After Chen Zhuo left, the room fell quiet again.
Lin Wu stayed in the living room for a while, vaguely sensing a clean, crisp scent lingering in the air around her nose.
It was a fragrance she liked, but right now, smelling it made her feel a little restless inside.
Without much hesitation, Lin Wu stood up, opened the windows in the living room and bedroom, then slipped into the study.
Once the study door was closed, she regained a bit of her calm.
At that moment, He Jiayun sent a message: “What did you withdraw?”
Before Lin Wu could reply, she added in surprise: “Why are you up so early again? Can’t you force yourself to sleep a little longer?”
Lin Wu laughed softly. Her fingers paused on the screen for a moment before she replied: “Biological clock won’t let me.”
Besides, last night with Chen Zhuo hadn’t been too intense.
There were no “tools” at her place, so they hadn’t gone all the way. But Chen Zhuo had used other methods to drive her to the peak of pleasure.
Thinking back on everything that happened last night, Lin Wu dazedly wondered—did this make her a scumbag? Sleep with him and then pretend nothing happened the next morning?
She wasn’t unaware of how much restraint Chen Zhuo had shown last night.
Suddenly, her phone vibrated again.
Lin Wu quickly snapped out of her wandering thoughts.
He Jiayun: “Forcefully change your biological clock.”
Lin Wu replied helplessly: “That’s a bit hard.”
He Jiayun: “Can’t stand you workaholics.”
Lin Wu: “Complain about Li Xiang all you want—just don’t complain about me.”
He Jiayun: “Complain about both of you.”
While chatting back and forth, He Jiayun suddenly remembered something and asked: “Did you like the gift?”
Only then did Lin Wu realize she hadn’t even had time to open the birthday gifts they gave her. Things had been too chaotic after she got home last night—she hadn’t had a chance to look.
Thinking of this, Lin Wu quickly left the study and went to the living room to unwrap the gifts.
He Jiayun and Li Xiang had given her quite a lot—several large bags.
Lin Wu opened them one by one, took out her phone, snapped a photo, and sent it to He Jiayun with a smile: “You picked all of these, right?”
He Jiayun: “Of course. Li Xiang just provided part of the money.”
Lin Wu couldn’t help laughing: “Are you planning to buy out my lifetime supply of bags and accessories?”
He Jiayun: “This is only how much? Two bags and two sets of jewelry—I’d get bored of looking at them in a week.”
If she weren’t worried Lin Wu would scold her, He Jiayun would have bought even more.
Lin Wu: “I’m a working girl. I’m not suited to wear things this expensive.”
He Jiayun: “Then wear them for important occasions. The firm’s year-end party is coming up soon—wear them then.”
Lin Wu had no choice: “Then let’s make a deal—no super expensive New Year gifts.”
He Jiayun: “I’ve already picked out your New Year gift. Don’t worry about it.”
Lin Wu was curious: “What is it?”
He Jiayun: “You’ll find out at New Year.”
Lin Wu: “…Fine.”
She didn’t press further.
Their chat went quiet for a while. Lin Wu thought for a moment, then couldn’t hold back and asked He Jiayun: “Let me ask you something.”
He Jiayun: “Ask away. Ten questions if you want.”
Lin Wu hesitated, carefully choosing her words: “If someone might like you, but the other person hasn’t clearly expressed their feelings to you, what would you do?”
He Jiayun: “Who?”
Lin Wu: “…Just answer me first. What would you do?”
He Jiayun: “I would definitely pretend I don’t know.”
Lin Wu: “Isn’t that just playing dumb?”
He Jiayun: “So what? The other person hasn’t confessed to me yet. If I don’t play dumb, what else should I play? Suppose I don’t like this person—if I reject him before he confesses just because I sensed his feelings, what if he says I’m being presumptuous? Or suppose I do like him, but he hasn’t said anything—if I rush in and say ‘okay I accept, let’s be together,’ he’ll probably think I’m crazy.”
Lin Wu hesitated: “Really?”
He Jiayun: “Of course. So who likes you? Yu Xinzhi?”
Lin Wu: “…No.”
He Jiayun: “I didn’t think it was him either. He does have some interest in you, but you wouldn’t be conflicted about rejecting him, and you wouldn’t ask me this kind of question. So who is it? Chen Zhuo?”
Lin Wu: “…”
He Jiayun: “It is, right?”
Lin Wu was speechless: “I don’t know.”
He Jiayun: “Tsk, then play dumb.”
Lin Wu: “But—”
He Jiayun: “No buts. Wait until the other person clearly expresses their feelings before you decide anything. Thinking too much right now is useless.”
To be fair, He Jiayun had her own clear opinions when it came to relationships.
For some inexplicable reason, Lin Wu was convinced by her.
And she had a point: what if Chen Zhuo liking her was just her imagination? What if she was reading too much into it?
Chen Zhuo was a very considerate lover. After finishing his business in New York, he came back and showed up on the very day her birthday hadn’t ended yet, bringing a bouquet of flowers. That seemed to fall within the normal range of what a considerate lover might do.
Lin Wu began convincing herself, brainwashing herself.
By the time she had talked herself into accepting that she could take what he offered, she stopped overthinking.
Besides He Jiayun’s gifts, the two bouquets she received last night still hadn’t been dealt with.
Lin Wu stood up, trimmed the flower stems, and prepared to put them in a vase—only to realize she only had one vase, and these two bouquets wouldn’t fit.
She looked at the two bunches of tulips sitting in her line of sight. The image of Chen Zhuo holding one of them last night in the underground garage suddenly appeared in her mind, along with the faint disappointment that had crossed his face this morning. Her chest felt inexplicably heavy.
After staring blankly for a long time, Lin Wu decided to go out and buy a vase first.
Everything else could wait.
Over the weekend, Lin Wu stayed home and didn’t go anywhere.
She had no contact with Chen Zhuo—normally they didn’t contact each other anyway.
Friday night had been an exception.
On Monday morning, Lin Wu arrived at the firm early.
When she got there, most of her colleagues hadn’t arrived yet. She worked alone for a while in the quiet office until others gradually trickled in.
After giving Zhao Yuxin some instructions, Lin Wu locked herself in her office again.
The next few days passed the same way.
Her colleagues at the firm were long accustomed to the personal habits of the lawyers. They knew Lin Wu didn’t like being disturbed when she was busy with cases, so they consciously avoided chatting with her and wasting her time.
Busy and hectic days flew by, and soon it was Friday again.
That Friday afternoon, Lin Wu went upstairs with Yu Xinzhi and several colleagues from the firm to discuss case matters at Fengxing.
This wasn’t Lin Wu’s first time at Fengxing. She had come once before the company changed bosses, though that visit hadn’t been particularly pleasant. This time should be different.
The receptionist greeted them with a bright smile and arranged for them to enter the conference room.
“Please wait a moment. Our Mr. Li and colleagues from the legal department will be here shortly.”
After the receptionist left the conference room, Lin Wu raised her eyes slightly. “Which one is Mr. Li?”
Yu Xinzhi glanced at her. “Fengxing’s vice president.”
Lin Wu nodded, a little puzzled. “Wasn’t it President Chen who was handling things with us before?”
“President Chen seems to still be abroad and hasn’t returned yet,” another colleague from the firm chimed in. “We haven’t seen him around lately.”
Lin Wu: “What?”
Chen Zhuo still hadn’t come back to the country?
Noticing the surprise in her tone, Yu Xinzhi turned his head to look at her and asked quietly, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” Lin Wu realized her emotions had shown too clearly. She lowered her eyes and said softly, “President Chen is still abroad?”
Yu Xinzhi: “Seems like it. I’m not sure about the details.”
Lin Wu fell silent, frowning very lightly, and didn’t speak again.
A short while later, Fengxing’s Vice President Li Chengji and several lawyers from the legal department arrived. The group met, greeted each other, and began discussing the case.
Lin Wu looked at the relatively unfamiliar faces in front of her, her attention somewhat scattered.
It wasn’t until Yu Xinzhi called her name that Lin Wu snapped back, forcibly pulling her wandering thoughts back. She made herself focus, be more professional.
After the meeting ended, the group returned downstairs to the office.
At the entrance, Yu Xinzhi turned to ask her, “Are you feeling unwell today?”
Lin Wu: “…No.”
She spoke seriously. “Sorry. I was thinking about something earlier and got a little distracted.”
Yu Xinzhi shook his head with a helpless smile. “It’s fine. No need to apologize. Today isn’t a court debate—you’re allowed to zone out a little.”
Lin Wu went quiet.
“Rest well,” Yu Xinzhi said, not pressing further. “Your dark circles are quite noticeable.”
Lin Wu was momentarily speechless. She replied politely, “Okay. Thank you, Lawyer Yu.”
Yu Xinzhi looked at her, seemed about to say something more, but ultimately held back.
He had worked with Lin Wu for many years, and even before that they had been schoolmates in the same major—senior and junior. He understood her personality very well. Some things were better left unsaid; saying them would change everything.
Yu Xinzhi thought about it and gave a bitter tug at his lips, lowering his voice: “Mm, I’ll head back to my office first. If there’s any issue, we can discuss anytime.”
Lin Wu: “Okay.”
Back in her own office, Lin Wu sat in her chair in a daze. She didn’t even notice when Zhao Yuxin knocked and came in.
It wasn’t until Zhao Yuxin stood right in front of her and called her name that Lin Wu looked up. “What is it?”
Zhao Yuxin let out a soft “ah.” “Lawyer Lin, are you feeling unwell?”
“No,” Lin Wu said with a helpless laugh, raising her hand to rub her temple. “I was just lost in thought.”
Zhao Yuxin relaxed and placed the neatly organized case files on her desk. “These are the materials I’ve sorted. Take a look when you can, Lawyer Lin.”
Lin Wu nodded. “Okay.”
She glanced at the time. “Don’t stay late today. It’s the weekend. The tasks I gave you aren’t urgent—just have them ready for me by end of day Monday.”
Hearing this, Zhao Yuxin smiled. “Got it, Lawyer Lin.”
She thought for a second, then looked at Lin Wu and said, “You shouldn’t work too late either. Your health comes first.”
Lin Wu smiled faintly. “I know.”
After Zhao Yuxin left, Lin Wu stayed busy for a while longer.
It wasn’t until past nine that she finally picked up her phone, which had been completely silent all day.
She opened WeChat, scrolled down the chat list, found the familiar profile picture, and tapped into it.
Their conversation was still stuck at last Friday night, around 11:50-something.
There had been no further contact since then.
Lin Wu stared at the few messages Chen Zhuo had sent her that day, thought for a long time, and finally typed out a message and sent it.
The conference room was filled with endless arguing. Chen Zhuo listened until his head hurt.
He propped his head up with one hand, his expression calm and impassive, making him impossible to read.
Wang Liqun, sitting beside him, stole glances at his boss’s face and felt a little uneasy.
For some reason, ever since his boss had suddenly returned to the country for one day and then come back, his mood seemed worse. When he’d seen him off at the airport to return, he had still been in a good mood.
Wang Liqun was still wondering what had caused Chen Zhuo’s bad mood when a sudden, abrupt sound cut through the wide conference room full of verbal sparring.
Before entering the meeting room, everyone had tacitly put their phones on silent to avoid interruptions.
So at that moment, all eyes turned in unison toward the man at the head of the table.
The person who didn’t silence their phone during a meeting was usually only one person.
Noticing everyone’s stares, Chen Zhuo reacted a few seconds late.
He picked up the phone on the table and opened it. When he saw the message from Lin Wu, he paused slightly, then slowly lifted his eyelids to look at the now-silent group. His expression darkened faintly. “Finished talking?”
The various managers and directors quickly averted their eyes and resumed their unresolved arguments.
“…”
Chen Zhuo steadied himself and stared at the message from the person who had only just remembered him for quite a while. He almost wanted to laugh.
Lin Wu was asking what time they would meet tonight.
If he remembered correctly, Fengxing should have had a meeting with Xianghe Law Firm’s lawyers that afternoon—so Lin Wu should already know he wasn’t in the country.
With that thought, Chen Zhuo still replied to her frankly: “Back in New York. Things here aren’t finished yet. Heading back next week.”
Lin Wu, hesitant: “Did something come up again?”
Chen Zhuo: “No.”
The issues themselves just hadn’t been resolved yet.
Lin Wu: “…Okay.”
Chen Zhuo: “Mm.”
Their conversation suddenly stalled.
Lin Wu didn’t know what else to say or ask. Chen Zhuo’s replies were also cool and distant.
But between the two of them, Lin Wu had always been the colder one.
She didn’t reply to Chen Zhuo again. She set her phone down and forced herself back into work mode.
She stayed busy until eleven.
Lin Wu packed up her things and prepared to head home.
Just as she reached the parking lot, her phone rang crisply. She didn’t check the caller ID and answered directly: “Hello, who is this?”
Hearing her cool, clear voice, Chen Zhuo silently curved his lips. “It’s me.”
“…” Lin Wu froze, stopping abruptly in her tracks.
She listened to his breathing—it felt so close, yet also so far away.
“President Chen.” Lin Wu was quiet for a few seconds before softly calling his name.
Chen Zhuo acknowledged, “It’s me.”
Lin Wu continued walking toward her car.
After reaching it and getting in, she pressed her lips together and asked relatively straightforwardly, “Are you calling about the case? I haven’t gotten home yet—you might have to wait a bit.”
Chen Zhuo: “…”
Catching the sarcasm in her tone, he gave a light laugh. “Lawyer Lin seems to have quite a lot of resentment.”
Lin Wu spoke seriously: “I don’t.”
“Not about the case,” Chen Zhuo said, whether believing her or not, his voice softening. “Let’s talk about something else today.”
Lin Wu’s breathing hitched slightly. She asked without focus in her eyes, “Something else like what?”
Chen Zhuo: “You.”