Stay home and don't go anywhere

"What is it? Who sent you a message?" Yan Yu's gentle, clear voice sounded beside her.

Qiao Hua put away her phone and said casually, "Nothing. Just spam."

Yan Yu thought nothing of it and smiled. "Let's go. Quite a few people wanted to meet you earlier."

Qiao Hua slipped her phone back into her handbag and shrugged helplessly. "What can I say? Being too beautiful has its problems."

"It does." The smile on Yan Yu's lips faded a little, and his lowered voice took on a meaningful note. "I'm almost regretting bringing you here."

Qiao Hua didn't catch that remark. The surrounding conversation drowned it out.

Standing among the crowd, Gu Wenze watched the two of them laughing and chatting nearby, his expression growing darker by the moment. The head of the Facheng Group thought he had said something wrong and became increasingly cautious.

After the man left, Jiang Nan asked with concern, "Wenze, what's wrong? You don't seem to be in a good mood."

Gu Wenze said nothing. Suddenly, he recalled what Qiao Hua had said that time: "Make me your secretary, and I'll resign."

He abruptly said, "Jiang Nan, would you object if I transferred you to the Assistant Department?"

Jiang Nan's expression stiffened. "Why?"

"Qiao Hua said..." Gu Wenze came to his senses and immediately suppressed the absurd idea. He corrected himself. "Forget it. It's nothing."

He felt annoyed with himself. He had actually considered changing the company's staffing arrangements over something Qiao Hua had said. He must have lost his mind.

Jiang Nan didn't press him. She barely managed to keep her expression composed, but her heart tightened.

She had clearly heard him just now. Gu Wenze wanted to transfer her out of the secretarial department because of Qiao Hua.

Was Qiao Hua the reason Gu Wenze wanted to get rid of her?

Jiang Nan bit a deep mark into her lip, her fingertips involuntarily digging into her palms.

No. She couldn't let that happen. She had to pick up the pace.

It was already past midnight when the business banquet ended. Stars studded the pitch-black sky, and only a few people remained on the quiet streets.

Yan Yu drove Qiao Hua back to the villa. After parking, he turned to her. "Qiao Hua, thank you for being my date tonight."

Qiao Hua rubbed her belly, rounded from all the food she had eaten. "I should be thanking you. If another opportunity this good comes along, remember to invite me."

The warmth in Yan Yu's eyes deepened. "I certainly will."

Qiao Hua got out and watched Yan Yu drive away. Then she turned back to the villa and entered the code to open the door.

The house was dark and quiet. It looked as though Gu Wenze hadn't come home yet.

Qiao Hua secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Just as she was about to head upstairs, she heard a click. A moment later, the villa flooded with light.

Gu Wenze stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows, watching her expressionlessly.

Qiao Hua instinctively touched her chest. "Why didn't you turn on the lights if you were home? Were you trying to scare someone to death?"

Gu Wenze stared intently at her face. "I told you to quit working for him. Have you resigned?"

Qiao Hua played dumb. "Resign? What are you talking about?"

Gu Wenze's brows shifted slightly. "Didn't you get my text?"

"You sent me a text?" Qiao Hua feigned surprise and pulled her phone from her bag. "Oh, my phone ran out of battery. Maybe that's why I didn't see it."

No sooner had she spoken than Gu Wenze snatched the phone from her hand. He turned on the screen and saw that the battery was full.

He narrowed his eyes, giving Qiao Hua an icy look. "This is what you call running out of battery?"

Caught red-handed, Qiao Hua showed no embarrassment. "Then maybe I had it on silent and didn't hear the notification."

Of course Gu Wenze could tell that Qiao Hua was deliberately stalling. He advanced on her, radiating an overwhelming pressure, until he had backed her into a corner.

"Qiao Hua, do you really think I wouldn't dare do anything to you?"

Seeing that Qiao Hua remained silent, determined to bluff her way through, Gu Wenze said coldly, "Since you won't resign, I'll do it for you."

Realizing what he intended, Qiao Hua hurriedly reached for the phone. "Hey, give that back!"

Gu Wenze raised his arm out of her reach, typed a text, and sent it.

Qiao Hua saw the message and instinctively tried to stop him, but Gu Wenze pressed send before she could.

Not long after the message went through, the phone rang.

Yan Yu's name flashed repeatedly on the screen.

Gu Wenze's eyes instantly darkened. He said mockingly, "He really does worry about you. The moment he hears you're resigning, he calls."

"I'm his employee. Isn't it normal for him to care?"

Qiao Hua couldn't be bothered to argue with him and reached for her phone. Instead, Gu Wenze caught both her hands and pinned her against the wall.

"Hey, you!"

Ignoring Qiao Hua's struggles, Gu Wenze answered the call.

Yan Yu's grave voice came from the other end. "Qiao Hua, I received your resignation text. May I ask why?"

Gu Wenze spoke in a low voice. "She can quit if she wants to. Why does she need a reason?"

"President Gu?" Yan Yu recognized Gu Wenze's voice, and his tone grew heavier. "Were you the one who sent that resignation text?"

Gu Wenze said flatly, "Is there a problem?"

Yan Yu dropped his usual gentle manner and asked seriously, "Does Qiao Hua want to resign, or do you want her to resign?"

Gu Wenze curled his lips. "Is there a difference? She and I are one. What I want is what she wants."

Qiao Hua tried to speak, but Gu Wenze covered her mouth. All she could manage were muffled sounds.

That bastard!

Yan Yu laughed. "Of course there's a difference. Your wishes are yours. As long as Qiao Hua doesn't want to quit, I won't accept that resignation text."

Gu Wenze's gaze darkened. "Then it's what she wants."

Yan Yu said pointedly, "If that's what Qiao Hua wants, she's my employee, and I hope she'll speak to me herself about anything concerning her, even her resignation."

Gu Wenze glanced at Qiao Hua in front of him. She hadn't removed her makeup yet and looked alluringly beautiful. She was glaring at him, her eyes glistening like spring water, as though tiny hooks were teasing his heart.

"I'm her husband. I have the right to resign on her behalf," Gu Wenze said curtly. "Whether you accept it or not, she won't be going back to work at your company."

Qiao Hua finally managed to break free of Gu Wenze's palm and shouted toward the phone, "President Yan, don't listen to him! I'll definitely come in tomorrow..."

A vein throbbed at Gu Wenze's temple. The tenderness that had only just stirred in him vanished at those words. Before Qiao Hua could finish, he hung up and hurled the phone against the wall. "Shut up!"

The phone's screen shattered, and it switched off on impact.

Qiao Hua immediately shoved Gu Wenze away and ran to pick up her phone. Never mind making a call; it wouldn't even turn on.

She turned and glared at Gu Wenze indignantly. "Are you out of your mind?"

Gu Wenze's words carried an undisguised threat. "Qiao Hua, just try going there tomorrow!"

"I will! You think I'm scared of you?"

With that, Qiao Hua stormed upstairs with her phone, too furious to bother with that lunatic.

She thought that, at worst, she could go to the office tomorrow and explain everything to Yan Yu.

Qiao Hua was so busy cursing Gu Wenze inwardly that she didn't notice the deep, dark gaze of the man behind her. Like a lion lurking in the shadows, he was poised to strike.

The next morning, Qiao Hua got up early. She quickly got ready, planning to go to the office and explain what had happened the night before to Yan Yu.

Just as she reached the door, the nanny stopped her.

"Madam, President Gu instructed you to stay home today. You're not allowed to go anywhere."