C23 Elevator Phobia

"You don't mind, do you, Sister Jian?" Cheng Muze glanced over at her with a smile.

Waving her hand, she bit back a laugh. "Of course not!"

"Why is the special assistant to the CEO suddenly gracing us lowly staff workers with his presence?" Seeing that the man held no pretenses, Wu Wenjing decided to tease him. "Should we be honored?"

"It's because of these beauties sitting in front of me that I've decided to step down from my high throne and grace the world with my handsome face." His eyes glinted jokingly, and they burst into laughter. From all the drama that had happened in the last few hours, this was definitely a well-deserved break for each of them.

Cheng Muze had eaten a few mouthfuls before he looked up at Jian Yun. "Speaking of, how have you been? Not too shaken up from the accident, I hope?"

She was about to shake her head when Wu Wenjing butted in, "She isn't too shaken up, but it has definitely increased her fear of elevators. I'm afraid that Yun has rotten luck when it comes to them."

"Hmm, maybe I could suggest that President Huo moves the entire HR department to the first floor so that Sister Jian doesn't have to take the elevator." He leaned back against his seat, looking as if he was in deep thought.

"You know what? That may be the best idea we've had since yesterday." Wu Wenjing clasped her fingers together as if she had just thought about it. Masking her laughter with a solemn look, she gazed at her friend questioningly. "What do you think, Miss Jian? Would that be enough to quell your fears?"

"Stop it, both of you!" Although Jian Yun had laughed over their preposterous suggestions, she realized that many of her co-workers may have overheard them. After all, they were in the cafeteria. If these people had seen how they joked so casually over President Huo, they might assume that something's up. Waving her hand dismissively, she shifted the topic to something else.

The three of them continued to talk as they ate, enjoying each other's company. Once their lunch break was over, Cheng Muze took out his phone and handed it to her. "Sister Jian, add me on WeChat."

"I didn't know that you also use WeChat. Didn't you say you just came back from overseas?" Wu Wenjing interrupted, furrowing her eyebrows.

"Well, as they say, you do as the Romans do! Hey, you're 'Slow-getter', huh? That's an interesting nickname." Pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose, he handed his phone to the other woman. "Sister Wu, add me as a friend too! The more, the merrier, right?"

Once he had added the two of them, Cheng Muze pushed his plate to the side and stood up. "I'll be heading back to work." He grinned wolfishly and motioned to his phone. "Text me when you're free!"

As soon as he had left, Wu Wenjing immediately leaned over to her and grabbed her arm. Her bright eyes glinted mysteriously as a secretive smile spread across her lips. Jian Yun couldn't help but peer towards her, wondering what she was going to say next. "Do you think he likes you?"

Suppressing the urge to roll her eyes, she shoved her friend. "Do you think every guy we met is out to get me? They should probably have you transferred to the Advertising Department with all the stories you make up." Jian Yun snorted.

"But if he doesn't like you, why would he add you on WeChat?"

"He added you on WeChat, does that mean he's interested in you too? The man just wants to be friends." Not being able to stand her friend's insistence, she pushed her plate and stood up. "It's time to head back."

However, there was something about Wu Wenjing's words that had crept to the back of her mind. Her fingers tightened around her phone as Huo Liancheng flashed into her mind. He had added her on WeChat. Did that mean...No, even the mere thought of it was preposterous enough.

Since it was Friday, she usually had a lesser workload, and by morning, she had already finished up scanning most of her documents. However, by the time she had returned to her cubicle, she found a new stack of documents scattered around her desk.

It seemed that Wu Wenjing's warning was coming to life. Since Xia Bingbing couldn't do anything to scare her off, she decided to change her strategy and increased her workload instead. "You're not allowed to get off work until every single one of these documents has been read and filed." The woman had grinned triumphantly before striding back to her office as if she had achieved an Olympics Medal. With a groan, Jian Yun collapsed onto her seat and started to work.

Jian Yun had been extremely busy the entire afternoon. Knowing that Xia Bingbing would use any vulnerability to attack her, she had put in all her effort in checking and filing every single one of the documents, making sure that all of them were spotless. However, with so much effort also came with so much wasted time.

Even with Wu Wenjing's help, she still had a thick stack of documents sitting on her desk. And by the time it was eight 'o clock, she was still nowhere near finished.

"Yun, I have an appointment tonight. I have to go," Wu Wenjing apologized, rubbing the back of her neck in embarrassment.

"Go ahead." She was so busy that she didn't even have the time to raise her head. "Besides, there aren't many documents left. I could finish up from here."

"But the elevator..."

"Didn't I take the elevator this morning? I'll be fine," Jian Yun hurriedly insisted with a smile. When in reality, her heart was in utter turmoil at the thought of standing in that contraption all by herself, but even, she didn't say another word. She waved at her friend's retreating figure before looking back at all the documents left on her desk.

The pale artificial lighting spread across the empty space as the cold wind blew from the windowpane. As darkness shrouded the corners of the building, she couldn't help but shiver. It was already getting late. Not wanting to delay herself any longer, she threw herself back into work.

By the time all her paperwork had been taken care of, she glanced at her watch to see that it was already 8:10. Jian Yun locked the documents in the drawer and pulled on her coat, preparing to leave.

As she was pulling her coat over her shoulders, she noticed her phone lighting up every once in a while. Upon closer look, Jian Yun saw multiple missed calls from her mother. Thinking that it was an emergency, she immediately called back.

"Jian Yun! Where are you? Your date's been waiting for you for half an hour!" Mrs. Jian's panicked voice sounded from the other end of the line.

It was then when she remembered her blind date tonight. Resisting the urge to sigh, she dragged her aching body from her desk. "I forgot," she apologized. "I had a lot of work to do in the office today, so it slipped my mind. I'll go right now."

"I'll tell Mr. Zhou that you've worked overtime and would be right there." Mrs. Jian sounded even more anxious than she was. "Hurry up!"

Even if Jian Yun didn't want to waste her time on a blind date, she didn't want to anger her mother any further. After all, with her condition, it would be unwise to trigger her. Besides, it was just one date. It couldn't be as bad as the last one she had gone to, right?

However, it seemed that even her mother's urgency couldn't stop herself from hesitating at the sight of the elevator. As she stood by the hallway, waiting for the doors to open, her fingers shook in anxiety as beads of sweat trickled down the side of her neck. Flashes of blackened walls appeared in her mind, and she staggered back, looking as if she had been struck by lightning.

Six years ago, she was also in an elevator accident where she had been trapped there for more than an hour. It had taken enormous strength on her part to step out of her comfort zone and get into one again. But it seemed that Wu Wenjing was right, she really did have rotten luck when it came to elevators.

A few seconds had passed, and the elevator had finally arrived. As the doors widened, she could see no one but mirrors and walls greeting her at the other end. Her fingers curled into small fists, and she gritted her teeth. Should she go in? Should she stay here? God, even the mere thought of stepping into one made her want to vomit.

The elevator doors had closed, and she inched away. Fortunately, she wasn't wearing any heels today, so maybe taking the staircase can be an alternative–a more tiring alternative anyway. However, as she gazed at the contraption behind her, taking the stairs seemed even more tempting.

Jian Yun was about to turn around when a soft ding sounded behind her.

When she turned around, she saw that it was the CEO's private elevator, but it wasn't empty. There, Huo Liancheng stood in all his glory with his finger pressing on the button. His dark eyes narrowed towards her, and she found herself freezing like a deer caught under the headlights.

Seeing as she was still in a daze, he snapped, "Get in!"

As if his words had woken her up, Jian Yun instinctively stepped into the elevator. However, as soon as her foot stepped on the surface, her heart raced in her chest that she felt as if she might explode. Was this just another coincidence? But, for him to appear in front of her just as she was about to head home...

No! She shouldn't think of this any further!

Huo Liancheng stood at the other corner, with his back facing her. His fingers were still grazing across the buttons as the numbers gradually decreased. She used the time to stare warily at him, wondering if he'd make a move on her again. However, as she looked up at the mirror, she saw a pair of eyes gazing right back at her.

Immediately, her face turned bright red in embarrassment.