"Mom, why don't you just move out with me and escape this torment?"
"No, I can't leave. Miaomiao is too heartless, and Tian Sheng is both greedy and vicious. They won't end up well together. No matter what, Miaomiao is my child; I can't let her go down the wrong path."
Unbeknownst to them, the night stretched on as they chatted away, curling up together on the hospital bed, holding each other close until the light of dawn.
The next morning at six o'clock, Tian Youyou got up quietly, washed up, and went to the hospital's cafeteria to buy breakfast for Lin Yue Rong. She walked through the hospital's garden, which was quiet and empty in the early morning.
"Dad! Are you sure Tian Youyou will agree to marry Mr. Li?" It was Han Miaomiao's all-too-familiar voice.
Tian Youyou instinctively hid herself.
"Hmph! Do you think Mr. Li really wants to marry her? He's already married! And his wife is notoriously fierce," Tian Sheng confessed.
"What? He has a wife? Didn't you say Mr. Li was a widower? Weren't you planning to have Tian Youyou marry Mr. Li?"
Indeed, like father, like daughter!
Tian Youyou's understanding of Tian Sheng plummeted even further.
"What widow? That was all made up. Mr. Li knows Tian Youyou is my foster daughter, he has no intention of marrying her, just fooling around is enough. Ah, although Mr. Li is stronger than me right now, he can't compare to the Zhou family, it's all because that wretch Tian Youyou didn't live up to expectations, talking about it makes me furious!"
"If I had known her thing with Zhou Haoyan wouldn't work out, I wouldn't have tolerated it for so long. I should have returned to the Tian family sooner. You don't know how poor Hou Xiaomei's family is!" Han Miaomiao genuinely complained.
"Ah, man proposes, God disposes. Originally, I and the old fox from the Zhou family drugged her and stripped her naked to Zhou Haoyan's bed, indeed as the old fox demanded to break her off from Zhou Moyan, but my goals were not achieved, too greedy, fantasizing about my foster daughter marrying the Zhou family head..."
Tian Youyou's legs nearly gave way; was this the truth behind that year?
No wonder she could find nothing about that event.
The hotel belonged to the Zhou family; who was this old fox from the Zhou family?
But why did he want to break her and Zhou Moyan apart, even using such extreme methods to ruin another son of the Zhou family?
Tian Youyou couldn't figure it out.
"Let's not talk about this anymore, we're outside after all. My mom might wake up!" Han Miaomiao whispered to Tian Sheng.
Tian Youyou snapped back to reality and quickly left from the other side of the bushes.
Knowing that Han Miaomiao and Tian Sheng had gone to the hospital room and Lin Yue Rong was alright, Tian Youyou ordered Lin Yue Rong's favorite takeout to be delivered there and went directly to the office.
Tian Youyou, carrying her takeout breakfast, walked straight into the office.
Zhou Moyan was standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows facing the door, his posture erect, dressed in a simple but fitting shirt and trousers, his figure accentuated. Bathed in the morning light, he radiated an aura of warmth, a stark contrast to the coldness of their first encounter. For a moment, Tian Youyou felt as if she was transported back three years.
"Really making yourself at home!" Zhou Moyan surveyed Tian Youyou, his lips curving into a slight smile, making her question her senses again. How could he smile at her?
"Good morning, Mr. Zhou, oh, I mean, Mr. Moyan," since Zhou's company had more than one Mr. Zhou, everyone called Zhou Moyan as Mr. Moyan to avoid confusion.
"Eating during work hours again, planning to get your salary docked this month?" Zhou Moyan glanced at the takeaway breakfast she was holding, his brows knitting in displeasure.
"It's not even work time yet, look, there's still ten minutes to go, I can definitely finish breakfast by then!"
Tian Youyou lifted the breakfast in her hand, quickly retreating to her rest area to deal with the meal. These past few days she had barely eaten; if she didn't eat now, she might faint from low blood sugar.
"Such a pig," Zhou Moyan muttered under his breath.
Tian Youyou was momentarily dazed.
She loved to eat, and he would tease her, calling her a greedy pig. She would pout, asking why she couldn't be a cute greedy cat instead, and he would say, greedy cats were too common, only a greedy pig was unique.
Looking back, it was all affection then; now, probably just disdain.
Tian Youyou quickly pulled her thoughts back to reality, reminding herself of the present relationship with Zhou Moyan—just a boss and an employee, nothing more.
Zhou Moyan was busy all day, swamped with calls and meetings, while she and the secretarial team were bustling with tasks. It wasn't until Linda tapped her on the shoulder, "Dear, I'm off now, see you tomorrow!" did she realize it was already seven in the evening.
Linda, as the head of the secretarial team, signaled that Mr. Moyan wouldn't be asking for more today. She usually left just after him.
"Time to leave! When is Mr. Moyan leaving?" If it were the old days, she might have pretended to cry and howl to be let off work, but now she only dared to complain internally.
Her work was done for the day; Tian Youyou timed her dinner order so that it would arrive just as Zhou Moyan was leaving.
She was busy browsing the food delivery app when suddenly a WeChat message from Mr. Li popped up, "Dear Youyou, I'm coming to pick you up from work. How about dinner together?" followed by a disgustingly cheesy emoticon. Remembering Mr. Li's lecherous gaze, Tian Youyou felt a chill.
She was wondering how to reply when her phone was snatched away.
"Who is this?" Zhou Moyan held the phone in front of her, his tone suddenly cold.
Tian Youyou looked down, fingers intertwined, wishing she could just disappear.
"You did agree to date him, can't back out now!"
"No worries, I'm very patient with girls..."
"I know you're still at work, I'm waiting at your company's doorstep..."
Mr. Li's messages kept coming. Tian Youyou reached out to grab the phone from Zhou Moyan, who dodged her attempt.
"What are you doing? Give it back!" Tian Youyou was getting angry.
"Who is he?" Zhou Moyan's voice was even colder.
"It's none of your business!" Tian Youyou really didn't know how to explain to her ex-boyfriend, now boss.
"Fine!" Zhou Moyan scoffed, a hint of despair in his eyes. Suddenly, he grabbed Tian Youyou's arm and dragged her outside, heedless of her protests, almost as if he had lost his mind.
"Can't interfere? I'll show you whether I can or not! Tian Youyou, are you lacking men or money? I'll return every humiliation you gave me!"
"What are you doing? Let go of me!..."
The more Tian Youyou struggled, the tighter Zhou Moyan gripped her, stumbling to the ground floor lobby, which was still brightly lit with security personnel around, and Mr. Li's Maybach conspicuously parked at the entrance.
Zhou Moyan stopped, wrapping his arms around Tian Youyou, suddenly pulling her into a kiss. More of a savage bite than a kiss.
Tian Youyou was pinned down helplessly, pushing and whimpering. No matter how she pleaded, he was indifferent.
She knew he was doing this to humiliate her in front of Mr. Li.
As expected, Mr. Li charged over, shouting, "Let go!"
Tian Youyou took the opportunity to bite Zhou Moyan's lip, and he finally released her.
"What? Playing hero?" Zhou Moyan licked his lips, mockingly watching Mr. Li.
This intense and tumultuous confrontation between past intimacies and current conflicts, underlined by Zhou Moyan's deep-seated bitterness and unresolved feelings, sets a dramatic stage for the unfolding narrative.