The moment the words left his mouth, Lu Qi regretted them. Zhou Yang whipped his head around to look at him.

 

Lu Qi pressed his lips together, tightened his grip on his coat, and felt a little guilty. A few seconds later, Zhou Yang gave a cold snort. “Is that how everyone looks at me?”

 

Then he withdrew his hand, straightened his shirt collar, and walked toward Tang Rui’s office door. Just before reaching it, he paused and said, “I really was wrong.”

 

His voice was low, tinged with helplessness.

 

Lu Qi followed silently behind him.

 

It was easy to see how President Zhou had changed during this period. A person’s changes show not only in their words and actions, but even in their brows and eyes—especially judging from everything that had happened recently.

 

None of it was something Zhou Yang would have done before.

 

He never got jealous over girlfriends, never cared about their pasts, and had no interest in knowing more. They could only go along with his wishes, let alone dare to show him attitude. Who would dare? Every time, they tested the waters cautiously—if he was in a good mood, they’d pout a little. If Zhou Yang was feeling generous, he’d turn a blind eye. But if he was in a bad mood, he’d give that half-smile, half-not smile, and a single look was enough to make them behave.

 

That was President Zhou.

 

It was really hard to imagine him chasing after a woman, close enough to see but not to touch, even having to lower his head and curry favor a little.

 

Well.

 

Serves him right.

 

That morning, Cheng Ling woke up early and made quite a lot of egg pancakes. Su Hao packed them up and took them to Meitong. This company wasn’t like Feijie—where even if you didn’t bring breakfast, you could just go downstairs to the cafeteria. Meitong didn’t provide meals; everyone had to fend for themselves. Young people often skipped breakfast just to sleep a few minutes longer.

 

The moment Su Hao brought the breakfast in, the whole office went crazy.

 

Several people grabbed disposable gloves and ate until their mouths were slick with oil. Even Yan Chong, who had still been sleeping in, crawled out of bed, scratching his head as he grabbed a huge piece to eat.

 

The boss lady, Qiqi, ate too, but it was obvious she was in a bad mood. She made herself a cup of milk and completely ignored Yan Chong.

 

Su Hao glanced at her a few times, then sat down at her desk and started dealing with the orders that had come in overnight. She had an app on her phone that showed backend notifications at night. Occasionally, she had to sacrifice some free time to reply, but most of the time it wasn’t too busy. After printing out the orders, Su Hao went to the warehouse.

 

The warehouse was just one room, but it was piled high with goods.

 

Su Hao packed things one by one. There was a sound at the door; she looked back and saw Qiqi. She looked listless, walked over to stand beside her, and helped her check the orders.

 

After thinking for a moment, Su Hao asked, “Are you in a bad mood?”

 

“Yeah,” Qiqi said. “I kind of regret getting married.”

 

“What happened?”

 

“After marriage, all the daily necessities are so annoying. I don’t like his parents, and they don’t like me either, but on holidays I still have to go to their place because of this. It’s really annoying. I don’t want to pretend to like them.” Qiqi sighed and stuck the order label onto the packaging bag. “If I had the choice, I’d date for my whole life and never get married.”

 

Su Hao paused.

 

She bent down to pick up a lipstick, checked it, then packed it away. Once the business picked up more, Meitong would need to expand and hire more people. Su Hao said, “Is marriage really that bad?”

 

“It really is,” Qiqi said, hugging Su Hao’s arm and sighing. “Seriously. You don’t know how many young women in Li City make good money and choose not to marry—just dating and enjoying life.”

 

Su Hao nodded.

 

Big-city girls really did have much more progressive ideas.

 

Lowering her voice, Qiqi said, “Don’t be fooled by Yan Chong’s looks. Even though it’s a small company, quite a lot of people like him. Even after he got married, they still won’t leave him alone. It drives me crazy.”

 

Su Hao froze.

 

She looked at Qiqi.

 

Qiqi shrugged. “I’m not really afraid. This company is mine anyway—he’s just a figurehead. It’s just annoying.”

 

“But you still need to be careful,” Su Hao reminded her.

 

Qiqi nodded. “I know. See, we already argued about it last night. Now neither of us wants to talk.”

 

Yan Chong still hadn’t gotten up yet.

 

Su Hao patted Qiqi on the shoulder to comfort her.

 

After the two of them finished packing in the warehouse and went back out, Qiqi seemed to be in a much better mood. Su Hao pulled out a chair and sat down. Last night, Liao Yun had messaged her, saying he had finished seeing the doctor and was preparing to return to Huijiang City. His only regret was not getting to see Su Hao.

 

Su Hao smiled and replied, There will be another chance.

 

Then she chatted while checking the backend—the afterglow of the promotion was still there.

 

At that moment, the phone on her desk beeped twice.

 

Su Hao opened it.

 

It was a photo sent by Li Yi.

 

She enlarged it.

 

It showed Tang Rui sitting very close to a female colleague. The two of them were talking in low voices. Tang Rui was looking at the woman, his eyes seemingly full of affection.

 

Su Hao frowned.

 

Li Yi: Zhou Yang said you should take a look at this. Shouldn’t you block Tang Rui too? That would be fair.

 

Su Hao: Han Qianqian. I know her. She and Tang Rui have been good friends for many years.

 

Li Yi: ……

 

Li Yi: Oh.

 

On the other end—

 

Zhou Yang, his face dark, tossed the phone back to Li Yi.

 

Li Yi leaned against the sofa, caught it, and glanced at the chat history.

 

He immediately laughed.

 

Taking the cigarette out of his mouth, he shook the phone a few times. “See? Your attempt to stir up trouble failed.”

 

Zhou Yang yanked at his shirt collar hard. “So how do I get her to take me off the blacklist?”

 

Li Yi said, “Kneel?”

 

Zhou Yang: “……”

 

Qiqi was still in a bad mood, and in the afternoon she had another fight with Yan Chong. Before six o’clock, she insisted on dragging Su Hao out shopping. With no choice, Su Hao hurriedly called Cheng Ling to say she wouldn’t be home for dinner, then got in the car with Qiqi and headed to the mall. Having been in Li City for so long, it seemed she’d only come here once or twice before—with Cheng Ling and Su Qian.

 

Qiqi wanted to eat pickled fish, so Su Hao went with her. After that, they noticed massage chairs outside and went for a massage.

 

Su Hao rarely pushed herself like this; she could only sacrifice herself to accompany her friend.

 

Pickled fish took a long time to eat.

 

After venting about her issues with Yan Chong, Qiqi asked Su Hao, “Hao, you’re so pretty—there must be a lot of people chasing you, right?”

 

Su Hao paused with her chopsticks. “No.”

 

But after thinking about it, that sounded a bit fake. She added, “Well… kind of.”

 

“What kind of people?” Qiqi asked curiously, eyes wide.

 

Su Hao looked up and smiled. “Not worth mentioning.”

 

Qiqi said, “It’s okay. You’ll meet someone good.”

 

“You’re so good.”

 

Su Hao smiled again, picked up a piece of fish, and lowered her head to eat. Her neck was slender, her features delicate. Just sitting there, she drew attention. Qiqi propped her chin on her hand and admired her for a moment.

 

After dinner, Qiqi wanted to buy clothes, and Su Hao accompanied her. Qiqi said, “Whenever I feel uncomfortable, I spend money. Once I spend enough, I feel better.”

 

Su Hao nodded. “Stress relief.”

 

“Exactly, hahaha.”

 

After spending several thousand in one go, Qiqi urged Su Hao to buy something too. Su Hao chose a dress. At the end of the month, it would be Su Qian’s birthday.

 

After Su Qian’s birthday, it would be the New Year.

 

Time really did fly.

 

Li City hardly seemed to have a winter. They said it wouldn’t get a bit cold until late December, and even then it followed the lunar calendar. The dress Su Hao bought was a fitted one; it would be fine with a coat on top.

 

After shopping, Qiqi called a taxi, and the two of them got in.

 

Night fell, the bustle unchanged.

 

When the car reached Huahui Residential Complex, Su Hao pushed open the door and got out. In the confusion, she seemed to step on something and took two steps forward.

 

“Su Hao.”

 

A low male voice sounded.

 

Su Hao turned around, frowning.

 

Zhou Yang walked up to her. Lowering his gaze, he glanced down, and a second later he bent down on one knee, lowering himself to tie her shoelaces.

 

Amidst the myriad lights, they shone down on him.

 

All that could be seen was his open collar and the sharp, defined line of his profile.

 

Not far away—

 

Qiqi stood there, stunned.

 

Then, a flamboyant red sports car screeched to a stop. Li Xiu jumped out, staring at Zhou Yang in shock.

 

That…

 

Was that really him?

 

Author’s note:
Ban Jie Cabbage jiggles her leg and asks Li Xiu: Want to guess?

 

See you tomorrow.

 

Let me recommend my next novel, Pretending Not to Care.

 

Synopsis:
【Special Forces, ultra-dominant man.】【Li Yi from The Substitute】

 

During a game of Truth or Dare, she sits on Li Yi’s lap, wraps her arms around his neck, and calls out sweetly, “Big brother~”

 

The taciturn man slowly smokes his cigarette. Smoke curls around them. After a few seconds, he puts it out and says, “Do you think your big brother would like tender grass like you?”

 

Her coquettish expression vanishes instantly. She jumps up. “Do you even know how Truth or Dare works, old man?”

 

Since this man couldn’t be flirted with, she gave up and decided it wasn’t bad to be a little sister instead.

 

On a rainy night, rain patters down. She’s wearing a slip dress, carrying her high heels, about to head out on a date, when she runs into Li Yi just as he’s getting back. Their eyes meet. One second later, Li Yi unbuttons his shirt—one button at a time—as he slowly walks toward her, forcing her to retreat until she’s backed up against the windowsill. Li Yi lowers his head, his collar revealing a scarred collarbone, and says in a low voice, “Going on a date? Did big brother agree?”