Chapter 108 His thoughts stirred, and he gripped her arm even tighter than before. ...
Her senses became incredibly sharp at that moment; his voice and the scent emanating from him made her feel exceptionally at ease.
Zhu Liushuang closed her eyes and quietly pressed herself against He Ming's chest. She deliberately indulged her attachment to him, snuggling closer into his embrace and grabbing his clothes as if a drowning person had grasped the only piece of driftwood.
The piece of driftwood, sensing her response, abruptly stopped stroking her back. His muscles tensed, and he dared not move an inch. Only then did He Ming truly realize what he had just done.
Reason told him that the hug should be kept to a minimum.
But the disordered heartbeat was desperately screaming in my chest, "No!"
How could someone as perceptive as Zhu Liushuang not notice his subtle changes?
The man's sudden stiffness was a signal that he was refusing to let her near. Her grip on his suit jacket loosened, and she opened her eyes. Even though she couldn't see anything, she already knew he was about to leave her.
Contrary to pessimistic expectations, He Ming did not leave.
Although his hands no longer clumsily and awkwardly stroked her back, his strong and powerful arms were still outstretched for her.
It's even more compact than before.
Two young bodies embraced tightly in the darkness, the cold and fear fading away, replaced by the warmth of their bodies pressed together.
The atmosphere in the warehouse gradually became subtle. A blush swept across her cheeks and climbed up her earlobes. Zhu Liushuang's heart fluttered, and her whole head was dizzy, losing the ability to think.
Fortunately, at the critical moment, a phone call from Guo Yang brought her back to her senses.
The sudden vibration of the phone extinguished the ambiguous flame that had been swirling between the two.
"I'll take the call," He Ming said gently, releasing his arm.
Using the arc of light from the screen, she watched him step aside and answer the phone.
"Hey, is the electrician doing any repairs?" The man's voice returned to its usual cold tone.
Zhu Liushuang had no interest in eavesdropping on their conversation, nor was she anxious about when she could leave the warehouse. All of this stemmed from the large hand that suddenly landed on her shoulder.
He Ming didn't apply any pressure; he simply placed his hand there gently. Every now and then, he would stroke her thin shoulder, as if to give her a sense of security.
Zhu Liushuang turned her head and stared intently at the indistinct large hand, her heart filled with his thoughtfulness.
The call was still going on, and the voice on the other end of the receiver could be faintly heard.
"Power will definitely be restored in five minutes at most. If the electrician hadn't been stuck in traffic on his way, you wouldn't have had to wait this long... There aren't even any windows in the warehouse, were you two scared?"
“What’s there to be scared of, a grown man like me?” He Ming glanced at Zhu Liushuang out of the corner of his eye, and seeing that she was no longer losing control of her emotions, he felt a little relieved. “It’s your employees who are quite frightened. Mr. Guo, it’s been an hour and a half since the power outage…”
Has so much time passed?
Zhu Liushuang's mind wavered for a moment, and then she heard He Ming speak again: "You really need to make it up to them."
After the call ended, He Ming withdrew his hand and turned on the phone's flashlight.
With the weight on her shoulders lightening, Zhu Liushuang subtly straightened her back. To break the awkward silence, she took the initiative to start a conversation.
"Senior, wasn't I incredibly embarrassing just now? I'm such a grown-up, and I'm still afraid of the dark. I'm clearly terrified of the dark, but I was just being stubborn and pretending to be brave..."
She was tight-lipped about her past experiences. She had never even told her mother, Gu Chunling, about the prank she was played on by her classmates and locked in the storage room, and naturally, she didn't want He Ming to know either.
“It’s not shameful.” In the shadows where she couldn’t see him, the man’s brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.
He Ming was quick-witted. He had seen her running her stall alone outside and riding her bike home late at night, so he understood that Zhu Liushuang wasn't truly afraid of the dark. Presumably, the sudden loss of control wasn't entirely due to the power outage; there must have been something that had caused her immense suffering. But since she was deliberately avoiding the topic, he wouldn't force her to recall those terrible memories.
“I… was afraid of the dark when I was little.” He softened his voice and said, “Every time my mom was on night shift, I would go with her. If she didn’t take me… I would cling to her trousers and cry.”
Hearing the man's words, Zhu Liushuang chuckled and muttered, "Senior, don't lie to me!" She couldn't imagine He Ming hugging his mother's trouser leg and wailing, and only felt that he was making up lies to comfort her.
"Really, I'm not lying to you." The man paced a few steps on the ground, moving to a place some distance away from her.
"How old were you then?" Zhu Liushuang asked, rubbing her face.
He Ming rested his chin on his hand, as if he were really recalling: "I think I was five or six years old..."
Zhu Liushuang's face fell even more, and she said, both amused and exasperated, "Five or six years old is still a child, of course they have the right to cry and make a fuss! But I'm already an adult who has experienced the harsh realities of society, how can I compare to you when you were a child..."
“Adults can also vent their emotions.” He Ming’s eyes darkened. For some reason, he sensed a hint of sadness in Zhu Liushuang’s words.
Zhu Liushuang didn't respond to him. She touched her nose with her fingertips, rubbed it for a while, and then said weakly, "When can we get out? Didn't President Guo say it would be at most five minutes?"
"Hmm, five minutes is almost up..." The man had barely finished speaking when, with a "beep," the overhead incandescent light instantly illuminated the entire room.
Unable to adjust to the bright light, the two squinted.
There was also some activity at the access control point.
The heavy sensor door opened, and two anxious figures rushed in from outside.
The person in charge was Zhuang Xiaoqian, and the person she was pulling was Jiang Shuting.
"Liu Shuang, are you alright?" Zhuang Xiaoqian met Zhu Liu Shuang's rabbit-like red eyes and raised her voice even louder, "Oh dear, you've been crying, you must have been terrified! Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, Sister Zhuang has already gone to the technical department to help you vent your anger..."
Zhu Liushuang got off the chair, stood up straight, and covered her face embarrassedly, saying, "Sister Zhuang, I'm fine. Please keep your voice down a little. It would be embarrassing if others knew I cried over this..." As she spoke, she secretly glanced at He Ming, her gaze just touching his face before instantly looking away.
Zhuang Xiaoqian sighed twice and beckoned Jiang Shuting to come and help Zhu Liushuang out. Before stepping out the door, she glanced at He Ming, who was standing expressionless in the corner of the warehouse, and shivered from the cold aura emanating from the man.
Sigh! This Teacher He, he's got a handsome face, but unfortunately he doesn't know how to be gentle with women at all! How can he just stand there and let a girl cry... she thought to herself.
The man, who had been inexplicably labeled as "ungentlemanly," was completely unaware of this. He smoothed out the wrinkles on his suit jacket, casually turned off the light, and walked out of the warehouse thoughtfully.
Throughout the noon, Zhu Liushuang received warm greetings and concern from her colleagues.
First came several female colleagues from the Human Resources Department, then Guo Yang, who rushed over from the head office, and finally a group of young men from the Technical Department.
The threshold of the finance office was almost worn out from all the footsteps. After seeing off the last group of "guests," she finally got some peace and quiet.
"Liu Shuang, let me ask you something... When you were crying from fright inside, did Teacher He say a few words of comfort to you?" As soon as the person left, Zhuang Xiaoqian couldn't contain her curiosity and poked her head out to ask.
Hearing her colleague's words, Zhu Liushuang, who was about to take a short break, perked up again and said, "Yes, there is. Teacher He... later he pulled me aside to talk about some work-related things to distract me, and I wasn't so scared anymore." As she spoke, her eyes involuntarily turned to the upper right.
If Zhuang Xiaoqian had studied criminal investigation, she could easily have guessed that Zhu Liushuang was lying and making up a story. But clearly, she hadn't.
"When he entered the warehouse, I saw him standing so far away from you, not saying a word, so I thought he was just going to watch you cry!"
"How could that be? Teacher He... he's a really nice person."
"Well, the person is alright... but... incredibly boring!" Zhuang Xiaoqian pouted and said, "Such a great opportunity, a man and a woman alone in a room. If I were a man, I wouldn't just sit there awkwardly talking about work..."
Zhu Liushuang couldn't help but chuckle, realizing that her rambling words had inadvertently created a bad image for He Ming.
But she didn't argue any further, afraid that if she talked too much, she wouldn't be able to hide her little secret.
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As dusk fell and it approached the end of the workday, Zhu Liushuang finished organizing the reports and prepared to head to where she had gotten off the bus that morning to wait for He Ming.
Her phone chimed, and when she opened WeChat, a small red dot appeared on He Ming's profile picture.
[Liu Shuang, wait for me for half an hour. I'll come to the finance office to find you after I'm done.]
She found a cute emoji in her collection and sent it. It was a curly-haired white dog with big, round eyes and the words "Received" above its head.
"Liu Shuang, where are you planning to go for the New Year's Day holiday?"
She was still grinning foolishly at her phone screen when she suddenly heard Zhuang Xiaoqian's question and felt inexplicably guilty.
"New Year's Day is only three days, so I probably won't go out."
"My husband and I are planning to fly directly to Jincheng for a three-day, two-night spree of food and shopping..." Zhuang Xiaoqian said excitedly, "I'll bring you a panda plush toy when we get back!"
It would be a lie to say she wasn't envious. She could buy a plane ticket costing several thousand yuan without batting an eye, while she'd never actually traveled far from home in her entire life. Zhu Liushuang smiled at Zhuang Xiaoqian, "Thank you, Sister Zhuang. Have a great time in advance."
"Hey, aren't you leaving yet? It's time to get off work." Zhuang Xiaoqian slung her bag over her shoulder and asked, puzzled, seeing that she hadn't tidied up her desk.
"The accounts I did this afternoon didn't balance; there's a shortfall of one dollar and two cents. I need to re-organize the vouchers and figure out where the problem lies..."
"Heavens!" Zhuang Xiaoqian exclaimed, "A few years ago, there was an discrepancy in the accounts, and your master and I worked for three whole weeks to find the missing 37 cents. How long will it take you to find it all by yourself?"
Zhu Liushuang said vaguely, "It should be quick. I know my own accounts well... If I really can't find it, Sister Zhuang, could you help me again tomorrow when you have some free time?"
When she checked the accounts that afternoon, she did find that money was missing, but she quickly found the mistake and corrected the incorrect amount. Mentioning it to Zhuang Xiaoqian now was merely an excuse for her to stay behind and wait for He Ming.
"You...are you really okay?" Zhuang Xiaoqian asked, still concerned even after she had reached the door.
"Hmm." Zhu Liushuang felt a little ashamed upon receiving the genuine concern from her colleague.
The company's soundproofing was so-so; with the door open, you could hear all sorts of noises coming from outside. After Zhuang Xiaoqian left, a flurry of footsteps echoed down the corridor. She knew that everyone else was also rushing to leave work.
After sitting in the office for more than ten minutes, Zhu Liushuang was a little bored, so she simply took out her "Auditing" textbook to pass the time.
Sure enough, time flew by when she was studying. She had a habit of twirling her pen while doing problems, but her technique was poor, and the pen would jump off her fingertips and fall onto the table after only a few twirls. So, every few tens of seconds, the finance office would echo with a "thud, thud" sound.
But she was completely unaware, engrossed in reading and doing practice problems.
"Thud." It was probably the umpteenth time the black pen had landed on the table.
Zhu Liushuang reached out to pick it up, but missed.
"The answer to this question is D. Option A includes differences in reporting. Option B states that a certified public accountant may classify misstatements below a certain amount as obviously minor misstatements, and such misstatements do not need to be accumulated..."
Perhaps she lingered on this question for too long, for the silent bystanders finally couldn't help but speak up and offer a reminder.
"Then what about C? Why didn't you choose it?" Zhu Liushuang turned her head and met He Ming's profile. He was still holding her black pen in his hand.
“C is a false alarm.” The man’s thin lips parted slightly, uttering a few precise words.
She nodded as if she understood, closed the thick textbook, and asked, "Is it over?"
"Hmm, have you been waiting long?"
"It's alright..." Zhu Liushuang waved her hand and asked timidly, "Has President Guo left?"
He Ming knew what she was worried about, so he replied, "He's gone. I watched him go into the elevator."
That would be perfect. Zhu Liushuang packed the items on the table into her backpack one by one, and then turned off the air conditioner.
"Then let's go!" she said cheerfully.
"Hmm, it's already dark outside. Would you like to wear a scarf?" He Ming asked, glancing at the scarf she had abandoned on the back of the chair.
"No need!" Zhu Liushuang zipped her coat all the way up, turned up the collar of her down jacket, covering half of her small face. "This is fine!"
The light-colored down jacket made her skin look fair and smooth, and the soft, sweet way she tilted her head to speak stirred He Ming's heart. All he could see were her bright, almond-shaped eyes.
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Author's Note: I set an alarm this morning and finally finished writing the half-chapter I hadn't completed. [Cat emoji]
Their feelings are heating up, and the countdown to the couple sharing a bed is about to begin!
"Option A also includes differences in reporting; Option B, the CPA may define misstatements below a certain amount as obviously minor misstatements, and such misstatements do not need to be accumulated." —Excerpt from the internet
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