Returning - Chapter 151
Chapter 151: The Answer
When Zhao Yu arrived at the company, two massive bouquets sat on her desk—both clearly the ridiculously expensive kind.
She raised an eyebrow and asked, feigning ignorance, "Who sent these?"
Xia Nan tilted her chin toward Xue Zi'ang's office. Zhao Yu turned to look, saw the door was closed, and couldn't help muttering under her breath, "Some 'playboy.' Sending flowers—such a tacky move—and he does it over and over."
Wang Qi and Xia Nan were thoroughly amused. Since it wasn't officially work hours yet, Xia Nan quickly leaned in. "When did you meet Qin Yi's senior, that Ling guy? She said her iceman senior actually went out of his way to ask her for your number."
Zhao Yu smiled, the lie rolling off her tongue effortlessly. "We crossed paths at some event. I barely know him."
"But the guy fell for you at first sight?" Xia Nan gave her a thorough once-over, top to bottom, clicking her tongue. "Envious. No, jealous. When Qin Yi said her senior could never like her, we didn't believe her. Turns out, his sights were set on you all along."
Zhao Yu had no intention of pursuing this topic. She looked down at the flowers on her desk and asked, "Does anyone want to do some flower arranging? I don't have room for all this here."
Xia Nan pursed her lips. "Those are from my boss. We wouldn't dare take them."
Zhao Yu sighed. "Then I'll toss them."
The words had barely left her mouth when she heard Wang Qi cough pointedly. Looking up, she realized Xue Zi'ang had materialized in his office doorway at some point, staring fixedly at her. "I need to speak with you."
Ever since Xue Zi'ang had moved upstairs, Zhao Yu had hardly set foot in his office. Before, she'd simply ignored anything he said. But now that their relationship had somewhat thawed, she couldn't exactly freeze him out again.
The moment she stepped inside, Xue Zi'ang shut the door. His right hand shot to her neck, grabbing her shirt collar and yanking it down sharply.
At the sight of the faint love bites scattered across her chest, the darkness in his eyes deepened. "Ji Sui's doing?"
Zhao Yu gave him an amused look. "He's my boyfriend. Isn't this perfectly normal?"
"I haven't agreed to break up with you yet." He resorted to shamelessness once more. "So I'm still your boyfriend."
Zhao Yu barely suppressed the urge to roll her eyes at him. "President Xue—"
"So me sending you flowers is tacky?" he interrupted swiftly, his burning gaze locked onto her. "Didn't a certain someone else send you flowers too? Fewer than mine. Cheaper than mine. And not as beautiful, either."
Since when did his hearing get this good? He caught that?
Zhao Yu couldn't be bothered to deal with this shameless, childish version of him. She moved to open the door and leave, but he planted his arm against the wall, blocking her escape. "Think about what I said yesterday."
Zhao Yu remained silent.
She knew he was speaking the truth, of course. But she also believed Xue Zhan was fully capable of delivering on those fronts. And what she needed wasn't merely someone who held corporate power—she needed Xue Zhan's strategic acumen and battle-hardened experience. On that count alone, Xue Zi'ang couldn't compare.
Bluntly put, Xue Zi'ang's value to her right now was limited to lowering the difficulty of certain maneuvers for Xue Zhan. He wasn't strictly indispensable to her path of revenge.
That said, if he was hell-bent on helping, there was no need to shut the door in his face entirely.
Raising her eyes to meet his, she said slowly, "You alone won't be enough. Xue Zhan, Ji Sui, Xu Chengyan, Shang Lu—every single one of them, I need."
"You—" Xue Zi'ang was momentarily speechless. But facing her resolute gaze, he found himself unable to argue. He was well aware of his own limitations. Compared to an old fox like Xue Zhan, it seemed he truly wasn't of much use to her.
After a pause, he said gravely, "Then, once your revenge is complete? Once you've succeeded, we start over."
Zhao Yu quietly studied the intense devotion written all over his face, genuinely unsure whether to shake her head or nod.
Reject him, and he'd undoubtedly keep pestering her. Agree, and it would just be another lie on her growing pile. She'd deceived him so many times now, her conscience was finally starting to stir. She could barely bring herself to lie to him anymore.
Before she could answer, her phone buzzed in her pocket. She pulled it out and glanced at the screen—it was Ji Sui calling.
Yesterday, the two of them had been passionate, deeply satisfied in bed. But emotionally, ripples had stirred. Ji Sui, understanding as ever, hadn't pressured her about anything, yet she knew he'd lain awake all night. Parting that morning, she could still detect the subdued edge in his mood.
And this phone call—it was unlikely he was simply checking whether their romantic entanglements were affecting her work. The workday had barely started; there were no results to report yet.
Was he simply missing her? Or had his suspicions already been roused, and this was another probe?
Xue Zi'ang lifted his wrist to check his watch, his tone dripping with meaning. "Taking personal calls during work hours. Putting private matters before official duties. I could discipline you for this."
Zhao Yu's face broke into a brilliant smile. "Then, President Xue, please don't go easy on me."
With that, she hung up the call and sent Ji Sui a WeChat message: [I'm about to head into a meeting. What's up?]
Ji Sui: [Nothing much, just checking if you'd made it to the office.]
Ji Sui: [Also, I miss you.]
Zhao Yu fired back a cheeky kissing emoji: [I miss you too, baby. I'll call you after my meeting. Love you.]
Watching her calm, practiced efficiency, Xue Zi'ang let out a scornful laugh. "Is this how you did it when you were cuckolding me? Screwing Xu Chengyan while texting me that you loved me?"
Zhao Yu didn't answer, taking it as an admission.
Xue Zi'ang leaned in close. "When did you and him start? How many times? How many times did you lie to me? Christmas Eve, when you disappeared into the bathroom for that long—were you with him…?"
A bitter, self-mocking edge crept into his voice. "No wonder the guy was kind enough to send me a drink. A Grasshopper? I was nothing but a joke to the both of you, wasn't I?"
Zhao Yu, knowing she was in the wrong, could only lower her head and remain silent.
Xue Zi'ang reached out, gripping her chin and forcing her head up to meet his eyes. "Zhao Yu, I'll ask you one last question. When you were with me, did you ever… truly… feel anything at all?"
"N—" She'd barely managed half a syllable before her mouth was sealed. Desperate, forceful kisses landed on her lips, sucking and biting until sharp stings flared across them.
Her collar was already gaping open from his earlier tug. Now, his large hand plunged straight in, cupping one of her breasts over her bra, kneading and toying with it unapologetically.
She pressed her hands against his chest, but whether out of guilt or stirred desire, she only pushed weakly a few times before stopping entirely.
His breathing turned ragged, his chest heaving violently. Within moments, he'd stripped her blouse away. One hand roughly massaged her slowly stiffening nipple while the other slid beneath her skirt, stroking over her stockings and panties, grinding and rubbing hard against the apex of her thighs.
"Mm…" A muffled, indistinct moan escaped into his mouth. Hearing it, he kissed her even more fiercely. He yanked down her stockings, pushed her panties aside, and directly worked his fingers inside, swirling and stirring at her slick, dripping entrance.
Zhao Yu's body shuddered. Clinging to his shoulders, she collapsed against him. He scooped her up in one motion and laid her down on the sofa, swiftly divesting her of stockings and underwear. Unzipping his trousers, he freed his rigid, throbbing arousal and drove straight in.
Struck by waves of numbing, electric pleasure from his ferocious assault, Zhao Yu wanted to cry out but didn't dare. She could only bite her lip and clutch the sofa, enduring thrust after increasingly rapid, forceful thrust.
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