Chapter 34
The scene behind the door was completely different from what Liu Yifan had imagined. There was no furniture, not even basic living facilities.
The vast space was filled with the slightly dated decor left by the previous landlord: marble floor tiles, lightly textured wallpaper, and the most basic lighting fixtures and kitchen and bathroom fixtures. The air was filled with the cold, dusty smell unique to vacant houses.
The so-called "stack" was just a scattered pile in a corner of the living room, containing the seven or eight newly brought-in cardboard boxes and a few boxes of old computers, printers, and bundles of outdated technical journals that had been placed there haphazardly. Against the backdrop of the empty space, these things seemed particularly insignificant, even a little ridiculous.
Liu Yifan looked around the empty, unfinished house of more than 90 square meters, and then looked at the pile of "junk" in the corner, and an extremely absurd feeling came to his mind.
She couldn't help but chuckle, shook her head, and said to Huang Xiaoting, "Piling these things up here, taking up two floors... their value alone probably wouldn't even cover half a year's rent, right?"
She remembered that when she was sorting out the boxes yesterday, there was really nothing valuable or memorable in them except some completely outdated technical data and used office supplies.
Huang Xiaoting had obviously known about this situation for a long time. Upon hearing this, she laughed, her tone tinged with understanding and helplessness. "Who says it's not true? But Teacher Liu, you also know Mr. Zhou..." She paused, and said in a tone that was both sarcastic and full of awe, "He didn't give the order to deal with it. Who would dare to take the initiative to help him deal with it?"
Her words illuminated a simple yet brutal truth: in Zhou Ping'an's world, logical priorities were always clear. Whether these items were worth the space they occupied was simply not a consideration. His directive to "buy the upper floor" to solve the storage problem had already been marked as "solved." Whether resources were being used efficiently was a matter for others' logical systems.
As long as he didn't realize the new option of "throwing these things away," they would remain there. And everyone around him, including core confidants like Huang Xiaoting, would strictly implement and maintain the "status quo" formed by his established instructions, and would never step out of line to remind or change them.
The following morning, the three male employees demonstrated extremely high efficiency.
They first swiftly cleared out the remaining old items in the study. Actually, there was nothing important left in the study. Aside from a laptop that Zhou Ping'an occasionally used and some scattered documents that Huang Xiaoting carefully packed away to take back to the office, the rest was sorted and boxed, ready to be moved upstairs.
This study has long been in name only as Zhou Ping'an's work focus has completely shifted to the company and laboratory, and is more like a forgotten storage room.
Then, their target turned to the old, hard-looking sofa and the slightly bulky coffee table in the living room. Before taking action, Huang Xiaoting walked over to Liu Yifan and said to her with a smile, in a clear tone that conveyed a formal order:
"Teacher Liu, Mr. Zhou specifically instructed us this morning," she paused, making sure Liu Yifan heard every word. "In this house, except for the master bedroom, which he will live in, he can tidy up by himself. All other spaces and items are at your disposal. You can adjust them however you feel comfortable, and even get rid of the old ones and replace them with new ones. Do you need us to contact a home furnishing store or a designer? Just let us know."
These words were spoken politely and thoughtfully, leaving the decision-making power entirely to Liu Yifan.
Liu Yifan immediately understood Zhou Ping'an's intention.
He was using his unique, straightforward, and efficient way to pave the way for her and give her "face." Since they were acting as if they were in a close relationship and she had already moved in, giving her the power of "mistress" was the most logical and easiest approach.
This is consistent with his consistent "problem-solving" thinking mode. Just like his previous provision of private jets, it is a resource support based on "project needs" or "role-playing needs."
At the same time, Liu Yifan came to a deeper realization: he truly had no emotional attachment or reluctance to part with most of the items in this "home." Those sofas and coffee tables, to him, were probably no different from office furniture, simply functional. He kept them out of habit; he could replace them, too. This complete "non-attachment" stemmed from his extreme lack of emotional projection; what he truly cared about clearly lay elsewhere.
"No need to replace it with a new one for now, just move it up first." Liu Yifan smiled at Huang Xiaoting and said calmly, "I'll take my time to figure out the specific arrangements. Thank you all for your hard work."
"Okay, I understand." Huang Xiaoting nodded, turned around and quickly directed the employees to start moving the furniture.
Throughout the entire process, Liu Yifan could vaguely sense a well-concealed yet still present curiosity and inquiry in Huang Xiaoting's gaze. Especially when Huang Xiaoting's eyes occasionally glanced over the second bedroom that Liu Yifan had already tidied up and was clearly about to use, that curiosity almost overflowed.
A woman who was so valued by her boss and even given full authority to dispose of his private residence, chose to live in the small second bedroom instead of the spacious master bedroom - this was obviously not in line with common sense and did not match the "passionate love" script rumored by the outside world.
But Huang Xiaoting, after all, had been a veteran by Zhou Ping'an's side for years, and she knew exactly what to ask and what not to. She suppressed her intense curiosity beneath a professional smile and demeanor, never betraying a single prying expression. She simply carried out instructions efficiently, maintaining a comfortable sense of boundaries.
Liu Yifan admired her sense of propriety, but also knew that this curiosity was unavoidable. She accepted the scrutiny calmly, not intending to explain.
The living room was quickly cleared out, appearing emptier than before, yet also like a canvas waiting to be painted with new colors.
At noon, Huang Xiaoting and the team, having completed their mission, said goodbye and left. Silence returned to the room.
Liu Yifan stood alone in the middle of the empty living room, looking around. There was no longer an old sofa to distract him, nor were there piles of cardboard boxes. But it had also lost the last trace of "life," becoming even more desolate, more like a temporary rest stop than a home.
She walked to the door of the second bedroom and looked at the neat but small space inside.
Then he turned around and looked at the closed door of the master bedroom at the end of the corridor.
A door separates two identities and two distances, and also separates the boundary that Zhou Ping'an allows to be touched and the core that he does not want to show to others.
She succeeded in staying and gained partial control, but she also more clearly measured the invisible but real boundary between her and him.
Liu Yifan stood in the empty living room for a moment, phone in hand. Zhou Ping'an's words, "All other spaces and belongings are at your disposal," were like a stone dropped into still water. The ripples faded, leaving behind a lingering sense of caution and a lingering fear of the man's invisible pressure.
She finally picked up her phone and dialed the number she knew by heart. The call was picked up after only one ring. The voice on the other end was calm, as if waiting for instructions at any moment.
"Mr. Zhou, it's me." She made her voice sound softer than usual. "Assistant Huang conveyed your wishes regarding the home decor. Thank you for your trust. I wanted to confirm with you again, for example... the color of the living room curtains, or I'd like to add a bookshelf... Can I really decide on all of these? Will it affect your habits?"
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line, as if a little surprised that she would reconfirm a decision she had already made. "Yes. Either is fine," Zhou Ping'an replied without hesitation, his tone as steady as ever. "Whatever you feel comfortable with."
The words "Do whatever feels comfortable to you" were like a final stamp, dispelling the last trace of hesitation in her heart. It also made her realize more clearly that this "home" had clear functional divisions for him - the living room might really just be a hallway.
Having made up her mind, she took action. She did not start shopping immediately, but called Lin Na first.
After the call was connected, she cut straight to the point without exchanging pleasantries, her tone calm and clear: "Director Lin, I've found the crux of the problem. But I need more time."
She succinctly explained her analysis of how her "reverence" for Zhou Ping'an was the core bottleneck of her performance, and her plan to "invade his daily life and observe him in order to achieve demystification."
Finally, she made her core request: "I'm afraid the originally scheduled few days of visit won't be enough. I need at least a full week to fully immerse myself in his life. Can the crew's schedule be adjusted?"
Lin Na was silent for a few seconds on the other end of the line, clearly weighing her options. Then, her voice rang out with understanding and determination: "I understand. Okay, one week is all it takes! I'm focusing on filming the princes scenes and the big transition shots, so you're not needed for those anyway. Just find the 'state' you need and bring it back!"
With Lin Na's support, Liu Yifan felt a sense of relief. She then began to take concrete action. Instead of hiring a designer, she personally took a tape measure, repeatedly comparing and screening fabric swatches and furniture catalogs on a tablet. Her goal wasn't luxury, but to "leave a mark"...
She ordered softer off-white curtains to replace the old dark velvet, a warm earth-toned carpet, a simple wooden bookshelf, and a sofa that looked comfortable to snuggle in, with a warm-light floor lamp next to it. She also selected a few pots of lush green fig trees and monstera.
After the goods arrived, she spent the entire afternoon personally unpacking, placing, and adjusting them. She enjoyed this "nesting"-like ritual, which was imbued with strong symbolic meaning, as if every time she personally arranged an item, she was silently expelling that invisible fear.
That evening, Zhou Pingan returned home a little earlier than usual, around seven o'clock. When he opened the door, his footsteps paused almost imperceptibly. The living room in front of him had already been completely renovated.
The living room before him had been completely transformed. Warm lighting had replaced the coldness of the past. The once cold and empty space was now filled with soft colors and vibrant life. The air was filled with the fresh scent of new fabrics and plant leaves. Liu Yifan was curled up on the new sofa, flipping through a book by the light of the floor lamp, his silhouette shrouded in a halo, creating a tranquil scene.
He stopped at the door and looked around silently, his eyes slowly sweeping over the furniture and green plants with a focused scrutiny, as if he was evaluating a completed job, with no emotion visible on his face.
Liu Yifan put down the book, stood up, and asked softly with a hint of tentativeness: "Back? I...made some adjustments. How do you feel about it? Are you not used to it?"
Zhou Ping'an's gaze shifted from the surroundings back to her, his expression still blank, but his tone calm, "Very good." He paused, as if searching for a more accurate description, before adding, "The light is much brighter than before."
There was no aesthetic judgment, only a simple response to the most direct physical sensory experience. For Liu Yifan, this "bright" was already a tremendous endorsement. It meant that her "invasion" and "transformation" were naturally accepted by him, and he even considered it a beneficial improvement.
He then walked naturally to the kitchen to pour water, and then went straight back to the master bedroom, as if the changes in the living room were just an insignificant part of daily life that did not require special attention.
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