Chapter 30: "Where's your little boyfriend?"

By the time Zhu Xu and the others finished setting up the banquet hall, it was already nine o'clock in the evening.

Lin Yuan and Xiao Zhou returned to the store to deliver something. She only had a mobile phone with her, so she planned to call a car at the hotel entrance to go home directly.

Upon reaching the lobby, she saw He Yanzhou sitting on the sofa in the reception area. He happened to look up and see her, and stood up.

Zhu Xu paused for a few seconds, and seeing him walking towards him, he slowly moved over as well.

She greeted him politely, "Mr. He, you haven't gone back yet?"

"I'm waiting for you."

Zhu Xu's heart pounded wildly.

He paused, then said, “Don’t misunderstand.” He wasn’t joking. “I’m here to apologize for what happened in the banquet hall. He doesn’t handle banquets and lacks understanding of the procedures.”

"It's alright, it's just that we made too much noise and disturbed you."

He Yanzhou didn't explain further, and looked at her: "All done?"

"yes."

What have you been busy with lately?

“Just busy with nothing.” After she answered, he didn’t ask any more questions. The two stood face to face in the middle of the empty lobby, and the atmosphere around them was a little strange.

At this time of day, few people are seen moving around, and the occasional sounds that come through seem to come from a great distance.

Zhu Xu didn't know what to say, so he simply looked up and smiled at him.

He Yanzhou's gaze lingered on her for a moment. She seemed to have lost some weight, but her spirit and complexion were excellent. She appeared to have just washed her hair, which was casually tied up at the ends, with some short, soft downy hairs sticking out from the parting on the top of her head. She looked very healthy and vibrant.

Perhaps because she had to work, she dressed casually in a loose-fitting hooded sweatshirt and jeans, but only wore a chunky knit cardigan over it.

It was already late autumn, and he finally asked, "Aren't you cold?"

Zhu Xu subconsciously looked down at his outfit and replied, "There's no wind today, so it's fine."

He Yanzhou nodded: "Ready to go back?"

"yes."

"For you?"

"No need to trouble yourself, it's easy to call a taxi at the door." Zhu Xu waved to him, smiled and said, "Then I'll be going now."

Without waiting for his response, she quickly walked towards the door.

He Yanzhou followed the gaze all the way; after not seeing each other for many days, they had become so unfamiliar with each other.

Her last smile pierced his heart. She was clearly getting better and better now, but that sunny and genuine smile only appeared after they parted ways.

He gazed in that direction for a long time, until her figure disappeared behind the revolving door.

Zhu Xu walked quickly with long strides, her head down, until she crossed the road before remembering that she was supposed to call a taxi at the hotel entrance.

Her footing gave way, and she suddenly slowed down. Her legs went weak after she was extremely tense, as if all her strength had been drained away.

Zhu Xu reached out and grabbed the tree trunk next to him, then slid down along it, struggling to squat on the ground.

"Ouch." He couldn't help but let out a low groan of annoyance. He quickly tried to recall if any of his words or expressions had given him away.

Perhaps she should have talked a little longer.

She squatted there for a long time, then finally sat down on the ground, staring at the empty street, and suddenly raised her hand to tap her head.

The next day, Zhu Xu went to attend the ceremony.

Lin Yuan, under the guise of inspecting the results of the labor, also came along.

The two stood on the connecting corridor on the left side of the second floor, looking down at the sea of ​​people.

The bride, dressed in a trailing white gown, walked slowly towards the ceremony stage, led by her father.

Zhu Xu rested his chin on his hand, silently watching the scene downstairs. He suddenly realized that, without realizing it, he felt much more at peace when facing such a scene, and his negative emotions were not as strong.

Lin Yuan said something to her.

Zhu Xu didn't hear him clearly and turned to look at him: "Say it again?"

Lin Yuan leaned closer to her ear and said, "No wonder the bride likes calla lilies; they are indeed more delicate than water lilies."

Zhu Xu nodded: "What flowers does Xiaoya like?" Jiang Ya is his girlfriend's name.

Lin Yuan said, "She doesn't seem to have a particular favorite variety. Once she said that she likes any flower that can make her feel better at a certain moment."

Zhu Xu was surprised; it was remarkably similar to her interpretation of flowers. Jiang Ya was a cheerful and lively girl who had lived a relatively uneventful life, growing up sheltered and cared for. She had love in her heart and would surely be a hundred times stronger than her in the future.

Zhu Xu asked, "After Xiaoya graduates, would you be interested in letting you run the flower shop?"

Lin Yuan's eyes lit up, then dimmed again: "Given our current situation, we may not be able to take it on."

“Don’t rush, I won’t be leaving for now either. We have to wait until the new company is on track,” Zhu Xu said. “I’ll help you run it for now. When you’re able to, just let me know and I can sublet it to you at the original price, or I can leave and you can join in. I should be able to negotiate with the hotel.”

Lin Yuan was overjoyed, finding Zhu Xu's words incredibly pleasant. He clasped his hands in a fist salute and said in an exaggerated tone, "From now on, you are my own sister. I will definitely thank you properly in the future."

"Come on." Zhu Xu's lips curved into a smile as he was amused, and he raised his hand to pat his arm.

She paused abruptly after finishing her joke, and inexplicably felt a gaze fixed on her. She looked up, searching her surroundings, her heart leaping.

He Yanzhou appeared at the other end of the circular corridor at some point, a dozen meters away from this side. Just as she looked at him, he turned his gaze away, his eyelashes slightly lowered to the ceremony platform downstairs, silently observing the ceremony.

The distance was a bit far, so Zhu Xu couldn't see his expression clearly, but he could always be infected by the powerful aura emanating from this person, and he subconsciously suppressed the smile on his lips.

With a quick glance, she noticed that He Yanzhou was wearing a light-colored shirt and black trousers. This outfit didn't seem like he was coming back from an outing or about to go out; rather, it looked like he had come down from upstairs specifically to attend a ceremony.

The surroundings were noisy and the diamonds under the corridor sparkled. He stood there with his hands in his pockets, relaxed and quiet.

Zhu Xu withdrew her gaze, and Lin Yuan seemed somewhat distracted as he spoke to her again. She didn't know how much time had passed, but she looked up seemingly unintentionally; the space opposite her was empty, and the man was no longer there.

After the ceremony, the two prepared to go downstairs back to the flower shop.

As Zhu Xu walked towards the side door on the first floor, he paused, then suddenly turned to the corner beside the ceremonial platform. An elderly woman was playing with a child who looked to be two or three years old.

The old woman stood below the platform, holding the child's leg. The child was picking at the floral foam slab behind the flowers. Perhaps the slab was filled with moisture, giving it a peculiar feel when pressed in, which amused the child, who kept picking at it until it was incomplete.

The supporting floral foam slabs had become loose, and with the foam soaked in water and filled with fresh flowers, one of the top slabs looked like it was about to collapse under the weight.

Zhu Xu was horrified. She rushed forward and raised her hand to block the falling floral slab from the child. She stumbled backward due to inertia, and while she was standing on the edge of a step, she twisted her ankle and fell to the ground.

Lin Yuan reacted too late and rushed forward to help her: "Sister Xu, are you alright? Where are you hurt?"

The pain in Zhu Xu's ankle came a few seconds later, and he couldn't help but bite his lip and shake his head.

Lin Yuan looked up and said, "Auntie, it's dangerous for children to play with this. The clay slab isn't very thick, and it's covered with fresh flowers, so there are already a lot of holes. The wire only holds part of it in place, and the slab itself is very heavy."

The old lady nodded repeatedly, picked up the child, gave Zhu Xu a token greeting and thanks, and quietly returned to her seat along the wall.

After the ceremony, the banquet had already begun, and everyone's attention was focused on the dishes on the table. No one was paying attention to what was happening here.

Lin Yuan asked, "Sister Xu, where does it hurt?"

"...My feet...my ankles hurt." She was covered in sweat.

Lin Yuan carefully rolled up the cuffs of Zhu Xu's jeans. For a short time, he could not see anything unusual, but he noticed that her face was pale and her lips were deathly white.

The way she's in pain suggests she's probably injured a bone.

"Bear with it for a bit, I'll take you to the hospital right away," Lin Yuan said.

As they were talking, hurried footsteps came from behind, and someone squatted down and touched Zhu Xu's shoulder.

Lin Yuan shoved the man's hand away. Turning around, he saw a handsome man. Lin Yuan didn't know his identity, nor did he know about his entanglement with Zhu Xu. His reaction was purely instinctive, to stop a stranger from touching his friend.

He Yanzhou's face was grim.

Zhu Xu looked up; he hadn't left.

She saw the fleeting disbelief in his eyes and guessed he might have misunderstood. Just as she was about to say something and hesitated, she was suddenly lifted up by Lin Yuan and quickly carried to the door.

On the way to the hospital, Lin Yuan called Xiao Zhou for help, and Xiao Zhou arrived at the hospital ten minutes later. The two took Zhu Xu to get X-rays; she had a fractured left leg and needed to be hospitalized.

Twice in a month, Zhu Xu felt utterly unlucky.

Her feet were immobilized in a functional position, and she lay on the hospital bed, ceasing all activity.

The painkillers hadn't taken effect yet, and the pain in the affected area was unbearable. Even digging deep marks into the palm with my fingers couldn't shift or relieve the pain.

Xiao Zhou went downstairs to the convenience store and bought a basin and towel. He soaked them in warm water and used them to wipe the sweat from her forehead.

Lin Yuan sat on the edge of the bed, silently reviewing the situation in his mind. Suddenly, he said, "Sister Xu, this is all my fault. I was the one who fixed the clay slab. I overestimated the supporting strength of the bamboo sticks and wires and didn't tie it securely enough. How could a child's little bit of destructive power cause the whole piece to fall down?"

Actually, Zhu Xu had already noticed that the fixed position wasn't ideal, and it was her fault for not checking it carefully yesterday: "It's not your fault, thankfully nothing serious happened. If it had hit a child, the hotel and we would both be responsible."

"I'm sorry." Lin Yuan felt extremely guilty.

Zhu Xu shook her head: "This is your first time doing this, you'll definitely have experience next time. I just didn't stand properly, I'll be fine in a few days." As she spoke, she felt a little better.

After all that fuss, it was already past 3 p.m. Lin Yuan went to a nearby restaurant and bought stir-fried dishes and rice, and the three of them made do with dinner.

Zhu Xu suddenly remembered that there was a wedding tomorrow, so he quickly took out his phone to check the time and called the florist he had worked with before. He explained his situation and asked the florist to come to his rescue.

After the conversation, she asked Xiao Zhou and Lin Yuan to go back and help with the arrangements.

Xiao Zhou asked worriedly, "But your leg..."

"What do I have to worry about while I'm in the hospital? I'll call a nurse if anything happens." Zhu Xu pushed her, "It's alright, go on."

Xiao Zhou placed the bottled water and tissues he had bought on the cabinet: "Then we'll come see you again tomorrow."

After the two left, Zhu Xuping lay on the bed, feeling a little sentimental. He finally realized that it wasn't really bad luck; at least no child was hurt, so he didn't need to feel guilty or bear any other responsibility.

After comforting herself, she felt a little sleepy, so she closed her eyes and dozed off for a while. When she woke up again, it was already dark outside the window. Feeling a bit thirsty, she leaned over to reach for the bottled water on the cabinet. Her posture was limited, and her fingertips barely touched the bottle. She tried to pull it back a couple of times, but the bottle wobbled and rolled to the ground.

Zhu Xu slumped back onto the bed, his gaze drifting towards the door for the umpteenth time before hastily averting it. He knew he shouldn't have any expectations, yet in his vulnerable moments, he couldn't control his emotions.

This is a four-person ward. The two people opposite are elderly, and the one next to them is a middle-aged woman.

It was late at night, and the room was filled with snoring.

Physical discomfort made it difficult for her to fall asleep again, and the music-like snoring only made her more irritable.

I tossed and turned until midnight, and finally I don't know how I fell asleep.

She couldn't sleep soundly, her ankle would occasionally throb. She opened her eyes groggily and saw a person sitting on a chair beside the bed in the dimly lit room.

She was startled and instantly came to her senses.

He Yanzhou's gaze was on her. When he saw that she had woken up, he couldn't help but loosen his shoulders, but his gaze remained unchanged as he looked at her.

He was wearing a black suit, unbuttoned, with a slightly wrinkled shirt underneath, and the top two buttons of his collar were also undone, casually folded to the sides.

His face betrayed his exhaustion; he had spent the entire afternoon traveling back and forth to Lincheng.

Zhu Xu was terrified and squinted to confirm again: "Why are you here?" Her voice was weak, as if she was being tormented by pain and could barely breathe.

He Yanzhou's eyes twitched slightly. After a moment, he sighed helplessly, "If saying that I'm concerned about you makes you feel uneasy, then just assume that I'm here on behalf of the hotel to offer my condolences."

Zhu Xu's heart was in turmoil. He should have said something to distance himself from the situation, but instead he pretended to be stupid and said, "It's so late at night, Mr. He, you've gone to so much trouble."

“It’s only right. Since the accident happened on hotel premises, we should bear some responsibility,” he said. “Don’t worry about getting better. If you have any difficulties, just let us know.”

Zhu Xu remained silent.

Recalling the vows she made a month ago, she admitted that she was conflicted and despicable, wanting to stay away yet also hoping that he would let go, but also hoping that his sincerity had not completely disappeared.

She said, "Things are going well so far."

"Does it still hurt a lot?"

"In bursts."

He Yanzhou: "If you can't stand it later, ask the nurse for some more painkillers."

Zhu Xu nodded.

He remained seated, his gaze shifting to the nightlight above her head: "Where's your little boyfriend?"

Zhu Xu thought for a moment before realizing who he was referring to, and for some reason, suddenly asked, "Which one are you asking about?"

He Yanzhou glanced at him, his face darkening.

But seeing the bright, sparkling light in her eyes, my heart melted completely.

Zhu Xu shut his mouth.

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

The room was still filled with loud snoring, the air was stagnant, and there was a stuffy, strange smell.

Zhu Xu licked his dry lips and looked down at him: "Um... could you help me get some water?"

"Where?"

"On the ground," Zhu Xu pointed downwards.

He Yanzhou looked down and saw a half-broken mineral water bottle hidden in the gap of the bedside table. He paused for a moment, then got up, picked it up, twisted off the cap, and bent down to support her back as she sat up.

Zhu Xu took the water bottle and slowly drank about half of it.

She lay back down and said, "Thank you."

"Always thirsty?"

Zhu Xu nodded.

He Yanzhou asked, "Why don't you ask the clinicians for help?"

"When I woke up, everyone else was asleep."

He Yanzhou pointed to the red button on the wall: "Is it just for show?"

Zhu Xu didn't respond. He adjusted his posture uncomfortably, his eyes wandering aimlessly. After a moment, he lay down slightly on his side, trying to speak several times, but said nothing.

He Yanzhou let her fuss around for a while, chuckled, and got up to hug her.

Zhu Xu struggled: "What are you doing!"

"Don't move." He hooked one arm around her waist and slipped the other under her leg, easily lifting her up and carrying her to the bathroom.

"No, I don't want to go to the toilet," Zhu Xu exclaimed.

He Yanzhou said in a low voice, "It would be more troublesome if you wet your pants."

His breath brushed against her ear, so close she could smell his pleasant woody scent. Her cheeks flushed inexplicably, too shy to meet his gaze. Their relationship was still somewhat distant, and the words coming from him felt particularly suggestive.

It felt like being placed on a fire, my whole body was burning up.

I simply closed my eyes and ignored everything else, focusing on solving the most pressing issues first.

He Yanzhou used his toes to pry open the bathroom door and carefully placed her in front of the toilet.

Zhu Xu stood on one leg, swaying slightly due to his unsteady center of gravity.

He Yanzhou quickly helped her up.

Zhu Xu: "Actually, I don't really want to..."

“Alright then.” He Yanzhou bent down as if to carry you back.

"No..." Zhu Xu said, "Then please go outside for a bit."

He Yanzhou looked down at her feet. "Can you manage on your own?"

"Um."

"I'll be waiting for you at the door. Call me if you need anything."

After he finished speaking, he turned and left, closing the door behind him. Not long after, Zhu Xu hopped out on one leg, but the fractured foot was still in excruciating pain from the impact, and in the end, He Yanzhou had to carry her back to bed.

He Yanzhou stayed with her in the ward for a while, still sitting in the chair beside the bed, at a distance that was neither too close nor too far from her. The two spoke occasionally, and were silent at times, until her eyelids drooped and she drifted off to sleep.

Zhu Xu did not know when he finally left.

At seven o'clock in the morning, people arrived at the hotel.

Zhu Xu recognized the woman; she was the girl who had given her the gramophone when the flower shop first opened. She arranged for Zhu Xu to move to a single room and hired a kind-looking aunt to take care of her. The care products were meticulously prepared, including sanitary pads.

With everything arranged, she smiled and said, "President He instructed that there's no need to worry about the hospital, so please rest assured and recover, Ms. Zhu. My surname is Huang, and I'm President He's secretary. You can just call me Xiao Huang." She handed Zhu Xu a note with a string of numbers on it, "This is my phone number. You can call me immediately if you need anything."

Zhu Xu accepted it and thanked him with a smile.

After the man left, she put the note in the bedside table drawer, not wanting to bother him any further.

At noon, Xiao Zhou brought a fruit basket to visit her and took many photos of the wedding for her to see. After she left, Lin Yuan came instead.

He went home early, bringing lunch with him.

Lin Yuan still felt guilty: "My mom cooked the meals. I told her what happened last night, and she said she would cook for me these days and I would deliver them." He pushed the small table over and laid out the lunchboxes one by one: "Blanched bok choy, sweet and sour pork, and pork bone soup. I don't know if they suit your taste."

"No, really, it's not entirely your fault." Zhu Xu felt bad about it.

"Don't be so polite. My family is local, so it's very convenient for us to cook and get the ingredients. They were going to eat anyway, so I just made a little extra." He brought two sets of bowls and chopsticks and ate with Zhu Xu.

For the next few days, Lin Yuan delivered meals, and occasionally his girlfriend Xiao Ya would come along.

The little girl was sweet-talking and always smiling, and she was also very diligent. When she noticed that Zhu Xu's cup was empty during the meal, she took the water bottle out and let them eat first.

Zhu Xu sincerely thanked the two of them, and looked at Lin Yuan: "Actually, I have a younger brother who is a little younger than you."

"Reading?"

"High school," Zhu Xu said.

Lin Yuan set out the bowls and chopsticks: "I'm the only one in my family. Actually, I really envy other people who have brothers and sisters, especially younger sisters."

Zhu Xu pointed to the shoulder bag on the chair: "Isn't that it?"

The bag belongs to Xiaoya.

Lin Yuan touched his nose and smiled shyly.

He Yanzhou and Secretary Huang walked down the corridor. When they reached the ward, he put his hand on the door frame and paused.

Peering through the narrow glass window, one could see the table in front of the hospital bed covered with lunchboxes. Zhu Xu and the young man sat facing each other, eating and chatting.

The food was steaming hot, the room was filled with sunlight, and her smile was radiant.

He Yanzhou's expression was not good: "Didn't you arrange for someone to cook?"

"Yes, it is. It's the chef you usually use." Secretary Huang looked troubled. "But Miss Zhu didn't want to cause us any more trouble, so she declined."

He Yanzhou: "I'm not afraid of troubling others."

The two of them just stood at the door, neither pushing it open nor going in.

Huang Mi was getting anxious, thinking to herself, "Instead of being jealous, why don't you go for it?" She had long suspected that her boss and this Miss Zhu had a complicated relationship. She had been keeping an eye on things at the hospital for a few days and knew that the young man there often came, but from overhearing conversations between the two, she overheard that he seemed to have a girlfriend.

Huang couldn't help but whisper an explanation: "It seems that his relationship with Miss Zhu is not the kind you think it is."

He Yanzhou turned his head: "Which one am I thinking of?"

Huang Mi stuck out his tongue and shut his mouth.

He Yanzhou had actually seen it all along. What was scary was that he was so extreme that he found it offensive to see her interacting with any man, and he simply didn't want to see her smiling so sweetly at others.

He took a slow breath, and Huang Mi asked cautiously beside him, "Should we have the chef continue cooking?"

"I'm not hungry, am I?" He turned and walked towards the elevator at the end of the corridor, then thought for a moment, "Let's keep making it. Maybe one day I'll want to try something different."

Zhu Xu stayed in the hospital for nearly half a month. When he was discharged, the doctor advised that he still needed to rest at home for two to three weeks.

Zhao Siqiao came to pick her up and also gave her a big gift.

Zhu Xu looked at the brand-new wheelchair in front of him and said with a forced smile, "This is truly a good omen."

Zhao Siqiao helped her sit down. "There's no other way. The company needs you. Please overcome all difficulties and come back as soon as possible."

Currently, the company's departments are not yet fully established. The landscaping department only has two designers, plus Zhu Xu, making a total of three. We must quickly produce several renderings and rental plans for the operations department for advertising and promotion.

Plant rental is an industry that provides landscaping services for rent. Unlike cut flowers, which have a short lifespan and are difficult to care for, rentable plants are mostly soil-grown and can provide customers with one-stop services such as design, transportation, daily maintenance and replacement.

Its application scope is also wider, such as large shopping malls, major companies, office buildings, hotels, restaurants, etc. If the market is opened up, the prospects are still very promising.

Zhu Xu and several designers rushed out multiple plans, and after a meeting to discuss and select the best ones.

Zhao Siqiao sat in the conference room, looking at the presentation drawings and listening to the explanations. He found that even the details of the entire plan were extremely well done.

She was greatly impressed; it turned out this was Zhu Xu's area of ​​expertise.

Zhao Siqiao turned around and gave Zhu Xu a thumbs up. Zhu Xu raised an eyebrow and gestured with his chin at her.

She smiled and suddenly felt that this person seemed a little different from before, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what the difference was.

Time flies when you're busy.

One day, Zhao Siqiao went upstairs to deliver documents to the hotel and bumped into He Yanzhou in the elevator. The first thought that popped into his head was that his money tree had arrived, so he said he would talk to him another day.

He Yanzhou casually asked, "What is it?"

Zhao Siqiao thought it was unethical to betray a friend, but who would turn down money? After hesitating for a couple of seconds, she said, "I have an appointment with Zhu Xu to meet a client at xx shopping mall. We'll probably finish around four o'clock. If I'm tired, I'll go sit in the rest area on the first floor for a while before leaving. I really don't have time today, let's reschedule for another day."

She left in a hurry after she finished speaking.

Today's meeting is with the person in charge of a large shopping mall in Beidao. Zhao Siqiao knows nothing about design, but she has a wide network and a quick mind. In fact, she has already met with several people with Zhu Xu these past few days. It's still more effective for her to communicate professional matters face-to-face.

It was only 3:30 when they finished talking, so Zhao Siqiao pushed Zhu Xu around the mall and took some photos for future reference.

If you get tired, go to the rest area in the lobby on the first floor to rest.

Zhao Siqiao turned her wheelchair to face herself, then sprawled on the sofa with her eyes closed to rest: "I didn't sleep well last night. I'm so busy with work for the company."

Zhu Xu didn't believe him: "If you stay quiet at night, you might have more energy."

Zhao Siqiao suddenly opened her eyes, and certain images flashed into her mind. She recalled the man's stern face and hoarse voice, and felt that it was utterly absurd.

“They’re all related, okay?” She frowned. “I’m feeling anxious.”

"Keep it down."

Zhao Siqiao rolled her eyes at her: "This is really something." While saying that, she silently raised her hand and pressed it to her chest.

Zhu Xu propped his head up and unconsciously looked towards the door.

Outside the glass window, the bare elm tree was being torn apart by the cold wind. She suddenly remembered when she first arrived in Beidao, sitting on a bench in the seaside park replying to He Yanzhou's WeChat messages; the wind was just as strong that day.

Roughly calculated, a year has already passed.

Zhu Xu said, "The weather is getting colder and colder, and the security guards at the gate are all wrapped up like rice dumplings."

Zhao Siqiao astutely extracted two words from her entire sentence: "What bodyguard?"

Zhu Xu frowned: "What bodyguard?"

"...It's nothing." She shifted around on the sofa, unable to find a comfortable position. "I should have worn a blue dress, you know, blue has a calming effect."

Zhu Xu absentmindedly hummed, "No wonder I failed the postgraduate entrance exam, it's probably because the dress I wore that day was red."

Before Zhao Siqiao could retort, a soft chuckle came from the sofa hidden by green plants on the back.

Zhu Xuxin shuddered, recognizing He Yanzhou's voice in an instant.

She peered out, skirting the metal pillar blocking her view, and caught a glimpse of a figure peeking through the gaps in the areca palms: broad shoulders, a sharply defined profile, and a neat, tidy hairstyle. Who else could it be but him?

Zhao Siqiao turned around and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow; in fact, she had just noticed him as well.

I wasn't sure he would come before, but it seems he really cares about someone.

He Yanzhou walked around the sofa and stood in front of the two people.

His gaze casually swept over Zhu Xu from head to toe, finally settling on her legs, which were still wrapped in bandages: "Did you run away from the hospital?"

"No, I didn't," Zhu Xu replied, then hesitated for a moment before looking up at him. "What are you doing here?"

"Wait for Zheng Zhi. The watch chain is loose, come and fix it."

Zhao Siqiao quickly made way for him, her mind racing as she considered how to start the conversation.

He Yanzhou pulled his hand out of his trouser pocket and sat down next to Zhao Siqiao, facing Zhu Xu. Just as he was about to say something, a business card was handed to him. "What a coincidence! I was just thinking of paying you a special visit sometime. If our new company needs anything, I can definitely give you a big discount based on our years of friendship."

He Yanzhou took the business card, his fingers holding it in his hand. When he saw the words "Beidao City Green Tree Flower Arrangement Rental Company" printed on it, the corner of his mouth twitched involuntarily.

He said to Zhao Siqiao, "Your boss is quite demanding. He's sick, and you still drag him to meet clients?"

"Don't say that," Zhao Siqiao cried out, "We're equals. She's doing this for her own company, not to work for me."

He Yanzhou couldn't help but look up at Zhu Xu, then put the business card away: "What does he do, I suppose?"

Zhao Siqiao: "Simply put, it's plant landscaping, which can be used in hotel lobbies to bring guests a good mood and create a feeling of being at home..." She suddenly stopped halfway through her sentence: "I'll have to let Zhu Xu tell me the specific details, she's more professional."

He Yanzhou turned to look at Zhu Xu, then raised his gaze and saw Zheng Zhi striding over from a distance.

He glanced at his watch, having taken some time to come over after Zhao Siqiao's suggestion, and indeed had other matters to attend to afterwards. He said, "How about this, let's schedule a time to talk in my office?"

Before Zhu Xu could say anything, Zhao Siqiao readily agreed: "Okay, then let Zhu Xu write a detailed proposal for the hotel later, and you two can schedule a time to look at the renderings?"

He Yanzhou nodded in agreement. As Zheng Zhi approached, he stood up and buttoned his suit jacket.

"Then let's schedule a time with Secretary Huang?" This question was directed at Zhu Xu.

Zhu Xu had no choice but to nod.

"See you later," He Yanzhou said.

Zhu Xu: "Goodbye."

He gave her another long look, then turned and walked towards the mall entrance. Zheng Zhi followed closely behind.

Zhu Xu withdrew his gaze and, seeing Zhao Siqiao's excited expression, said angrily, "You can't keep taking advantage of just one person."

"Who told him to be fat?"

Zhu Xu refused: "You go if you want, I'm not going."

Zhao Siqiao said, "I can't explain things that are too technical. Besides, he invited you, so I might not be able to reach an agreement if I go."

"And what makes me think I can close the deal?" Zhu Xu said, "We've fallen out, and it's awkward to see each other."

As the two were pushing and shoving each other, Zhu Xu's phone, which was on her lap, vibrated, displaying a number. She picked it up and looked at it carefully; although it wasn't marked, it looked somewhat familiar.

Zhu Xu answered the phone: "Hello."

"Hello, Ms. Zhu." A clear female voice came through the phone. "This is Secretary Huang. I'm calling to confirm a meeting time. Mr. He is available next Tuesday morning at 10:00 AM. Is that alright?"