Chapter 101 'Disappearance'
Over the next few days, Ruan Yao felt as if she were walking on clouds, her whole body feeling light and airy.
Li Si's addition is like a shot in the arm for the "Summer Wonderland" project.
They were both women, and when discussing those imaginative and emotionally charged ideas, almost no adjustment was needed. A glance, a gesture, and they would understand each other perfectly.
When Ruan Yaogang proposed an idea about the emotional bond between IP characters, Li Si was able to immediately provide three marketing solutions from the perspective of user psychology that could generate strong empathy among fans.
This collaborative experience boosted the morale of the entire project team to an unprecedented level, and the progress of "Summer Wonderland" was more than twice as fast as originally expected.
After get off work, in her Bentley on her way home, Ruan Yao was still enthusiastically reminiscing about the results of her brainstorming session that afternoon.
"Yanzhi, let me tell you, today I truly understand what 'a loss may turn out to be a blessing in disguise' means!"
Huo Yanzhi started the car, turned his head to look at her bright eyes, and a smile appeared on his lips.
She turned to the side, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Huo Yanzhi who was driving. "It's a pity that Lu Zeyuan left, but Sister Li Si is really amazing."
"It's so easy for me to communicate with her! We discussed the promotional plan this afternoon, and she understood all the ideas without me even having to explain them clearly. We even finalized the IP collaboration plan for next quarter today. The efficiency is astonishing!"
As she spoke, she laughed at herself, shaking Huo Yanzhi's arm.
"I never realized before how comfortable it is to communicate with female colleagues! There's no need to beat around the bush at all. Some feelings are really hard for male colleagues to understand. Now I think that Lu Zeyuan leaving might actually be a good thing for me!"
Huo Yanzhi drove quietly, his long, slender fingers gripping the steering wheel tapping lightly with barely perceptible knuckles and a sense of satisfaction.
As dusk settled, the sunlight streaming through the car window swept across her radiant face, and her doe-like eyes sparkled with a pure, excited light for her career.
"Really?" He smiled gently. "That's good. It seems Qin Feng's recommendation this time was very successful."
"It's not just a success, it's an absolute success!" Ruan Yao leaned back in her chair, sighing with satisfaction. "I've decided that from now on, my team will recruit more talented girls like Li Si!"
"Hmm," Huo Yanzhi said, focused on driving, his tone tinged with a hint of a joke, "It seems that the Huo family should learn from Lexing Island and increase the proportion of female employees in their positions."
“Absolutely!” Ruan Yao immediately agreed.
Because work went so smoothly, time flew by, and Friday arrived in the blink of an eye.
As the workday was drawing to a close, only a few colleagues remained in the office, still finishing up their tasks.
Ruan Yao accidentally spilled coffee on her cup while drinking water, leaving an unsightly stain.
She took the cup to the tea room to wash it, and to avoid splashing water on her watch, she casually took off the custom-made watch that Huo Yanzhi had given her and put it into the pen holder on her desk.
I had just washed the cup and returned to my workstation when Ruan Sheng called, his voice urgent.
"My dear sister, I'm in urgent need of help!"
"What's wrong?"
"Could you go pick something up for me on the third floor of the Hang Lung shopping mall next to your company? It's a jade necklace I ordered as a birthday gift for Mom. The size was a bit off, so I took it to get altered. We were supposed to pick it up today, but Dad suddenly dragged me to the airport to pick up a client, so I can't get away!"
“Okay, no problem.” She readily agreed.
"Oh, by the way," Ruan Sheng added, "this weekend is Mom's birthday. Please remember to bring your CEO Huo back for dinner! Mom has been asking for it for ages!"
"Okay, okay, stop nagging."
After hanging up the phone, she subconsciously wanted to send Huo Yanzhi a message to tell him that she would be a few minutes late.
But when she picked up her phone, she found that the screen was completely black because the battery had run out and the phone had automatically shut down.
She glanced at the wall clock; there were still ten minutes until she got off work.
The shopping mall is right next to the company. It's only a ten or twenty-minute walk there and back. By the time she gets back, Huo Yanzhi should be arriving soon.
Without thinking much, Ruan Yao stuffed her phone into her bag, planning to charge it when she got home. Then, she grabbed her bag and hurriedly left the office.
Five minutes later, the black Bentley pulled up right in front of the Lexingdao Company building.
Huo Yanzhi glanced at his phone screen.
On the electronic map interface displayed above, the red dot representing Ruan Yao is quietly resting on the floor where Lexing Island is located, without moving.
He waited quietly.
Five minutes passed.
Ten minutes have passed.
Fifteen minutes have passed.
The red dot remained rooted to the spot, showing no sign of moving.
Huo Yanzhi's brows furrowed imperceptibly.
He picked up his phone and dialed Ruan Yao's number.
What came through the receiver, however, was a cold system notification tone.
"Hello, the number you dialed is currently switched off..."
The fingers gripping the phone suddenly tightened.
The computer is off.
Why did the device shut down?
Countless dark, uncontrollable thoughts proliferated wildly in an instant.
Huo Yanzhi almost immediately pushed open the car door and strode towards the entrance of the Lexing Island building.
Meanwhile, on the third floor of Hang Lung Shopping Mall.
Ruan Yao was facing the saleswoman, looking utterly helpless.
"Miss, I'm so sorry, I just gave you the wrong order. I gave you another customer's order slip. I'll repackage it for you right away," the saleswoman explained apologetically.
This back-and-forth trip took almost half an hour longer than expected.
She glanced at the time; it was already past seven.
Huo Yanzhi must be getting impatient.
Ruan Yao finally retrieved the gift. Carrying the gift bag, she jogged back to the company building and, sure enough, saw the familiar black Bentley still parked in the same spot.
But there was no one in the car.
Ruan Yao immediately guessed it.
He must have waited for her in vain and couldn't get through on the phone, so he went upstairs to look for her.
Without thinking twice, she rushed into the empty building and pressed the elevator button.
The elevator slowly ascended, and the enclosed space was eerily quiet.
With a "ding," the elevator doors opened.
The lights on the entire floor were off, with only the emergency exit signs and the neon lights of the city streaming in through the windows casting dappled shadows.
The entire space was eerily quiet, with only the faint sound of the central air conditioning blowing air.
Using the dim light, Ruan Yao walked towards the project team's office.
Before she even got close, she spotted a familiar figure in the distance.
Huo Yanzhi stood in front of her workstation, his back to her, like a silent sculpture.
In the dim light, his figure cast a long, oppressive shadow, and he was shrouded in an indescribable chill.
Ruan Yao subconsciously slowed her pace.
She sensed that something was off.
As she got closer, she could see that he was tightly clutching something in his hand.
It was the wristwatch that she had casually placed in the pen holder.
The metal watch chain reflected a cold light through his knuckles, which were white from straining.
Ruan Yao's heart sank for no apparent reason.
She called his name softly and tentatively.
"...Yanzhi?"
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