Back in his room, He Zhinian went into the bathroom to shower.
Mist filled the bathroom. On the glass partition, the fogged-up surface blurred the reflection of his broad shoulders and narrow waist.
Water poured from the showerhead over his head. Bracing one hand against the wall, he glanced down, his brow furrowing slightly.
He’d been having a hard time controlling himself these past two days.
Sometimes he even hated his damn self-discipline.
He’d thought about taking advantage of the situation—or letting things happen naturally—but he’d forcibly suppressed the urge.
He didn’t know what he was thinking.
It wasn’t as if he even liked Ye Zhenshu.
After a long while, he came out of the bathroom, his face still flushed.
For some reason, he left his room and headed for the living room.
Ye Zhenshu was leaning against the sofa, drinking milk tea and eating candied fruit while watching a drama.
Hearing footsteps behind her, Ye Zhenshu didn’t dare turn around.
He Zhinian had just told her not to change herself because of people and things that didn’t matter.
That included him.
His words had brushed across her heart like wings, leaving her feeling all tingly.
He Zhinian went to the kitchen island to get some water again.
Ye Zhenshu kept her eyes on the television, but the tips of her ears had turned bright red.
The glass of the floor-to-ceiling window reflected him.
He’d come out wearing nothing but a towel?
It was the first time he’d been so unconcerned about his appearance at home.
After finishing his water, he went back to his room.
Ye Zhenshu didn’t dare look, but she could already picture it in her mind.
Ye Zhenshu knew exactly what He Zhinian’s body looked like.
She hurriedly finished the candied fruit in her hand, drained her milk tea, turned off the television, then ran back to her room and locked the door.
Early the next morning,
Ye Zhenshu got up half an hour early, only to find that He Zhinian had risen even earlier. He was in the kitchen wearing an apron, making egg noodles.
Before Ye Zhenshu could say anything, He Zhinian spoke first.
“One fried egg or two?”
“…One, thank you.” She took a deep breath.
There was always something so commanding in He Zhinian’s tone that it left no room for argument.
She obediently sat down.
Unhurriedly, He Zhinian set the bowl of egg noodles in front of her and poured her a glass of warm milk.
“My New Year’s break starts in half a month. Wait for me at home for a few days then. I’ll finish up what I’m working on and come back so we can spend the New Year together.”
Zhinian sat down as he spoke.
“Okay.” Ye Zhenshu lowered her head and blew on the noodles.
He went on, “We can’t keep sleeping in separate rooms.”
“…” Ye Zhenshu kept her head down and murmured a quiet yes.
They’d moved in together the day they registered their marriage. He Zhinian had asked whether she wanted the master bedroom or the spare room.
She’d chosen the spare room.
And so they’d started sleeping separately. At the time, it had been obvious that He Zhinian didn’t seem to like her.
He’d even seemed to resent her.
Now…
She’d thought things would stay that way.
Ye Zhenshu wasn’t sure what to make of it. Perhaps he just wanted to avoid his family noticing anything was amiss when they went home.
He Zhinian looked at her and added, “The villa’s renovation is finished. We’ll move there after the New Year.”
Ye Zhenshu nodded.
She didn’t know what He Zhinian had planned, but she went along with whatever he said.
After breakfast, she planned to pick up her car.
She hadn’t wanted to trouble He Zhinian, but he had the driver take her to the dealership first.
She’d assumed He Zhinian would leave after dropping her off, but he got out of the car and followed her inside.
“Don’t you have work?” Ye Zhenshu asked softly.
He Zhinian looked down at her. “Come on.”
Ye Zhenshu pressed her lips together.
Right. He was an executive; he could go to work when he wanted and skip it when he didn’t.
But why had he followed her inside?
Ye Zhenshu had chosen an ordinary Mercedes, and it was already parked to one side.
She recognized it at a glance.
He Zhinian took a look at it.
The moment Manager Xiao spotted He Zhinian, he hurried over to greet him.
“President He! What brings you here? And in person, too!” Manager Xiao noticed Ye Zhenshu beside him. “Miss Ye, you’re here as well. You two…”
“I’m here with Madam to pick up her car,” He Zhinian replied matter-of-factly.
Ye Zhenshu still felt a little awkward, but she was slowly getting used to being called that.
Manager Xiao beamed. He hadn’t expected both husband and wife to be his customers.
Ye Zhenshu’s trunk was packed with the things Manager Xiao had given her. When she’d bought the car, he’d said there wasn’t much he could give her.
Now his tune had changed completely.
“Are you going to the office?” He Zhinian asked.
“I won’t go in until this afternoon. Why don’t you go ahead?” Ye Zhenshu found it strange that He Zhinian had been sticking so close to her these past two days.
“Sure. Get in. You go first.”
Ye Zhenshu felt embarrassed. “I called a designated driver.”
He Zhinian glanced sideways at her, as if he’d heard something unbelievable.
Ye Zhenshu gave him an awkward smile. “I haven’t driven at all since I got my license, so I’m a little nervous. I’ll practice this weekend before I take it out on the road.”
In the end, He Zhinian called the driver over and had him drive her car back for her. He drove to the office himself.
Ye Zhenshu felt utterly mortified.
That afternoon, He Zhinian’s driver took her to the office.
When she arrived, Qi Wenling was being scolded by Huang Yun.
Qi Wenling was under Ye Zhenshu’s supervision. Yesterday was one thing, but now she was getting scolded on her second day at work.
“What happened?” Ye Zhenshu set down her bag and went over to Qi Wenling’s workstation.
“I asked her to revise the character design before she left yesterday, and she still hasn’t finished it. We’ll have to push back the first round of testing.”
Huang Yun was exasperated. What kind of oddballs had the people upstairs let in?
Qi Wenling had a decent résumé, so how could she not even manage to design a character?
Nobody in the office dared say a word.
After all, Qi Wenling had called the president “Brother Nian” yesterday.
No one wanted to offend her.
But Huang Yun showed no mercy, no matter whose side someone was on. Work was work.
Qi Wenling looked at Ye Zhenshu with a woebegone expression. “I thought you were going to do it. I only started yesterday, so I’m not familiar with the process. I saw you working on it too, so I thought…”
“I did work on the character designs.”
Ye Zhenshu turned on her computer and said, “But the director didn’t ask you to do it just to get the task done. She wanted to see what you could do. In our line of work, it’s not about following the process—it’s about the result.”
Huang Yun couldn’t bear to look at Qi Wenling any longer.
Ye Zhenshu opened her computer and said to Huang Yun, “I finished adjusting two character designs yesterday afternoon. I meant to send them to you this morning, but I forgot because I took the day off. I’ve sent them to your email now. Please take a look and see if they work.”
“That’s what I call efficiency!” Huang Yun shot Qi Wenling a glance, then turned and went back to her office.
Ye Zhenshu had been asked to mentor Qi Wenling, but Qi Wenling couldn’t just trail after her without doing anything.
If Ye Zhenshu left, all that work would fall to Qi Wenling.
Huang Yun still looked frustrated when she entered her office.
What kind of person had He Zhinian assigned to them?
“Sorry, Zhenshu. I was careless,” Qi Wenling said, looking innocent.
Ye Zhenshu looked at her. Her eyes were exactly like Qi Wenwan’s the night before.
“It’s fine. You learn after being scolded enough. You need to know your own limits, too. Don’t expect people to remind you about everything.”
Ye Zhenshu said it half-jokingly and gestured for her to get to work.
Qi Wenling pressed her lips together and sat down, but every so often her eyes drifted toward the elevators.
Ye Zhenshu seemed to notice, but she ignored it.