Once in the car, I couldn't help but yawn. He looked at me and asked, "Finally sleepy?" I stubbornly shook my head, "No!"
He fastened my seatbelt for me: "Even if you're not sleepy, just stay up for a while. I'm giving you half a day off this morning."
"No!" I perked up immediately. "I've already taken a day off to help Yirou move. If I take another day off today, I'll lose my work bonus for this month. I don't want that. Besides, I don't want to go so long without seeing you." I was surprised to find that I was actually being coquettish, and this realization made me blush.
"I just can't do anything with you." He shook his head helplessly.
Speaking of Yi Rou, I suddenly realized that until last night, my role was that of a super matchmaker, but just a few hours later, how did I become the leading lady?! How am I going to explain this to Yi Rou when I get back?
"Willson, can you promise me that we can keep our relationship a secret for now?"
"Why? Am I that shameful?" Willson was clearly unhappy.
"No, I haven't figured out how to explain it to Yirou yet."
"You scared me! Is that all? If you're having trouble telling me, let me do it." He breathed a sigh of relief.
"No, no, I'd rather tell you myself, so you don't make things worse." I suddenly became preoccupied. I didn't want to lose my friendship because of love; I knew I was being greedy.
"How long do you want me to be a black market lover?" He frowned again.
"It won't be long, I promise. Besides, don't you still have things to arrange? By the time I've finished talking with Yirou, your arrangements will be almost complete, right?" I'm also a negotiation expert when necessary.
He seemed to pause for a moment, and after a short silence, he said, "Okay, but don't keep me waiting too long."
When I got back to the rented apartment, the living room light was still on, but Yi Rou's bedroom door was tightly closed. It seemed she had waited for me when she got back last night. I quietly turned off the light and slipped into my room, feeling incredibly guilty. Although I had promised Willson to tell Yi Rou as soon as possible, I had absolutely no idea how to bring it up with her.
I lay down on the single bed, hoping to sleep for a while before thinking about those annoying things, but I couldn't fall asleep at all. I picked up my "Professional English" book and read five or six pages, but I still couldn't find any sleepiness. I simply turned over and started playing around with the thug who had been squatting to my side.
"Good sister, are you up?" Yi Rou's voice from outside the door made me freeze for three seconds while holding the rascal before I could answer her: "Ah, I just woke up."
I opened the door, and Yi Rou, who had just woken up, stood outside. She looked especially innocent and helpless, which made me extremely resentful of my own behavior of lying so easily.
"Dear sister, did you come back very late yesterday? I waited for you until eleven o'clock."
"I, actually, last night..." I gritted my teeth and decided to tell the truth. I didn't want to make up a hundred more lies for the sake of one, otherwise I would either die from internal injuries from guilt or from exhaustion.
"I had such a wonderful night last night!" Yi Rou interrupted me excitedly. "WILLSON took me to Jiacheng Restaurant last night and ordered so much food. Don't you think that means he really loves me? I told him I couldn't eat that much, and he said I was too thin and needed to eat more. Later, I felt the atmosphere was really good, so I couldn't help but confess my feelings to him. I even told him that you were the matchmaker. Unfortunately, he suddenly said he had to leave, and we didn't even finish our meal before he left. But he left enough money to pay the bill, even enough for my taxi fare. Although he didn't say anything, at least he didn't object to my feelings for him, so congratulations on taking a big step towards my goal!" After saying that, Yi Rou excitedly hugged me and turned to leave, saying as she went, "I have to make sure I look my best because he might show up at any time." She left me speechless, dumbfounded.
I walked into the company at exactly nine o'clock. Before the time clock struck nine, I inserted my attendance card into the card reader. Hearing the "click," I felt relieved; I didn't have to worry about anyone being penalized. Turning around, I ran into Aunt Zhang. I greeted her with a smile, and she said in a loud voice:
"Oh my, Miss Li, you look so beautiful today."
I shamelessly replied, "I'm this beautiful every day."
"That's right, that's right. You're the only person in the whole company who greets me, the cleaner, every day. So in my eyes, you're always so beautiful," Aunt Zhang said happily.
I thought I had been transformed overnight, but it turns out I only got what I deserved through favors. It's really disheartening.
I walked to my seat, pressed the power button on my laptop, and sat down. While waiting for the computer to boot up, I opened a drawer to find a stack of Post-IT notes. Suddenly, a golden light flew from behind me and landed right in the drawer. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a heart-shaped bag of Ferrero Rocher chocolates. Although it looked like something you could buy at any 7-Eleven, the chocolate color under the translucent gold wrapper looked strangely tempting to me. I looked up behind me and saw Willson walking by slowly with a serious expression, then, taking advantage of the fact that no one was looking, he made a funny face at me and gestured towards the computer screen. Confused, I turned around to look at the screen, and a miracle occurred: the screen was a sea of roses, and those roses were so domineering and flamboyant that they made the whole screen look somewhat eerie. The most amazing thing is that the roses didn't just sit there quietly; they bloomed one after another, each revealing a word as it opened. Finally, the roses faded into the background, and the screen displayed the message: "Congratulations, you've been infected with my LOVE virus! The only antidote to this terrifying poison is in my mouth. Just kiss me every day, and I'll guarantee your safety. But remember, you mustn't skip even one day, or the poison will take effect, and I'll marry no one but you."
I glanced around and thankfully no one noticed. I quickly changed the unique screensaver, but I couldn't shake the smile on my face. So I simply lay down on the table, buried my face in my arms, and laughed so hard that I didn't care if my face would break.
The desktop phone rang suddenly. I had to suppress my smile and pick up the phone. Before I could even speak, I heard Willson's voice on the other end: "When are you coming in to get your antidote for today?"
"Boss, I have to remind you, this is an abuse of company resources and sexual harassment during working hours. Be careful, I might report you to the labor bureau."
"Don't lie to me, the labor bureaus in mainland China won't handle cases involving trickery. Come in quickly, my silly woman."
"You're so cheesy," I said, continuing to say one thing but meaning another.
"Yes, I want to numb you until you completely lose your resistance so I can carry you home and make you my old hag."
"Are you planning to pay me starting today just so I can flirt with you? If so, I'm sorry, I'll quit right now." Although this feeling was very intoxicating, I have my principles, and it also goes against my original intention of falling in love with him.
"Silly woman, you won't let me announce our relationship, not even to date openly, but can't I at least have twenty minutes every morning to whisper sweet nothings to you?" His voice became anxious.
Thinking about it, I realized I was a little in the wrong, so I lowered my voice and said, "Twenty minutes is too long. Every day at work, I can only be your girlfriend for the first ten minutes of the morning. The rest of the time, you are the boss, and I am your assistant."
"Fifteen minutes." He really knows how to bargain.
I held back a laugh as I hung up the phone, realizing for the first time that this seemingly arrogant man was so childish.
"Ding..." The phone on the table rang again. I shook my head. Where had this all-powerful man's composure gone?
"What's wrong now, General Manager Lin?"
"It's not General Manager Lin, it's General Manager Yin." It was Yin Tianyu's lazy voice on the phone.
If there were a hole in the ground right now, I would thank God and crawl in to hide for seventeen or eighteen years.
"I was woken up early this morning by Willson's call, just to brag about our perfect singles record. Now I wanted to call and congratulate you, but you've completely forgotten who I am. You two are such a perfect match, both heartless and fickle when it comes to romance. Anyway, what I really wanted to tell you is to enjoy your relationship, ignore what's going on around you, and remember to hold onto your initial feelings and beliefs. If—and I mean, just in case—anything goes wrong, remember my phone is on standby for you 24/7."
"Thank you," I said sincerely. At that moment, regardless of whether it was genuine or not, his simple statement warmed my heart like I had never felt before, and for the first time, I felt a genuine dependence on him. I guessed that none of the many girls in his life had left with resentment.
When I get busy, my mind is completely blank. Although I spent the whole day with Willson, everything felt the same as any other day before. My newfound love had no place in the face of work; even when our eyes met, it was just business conversation, devoid of any spark from our hormones. When I was busy, even those so-called fifteen-minute romantic moments were nothing but wishful thinking, a mirage, a reason to feel a little regret before falling asleep.
Tonight, I had another meeting with the creative team until almost 11 PM about a mobile phone ad concept. Because the success or failure of this ad is crucial to whether we can secure the exclusive distribution rights for this brand in Asia next year, we're being extremely cautious with both the creative concept and the media plan. Willson has been involved from start to finish, not letting a single detail slip by. After several rounds of brainstorming, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief after Willson finalized the PP creative plan. I finished packing up my materials and followed Willson out of the meeting room. As I approached his office and was about to turn back to my desk, he turned around and pulled me into his office.
"What? You scared me! What if someone sees us?" I rolled my eyes at him. This guy seemed to have no idea what it meant to be gentle with women. But he just kept me under his wing, closed his eyes and said with a look of enjoyment, "What do you mean, 'what?' We're dating openly and honestly, but you've made it all seem so secretive. And you're asking me what I'm doing?"
"I'm sorry, I was actually planning to tell Yirou this morning, but the words just wouldn't come out..."
"So what? Anyway, you didn't say it. Since you can't say it, then I'll say it."
"Don't force me," I said, a little annoyed. "I'll talk if I want to."
"If you feel you can't talk about this for the rest of your life, then let's just stay like this forever!" He was even more short-tempered than me, and he actually yelled at me?! I froze, stunned: What's going on? We've only been dating for less than 24 hours, and he's already communicating like someone who's been married for years?!