11

Luo Li regretted that she didn't get Lu Cixue to hug her waist.

Driving her small electric scooter, Luo Li took Lu Cixue to a simple restaurant. Luo Li had a knack for finding these lesser-known but delicious spots.

"When I was in high school, I used to sneak over here a lot. The owner is really nice, and the food is guaranteed to be good." Luo Li took off the pink helmet from Lu Cixue's head and, seemingly by chance, grabbed her hand as they walked forward.

"There are too many people; don't get lost." Luo Li found a perfect excuse.

This was a university town, and it was evening. The people passing by were mostly friends or couples out having fun, holding hands. They didn't stand out much among them.

However, as they walked, Luo Li didn't notice that Lu Cixue was looking down at their joined hands, quietly tightening her fingers around Luo Li's, pressing closer. She then looked up at Luo Li, who seemed oblivious.

At the counter, Luo Li ordered, "Two beef soup rice bowls, one without chili."

She had secretly asked Ji Qiubai before; Lu Cixue couldn't handle any spiciness.

"Got it." The young girl at the counter didn't notice the familiar owner anywhere.

Luo Li was about to pay when another slender hand suddenly reached out, holding a phone with a payment code ready. The busy staff quickly scanned it.

"I told you before, I would treat you to a meal." But two bowls of beef soup rice didn't come close to the elaborate meal Luo Li had prepared last time.

Lu Cixue's face was serious, but she felt her voice trembling, "Next weekend, if you're free?"

Lu Cixue's heart raced, worried that her little secret might be discovered.

Next weekend... The weekend has two days, and Sunday is the Mid-Autumn Festival. She just wanted to try what it felt like to have someone accompany her during the holiday.

Even though she had grown numb, almost losing the ability to feel emotions, she still occasionally yearned for something.

Luo Li struggled to keep from smiling, already laughing inside.

Is this the first time Director Lu has done something like this?

"Next weekend..." Luo Li pretended to think it over, responding casually, "Let's talk about it then."

Lu Cixue was visibly stunned, and after a long pause, she softly murmured in agreement.

The place was crowded, the decor clean but plain, with greasy tables. The server only gave them a quick wipe with a cloth while clearing the table.

Dressed in formal attire, Lu Cixue seemed out of place here but obediently followed Luo Li to a corner seat.

Before Luo Li could speak, she noticed many eyes glancing their way. At a table to their left, several men were whispering and sneaking glances under the table, with one already discreetly taking out his phone.

Luo Li glanced over, noticing the slender, pale legs crossed under a tight skirt across from her—pleasing to the eye, but the stares from those men were revolting.

Luo Li changed her seat, moving next to Lu Cixue under her confused gaze.

Then, she took off her jacket and draped it over Lu Cixue's legs. "Don't get your clothes dirty."

Lu Cixue looked down at the jacket's logo.

Luo Li usually didn't wear high-end brands to the office, but today's jacket... If she remembered correctly, it cost five figures.

"No need..." Lu Cixue tried to hand the jacket back, but Luo Li firmly pressed it down. Following Luo Li's gaze, she saw the men quickly look away, pretending nothing had happened.

Lu Cixue's hand loosened on the jacket, no longer refusing.

However, Luo Li seemed unhappy throughout the meal. At one point, the owner, a cheerful woman, recognized her and teased her about being in a relationship.

"No, this is my boss, you're overthinking it."

"Oh, sorry, sorry. What about that girl you used to come with? You treated her differently..." The owner, relieved they weren't a couple, started chatting away.

"Ahem," Luo Li quickly interrupted, "Sis, your food is as good as ever. Business is still booming, right?"

The owner immediately switched topics.

Luo Li stole a glance at Lu Cixue, who was eating gracefully, her demeanor calm. She merely listened to their conversation, occasionally smiling and nodding politely.

But the mention of "that girl" lingered in Lu Cixue's mind.

She knew little about Luo Li's past.

And had no right to ask.

Both lost in thought, the rest of the evening passed in silence.

It wasn't until the elevator doors opened that Luo Li hesitated and tugged on Lu Cixue's sleeve.

"Director Lu, um..."

Lu Cixue stopped and turned, looking at her without speaking.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have taken you there. Did those men make you uncomfortable?" She had wanted Lu Cixue to enjoy herself, but the dining experience had been far from pleasant.

When they were leaving, those bothersome guys had even tried to bother them.

Luo Li felt guilty.

Lu Cixue hadn't expected Luo Li to be troubled by this, and she seemed to deflate.

Lu Cixue chose her words carefully, "I didn't feel that way. The dinner was indeed delicious."

"Thank you. I had a great time tonight."

Luo Li was surprised, looking up to see Lu Cixue smiling softly at her, her usually cold expression melting away.

Luo Li's sadness instantly vanished, replaced by a bit of pride.

"I'm glad you liked it. I used to go there with a classmate of mine. I haven't been in a while. Thank you, Director Lu, for keeping me company tonight." When people get too pleased, they tend to slip up.

For example, Luo Li didn't realize which word had triggered Lu Cixue. The woman, who had just been smiling gently, instantly withdrew her expression.

"It's late, and we have work tomorrow. Get some rest." The door closed on Luo Li's stunned face.

Leaving Luo Li standing there, dumbfounded.

Luo Li hadn't been able to slack off properly all week.

During Thursday's meeting, she finally met the intern Zhou Mo for the first time.

Luo Li's first impression was of a sweet and kind girl.

Even though they both knew they were competitors, Zhou Mo listened attentively to Luo Li's presentation. Afterward, she even asked for Luo Li's contact information, telling her she did a great job.

In contrast, her boss, who sat farthest away, left the room after the presentation without a word of feedback.

But Luo Li had a strong hunch that Lu Cixue didn't want to see the girl sitting next to her.

What kind of grudge or feud could there be between them? Lu Cixue wasn't the type to target employees maliciously.

"Luo Luo, your Director Lu is really cold."

They hadn't been at the company long, and with similar outgoing personalities, they quickly became friends.

At that moment, Zhou Mo was having lunch with Luo Li in the company cafeteria. Surprisingly, Lu Cixue was also there, but when she passed by, she only nodded briefly and said nothing.

The comment didn't seem malicious; Lu Cixue was known for her aloofness. But Luo Li instinctively defended her, "No, Lu Cixue is very kind. She just isn't good at expressing herself. You'll see once you get to know her."

Zhou Mo paused, holding her chicken wing in mid-air.

Does she really dare to call Director Lu by her name?

"Never mind, I still don't dare." Zhou Mo frowned. "Your presentation was so good, though. There were so many technical terms I'd never even heard of. I don't know what I'll do this Thursday."

Luo Li found Zhou Mo's personality quite endearing and reassured her, "You're much better than I am. Most of what I presented was just repurposed old material with a few of my ideas. Some of it might not even be practical."

The sweet, naive girl across from her nodded gratefully.

But soon, Luo Li would see just how "great" this person was.

On Friday afternoon, Luo Li was already planning her weekend and how to take her relationship with Lu Cixue further.

Ji Qiubai suddenly walked over to her, looking serious. "Luo Li, come with me."

Luo Li was confused, but everyone else was whispering around her.

Only Chen Ting seemed upset, saying, "Don't worry. We're in the right, so we have nothing to fear. Go ahead."

?

Baffled, Luo Li followed Ji Qiubai, but when they arrived at Lu Cixue's office, it was empty.

"Wait here. I'll find out where Director Lu went." Ji Qiubai seemed unsure where Lu Cixue had gone.

Luo Li grabbed Ji Qiubai's arm. "What's going on?"

Ji Qiubai sighed, "You don't know? Manager Guo accused you of violating company policies and leaking company secrets last night. It's already spread this morning."

But it was only within the marketing department, as Lu Cixue had immediately made it clear: without evidence, no one should spread rumors.

Luo Li was stunned. Not to mention that, as an intern, she couldn't access any company secrets, she didn't even know Manager Guo!

This situation had to stay hidden from her parents, although she suspected they might already know about it.

But she had to try and handle this herself.

However, what was Manager Guo's motive for framing her?

"Luo Li, look at this—Director Lu, she..." Chen Ting slipped into the office after hearing Ji Qiubai say Lu Cixue wasn't there.

She showed Luo Li a video playing on her phone.

It was a café, with Lu Cixue and Zhou Mo sitting across from each other. The video seemed to have been taken by a third party present.

Zhou Mo was crying her heart out, apologizing in sobs, saying she was just confused and begging Director Lu not to fire her...

But Lu Cixue remained unmoved, her expression cold.

In the end, Zhou Mo even knelt in front of her, disregarding the onlookers.

Yet Lu Cixue coldly watched, with no intention of helping her up.

"If you think kneeling will solve the problem, then go ahead." The woman then stood up and left.

Luo Li, who had no idea what was going on, didn't know how to react.

But wasn't Lu Cixue being too harsh, completely disregarding Zhou Mo's dignity?

"When was this taken?"

Chen Ting sighed, "You're still too naive. There are countless small groups in the company. Don't be fooled by appearances. When your issue started spreading last night, did anyone talk to you today?" Other than the work group, no one had added Luo Li to any of those smaller groups.

Luo Li slowly realized that, indeed, apart from Sister Liu assigning her work, the other people who usually asked her to run errands hadn't approached her once today.

"The video must have been taken during the lunch break today. I don't know what Director Lu said, but now you two are at the center of the storm."

At that moment, the office door was pushed open forcefully, showing how upset the person entering was.

Chen Ting quickly slipped out when she saw Lu Cixue at the door.

The two people left in the room didn't speak, as if silently confronting each other.

Finally, Luo Li cautiously broke the silence, "Why did you go see Zhou Mo?"

And it ended so badly, too. Now the gossip in the company would only get worse. How could Lu Cixue not consider this?

Luo Li felt Lu Cixue had gone too far.

Lu Cixue walked past Luo Li indifferently, sitting back at her desk. "You saw it?"

Luo Li hesitated and nodded, speaking softly, "I don't think you should have handled it that way. I don't know what she did, but she was already kneeling. Doesn't that..." draw more criticism?

The more she spoke, the less confident she became, because the woman in front of her was smiling.

A mocking, cold smile.

Director Lu never showed her anger because getting angry was pointless. What she needed was to immediately find a solution.

But with her heat period approaching, her emotions were hard to control, and her rationality couldn't suppress her feelings.

Luo Li's words were like a catalyst, speeding up the flow of volcanic lava.

Exhausted and dehydrated from the morning's stress, Lu Cixue's anger peaked, her voice icy, "Luo Li, are you questioning your superior on her behalf?"

Luo Li was speechless, feeling as if Lu Cixue had taken a bitter pill.

She was worried about her, but in Lu Cixue's eyes, it became questioning?

They had been getting along so well before, but now it felt like a thick wall stood between them. Luo Li lowered her head, saying nothing.

"Remember your place and put away your useless sympathy." Lu Cixue didn't look at her again, her knuckles white as she gripped her pen, suppressing something. "Leave."