This time, the job Su Hao had found was very close to the Huahui Community—she could walk there. She walked ahead, and the man behind her followed. Su Hao gritted her teeth. Is this person not going to leave me alone?

Fortunately, she soon entered the community, not looking back, and headed straight up the stairs.

The community had a security gate, so Zhou Yang couldn’t follow her. He looked around, thinking about whether he could buy this place. It seemed fairly new, with a high occupancy rate.

Beep beep. Two sounds went off, and Zhou Yang, hands in his pockets, turned to see a Hummer of the same model stop nearby. The window rolled down, and Xu Dian, wearing silver-rimmed glasses, leaned slightly on the window edge, smiling. “What’s up? Copying me?”

Zhou Yang clicked his tongue. “Guess.”

“This isn’t Switzerland; it’s a little tricky,” Xu Dian smiled faintly.

Zhou Yang stood straight, the bruise on his arm making him look a little rogue. “You can deliver someone, I can too.”

“Really? Didn’t sleep all night?”

“Are you here just to watch the show?”

Xu Dian chuckled. “Not exactly.”

Zhou Yang’s face darkened. He walked over and kicked the car door, then sighed helplessly, leaning against the vehicle. He looked down and lit a cigarette. “She’s stubborn. Too difficult.”

“Have you made up your mind?” Xu Dian asked, one hand on the steering wheel, glancing at him. “Chasing her might not be as easy as before.”

Zhou Yang looked down, fiddling with his cigarette, eyes closed. “I’ve thought about it for a month… and in the end…”

“No escape,” Xu Dian laughed.

“Serves you right,” Zhou Yang muttered.

Metong Company targeted Southeast Asia, as European business hadn’t been so profitable in recent years. Many companies, including Metong, shifted focus there. Southeast Asia had a huge integrated network, and Metong wanted to compete for traffic on the platform.

Su Hao was responsible for the beauty section—lipsticks, lip balms, and eyeshadows were top sellers.

These days happened to coincide with a promotional campaign. Traffic skyrocketed, and Su Hao was constantly refreshing products on the backend.

Customer inquiries increased accordingly.

Two companies, Lianwo and Chengfeng, were competing with Su Hao for traffic, as she was the only female employee in the company.

Whenever the three R&D staff had free time, they came over with snacks for Su Hao.

The boss’s wife, Qiqi, standing behind her, said, “Su Hao, your math seems pretty good. You’re great at timing the refreshes.”

Su Hao smiled. “I figured out the pattern.”

Qiqi nodded. “You’re selling much better than them.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Qiqi slyly took a cookie from Su Hao’s desk and walked off while eating. Xiao Qi, one of the R&D staff, sat next to Su Hao. “Did you get any emails?”

Su Hao was busy replying to inquiries. After finishing a string of English responses, she looked up. “What emails?”

Xiao Qi blinked. “Acquisition emails.”

Su Hao paused. “Metong is being acquired?”

“Our site is doing well, so someone wants to buy it. The other two companies are being acquired too. The investors want a monopoly.”

Su Hao frowned. “Do we have to give in?”

“I don’t think the boss wants to. He’s only looking for investors.”

Su Hao nodded.

“That’s right.”

Investors allow you to keep operational control; if acquired, that control disappears. Su Hao relaxed—she had just started this job and already faced such matters.

Just then, her company email pinged. Xiao Qi got nervous. “Open it and see.”

Su Hao moved the mouse and clicked.

The email read: “Fei Festival General Office”
Signed: Lu Qi

Su Hao: “……”

Zhou Yang really didn’t leave her alone.

Xiao Qi exclaimed, “Another acquisition!”

Su Hao held her forehead. If we get acquired, I’ll end up working for the Zhou Group again. Xiao Qi called out: “Boss! Boss! Another one!”

“What’s coming?” The boss, surnamed Yan, rushed out and, upon seeing the email, spat. “Tell him to buzz off. Don’t be polite.”

Su Hao coughed and typed a few words in reply.

Overnight, the videos showed Zhou Yang entering military tech. Everyone could feel his presence, leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets.

Seeing people examining models, Assistant Lu whispered, “Director Zhou, the email to Metong has been sent, but… they replied.”

Zhou Yang frowned and looked over.

Assistant Lu opened the page for him. The reply was a single word: “Thanks, but go away.”

Zhou Yang squinted. “Who replied?”

Assistant Lu lowered his voice. “Su Hao.”

Zhou Yang: “……”

Assistant Lu continued, “Recently, Lianwo hasn’t been able to compete with Metong. Today, during the event, Su Hao captured most of the traffic. Miss Su is impressive—she’s not just good at bookkeeping; she’s excellent at foreign sales too.”

Zhou Yang rubbed his brow. “I never thought she’d be bad. With her personality, she can thrive anywhere.”

He had asked Su Hao to leave the small company that morning because he planned a major acquisition. Investors preferred to control everything.

Now was the perfect time to export Chinese brands to Southeast Asia. Zhou Yang planned to acquire these three small companies and merge them into a large one.

Unexpectedly, Su Hao had joined the toughest one and still had the nerve to act difficult. Impressive.

He popped a mint into his mouth, chewing while his mind lingered on her gentle smile.

Due to the campaign, Su Hao worked until almost 6:30 p.m. Coincidentally, Xiao Qi finished at the same time, and the two left together as darkness fell.

At the community entrance, a tall, handsome man casually leaned against a car, smoking. Seeing Su Hao, he straightened instinctively but noticed the man beside her.

His expression shifted slightly. Without revealing it, he clenched the cigarette between his teeth and walked to Su Hao’s side.

Xiao Qi was mid-sentence but froze, intimidated by the tall man.

Su Hao furrowed her brow and glanced at him.

Zhou Yang smiled faintly. “Have you had dinner? Let me take you.”

Su Hao ignored him and kept walking.

Electric bikes and scooters occasionally zoomed past. Suddenly, Zhou Yang grabbed her wrist, pulling her back a few steps. Su Hao was startled, about to speak.

His hand released, returning to his pocket. Slightly leaning down, he said, “I didn’t mean it. I just want to make sure you’re safe, right?”

“This area is a little messy. How about I get you a new apartment tomorrow?” He tilted his body slightly, looking down at her, collar slightly open, a playful smile in his eyes.

Su Hao glanced up; their eyes met.

The light was bright and chaotic. He had a faint smile but seemed slightly nervous. Su Hao suddenly asked, “What do you want?”

“To date you,” he said.

After speaking, Zhou Yang straightened, eyes narrow and cold, scanning Xiao Qi. “Leave.”

Xiao Qi jumped, reflexively about to go, but still stood her ground. Su Hao, annoyed, grabbed his collar. “Don’t treat my colleague like that!”

Zhou Yang was startled.

He bit his teeth, paused for a few seconds, then slightly lowered his head. “Fine, I won’t. You can just talk to me—I’ll be happy with that.”

Veins bulged in his pocketed arm.

She was protecting this man, and this man—what the hell!

Damn it, he even walked her home!

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