Chapter Sixteen

During the conversation, Nick's expression suddenly became stern, and he narrowed his eyes with a cold voice, asking, "What did you say?"

Zoe felt a bit embarrassed.

The atmosphere had just been pleasant, and although she didn't know what he wanted to say, it probably wouldn't be anything bad.

She hesitated for a moment, then under his cold gaze, said again, "I need to resign from your service. I have a new job, so I won't be able to cook for you at such regular times in the future. You'll have to find someone else."

The words were spoken clearly.

Nick also understood.

He remained close to Zoe, and she could sense the growing fierceness in his eyes.

Back in high school, she had seen him fighting. With a sweep of his long legs, the person was kicked into the wall. He then approached, gripping the other's face with one hand and pressing them against the wall, his arms bulging with veins, while the other person's veins seemed to be exploding, their expression of pain unmistakable.

He leaned close to the person and asked in their ear, "Do you still want to fight?"

The other person started leaking urine.

Zoe remembered that the boy was a lawless school bully from the vocational high school next door. Under Nick's hands, he was like a weak chicken.

And he leaked urine.

She knew that when Nick got serious, no one was unafraid of him.

At this moment, his eyes were exactly the same as they were back then. Zoe instinctively moved backwards, but he hooked his long leg and caught the chair.

He stared into her eyes and asked, "What kind of new job have you found?"

Zoe didn't expect him to have such strength, able to hook the chair and her along with it with just one hook. She panicked and leaned against the back of the chair, replying, "A job related to my major, accounting."

"You're not going to be a chef anymore?"

Nick's eyes still held fierceness, but his tone was casual.

Zoe shook her head, "I never liked it..."

"Is that so?"

Nick leaned forward another inch, and Zoe was instinctively forced by his aura to furrow her brows. Her eyebrows had just been trimmed, thin and long, furrowed as if carrying a hint of sorrow.

Appearing delicate and pitiful, even I feel compassion for her. Nick's gaze scanned her face like a laser gun.

Zoe felt very uneasy and said, "Don't look at me like that."

"How should I look at you?" Nick retorted immediately, leaning closer to her. Zoe abruptly stood up and circled around to the back of the chair, standing there and speaking to him, "This is the last meal anyway. I'll ask Zhang Jie to find someone for you tomorrow."

Nick retracted his body, leaned back in the chair, crossed his arms, and nodded, "Alright."

"If you're not going to cook for someone else, I'll let you go, but if you dare to lie to me..." He arched his eyebrows, his tone carrying a threat.

Zoe furrowed her brows again, "Even if I cook for someone else, it's none of your business."

Nick looked up at her.

Then nodded, "Yes, it's none of my business, but that might not be the case in the future."

Zoe rolled her eyes and glanced at the dishes on the table, "You eat. I'm going back."

After saying that, she grabbed her small bag and was about to leave.

However, Nick grasped her wrist, "Eat together."

Zoe struggled, "No."

Nick abruptly stood up from the chair, towering over her and blocking her path, bending down halfway, "I said, eat together."

"I already said I don't want to."

Zoe looked up fiercely, unable to contain her annoyance.

Nick was startled. He had never seen Zoe like this before. She had always been soft and subtle, hiding her sharpness. He narrowed his eyes, feeling extremely uneasy, and his expression darkened.

"So, you'll eat if he asks you?"

This brought up Leo again.

Zoe walked past him expressionlessly, heading straight for the door.

Nick stood there, listening to the sound of the door opening and closing. His fingertips curved, and veins bulged on his arm. After a while, he reached back, grabbed the roses on the dining table, and turned to chase after her.

The elevator just arrived, and Zoe had just stepped inside.

Nick came out with a cold face, pressed the door open button, and shoved the roses into Zoe's arms.

He leaned his hand against the wall, looking at her with his lazy voice, "I haven't finished yet. Let's be in a relationship?"

Zoe was suddenly filled with the scent of roses as the flowers were thrust into her arms. She hadn't reacted yet, and the next moment, she heard him say that. Her eyes widened abruptly.

After a moment, as if her mind had just caught up.

He had more to say, and that thing to say was... let's be in a relationship?

She was shocked, horrified, but not the slightest bit joyful.

Nick gritted his teeth, and his eyes gathered menace again. He held it in for a moment.

The roses were thrown at him, and he was hit squarely.

Zoe said firmly, "I refuse."

As soon as those three words fell, she pressed the elevator door closed.

Nick reached out to block it again, but Zoe looked at him coldly, and he hesitated. In that moment, he watched helplessly as the door closed.

Her face disappeared behind the door.

Nick, "...!"

Dammit!

Zoe walked downstairs in a daze and stepped out of the community. The wind blew, and she came to her senses.

What did Nick just say?

Yes.

He said let's be in a relationship.

The night wind was cool, indicating that winter was finally arriving.

Zoe walked onto the overhead bridge, but somehow, her eyes turned red. By the time she got off the bridge, tears were gathering in her eyes.

Nick was too cruel.

In high school, she had chased him desperately.

He remained indifferent, not explicitly rejecting her, but silently rejecting her nonetheless.

Several times, she chased him to the place where he played billiards. He held the cue, bending over to play, his school uniform tossed aside. Whenever she went, Leo and the others would laugh.

That laughter, seen now, was mockery.

But she didn't realize it, standing by the billiard table, watching him silently.

After the game, Nick didn't even bother to lift his eyes. Despite Leo and the others laughing loudly, he remained unfazed, treating her like air.

Back then, she didn't know the pain.

Besides a little embarrassment, her heart and eyes were filled with him.

She thought then that no one could make her feel like that again.

Successfully pursuing him would be something she could brag about for the rest of her life.

However, it was all wishful thinking.

A daydream.

He never really looked at her with genuine interest.

It had only been four years, and the pain of not being able to win him over, which she thought had healed, was now being torn apart again. The joy of his proposal for a relationship had come too late, turning into a dried-up rose.

Even its scent had changed.

Zoe leaned against the railing, staring down at the cars flowing on the road.

After a while, when her tears had mostly subsided, she raised her hand, wiped her eyes, and looked up, her expression returning to normal.

She tightened her small bag, descended the overhead bridge, and headed home.

Just as she reached the building, a figure flashed over, blocking Zoe's path.

Under the dim light of the porch, Zoe saw Leo. She instinctively raised her hand to wipe her face.

Leo reached out, offering a packet of tissues, his usual flirtatious demeanor gone, replaced by a hint of caution. "You've been crying, right?"

"Did Nick bully you?"

Zoe immediately lowered her hand, her expression calm. "I wasn't crying. Move aside, I want to go home."

Leo flipped his hand, showing Zoe the back of his hand, pointing to a spot on his finger. "I just got out of the car, and your tears dripped onto my hand."

Zoe turned her head and glanced at the overhead bridge. Beneath it, parked a red Porsche Cayenne.

Zoe: "..."

Was it just a coincidence?

Leo saw that she hadn't taken the tissues, so he opened the packet, took one out, and stepped forward, intending to wipe her tears. His eyes were unusually serious.

Zoe instinctively stepped back a few paces and said, "I'm fine, it's just that the sight reminded me of something sad. It's not related to Nick."

Leo tilted his head, his hand still holding the tissue, looking at her with a mix of sincerity and mockery.

Zoe snatched the tissue from his hand and said, "Thank you. I'm going home. You should go home too."

However, Leo didn't leave. Instead, he took a step closer to her and looked at her earnestly. "Let me take care of you? Okay?"

Zoe: "..."

She really didn't know when she had become so popular.

Leo smiled and nodded. "It's okay, I'll keep trying."

Zoe didn't want to talk to him anymore. She was still feeling low, so she didn't reply and silently walked towards the stairs.

Fortunately, Leo didn't stop her again but stood there, watching her back as she disappeared into the dimly lit stairs of the old neighborhood, which lacked the sleek modernity of the new district across the street.

Zoe's figure, illuminated by the dim lights, seemed blurry but exuded a mysterious beauty.

Leo couldn't help but laugh and step onto the stairs, reciting:

"There is a beauty in the south,

Unique and unparalleled.

One glance can captivate a city,

Another glance can captivate a nation.

But one does not know that to captivate a city or a nation,

Such a beauty is hard to find again."

Zoe's figure on the stairs stiffened for a moment, and then she quickly climbed the stairs, trying to escape from the "crazy" man downstairs.

After watching Zoe's figure disappear around the corner, Leo turned back to his car. His car was parked in a tricky spot, but there were cameras nearby, and he had already been caught on camera.

Unaware of the commotion, Leo got into his car and his phone started buzzing with notifications.

It was the dormitory group chat.

Noah: [Leo, are you coming back tonight? Where are you?]

Ethan: [Who cares if he comes back or not, let's eat the durian and not leave any for him.]

Leo: [I just sent Yi Yi upstairs... I'm heading back now.]

Nick: [Leo, where the hell are you?]

The other two in the group chat immediately fell silent.

Leo chuckled, put his phone back on the passenger seat, and drove off, ignoring Nick's message.

On Monday morning, there were no classes, so Zoe went to Shengding to report for work.

Sampson was a great boss. When he saw her, he asked his assistant to arrange a seat for her, chatted with her for a while, and even gave her some materials to read.

There were other colleagues in the firm, and Zoe got to know each of them.

Her job was relatively simple, mostly involving organizing documents. Besides this firm, Sampson also ran a financial institution. Although he was young, he had quite a few clients and was quite successful.

There was another partner in the firm, who was currently in the US.

Sampson needed an extra hand, and Zoe happened to fit the bill.

Zoe spent the morning reading materials and learning about Sampson's company. The two got on well and had a pleasant conversation.

The only minor annoyance was the constant renovation noise coming from the company opposite. The loud bangs and clangs started early in the morning and were quite distracting.

Sampson's voice was quite soft, so Zoe often had to strain to hear him.

Fortunately, Sampson would repeat himself when necessary.

Occasionally, even Sampson would furrow his brows because of the noise from the opposite company. It seemed everyone was being disturbed by it.

When it was time to leave, Sampson knew that Zoe had classes in the afternoon, so he invited her to have lunch before going back.

As they walked to the door, Zoe couldn't resist asking Sampson in a low voice, "What kind of company is that across the street?"

Upon hearing this, Sampson chuckled and said, "It's a company started by a young man who doesn't know his place. He's deliberately trying to compete with me."

Zoe was stunned.

She was about to ask further, but Nick suddenly appeared from the door across the street, chewing on a lollipop. He was dressed in a white shirt and shorts, exuding a youthful and sharp aura.

Unexpectedly, the three of them came face to face.