Huo Shengbai sat quietly at the milk tea shop, the sunlight from the window outlining his handsome profile, his demeanor elegant and noble.
What Wen Zhili didn’t know was that just a minute ago, when this noble and elegant man caught a glimpse of her returning figure from the corner of his eye, he had quickly tossed both milk tea cups into the trash bin, destroying the “evidence.”
He was terrified that Wen Zhili would discover his perverted and obsessive behavior.
Completely unaware, Wen Zhili walked toward Huo Shengbai. “Let’s go.”
Huo Shengbai replied, “Okay.”
Wen Zhili noticed that there were no milk tea cups on the table but didn’t think much of it, assuming the staff had cleaned up.
She and Huo Shengbai walked out of the milk tea shop together.
Huo Shengbai asked, “Are you going home? I can take you.”
Wen Zhili shook her head and, without much thought, blurted out, “No, I want to go back to school to see my counselor.”
Huo Shengbai probed, “Why are you seeing the counselor? Did something happen?”
Wen Zhili realized she had let it slip.
A hesitant expression flickered across her brow.
Should she tell Huo Shengbai?
But after a moment’s thought, she decided against it.
She couldn’t always rely on Huo Shengbai to solve all her problems.
Instead of telling the truth, Wen Zhili said lightly, “It’s nothing, just some academic matters I need to discuss with her.”
A subtle glint flashed in Huo Shengbai’s eyes but quickly vanished into the gentle waves of his gaze.
It seemed his Lili still didn’t trust him and didn’t want him to protect her.
Huo Shengbai’s tone remained unchanged as he pretended not to know. “Alright, then let me take you to school, okay?”
This time, Wen Zhili didn’t refuse.
However, she assumed Huo Shengbai would only drop her off at the school gate, never expecting that his “taking her” meant escorting her all the way to the counselor’s office door.
Huo Shengbai asked gently, “Do you need me to come in with you?”
Wen Zhili shook her head. “No need, just wait for me here. Or you can leave first.”
Huo Shengbai glanced at his watch. “I don’t have anything to do today. I’m free, so I’ll wait for you.”
His assistant, Lu Ting, standing behind him, thought: ????
Who said you’re free?
You just turned down a business deal worth hundreds of millions!
But Lu Ting only dared to grumble silently in his heart, not daring to expose the CEO’s lie.
“Alright, then.”
Wen Zhili knocked on the office door several times before someone inside allowed her to enter.
Walking into the office, Wen Zhili saw Counselor Li Wei applying red nail polish, not even looking up as she said, “Speak. What do you want?”
Wen Zhili recounted the incident of being slandered with malicious rumors and placed the evidence she had gathered on the table.
Li Wei didn’t even glance at the report on the table, her expression filled with impatience as she habitually evaded the issue. “Fine, I understand. We’ll investigate this matter immediately. But, Wen, you’re all classmates. Why make such a big deal out of it? How could you go to the police!”
“They spread malicious rumors in the group chat, using all sorts of vulgar language.”
Li Wei sneered, “Wen, it’s just a few words from some boys. Why are you so petty? If you didn’t do anything, why would they say it?”
Wen Zhili could see that Li Wei had no intention of resolving the matter and didn’t want to waste any more words on her.
“Fine. Since you can’t handle it, I’ll go to the principal.”Li Wei sneered, “Go ahead and try! If the principal listens to you, I’ll twist my head off. At such a young age, you don’t learn anything good, just do dirty things. Can’t handle being criticized? Hah. If you have the guts, don’t go selling yourself!”
Li Wei didn’t care at all. Her uncle was the vice principal, and even the principal usually gave her some face when they met.
Wen Zhili sneered, reaching into her pocket to touch her phone.
From the moment she entered, she had been recording.
Pushing the door open and stepping out of the counselor’s office, she saw the man leaning against the wall.
The wind blew through his hair, revealing his beautiful forehead.
The cigarette held between his fingertips burned with a haze, blurring his eyes and giving his usually cold yet gentle demeanor a touch of enchantment.
Wen Zhili felt a bit dazed.
He was so beautiful, like a seductive spirit.
Upon seeing her, Huo Shengbai’s indifferent expression immediately softened, a flicker of panic flashing in his beautiful eyes.
Like a high school student caught by the dean doing something wrong.
Huo Shengbai pinched the smoldering cigarette between his fingers, extinguishing it with his bare hand.
Wen Zhili didn’t even have time to stop him.
Huo Shengbai said in a flustered tone, “Sorry, did the smoke bother you? I didn’t expect you to come out so quickly!”
He reached out and grabbed Wen Zhili’s wrist, walking a few steps to distance her from the lingering smoke.
Wen Zhili replied, “It’s fine.”
Her gaze fell on his fingers, where two of them still bore marks from the cigarette’s embers.
This man… wasn’t he afraid of getting burned?
Did he often extinguish cigarettes with his bare hand like this?
Huo Shengbai then took out a piece of gum, chewing it carefully, afraid there might still be a smell in his mouth.
He didn’t want Wen Zhili to think his mouth still smelled and dislike him, so instead of approaching her as he usually would, he took a step back, keeping his distance.
He even gave a glance to Lu Ting behind him.
Lu Ting understood immediately, quickly taking out the rose-scented perfume Huo Shengbai often used from his briefcase and handing it to him.
Huo Shengbai sprayed the perfume, and the lingering cigarette smell on him was instantly masked by the rose fragrance.
Watching Huo Shengbai’s series of actions, Wen Zhili thought to herself, this man was quite particular about smoking—chewing gum and spraying perfume afterward.
However, as Wen Zhili breathed in the faint rose scent…
Why did it feel so familiar?
It seemed like she had smelled it somewhere before!
Huo Shengbai’s expression returned to the gentle and steady demeanor Wen Zhili was familiar with, a smile curling at the corner of his mouth. “Finished discussing academic matters? Let me take you home.”
Wen Zhili’s expression immediately darkened, her brows slightly furrowed as she shook her head. “I still have some things to take care of. I won’t go back yet. You go ahead.”
Huo Shengbai couldn’t bear to see Wen Zhili look like this and didn’t want to pretend he didn’t know anymore. “Lili, you seem troubled. Did something happen?”
A struggle flickered in Wen Zhili’s eyes. “I…”