"Tongze, about this matter, I..."
Su Banxia's eyes darted away.
"I understand what you mean. I won't force your choice, but whenever you want to go back, just tell me anytime."
Lin Tongze's voice was gentle.
Su Banxia looked at him, about to say something, when the next second she was abruptly pulled into someone's arms.
Pei Shaoze had just finished his business and returned. Before his car had even fully stopped, he saw the two of them talking. Watching Su Banxia's tenderness toward Lin Tongze, his anger flared instantly.
Lin Tongze looked at him, his brow furrowing almost imperceptibly, but he ultimately said nothing.
The gazes of the two men clashed in the air. Su Banxia could clearly sense the tension, but in this situation, she had no room to interject.
Pei Shaoze didn't even wait for Lin Tongze to say anything; he directly pulled Su Banxia away, moving swiftly.
Seeing this, Lin Tongze's face turned ashen. Pei Shaoze's arrogance grated on him immensely, yet he found himself powerless to act.
Burning with rage, Pei Shaoze dragged Su Banxia into the office and abruptly let go of her hand.
Su Banxia stumbled, barely managing to steady herself by grabbing the desk behind her. She looked down at her wrist, already reddened from his grip.
She couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath.
"Still in the mood for a secret rendezvous? Looks like you don't have enough work on your hands, do you? Fine then, take all those files on my desk and go through them one by one, carefully comparing each one. Don't leave until you're done!"
Pei Shaoze was furious.
Su Banxia merely glanced at him for a few seconds, then calmly walked over, gathered all the files in front of her, and began working without a word of complaint.
"If that's not enough, I'll have someone bring more from the marketing department. Their secretary just quit, so they're swamped over there!"
Pei Shaoze hated her attitude. All he wanted was a single plea for mercy from her.
But Su Banxia's stubbornness caught him off guard. She looked up, her eyes clear and steady: "As long as it's your task, Mr. Pei, I'll complete it diligently."
"Su Banxia!"
Pei Shaoze stared at her coldly, the aura radiating from him sending chills down anyone's spine.
"I've already skimmed through most of these contracts. I'll follow your instructions and get them done."
Su Banxia was fiercely stubborn, completely ignoring Pei Shaoze's anger as she casually flipped through a few files.
Already displeased, Pei Shaoze's irritation only grew at her actions. He grabbed her wrist and leaned in close.
"This is the office."
Realizing what he intended to do, Su Banxia's expression finally shifted.
"Is Lin Tongze really that great?"
Pei Shaoze's voice was icy. Every time Su Banxia looked at Lin Tongze, there was a strange tenderness in her eyes.
It was a tenderness she rarely, if ever, showed him.
Whenever Su Banxia faced him, it was either with resistance or a strictly professional tone.
"At least he doesn't force me to do things I don't want to."
Su Banxia said calmly, her gaze cold as she looked at Pei Shaoze, offering no further words.
"Fine. Very well!"
The fury in Pei Shaoze's eyes was unmistakable. He released her hand and stormed out, slamming the door behind him.
Hearing the door bang shut, Su Banxia sat down calmly at her desk and resumed working on the files.
Worried about her, Lin Tongze remained in his black business car, watching the direction of Dingsheng Group. When he saw Pei Shaoze leave, he immediately called Su Banxia.
"He gave you a hard time."
Lin Tongze was certain. He knew Pei Shaoze well—how could he not do something with that temper of his?
Su Banxia glanced at the files in front of her, a faint smile on her face: "No, he didn't. Have you gone back?"
"Banxia, I hope you'll reconsider what I said earlier. I was the one who brought you to Dingsheng, and seeing everything you're going through now fills me with guilt."
Lin Tongze sighed softly as he spoke.
"It's not as bad as you think here. Dingsheng is still one of the top companies in Yanshi, and the salary here isn't bad."
Su Banxia joked.
"If Pei Shaoze ever crosses the line and makes you unhappy, my Lin family's company will always welcome you. I guarantee the pay won't be lower than his."
Lin Tongze said calmly.
He could clearly tell that Su Banxia was reluctant to leave Dingsheng, though he couldn't fathom the reason.
"Thank you, Tongze. You've already done so much for me."
Su Banxia was genuinely grateful.
During those six years in France, without Lin Tongze's care, she wouldn't have known how to raise the two children properly.
"We're friends. This little help is nothing."
Lin Tongze chuckled lightly.
They chatted casually about everyday matters before hanging up.
Su Banxia gazed out through the floor-to-ceiling window at the view beyond, her heart unable to find peace.
She had a vague feeling that something within her was subtly shifting, though she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was.
Glancing up at the empty CEO's seat, a bitter smile crept across her lips.
Was she really harboring unrealistic fantasies about him?
But Su Banxia hadn't forgotten the warnings from Old Master Pei and Su Jin. She was well aware of the gap between them and never dared to overstep.
Yan Xin had packed his things for the business trip and came to report his progress to Pei Shaoze, but instead of finding him, he saw Su Banxia buried under a mountain of files.
Watching her intently reviewing documents, Yan Xin didn't need to guess—those two must have had another falling out.
"Shaoze lost his temper again."
It was a statement, not a question.
Yan Xin felt a pang of sympathy for Su Banxia. Sometimes he genuinely thought Pei Shaoze had a problem—clearly liking her, yet never treating her well, instead finding new ways to torment her.
"It's fine. I just didn't handle some things properly."
Su Banxia closed the file in front of her, placed it to her right, and picked up another from the small pile on her left.
"Don't take it to heart. Shaoze is actually a good person, just a bit too single-minded sometimes."
Yan Xin tried to console her.
Before Su Banxia came along, Yan Xin had never noticed Pei Shaoze's moods being so volatile.
In his memory, Pei Shaoze had always been the most composed among their group of friends.
From this, Yan Xin could easily see that Pei Shaoze had genuine feelings for Su Banxia—a love that ran bone-deep.
"He's not just single-minded sometimes; he's single-minded all the time!"
Su Banxia said indignantly.
Even the best temper would wear thin under a boss like that.
Pei Shaoze found new ways to torment her every day, piling up her resentment until it was nearly bursting, yet she lacked the courage to stand up to him.