Chapter 107 Holding her in his arms, He Ming opened his arms, leaned forward, and slowly...
For half the morning, He Ming and Jiang Shuting sat in the small conference room verifying financial data.
Zhu Liushuang went in and out several times, and besides serving them tea and water, she mainly answered some questions related to the accounts, so she wasn't particularly busy.
Seeing that the thermos on the table was empty, she decided to go to the tea room to make another one. Just as she reached the door, she heard Jiang Shuting weakly call out, "Sister Shuangshuang."
Zhu Liushuang turned around and saw Jiang Shuting's face, which was all scrunched up in a grimace.
"What's wrong?" she asked gently.
Jiang Shuting got up from her seat and tiptoed over to her. She lowered her voice and leaned closer, saying, "Sister Shuangshuang, I think... my period is early. I just had a sharp pain in my stomach, and I felt a warm flow down there..."
Zhu Liushuang understood immediately and asked in a low voice, "Did you bring sanitary napkins?"
"No," Jiang Shuting pouted and shook her head.
"Come with me to the restroom entrance and wait for me. It's alright, I should have one in my office," Zhu Liushuang said softly, trying to comfort her.
"Um—thank you, Sister Shuangshuang, I'm sorry to have troubled you today..."
"It's no trouble at all, just a small matter."
The two stood by the door frame and whispered for a while before Zhu Liushuang took Jiang Shuting's hand and walked out of the conference room.
When the meeting room door was pushed open again, she was the only one who entered.
I wonder if He Ming heard their conversation? Zhu Liushuang thought to herself as she placed the kettle on the table. Taking advantage of Jiang Shuting's absence, she quietly called out, "Senior."
The man looked up from the computer screen, glanced at her, and asked, "Where's Jiang Shuting?"
"Oh...she has something to do, she'll be a few minutes late."
He Ming took off his frameless glasses, rubbed his temples, and said, "Then when she gets back, have her go with you to the warehouse to take inventory of the equipment. By the way, Liu Shuang... have you printed out the inventory details?"
"It was already prepared," Zhu Liushuang replied immediately.
Knowing that it was the first day of Jiang Shuting's period and she probably wasn't feeling well, she asked He Ming, "Senior, why don't you come with me to take inventory of the stock?"
Her brow was slightly red from being pinched. Upon hearing this, He Ming released her hand and looked at her in confusion.
That's right. Taking inventory is such a simple task that requires neither skill nor physical exertion; she really shouldn't have let him go with her. She was inconsiderate!
"It's alright, I'll wait for Shuting to come over," Zhu Liushuang said, turning her head away.
A brief silence fell over the conference room. She leaned against the table, staring blankly at the floor, when the man sitting down suddenly closed his laptop and stood up.
"Weren't we going to take inventory?" He Ming tapped on the table in front of her and urged in a low voice, "Let's go."
"Huh? Oh!" Zhu Liushuang barely realized what was happening, and ran a few steps to He Ming, saying, "The warehouse is upstairs, I'll lead the way."
"Hmm." The man deliberately lagged behind her, walking slowly.
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Ruixin's warehouse is small, only about ten square meters, filled with stacked box-type industrial firewalls. There are no windows on any side of the room, and no heating, making the space feel cramped and confined.
Zhu Liushuang squatted on the ground, engrossed in the inventory work. She held the inventory list in her hand, counting and checking with He Ming behind her.
This warehouse wasn't frequented by many people, and the old man responsible for guarding and cleaning it only did so sporadically, resulting in many areas being covered in dust. Zhu Liushuang inhaled the cold air and dust sharply, and couldn't help but cover her mouth and cough.
She had barely managed to suppress the dryness and itchiness in her throat when, with a "snap," the light above her suddenly went out. A blanket of darkness descended, and she couldn't see anything. She instinctively reached into her pocket, but found nothing. Then she remembered that she had left her phone in the finance office.
Zhu Liushuang slapped her forehead in annoyance, remaining in a squatting position, afraid to make any rash moves. She was afraid that if she lifted a foot or stumbled, she would bump into something sharp, causing even more trouble.
"Liu Shuang, are you alright?" The man's voice pierced the darkness, calming her uneasy heart. At the same time, a white light shone from his hand, the halo outlining his calm profile and illuminating the small space between them.
He Ming bent down and moved the equipment lying on the ground one by one, clearing a path for her without any obstruction.
"Come here, take my arm and walk." As the beam of light swayed slightly, the man's strong and powerful arm stretched out in front of her.
In this critical moment, Zhu Liushuang did not hesitate. She grabbed his forearm and stood up, then slowly walked out of the "prison" that had trapped her.
"Is there a power outage? The city didn't give any prior notice..."
The two arrived at the automatic facial recognition door. Zhu Liushuang pressed the button, skeptical, but the access control screen did not respond at all; it was completely silent.
The company installed automatic facial recognition gates to facilitate employee access to the warehouse and protect equipment. However, with the power outage, these gates have become a heavy shackle, firmly blocking their way out.
"Senior..." Zhu Liushuang panicked again and turned to the person beside her. "I didn't bring my phone. Why don't you call Shuting... or President Guo and ask what's going on?"
But actually, without her prompting, He Ming had already pulled up his contacts. His fingertips expertly swiped across the screen, and he quickly dialed Guo Yang's number.
"Hey, Lao He, I'm in a meeting right now... We can talk later." The person on the other end of the phone seemed busy and eager to hang up.
"Don't hang up!" He Ming raised his voice, speaking seriously, "I'm at Ruixin taking inventory right now, but the warehouse suddenly lost power, and the access control is broken. I can't get out. I don't know what's going on!"
"Out of power? I'm at headquarters... Wait a minute, I'll go ask right away!"
"Okay, as soon as possible!"
"Beep beep beep—" A busy tone came from the receiver, and the call ended.
The man with a calm expression said, "Guo Yang went to ask."
"Hmm..." Zhu Liushuang responded with a soft murmur, her brows still furrowed.
Two minutes later, He Ming's phone started vibrating wildly.
"Old He, the R&D department was testing a new firewall and accidentally burned the wiring, causing a short circuit and tripping the circuit breaker." The person on the other end of the line kept apologizing, "I'm so sorry, I'm really sorry, Old He! The electrician is on his way to fix it, it should take 45 to 1.5 hours, please bear with it."
"good."
Is there anyone else with you?
"Yes, Zhu Liushuang."
"Oh, girls are bound to be a little more timid. Help me calm her down. Tell her that I'll give her an extra 500 yuan in bonus this month as compensation for her emotional distress."
After hanging up the phone, He Ming put away his phone and calmly relayed Guo Yang's words to Zhu Liushuang, adding reassuringly, "It's not a big problem. Just wait patiently for a while, and we'll be out soon."
Zhu Liushuang nodded hesitantly; his resolute tone briefly calmed the turmoil in her heart.
The two stood in front of the heavy sensor door for a moment, then simultaneously turned their gaze to the other side of the room.
"Let's go sit over there for a while!" He Ming spoke first.
There was only a worn-out chair in the warehouse. The man waved his phone, and a cold, white beam of light fell directly onto that dusty corner.
Zhu Liushuang responded and slowly moved over, illuminated by her phone's flashlight. The chair was dusty; she casually brushed it off with her sleeve before stiffly sitting down. Even through the two layers of fabric, the chair's icy surface still made her shiver.
The man followed closely behind her and leaned against the white wall behind her.
"Are you afraid of the dark?" He Ming asked, looking down.
Zhu Liushuang shook her head defiantly.
"Let's save some electricity... I forgot to charge my phone last night." He explained, then "whoosh," switched off the flashlight. The only light source illuminating the room went out, and darkness washed over us like a tide.
She loosened her clasped hands and braced them on either side of her body, gripping the chair firmly to alleviate her discomfort with the darkness.
The person behind her didn't speak, so she didn't make a sound either. The surroundings were so quiet that it seemed even their breathing had disappeared.
After sitting for a short while, Zhu Liushuang felt a chill run through her body. The cold seeped through her shoes, up her calves, and spread to every part of her body, making the suffocating feeling of being in an ice cave grow stronger and stronger.
She didn't know how much longer she would have to wait in the cramped darkness; the wait felt endless, each second an agony. A long-forgotten memory cracked open in her mind, letting in a biting, cold wind.
"Have you heard? Her father has ten lives on his hands."
"My God, the murderer's woman is still in our class!"
"She should be kicked out!"
The wind carried sharp curses and malicious whispers.
The scene shifted, and she saw herself, small as a child, being shoved into the gymnasium's storage room by several tall, burly boys. With a loud bang, the lock fell shut, and no matter how much she screamed and pounded on the door for help, all she received in return was unbridled mockery.
Her hands, which had been pounding on the door, turned red, and her throat was hoarse from shouting for so long. As the sounds outside faded into the distance, she slumped to the ground in despair.
The storage room that trapped her was just as dark, just as cramped, and just as smelly of dust as the warehouse she was in now.
Memories surged through her mind, and in a moment, Zhu Liushuang suddenly lost her mind, her body trembling uncontrollably.
"Waaah..."
Fear robbed her of her breath, and broken sobs escaped from her throat. She watched helplessly as the frail girl from years ago huddled behind the door, isolated and helpless…
"Liu Shuang, what's wrong?" The person behind her noticed her unusual behavior and asked tentatively.
That concerned voice was like a pebble thrown into a whirlpool, spinning and colliding before finally settling into her heart. Zhu Liushuang didn't respond, forcefully suppressing her sobs.
Suddenly, the phone screen lit up faintly, and then the man who had been standing still took two steps forward.
Facing the spotlight, Zhu Liushuang suddenly snapped out of her daze. She forcefully turned her face away, not wanting him to see her loss of composure.
Fortunately, he didn't press the matter further. Otherwise—her embarrassment and vulnerability would have been exposed.
She hoped He Ming would turn his back. Ideally, he'd turn off his phone screen too.
In this way, she can lick her wounds alone with dignity.
But she didn't see the man's back. In the few minutes it took for her to turn her head, a large, warm hand gently covered her cold hand, with a firm strength.
"Are you feeling cold?"
"Hmm..."
"Are you afraid of the dark?"
"Hmm..."
"What are you afraid of?"
"Waaaaah... Waaaaah..."
The voice beside her was so gentle that Zhu Liushuang could no longer suppress the fear and grievances she had felt in the past, and she began to sob.
She cried uncontrollably, and the man holding her hand listened with a tight smile. Each sob was like a nail hammered into his heart, causing sharp pain. He didn't know how to comfort her and was at a loss for words.
"Sigh—" After a silent sigh, action preceded thought, and he reacted.
He Ming spread his arms, leaned forward, bent down, and slowly wrapped his arms around the woman who was curled up in the chair, crying and trembling all over.
It was a slightly hesitant yet incredibly warm embrace. The moment his chest pressed against her forehead, Zhu Liushuang's sobs abruptly ceased. More precisely, she not only forgot to cry, but also forgot to breathe, and couldn't even utter a complete sentence.
"Thump-thump—thump-thump—" Feeling the steady, rhythmic heartbeat emanating from his heart, her reason gradually returned to normal. What followed was a longing for his embrace.
A gentle patting sensation came from my back, one after another.
"I'm here, don't be afraid." The phone screen light had gone out at some point, and his clear, gentle voice echoed in the darkness.
Like coaxing a child, it was done with boundless tenderness.
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The author says: Some of the torments I experienced in my youth, even if intentionally forgotten, can still suddenly pierce my heart at any moment. [Chin resting on hand][Chin resting on hand] Hugs to my poor little Shuangshuang.
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