A new day passed in a flurry of work for Wen Yu.
That was how people were. Once the thought of leaving took root, time seemed to drag on especially slowly.
After work that evening, Wen Yu took a shower. Then she pulled a calendar out of the drawer and crossed out the 26th.
Twenty-five days left on the countdown.
Just then, she heard a sound coming from the entrance. Wen Yu quickly put the calendar back in the drawer and closed it.
The lights in the living room were dim.
Gu Huaizhi stumbled slightly as he changed his shoes. His tie had been pulled loose and hung crookedly around his neck, while his suit jacket was casually draped over his arm.
His hair was slightly disheveled, and his face looked pale and unwell. His brows were tightly furrowed, and one hand was pressed against his stomach.
This was what Wen Yu saw when she came out.
She hurried over and turned on the lights.
“What’s wrong?”
As she approached, she caught the strong smell of alcohol coming from him. Tiny beads of sweat had also gathered along his temples.
She reached out to support him, but Gu Huaizhi avoided her hand and walked around her, heading straight for the sofa.
Wen Yu froze for a moment before slowly lowering the hand she had extended.
Gu Huaizhi reached the sofa and collapsed onto it. He curled up slightly, eyes closed, his breathing somewhat labored.
Standing where she was, Wen Yu looked at him and immediately realized that his stomach problem had flared up again.
Whenever he worked, he would forget to eat and sleep. He also had countless social engagements and drank heavily. Over the years, all of that had left him with chronic stomach pain.
But he had always been good at enduring it and rarely let anyone see his vulnerable side.
Seeing him like this, Wen Yu sighed and walked into the kitchen.
With practiced movements, she took out some honey and boiled a kettle of water.
While waiting for the water to boil, she returned to the living room and pulled a small medicine box from the drawer beneath the TV cabinet.
After carefully reading the instructions, she took out two pills.
Once the water boiled, she mixed it with honey and adjusted it to a comfortable temperature. Then she carried the medicine and the cup over to the sofa.
She slowly crouched down beside him and spoke softly.
“Mr. Gu, drink some honey water first, then take your medicine. You’ll feel a little better.”
Gu Huaizhi slowly opened his eyes. His eyes were bloodshot.
He stared at her with a dazed look, as though he couldn’t immediately remember who she was.
Wen Yu waited, but he continued to stare at her without moving.
After a moment, she held the cup and medicine out a little farther.
Perhaps the cramping pain in his stomach had become unbearable. He frowned slightly before reaching out and taking the cup from her.
His hand trembled faintly from the pain, so Wen Yu supported the bottom of the cup to steady it.
Gu Huaizhi drank several sips of the honey water with her help. Then he took the pills and swallowed them with the water.
Throughout the entire process, he remained silent.
After taking the medicine, he leaned back against the sofa again and closed his eyes. His brows were still tightly furrowed.
Wen Yu stood up and looked at his somewhat vulnerable profile.
The strange emotions she had forcefully buried deep inside her heart began to surface again.
She rarely ever saw Gu Huaizhi like this.
The usual dominance and coldness had faded away, leaving behind only the helplessness brought on by physical pain.
Silently, she picked up the jacket he had casually tossed aside and hung it on the coat rack.
Then she went to the bathroom, soaked a towel in warm water, and returned.
“Mr. Gu, put this on your forehead. It should help a little.”
She bent down and placed the warm towel against his forehead.
Just as she was about to straighten up and leave, her wrist suddenly tightened.
A scorching hand had grabbed her.
His grip was strong enough to hurt her, yet he kept his eyes closed, as though the movement had been made unconsciously.
“Don’t go…” he murmured.
Wen Yu’s breathing stopped for a moment.
Had he mistaken her for someone else?
A few minutes later, Gu Huaizhi fell asleep, and his grip on her wrist gradually loosened.
Wen Yu slowly pulled her wrist free from his grasp.
She steadied herself, then went into the bedroom and brought out a thin blanket. She helped him lie properly on the sofa and covered him with it.
She crouched beside the sofa.
There were very few opportunities for her to look at him so openly.
She gently touched his face with her fingertips, tracing the high bridge of his nose before smoothing out the creases between his brows.
His breathing was even. A few strands of hair had fallen across his forehead. His cheeks and thin lips looked somewhat pale, while his usually sharp features had lost some of their fierceness.
In sleep, he looked almost like a docile beast that had finally been tamed.
Over the next two days, Gu Huaizhi returned to his usual cold and composed self, as though his loss of control that night had never happened.
Wen Yu also did her best to push the ripples that night had caused back into the depths of her heart and continued playing the role of his calm and capable secretary.
On Friday afternoon, Gu Huaizhi surprisingly had no important appointments.
He picked up the car keys and said to Wen Yu, who was organizing some documents,
“I won’t be coming back to the office this afternoon. Call me if anything urgent comes up.”
“Understood, Mr. Gu.”
Wen Yu nodded.
Gu Huaizhi drove directly to a golf club in the eastern suburbs.
Lu Chen was already there. He was one of Gu Huaizhi’s childhood friends.
At that moment, he was wearing a flashy, brightly colored polo shirt and waving a golf club around on the course.
His form was impeccable.
Unfortunately, the ball simply refused to go into the hole.
“Tsk, Boss Gu. You’re busy every day, yet you finally decided to come out and get some fresh air?”
When Lu Chen saw him, he tossed aside his club and grinned as he walked over.
Gu Huaizhi ignored his teasing. He took the club handed to him by the caddie, loosened his wrist, and fixed his sharp gaze on the fairway in the distance.
“Enough nonsense. Tee off.”
After several holes, Lu Chen lost without the slightest suspense.
He had a good temperament, though, and didn’t get annoyed even after losing. Instead, he walked over to Gu Huaizhi, nudged him with his elbow, and asked with a suggestive look,
“Hey, your secretary Wen has been with you for about five years now, hasn’t she?”
Gu Huaizhi’s movement paused almost imperceptibly as he prepared to swing.
Then—
Smack!
The white ball shot through the air in a beautiful arc and landed precisely in the center of the fairway.
He expressionlessly lowered the club.
“Yeah. Why?”
“Tsk, tsk. Five years!”
Lu Chen shook his head, looking utterly amazed.
“That really doesn’t seem like your style, Mr. Gu. Is there something particularly special about Secretary Wen that you’ve kept her around for five years without getting tired of her?”
Gu Huaizhi handed the club back to the caddie and picked up a towel to wipe his hands. His eyes remained fixed on the distance.
“She’s useful. And she saves me trouble.”
“Useful?”
Lu Chen raised an eyebrow, his smile becoming increasingly suggestive.
“What kind of ‘useful’ are we talking about? In terms of work… or in other ways?”
Gu Huaizhi finally glanced at him, a hint of warning in his cold eyes.
“Since when did you become so nosy?”
“I’m just concerned about my brother’s love life!”
Lu Chen wasn’t intimidated in the slightest.
Still grinning, he continued, “Seriously, Huaizhi. Five years isn’t something you can explain away with a simple ‘she’s useful.’ You really don’t have any other feelings for her? Like… feelings that developed over time?”
Gu Huaizhi looked as though he had just heard a joke. The corner of his lips curled into a faint, cold smile.
“There’s only a contract between us. We each get what we need. Love? That would be unnecessary.”
Lu Chen looked at him. The teasing expression disappeared from his face, replaced by a thoughtful gaze.
He spoke slowly.
“Huaizhi, you know, sometimes the easiest person to deceive is yourself. Are you sure you’re merely accustomed to using her, rather than… accustomed to having her by your side?”
“Accustomed to having her take care of everything so perfectly?”
“Accustomed to her quietly becoming a part of your life?”
“Even accustomed to… her as a person?”
Gu Huaizhi frowned, clearly displeased with the subject.
He turned and walked toward the next tee, his voice once again turning cold.
“There’s nothing complicated about it. She knows her place and never crosses the line. As both a secretary and a partner, she does her job well. That’s all.”
Lu Chen followed behind him, rubbing his chin.
“That sounds perfectly reasonable. But somehow, I feel like people like that are the ones you need to be most careful about.”
“You’ve treated her like an object that happens to suit you for five years. Have you ever thought that an ‘object’ can have a mind of its own?”
“What if one day, this useful and trouble-free ‘object’ doesn’t want to be used by you anymore?”
Gu Huaizhi’s footsteps suddenly stopped.
Doesn’t want to be used anymore?
They had a contract between them, after all.
Gu Huaizhi pressed his lips together tightly and said nothing more.
He picked up the golf club again, his sharp eyes fixed on the ball ahead.
With another swing, the white golf ball shot through the air.
Lu Chen watched his tense profile and helplessly shook his head.
Keep pretending you’re not affected.
Just wait until you fall for her. Then I’ll have a field day teasing you.
Meanwhile, back at the office, Wen Yu was checking the final document when she suddenly sneezed softly.
She rubbed her nose and glanced at the bright sunlight outside the window.
I wonder who’s thinking about me?
It’s probably my Mom.