Chapter 67.1
Seeing the big boss approaching them, it wasn’t only Zhu Xia’s legs that were soft. Her colleague and the secretaries also felt something was wrong and took a step back.
The a.s.sistant colleague’s head buzzed and many speculations appeared. Did Zhu Xia have a problem? Was she a commercial spy? No, Zhu Xia’s ident.i.ty a.s.sessment had been pa.s.sed and she even had plans to focus on training Zhu Xia internally. Then why was the big boss reacting so much?
Just as her mind was in a mess, the boss reached them.
“Sister Xia.”
S-Sister Xia?
The colleague and secretary were people who had seen many things but they were so frightened by the big boss calling out ‘Sister Xia’ that they failed to control their expressions, showing surprise and panic.
The colleague turned to look at Zhu Xia, her mood very complicated. A coworker who usually rose to work on an electric scooter was actually someone who the big boss called ‘sister.’ Such a ridiculous thing wouldn’t even appear in TV dramas. She should’ve said it to someone above. Didn’t she know how much effort the department put in to check her ident.i.ty?
The atmosphere seemed to be frozen after Yan Ting called out ‘Sister Xia.’
Sister Xia wanted to sit on the ground but once everyone looked at her, she was surprisingly calm. There was only one thought in her chaotic mind. She was Zhao Zhao’s sister and no one could hurt him using status or money.
Her mouth slightly moved and there was no way she could speak. Yes, who would’ve thought that the legendary big boss dragon would be with her younger brother?
Qin Xiao realized that something was wrong and told the secretary, “You go back to work first.”
The secretary and colleague left the scene in a hurry. In the face of their salary, all curiosity seemed insignificant.
Once the colleague and person from the secretariat left, Zhu Xia finally spoke. “Does Zhao Zhao know?”
Yan Ting was silent for a moment. “Sister Xia, let’s go to the office and talk slowly.”
After entering the big boss’ office, Zhu Xia found she had calmed down and she even started to doubt Yan Ting’s purpose behind approaching Zhao Zhao. A big person like Yan Ting could get anyone he wanted. What att.i.tude did he have toward Zhao Zhao?
The office, like the man, was full of indifference and alienation. The only thing that seemed out of place in this office was the pillow on the office chair. The chibi doll pillow looked very cute and Sister Xia recognized it instantly. It took after Zhao Zhao’s image.
“Sister Xia, please sit down.” Yan Ting took the cup of water from Qin Xiao’s hand and placed it in front of Zhu Xia. “Zhao Zhao won’t let me drink coffee and tea so I have to temporarily wrong you to drink boiled water.”
“Drinking water is healthy.” Zhu Xia took a deep breath and tried to make her posture more natural.
Qin Xiao glanced at the two of them and exited the office, helping them by closing the door behind him.
“Boss, although it is working hours now, please forgive me for talking about private matters not related to work.” Zhu Xia took the gla.s.s of water and took a sip of water to relieve her tension. “I want to find out if Zhao Zhao knows you are the big boss of Cang Huan.”
Yan Ting lowered his eyes to the steaming water in the cup. “I’m sorry, he doesn’t know.”
“Why are you lying to him?” Zhu Xia didn’t understand. “Are you worried that Zhao Zhao will be greedy for your money after finding out your ident.i.ty?”
Even the big boss couldn’t treat her Zhao Zhao this way!
“If money can keep him close to me then how could I hide it?” Yan Ting’s hand was very beautiful, slender and clean. Men with such hands could easily arouse women’s pity, even if they had no expression.
“Zhao Zhao’s first encounter with me was due to a misunderstanding.” The water in the cup shook and accidentally spilled onto the back of Yan Ting’s hands, dripping down the back of his hand like two lines of tears.
“You don’t know how good his smiling eyes were, just like a warm little sun.” Yan Ting glanced at Zhu Xia. “I want him to stay with me, that’s all.”
These eyes were too sincere. It was so sincere that Zhu Xia felt that no matter what Zhao Zhao asked Yan Ting to do, Yan Ting would agree.
“It is important to be honest in front of a loved one.” Zhu Xia put down the cup. “You should know that lies will always be torn apart.”
“Sister Xia, I don’t dare to gamble.” Yan Ting took out his handkerchief and slowly wiped the water on the back of his hand. “I can gamble in many things. It is only when it comes to Zhao Zhao that I am a coward who can’t lose.”
“Do you want to hide it from Zhao Zhao for the rest of your life?” Zhu Xia couldn’t help raising her voice. “How can you hide it all your life?”
Yan Ting told her, “I will find an opportunity to tell Zhao Zhao. Sister Xia, I hope you can…”
“I can’t.” Zhu Xia interrupted Yan Ting’s words. “Zhao Zhao is my brother, a child I looked out for when growing up. He isn’t an object to be deceived by you.”
“Yan Ting, no matter whether you are being true or false, the most intolerant thing when it comes to feelings is deception.” Zhu Xia shook her head. “I know what you want to say but I won’t agree.”
Yan Ting’s eyes were dark, as if there were deep and countless hidden dangers at the bottom.
The woman’s screams and the man’s shouts suddenly seemed to come from all directions. Yan Ting’s pupils trembled and his voice became hoa.r.s.e. “Sister Xia, the only thing I care about in my life is Zhao Zhao.”
No one could take Zhao Zhao away from him. No one.
“When I first met Zhao Zhao, he was only 10 years old.” Zhu Xia didn’t know why she was telling Yan Ting these things. Perhaps it was because Li Zhao suffered so much as a child, his life was so bitter that she couldn’t bear to see him hurt on the path of feelings.
“A 10 year old child who looked seven or eight years old, carrying old wounds from when he had been abused by his adoptive parents.” Zhu Xia spoke in a heavy tone. “On the first day at the welfare home, the aunt gave him a chicken leg. He was so hungry that he gulped it all down. He was reluctant to spit anything out, even if he choked.”
“Do you know why he did this?”
Zhu Xia’s eyes were red. “It was because in his adoptive parents’ home, he was often halfway through the meal when he was beaten by his adoptive father, adoptive mother or younger brother. He could never eat enough. Later, the moment he received a meal, he would try his best to cram as much food as possible into his mouth so he would get enough to eat. Even if he was beaten, he would be able to fill his stomach.”
“Once he came to the welfare home, well-intentioned people offered to adopt him but he refused.” Zhu Xia held her cup tightly to calm herself. “He said he would wait for his real parents to come and pick him up.”
“The national channel had a program for finding relatives. Every time the program came on, Zhao Zhao would finish his homework early and sit in front of the television, not wanting to miss any news about parents searching for their biological child.”
“Gradually, he stopped watching the show and stopped mentioning his parents.” Zhu Xia’s throat felt a bit choked up. “A young man like him should’ve studied at university but due to my illness, he gave up his studies and ran to a strange city to save money.”
“I’m not saying this to make you sympathize but to make you understand.” Zhu Xia stood up, her legs no longer trembling and her voice firm. “Even if you are the big boss that no one dares to offend, I won’t help you hurt him.”
“It is me who doesn’t want to hurt Zhao Zhao most in the world.” Yan Ting saw that Zhu Xia was ready to go and stopped her at the door. “Sister Xia, I don’t want to hurt Zhao Zhao, please give me a bit of time.”
Zhu Xia watched him and didn’t speak.
“Zhao Zhao is my life.” Yan Ting’s voice was calm, as if explaining a simple matter. “Sister Xia, I can’t bear any possibility of Zhao Zhao leaving me.”
Zhu Xia was shocked. Her intuition told her that Yan Ting’s words were true. What type of feelings was this that he would regard the other person as important as life? Zhu Xia admitted that she was a bit soft-hearted. She knew the importance of Yan Ting to Zhao Zhao and she didn’t want him to be sad, but this shouldn’t be based on deception.
“One month.” Zhu Xia sighed helplessly. “Yan Ting, I’ll give you a month. I hope you can make it clear to Zhao Zhao. In this month, I won’t talk about this matter with Zhao Zhao but if he asks me, I will tell him the truth.”
“Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me. I just can’t bear for Zhao Zhao to be sad. If it wasn’t for the fact Zhao Zhao values you so much that he worries about what you drink, I would’ve immediately told this matter to Zhao Zhao.”