Huang Xiaowen naturally denied it. “Don’t talk nonsense. There’s nothing like that.”
She also felt that Lin Zhou’s attitude toward Gu Minxuan was somewhat unusual. Given Lin Zhou’s personality, even if Gu Minxuan truly pursued her, Lin Zhou would only refuse him tactfully.
Zhang Yang was a very good example. When Zhang Yang failed in his pursuit of Lin Zhou, the two of them still got along amicably. Lin Zhou never brought personal feelings into her work. That was her principle.
“Yeah, it probably isn’t that kind of thing. Assistant Lin belongs to Chairman Feng’s side. President Gu shouldn’t be that clueless.” In a large company, gossip was inevitable and everywhere.
Most people still firmly believed that Assistant Lin was the future wife of Hefeng Group’s chairman. There was no other reason than the fact that this rumor had been circulating for so long, yet Feng Hexu had never stepped forward to deny it. They did not believe he had not heard the rumors. Since he had heard them and still did not deny them, then it was probably true.
Huang Xiaowen wanted to refute it. Lin Zhou had just broken off her engagement, and she herself had handled the matter of the house. Feng Hexu and Lin Zhou were completely innocent, as pure as scallions mixed with tofu.
But since Lin Zhou herself had never denied it, it did not seem appropriate for Huang Xiaowen to say it out loud. So she simply let it be, telling everyone to focus on their work and stop treating their superiors’ affairs as gossip.
As the National Day holiday approached, the Hefeng Group became even busier. Gu Minxuan, who was in charge of tourism and entertainment, was especially swamped, barely touching the ground with his feet. The number of times Lin Zhou ran into Gu Minxuan at the company grew fewer and fewer.
However, the truth was that just because Lin Zhou did not run into Gu Minxuan did not mean Gu Minxuan would stop causing trouble.
One day, she saw a cup of Starbucks on her desk and assumed it had been prepared by one of the chairman’s subordinates. She picked it up, intending to take a sip, but drank nothing.
She did not know who was playing a prank. The cup clearly had some weight, yet there was nothing to drink. Curious, she opened the lid. A vivid red rose bloomed inside the cup, and draped over the green leaves of the rose was a diamond bracelet. Under the sunlight, the bracelet gleamed dazzlingly.
Huang Xiaowen came in to deliver some documents and happened to see Lin Zhou staring at the coffee cup. “Assistant Lin, the coffee was brought for you by Assistant Wang.” Wang Peng had brought coffee for everyone in the chairman’s office, only instructing that this particular cup be given to Lin Zhou. Huang Xiaowen had not thought much of it at the time. She assumed it was Lin Zhou’s preferred flavor and gladly helped place it in her office.
Lin Zhou quickly closed the lid. “I know. Thank you.”
Huang Xiaowen asked curiously, “Does it not taste good?” She felt that Lin Zhou’s expression was a bit strange, not exactly happy. Could it be because of the rumors, and she now also disliked Wang Peng? That did not seem likely. Lin Zhou was not someone who would dwell on such things.
After discussing a few work matters, Lin Zhou made arrangements one by one. As Huang Xiaowen was about to leave the office, Lin Zhou called her back. Huang Xiaowen saw Lin Zhou put the coffee cup back into its original bag and personally hand it to her, instructing, “Please return this to Assistant Wang for me. From now on, anything sent by Assistant Wang, please help me refuse it. Thank you.”
“Oh.” Curiosity churned in Huang Xiaowen’s mind, but she did not dare ask what was wrong with the coffee. Since Lin Zhou did not wish to mention it, she, as a subordinate, would certainly not ask.
Not long after Huang Xiaowen left Lin Zhou’s office, Lin Zhou’s phone rang. When she saw Gu Minxuan’s name on the screen, her instinct was to hang up. And she did exactly that.
Gu Minxuan, however, was relentless and kept calling. Looking at the more than twenty missed calls on her phone, Lin Zhou simply muted it and tossed it into her bag, out of sight, out of mind.
She leaned back in her office chair and rubbed her temples, trying to calm herself. She knew very well who had sent the rose and who had sent the diamond bracelet.
If these gifts had been sent by someone she liked, she would have been excited, happily jumping like any other woman.
When she was with Chengdu, there were rarely such romantic gestures. She was a workaholic, but she still had expectations for romantic surprises.
However, over all those years, the most romantic thing between them had been Chengdu kneeling on one knee in a park at night to propose to her.
Now, such romance had appeared, yet it had become a burden for Lin Zhou.
There was a knock on the office door. She took a deep breath, adjusted herself, and responded, “Come in.”
As the door opened, the instigator who had been giving her a headache walked in with a smile. Closing the door and locking it happened in one smooth motion.
Lin Zhou sprang up from her chair in anger. This man, who should have been extremely busy at the resort, had actually returned to the company. “President Gu, do you need something?”
Gu Minxuan walked over to Lin Zhou’s desk and leaned against it without the slightest concern for appearances. His long legs bent slightly, placing him face-to-face with Lin Zhou at eye level.
“Didn’t like the gift?” The moment Wang Peng told him the gift had been returned, he had immediately called Lin Zhou. Yet she refused to answer a single call.
“Wasn’t I obvious enough?” Lin Zhou shot back bluntly. Although she still addressed him politely, not a word carried any respect or courtesy.
“I thought women all liked surprises. Looks like next time I’ll have to change my approach.” Gu Minxuan pouted slightly, looking somewhat aggrieved, and casually reached out to press between Lin Zhou’s brows. “You told me yourself that frowning isn’t pretty.”
Lin Zhou slapped his hand away angrily. “When did I ever say that?!” Do not take the opportunity to touch her.
Gu Minxuan deliberately lowered his voice. “The night you slept with me.” He leaned down, closing the distance between them. As he spoke, his warm breath brushed against Lin Zhou’s cheek, and her face visibly flushed.
Gu Minxuan let out a soft laugh. “You’re shy.”
“I am not!” Lin Zhou pushed her chair back and moved to the other side of the desk, keeping some distance from Gu Minxuan. “President Gu, are you sick? If you’re sick, go get treatment. Don’t bother me!”
Gu Minxuan stepped away from the desk, hands in his pockets, looking effortlessly charming. “I am sick. Lovesick. Assistant Lin should know that very well. I came to you to get treated. The medicine is with you, Assistant Lin. It just depends on whether you’re willing to give it.”
Gu Minxuan’s skin was truly thick. Lin Zhou took a deep breath and said patiently, “President Gu, if what I said that day wasn’t clear enough, let me make it explicit now. I do not want to have anything to do with you.”
“You don’t like me?” Seeing Lin Zhou nod, Gu Minxuan fell silent for a moment, as if recalling something. After a while, he said, “But that night, you clearly said you loved me.”
Lin Zhou did not remember what she had said that night, nor did she want to recall a single detail of it. “President Gu, I was drunk and remember nothing. If you still want to make an issue out of that night, I can tell you clearly that I am not afraid of you ruining my reputation. We are all adults. Why cling to a single night?”
Lin Zhou was furious. She had still been calling him “President Gu” earlier. Now, the fact that she had not outright called Gu Minxuan a bastard was already restraint enough. She did not even want to bother using honorifics anymore.