It fell from his fingertips

Tang Luoqing stood there, stunned, her grip on the document tightening.

For a moment, the surrounding air seemed to freeze.

The girl who was bending down to get closer to Zhou Yanchen in the office heard the noise, straightened up, turned her head, and looked towards the door.

The girl was very pretty, with exquisite makeup and a well-tailored business suit that accentuated her graceful curves.

Upon seeing Tang Luoqing, she glanced at her from head to toe. The girl at the door was dressed in a simple knitted dress, canvas shoes, and had a bare face. She looked like a girl who was not aggressive at all.

Even without makeup, this girl is more beautiful than any other woman she has ever met, including herself.

But Ling Yueyue didn't take the girl seriously. A slight smile played on her lips as she gave a standard professional one: "Ma'am, who are you looking for? You can't just walk into the director's office like that. Don't you even know that basic principle..."

Before he could finish speaking, Zhou Yanchen stood up from his seat.

The man's previously nonchalant and carefree demeanor vanished completely. He casually straightened his tie, exuding a steady aura, and glanced at Ling Yueyue indifferently: "This is my girlfriend, Tang Luoqing. Assistant Ling, you can leave now."

"So it's... Miss Tang."

Ling Yueyue feigned surprise and walked towards Tang Luoqing with a smile. She extended her hand and deliberately raised her wrist to expose a diamond bracelet on her wrist: "Hello, I am Ling Yueyue, assistant to Director Zhou of the Marketing Department. I was just consulting with Director Zhou about work, please don't misunderstand."

Upon hearing this, Tang Luoqing glanced at the bracelet on Ling Yueyue's wrist—KY's latest diamond bracelet.

Tang Luoqing had seen this bracelet before; it was worth as much as an apartment in a small county town, and it was highly unlikely that an assistant director's salary could buy it.

Tang Luoqing didn't pay attention to the bracelet itself, but the other party's deliberate showing off, combined with the two people's overly close movements just now, made her feel inexplicably uncomfortable.

Tang Luoqing suppressed the bitterness welling up in her heart and handed the document to Zhou Yanchen, who had walked up to her. Her tone was a little calmer than usual: "Here's the document you wanted."

Then, he turned to leave.

The next moment, Tang Luoqing's wrist was grabbed.

Zhou Yanchen grabbed Tang Luoqing's wrist, turned to look at Ling Yueyue, and said in a more serious tone than before: "Compile all the remaining work content that you don't understand into a document and send it to me online. Now go out and take this document to Director Xie as well."

Ling Yueyue took the document, pursed her lips, and looked somewhat aggrieved: "Director Zhou..."

Zhou Yanchen's eyes darkened slightly.

Ling Yueyue's aggrieved expression vanished, and she dared not linger any longer. With her head down, she quickly left in her high heels, leaving behind a faint, sweet scent that made Tang Luoqing feel increasingly suffocated.

The door closed, leaving only two people in the room.

The coldness on Zhou Yanchen's face faded. Before Tang Luoqing could question him, he pulled her into his arms and asked in a calm tone, "Why are you leaving so soon? Don't you want to see me?"

Tang Luoqing forcefully pushed Zhou Yanchen away.

When he looked up, his eyes were already glistening with a thin layer of moisture: "Aren't you going to explain yourself? Your assistant was so close to you just now, and you asked me to bring you some documents, but you made me wait downstairs for a whole hour, and you didn't answer any of my calls. Is that appropriate, Zhou Yanchen?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yan frowned slightly: "You called me?"

After a slight pause, Zhou Yanchen pulled Tang Luoqing's hand to the desk, turned around, picked up the phone from the desk, and immediately apologized before pulling Tang Luoqing into his arms.

After being pushed away again, Zhou Yanchen let out a helpless sigh: "I'm sorry, I was so focused on calculating the project data that I forgot about my phone, which was on silent and left on the table. I didn't notice the call at all. It's my fault."

As he spoke, Zhou Yan lowered his head, his voice gradually becoming muffled, much like a child seeking comfort: "But as you know, as the second young master of the Zhou family, I'm always overshadowed by my brother. If I don't do a good job, people will gossip about my status as the second young master. As for your first question..."

Zhou Yan took a deep breath, seemingly trying to control his emotions when he talked about his elder brother, and then made a phone call.

When the call connected, Zhou Yanchen put the phone to his ear and said, "Director Zhang, yes, it's me. Didn't you say last time that your project team needed an assistant? I have someone in mind, Ling Yueyue. Have her report to your office this afternoon."

After saying this, Zhou Yanchen hung up the phone. After a moment of silence, he looked up at Tang Luoqing again, his tone softening: "If anyone makes you uncomfortable in the future, just tell me. Otherwise, sometimes... I really don't notice."

Zhou Yanchen's expression was indescribably serious, and his eyes held a rare, clumsy sincerity.

Tang Luoqing's anger dissipated by half because Zhou Yanchen realized the problem, was willing to change, and changed so quickly.

Tang Luoqing glanced at Zhou Yanchen's desk, which was piled with work documents, and couldn't help but ask curiously, "Didn't you say you liked my drawing of milk candy? Where's the drawing?"

"painting?"

After a brief moment of contemplation, Zhou Yanchen released Tang Luoqing, walked behind his desk, opened one of the drawers, and took out a painting.

On the drawing paper, a little kitten nestled under a romantic peach tree, with petals fluttering and falling in a colorful display. The distant sunlight cast a warm glow, creating a scene of cozy and cuddly beauty.

This is a drawing of milk candy, with the background depicting Tang Luoqing and her grandmother's home where they depend on each other for survival.

Zhou Yanchen noticed Tang Luoqing's gaze softening, hugged her from behind, and rested his chin on the top of her head: "Your painting is so important, what if the cleaning lady ruins it? So I've kept it in the drawer, just like you've always been with me."

Then, he slowly turned Tang Luoqing to face him, placed his hands on her shoulders, and said with burning eyes, "It was indeed my negligence just now, and I made you suffer. Please forgive me, okay?"

When Tang Luoqing met Zhou Yan's deep and captivating eyes, the tips of her ears felt slightly hot.

It must be admitted that although Zhou Yanchen was a womanizer before pursuing her, his deep eyes are really charming, his smile is very affectionate, and even when he is not smiling, he seems to be smiling, which makes it easy for people to become infatuated with him.

Especially now, when you're really focused on someone, it makes them feel like they're the person you care about most in the world.

Tang Luoqing could no longer be angry.

As if thinking of something, Tang Luoqing casually asked, "I remember you told me before that your office used to be on the fifth floor, so why has it been moved to the top floor?"

When Tang Luoqing went upstairs with Zhou Jinbai just now, she wondered if Zhou Jinbai had made a mistake.

Seeing that Tang Luoqing's emotions had completely calmed down, Zhou Yanchen leaned down slightly and gently kissed her cheek. He then nestled his chin against Tang Luoqing's shoulder and rubbed it against her shoulder before replying, "It's just a normal personnel transfer. They said my recent work performance has been pretty good, so they transferred me to the top floor."

Tang Luoqing nodded after listening, but the image of Zhou Yanchen working late into the night in his study for a long time recently came to mind.

In fact, only she had ever seen Zhou Yanchen so serious.

Like that scene in the old teaching building late at night during his junior year, where he was squatting alone on the steps, reading a thick book by the light of a street lamp, his brows furrowed, a stark contrast to his carefree demeanor during the day—a scene only she had ever witnessed.

"Shall we go eat? It's almost lunchtime."

Zhou Yanchen put his arm around Tang Luoqing's waist, opened the door, and led her out of the office.

The two walked side by side down the long corridor.

Along the way, Zhou Yanchen kept glancing sideways at Tang Luoqing's gentle and sweet face.

Sunlight streamed in through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the corridor, illuminating her fair and delicate profile.

She walked with her head down, her long eyelashes drooping, and the tip of her nose pink and delicate.

Zhou Yan couldn't resist and lowered his head to softly kiss Tang Luoqing's cheek, making Tang Luoqing feel embarrassed and shy, and want to push him away.

This scene was witnessed by Zhou Jinbai, who had just opened the door to leave the president's office.

With just one glance, the tall man closed the door, strode back to his desk, picked up a document, opened it, and remained there for a long time without turning a single page.

Zhou Jinbai's brows furrowed tightly.

Assistant Shen entered the office after being given permission following a knock on the door.

"Mr. Zhou, Mr. Liao from Haicheng International will be checking into the Maoye Hotel around 11:50. Would you like to depart now?"

Haicheng International is a leading enterprise in Haishi's hotel industry. The Zhou family intends to cooperate with Haicheng International to create a top-tier, high-end industrial chain.

Zhou Jinbai nodded and walked out of the office.

Meanwhile, in the lobby downstairs.

Just as Zhou Yanchen and Tang Luoqing stepped out of the elevator, his phone rang.

Upon seeing the name on his phone screen, he answered the call without much concern. A moment later, however, his brow furrowed slightly: "Hey Lao Xie, I've already given you the documents, why are you calling me for a meeting? Alright, I know, come up right now."

After hanging up the phone, Zhou Jinbai looked at Tang Luoqing and said apologetically, "There's an important meeting coming up, and I have to go. I'm not sure when it will be over. How about... I call Lao Zhang to come pick you up? I can go back to you after get off work tonight."

Old Zhang was assigned to Zhou Yanchen by the Zhou family as his driver, but he always drove himself.

Seeing Tang Luoqing nod, Zhou Yanchen called Lao Zhang.

"Okay, you go ahead and do your thing."

After hanging up the phone, Zhou Yanchen frowned: "Old Zhang's child is sick, so it's inconvenient for him right now."

"fine."

Just then, the private elevator opened with a "ding," and Zhou Jinbai stepped out.

The man wore a dark suit, followed by his assistant Shen. His steps were steady, and his aura was cold.

When Zhou Yanchen saw Zhou Jinbai, he raised an eyebrow and said in a nonchalant tone, "Brother, wanna go out?"

"Um."

Zhou Jinbai gave a faint reply.

The tall man's gaze swept over Zhou Yanchen, then looked at Tang Luoqing, gave a slight nod as a polite greeting, quickly looked away, and walked straight outside.

"Brother, where are you going?"

Zhou Yanchen, as if possessed, called out to Zhou Jinbai, "If it's on the way... could you give my girlfriend a ride? She's going to Yujing Bay."

Within a few minutes, Zhou Yanchen had a clear idea. Since he had already made Tang Luoqing wait in the lobby for an hour and then witnessed what happened in the office, it was really inappropriate to let her go back on her own now.

But should I take her home? Or should I go to the meeting...?

Tang Luoqing was taken aback when Zhou Yanchen suggested that Zhou Jinbai take her home. She was caught off guard by Zhou Jinbai's indifferent gaze and quickly shook her head awkwardly, "No need, no need, big brother, I, I can go back by myself, no need to trouble you."

Then, looking reproachfully at Zhou Yanchen, she lowered her voice and said disapprovingly, "Yanchen, I can go back by myself. Big brother is so busy, how could you..."

Before he could finish speaking, Zhou Jinbai glanced down at his watch, then looked at his assistant Shen beside him, who was trying to calmly whisper in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Mr. Zhou, but what about President Liao..." He then looked up at Tang Luoqing and replied in a flat tone,

"No rush, let's go."

It was a simple sentence, as if he only agreed out of consideration for his younger brother, or as if it wasn't a very important matter and it wouldn't hurt to agree.

Even so, Tang Luoqing, who had almost never interacted with Zhou Jinbai alone, was still taken aback.

She looked up in surprise, meeting Zhou Jinbai's deep and intense eyes.

With just one glance, the other person looked away, turned around, and walked straight outside, not giving Tang Luoqing a chance to say no again.