Chu Ningwu waited in the restroom for quite a while, long enough to start dozing off again. Her eyelids felt as heavy as if they were glued shut, even sleepier than sitting through a high school math class.
She really could not hold on anymore and quietly slipped back.
This time, luck was finally on her side. She returned safely to her little place.
Only after quickly taking a shower and collapsing onto the original owner’s cozy bed did she finally relax.
She slept like the world had ended. After an exhausting night and morning, Master Chu slept like a little pig, completely unaware of the chaos unfolding outside.
Huo Group.
Everyone in the meeting room sat neatly in place. Anyone with eyes could tell that the CEO was in a terrible mood today.
In less than two hours, he had already rejected seventeen reports.
Huo Zhi Chuan tugged irritably at his tie and loosened the top button of his white shirt.
He always kept that button fastened, yet today he felt suffocated, as if something was stuck in his chest, unable to rise or fall.
Assistant Lin stood to the side, organizing documents while typing rapidly on his laptop to record the meeting.
He had just typed, “Working people’s lives matter too, CEO please spare us,” and was about to delete it when he looked up and froze.
C C CEO!
The love bite on your neck is visible!
He was clearly not the only one who noticed.
In the silent room where no one dared to breathe, an awkward and suggestive atmosphere spread.
Some people exchanged glances, their eyes gleaming with gossip, as if saying, “The workaholic CEO has finally found someone!”
Others gestured to colleagues who had not noticed, while some secretly checked their phones under the table.
The group chat without the CEO instantly exploded.
Xiao Liu Tomorrow Off: The CEO is like a loaded gun today. Turns out it is not because he missed his soup, but because he drank love potion instead.
Arrogant Xiao Zhang: Not necessarily a woman. The CEO has been abstinent for so many years, not that easy to bloom.
Daily Fortune Maker: You are outdated. Slept too early last night and missed the messages. The CEO almost broke the bed.
Just Turned Eighteen: That potion must have been intense. Why is the CEO so unhappy then? Did he get tricked?
Not Assistant Lin: Dumped right after, hahaha.
Message retracted.
Assistant Lin looked at the screen with satisfaction, enjoying the flood of reactions.
Suddenly, a pen shot across the room and embedded itself into the redwood desk beside him.
Assistant Lin nearly fainted.
Meeting the CEO’s dark gaze, he did not just stop breathing, he almost lost consciousness.
Huo Zhi Chuan was already in a bad mood for no clear reason. He had sent people to find her again, and investigating a named individual was not difficult.
But thinking about how she had run away again and again, avoiding him like the plague, made him feel unsettled.
And his assistant was standing there grinning like a fool, as if he had just gotten married.
Annoying. Extremely annoying.
Huo Zhi Chuan crossed his long legs, stared coldly for two seconds, then withdrew his gaze.
“Today’s meeting ends here.”
Before anyone could react, he stood up and left.
He had wanted to scold Assistant Lin just now, but the man had followed him for nearly ten years and was a trusted aide.
Scolding him in front of everyone would damage his pride and possibly create resentment, and it might also discourage others.
Besides, his own emotions were unstable today. Continuing the meeting would not help progress work and would only expose his condition.
As the CEO of a vast business empire, Huo Zhi Chuan knew the importance of controlling his emotions.
Standing before the massive floor to ceiling window in the top floor office, he looked out over the financial heart of Jing City.
Skyscrapers stood in dense rows, and Huo Group was the tallest among them, just like his position at the peak.
Traffic flowed below, and crowds moved like ants.
Where could she be hiding?
Huo Zhi Chuan lit a cigar and held it between his fingers. The red ember flickered, yet he never brought it to his lips.
After experiencing that kind of pleasure, even the finest tobacco felt meaningless.
Only the dull sting of nicotine remained.
The internal office phone suddenly rang. Only then did he realize the heat was almost burning his fingers.
His pupils contracted slightly as he came back to his senses and pressed the cigar into the ashtray.
The voice on the other end reported, “CEO, we have found all of Miss Chu’s address information. There are no recent hotel stays, travel records, or shopping activity. She should be hiding at home. Should we send people to bring her back?”
Huo Zhi Chuan paused, then reached for the black suit jacket draped over the brown Hermes suede sofa.
“I will go myself.”
Meanwhile
Chu Ningwu had not slept long before being woken by aggressive knocking on the door. She felt like blowing up the world.
Damn it, she transmigrated into a novel, not into hell.
Why could she not even get a proper sleep?
With messy hair, she got out of bed. Her stomach growled loudly. After such a chaotic day, she realized she had eaten nothing except a few glasses of warm water Huo Zhi Chuan had given her.
Nothing mattered more than food.
Ignoring the noise outside, Chu Ningwu went straight to the kitchen to heat her buns.
She placed one meat bun and one vegetable bun on a white plate and put them into the microwave.
The person outside started shouting even louder.
She had still hoped it might be for her roommate.
But then she heard her own name.
“Chu Ningwu! You ungrateful girl! What kind of sister are you! How dare you not bring breakfast to Yaobao and Canbao!”
“They are only in third grade! Skipping a meal will harm their growth! Are you jealous that your brothers are better than you?”
“Get out here! I know you are inside! Stop pretending! If you don’t come out, I will pretend I never had you as a daughter!”
Chu Ningwu held a meat bun in her mouth and looked through the peephole.
A plainly dressed middle aged woman with dry hair and a twisted expression stood outside.
Beside her were two chubby boys wearing red scarves.
Her hand paused on the doorknob.
There was actually such a good thing?