Speculate about her
"Xiaoxiao, what are you doing?"
"I'm writing, but..." Zuo Xiao didn't finish his words when a burst of groundhog screams pierced his eardrums:
"Ahhh!" Zhuang Jing was so excited as if she had won the lottery - no, she was not short of money, and winning the lottery wouldn't make her so happy.
"H-H-H-H-H..." She breathed rapidly, "How's your writing going? When can you send out Chapter 78?"
Zuo Xiao's first reaction was embarrassment, and he tried to fool around, but then he felt bad for himself and simply said, "I can't write it."
On the other end of the phone, her loyal reader paused for a long time and asked cautiously:
"Are you stuck?"
It's more than just a writer's block, it's a dead writer! She casually picked up the little bunny doll on the desk, pinched it, and said indifferently, "It's not in the right state."
Deathly silence.
After a while, Zhuang Jinghao suggested: "After get off work tomorrow, can I go shopping with you?"
Shopping? Zuo Xiao sneered, "Didn't you say your brother is back and you should keep a low profile?"
She thought Zhuang Jing was such a coward! Ever since her brother came back from a business trip, she didn't dare to acknowledge her as her "sister". From Monday to today, she didn't even dare to go out for lunch with her, let alone play together after work. When she was assigned the work, it was done very smoothly. She thought this girl would openly oppose her brother, but it turned out that she only dared to have a secret relationship with her sister? She hasn't run into Zhuang Yu'an in the company since she started working, but she might run into him one day. Then she will see how this little coward will explain it!
"I just said I was meeting friends..." the little coward said weakly, "If they find out, then so be it... I'm an adult, why would he care who I make friends with?"
Well, that's good. I hope you're not just being stubborn, Zuo Xiao said in his heart.
The next morning, she received the retouched photos from the photography studio. There were eight in total: two individual photos of each of the three co-founders, plus two group photos. She arranged them one by one and sent them to Mao Jiadong on Feishu. Mao Jiadong told her to contact Lu directly for confirmation.
Not long after, Luffy said on Feishu: "Come to my office."
Zuo Xiao transferred the files from the desktop computer to the laptop and carried the computer over.
There was a black leather sofa in Luffy's office, and he asked her to sit down first. After a while, he stood up from his desk and walked over slowly.
As he sat down, the leather sofa sank, making a creaking sound. Zuo Xiao raised her eyelids and tilted her head to look: the blinds were drawn, allowing unobstructed views from inside to outside, and vice versa. Luffy noticed her subtle movement and curled his lips slightly.
"Did you select these photos? What are your selection criteria?" Luffy kept a friendly distance from her while speaking, and their clothes did not even touch.
Zuo Xiao relaxed a bit and replied, "It's mainly about the overall temperament of the person, whether they are energetic and ambitious. For group photos, we also look at whether the magnetic field is harmonious. These photos are mainly used in business communication situations. I think both industry insiders and investors will pay more attention to these aspects."
"Not bad." Luffy leaned forward, placed his elegant white fingers on the touchpad, and clicked on two photos. "Which of these two do you think is better?"
Zuo Xiao took a look and saw that they were all solo photos of him: one standing, tall and handsome; one sitting, relaxed and comfortable. After a moment's thought, he said, "Let's take this one sitting down."
"Oh? Why?" Luffy laughed, "I think the other one looks more handsome."
Zuo Xiao reached out and clicked on the other two photos, explaining, "Of the three co-founders, President Zhuang is serious and sharp, while President Feng is mature and steady. I think if you act a little more casual and relaxed, the team will appear more harmonious and approachable."
"Okay, you've convinced me." Luffy crossed his palms and rested his elbows on his legs, "Let's do it your way."
"What about the other two photos? Do you want to choose?"
"Don't choose, trust your vision."
After walking out of Luffy's office, Zuo Xiao found that several colleagues were staring at her, as if she and Luffy were not talking about work, but having a tryst to talk about love.
At noon, she and Zhan Jiaxin went downstairs to eat. As soon as they walked out of the office building, Zhuang Jinghao caught up with them and said with a smile: "Where are you going to eat? Take me with you."
The three girls went to eat spicy hot pot. Zhuang Jinghao, who rarely ate such food, followed the others' lead, picking up the bowl and tongs, selecting the dishes, and queuing up to be weighed. Zhan Jiaxin, dining with the legendary little princess for the first time, relished her meal as if she were watching penguins at the zoo.
While waiting for the meal, Zhuang Jinghao took her hand and asked in a sweet tone, "Where do you want to go tonight?"
Zuo Xiao thought for a moment and said, "How about going to Sanlitun? I want to buy two picture albums from the bookstore there."
"Great, great! There's a delicious dessert place in Sanlitun!"
While eating, Zhuang Jinghao asked again, "How about we go out and relax? We can use the weekend to go to Qinhuangdao or Qingdao?"
Zuo Xiao finally figured out her intention: This loyal reader saw that she was stuck in a writer's block and was anxious to help her adjust!
"It's fine with me, but can you?" Zuo Xiao raised an eyebrow. "Are you free?"
"Of course!" Zhuang Jinghao pouted, her eyes betraying a guilty conscience. Zuo Xiao understood: as the saying goes, "When faced with two advantages, choose the greater; when faced with two evils, choose the lesser." Faced with the risk of not being able to see Wen, the little coward clearly didn't care about her brother's feelings. This discovery made her feel a little proud.
Zhuang Jinghao put down his chopsticks and opened the calendar on his phone. "Let me check the time... This weekend isn't possible, it's my brother's birthday... How about next weekend? Hehe, it's Children's Day!"
Zuo Xiao suddenly thought of something and took out his phone to check: "How about going to Qinhuangdao Aranya? There's a beach music festival going on there those two days."
The two were chatting animatedly when Zhan Jiaxin suddenly interrupted: "I like music festivals, too. Can I join you?"
Zuo Xiao had a good impression of this girl. He turned to Zhuang Jinghao and said, "I'm fine. Are you OK?"
Zhuang Jinghao's eyes struggled for a moment, then nodded. And so, the early June seaside trip was set. Considering they were still short of laborers, Zuo Xiao suggested bringing a male friend, and the other two girls agreed.
With 15 minutes left before getting off work, Zhuang Jinghao sent a WeChat message to his brother at his workstation.
In the CEO's office a few dozen meters away, Zhuang Yu'an put down the documents in his hand and picked up his mobile phone.
"Brother, I'm going shopping with my friends today, so I won't be going home with you."
Because he was on a business trip last week, Zhuang Yu'an felt he hadn't been able to spend enough time with his sister. He left work on time every day this week to cook dinner, then locked himself in his study to continue working. But tonight, he had a meeting, so he couldn't leave work on time either.
He replied: "What time will you be home?"
"A little after 9 o'clock."
"good."
At 9 p.m., Zhuang Yu'an walked out of the company gate. As he approached the elevator, he saw a man and a woman chatting.
Even though the two of them weren't talking loudly and he didn't deliberately prick up his ears to listen, he still overheard the woman say, "She's Mr. Luffy's woman."
"I knew it!" the man said angrily. "No wonder he's so arrogant right after arriving! He leaves work on time every day and pushes all the work onto me... Damn, I hate people with connections!"
At this moment, Chen Quan coughed twice behind him. The man and woman who were talking immediately shut up. The moment they noticed Zhuang Yu'an, their faces changed drastically. They hurriedly greeted him, then muttered to themselves that the elevator was too hard to wait and they had to take the stairs, and quickly fled.
Zhuang Yu'an's brows knitted together slightly. When the three of them had formed their business, they had agreed on three rules, one of which was that they were not to abuse their power for personal gain or take shortcuts.
After Zhuang Jinghao graduated, Zhuang Yu'an had never thought of recruiting his sister to work for him. However, the job his sister found was extremely unreliable. Not only did she engage in the dregs of workplace PUA, but there were also reports of sexual harassment. Later, she said she wanted to go to Shanghai to work. He was worried and rushed to find her a job. After Lu Fei learned about it, he took the initiative to propose to recruit her into the public relations department for a grassroots position, and he acquiesced. He always felt ashamed of this matter, and he couldn't help feeling guilty when talking about organizational culture. But when it comes to his sister's safety, the bottom line is something that can be retreated...
From what they'd just said, it seemed like Luffy had brought his woman into the company. Zhuang Yu'an questioned this: the truth needed to be verified. Even if it was true, unless this couple's actions were too extreme, he would have to turn a blind eye.
Besides work, as an old friend, he couldn't help but be curious about the latest developments in Luffy's love life. That guy changes girlfriends frequently, and he's not the kind of person who doesn't know what's going on, so why would he suddenly do something so foolish as to give someone a backdoor? Moreover, the newcomer hasn't reached the CEO's approval level, which means he's not in a senior management position. The benefits of his favoritism are not high... Could it be that, like him, Luffy put this person in the company for protection? In that case, he has good intentions towards this girl. But it's also possible that this guy is simply obsessed with love and wants to be with her regardless of the occasion. If that's the case, he has to say a few words...
The next day, Zhuang Yu'an was more cautious when facing Luffy, trying to find some clues from this guy. This research actually found an abnormal signal:
Luffy wasn't a smoker, but he usually had a few cigarettes a day, going downstairs or in the stairwell, chatting with people for ten minutes while smoking, euphemistically calling it a cigarette social. But today, there wasn't a trace of cigarette smoke on him.
Before leaving get off work, Luffy came to his office and placed a beautifully wrapped gift box on his desk.
"Happy birthday!" Luffy sat down opposite him, "How are you spending tomorrow?"
"Spend time with my family." Zhuang Yu'an was about to put the gift box away, but he reached out and held it down: "Don't you want to see what it is?"
To be honest, Zhuang Yu'an wasn't looking forward to his gift. His gift-giving style remained the same year after year, usually consisting of small luxury brand items like wallets, cufflinks, handkerchiefs, perfume...most of which he didn't need anyway. Zhuang Yu'an even thought Luffy had a ton of these things at home, giving one to anyone on their birthday.
"Okay, let me see." Zhuang Yu'an smiled and said, moving his slender fingers across the gift box, "I hope it's not perfume." He hated that thing the most.
Luffy watched him open the gift box with a smile, gradually revealing the small toys inside. The moment Zhuang Yu'an saw the box, his face turned as if a palette had been overturned.
Luffy stood up, a prank smile on his lips: "I hope you can find your partner soon!" Pointing to the toys on the table, "Don't hold it in until you find your partner!"
Zhuang Yu'an gritted his teeth as he watched his figure disappear at the door, then suddenly grabbed the things on the table and threw them into the trash can with a "clang".
After thinking about it, he picked it up again and put it in the drawer - no, if other people saw this damn thing, they would think he was a pervert!
Just as Zhuang Yu'an was receiving gifts, his younger sister also received a gift.
A cardboard box with a black background and a rose pattern, tied with a golden ribbon, looked gorgeous and mysterious. Zuo Xiao stuffed the gift into her arms and said, "This is your coming-of-age gift. Open it when you're home and alone."
Zhuang Jinghao took the instructions to heart and stuffed the gift into her bag. The gift box was larger than an A4 sheet of paper, stretching the bag into a boxy shape. The entire drive home felt like she was carrying a dinosaur egg, so eager to open it that it made the car ride home seem incredibly long.
Oh my god, she's so curious! Can she secretly open it and take a look? Just a peek would be enough...
In the back seat of the car, Zhuang Yu'an saw his sister nervously holding something in her arms, as if she were holding an atomic bomb launcher, and couldn't help asking, "What's in your bag?"
Zhuang Jinghao's face flushed immediately: "Nothing, nothing..."
Zhuang Yu'an teased her: "Is it a birthday present for me?" She shook her head at first, then suddenly remembered something and nodded vigorously.
Oh! She wanted to surprise me, and when I found out, she wanted to deny it, but when she realized she couldn't hide it anymore, she had to admit it... Zhuang Yu'an's smile was harder than AK's: "How can my sister be so cute?"
In previous years, his sister had prepared him incredibly thoughtful birthday gifts. When he was younger, they were small, handmade items like crayon drawings, greeting cards, and plant specimens. As he grew older, her gift-giving became more creative. She'd given him a rare, out-of-print vinyl record he'd been unable to find, a video she'd meticulously edited of cherished memories from the year, and one year, she even commissioned a song for him called "My Amazing Brother," which she recorded herself in a studio. He carefully preserved these thoughtful gifts from his sister, and to date, he's accumulated 19 birthday gifts. With this year's gift, he's now collected 20.
Zhuang Yu'an looked at the bulging bag in his sister's arms: Such a meaningful gift, and his sister treasures it so much, what could it be?
After returning home, Zhuang Jinghao ran upstairs without stopping, while Zhuang Yu'an went into the kitchen.
He didn't like having other people at home, but he also enjoyed preparing meals for his sister himself, so he only hired a day shift nanny. Before he got home, the nanny had already bought and washed the vegetables, and he was responsible for the rest of the process himself.
When the three dishes and a soup were served, his sister still hadn't come downstairs. He went upstairs and knocked on the door, and after a long while, his sister finally came out reluctantly.
Seeing her blushing cheeks and shy expression, Zhuang Yu'an felt a little doubtful and turned his gaze away, looking inside through the crack in the door.
Before he could see anything, his sister had already hurriedly closed the door and urged him, "Let's go, let's go. We are starving."
She ate without liking the food, and she had no idea what was going on in her little head. Sometimes her mind wandered, sometimes her face flushed. Her brother noticed her abnormal state one by one, and the mystery in his heart grew bigger and bigger.
Could it be... that my sister is in love?
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