wrap things up if I hadn't shown up? Planning to get detained by the police for a couple of days?"
Anna felt his words were harsh, even cruel. She couldn't help but mumble, "Wouldn't you help if your friend was in trouble?"
Without looking up, he applied antiseptic, his tone indifferent. "My friends wouldn't do something so foolish."
Anna: "..." What kind of person is this? So cold-blooded!
She glared at him but found herself at a loss for words. Admittedly, her actions were somewhat immature, and he seemed merely to be stating facts.
Noticing her indignant expression, Daniel couldn't help but chuckle, his smile tinged with mockery and teasing, as if he had been waiting for her to react just like this.
Feeling both angry and helpless, Anna turned her head away, refusing to look at him.
"Thank you for today," she muttered reluctantly.
"Now that's something sensible," he replied, continuing to dress her wound with the same nonchalant sarcasm.
Anna rolled her eyes, thinking: Maybe I should take back my thanks. He probably doesn't need it anyway.