The pushover offended a top-tier boss

Ye Zhenzhen reached out and touched the empty space next to her in a daze.

She struggled to reach her phone on the bedside table, her body aching from the effort. Every movement caused her pain.

Yesterday's amount of exercise was just... way too much.

She bit her lip, her face quietly turning red.

The old man was like a madman, unmoved by her cries and pleas for mercy. He tormented her again and again, turning her over and over, and every time she thought she could finally catch her breath, he would pull her back down again.

He whispered in her ear, "Did you remember?"

She didn't even have the strength to nod; she could only sob and respond, her face streaked with tears.

Even now, thinking back on it still makes me feel lingering fear.

Seriously, he's behaved himself now.

Ye Zhenzhen rolled over and buried her face in the pillow. The pillow still carried his woody scent, faint and slightly crisp. She hugged the pillow for a few more seconds before finally holding her phone up to her eyes.

I checked the time—oh my god, it's already midnight!

She suddenly sprang up from the bed, hissed, and slowly sat back down, clutching her waist.

I made plans with Lin Zhi yesterday to go hiking and elephant riding in the rainforest today, but I stood him up.

But it's strange, why hasn't Zhizhi contacted me?

She opened WeChat, and Lin Zhi's chat window was quiet; the last message was still the emoji she had sent the night before.

She put down her phone, carefully moved off the bed, and her legs went weak, almost causing her to kneel down.

When Zhou Huaijin pushed the door open, he saw a little woman wrapped in a quilt sitting on the edge of the bed, her hair messy, looking pitiful and huddled there, as if she had been bullied terribly but dared not say anything.

She glanced at him furtively, then quickly looked away, lowering her head and twisting the corner of the blanket with her fingers.

"Good morning, boss..."

Her voice was soft and hoarse, with a nasal tone from just waking up, and a hint of guilt.

Looking at that pitiful appearance, Zhou Huaijin's lips curved into a barely perceptible smile.

"It's getting late."

He was wearing a black shirt and said in a calm, indifferent voice, "Get up and eat."

"oh."

Ye Zhenzhen obediently responded and slowly got out of bed.

This time she was smarter. She pulled out a long cotton-linen dress from her suitcase, reaching her ankles, with a small round neckline that completely covered her collarbone and shoulders. She then wore a thin sun-protective cardigan over it.

Zhou Huaijin leaned against the door frame, watching the figure move out of the bedroom, his brows twitching slightly.

Her legs trembled slightly as she walked.

He stretched out his long arm and pulled the person directly into his arms.

"ah--"

Ye Zhenzhen gasped, her nose bumping against his hard chest, the sensation making her eyes redden. "No, we can't do this again..."

Her voice, muffled in his arms, carried a hint of panic and pleading as she whispered, "It really can't..."

Zhou Huaijin looked down at the little thing curled up in his arms and didn't say anything.

He took out a tube of ointment from the bedside table drawer. It was white and had foreign characters printed on it that she couldn't understand.

"What is this?" Ye Zhenzhen took it from his hand and examined it from all angles.

"It reduces swelling."

Ye Zhenzhen's face flushed red instantly, the heat spreading from her neck all the way to her ears.

She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but didn't know what to say.

Long, slender fingers reached out and slowly moved upwards along the hem of the skirt.

"No... I can do it myself..." she said frantically, grabbing his hand.

Zhou Huaijin glanced at her, his gaze carrying a hint of a half-smile, his fingers not stopping.

Ye Zhenzhen buried her face in the pillow, curling up like a boiled shrimp, her ears so red they looked like they were about to bleed.

After a while, Zhou Huaijin tore off a tissue and slowly wiped his fingers.

Ye Zhenzhen just wanted to find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

"Ye Zhenzhen".

A deep voice came from above, carrying a faint, almost imperceptible laugh.

"This mouth is much more honest."

She lay on the bed, buried her face in the blankets, and groaned softly, deciding to bury her head in the sand for the time being.

I don't want to live anymore.

That's so embarrassing.

We had lunch at the hotel restaurant.

Just like yesterday, I sat in the pavilion by the water. Sunlight filtered through the banana leaves, casting dappled shadows on the water's surface.

Ye Zhenzhen took two sips of Tom Yum soup, the sour and spicy flavor spreading on her tongue, finally stimulating her appetite. She picked up a piece of grilled fish, about to put it in her mouth, when she suddenly remembered something and looked up.

"Where are Zhizhi and General Manager Chen?"

Zhou Huaijin was drinking soup and didn't even look up when he heard this: "Eat yours."

"Aww..."

She's very obedient now. She eats whatever he tells her to eat, drinks whatever he tells her to drink, and doesn't dare to say a word more than necessary. Even the way she looks at him is cautious, like a cat whose fur has been stroked, so docile it's unbelievable.

Halfway through the meal, Chen Yu came over.

He changed his clothes, wearing a dark linen shirt and khaki casual pants, with a few stray hairs hanging over his forehead. His expression wasn't good; his brow was slightly furrowed, and the corners of his mouth were pursed into a line.

"Mr. Chen, where is Zhizhi?" Ye Zhenzhen put down her chopsticks and looked behind him, but did not see that familiar figure.

"She hasn't contacted me at all." Ye Zhenzhen frowned, a hint of dissatisfaction in her voice. "You didn't make her work overtime again, did you?"

Chen Yu's expression stiffened slightly.

He glanced at Ye Zhenzhen, then looked away, his Adam's apple bobbing as if he were considering something.

"Miss Ye," he paused, his voice a few decibels lower than usual, "could you please tell me where your best friend is?"

Ye Zhenzhen was stunned for a moment.

"You can ask him yourself."

Chen Yu opened his mouth, then closed it again. He tapped his fingers lightly on the table twice, his brow furrowing even more.

"Could you please ask?"

Seeing his unusually humble demeanor, Ye Zhenzhen felt a vague sense that something was amiss. But she didn't dwell on it, took out her phone, and called Lin Zhi.

The phone rang several times before it was answered.

"Zhizhi, where did you go? I'm sorry, I overslept." Ye Zhenzhen's voice was apologetic.

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone before Lin Zhi's voice came through, tinged with guilt: "Uh, I overslept too."

"But I didn't see you at the hotel." Ye Zhenzhen frowned.

Another silence followed.

"Uh, that hotel was bad luck for me, so I changed to another one."

Ye Zhenzhen was stunned: "Huh? Where are you now?"

"At XX Hotel."

Before Ye Zhenzhen could react, Chen Yu had already spoken.

"Assistant Lin, that hotel also belongs to my family."

His voice wasn't loud, and his tone was even quite calm, but every word seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth.

"There's no need to keep taking care of my business like this."

There was silence on the other end of the phone.

The silence was so intense that Ye Zhenzhen thought the signal had dropped. She glanced at the screen—the call was still going on.

Then, Lin Zhi said, "The signal is bad, I'll hang up now," and then hung up.

Holding her phone, Ye Zhenzhen looked at Zhou Huaijin with a blank expression, then at Chen Yu.

"What's wrong?"