Gu Minxuan sighed helplessly, about to argue, but then heard Qin Cheng scolding him. “No wonder you were acting so strange that night, actually flirting with her. Turns out you like her. Come on, tell me, how far have you two gone?”
“Why are you so nosy?” Gu Minxuan said, letting go of Qin Cheng. “I’m looking out for you. That night, you brought that… lawyer in front of Lin Zhou and made her so mad she couldn’t even eat. Do you really think it’s a good idea for you two to meet now?”
“It’s not that serious, is it?” Qin Cheng replied. “I didn’t do anything outrageous.”
“It’s not about ‘serious or not,’” Gu Minxuan said. “Seeing you triggered something in her. That lawyer of yours seems to have planted a whole green meadow over Lin Zhou’s head. I don’t know if she’s gotten over it yet, but she definitely isn’t feeling great.”
When Chengdu resigned, he hadn’t said much. Gu Minxuan more or less guessed that Chengdu had indeed done something. But, “Whether she’s feeling fine or not is another matter. We arranged to play ball, and you knew she’d be here. Couldn’t you just pretend you didn’t know and not kick me out? Why do you have to chase me off?”
They were there to play ball, their game had nothing to do with whether Lin Zhou was around.
As for Gu Minxuan, the moment he heard that Lin Zhou was here and Qin Cheng tried to chase him away, his first instinct was clearly to go find her. He didn’t see anything wrong with it, though Qin Cheng’s words made it feel slightly off. “I have something to discuss with her.”
“You haven’t said enough at the company?” Qin Cheng teased. Seeing Gu Minxuan opening his mouth to argue again, he cut him off, “Alright, I won’t be the third wheel. I’m leaving. If you two end up together, have her help me with those company connections, okay?”
“Get lost!” Gu Minxuan waved him off, utterly disgusted. “A perfectly decent lawyer, and yet he reeks of money, just like a businessman.”
“Lawyers have to make a living too,” Qin Cheng quipped a few more times before grabbing his bag and leaving.
Inside the tennis room, the thwack of rackets kept up a steady rhythm, hitting the listener’s heart and pumping blood with excitement.
Lin Zhou’s slender, flexible arms were now strong and controlled, each swing of the racket making her muscles move.
She focused intently but her mind was heavy with thoughts, channeling all her emotions into every strike. After dozens of rallies, she gasped for air, her sweat soaking her clothes.
Exhausted, she bent her knees, hands pressing against them. Looking down, she watched droplets of sweat fall to the floor from her forehead, forming wet patches. In the glimmering sheen of sweat, she seemed to see Chengdu’s smiling face, gentle and refined. Without realizing it, her eyes stung, and tears trickled down, mixing with the sweat.
Suddenly, a cream-colored towel appeared before her eyes. She looked up, and her flushed, bright eyes met Gu Minxuan’s handsome, smiling face. “Wipe it off,” he said.
Lin Zhou struggled to straighten up, reaching for the towel, but after so much exercise, her arms felt stiff and heavy, and her hand fell back down.
Gu Minxuan, who exercised frequently, guessed what had happened. “Played for a long time? Your arms must be sore,” he said, not really a question but a statement.
Lin Zhou gasped, the tears already gone, almost invisible. “A little.”
Gu Minxuan stepped closer. Without waiting for her to respond, he pressed the towel to her face. Gently, he wiped her cheeks. “You overdid it today.”
Instinctively, Lin Zhou tried to pull away. Gu Minxuan pressed his left hand to her shoulder, keeping her still. His motion of wiping sweat didn’t pause. “How long have you been playing?”
Lin Zhou glanced at the hand holding her shoulder, then up at Gu Minxuan. Too tired to resist, she said, “President Gu, my clothes are soaked. Aren’t you worried about them getting dirty?”
The two of them were speaking completely different languages.
Gu Minxuan’s lips curled slightly as he leaned forward, sniffing near her shoulder. “Not dirty, actually smells pretty nice. Assistant Lin, I hear some people have a unique scent. Seems like you do too.”
Social distance between people should not be less than 1.2 meters, and personal space no less than 0.46 meters. When someone invades that personal space, it creates discomfort.
By wiping Lin Zhou’s sweat, Gu Minxuan had already broken her personal space. Now he was less than 0.1 meters away, fully within intimate distance.
Lin Zhou not only felt uncomfortable, her heart raced. Coupled with Gu Minxuan’s teasing words, her face burned with heat.
Frowning, she suddenly found strength in her damp hands, pressing her sweaty palms against his forehead and using all her might to push him away, snatching the towel from him. She said displeased, “President Gu, please restrain yourself.”
Gu Minxuan lightly wiped the sweat from her forehead and chuckled, “And where am I being unrestrained?”
Lin Zhou didn’t bother replying. This man had an inexhaustible cheek. At work, he seemed cold and distant, yet every private encounter made him feel frivolous and unserious.
“Do you not keep social distance with every woman?” Lin Zhou clenched the soaked towel, her reddened face marked by cold defiance. She respected company leadership, but Gu Minxuan’s energy seemed incompatible with hers, repeatedly irritating her.
Gu Minxuan shrugged helplessly and took a step back, finally knowing his place. Yet he said, “No, I keep proper social distance with every woman. Assistant Lin, you’re an exception.” Perhaps because of past closeness, he often forgot the hierarchical boundary between them.
Remembering the time she had thrown five thousand yuan on his bedside table, he couldn’t help teasing her. Seeing her flustered but trying to control herself gave him a strange sense of pleasure. Was this revenge?
Lin Zhou was furious but didn’t want to waste energy on this rogue. If she couldn’t provoke him, she could at least get away. “Do you expect me to feel honored?” she said coldly. “Sorry, I don’t. You enjoy yourself, President Gu. I’m done here, excuse me.”
With that, she ignored his surprise and walked out. Gu Minxuan’s words were flirtatious, and Lin Zhou didn’t feel the need to be polite. After all, the company was governed by Feng Hexu; she didn’t have to take Gu Minxuan seriously.
Gu Minxuan didn’t mind; in fact, he found it amusing. In his life, women had always approached him, yet no one had ever disliked him as Lin Zhou did. And the more she disliked him, the more he wanted to tease her.
Is this a man’s damn competitiveness?