In the early morning, the window was slightly ajar. A man leaned against his wheelchair on the balcony, making a phone call while holding a cigarette in one hand, taking a deep drag.
On the phone, his assistant reported that during his absence from the Shen Group, Shen Yu had teamed up with several directors to veto the proposal for the Malaysian development zone he had submitted.
In bed, An Ruo had slept soundly all night. She stretched comfortably, squinting as she felt around beside her, only to find the covers empty.
She suddenly opened her eyes and saw a silhouette sitting on the balcony.
An Ruo tiptoed out of bed, slowly approaching the balcony, intending to playfully cover the man's eyes from behind and tease him.
But before she could get close, it was as if the man had eyes in the back of his head: "Awake?"
It was over before it even began...
The smile on An Ruo's face faded. Every time she tried to play some little game to strengthen their bond as a couple, he would see through it in advance. This lack of any sense of experience was utterly boring.
The man turned his wheelchair, noticing her slight disappointment, and raised an eyebrow in confusion: "What's wrong?"
An Ruo shook her head with a wry smile. "Nothing."
Sigh. They were both slow to warm up, always keeping things bottled up inside, needing someone to break through that barrier.
"After breakfast, we'll head back to Shencheng."
"Did something happen?"
The man wheeled himself over. "There's an issue at the company. I need to get back in time to handle it."
"Alright." Since it was work-related, An Ruo could understand. After all, he had just resumed his position, and Shen Yu was at his most wary. One misstep, and he'd cling like a mad dog, dragging everyone into the mess.
"I'll go tell Xiaoche and the others to pack up."
The man reached out and grabbed her as she was about to leave. "I promised to take you to see the sea, but I'm breaking that promise."
"When can't we see the sea? Besides, our house has a 360-degree ocean view—why travel so far for it?" An Ruo patted his hand and smiled. "Your position is sensitive right now. I understand."
With a wife like this, what more could a man ask for?
Shen Xiaoxing's dark eyes lit up because of her presence. He tightened his grip on her hand, and in a moment of deep emotion, lowered his head to kiss the back of it.
He was more convinced than ever that he hadn't misjudged her.
A hundred An Qings couldn't compare to her.
An Ruo had mentioned she'd never been on a helicopter, but it was just a casual remark to ease the awkward atmosphere at the time. She never expected the man to remember it.
On the way back, he insisted on taking a helicopter. An Ruo leaned against him, watching the ground buildings shrink below. This feeling was far better than squeezing onto a plane.
...
After the new product shoot ended, the advertising team edited several versions for her to choose from.
An Ruo picked three she thought were good, but the final decision rested with Gu Chao. She knocked on the door of the CEO's office, USB drive in hand.
"Come in."
The voice sounded a bit rushed.
An Ruo pushed open the door and saw Zhou Mingyue also in the office, holding homemade food and trying to feed it to a reluctant Gu Chao...
"Just take a bite!"
Zhou Mingyue pouted. "I spent two whole days learning this, all according to your taste. Just one bite—it's really good."
"I'm not hungry..." Gu Chao blocked her with one hand, his face clearly showing disgust. "I'm working. Can I try it after I'm done?"
Who would believe that anything this woman made was edible!?
He'd rather keep his life than risk tasting it!
Zhou Mingyue glanced at the awkward An Ruo, pouted, and moved her stuff to the sofa area, showing no intention of leaving.
Gu Chao rubbed his temples and waved An Ruo over. "What is it?"
An Ruo paused, then quickly handed him the USB drive. "These are the videos for the new product ad. I've picked three decent versions. You make the final call."
The man plugged it into his computer, resting his chin on one hand as he rubbed it thoughtfully, his dark eyes fixed on the video of a woman swimming gracefully like a mermaid in water, his gaze lingering on her almond-shaped eyes.
This woman gave him a feeling too similar to Mu Yan!
Zhou Mingyue suddenly leaned in, seeing him staring at the video for so long with such a deep look. She asked discontentedly, "Who is she?"
Her voice snapped Gu Chao out of his thoughts. He pushed her away. "Go play somewhere else. I'm working. Don't mess around."
A woman's intuition was sharp. Zhou Mingyue's sixth sense told her the woman in the video was no ordinary person. She needed to keep an eye on her, maybe even add her to the list of rivals!
"Let's go with this one."
Gu Chao randomly picked a version whose color scheme matched the brand name.
"Alright. If there's no issue, I'll have it produced."
Gu Chao called her back. "Don't forget to cover the new product launch a week from now."
Technically, as the art director, she wasn't supposed to attend the launch. It was an event for journalists and high society.
But since President Gu had said so, as a lowly employee, how could she refuse?
An Ruo had just returned to her office when she turned around to see Zhou Mingyue walking in with a grim face.
She cut straight to the chase. "An Ruo, honestly, how have I treated you?"
An Ruo answered without hesitation. "Very well."
"Are we friends?"
"Of course."
At least in An Ruo's heart, she considered Zhou Mingyue a good friend.
"Then tell me, who's the woman in that video?"
"She's the spokesperson for Lan Zhen's new jewelry line and the selected female lead for the next invested drama."
"What's her name?"
An Ruo told her truthfully: "Song Weiwei."
Zhou Mingyue sat down in the chair across from her, pulled out her phone, and searched for Song Weiwei's background. Seeing that she was just a fledgling starlet, she laughed lazily. "Not that famous, huh."
From a status perspective, a mere actress from the entertainment industry posed no real threat.
"What's her relationship with Gu Chao?"
An Ruo paused, recalling the accident during the competition. Before anyone could react, Gu Chao had rushed over and carried Song Weiwei to the hospital in front of everyone...
Luckily, she had managed to keep Song Weiwei's injury under wraps at the time, and Gu Chao had later emphasized that no one should breathe a word, so few in the company spread it.
If this got back to Zhou Mingyue, wouldn't she become the spark that lit the fuse?
An Ruo understood what she was really asking and thought of a compromise. "I've been handling all the artist competition matters from start to finish. President Gu is a busy man—how would he have time to interact with them?"
"Really?" Zhou Mingyue stared at her, raising an eyebrow slightly.
An Ruo nodded honestly.
Aside from the accident during the competition, when Gu Chao had anxiously carried Song Weiwei to the hospital, there seemed to be no further interaction between them.
She didn't like to gossip about others' affairs or pay attention to rumors.
So, if asked about their relationship, she honestly didn't know.
Zhou Mingyue crooked her finger, and An Ruo leaned over the desk. She lowered her voice. "I can't keep an eye on him all the time. You're my friend—make sure you watch him for me when I'm not around."
This...
An Ruo braced herself and nodded. "Alright..."
"I made these pastries for A Chao. I made an extra batch—try some." Zhou Mingyue placed a beautifully packaged box of pastries on the table.
An Ruo glanced at her and, without thinking, popped one into her mouth. After all, Zhou Mingyue was a wealthy heiress with a five-star chef at home—how bad could it be?
But...
The moment she bit into it, her face changed instantly. A cloyingly salty taste nearly sent her to the afterlife.
"How is it? Delicious, right?"