Chapter 06
** Intense**
**Shen He:** Not yet. But eventually.
Seeing this reply, Zhou Yang tossed his phone into the card slot, fastened his seatbelt, and started the car. Not long after driving off, WeChat beeped again.
Taking advantage of a red light, he glanced at it.
**Su Hao:** Zhou Yang, thank you. For being so thoughtful. I’m truly grateful.
After finishing her milk, Su Hao picked up a book and flipped through it. A few minutes later, her phone rang. She casually picked it up and looked.
**Zhou Yang:** You’re welcome.
She looked at it for a few moments, then slowly put the phone down. Her mood was much calmer than before; she was no longer as emotional and fluctuating as when she first arrived. Between her and him lay a galaxy. She had never even known what he liked or loved—how had she dared to speak of liking him back then?
Before bed, Su Hao video-chatted with her mother. Cheng Ling had just recovered from an illness. Her face was pale, but she smiled and said, “I’ve been walking in the garden these past two days, strolling around, breathing fresh air. I feel much better.”
“Show me the place where you are.”
Su Hao had no choice but to turn on the lights in the room, put on her slippers, and get out of bed. “It’s two bedrooms and a living room. The rent isn’t expensive. When you’re feeling better and come to visit, there’ll be a place for you here.”
“That’s good.” Her mother’s gaze swept around. Although the apartment was old, it was indeed quite spacious. “Is it nice. Did Su Qian find it for you?”
“No.” Su Hao paused after saying that. Her mother was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and asked, “Zhou Yang should be married by now, right? Families like theirs always care about matching social status.”
Leaning against the sofa armrest, Su Hao understood her mother’s meaning. Back then, Cheng Ling had told her not to harbor such thoughts. Su Hao looked up and smiled. “Mm, I know.”
Cheng Ling understood that her daughter had grasped her meaning and didn’t continue. She only asked, “Do you have enough money? I tucked a card into the pocket of that black coat in your suitcase.”
“Mom!”
“That card is for you.” Su Hao spoke as she turned and walked back to the bedroom to check the coat. Cheng Ling smiled gently. “I don’t need that much money. You’re on your own out there—”
Pulling out the card, Su Hao felt helpless. She looked at her mother through the video. The two women had similar brows and similar personalities. They stared at each other for a long while.
Su Hao gave her a playful glare.
Cheng Ling smiled back, gently.
They chatted for a while longer before ending the video. She glanced at the time. It was very late. Su Hao went back to bed, put down her phone, turned off the light, and fell asleep.
—
The next day, Su Hao woke up early, made breakfast, ate, and walked to work.
Chen Yu and Zhang Xian had already arrived. Both were eating breakfast. The office smelled of fried noodles and soup noodles. Su Hao greeted them.
“Chen Yu, Sister Zhang Xian. Good morning.”
“Morning. Did you sort yesterday’s receipts? If so, hand these in to General Manager Zeng along with them.” Zhang Xian handed over a stack of papers and a ledger, tossing them onto the desk. Su Hao walked over to take them when Chen Yu suddenly grabbed a pile of reimbursement forms in a rush, still chewing on noodles. “Oh, oh, I forgot to log last night’s accounts. Su Hao, can you log these for me first, then turn them all in together?”
“Why are you always like this? Never finishing the day’s work by the end of the day.” Lu Mimi happened to walk in and immediately snapped at her, casually setting down an apple and a milkshake.
Chen Yu mumbled through her noodles. “They only handed them in after work. Everyone was shouting that they needed reimbursement today. By the time I processed them all, it was past quitting time.”
“Pfft. Useless.”
“You—”
Su Hao quickly stepped forward and took them. “I’ll do it. I’ll do it.”
Taking the reimbursement forms, Su Hao returned to her desk, sat down, bent her head, and began sorting, then logging them. With this delay, General Manager Zeng’s assistant called twice to urge her.
Since Su Hao was the one doing it, the urging turned to her.
Su Hao was a little flustered, but she held steady. Even if she couldn’t do it quickly, she could at least do it well. Finally, Chen Yu finished her breakfast, dragged her chair over, and came to help.
But Su Hao was almost done. They checked the numbers together. Everything matched. Su Hao then gathered all the ledgers and receipts and walked to General Manager Zeng’s office.
As she rushed out the door, she glanced at the time—she hadn’t realized over an hour had passed. It was almost 10:30. She was late turning in the work. Su Hao was a little nervous. She raised her knuckles and knocked.
“Come in.” General Manager Zeng’s voice came from behind the door.
Su Hao pushed the door open, walked in, and placed the materials on the large desk. Zeng didn’t look at her. He was staring at the spreadsheet on his computer. His tone was flat. “What time is it?”
“10:30.” Su Hao’s heart sank. She answered.
“So you do know what time it is.” Zeng reached out, flipped through the ledger, and his gaze fell on the neatly stacked reimbursement forms. The handwriting was elegant and clear.
“Don’t let me have to chase you for things like this in the future.” He looked at them for a moment, then casually closed the ledger.
“Yes, sir.”
Su Hao nodded.
“Get out.”
Su Hao breathed a sigh of relief and quickly turned to leave—but then she saw Zhou Yang sitting on the sofa, long legs crossed, drinking coffee. The man’s handsome face was buried in a magazine; he didn’t even look up.
Su Hao froze.
Then she hurried to the door. After stepping out, she paused briefly, then walked back to the office and sat down at her desk. Her phone had some news push notifications. Su Hao tapped to open them.
The light in front of her darkened. Su Hao looked up to see Chen Yu’s face. Chen Yu coughed, pulled over a chair, sat down, rested her hands on the desk, and said, “So, uh… did General Manager Zeng just scold you?”
Su Hao put down her phone. “Yeah. From now on, let’s finish everything together before the end of the day.”
Chen Yu immediately breathed a sigh of relief and nodded eagerly. “Okay, okay.”
Her expression brightened.
Su Hao smiled.
—
The whole day was quite busy. There was a meeting in the afternoon, and many people attended. Zhang Xian went too. But Zhou Yang seemed to have lost his temper. In the meeting room, the man didn’t say a word. The table was covered in complaint forms. After the meeting, everyone looked pale. Zhang Xian’s face was also very white. Soon after, a group of people walked past the office door, led by Zhou Yang, who strode away.
After he left, Zhang Xian’s complexion finally improved a little.
Lu Mimi asked, “What happened?”
Zhang Xian completely ignored Lu Mimi. Chen Yu tugged at Lu Mimi’s sleeve, signaling her not to ask.
Gradually, the atmosphere in the office improved. Su Hao focused on her work the entire time. Just before the end of the day, she and Chen Yu processed the reimbursement forms together.
They left around six.
Su Hao was holding her small bag as she stepped out of the elevator into the lobby. She saw the red Maserati pull up and screech to a stop at the entrance.
The door opened. Li Xiu pulled off her sunglasses, stepped out with her long legs, and immediately spotted Su Hao. She raised an eyebrow, took out her phone, and dialed Zhou Yang’s number.
A minute later, she pulled the phone away from her ear and called out to Su Hao, “Are you off work?”
Su Hao had been about to walk toward the crosswalk. She paused and answered, “Yes.”
“Is Zhou Yang not in the company?” Li Xiu’s tone was quite arrogant.
Su Hao hesitated. “He seemed to have left in the afternoon.”
“Oh, is that right.” Li Xiu looked at Su Hao’s plain, makeup-free face, paused, and said, “Where are you going? Let me give you a ride.”
“Thank you, but no need.”
Li Xiu was bold and outgoing.
Su Hao wasn’t quite comfortable with that.
“No, I’m giving you a ride.” Li Xiu stared at her. Whether it was a woman’s intuition or not, the moment she saw Su Hao, her heart started pounding fiercely.
Su Hao frowned.
“If you don’t let me drive you, I’ll just follow you with my car,” Li Xiu said, patting her car door.
Su Hao stared back at her for a few seconds. Just as she was about to speak, Li Xiu’s phone rang. Li Xiu picked it up, glanced at it, and her eyes lit up.
She answered, her voice dripping with sweetness. “Zhou Yang!”
“Why aren’t you answering my calls?”
“I came to your company.”
Whether intentionally or not, she put it on speaker.
On the other end, the man’s low, lazy voice came through. “How many times have you called me, hm?”
“I just couldn’t find you—”
“You can’t find me, so you call-bomb me? Who taught you that?”
Su Hao walked toward the crosswalk. Her figure disappeared around the corner, and she could no longer hear the conversation. She hadn’t cooked the groceries she bought yesterday.
After going upstairs, she started cooking. She made a simple soup and stir-fried a dish. She sat at the table alone and ate. After eating, she washed one bowl and a few plates.
She dried her hands, returned to the living room, sat down on the sofa, and picked up her phone to glance at it.
The six-person group chat had a lot of messages.
She casually tapped into it.
**【When Will Love Arrive (6)】**
**Chen Yu:** @Lu Mimi, look quick! General Manager Zhou came back to the company for Miss Li! The two of them are eating together in the company cafeteria!
**Lu Mimi:** Shut up. I don’t see anything.
**Chen Yu:** This time, General Manager Zhou hasn’t rejected Miss Li at all. He must be thinking about marriage.
**Lu Mimi:** Shut up.
**Chen Yu:** Hahaha! You’ve lost your chance!
Su Hao looked at it for a few moments, then exited the chat.
—
Two more days of work passed, and the weekend arrived. Su Qian kept urging Su Hao to come home for a meal. Su Hao made lemon chicken feet (boneless) and brought them to the Zhou family’s main residence. Su Qian had wanted to pick her up, but Su Hao declined and took a taxi instead. Su Qian cooked herself, wearing a pink apron. She was overjoyed to see Su Hao.
Su Hao set down the lemon chicken feet.
Su Qian glanced at it, and her eyes lit up. “Your mother’s recipe.”
“Yes, Auntie. It’s been a long time since you’ve had it, hasn’t it?” Su Hao opened the container, used a toothpick to spear a piece, and handed it to Su Qian. Su Qian opened her mouth, ate it, and squinted her eyes with pleasure. “So delicious! Your mother has always made these so well. Back then, she used to bring them to our dormitory for me to eat.”
“Right. She told me that when I came here, I should make them for you often.” Su Hao fed Su Qian another piece.
Su Qian took a bite, looked at Su Hao’s beautiful face, and sighed inwardly. A few seconds later, she asked, “Hao Hao, what about Shen He?”
Su Hao paused, put down the toothpick, and smiled. “He’s great.”
Su Qian sighed again. She reached out and patted Su Hao’s shoulder. “Think it over carefully. He really is a good man.”
She decided not to tell Su Hao about Shen He’s family background just yet, afraid it might scare her. Su Qian took Su Hao’s wrist. “Come on, watch me show off my cooking skills.”
Su Hao followed along supportively.
—
Only the two of them ate lunch. After the meal, Su Qian pulled Su Hao and said they were going strawberry picking.
The strawberry patch wasn’t far away—it was at a villa complex in the hills behind the residential area. It belonged to a friend of Su Qian’s, who had built a leisure inn there. The grounds were as large as a golf course. A swipe of a key card gained them entry. Su Qian put on a sun hat and put one on Su Hao as well.
They walked down a slope, like thieves, grabbed baskets, and headed toward the middle.
The ground was muddy; it seemed to have been sprinkled with water. Su Hao was glad she’d worn black shoes. She squatted down beside Su Qian. Strawberries hid among the green leaves, very tempting.
Su Qian lowered her hat and said to Su Hao, “Let’s pick as many as we can and then leave.”
Su Hao was startled. “Don’t we need to tell the owner?”
“That’s exactly what will make her furious.”
Su Hao: “…Alright.”
The way Su Qian said it made her a little nervous. Su Hao lowered her hat and picked carefully. They had been picking for a while when suddenly a low male voice came from above. “Mom?”
Both of them looked up.
On the slope above stood Zhou Yang in a white shirt and black trousers. He raised an eyebrow at their furtive behavior.
After a few seconds, he smiled and half-squatted down. “When Aunt Li finds out—”
“Shut up.” Su Qian stood up, holding her basket, and shushed him repeatedly. Su Hao stood up too. Seeing Su Qian like this, she also smiled. In the sunlight, her brows and eyes were soft, and her smile revealed dimples.
Zhou Yang lifted his eyelids and glanced at her. Su Hao met his gaze, then calmly looked away.
Su Qian looked back at Su Hao’s basket. It was quite full, and the sun was strong. She pulled Su Hao’s hand. “Come on, it’s too sunny. We’ve picked enough. Let’s go home.”
Su Hao obediently followed.
But Su Qian didn’t go back via the slope with stairs. She went straight up the steep incline. Zhou Yang reached out and pulled Su Qian up. Su Qian brushed off her hands, adjusted her hat, and said, “Su Hao, you come up too.”
Su Hao handed her basket to Su Qian. It wasn’t convenient to run back to the stairs. Fortunately, this side of the slope had footholds, making it easier to climb. She grabbed the footholds and used her strength to pull herself up. Just then, the man’s large hand reached out and very naturally grabbed her wrist, pulling her upward. With his strength, Su Hao quickly made it up the slope—but the ground was slippery.
Zhou Yang firmly wrapped his arm around her waist and stepped back a few paces.
Just those few paces.
The woman’s fragrant softness suddenly became intensely overwhelming.
