"Mr. Ou? Cough, cough, cough, excuse me, please wait a moment."
The background noise from the other end of the phone was so loud it almost drowned out Ruby's voice. Some women seemed to be asking, "Where are you going?"...
Ruby quickly found a relatively quiet spot.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Ou, I'm outside..."
"Did I disturb you?"
"No, no, it's been a long time since I've had a gathering with friends. They knew I was on vacation and invited me out to have some fun..."
"I spoke a bit too harshly to you today. I know you've always performed well, but lately, your frequent mistakes have disappointed me."
"Mr. Ou, it's my lack of performance at work..."
"Ruby, can you tell me about Crystal?"
"Crystal? She's beautiful, has a great figure... she's highly educated and seems to have a lot of work experience..."
"That's not what I'm asking about."
"Then what are you referring to, Mr. Ou?"
"For example, does she have anyone she's very close to at work, or who does she often interact with? Have you talked about things outside of work?"
Ruby thought carefully, and this question really stumped her.
The secretarial department was indeed more prone to gossip when idle than other departments. Ever since Crystal joined AtL, she hadn't really seen her get close to anyone. She seemed to get along well with everyone...
"She has a good personality, everyone likes her, and she's very diligent and proactive at work... Oh, right, speaking of outside of work..."
"Once after work, I think I saw her shopping at Times Square. She bought a lot of things at the Bulgari store. At the time, I thought she really knew how to spend money."
"Was she alone?"
"No, there seemed to be a middle-aged man, maybe her father."
"Did you see his face clearly?"
"No..."
"Alright, I understand. Thank you, and enjoy your vacation."
"Oh... huh? No..."
—Ou Yunchen ended the call—
Ruby wanted to ask why he was suddenly inquiring about Crystal, and if something had happened, but the phone was ruthlessly hung up...
Knock, knock, knock. Ou Yunchen's door was knocked.
When Ou Yunchen walked over in surprise and opened the door, he saw Mo Qingyun standing at the entrance, holding a pillow, her hair disheveled, looking uneasy.
Her eyes were sparkling, her cheeks were red, and her lips were nervously pursed.
"What's wrong? Can't sleep..."
Suddenly, Mo Qingyun dropped the pillow, stood on tiptoe, and kissed Ou Yunchen's lips. It tasted of cherries...
Ou Yunchen smiled and stroked Mo Qingyun's head.
"What is it? A goodnight kiss?"
Mo Qingyun's face turned even redder. She looked down, fiddling with her fingers, as if she had something on her mind.
"What's wrong? Is the guest room bed uncomfortable? Or are you not used to sleeping in a strange place?"
After a while, Mo Qingyun finally gathered her courage. When she was nervous, her sign language became even faster.
Mo Qingyun's sign language: "Let's make love..."
Ou Yunchen understood. He took Mo Qingyun's hand and placed it on his chest. His heart was beating fast. He was happy that Mo Qingyun was willing...
"Why do you want to... us... if we do it once, you won't be..."
Mo Qingyun lowered her head and nodded. She knew she wasn't a child, she understood everything, but she just wanted to be with Ou Yunchen like this because she loved this man...
Mo Qingyun's sign language: "Didn't you say... you like proactive girls..."
Ou Yunchen's heart ached as he held Mo Qingyun's hand. Those were words he had said in anger to make Mo Qingyun stay away from him...
All the wealthy women were proactive towards him. If he liked that, he wouldn't have thought of leaving Athena!
This silly girl, why did she take those words to heart!
Ou Yunchen, his hands almost trembling, hugged Mo Qingyun tightly. He wanted to indulge and turn the mute girl from a girl into a woman, but his reason always stopped him!
Ever since he destroyed Axe's artificial heart, he had felt an indescribable sense of guilt whenever he faced Mo Qingyun.
If he hurt her less now, would his hatred for himself lessen in the future...
Pity, reluctance, and that fervent love intertwined in Ou Yunchen's heart. How could he explain it to make Mo Qingyun believe that he loved this silly girl just as much...
If he hadn't had his vengeful side, he could have loved wholeheartedly long ago. Let alone making love once, he could swear to the heavens that he was willing to sleep with only this woman for the rest of his life!
Mo Qingyun's sign language: "I'm really ready..."
Mo Qingyun looked up, gazing deeply at the man before her, waiting. Waiting for Ou Yunchen to pick her up, waiting to become the kind of woman Ou Yunchen truly liked after tonight.
Ou Yunchen sighed, but he sighed with a smile. He saw the anticipation in Mo Qingyun's eyes very clearly.
Ou Yunchen gently bent down and picked up Mo Qingyun in one motion.
Mo Qingyun wrapped her arms around Ou Yunchen's neck, looking shyly at the smiling man.
When Ou Yunchen gently placed her back on the bed, he used his own pillow for her head.
Ou Yunchen's fingers traced Mo Qingyun's flushed cheek. He lowered his head and kissed the little mute girl's forehead deeply.
Ou Yunchen lifted the blanket and tucked it around her. As Mo Qingyun looked up in surprise, trying to gesture, Ou Yunchen held her hand down.
Ou Yunchen had never been so gentle. He lay beside Mo Qingyun, holding her hand tightly, and kissed it again.
Mo Qingyun also turned her face, looking at Ou Yunchen with questioning eyes.
"Silly girl, I can't bear to."
Mo Qingyun's sign language: "Do you love me?"
Ou Yunchen nodded, which finally put Mo Qingyun at ease. She was so moved that she felt like crying.
So she didn't need to offer herself proactively. As long as Ou Yunchen loved her equally, what difference did it make whether this moment came sooner or later?
Seeing Mo Qingyun finally smile, Ou Yunchen no longer moved closer to her with longing.
He pushed Mo Qingyun a little further to the other side of the bed and then forcefully drew a line on the bed from head to foot!
"Look carefully, this is the demarcation line! If you cross it tonight, you'll be fined ten thousand yuan!!!"
Mo Qingyun's sign language: "Why!!!"
"This is my house, I make the rules!!!"
Mo Qingyun wanted to argue further, but Ou Yunchen immediately turned off the light, turned his back to Mo Qingyun, and fell asleep facing away from her. Mo Qingyun, furious, wanted to kick his butt...
"Cross the line and it's a ten thousand yuan fine!!!"
With no other choice, Mo Qingyun also turned around angrily, her back facing Ou Yunchen, patted her pillow, and fell asleep...