Dong Enyu was surprised when she got home because Mu Lin, who usually left a light on for her, wasn’t there tonight.
Immediately, Dong Enyu anxiously dialed her phone. This had never happened before.
“Hello, Mu Lin, where are you?” As soon as the call connected, Dong Enyu asked seriously.
There were voices in the background on Mu Lin’s end, not too noisy, seemingly speaking a foreign language.
“Enyu, I’m sorry, I can’t come home tonight,” Mu Lin explained, moving away from the crowd to find a quiet place. “The company received an urgent overseas notice, and we have to work overtime. I might have to stay overnight at the office.” Her voice carried a hint of fatigue, which made Dong Enyu feel very distressed.
“Is everything okay? Staying overnight at the office, how many people are working overtime with you?” Dong Enyu gripped the phone tightly, very worried, like a mother hearing her obedient daughter would be spending the night out alone, unable to relax. Dong Enyu even calculated the time; if she didn’t have to go to Haijiao Headquarters in the morning, she would have gone to accompany Mu Lin right away.
“Yes, everyone is staying to work overtime, there’s no safety concern.” Mu Lin kept reassuring Dong Enyu, telling her not to worry.
After hearing the situation, Dong Enyu nodded slowly, telling her not to work too late and to remember to rest.
“I can’t sleep without you holding me.” Just as she relaxed, Dong Enyu immediately teased Mu Lin, speaking without blushing or panting, while imagining Mu Lin’s blushing face, unable to help but smile.
“I, I really want to hold Enyu too, really want to.” Mu Lin’s voice was soft, but Dong Enyu heard every word clearly. She liked that Mu Lin sought her out and relied on her, which made Dong Enyu feel very at ease.
“Mm, knowing your feelings makes me happy, you go ahead and work,” the two unknowingly talked for almost half an hour. After calming down, Dong Enyu also felt tired, but before hanging up, she didn’t forget to ask for a goodnight kiss. “Aren’t you going to kiss me?” She meant a goodnight kiss.
“Kiss?” A puzzled voice came from the other end of the phone, and Dong Enyu made a kissing sound into the receiver.
“How was it? Did you feel the kiss?” Even her tone was filled with sweet laughter.
…Did you feel the kiss? Mu Lin immediately became restless after hearing it, nodding vigorously, only to remember she was on the phone with Dong Enyu, who couldn’t see her.
“Yes!” After saying that, she returned the gesture with a kissing sound, her smile beautiful.
Dong Enyu said goodnight to her before hanging up, but what followed was a room full of darkness and silence.
People are indeed creatures of habit; once accustomed to companionship, they fear loneliness…
That night, Dong Enyu indeed didn’t sleep well, so she went to the Coral Reef Group headquarters early the next day.
As usual, she took the direct elevator, and when the doors opened with a ding, Dong Enyu saw Shirley coming out of Huo Ai’s office, holding a tray, presumably delivering tea. Dong Enyu nodded at her, but just as she was about to step forward, Shirley suddenly blocked her, making Dong Enyu feel inexplicably puzzled.
“Sorry, Miss Dong, Manager Huo has a guest inside.” Shirley, tall and imposing, stood in front of Dong Enyu, making her feel a bit pressured, causing her to step back a few steps.
“What kind of guest?” She raised her eyebrows, wondering if it was another business partner.
“It’s a female guest, Manager Huo seemed to call her… Miss Yong?” Shirley said uncertainly because the guest had arrived suddenly and boldly walked into Manager Huo’s office, ignoring Shirley’s attempts to stop her, leaving a bad impression.
Upon hearing Miss Yong, Dong Enyu immediately frowned, “Mm, I know her, you can go about your business.” She let Shirley go about her tasks, while Dong Enyu hesitated outside the door for a couple of seconds before composing herself and entering. As expected, besides the stunning floor-to-ceiling window view, there was also a striking red figure.
Yong Le was dressed glamorously today, her fiery red hair styled messily yet fashionably, wearing a trendy T-shirt with scribbled writing, old ripped jeans, and a pair of combat boots, looking casual yet stylish. She was originally sitting at the desk, resting her chin on her hand, talking to Huo Ai. Upon seeing Dong Enyu enter, she immediately turned her chair to stare at her.
Her crimson eyes burned like flames, and the colorful earrings on her ears flashed, making Dong Enyu’s eyes hurt.
Huo Ai looked up at Dong Enyu, her slender fingers pointing forward, “Sit.”
She gestured for Dong Enyu to sit next to Yong Le.
Since her superior had spoken, she dared not disobey. Dong Enyu glanced coldly at Yong Le, then sat down indifferently.
“Miss Yong brought good news.” Huo Ai was still wearing a black suit today, but with a light pink shirt underneath, which caught Dong Enyu’s eye. Huo Ai pushed a document forward for the woman to review; it was about the art business they discussed yesterday, with Han Ge’s hasty signature on it. “Han Ge accepted this gift.”
Upon hearing this, Dong Enyu immediately felt Yong Le’s intense gaze.
“Han Ge decided so quickly?” Dong Enyu suppressed her amusement, calmly looking at Yong Le.
She knew Han Ge would agree, and she had to admit, she thought it was mostly due to Yong Le’s influence…
As for Yong Le’s motive…
“Of course, the contract is signed, are you happy?” Yong Le asked somewhat oddly, asking if she was happy?
Was the signature meant to make her happy?
Actually, she was quite pleased.
But Dong Enyu didn’t show it too obviously; she politely smiled and nodded, “Of course I’m happy. This deal lays the foundation for the friendship between Coral Reef Group and Wutang, benefiting both parties. Happy cooperation.” She spoke very formally, without any personal feelings involved.
Yong Le seemed dissatisfied with her response, and just as she was about to speak, Dong Enyu’s phone rang at the right moment.
“Sorry, I need to take this call.” She saw it was Mu Lin calling on the screen and immediately left the office to answer.
Not seeing Mu Lin last night, Dong Enyu felt something was missing, and her heart was unsettled. She stood in the stairwell to take the call, and after a few pleasantries, she heard that Mu Lin had to work overtime again tonight and couldn’t come home, which made Dong Enyu frown, her expression a bit displeased. But she wasn’t a child; she knew Mu Lin didn’t want to be so exhausted either.
“Is something wrong?” Dong Enyu pondered for a moment before asking her.
Mu Lin’s voice was small, as if she hadn’t slept well, “I’m not too sure, but it seems there’s some trouble at the headquarters, so we were rushing progress last night, and if it doesn’t reach a certain point today, we’ll have to work overtime tonight too.” She yawned after speaking, making Dong Enyu pace back and forth irritably.
She was powerless; this was Mu Lin’s job, and she couldn’t interfere.
“Alright, take care of yourself, don’t overwork yourself. If you really can’t, take half a day off to sleep, okay?” Dong Enyu remembered news reports of people dying from overwork and didn’t want Mu Lin to end up like that. After all, a little lamb’s endurance can’t compare to an ox.
Mu Lin obediently agreed a few times, and Dong Enyu said some comforting words to her. Due to work hours, she couldn’t chat for long, so she quickly hung up and returned to the office. But upon opening the door, she didn’t see Huo Ai, only Yong Le sitting in the chair with a mischievous smile, her legs crossed, looking at her with a fiery gaze.
“Where’s Manager Huo?” Dong Enyu looked around the office, confirming Huo Ai wasn’t there.
“She went out.” Yong Le stood up and walked towards Dong Enyu.
Seeing Yong Le approach, it was as if a radar warning system in her heart was going off, beeping incessantly. Dong Enyu took out her phone, intending to call Huo Ai, but Yong Le smoothly took it away. Dong Enyu didn’t show displeasure at this; instead, she looked at her calmly, then opened her palm as if asking for something.
“Miss Yong, please return my phone.” Dong Enyu asked Yong Le to return her phone.
But Yong Le placed her hand on Dong Enyu’s palm, and the moment they touched, Dong Enyu decisively shook it off.
“Rather than Miss Yong, I prefer you calling me Yong Le,” she withdrew her hand that had been shaken off, not getting angry, always with that annoying smirk that made Dong Enyu feel irritated. Hearing her preference, Dong Enyu didn’t plan to respond, “I made a deal with you, aren’t you going to treat me to a meal?” She saw Dong Enyu seemed unwilling to pay attention to her, so she “reminded” her.
It’s normal social etiquette to treat each other to a meal after completing a deal.
But Dong Enyu wasn’t in the mood.
“Sure, I’ll discuss it with Manager Huo and then contact Mr. Han for a convenient time to treat both of you to a meal.” A business meal.
“No, just you and me,” Yong Le leaned closer to Dong Enyu, and seeing she didn’t dodge, she became even more forward, getting so close she could smell the familiar perfume on Dong Enyu, momentarily losing herself, even her voice and tone became somewhat ambiguous, “Just you and me, the two of us.”
…One-on-one.
Dong Enyu’s eyelid twitched lightly, and just then, her phone rang again, interrupting the dangerous atmosphere. Yong Le glanced at the phone, and before Dong Enyu could stop her, she answered it. The caller was Huo Ai, and Dong Enyu could clearly hear the slightly hoarse, unique voice from the receiver. Dong Enyu breathed a sigh of relief, but it also made her dissatisfied that Yong Le answered the call without her consent.
“Hello, this is Yong Le. Dong Enyu is having lunch with me, and I’ll safely return her to the headquarters by two in the afternoon. That’s it, goodbye.” Like reciting a nursery rhyme, Yong Le said it all in one breath, and Dong Enyu even doubted if Huo Ai understood, but Yong Le hung up the call on her own.
Dong Enyu glared at her, but Yong Le took it as a flirtatious glance and accepted it gladly.
“Let’s go, Huo Ai agreed.” She smiled brightly, her eyes shining like the colorful earrings on her ears.
Dong Enyu knew that Huo Ai hadn’t agreed at all, but did she have time to refuse? “Miss Yong, are you always this domineering?” Dong Enyu crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow as she sized up Yong Le.
She thought Yong Le might be more considerate in front of her “reborn” self, but it seemed she was wrong.
Yong Le was still Yong Le, no matter where she went, she still had that infuriating personality… “Not really,” she said, slipping the phone back into Dong Enyu’s hand while pulling them closer, whispering in her ear, “I just want to be domineering with you.”
