9

By the time they returned to Jianghuai Airport, it was already past working hours.

The autumn evening was growing cooler, and as Luo Li looked at the cat plush sitting atop Lu Cixue's suitcase, she couldn't help but smile.

It was surprisingly fitting, her aloof boss paired with such a plush toy.

At that moment, Lu Cixue was focused on replying to messages, her long hair falling softly around her, completely oblivious to the quiet person behind her taking pictures.

Under the streetlamp, the woman's slender figure cast a long shadow on the ground. Luo Li stealthily moved closer, adjusting her angle to capture the elegant and cool figure bathed in a warm, golden glow.

Drawn by the sound of the camera, Lu Cixue finally looked up, only to see Luo Li casually checking her photo.

Lu Cixue glanced briefly at the phone and said nothing, silently putting her own phone away.

She couldn't clearly remember what had happened after she got drunk yesterday. Normally, in such situations, Lu Cixue would have strictly maintained her composure. If her mind became clouded, she might have let something slip in front of others.

She wasn't the type to drink to numb her nerves; such things shouldn't happen to her. The clear boundaries she had always adhered to seemed to have been crossed again.

Did she turn into a little cat last night? Did Luo Li know? Did she cling to her again, refusing to leave? Did she do anything inappropriate?

Unable to recall, the flush of embarrassment remained on Lu Cixue's face, heightened by the shame triggered by her fragmented memories.

How did it come to this... especially when she wasn't even liked?

"Director Lu, the car is here. Shall we head back?" Luo Li had called out to her several times with no response, so she moved closer.

"Why is your face so red? Are you feeling unwell?"

"No." Lu Cixue snapped back to reality and immediately distanced herself, silently getting into the back seat.

Luo Li found this odd but didn't press further. She debated whether to sit in the front or back, but Lu Cixue had already shut the door.

...

It was hard to guess what her boss was thinking. From the plane to now, she had barely said a word to her.

As they reached the elevator, Luo Li noticed Lu Cixue still keeping her distance. She decided to break the silence. "Director Lu, how do you usually spend your weekends?"

Lu Cixue stared at the elevator's display panel, answering flatly, "Work, rest." If she wasn't working, she stayed at home doing nothing, leaving the TV on just for background noise.

Her routine revolved around work, home, and the gym, with occasional interruptions from her family. Shopping, dining out, watching movies, traveling—such activities were rare in her memory.

She had always lived like this, like someone from a different era.

Luo Li looked at the woman beside her in shock. The key thing was that Lu Cixue's expression remained indifferent, as if she saw nothing wrong with it.

Wasn't she ever tired?

Although Lu Cixue's demeanor remained calm, Luo Li felt a strange mix of emotions.

"And during the holidays? We have Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day coming up. Do you have any plans?"

Just as the elevator doors opened, Lu Cixue shook her head. Luo Li instantly beamed, eagerly pushing both of their suitcases out. "If you're free, can I make a reservation? Don't let anyone else take up your time, okay, Director Lu?"

She didn't wait for Lu Cixue to respond before cheerfully running off with the luggage.

Lu Cixue watched her retreating figure, stunned.

Was Luo Li suggesting... spending the holiday together?

On Saturday, Luo Li returned to the Luo family estate early.

The landscaping in the villa area was beautiful, creating a peaceful and comfortable environment. A white car slowly pulled up, and as the bodyguard opened the door, Luo Li handed over her keys and eagerly rushed inside.

"Mom, why did you come back early?"

Luo Zhining was sitting on the sofa in the first-floor living room, holding a special edition of a literary classic.

Time had hardly touched her beauty, leaving only a few fine lines on her face.

Luo Li resembled her mother by about seventy percent, but their personalities were vastly different. The sharp and decisive mother had raised a daughter who always wore a smile, more like her father in temperament.

"The work ended early, so I came back," Mrs. Luo said, looking Luo Li up and down with a hint of disapproval. "Have you eaten? Where did you go last night? Didn't you just return from a business trip? How is your boss treating you?"

Her dark circles were impossible to hide, and Luo Zhining suddenly wondered if Mr. Luo's arrangements for Luo Li to join the company were really reliable.

Faced with a barrage of questions, Luo Li chose to answer what she thought was the most important one: "Lu Cixue is not the type to overwork her employees. Where's Dad?"

"In the kitchen." Mrs. Luo didn't even look up as Luo Li bounced off in that direction.

Hmph, "not that type"...

Mrs. Luo mulled over the phrase, feeling that something was off.

Luo Li tiptoed into the kitchen, where Luo Shuhe was busy preparing breakfast.

"Dad, your cooking skills have really improved."

Luo Shuhe was startled by his daughter's sudden voice.

Even though it was a half-hearted compliment, his face immediately lit up with pride. "To win someone over, you have to win their stomach first. Take notes, or you'll never find a partner."

Luo Li rolled her eyes, sneaking a hand toward the food only to have it smacked away.

"This is for your mother. Here, eat this."

He handed her a boiled egg.

... It wasn't cooked.

Luo Li pouted, holding the egg as she glanced at her father. She tentatively asked, "Dad, why did you decide to have Lu Cixue take me under her wing?"

"She's capable, close in age, and has good character," Luo Shuhe said, pouring two cups of warm goat's milk. He joked, "Weren't you quite opposed to the idea at first? What changed your mind in just a few days?"

A surge of inexplicable guilt washed over Luo Li, and she tried to dodge the topic. "I wasn't against her. It's just that she seemed so cold at first."

Luo Shuhe sighed, handing one of the cups to Luo Li. "Her family background is complicated. Although I personally interviewed her, I had my doubts. She seemed like someone who wouldn't be good at socializing, and she was so young—how could someone like that earn the respect of the employees?"

"Then why did you still hire her?" If Luo Li remembered correctly, Chen Ting had mentioned that Lu Cixue was given special consideration when she was hired and quickly rose to her current position. There had even been rumors that Lu Cixue had latched onto a wealthy patron within the company.

But... after everyone witnessed her work capabilities firsthand, those rumors quickly disappeared.

"There are many talented people, but someone with no other options, someone I've personally mentored, can be a trusted aide. Understand?" Mr. Luo's gentle smile sent a chill down Luo Li's spine.

"Besides, it's good for you to get close to her," he added, dropping the sly smile for a moment of genuine regret. "I guess I'm getting old and sentimental. Her situation does make you feel sorry for her."

A businessman is a cunning fox, after all.

Two of them in her family, and another across the street—how did she end up feeling like she wasn't the brightest?

Luo Li spent the rest of the day mulling over her father's words.

To her parents, Lu Cixue was just an employee, a subordinate, and nothing more.

Maybe even a tool.

They could sympathize with her circumstances, but only as indifferent observers. It wasn't that her parents were cold-hearted, but it still left Luo Li feeling uneasy.

She decided to consult her friend, who was still laid up in the hospital with an injured foot.

"Boss Jing, I brought your favorite..." Without thinking, Luo Li pushed the door open, and then froze in place.

The Basque cheesecake and fruit she was carrying slipped from her hands to the floor.

"I—I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt. You two carry on!" she blurted out, slamming the door shut with a loud bang.

Inside the room, Ji Qiubai was about to place the person she was holding back onto the bed, but the person in her arms was being annoyingly clingy. Not only were her arms wrapped around Ji Qiubai's neck, but her face was pressing against her in a way that was increasingly inappropriate.

Ji Qiubai really wanted to just toss her aside, but she couldn't.

What Luo Li had walked in on was a woman practically draped over Ji Qiubai like a seductive temptress, their faces mere inches apart, in a very... compromising position.

Luo Li stood in the hallway, trying to make sense of what she had just seen.

How had they met? When did they get involved? Was Jing Yao really this bold? Flirting with someone in the hospital despite her injury?

Instinctively, she felt that the steady and gentle assistant, Ji Qiubai, was the one being led astray.

As Luo Li stood there, dazedly processing the scene, the door opened from the inside.

"Miss Luo, please come in." Ji Qiubai had picked up the dropped items and stepped out of the room. As she passed Luo Li, she stopped and added, "Also, we're not what you think."

But it was clear that Ji Qiubai's normally calm face was unusually flushed, her breathing slightly uneven, and the tips of her ears were red.

"Mm, I understand. Don't worry, I'll talk to her." After all, the age difference wasn't that big, and they weren't at work. Luo Li patted Ji Qiubai's shoulder sympathetically.

She couldn't let such a diligent and upright person be led astray by that bad woman.

Ji Qiubai nodded, though she didn't quite understand, and turned to leave.

"I thought you'd forgotten all about me," Jing Yao teased from her hospital bed, eyeing the now inedible cake with disappointment.

"What happened? What did the doctor say? And how do you know Ji Qiubai? Don't go messing with her—she's not the type to fool around." Luo Li glanced at Jing Yao's foot, which seemed to be fine.

Jing Yao didn't really listen to the barrage of questions, only catching the last part.

She seemed to understand why Ji Qiubai was so distant.

"Whose side are you on? Can't I pursue someone I like?" Jing Yao rolled her eyes at Luo Li.

"You?" Luo Li scoffed but didn't say more.

...

Was this kid looking down on her?

"You might know how to flirt and talk big, but what about actually winning someone over? You just play with them until you get bored and move on. Why would anyone like you?" Luo Li suddenly felt that coming to chat with Jing Yao was a mistake. She could ask for encouragement but couldn't follow her lead.

Otherwise, she might end up hearing some dirty suggestion like bringing Lu Cixue home for a meal.

But it made sense. A heartthrob like Jing Yao had always gotten whatever she wanted, with people flocking to her for her looks, her body, or her wealth and status.

But someone like Ji Qiubai wouldn't be so easily swayed by those things.

"It's not easy to find someone you truly like these days, and here you are lecturing me," Jing Yao said dismissively. "How about we make a bet on whether I can win her over?"

Luo Li gave her a complicated look. Sure, Jing Yao was beautiful, but she still had the unmistakable look of a player.

It was late when Luo Li headed home, and from a distance, she spotted someone squatting by the side of the road. She couldn't tell what they were doing.

As she squinted and approached, she called out in surprise, "Director Lu?"

The hand holding the cat treat froze, and Lu Cixue quickly stood up, hesitating and then looking uneasy as if she'd been caught doing something wrong. "Luo Li?"

Luo Li's heart raced as she took in the scene, feeling a strange mix of emotions—somewhere between sweetness and a tingle of excitement.

What was going on? Her cool and distant boss, trying to maintain her aloof image, was sneaking out under the cover of night to secretly feed stray cats.

And her reaction to being caught was so cute. Her face turned red—how shy!

But she also seemed more... alive.

"Why are there stray cats here?" Luo Li teased her, stepping out of line. "Shouldn't this be reported to the property management? Director Lu, this isn't proper behavior, you know."