Chapter 42 "I just miss you".
Zurich, which had been experiencing several days of snowfall, finally saw clear skies.
A wide-body Boeing aircraft was descending at a steady speed, entering the taxiing phase, bathed in the bright sunlight after the snowfall. Inside the cabin, a blonde, blue-eyed woman opened the window shade. The snow on the ground had not yet melted, acting as a natural reflector that made the sunlight particularly dazzling. Chloe squinted and closed the shade back.
She followed the crowd to immigration. Perhaps because it was peak tourist season, there was a long queue in front of the customs window. Finally, it was Chloe's turn. She handed her passport and Schengen documents to the officer. The officer glanced at her photo, then looked up at her several times before asking, "Madam, what is the purpose of your visit to Switzerland?"
Chloe chewed her gum and replied in fluent English, "Business trip."
The staff member stamped her passport page firmly, saying, "Wishing you success in your work."
Thank you.
She wore a fur coat and high-heeled boots, and because of her slender and tall figure, she did not look bulky. Instead, it made her look even more neat and delicate.
After collecting her luggage, exchanging currency, and buying a SIM card, she dialed a number, had a brief conversation with the other end, and soon a minivan pulled up in front of her.
A full hour later, Chloe left her hotel room, dropped off her luggage, got back into the van, and showed the driver an address on her phone.
“Well, ma’am, I’ll get you there safely.” The driver’s English had a heavy German accent.
The female driver glanced at her. She noticed she was still wearing a fur coat, but the lace top underneath had been replaced with a formal business suit that accentuated her figure. The pencil skirt reached her knees, revealing a sliver of slender calves covered in thin black stockings—not the typical kind, but the kind meant to keep warm in winter. Her high-heeled boots had been replaced with pointed-toe stilettos, a good eight centimeters high.
The driver looked away, a chill creeping down his spine. It was freezing cold, and there was a thin layer of snow on the ground; those shoes were definitely not going to be comfortable. More like an actress playing a working professional than a proper office worker.
An hour later, the van stopped in front of the Tianxu Group building. The gate was wide open, and she swiped her brand-new employee badge and walked in calmly.
The lunch break had just ended, and the employees were hurrying towards the main conference room in twos and threes. Upon seeing the man in the main seat, they all nodded and greeted him.
"Hello, Chairman Xu."
Xu Shaoting sat with his legs crossed, wearing only a black shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He was glancing down at a document without looking up, only nodding slightly in response, until he heard the crisp sound of high heels approaching from afar.
In this company, no one would be so ostentatious as to come to a meeting in high heels.
With an inquisitive look in his eyes, he turned to look at the doorway and saw a blonde woman wearing a mask walking towards him with her head down and her fur coat draped over her arm.
Compared to the other employees, she walked at a leisurely pace, as if she wasn't afraid of being late.
The meeting room had nearly a hundred people, half of whom were naturally blond-haired white people. The employees were busy organizing their reports and facing their superiors. The atmosphere was tense and stiff, and no one noticed the arrival of the new face.
Xu Shaoting glanced at her name tag indifferently, and only after noticing that she had chosen the most secluded corner seat, the one furthest from the main seat, did he calmly look away.
"Why are you still recruiting new people at the end of the year?" he asked Yang Ruiming, who was standing to the side.
Yang Ruiming stammered, unable to answer, "...I'll ask the HR department later and get back to you."
Xu Shaoting didn't pursue the matter. Seeing that everyone was present, he stood up, placed his hands on the edge of the table, and went straight to the topic of the meeting.
This is Tianxu's routine year-end reporting meeting, where representatives from each department report on the year's work. Since Xu Shaoting is not permanently stationed at the Swiss subsidiary, there are many things that employees need to report, ranging from the execution of the annual strategy and market layout to the details of daily operations and team dynamics.
The employees spoke in turn, and when it was Chloe's turn, she was interrupted by the man at the head of the table, who said, "Next."
She pursed her lips and remained silent.
Throughout the entire meeting, she didn't say a word, but simply sat quietly in the corner seat, glancing occasionally at the man in the main seat, as if hoping for something, but never receiving a response from him.
The meeting went on until 3 p.m., and Xu Shaoting had just returned to his office when there was a knock on the door.
“Come in,” he replied.
He looked up from the computer screen and saw who it was.
It's that blonde lady who just arrived.
Chloe walked to her desk, still dressed in business attire, but not as formally as she was in meetings; her collar was slightly open.
It was obvious that she wasn't there to talk about work, because she didn't have any documents in her hand, and apart from her employee badge, she didn't have anything related to the company.
Xu Shaoting glanced at her and asked businesslike, "What is it?"
The office remained silent for a long while.
"Chairman Xu, why didn't you let me speak just now?" The woman's tone was filled with dissatisfaction at being ignored.
Xu Shaoting listened to her words and replied calmly, "You should ask yourself that."
“Okay, I won’t pursue it,” Chloe shrugged, her tone lighthearted. “Anyway, I’m not here to talk to you about work.”
The quiet space was filled with the clatter of high heels. Chloe slowly walked over the desk and stood beside the man.
She slowly bent down, resting her hands on the armrests of his office chair, admiring his handsome profile.
Xu Shaoting sensed this and respectfully closed the file on his computer, returning her gaze.
Two powerful gazes clashed, neither willing to yield, each almost seeing their own reflection in the other's pupils.
"What do you want to do?" he asked.
Suddenly, she chuckled softly, reached out and hooked her arm around his neck, bent one long leg, and sat on the man's lap, the office chair making a squeaking sound as the gap was squeezed.
"..."
"So, can I speak next time?"
Xu Shaoting squinted at her, completely selfless.
"That won't work either, Miss."
Wearing a mask, her speech was muffled. She didn't seem to care about his answer, nor was she discouraged by his rejection. She lightly played with her hair between her fingers.
She wasn't there to discuss work, and she kept her word:
"Mr. Xu, do you have a girlfriend?"
Xu Shaoting didn't resist her at all; instead, he reached out and wrapped his arm around her slender waist. "I have one in China," he said with a playful smile, his gaze sweeping from her hair to her neckline. "What?"
She lowered her eyes, looking disappointed. "I really like you. Can you break up with her and be with me?"
“No problem, I’ll talk to her now,” Xu Shaoting agreed readily, took out his phone, tapped a few times, and dialed a number.
A mechanical beeping tone came through the receiver.
He said with a hint of regret, "Sorry, I couldn't get through."
A smug smile appeared at the corner of Chloe's eye.
But he didn't stop. He did something else: he abandoned the phone and made a voice call to a contact via WeChat. He did it so fast that she didn't even see it.
The office was quiet for a moment.
Then, the woman's phone vibrated at an inopportune moment. She froze, her heart racing inexplicably, and she reached out to silence the sudden noise.
Perhaps to her surprise, she completely lost her previous ease and appeared somewhat flustered.
Xu Shaoting slowly and deliberately glanced at her haste.
She had just reached into her pocket, before she even touched her phone, when she heard a soft laugh beside her ear.
The next second, the man ripped the mask off her face.
The next second, a large, warm hand gripped the back of her head.
Xu Shaoting kissed her lips almost forcefully.
With a 'thud,' the high heel on her bent leg fell to the floor, and through the stockings, Xu Shaoting touched her ankle with one hand.
His advances were quite fierce, almost out of control, kissing her until she couldn't breathe. She tried to push him away, but he didn't budge.
Every inch of her lips and tongue was swept by Xu Shaoting, her breathing became erratic, and her whole body went limp. Only her two arms were wrapped around his neck. In the large office, there were only the sounds of their lips sucking and the woman's soft panting.
Amidst her disordered breathing, Xu Shaoting gradually regained his composure.
After kissing her enough, he finally released her, lowering his gaze to the woman in his arms. The sharp, imposing look in his eyes was impossible to ignore. His hand, which had been holding the back of her head, slowly moved to her chin. He looked down at her.
"How dare you?"
Wen Jia's lips were kissed until they were red and glistening, and her eyes were as wet as if they were soaked with morning dew. She breathed heavily, opened her eyes, looked up at the man, and deliberately said:
"I thought you wouldn't recognize me."
“I’m going crazy, I don’t recognize you,” he said, stroking her blonde hair in a low, husky voice. “You really thought I didn’t see you on the red carpet?”
She specifically sought advice from Dong Yiwen and gave herself the exact same makeup as that night on the red carpet. With her sculpted features and a mask, the female driver probably couldn't tell her nationality for a moment.
She knew that no matter how well she disguised herself, she couldn't escape his eyes. She also knew that he could see right through her with just one glance. She asked him this question simply to see his reaction.
“It is indeed very different, but,” Xu Shaoting stroked her cheek, seeing through her intention, “what makes you think I wouldn’t recognize you?”
"What haven't I seen of you?"
Wen Jia sensed the deeper meaning in his words and bit her lip shyly, "When did you recognize me?"
"Before you even entered the meeting room."
"Then why are you pretending to be serious?"
"They even asked you why you're hiring new employees?"
"Intentional."
Wen Jia snorted lightly, dissatisfied, "You didn't even look at me during the meeting, not even once. Was that on purpose?"
She investigated very seriously.
"I'm afraid of getting distracted."
He missed her terribly after not seeing her for a few days. He wouldn't be distracted at all; he would probably agree if she asked to sit on his lap openly.
But no, with a hundred eyes in the conference room, he couldn't do something so absurd, so he could only restrain himself from looking at her.
Xu Shaoting pressed his forehead against hers and rubbed against her, saying, "Besides, with so many people watching, I couldn't help it."
"From what you're saying, you'd act like a thug if they weren't around."
They're blatantly digging a hole for themselves to jump into.
“They’re not here now, are they?” Xu Shaoting patted her buttocks lightly. The pencil skirt was so short that he was pleased. He took the opportunity to touch her soft, full breasts through the thin stockings, but only touched them lightly.
Her other high heel also fell to the ground with the movement. Xu Shaoting caught a glimpse of it, chuckled, and casually kicked it away with his toes, as if deliberately preventing her feet from touching the ground.
He spread her legs apart, letting her straddle his body, and lowered his head to kiss the nape of her neck. "Why did you suddenly come here?"
"I have a surprise for you."
"Not because you miss me?"
She was rebellious; instead of saying she missed him, she said, "I want to give you a surprise."
She missed him; her longing never ceased. In the days she couldn't see him, time seemed to stretch on endlessly, each second moving so slowly it made her heart race.
"It was a pleasant surprise."
The hot breath lingered on her neck, making her body itch, and her heart itch too. She heard him ask:
"So you were already on the plane the moment you stopped replying to my messages, right?"
Wen Jia nodded, becoming easily aggrieved in his presence, "My head hurts so much from the plane ride."
"You said you missed me, so I can go back to see you. Why did you have to come here by yourself?"
"I don't want to disturb your work."
Xu Shaoting teased her, "That's not a reason."
"...I also want to be brave."
Xu Shaoting kissed her cheek and hummed in approval, "Very brave."
Unlike private planes, commercial airliners don't fly directly to Switzerland from Linzhou. She arrived in Cairo first, and unfortunately, her wallet was stolen at the airport as soon as she landed. Luckily, she was smart enough to keep her cards and cash in several different places, so the loss wasn't too great.
After resting and regrouping in Cairo, we boarded the second flight, thinking we would arrive in Zurich smoothly. However, the flight crew informed us that the plane could not take off temporarily due to the weather. Waiting in the confined space was very anxious and agonizing. People were restless and kept cursing. The weather was bad, the location was unfavorable, and the crew was not in harmony. To make matters worse, the crew could not provide a definite takeoff time. In the end, the entire crew waited in place for nearly four hours before the plane finally took off.
The first and business class seats on the most recent flight were sold out. She was cooped up for nearly 24 hours in economy class on two separate flights, unable to stretch her legs or move her body. She could only pitifully rely on the U-shaped pillow for support.
By the end, her bones ached, and the noisy child next to her was driving her to the brink of madness. Several times, she had the urge to punch herself unconscious and end it all.
The airplane food tasted bland and tasteless, and she was so hungry that she had to suppress her nausea and stuff the food into her mouth.
After many twists and turns, she finally got off the plane. Although the travel guide Lin Youzhe sent her was very comprehensive, the actual situation was even more bumpy than she had imagined.
The SIM card was too small, and she didn't know when she lost it. Luckily, she could buy one at the airport, and she thought she had found a lifeline. However, the other party's German-accented English was something she couldn't understand.
After finally getting the SIM card replaced, the signal was intermittent. Even when it connected, I couldn't send a single message.
Because I was in a hurry to leave, I didn't exchange any foreign currency. I planned to exchange some Swiss francs with cash at the airport, but I didn't check the exchange rate and fees and got ripped off.
She swallowed her grievances and didn't mention them at all. She only said, "You should give Lin Youzhe a bonus." She tilted her head slightly to accept his kiss. "He helped me with the visa, the plane ticket, the hotel, and even the company address. He also arranged a driver for me. Without him, I would have had difficulty even entering the country."
"And this employee badge, he gave it to me too."
Xu Shaoting stopped kissing her and looked at the name tag on her chest. In the name section, it read "Chloe" in bright colors.
He smiled helplessly, "You two kept it a secret very well."
This was perhaps the first time Lin Youzhe had committed such a crime of deceiving the emperor. He was only able to agree to remain silent after Wen Jia pleaded with him for a long time.
Although she didn't say it, he felt a little uneasy. He knew without asking how many safety risks a girl might encounter on her journey. Just now, when he glanced at her from afar at the conference room door, he noticed the weariness between her brows. Now, hearing the slight nasal tone in her voice, he knew that she hadn't rested well at all and had caught a cold. Xu Shaoting felt an overwhelming pang of heartache and lingering fear.
During the twenty-four hours without any news from her, he almost ordered someone to go find her himself; he had imagined countless possibilities. But none of them were like this, where he saw her appear directly in front of him.
Fortunately, she was safe and sound. He dared not think too deeply about what would happen if something went wrong on her journey or if she encountered any mishap.
I absolutely dare not imagine her alone and helpless.
"Don't you find it troublesome?" he asked.
“I don’t mind at all,” she said proudly. “I told you, I wanted to give you a surprise. You flew back to see me last time, so this time it’s my turn.”
"Don't be so brave next time. I'll come back to see you. Don't come alone; it's dangerous."
A soft voice escaped Wen Jia's throat, "I just missed you."
She just missed him, so when the female host asked, she resolutely said that she would take the initiative to see him.
I just missed him, so I appeared before him with a heart full of longing.
Xu Shaoting was pleased with her words and kissed her lips again, a retaliatory kiss as if it had been tempered with the unspoken longing of the past few dozen hours. Her heart pounded violently from his kiss, trembling. The soft back of her name tag was pressed against his palm, and he deliberately rubbed it with his fingers and the calluses on his fingertips, stimulating her to shudder.
"How much do you want it?" he asked between breaths.
He was determined to get the answer he hadn't received earlier back himself.
Wen Jia was completely overwhelmed by his kisses and surrendered, "Mmm...I really want to...No, no more."
"Why not?" He ignored her words, his actions continuing. "Where do you want to go?"
"I was thinking... um..." Her voice trembled and broke, she couldn't finish a sentence, her mind was a complete mess, she was even more confused than when she was drunk.
"I think you're thinking more than just what you're thinking," Xu Shaoting said, squinting at her and letting out a soft snort. "You're thinking about this too, and you still say no?"
Wen Jia bit her lip hard, trying to control herself from making any indescribable sounds. "Chairman Xu...Do your subordinates know that you're...doing this kind of thing in the office?"
It is indeed absurd. His upbringing makes him self-disciplined and upright in his dealings with anyone and anything. Even an inanimate office is something he will only use for working and thinking. He is afraid that even a second of distraction would be disrespectful to it.
Even that Maybach was just a means for him to travel between various places of extravagance and debauchery, but ever since that partition screen was raised for the first time, all his good order collapsed.
He never imagined that one day things would escalate to the point where he would be doing such an absurd thing with her in the office.
What are we doing?
He was impeccably dressed, a gentleman, and appeared dignified; even his hairstyle was perfectly in place.
“…Don’t ask.” She rested her head on his broad shoulder, and through his shirt, she couldn’t tell whether his body was hotter or her forehead was hotter.
Xu Shaoting was very patient and not in a hurry for an answer; he always knew how to get her to talk.
His large hand meandered and slid, tugging at the thin, gossamer-like black veil covering her legs. He glanced down at her and asked, "Don't you feel cold?"
She wasn't cold at all now; her whole body was filled with his warmth, almost scorching.
"Intentional?"
A sound like silk being torn came from the darkness.
“…No, that’s not it,” she argued, “it’s just to match my business attire.”
Wen Jia felt his hand move and suddenly exclaimed in surprise.
"...Still in the office!"
"So what if it's the office? If I don't let them in, who would dare to come in?"
Wen Jia knew this man was incredibly ruthless when he got going, so she hooked her arm around his neck and quickly glanced back. Seeing the door was tightly closed, she whispered a plea for mercy, "Chairman Xu..."
Her pleas for mercy weren't genuine; they were merely subconscious. Only she knew that a damned, indescribable feeling had suddenly risen within her body and mind.
She endured it, her bitten lip being deliberately kissed open by him. "The office is very soundproof, baby, don't hold back."
Hearing his deep voice call her "baby," Wen Jia was completely overwhelmed and collapsed into his arms.
What did you call me?
Her cheek was pressed against his shirt as she looked up at him, the tip of her nose slightly pink, whether from desire or the warmth.
“Baby,” he repeated.
How strange. Even though he was right in front of her, why did hearing him call her that only intensify her longing? It was as if a hand was desperately pulling her down into an abyss, and as she fell, her heart was about to break free of its cage.
After a series of trials and tribulations, the pent-up frustration finally began to overflow, pouring out as words, ready to burst forth:
"I miss you... I miss you."
"I miss you too." He cupped her face in his hands.
As Wen Jia listened to his words and endured his fingertips and kisses, she lost all composure. Her throat was choked with gasps, but she dared not make a sound.
The office was silent for a long time.
Suddenly, a low laugh escaped his lips as he kissed her earlobe.
"I was wondering why it hadn't rained in Zurich today, honey, it turns out it was all because of you."
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Author's Note: Lin Youzhe: May all lovers be united in marriage, even if it means committing the crime of deceiving the emperor.
Amitabha Buddha, every time the two of them meet, things always take an uncontrollable turn...
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