"You won the lottery?" Fang Nan chuckled, staring at me with wide eyes. "You won the grand prize?"
"Mm." I tried to make my expression as sincere as possible.
But I felt a little absurd... I was clearly telling the truth!
“This… Fang Nan, I know very well the value of those two items I lost. I personally watched Zhou Jing pay for them. So I have to return the money to you.”
Fang Nan shook her head again: "Chen Yang, don't lie to me! Where did you get such a large sum of money?"
"I really won the lottery!" I rummaged through my pocket for a while and pulled out some documents and receipts from the welfare lottery center yesterday. Fang Nan looked at them for a while before she finally believed me, but then she pushed the bank card in front of me and said, "I don't want it."
"But this is what I owe you!"
Fang Nan smiled. She didn't say anything, but suddenly stood up, walked to the side, and picked up the phone.
“Hello… Qian Pan? This is Fang Nan… Um, um, oh, I met him, um, yes, he came to see me…” Fang Nan glanced at me, seemingly a little guilty, but then she composed herself: “There’s something I need you to handle for me… Um, it’s like this, can you immediately transfer six million from my account… to pay Zhou Jing… um, yes, that Zhou Jing! No need… you don’t need to worry about anything, just transfer the money.”
Fang Nan then hung up the phone and casually sat down in front of me. "I almost forgot about this if you hadn't mentioned it... Hey!" She suddenly smiled. "You know what? During the few days I was in Korea, Zhou Jing actually sent flowers to the company every day. Later, when he found out I was in Korea, he somehow got my hotel room number and ordered flowers to be delivered to my room every day. That guy really went to a lot of trouble."
I remained silent.
Seeing that I didn't speak, Fang Nan seemed to have lost interest in continuing the conversation. She glanced at me, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Chen Yang, you can take this money back."
"No way!" I refused decisively: "I don't like owing people—I already owe you a lot! And the car accident I had last time, you helped me pay 300,000 yuan in compensation, that's in there too, I'll pay you back all at once."
Fang Nan's face darkened, and her expression turned somewhat grim. After thinking for a moment, she whispered, "Chen Yang... is there anything you want to say to me?"
Her eyes shone brightly, staring intently at me, making me choke on my words, suddenly finding it difficult to speak. However, having thought about it for a long time, I gritted my teeth and said, "Fang Nan... I want to... resign."
"..." She looked at me. Her expression didn't change, but a hint of sadness flashed in her eyes: "Resign... Oh... You're resigning."
The tone was calm.
There was no anger or irritation as I had expected. Fang Nan simply stared at me, his gaze seemingly containing immense force, making me almost unable to lift my head.
After a long silence, she raised her voice slightly: "You want to resign, is that right?"
"……Yes."
"Am I bad to my subordinates? Or is the treatment I give you not satisfactory?" Fang Nan's voice was light and airy.
"No...it's not." I mustered my courage and looked her straight in the eye. "I..." As I said this, I suddenly felt a little flustered. I rummaged in my pocket for a while, but then realized I didn't have any cigarettes.
While I was fumbling around, Fang Nan silently took out a tube of Panda cigarettes from under the coffee table and looked at me with gentle eyes.
"Thank you..." I took the cigarette, put it in my mouth, but after trying to light it for a while, only a spark came out, no flame. Frustrated, I stood up, rushed into the kitchen, turned on the stove, lit a cigarette, and then came out of the kitchen, standing there shouting at Fang Nan, "No! No! No! It's not that you're bad to me, or that you treat me badly... The problem is... you're too good to me, Fang Nan! Too good!"
Perhaps it was because I was talking too fast, or perhaps it was because of my complicated feelings, but this heavy smoker actually choked on his cigarette and started coughing violently. Fang Nan stood up and walked over to me. She reached out and gently patted my back to help me catch my breath.
My body immediately stiffened... and then I bounced backward as if I had been electrocuted.
"No, Fang Nan." I sighed and looked at her.
"What do you mean no?"... This woman is pretending to be stupid.
“You know it. You understand.” I said sternly.
"I don't understand what you're saying." Fang Nan's eyes held a hint of struggle.
"I..." I was getting anxious. I scratched my head, took a deep drag on my cigarette, looked into Fang Nan's eyes, and said solemnly in a low voice, "No, Fang Nan. It's impossible."
Before she could retort, I quickly continued, "We both know this very well... Who am I, Chen Yang? I don't even know anything about the business in your company, yet you let me manage a department... Why? Don't tell me you see some potential in me! There are plenty of talented people in your company who can handle this position. As for me, I don't even understand many professional issues right now."
Fang Nan didn't say anything.
"And then there's the salary you pay me." I smiled bitterly, "Eight thousand a month, plus extra commission and bonuses. That's a pretty good salary. I heard that all middle managers get extra bonuses at the end of the year. I did the math, and if I work for you for a year, you'll pay me over a hundred thousand! But I don't think I'm worth that much!"
"I'm the boss, if I think it's worth it, then it's worth it!" Fang Nan said through gritted teeth.
I sighed deeply.
What am I supposed to say?
Am I supposed to say, "Beautiful lady, this is impossible!"? So let's nip this relationship in the bud!
Is that how you put it?
To be honest, I find it hard to say.
"Fang Nan... I really want to resign."
"Then give me a reason!" Fang Nan refused to budge an inch.
Helpless, I walked back to the sofa and sat down, then whispered, "I have a question for you... You just want to keep me by your side, right?"
"Yes."
To my surprise, Fang Nan answered the question without any hesitation.
"Why?"
"For no reason." Her answer had a hint of defiance.
There has to be a reason, right?
Do you need it?
"Don't you need it?"
Do you need it?
"Stop! Stop!" I felt like I was about to break down. But Fang Nan remained resolute and fearless.
I decided to get straight to the point: "Fang Nan, from the very beginning when I first met you and started working for you, you've always treated me differently, haven't you?"
"..." Her silence meant she agreed.
"Can you tell me why?" I asked cautiously. "Is it because I look a lot like someone?"
"..." She still didn't speak, so did that mean she had tacitly agreed again?
I carefully organized my thoughts: "Fang Nan... I think I might be able to understand your feelings... Um, I look a lot like someone you used to know... That person probably holds a special place in your heart, right? Um... You saw me and treated me differently, I'm very grateful to you... But, I feel..." I suddenly felt a little breathless and coughed: "I think we're both adults, and we should be able to clearly distinguish between some emotional illusions, don't you think?" I looked up at her with hopeful eyes... and then, I froze!
Fang Nan is crying!
Two lines of clear tears flowed silently down her face. Her eyes were already somewhat red and swollen, and now they were filled with even more sorrow, her face etched with sadness. She didn't utter a single word, just silently wept, quiet, like a statue.
Her charming face, coupled with her sorrowful eyes, was like a sharp awl, piercing deep into the softest part of my heart!
Hard!
I panicked, I really panicked!
I'm not the kind of novice who would be at a loss if I saw a woman crying, but seeing a stunningly beautiful woman standing in front of me, looking at me with such tender eyes, her face showing unspoken sadness... and I also felt so guilty towards her!
At times like these, I really find it hard to stay calm.
I frantically pulled tissues from the coffee table and handed them to Fang Nan, but she didn't reach out to take them, continuing to stand there crying. I could only walk over to her and gently wipe the tears from her cheeks with the tissues myself.
That wipe and it's ruined!
Tears seemed to well up all at once! Just moments ago, the tears were silent, but now they turned into soft sobs, and finally, I felt someone grab my arm and burst into tears.
She pulled my suit jacket over to wipe my face, and Fang Nan ended up completely in my arms. I didn't dare move, and opened my arms, but didn't know where to put them...
Generally speaking, when a man encounters this situation—a stunningly beautiful woman who is deeply devoted to him crying in his arms—he will most likely gently extend his arms and give her a hug…
But I'm too scared to hug him!
Or rather, it's not that I'm afraid, but rather that I can't afford to pick him up!
I could only let myself become like a rigid robot, unable to even change my standing posture, while Fang Nan cried in my arms.
"Chen Yang...do you think I'm wrong? Do you think I've been using you as a substitute for someone else?" Fang Nan finally cried for a while, then looked up at me.
Tears streamed down the beautiful woman's cheeks, like pear blossoms in the rain, her brows furrowed with deep affection and melancholy...
God, Heaven, any deity, please show yourself and save me! I promise to be a vegetarian for a month!
My mind was racing with all sorts of thoughts...
The first book, "A Man in the Martial World, Forced to Act," Chapter 89: It Was Forced Out!
I prayed to Buddha and Bodhisattva in my heart, but Fang Nan had already gently grasped my hand and taken the cigarette that was only half-burned from my hand.
She took a half step back, looked up at me, then slowly inhaled a puff of smoke and exhaled it slowly.
Behind the bluish smoke, her eyes were hazy and her gaze flickered.
“I am a woman.” Fang Nan finally spoke. Her voice was a little hoarse and nasal because she had been crying. “And I’m not young anymore. For a woman, turning thirty is a terrifying thing.”
I didn't say anything.
Fang Nan leaned against the wall, arms crossed, her expression delicate, evoking a feeling that made one want to protect her: "Chen Yang... do you know what it feels like for a woman over thirty?"
"...I don't know." I admitted frankly.
"It's tough." Fang Nan uttered these three words, then her gaze fell on the ceiling. She seemed to smile slightly, but there was no joy in the smile: "I dress myself up beautifully every day... but only when I take off my makeup every night do I realize that I have more crow's feet at the corners of my eyes. Even though I give myself the best of everything... how many more years can a woman like me retain her youth?"
“I’m all alone at home… every single day. I’m even afraid when it gets dark, and sometimes I try to find excuses to go home. I’d rather stay at the company until everyone is gone before leaving. Because I know the house is empty, and even if I sit here all night, no one will come and say a word to me! At night, sitting here, I feel a chill all over my body! That chill seeps from the bottom of my heart! It comes from my bones! I’ll desperately turn on all the lights in the house! Turn on the TV, the stereo, everything! Leave them on all night! In every room! And then I sit on the sofa and wait…” She suddenly gave a bitter smile. Then she shook her head and whispered, “I don’t even know what I’m waiting for.”
"Chen Yang... I'm over thirty... I have very little youth left... Maybe not long, no... I should say now! Now when I walk down the street, some little girls call me 'Auntie' instead of 'Sister'! But sometimes I think, I'm thirty, and I'm still alone, no one cares about me. No one is there for me, no one makes me happy, no one lulls me to sleep... When I wake up from a nightmare in the middle of the night, there's not even a comforting embrace to calm me down! You know..." She looked into my eyes, tears welling up in them: "Often after a nightmare at night, I sit with my blanket until dawn..."
I can't utter a single word!
If a woman is willing to show you all her weakness and helplessness... then what can you say?
“You do look a lot like someone.” Fang Nan sighed, a strange look flashing in her eyes. “I remember telling you that you look a lot like him… even your personalities are similar, equally stubborn. Strong-willed, unwilling to bow down, and a bit headstrong. But occasionally, your eyes reveal a very gentle look… that’s also very similar to him, very similar.”
I still couldn't speak.
"The first time I met you, I almost... I almost lost control of my emotions." Fang Nan shook her head: "Do you remember that afternoon when I asked you to come to my house to help me with those things?"
“…I remember.” I nodded.
Fang Nan's eyes revealed a hint of shyness and guilt: "That day, I thought about it all night before deciding to bring you back. I... I originally had a plan... or rather, I made a decision that I'm ashamed of myself."
"ah?"
Fang Nan took a deep breath, her face flushed, and said, her voice trembling, "I... intend to seduce you."
Buzz!
My mind almost exploded!