Zhou Moyan casually tossed a file to Linda, shooting her a meaningful glance.
Linda truly lived up to her title as chief secretary.
"Is it urgent? Well then," Tian Youyou gave Linda her address after being convinced.
She was diagnosed with acute suppurative tonsillitis; the doctor said a few days of IV antibiotics would do the trick. After her fever subsided, she could go home.
As Tian Youyou and Han Chong, laden with bags, stepped outside, Linda had already arrived.
"Sorry to bother you! The company needs a copy of your ID and your signature for the staff's salary progression; I really couldn't delay it any longer," Linda explained apologetically.
From a distance, a man sat in his car, watching Tian Youyou in her pajamas, casually draped in a coat, laughing and chatting intimately with a young man. He felt like grinding his teeth to dust.
He couldn't pinpoint exactly when the ice in his heart began to melt, feeling again that his actions were influenced and entangled by her presence; it was both wonderful and perilous.
Damn it, as Linda followed Tian Youyou upstairs, that young man also entered, casually placing his hand on Tian Youyou's shoulder.
Zhou Moyan itched to dash up there, rip his arm away, and give him a beating.
He couldn't stand to watch any longer, or he'd undoubtedly lose control. He drove away from Tian Youyou's neighborhood.
To Tian Youyou's surprise, Han Chong insisted on staying to take care of her, claiming he was good at looking after the sick and could double as a bodyguard.
Considering Han Chong's culinary skills, and since he was alone too, Tian Youyou did not object.
Though Han Chong was clingy, he respected her greatly. In his own words, the difference between Tian Youyou and Han Miaomiao was stark; perhaps that's why he'd accepted Tian Youyou right from the start.
The next day, Tian Youyou and Han Chong went downstairs together. Han Chong, worried about her, insisted on escorting her to work, jokingly asked, "Sis, you don't have a pretty boy boyfriend at work, do you? Why else wouldn't you let me escort you?"
"Get lost! Go to work and stop being nosy," Tian Youyou kicked him playfully, and Han Chong, pretending to be scared, hurried off to work.
Pretty boy—when Han Chong used that term, Zhou Moyan's face unaccountably came to mind. Was he a pretty boy?
Zhou Moyan was undoubtedly handsome, his features finely chiseled not with the effeminate beauty of modern idols but with a charisma filled with virility.
The sound of a car horn interrupted Tian Youyou's thoughts as she walked to her company.
The horn sounded again, and she saw a black SUV parked by the curb. The window rolled down, and she jumped in surprise.
"Get in!" Zhou Moyan's cool voice was unmistakably compelling.
Regardless, Zhou Moyan was her boss now, offering her a ride was not something she could easily refuse.
She hesitated, then opened the passenger door.
"You think I'm your driver?" His displeasure was evident.
Silently, Tian Youyou closed the passenger door and got in.
Zhou Moyan glanced at her arrogantly, leaning towards her.
Unsure of his intentions, Tian Youyou instinctively recoiled, bumping into the window.
Zhou Moyan, suppressing a smile, reached over to fasten her seatbelt.
Tian Youyou exhaled in relief, having thought too ill of him.
The car started, and Zhou Moyan spoke again, "Who was that guy?"
"Ah?" Tian Youyou was momentarily confused, realizing he meant Han Chong. "Do you need to be that familiar with everyone? To be hugging and holding?"
Before she could respond, Zhou Moyan mocked her disdainfully.
"Mr. Zhou, I'm single now. Who I hug is my right. Does the company have a policy that allows the boss to interfere in employees' private lives?"
Zhou Moyan slammed on the brakes, propelling her forward almost into the windshield.
"Zhou Moyan! Are you crazy? People could die!"
"You're afraid of dying? Then don't flirt with other men!"
Zhou Moyan, I've died once before. But I feel that not being believed by the one I love makes life worse than death. Do you understand?
But Tian Youyou wouldn't say that out loud, "Do you think death is the scariest thing?"
Zhou Moyan abruptly grabbed her wrist, staring into her eyes, "Tell me what is this?"
"Will you believe me if I tell you? Did you ever listen to my side of the story three years ago?" Tears streamed down Tian Youyou's face.
She had been confined by Tian Sheng, forced into an engagement with Zhou Haoyan in three days. She had escaped to find Zhou Moyan, only to be told by his family that he had left and never wanted to see her again.
If he had believed her even slightly, he would have questioned the events of that day rather than cutting off all ways she could explain.
As she slashed her wrist that day, she thought her fate with Zhou Moyan was sealed.
Zhou Moyan's grip slowly loosened.
Once, Tian Youyou's tears were his weakness, and unexpectedly, they still were. He had been seriously ill in Germany and had heard no word from Tian Youyou about explaining the incident.
He only knew that before he arrived, the media had started to cover her upcoming engagement to his brother extensively. He hadn't had the courage to face or listen to the news of that day.
After recovering, his pride wouldn't allow him to reach out or forgive her.
"My phone number has never changed!" He hadn't blocked her explanations, wanting to know why she hadn't sought him out in three years to explain. "No, I tried all your contact methods. I couldn't reach you at all!" Tian Youyou had been truly desperate then.
Zhou Moyan's heart clenched, a certain person coming to mind.
Xie Xinyan, during his illness, had stayed by his side, caring for him. Could it be... "I never got engaged to your brother. How did that situation end?" Tian Youyou glanced at the scar on her wrist.
Zhou Moyan said nothing, imagining the extreme measures the strong-willed Tian Youyou would have taken.
The icy barrier in his heart seemed to shatter in an instant.
They were about to reach the company. Tian Youyou asked Zhou Moyan to stop the car, not wanting to be seen getting out of her boss's car under everyone's scrutiny.
Zhou Moyan complied, stopping the car to let her out before he drove to the garage.
"Mr. Zhou!" Assistant Zhang's call was timely, "We've found who made the investment in Tian Sheng's company."
"Continue!"
"It's a personal account, currently unlinked to Tian Sheng. Keep investigating!"
He increasingly felt that the incident three years ago wasn't aimed at Tian Youyou but had a deeper motive, clouded by his own rage at the time.
Tian Youyou reached her office slightly before Zhou Moyan, the car ride seeming to have opened a slim crack in the mountain between them, lifting her spirits in an unprecedented way.
She had missed a single day of work, yet the backlog was enough to keep her busy, proof of the heartless nature of her capitalist boss. "Moyan, you wouldn't believe how boring it was for me in Germany without you. I couldn't stand a day there!" A tender voice followed by a young woman clinging to Zhou Moyan's arm walked in.
Her white dress and tea-brown curly hair made her pale skin look even more delicate, clearly a well-bred princess.