21. “Why Is Your Face Red?”
The President’s Office was rarely so idle in the afternoon, and the boss was not around either.
After finishing the tasks at hand, Ling Xi chatted with Xu Jing about a recently popular drama. The more they talked, the more excited they became. They even pulled up several famous scenes from the show on the computer and discussed them together.
With five minutes left before getting off work, Ling Xi went to the restroom.
On her way back, she happened to run into Zhou Mingye walking into the company.
Wasn’t he out meeting a client? Why was he back again?
Zhou Mingye had his coat draped over his arm, his expression calm. It was hard to tell whether the business discussion had gone smoothly or not.
To avoid being alone with Zhou Mingye, Ling Xi had told a small lie at noon.
At this moment, her steps faltered. As Zhou Mingye drew closer, she turned and hurried into the pantry.
She stayed there for quite a while. Only after people in the office gradually got off work did Ling Xi finally come out at a leisurely pace.
Seeing that the light in Zhou Mingye’s office was still on, she stood at the door and peeked inside. He probably still had work unfinished. Perfect. She could slip away first.
Separated by just one wall, Zhou Mingye had long since spotted Ling Xi’s figure through a gap in the curtains.
He opened the internal surveillance system again.
She panicked and hid when she saw him come back, and now she was tiptoeing and sneaking a look at his office.
She wanted to keep her distance, yet could not help caring about his every move.
It really wasn’t easy for her.
Since he had no plans for the evening anyway, and since she loved acting so much, he might as well play along with her for a bit.
Ling Xi stood in front of Zhou Mingye’s office, just about to turn back, when the door suddenly opened.
She quickly turned around and casually grabbed a sheet of paper from the printer beside her, pretending she was about to make copies.
Staring at the control buttons, Ling Xi caught sight of Zhou Mingye walking toward her in her peripheral vision. He stopped and asked, “I heard you were sick?”
“Huh?” Ling Xi looked up and laughed dryly. “I felt a bit unwell at noon. I’m fine now.”
Zhou Mingye leaned against the desk and asked unhurriedly, “You recovered pretty fast. What were you looking at just now?”
Ling Xi widened her eyes. Did he have X-ray vision? How did he know she had been staring at him?
Being questioned face-to-face, Ling Xi could not find a reasonable excuse for a moment.
Seeing how nervous she looked, Zhou Mingye gave a half-smile that was not quite a smile.
Ling Xi wanted to run, but nothing had been printed on the blank sheet of paper. She pretended to squat down and check the machine. “I think this printer might be broken. The people from the tech department aren’t around either.”
She tapped and fiddled with it, putting on a show for a bit, before slowly standing up again. Zhou Mingye was still standing there.
Their gazes met squarely.
Zhou Mingye lowered his eyes and saw half of Ling Xi’s head peeking out. Her eyes were bright, as if washed with water, her eyelashes trembling lightly. Her gaze met his for less than half a second before darting away.
Zhou Mingye suddenly felt a little dazed. He stepped forward, blocking Ling Xi’s path.
After a moment of silence, Zhou Mingye spoke. “Miss Ling, you’ve been investigating me for forty-six days. What exactly are you trying to find out?”
Ling Xi’s brain short-circuited. For a moment, she could not recall where she had slipped up.
He knew?
That couldn’t be right. He did not look angry at all. She absolutely could not show weakness first.
Cornered and questioned like this by Zhou Mingye, Ling Xi could only pretend to be an onlooker gossiping for fun.
“Well, um… I heard that you only eat breakfasts made by Assistant Han. Is that true?”
Zhou Mingye let out a cold laugh. This was getting more and more ridiculous.
He had heard some of the rumors going around the company.
Back in university, his friends had once joked with him, asking whether he kept rejecting girls because he liked men.
Who would have thought that people in the company would also start discussing whether he was gay?
Zhou Mingye chuckled lightly and tugged at his tie. “You’re that concerned about my sexual orientation?”
Ling Xi bit her lip. Was her brain made of mush?
Why had she asked that?
How was she supposed to answer? Was she supposed to say, yes, I’m curious about your sexual orientation, are you involved with Han Zhao, being the third party?
Ling Xi pressed her lips together, her mind racing.
In Zhou Mingye’s eyes, her silence and reddening ears only further confirmed his guess.
Ling Xi cared whether he liked women because she wanted to know if there was any possibility between them.
He had already taken the initiative to this extent today. How could he let her lead him by the nose now?
With his hands in his pockets, he waited for Ling Xi’s response.
Ling Xi braced herself and gave an extremely obsequious answer.
“President Zhou, I just wanted to know where the gap is between Assistant Han and me, so I can optimize the workflow and provide you with more efficient support.”
Hearing this, Zhou Mingye raised an eyebrow slightly. “Is that so? Since you’re so dedicated, you’ll follow me for the next week’s schedule. I’ll personally give you some guidance.”
“Oh, right.” Zhou Mingye leaned closer and added, “You’ll also be the one making the coffee and bringing it in.”
Back at her workstation, Ling Xi opened her computer and looked at the schedule for the week. She punched the mouse pad hard.
Why did she keep digging holes for herself?
*
After settling his mother in, Han Zhao returned home two days later than Su Wanwan.
Late at night, he carried his suitcase inside and saw Su Wanwan sitting on the sofa.
“Not going to sleep yet?”
“I was waiting for you. We need to talk.”
Su Wanwan had had no appetite these past few days.
She had met Han Zhao in a university reading club. Back then, she had been drawn to his steadiness and reliability. She had never expected that this very trait would now become a barrier between them.
After discovering Han Zhao’s low desire, Su Wanwan initially tried to communicate with him, but Han Zhao always avoided the issue. His behavior also became secretive and furtive. In the end, she could only endure in suspicion.
Han Zhao put down his luggage and washed his face. Seeing Su Wanwan standing at the bathroom door with her arms crossed, he knew he had to face this issue tonight.
Back in the living room, Han Zhao sat down. “Go ahead.”
Su Wanwan did not want to beat around the bush and asked directly, “Are you hiding something from me?”
Han Zhao froze, seemingly judging which matter she was referring to.
Su Wanwan looked at him for a long moment, took a deep breath, and said, “If you don’t want to communicate on your own, I’ll ask directly.”
Han Zhao did not speak.
“What is your relationship with your boss and his mother?”
Han Zhao probably did not expect Su Wanwan to bring this up. A flash of shock crossed his face. “You know?”
Su Wanwan was frank. “I know part of it. We’re husband and wife. If you’ve done something that betrays me, just tell me honestly. I won’t get angry.”
Han Zhao leaned back on the sofa, his fingers rubbing against each other repeatedly. “I didn’t want to hide it from you either.”
He was silent for a moment, then moved to sit beside Su Wanwan.
“Once, when I went to President Zhou’s house to pick up some documents, I ran into Auntie Liang. She added me on WeChat. At first, she only occasionally asked about President Zhou’s schedule. Later…”
Han Zhao paused. “Once I let something slip and told Auntie Liang that President Zhou had stomach pain. She transferred five thousand to me separately and asked me to supervise President Zhou’s breakfasts and make him some nutritious, healthy food.”
“So the breakfasts you made before were for Zhou Mingye?” Su Wanwan asked.
Han Zhao nodded. “I delivered them a few times and claimed I’d bought them. Later, President Zhou said he didn’t need it. He doesn’t like troubling people.”
“Auntie Liang often asked about President Zhou’s private matters and even wanted to confirm his social engagements. During that period, I contacted President Zhou frequently under pressure. He even started to find it annoying. Later, Auntie Liang also asked me to take photos for her. The more it went on, the more inappropriate it felt.”
Su Wanwan recalled the time Ling Xi had accidentally seen Han Zhao’s chat window. Those photos must have been sent to Liang Fangyue.
“Then why didn’t you refuse?” she asked.
At this point, Han Zhao looked ashamed. “She often transferred money to me. Actually, a few months ago, I already went to see a doctor. He said my low desire is a medical condition and needs gradual treatment. I didn’t have the courage to tell you, so I kept avoiding it and didn’t go to the hospital with you.”
As Han Zhao spoke, his voice began to tremble. “I thought that since I couldn’t satisfy you in that way, I’d earn more money and pay off the mortgage earlier, so you’d have it easier…”
Su Wanwan felt her throat tighten, and for a moment she did not know what to say.
Han Zhao looked at her. “During this leave, President Zhou still paid my salary as usual. He really is a very good boss. I don’t want to stay in contact with Auntie Liang anymore. The messages I sent her a few days ago were about this.”
Afraid Su Wanwan would not believe him, Han Zhao took out his phone. “Look. These are this morning’s chat records. I didn’t delete them.”
The chat history indeed showed a refund and an explanation about ending contact.
“I’m already undergoing treatment,” Han Zhao said as he held Su Wanwan’s hand. “I had planned to find a chance to tell you too. Forgive me, okay? I shouldn’t have hidden it from you.”
Su Wanwan stood frozen in place.
So this affair she had imagined was nothing more than her own delusion.
She pulled her hand away. “Give me some time.”
*
At noon on a weekday, Su Wanwan asked Ling Xi to meet.
In the café, after listening to everything Su Wanwan said, Ling Xi was stunned on the spot, unable to process it for a moment.
The evidence she had seen with her own eyes, Han Zhao’s interactions with Zhou Mingye, the subtle clues she had picked up, were all nothing but her own preconceived imagination?
Ling Xi rested her forehead against the slightly cool tabletop. Thinking back on her investigative behavior after joining the company, she was so embarrassed that she wanted to crawl into a crack in the ground.
Su Wanwan reached out and cupped her face. “It’s all my fault. At the beginning, when you said it didn’t seem very likely, I didn’t believe you. I was stuck in my own thinking then.”
“So what about you two now…?” Ling Xi asked.
Su Wanwan lowered her eyes. “I promised him I’d wait until he adjusts his health on his own. He even went to the hospital to get medicine this morning.”
Ling Xi took a deep breath, trying to sort through her tangled thoughts. “Then why did President Zhou’s mother do that?”
Su Wanwan took a sip of coffee. “Han Zhao said President Zhou’s relationship with his family is pretty distant, and he doesn’t go back often. His mother might just be overly concerned.”
Ling Xi could not help confirming again. “So both Han Zhao and Zhou Mingye are straight?”
“Yes. Han Zhao said that Zhou Mingye once had a male client confess to him, and he immediately terminated the cooperation.”
Su Wanwan held Ling Xi’s hand. “Xixi, what are you planning to do next?”
Ling Xi gazed at the traffic flowing outside the window, her expression troubled. “Let me think about it.”
*
The next morning, Ling Xi carried a cup of coffee and walked to the door of Zhou Mingye’s office. She took three deep breaths before raising her hand to knock.
After removing the notion that “Zhou Mingye is gay and broke up someone else’s family,” all Ling Xi felt when facing Zhou Mingye was shame and guilt.
If Zhou Mingye knew that she had deliberately gotten close to him and used her work position to satisfy her personal curiosity, would he immediately tell her to pack up and leave?
Entering the office, Ling Xi placed the tray on the desk. “Good morning, President Zhou.”
Zhou Mingye picked up the cup and took a sip. Seeing Ling Xi with her head lowered and looking listless, he set the coffee down.
“Didn’t sleep well last night?” he asked.
Ling Xi’s heart tightened. “No.”
She answered too quickly. As she reached for the tray, she accidentally knocked over a folder beside her.
She hurriedly squatted down to gather the fallen documents.
Suddenly, Zhou Mingye’s voice came from above, his tone unreadable. “Why is your face red?”