Chapter 1 Unexpected Kindness

y or personal assistant," An Li’s head leaned closer again, his warm breath slightly touching Guan Xiaoke's face. "Of course, you can choose both."Go to hell, thought Guan Xiaoke as she looked at An L...The First Chapter: Unexpected Kindness

The sky outside was gloomy and oppressive, with dark clouds pressing down low. Even with the window open, the air felt stiflingly hot.

He Yufan interrupted Zhou Guangtao's apology, took a deep breath, and said resolutely: "Brother Guangtao, let’s forget about what happened last night. In today’s society, such things aren’t rare anymore. Let's not dwell on this."

Hearing He Yufan's words, Zhou Guangtao was deeply moved by her understanding and thanked her silently in his heart. But he couldn't just accept the forgiveness as if it were a free gift; he frowned and apologized: "You're a woman, and when something like this happens to you, you’re the one who gets hurt. I’m sorry for that."

"If you keep saying things like that, I might jump off this floor!" He Yufan half-joked, "Men and women are equal now; we haven’t wronged each other. We’ve only wronged Luoxi..."

When Zhou Guangtao heard He Yufan mention Yan Luoxi, his flushed face turned pale instantly, with a look of pain in his eyes as he remained silent for a long time.

"Brother Guangtao, I know that under these circumstances, I should resign and leave your company," He Yufan’s expression became solemn.

"No!" Zhou Guangtao blurted out involuntarily.

A faint smile of joy appeared on He Yufan's face, then she stopped herself. "But if I suddenly leave now, it will certainly raise Luoxi's suspicions. Last night’s incident was wronging her; we can't hurt her further. We absolutely mustn’t let her know what happened last night. Let’s just pretend nothing ever occurred!"

Lying down on the bed, Zhou Guangtao frowned, thinking about that night and He Yufan. A faint sense of melancholy crept over him.

The next day, Yan Luoxi got up early and had breakfast with Zhou Guangtao. She then rode in his car to work, getting off one station away from her company as usual.

After starting work, Luoxi handled some official business, but after that she didn't have much else to do. In the past, she would browse Taobao and magazines during such times, but thinking about Zhou Guangtao's expectations of her, she began to explore the internal company webpage, learning about investment knowledge.

She was frowning as she tried to understand the dull and obscure text on the screen when Ran Xu called. His voice sounded a bit aggrieved: "Luoxi, why didn't you add me as a friend"

It was then that Luoxi realized she had forgotten about Ran Xu.

She rarely went online and would only occasionally check her university classmate group. She instinctively guarded against any opposite-sex strangers attempting to enter her real life through the internet world.

Hearing what Ran Xu said, she quickly logged onto QQ, and his friend request immediately popped up. This guy used a genuine photo as his profile picture and set his nickname to 'Ran Xu.' How many young girls didn't he attract

The moment Luoxi accepted him, his headshot began jumping excitedly. He was using an Apple notebook and was enthusiastically greeting her online.

Luoxi wasn’t skilled at chatting online; usually it was Ran Xu doing most of the talking. His speech was humorous and knowledgeable, even managing to make Luoxi laugh heartily during their text-based conversations.

In the middle of the day, Xue Liping called, inviting Luoxi out for lunch together. Recalling that she had encountered Li An twice while with her mother, Luoxi was hesitant and didn’t dare accept the invitation.

After hanging up, Luoxi thought for a moment and tentatively called Zhou Guangtao to ask if he was free and could perhaps give her the opportunity to have dinner with him. Little did she know that Zhou Guangtao’s voice already had Hu Yifan laughing beside him.

Yan Luoxi is really bored; she went to the staff cafeteria for a simple meal and then continued chatting with Ran Xu when she returned.

Zhou Guangtao was unhappy that Yan Luoxi went out every night, so to avoid upsetting him, Yan Luoxi obediently came home after work. With nothing else to do, she would chat online with Ran Xu.

Almost every time she logged on, Ran Xu would be available too. She asked how he could find the time to chat with her, and he said that whenever he had a break on set, or while waiting for his turn, during travel, or even when eating, he would keep an eye on his phone so as soon as she came online, he was there to chat.

Yan Luoxi couldn’t help but recall a saying: If a man tells you he’s busy, most of the time it means he doesn’t consider you important enough for him to spend time with you.

If he doesn’t love you, even if he has time, he’ll find an excuse not to; if he does love you, no matter how busy he is, he will make time for you.

She didn’t want to apply this saying to Ran Xu or Zhou Guangtao, but she couldn’t help feeling a bit sad.

Whenever he was free, he would chat with Yan Luoxi; when shooting scenes, waiting backstage, performing on stage, attending parties… He would open the video and let her see what was happening on his side. Yan Luoxi found it fascinating and watched intently for hours.

He opened a window to his world for the lonely and isolated Yan Luoxi, allowing her to follow him as he explored his colorful universe.

Ran Xu not only had a humorous way of speaking but was also particularly considerate.

One evening when Yan Luoxi was chatting with him on the subway after work, he asked what she would eat for dinner. She said she was too lazy to cook and would have instant noodles.

After Yan Luoxi got home, a star-rated hotel's takeout arrived. It was an exquisite set of four dishes and one soup, accompanied by a bouquet of flowers.

Feeling guilty about it, she asked him not to do this anymore. He replied that he is her big brother and couldn't just ignore his sister eating instant noodles!

One morning, Yan Luoxi drank coffee on an empty stomach and casually mentioned to Ran Xu in Q (QQ) that her stomach hurt. By noon before she was about to finish work, a bowl of fragrant glutinous rice porridge from Huiqiao Congee King arrived with several plates of exquisite small dishes and soft and sweet snacks.

Yan Luoxi wasn't stupid; she knew that Ran Xu's feelings for her went beyond what an older brother felt for his younger sister. His affectionate gaze was unashamed, and the natural care he showed was impossible to ignore.

There is no such thing as無緣無故的好 (unconditional good), and she should stay away from him.

But Yan Luoxi was truly too lonely and depressed.

She wished for a boyfriend who would treat her like a cherished treasure, whom she could be嬌生慣養 (indulge) when she had a small illness. However, Zhou Guangtao was simply too busy; every time she saw him, he wore an exhausted face with slightly furrowed brows and a somewhat impatient gaze at her.

Yan Luoxi didn't know what the problem was; she panicked and wanted to win Zhou Guangtao's favor, but even the chance to get close to him was denied. Every morning when he came back late from work, it was rare for them to see each other despite working in the same company.

Restricted by Zhou Guangtao from going out much, Yan Luoxi could only rely on chatting with Ran Xu to pass the time, and gradually, she began to develop a dependency.erstanding: "Li An, you should rest well. I still have a meeting at my company; I'll visit you when you're more convenient." With that, he slipped away.All the others had left, leaving her behind once...