The pushover offended a top-tier boss

On the way back, Chen Zheng kept chattering.

"Sister Ye, is Beijing fun?"

Ye Zhenzhen ignored him.

She sat in the passenger seat, with dark circles under her eyes, looking like a wilted eggplant.

"Did you go cheating on me yesterday?" Chen Zheng glanced at her and made a joke.

Ye Zhenzhen rolled her eyes at him and didn't say anything.

He turned his head to the car window, looking at the gray sky and bare trees outside, without saying a word.

The people in the back seat remained silent.

Chen Zheng glanced at the rearview mirror.

Zhou Huaijin leaned back in his chair, his eyes closed, a noticeable, scabbed wound on his lip. On his lower lip, near the corner of his mouth, was a dark red line, as if he had been bitten by something.

Chen Zheng was like a badger that had just eaten a melon; he was so excited inside, but he had to pretend he hadn't seen anything.

My own elder brother... has he successfully taken over?

He couldn't help but glance at Ye Zhenzhen again. She was looking down, yawning, and the tips of her ears were red.

Chen Zheng was itching to gossip about it with his buddies right then and there.

But he dared not.

He hasn't lived enough yet.

-

The next day at work, Chen Zheng drove to pick up Ye Zhenzhen as usual.

Before he even set off, he received a WeChat message from Ye Zhenzhen.

Chen Zheng, you don't need to pick me up anymore. I'll take the bus to work by myself.

Chen Zheng stared at the line of text, somewhat puzzled.

When they returned to Yuyuan and picked up Zhou Huaijin, Zhou Huaijin opened the car door and his gaze lingered for a moment on the empty passenger seat.

"Where is Ye Zhenzhen?"

"Um... she told me that she'll take the bus to work from now on."

There was a moment of silence in the car.

"You two... had a fight?" Chen Zheng observed his older brother's expression through the rearview mirror.

Zhou Huaijin didn't speak, his gaze fixed on the scenery outside the car window, seemingly looking at something.

Chen Zheng mustered his courage and added, "Brother, actually, you're just too fierce. What girl likes being scolded all the time? If you're gentler, then she'll—"

"Shut up."

Chen Zheng obediently shut his mouth.

Okay, it's confirmed that we've had a fight.

Was it because his brother didn't behave well yesterday and was disliked by others?

That's true, she's 33 now, maybe she's not as strong as she used to be.

Who likes older men?

How about we buy some supplements for my brother to help him regain his virility?

Chen Zheng's mind raced with thoughts.

Sigh, I've really worried myself sick over this family.

Ye Zhenzhen stood on the bus stop platform, holding the orange Hermes paper bag in her hand, carefully protecting it in her arms, as if afraid it would be damaged by the crowd.

At the bus stop in winter, the wind blew in from all directions. Waves of people surged forward, jostling her. She clutched the paper bag tightly.

The carriage was packed with people, the air was stuffy, some were on the phone, some were watching short videos on speakerphone, and there was the smell of chive-filled buns. She was squeezed in a corner, holding onto the handrail with one hand and a paper bag with the other, her body swaying with the bumps of the train.

It is indeed difficult to go from extravagance to frugality.

After taking private cars for several days, she had forgotten how terrifying the morning rush hour buses were.

She cursed herself in her heart: Ye Zhenzhen, you've only been hitchhiking for a few days and you're already getting cocky? You're just an ordinary citizen, public transportation is your only option.

She arrived at work close to nine o'clock. She was ten minutes late.

As she walked into the building and passed the parking lot, she saw the black Hongqi already parked there.

Ugh, buses are so slow.

She went up to the eighth floor, stood outside Zhou Huaijin's office for a while, took a deep breath, and knocked on the door.

"Enter."

She pushed open the door and went in. Zhou Huaijin was sitting behind his desk, several documents spread out in front of him, a pen in his hand, approving something. He was wearing a dark blue shirt today, the collar buttoned up tightly, and the scabbed wound on his lip was still there.

Ye Zhenzhen glanced at the wound, her heart skipped a beat, and she quickly looked away.

She placed the orange paper bag on his desk and pushed it towards him.

"Boss, this gift is too expensive, I... it's not appropriate for me."

She then took out a large bag of Chinese medicine from the cabinet.

"As for this medicine, I will take it on time, so I won't trouble the supervisor to supervise me."

After she finished speaking, she took out her phone, opened WeChat transfer, and entered a number: 500.

She didn't know how much a bag of those Chinese medicines cost.

Anyway, she felt that 500 was about right.

"I've transferred the money for the medicine to you, thank you, sir."

She pressed the send button, turned the phone screen towards him, and gestured for him to receive it.

Zhou Huaijin looked up at her.

His gaze wasn't heavy, but when it fell on her face, it felt like a stone pressing on her chest. She felt like she couldn't breathe.

"Ye Zhenzhen," he said, his voice not loud.

Ye Zhenzhen quickly put her phone away and, before he could say anything else, spoke up first: "Thank you for your care during this time, boss. You're busy, so I won't bother you any longer."

After she finished speaking, she turned and ran away.

If she runs fast enough, she won't hear what he says next.

The moment the door closed behind her, she leaned against the wall in the hallway and let out a long breath.

Ye Zhenzhen returned to her workstation, turned on her computer, and stared blankly at the screen for a long time.

Chen Zheng strolled over, leaned against the partition of her workstation, and looked down at her: "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing." She didn't look at him, tapped a few times on the keyboard, and then deleted it.

At 11:30, Chen Zheng came over again:

What should we eat for lunch?

"Give me your meal card, I'll go to the cafeteria myself." Ye Zhenzhen finally looked up at him. "From now on... I won't eat with you guys anymore."

Chen Zheng was taken aback: "Why?"

"Hey, what's wrong with you two?"

Ye Zhenzhen ignored him.

She didn't sleep a wink last night.

She thought about many things, her mind was like a pot of burnt porridge, and she couldn't make sense of anything.

But she knew one thing: she couldn't have anything beyond a working relationship with this person.

He held a high position of power and influence, someone she couldn't afford to offend. The Party Secretary of the new district, a privileged young man raised in the capital, with a promising future. And who was she? An ordinary girl from a small county town, a junior counselor.

She admitted that he might have been alluring to her in some ways. His maturity, his composure, the subtle control he exuded—these were qualities that Meng Chen lacked.

But she clearly understood that he was only temporary.

Perhaps it was a whim, or perhaps it was a sense of novelty.

She has a boyfriend. She and Meng Chen have been together for five years, each other's first love, from school uniforms to wedding dresses. This is what she always thought was the greatest luck of her life.

She cannot have an ambiguous relationship with her boss.

She has to keep her distance.

She figured that as long as she made her stance clear, someone like Zhou Huaijin wouldn't be so clingy. She wasn't some stunning beauty, so why should he be obsessed with her?

That's it.

After a while, he'll get annoyed and tired of her, and naturally he'll transfer her back to school.

Everything will get back on track.