Over the next few days, Su Banxia and Pei Shaoze's interactions were extremely strange. No, "awkward" was a better word.
Sharing the same office, they inevitably crossed paths constantly. Neither of them brought up what happened in the bathroom that day, but both had it lingering in their minds, making their interactions far from comfortable.
After working through the morning, they barely managed to make it to noon without incident. Just as Su Banxia set down her work, her desk phone rang again.
Picking it up, she said, "Hello, Ding Sheng Group main office. How can I assist you?"
The receptionist's sweet voice came through the line. "Secretary Su, there's a courier downstairs who says he has a package for you that needs to be handed to you personally."
Su Banxia paused briefly. "I haven't ordered anything recently!"
"But it's definitely addressed to you!" the receptionist insisted.
"Give me yesterday's signed contract!"
Pei Shaoze's icy voice cut in. Su Banxia looked up to see him staring at her with a grim expression.
Nodding at him, she searched for the documents while speaking into the phone. "Let him bring it up!"
She hung up and found the file for Pei Shaoze.
A while later, a knock came from outside the office. Su Banxia quickly got up and opened the door.
The first thing she saw was a huge bouquet of vibrant red roses. Startled, she stared at the sudden appearance of the flowers, completely baffled.
"Hello, are you Miss Su Banxia?" The courier poked his head out from behind the large bouquet, looking at her.
Su Banxia nodded. "Yes."
The courier handed her a receipt and smiled. "Please sign for your flowers."
Confused, Su Banxia signed and took the bouquet from him.
She had no idea what was going on. "I don't think I ordered any roses. Who sent them?"
The courier shrugged with a grin. "I'm not sure, I just deliver them. But given how pretty you are, it's probably from someone special or an admirer!"
"Su Banxia!"
A voice came from inside the office—Pei Shaoze's cold tone.
Without another word to the courier, Su Banxia hurried inside with the flowers.
Setting them aside for the moment, she turned to Pei Shaoze. "President Pei, what is it?"
He looked at her, his gaze landing on the bouquet she'd set down, his dark eyes narrowing. "Didn't realize you were so popular."
The words sounded strange, tinged with sarcasm.
Su Banxia lowered her eyes. "Sorry, President Pei. This won't happen again."
"Hmph!" Pei Shaoze let out a cold laugh. "I can't control your personal life, Secretary Su, but I need to remind you—if you want to stay at Ding Sheng, you need to manage it properly. Also..."
He rose gracefully from his chair, his cold demeanor closing in on her.
As the man approached, Su Banxia's brow furrowed, a sense of unease creeping in.
"President Pei, I assure you, this won't happen again," she said.
Seeing her flustered and at a loss, Pei Shaoze stopped just short of her, maintaining a distance of only a few centimeters.
He extended a long finger, his eyes narrowing as he leaned in, lowering his voice to an icy whisper. "Su Banxia, it seems you've forgotten your current position. You're not just my secretary—you're my woman."
With that, he leaned closer, attempting to kiss her.
But Su Banxia instinctively stepped back, creating distance, and said with polite detachment, "President Pei, if there's nothing else, I'll take my lunch break now."
Without waiting for a response, she turned and walked out of the office.
Before she could leave, she ran into Yan Xin, who was coming in.
Seeing her, Yan Xin beamed. "Banxia, did you get the flowers I sent?"
Su Banxia froze. "You sent the flowers?"
"Yeah! Do you like them?" Yan Xin grinned like a child.
Su Banxia hesitated, confused. "Why did you suddenly send me flowers? Is it some special day today?"
"No," Yan Xin said, his expression turning serious. "Banxia, I..."
"Aren't you going to lunch? What are you blocking the way for?" Pei Shaoze stood with his hands in his pockets, staring coldly at Su Banxia.
His gaze made her uneasy. Without another word to Yan Xin, she nodded slightly and left.
The two men were left alone, staring at each other in silence.
After a long moment, Pei Shaoze spoke. "I warned you not to get close to her."
"That's my business," Yan Xin shot back, a mocking smile on his lips. "Shaoze, if you doubt her, feel free to test her. It doesn't matter to me. It won't affect my feelings for her or my pursuit of her. Unless..."
He paused, smirking. "Unless you've developed feelings for her and don't want me to pursue her. Hmm?"
Pei Shaoze gave him a cold glance, betraying no emotion. "Do what you want. But it depends on whether you have what it takes."
The words were arrogant, but they seemed to ring true.
For the rest of the afternoon, Su Banxia felt like she was sitting on pins and needles. Pei Shaoze's gaze kept landing on her, making it impossible to focus on work.
It wasn't the usual cold stare—it felt more like scrutiny.
Scrutiny? That word only deepened her confusion.
"Let's have dinner together tonight."
A low, magnetic voice suddenly sounded in her ear, startling her.
Looking up, she found Pei Shaoze standing beside her, his handsome face carrying a hint of awkwardness beneath its usual icy exterior.
"Huh?" Su Banxia was taken aback. "Is there a business dinner tonight?"
"No," he said flatly, his face darkening as if annoyed.
Su Banxia didn't understand. "Then why..."
Realization dawned, and she looked at him, hesitating. "Is it about President Yan..."
"Su Banxia, you really are..."
Before he could finish, her phone rang, cutting him off.
"Sorry, President Pei, I need to take this call," she said, answering it.
It was Guo Guo. As soon as the call connected, her daughter's childish voice came through. "Mommy, are you off work yet?"
No matter how exhausting the day had been, hearing her child's voice instantly melted away Su Banxia's fatigue.
A smile crept onto her face. "I'm off work now. I'll be home soon. What's up, sweetie?"
Guo Guo cheered. "Nothing, I just missed you, and so did my brother."
"Okay, Mommy will be right back," Su Banxia said, adding sweetly, "Mommy misses you too."
Hanging up, she looked up to find Pei Shaoze staring at her with a dark expression. She glanced at the time—it was already after hours.
At a loss for how to handle his inexplicable mood, she said, "President Pei, today's work is mostly arranged. I have things at home, so I..."
"We have a dinner with the head of Xing Yao tonight. You're coming with me," Pei Shaoze said, turning back to his desk.
Su Banxia's enthusiasm was doused cold. She was supposed to go home to her kids.