Night had fallen deep, and the food in the villa’s dining room was just right.
Su Tang held a small bowl in her hands, eating mouthful by mouthful, looking absentminded.
Behind her, two servants spoke in hushed voices.
“Surprisingly, Sir has been coming home for dinner these past few days.”
“Yeah. Ever since Miss Su arrived, Sir has been eating at home.”
The voices were very soft, but Su Tang still heard them.
She could not help feeling puzzled.
Had Lu Zheng not eaten dinner at home before she came?
Could it be that he was doing it just to keep her company?
The thought had barely crossed her mind when Su Tang shook her head vigorously.
What did she mean, he was doing it to keep her company?
She must have been working too hard these past few days and had worked herself into imagining things.
She secretly glanced at the man sitting across from her. He was chewing his food slowly and methodically, completely ignoring the servants’ conversation.
Most of the dishes on the table were things she liked.
But she really had no appetite.
She had only been on the job for a few days, yet she finally understood what people meant when they said that different fields were worlds apart.
She had always thought a secretary’s work was simply organizing documents and making spreadsheets.
Only after actually getting started did she realize that the document standards, filing requirements, meeting-minute formats, business terminology, and countless other aspects of the president’s office were all extremely meticulous and demanding.
She had entered the field with no prior experience, and there were many professional details she knew absolutely nothing about.
During the day, she could only rely on Xu Yan’s guidance to muddle through.
But Xu Yan will be leaving her job next week. What was she going to do then?
There was always a heavy weight hanging over her heart, and she was afraid that one day she would make a mistake and cause trouble.
“Eat your dinner. What are you thinking about?”
Su Tang came back to herself and realized that she was biting her chopsticks. She quickly said, “It’s nothing, just something about work.”
Lu Zheng put down his chopsticks and looked at her calmly. “You just started working, so it’s understandable that you’re unfamiliar with many of the procedures. Grandma called today and asked me to teach you more.”
Su Tang’s hand holding the chopsticks paused.
An instinctive resistance immediately surfaced in her heart.
She did not like being alone with Lu Zheng.
For the first two days, she had deliberately avoided him whenever it was time for dinner.
It was not until Lu Zheng explicitly told her to come home and eat on time that she realized she could no longer avoid him, so she had started having dinner with him over the past two days.
She had wanted to say that there was no need, but when she met his dark eyes, she could not bring herself to refuse.
He was only helping her become familiar with her work because he was listening to Grandma, so why should she be so difficult about it?
She lowered her long eyelashes, her voice soft and sweet. “Okay.”
A trace of warmth flashed through Lu Zheng’s eyes when he saw her like this. “Come to my study at nine.”
Su Tang nodded.
Lu Zheng said nothing more and got up before leaving the dining room.
The dining room instantly fell silent.
Su Tang lowered her head and stuffed a large mouthful of rice into her mouth, chewing slowly with her cheeks puffed out.
Her heart was filled with mixed emotions.
After quickly finishing dinner, Su Tang washed up, changed into a soft set of loungewear, and gently knocked on the study door.
“Come in.”
The door was not closed, so Su Tang pushed it open and walked inside.
The study was bathed in warm yellow light.
When she looked up, she saw Lu Zheng standing in front of the enormous floor-to-ceiling window with his back to her.
He had just taken a shower and was wearing a loose, pure-black silk robe.
The collar hung loosely open, revealing the elegant lines of his cool, fair collarbones.
The thin belt around his waist was not tied tightly and hung casually, perfectly outlining his broad shoulders and narrow waist.
His short black hair was still slightly damp, and droplets of water slowly slid from the ends of his hair onto the skin along his neck.
It gave him a fragile quality that he normally did not possess.
The entire study was filled with the clean, refreshing scent of his shower.
Su Tang stood at the doorway, her smile stiffening slightly.
Damn, that physique and that presence, wasn’t this practically an invitation to be tempted?
He was clearly the most restrained, aloof, and abstinent man imaginable, yet simply standing there in such a relaxed and languid manner gave him an overwhelming allure.
No wonder every woman in the company, no, countless wealthy young ladies and beautiful women throughout the entire capital were hopelessly infatuated with him.
He really had everything going for him.
Su Tang hurriedly pulled her wandering thoughts back and did not dare look at him anymore.
“Brother Lu Zheng.”
The man turned around, his expression unchanged and his voice steady. “Come in and sit.”
He casually pulled out the solid-wood chair beside the desk.
Su Tang obediently walked over and took her seat.
Her gaze fell upon the spacious mahogany desk in front of her.
The desktop was spotless and neatly organized, with a stack of documents specifically used by the president’s office arranged into different categories, including standardization manuals and meeting-minute templates.
She asked softly in confusion, “Are all of these… professional materials for a secretary’s position?”
“Yes.”
Lu Zheng walked around to sit opposite her. His long, slender fingers opened one of the documents, his movements calm and elegant.
Su Tang looked up, unable to believe it. “Do you even know the basic work of a secretary in the president’s office?”
She had always thought that he understood top-level business decisions, group operations, and battles in the capital markets, but surely he would never have had to deal with such tedious clerical work.
Lu Zheng lowered his eyes as he flipped through the documents, his tone indifferent. “I minored in Business Administration at university. Administrative secretarial work was a basic required course.”
After a pause, he added, “Even if it isn’t a specialized course, you can learn the basic logic of document work after looking at it for a few days.”
It was a simple statement, yet it carried the overwhelming confidence of someone with exceptional intelligence.
Su Tang’s eyes widened, and she could not help marveling inwardly.
Handsome, wealthy, mature, steady, emotionally composed, possessing immense power, and a super scholar who could outshine everyone else.
Heaven really had been too biased toward Lu Zheng, giving him every good quality imaginable!
No wonder so many people kept throwing themselves at him like moths flying into a flame.
She obediently straightened her back and said with a serious expression, “Then let’s begin. I’ll definitely study hard.”
Lu Zheng glanced at her, took a notebook and fountain pen, and pushed them toward her. Then he leaned closer and patiently taught her everything step by step.
His explanations were clear and easy to understand, without a single obscure technical term, and he was exceptionally patient.
He was clearly the powerful man who commanded a massive group, yet at this moment, he patiently guided her through the most basic and tedious clerical tasks.
As time slowly passed, the only sound in the study was the man’s deep, pleasant voice as he explained everything.
At first, Su Tang was still quite focused, but as the night grew deeper, the warm study became far too comfortable. Combined with the tension and exhaustion from work during the day, sleepiness gradually crept over her.
Her head grew heavier and heavier, her eyelids began to droop, and even the writing beneath her pen became crooked and messy.
She stubbornly tried to keep her eyes wide open, but within a few seconds, her head began bobbing up and down like a sleepy little kitten.
Lu Zheng finished explaining a section and looked up, only to see her like this.
The corners of his lips curved slightly. He raised his hand and tapped her smooth, full forehead with his knuckles.
“Tap.”
Su Tang suddenly lifted her head, her eyes hazy with sleep, her pair of moist, almond-shaped eyes filled with confusion and grievance.
Her long eyelashes trembled slightly like the wings of a startled little butterfly.
She looked both pitiful and obedient.
Lu Zheng put down the documents in his hand, his voice gentle. “If you’re this sleepy, then take a ten-minute break.”
The sleepy Su Tang felt as though she had just been granted a reprieve when she heard this.
Her little face immediately blossomed into a sweet smile. “Thank you, Brother Lu Zheng~”
She was simply too tired. The moment she finished speaking, her head tilted to the side, and she fell deeply asleep against the desk.
Her breathing became even and slow as she completely let down her guard.
Lu Zheng remained seated, his gaze resting on her peaceful sleeping face as he quietly watched her.
At this moment, the girl was nothing but soft and sweet, completely different from the distant and wary little figure she usually presented.
As he watched her, the normally cold, restrained, and unruffled lines of his brows and eyes gradually softened.
No one knew how much time had passed when he suddenly stood up and gently lifted the sleeping girl into his arms, striding toward the guest room.
Su Tang was petite, her entire body light and soft.
She instinctively leaned closer into the man’s embrace, finding a comfortable position before sinking into an even deeper sleep.
Lu Zheng’s movements paused for a moment. Then he lightened his steps and quickly carried her into her bedroom.
He gently placed her in the middle of the soft bed and pulled the covers over her.
The girl on the bed slept peacefully, her long eyelashes resting quietly against the skin beneath her eyes, her complexion fair as snow.
Lu Zheng straightened and stood silently beside the bed. The warm light fell across his sharply defined profile, softening all of its usual severity and coldness.
After a long while, he raised his hand, wanting to brush away a loose strand of hair that had fallen beside her cheek.
Just as his fingertip was about to touch her, he suddenly stopped.
His gaze lingered on her fair little face for several seconds before he turned around and quietly closed the door behind him.