Lin Chaochao returned to the country ahead of schedule. On the day she left, Wang Kai saw her off and told her that Huo Nanting still had some matters to deal with, so she was to go back first.
That was fine—it saved them from an awkward encounter. But the thought that she still hadn’t returned the bracelet made Lin Chaochao’s heart twist with unease once again.
That evening, Lin Chaochao received a call from her best friend, who sounded upset.
“Chaochao, the guy I had a crush on in college just proposed to someone else.” Su Jiani burst into loud sobs the moment she saw her, though it was all thunder and no rain.
“Lian Cheng?” Lin Chaochao asked.
Su Jiani nodded, sniffling as she said, “Yes, it’s him. I never even told him I liked him, and now he’s getting married.”
“Oh, you… what’s there to cry about? Isn’t this your own fault? If you liked him, why didn’t you tell him?” Lin Chaochao knew her best friend had mentioned Lian Cheng back in college, but she hadn’t expected her to still remember him after all this time.
“I just thought he was a good person back then—good-looking too, and he had beautiful handwriting. That’s why I liked him. I never expected him to propose to someone else.” Su Jiani wore a pitiful expression.
“That’s not liking someone; that’s just having a good impression of him, nothing more.” Lin Chaochao understood her best friend’s nature—if she truly liked someone, she would have gone after him long ago.
“I don’t care. He’s getting married, so I want to get married too.” She added a little huff at the end.
Lin Chaochao smiled and said in a doting tone, “Alright, alright, you’ll get married too. But the prerequisite for getting married is that you need to find a man first.”
Hearing the words “find a man,” Su Jiani sat up straight. “Right, I need to find a man as soon as possible.” With that, she pulled out her phone and showed Lin Chaochao the young guys on her WeChat, asking for her opinion. “Is this one good-looking?”
“Find another one.” Lin Chaochao pursed her lips.
“How about this one?” Su Jiani continued.
“Too skinny.” Lin Chaochao waved her hand again.
“Then what about this one?”
“His hairline is too far back.”
They had started off picking candidates, but it ended with them roasting the guys together… and laughing their heads off.
Time passed quickly, and payday arrived. Lin Chaochao looked at the notification on her phone and felt overjoyed, thinking to herself that the Huo Corporation was truly generous—the bonus was substantial.
…
For several days in a row, she didn’t hear any gossip about Huo Nanting from her colleagues. It almost felt strange not to.
One day, Lin Chaochao arrived at the company ten minutes early because she knew there was a department meeting scheduled for the morning.
The moment she stepped out of the elevator, she sensed an unusual silence. Curious, she quickened her pace and walked over, about to greet everyone.
Then she saw a man standing at her workstation, his eyes fixed on her.
Lin Chaochao’s heart fluttered with unease at being stared at, and she didn’t know what to do.
She walked closer slowly, pretending to be relaxed as she said, “Good morning, Mr. Huo.”
Mr. Huo, who normally didn’t exchange a single extra word with anyone, actually replied, “Good morning, Miss Lin.”
The employees present exchanged bewildered glances, as if they had just witnessed breaking news, their expressions full of shock.
“Aren’t we having a meeting?” Huo Nanting said in his cold, indifferent voice.
Hearing this, everyone snapped back to reality. A meeting—was the boss here to sit in on it? And it wasn’t even a major meeting anyway.
Without giving it much thought, everyone filed into the small meeting room one after another, while Lin Chaochao dawdled and came in last.
The meeting was led by Alice, with Huo Nanting sitting in the back as an observer.
“Next, we’ll be launching new products for autumn. Everyone can brainstorm around the theme of autumn and come up with a complete design proposal. There are no limits on the products. Send me your drafts by the 10th.”
“Got it, Alice,” “Okay, Alice”… With the big boss present, the meeting felt dull and tense. No one dared to say more than necessary, completely unlike their usual meeting style.
What everyone found even stranger was that the boss truly didn’t say a single word—he came quietly and left quietly.
Lin Chaochao returned to her seat, thinking about Huo Nanting’s odd behavior. She wondered, He’s not here to ask about the bracelet, is he? But she hadn’t worn it today. She’d return it whenever she got the chance.
Having to submit a draft by the 10th was still a bit tight on time. Lin Chaochao figured she had nothing to do after work anyway, so she decided to stay a bit longer at the office to find some inspiration. Before she knew it, it was already 8:30.
Lin Chaochao stood by the window looking down. Outside, the lights were bright—red, green, blue, every color imaginable. She was just about to take a photo with her phone when she was suddenly interrupted by a voice.
“Lin Chaochao.” The man called her by her full name.
Lin Chaochao turned around, her heart racing with nervousness. She gripped her phone tightly and looked at the man before her, still impeccably dressed. “President Huo, you haven’t left work yet?”
In such an overly quiet environment, Lin Chaochao could feel her own heartbeat, which had already become irregular.
“How’s the design coming along? Any good ideas?” Huo Nanting unbuttoned his suit jacket and casually sat down in someone’s seat.
“I haven’t come up with anything better yet,” Lin Chaochao said honestly.
The two fell into an immense silence again. Suddenly, as if a thought struck her, Lin Chaochao said, “Ah, President Huo, you’re here about the bracelet, right? I didn’t bring it with me today. I’ll bring it for you tomorrow, is that okay?”
Huo Nanting let out a light laugh upon hearing this. So this woman thought he was looking for her about the bracelet.
“No,” the man answered curtly.
With that, he stood up and walked over to her, telling her with a meaningful look, “I came to see you simply because I wanted to see you.”
Hearing those words, Lin Chaochao felt flustered and at a loss for what to say. She took a step back, putting more distance between herself and the man.
Seeing this, Huo Nanting asked, “Are you very afraid of me?”
The woman shook her head like a rattle-drum, then nodded, which made Huo Nanting want to laugh.
“President Huo, you’re my boss now, and I don’t want to have any ambiguous relationship with my boss,” Lin Chaochao stated her refusal bluntly.
Hearing this, Huo Nanting smiled even more openly. He said, “So if I weren’t your boss, it would be fine?”
Lin Chaochao thought to herself, Of course not, but it seemed like anything she said could fall into the man’s trap. He was simply too cunning. Her tone grew a bit anxious: “President Huo is playing word games with me. I don’t want to answer that question. It’s already very late—I need to go home.”
Huo Nanting stood there in silence for a long moment, looking at the woman before him—smart yet a little clumsy, utterly adorable—and said, “I’ll drive you.”
Lin Chaochao was about to refuse when she heard the man add, “I’ll pick up the bracelet on the way.”
The woman thought, perfect—once she returned it to him, there would be nothing left tying them together.
The half-hour drive felt unbearably long. Neither of them said a word. Lin Chaochao secretly glanced at the man driving—he looked calm, impossible to tell whether he was upset or not.
After he parked the car, Lin Chaochao said, “President Huo, please wait here for a moment. I’ll go get it and be right down.” With that, she ran upstairs.
But when the woman returned, there was no trace of the car anywhere.
She couldn’t quite describe the feeling in her heart, so she simply resolved to find another way to return it.