Chapter 7 Do You Mind?

"I understand." Qin Yucen picked up the coffee beside her and took a gentle sip, the bitter taste spreading between her lips and teeth.

She finished her cup of coffee before going up to the top floor where Qin Yurong approached with files in her arms, smiling, "Sister, brother-in-law looks very unwell today. If you have something to say to him, talk it out nicely. Don't storm out in a temper like yesterday. Men prefer gentle and submissive women; you're too dominant. If this continues, brother-in-law might be lured away by some temptress..."

"Have you said enough?" Qin Yucen reverted to her efficient professional self, her expression cold, "It's work hours now."

"Sister, I'm just looking out for you." Feeling wronged, Qin Yurong pouted and walked away.

Qin Yucen stepped forward, pushed open the door to the CEO's office, and walked in, immediately smelling the strong scent of smoke. Many cigarette butts lay in the ashtray on the desk. Seeing Guan Haoyang standing by the glass wall, his figure solitary, her heart ached unexpectedly.

The crisp sound of her high heels on the floor made him glance sideways: "You're here."

"President, did you need something from me?" Qin Yucen asked with a strictly professional attitude.

"Where were you last night? You didn't come home all night," Guan Haoyang slowly turned around, his dark cold eyes landing on her face.

Qin Yucen met his chilling gaze fearlessly, straightened her posture, and told herself not to be afraid.

"Qin Yucen, I'm talking to you. Didn't you hear me?" Guan Haoyang asked in frustration when she didn't respond.

Last night, he had returned to the Guan family home and waited in the living room, growing more irritable as time passed, having smoked most of a pack of cigarettes. The clock in the corner had pointed to one o'clock in the morning. The house was so quiet that the air felt tense, while outside the snow whispered. He turned his head, looking into the black night; there was no sign of her returning.

It was so late, and Qin Yucen still hadn't returned home. Could it be that she had run off to another man because of that contract? The thought that this might be possible turned Guan Haoyang's face ashen, his fingertips pressing hard.

At that moment, footsteps sounded from upstairs. Guan Haoyang turned his head and saw his mother, Zhao Yulin. In her mid-forties, she still appeared in her early forties thanks to excellent maintenance and a pampered life.

"Yangyang, why haven't you gone to bed yet? Who are you waiting for here?" Zhao Yulin descended slowly, her beautiful face showing displeasure. "Has Qin Yucen not come home yet?"

"Mom, never mind, go to sleep," Guan Haoyang said curtly, not wanting to say more, "I'm leaving."

"Leaving? Where are you going this late at night? Isn't this your home?" Zhao Yulin hurried forward, grabbing her son, "Ever since you returned from abroad, you rarely spend the night at home. With the heavy snow outside, can't you just stay?"

"Mom, I'm staying at Lishan; it's closer to the company," Guan Haoyang said, ignoring the longing in his mother's eyes as he pulled away her hand.

"Son, work is work, but your health is more important," Zhao Yulin said, though reluctantly, she didn't want to make it hard for him. She then complained about Qin Yucen, "How does Qin Yucen take care of you?"

"Mom, she's busy with work," Guan Haoyang spoke in defense of Qin Yucen.

"Busy with work so she can neglect her husband? The Guan family doesn't lack her earnings. Don't think I don't know that all the money she earns is used to support her poor family. What has the Guan family gained? She's not taking good care of you, and that upsets me," Zhao Yulin accused Qin Yucen of failing as a daughter-in-law, "And you always cover for her. You're spoiling her, letting her think too highly of herself. Eventually, she won't consider her husband important at all."

"Mom, I just remembered I have something very important to do at the office. I have to go now," he said, no longer wanting to hear his mother's complaints about Qin Yucen.

Guan Haoyang left the Guan family home and headed straight for Guanshan Group. He lay down in the resting room of his own office but couldn't fall asleep for a long time.

When he woke up early, he called his secretary Pei Xianxian and asked her to notify Qin Yucen to come see him as soon as she arrived at the office.

He didn't understand why he was so eager and desperate to see her, perhaps seeing her would settle his troubled heart.

But when she truly stood in front of him, he felt she was so far away...

"Where did you go?" Qin Yucen asked with a gentle smile, her pupils shimmering slightly, "To where I should go?"

"What do you mean by where you should go?" Guan Haoyang turned around, staring coldly at her plain face, "You didn't go back to the Guan house, nor to Lishan."

"President, I'm dedicated to my work during office hours, and after work, I naturally have my private time. Where I want to go, I think I don't need to report to my boss," said Qin Yucen, her words distancing and unintentionally making the already suffocating atmosphere between them even more stifling.

"Qin Yucen, don't forget, I'm not only your boss but also your husband!" Guan Haoyang reminded her of her role as a wife, "And I'm not asking you as a boss right now."

"But President, it's work hours now, and here, we are only in a boss-subordinate relationship, so no personal matters," Qin Yucen lowered her eyelids, not letting him see the emotions in her eyes.

"You're quite the sharp-witted public relations manager! Qin Yucen, you have made significant progress in the last five years!" Guan Haoyang contained the anger surging in him.

He still remembered the once meek and timid Xiaobai, who would blush and dare not meet his gaze even if he glanced at her. Now, not only had she become a capable career woman, but she was even bold enough to disregard him!

"People change," Qin Yucen slowly raised her eyes to look at Guan Haoyang. He was no longer the somewhat naive young man from five years ago; the cutthroat business world had honed him into a mature and seasoned adult.

The years had passed peacefully, but they both had changed.

"You've changed, but has your heart changed too?" Guan Haoyang's question was sharp, stirring pain inside her.

"President, you're asking too many questions," Qin Yucen evaded, unwilling to face his probing, "If there's nothing else, I'll be going now."

Her heart, she didn't want to confront it now.

She hesitated for a moment before turning to leave, his low growl following her from behind: "Qin Yucen, is this the attitude of a wife toward her husband?"

Feeling aggrieved, she paused in her steps and turned back: "So you still remember I'm your wife?"