Shu Yuwei told Fu Rongzheng about the typhoon.
Fu Rongzheng thought for a moment. “See if you can change our tickets and get us back to the company a day early. We don’t want it disrupting our schedule.”
“Sure thing, Boss!”
Shu Yuwei rescheduled their itinerary.
That night, however, something came up at the group headquarters, and Fu Rongzheng spent the entire night in meetings.
The next day, Fu Rongzheng arranged for Secretary Zhao and the others to head to headquarters overnight to deal with it.
Secretary Zhao was a trusted aide Fu Rongzheng had cultivated at headquarters, and he carried considerable influence there. He handled many matters personally.
As a result, for the rest of the business trip, it was just Shu Yuwei and Fu Rongzheng.
Shu Yuwei felt rather ill at ease.
She hadn’t minded when Secretary Zhao and the others were around.
But now that she had to be alone with her boss, she felt genuinely awkward.
That awkwardness didn’t last long, though. Before long, it was replaced by a mountain of work.
With Secretary Zhao back at group headquarters, Shu Yuwei had to handle many things as his assistant.
She was run off her feet—driving, attending meetings, organizing dinners, visiting automobile factories all over the area, writing reports, and taking care of her boss’s every need, big and small…
She was so exhausted she nearly felt her soul leave her body.
Before she knew it, the day they were due to return had arrived.
Shu Yuwei finally breathed a sigh of relief. She wanted to ask her boss if she could have a few days off once the business trip was over.
But she didn’t know how to bring it up, so she kept hinting at him with pointed looks.
Fu Rongzheng put down his documents and looked at her. “Assistant Shu, is your eye twitching?”
Shu Yuwei: “…”
Shu Yuwei: “It kind of is… And, Boss, I don’t know what’s wrong with me lately. My back and waist ache, and I’m dizzy and seeing stars…”
“I asked AI, and apparently it means I’m exhausted and need to get more rest…”
As she spoke, Shu Yuwei exaggeratedly rubbed her shoulders and pounded her back, testing the waters with her hints.
Fu Rongzheng could hardly bear to look at her. “All right. One week.”
Her eyes lit up at once. “A week off?! Really?”
Fu Rongzheng gave a soft snort. “No.”
Shu Yuwei grinned. “But Boss never lies!”
“Thank you, Boss! You’re brilliant! Long live Boss!”
Fu Rongzheng lowered his gaze to her rapidly changing expressions. “What is it? You’re full of energy again already?”
“Of course! Now that you’ve said that, my back doesn’t ache and my legs don’t hurt anymore! I’m bursting with energy—I could take down ten cows!”
Fu Rongzheng: “…”
Shu Yuwei hurried over to open the car door for him.
They got in, and Shu Yuwei turned the car around. It finally pulled out of the self-driving test facility and headed toward the airport.
Their business trip was nearly over, and they would soon be back in S City.
That afternoon, the sun in Haicheng was still blazing.
Shu Yuwei glanced in the rearview mirror.
Fu Rongzheng had closed his eyes and seemed to have fallen asleep.
She lowered the sunshade over the back seat and put on some soft, soothing music.
Then she focused on driving again.
After an unknown amount of time, the phone on the center console lit up.
She glanced at it. It was a typhoon warning.
It said the typhoon was expected to make landfall in Haicheng that evening.
Shu Yuwei checked the route on the navigation system. They were still two hours from the airport.
She worked it out and figured they could easily make it in time for their flight to take off before the typhoon arrived.
Still, she made a backup plan and booked a hotel near the airport.
If the flight was delayed because of the weather, they could stay there.
That was what Shu Yuwei was thinking.
They drove for nearly another hour, but the bright daylight gradually dimmed.
Dark clouds gathered overhead. Waves churned along the coast, and startled seagulls scattered in every direction.
A bad feeling rose in Shu Yuwei’s chest, and she sped up.
Gradually, she caught the smell of something burning.
Suddenly, white smoke began billowing from the hood.
Shu Yuwei’s heart lurched. She hit the brakes at once. “Boss!”
“The car’s on fire!”
Fu Rongzheng opened the door and got out, then lifted the hood.
Sparks had already begun to fly inside.
Fu Rongzheng quickly put out the fire, then spent some time repairing the car.
Shu Yuwei asked cautiously, “Boss, can it still run?”
“It can.”
Then Fu Rongzheng added, “But not for more than a few kilometers.”
A few kilometers clearly wouldn’t get them to the airport.
Shu Yuwei quickly took out her phone. “Boss, wait. I’ll call someone to come get us!”
But after she pressed the call button, it wouldn’t connect.
“Why is there no signal? Is this place really that remote?”
“It was working fine before!”
Shu Yuwei tried calling several more times, but none of the calls went through.
Her WeChat messages just kept spinning in the chat window.
Even the car’s navigation system went blank because the signal was so poor.
To make matters worse, the sky grew even darker, and winds of force six or seven began to whip through the area.
It was a sign that severe weather was on its way.
They should have reached the airport by now, but instead…
Shu Yuwei looked at the deserted surroundings and felt utterly lost.
The car had broken down, there was no signal, and now they were caught in a typhoon.
They couldn’t be this unlucky, could they?
“Assistant Shu, get back in the car first.”
Fu Rongzheng closed the hood and glanced at her. “We’ll go as far as we can.”
“There are signs of fishermen around here. We’ll see if anyone comes by, and ask whether there’s a homestay or inn nearby.”
“If not, we’ll pay a local to put us up for the night. We’ll wait for the typhoon to pass tonight before heading back. Safety comes first.”
Compared with Shu Yuwei, Fu Rongzheng was very calm.
Shu Yuwei nodded and got back in with him. This time, Fu Rongzheng took the wheel.
The car moved slowly.
Shu Yuwei kept watching outside, but there wasn’t a single person on the roadside.
After they’d driven a few kilometers, Shu Yuwei spotted a sign by the road.
“Xingyue Resort…”
“Meihao Homestay…”
“Boss! There’s a resort and a homestay over there!”
Fu Rongzheng looked in that direction, turned the wheel, and drove toward the resort.
But after only a few minutes, the car sputtered to a complete stop.
They had no choice but to walk.
Fortunately, the homestay wasn’t too far away.
Carrying her luggage, Shu Yuwei followed behind Fu Rongzheng, uncharacteristically silent.
She had been a sensitive person for as long as she could remember.
The upside was that at work, she could pick up on her superiors’ needs right away.
The downside was that when something unexpected happened, she could easily spiral into anxiety and wear herself down.
At that moment, her mind was full of dreadful thoughts.
This was it. Would her boss blame her?
Would he blame her for not checking the car beforehand, or for not finding out about the signal coverage along this stretch of road?
Would he blame her for failing to make emergency arrangements?
Now her boss couldn’t get back to the company on time, and she’d landed him in such an awkward situation.
Shu Yuwei wanted to explain that she had checked the car, and that she’d looked up the route in advance. She hadn’t found anything online about signal problems.
But as his subordinate, she couldn’t say that.
After all, the accident had already happened. In many bosses’ eyes, an explanation was just an excuse.
Shu Yuwei sighed.
Would she even be able to keep her job?
It had taken her so long to find a well-paying one.
If she got fired, what would happen to her rent? How would she pay back her student loan?
Shu Yuwei furrowed her brow, her expression grave.
Suddenly, a shadow fell in front of her.
Fu Rongzheng had stopped at some point and was looking at her.
“Boss?”
Shu Yuwei came back to herself.
“Shu Yuwei!”
Fu Rongzheng called her by name.
“Don’t overthink it. This isn’t your fault.”
Then Fu Rongzheng took her suitcase and backpack and continued walking.
Shu Yuwei stared after him for a moment.
It wasn’t her fault?
That was the first time anyone had ever said those words to her…
So her boss wasn’t blaming her. Was he actually trying to comfort her?
“Thank you, Boss!”
Her mood immediately lifted, and she hurried after him.
They soon reached the homestay.
Shu Yuwei looked around.
“Is this Xingyue Resort? It looks like they converted a little fishing village.”
“But where’s the homestay?”
As Shu Yuwei wondered aloud, a window in the modern-looking house beside them opened.
A little girl leaned out and peered at them, meeting Shu Yuwei’s eyes.
The girl’s eyes widened in surprise.
Shu Yuwei waved to her. “Hi there! Do you know where Meihao Homestay is?”
The little girl tilted her head and smiled. “Hello, big sister! My family runs Meihao Homestay! Wait a moment, okay? I’ll ask my mom!”
“Mom! There’s a super good-looking couple outside! They look like big stars on TV!”
The little girl turned and ran back into the house, calling out to her mother.
She moved too quickly for Shu Yuwei and Fu Rongzheng outside to make out what she was shouting to her mother.
They only heard her say that this was the homestay they were looking for.
Shu Yuwei let out a breath of relief. “That’s great! Boss, we won’t have to sleep out on the street tonight!”
“Let’s book two rooms. What would you like for dinner, Boss?”
Fu Rongzheng didn’t answer. Instead, he turned to look at her. “What makes you think this homestay has two rooms available?”
“Huh?”
There couldn’t only be one room, could there?
Would she and her boss have to share a room tonight, just the two of them?
Would that be appropriate?
Shu Yuwei was still thinking it over when—
A powerful gust of wind swept past, nearly blowing her off her feet.
Fu Rongzheng quickly grabbed her clothes and pulled her under the eaves.
Shu Yuwei clung to a pillar, looked at the storm gathering around them, and patted her chest.
Never mind. With a typhoon this dangerous, and all these unexpected problems keeping them from getting back, having somewhere safe to stay was good enough.
If they had to share a room, then they had to share a room. If it came to it, she could sleep on the floor.
As long as she and her boss didn’t have to share a bed!