Chapter 15: Are You Here to Check Up on Me?

“He’s here…”
“Why didn’t you let me know before coming?”
Gu Pingsheng pushed open the office door, walked straight toward Wen Zhixia, holding the company’s quarterly report in his hand.
Wen Zhixia rose, took the report from him, flipped through a couple of pages, and placed it on the desk. “Finished with the meeting?”
Gu Pingsheng responded with a low “mmm,” his sharp gaze falling upon Li Yueting’s face, dark as night, piercing and cold.
Li Yueting felt as if his thoughts were laid bare in an instant, yet he dared not betray his unease.
“Have them leave first,” Wen Zhixia said softly, reaching out to gently wipe at his brow.
Her gesture made Gu Pingsheng pause for a moment. “You all can leave now.”
Chen Antai went out first. As Li Yueting closed the door, he glanced back at the two, as if unconsciously.
Now, only the two of them were left in the spacious office. Wen Zhixia withdrew her hand, leaning against the desk, watching him. “The meeting room is so close to your office, why did you come in such a hurry? Look at you—your breaths aren’t even steady.”
She was always this way; even when she sensed something was amiss, she wouldn’t confront him in front of others.
Her voice was gentle, yet she was asking for an explanation convincing enough.
If that fleeting glimpse at the roadside was mere illusion, then Li Yueting’s words, along with Gu Pingsheng’s irregular breathing, were enough to sow doubt in her heart.

Gu Pingsheng embraced her, resting his jaw on her shoulder, inhaling her unique fragrance, his deep-set eyes reflecting a profound, inky darkness. “Is my Zhixia suspicious of me?”
As he spoke, his hand lingered at her waist.
Her waist was slender, soft as if boneless; his large palm, spread across her lower back, seemed to envelop and command her entirely.
Wen Zhixia gently pushed him away, their eyes meeting. In his narrow, deep gaze, she saw herself reflected. “Don’t mess around. This is the office.”
His brows arched, and the curve of his lips still carried that old roguish charm. “Hmm, I’ll pay my dues to you first today, so it won’t be a waste…” His lips pressed against her sensitive ear, teasing, “You’re here to check up on me.”
Wen Zhixia slapped his hand away, blushing as she glared at him in mock annoyance. “Behave yourself.”
Men, after all, always seek a little thrill; before she left her job, he’d already tried a few times to stir up trouble in the office.
But Wen Zhixia was shy, unwilling to indulge his antics.
“Why didn’t you tell me about Zhang Yuan and Liu Lei being transferred far away?” she asked, trying to change the subject.
Gu Pingsheng stretched out his arm and pulled her to sit on his lap, his long fingers winding through her hair. He had a fondness for her hair, and Wen Zhixia rarely fussed with it; its natural black held a hint of coffee-brown. “It’s normal company arrangements. They’re senior employees, steady and reliable. Sending them to the subsidiary is better suited to their strengths.”
It was a good explanation, yet Wen Zhixia recalled Chen Antai’s sigh, and her doubts were not dispelled.
Still, since he was here at the company, that glimpse at the roadside proved nothing.
“Gu Xia Group owes much of its success to them. Don’t shortchange them,” Wen Zhixia said earnestly.

Wen Zhixia lingered in the office for half an hour, during which Gu Pingsheng’s phone rang three times.
He held the phone, saying it was work-related. “Shall I have someone drive you home?”
Wen Zhixia glanced at the caller ID—no name. “I drove myself; I’ll go on my own. You take care of your work.”
As the office door closed, Gu Pingsheng answered the call.
“Senior… senior…”
Zhao Fuhe was sobbing, complaining that she had been taken advantage of in a private room and almost dragged to a hotel. Gu Pingsheng soothed her briefly, and then Li Yueting entered with a cup of coffee.
“We’ll talk later. Go home first, I’ll see you later,” he said into the phone.
“Miss Zhao may resemble President Wen a little, but her temperament and competence are worlds apart,” Li Yueting remarked as he placed the coffee beside him, as if unintentionally.
Gu Pingsheng set the phone aside, spinning the cup between his fingers twice, and suddenly, he hurled it at Li Yueting.