Trying Something Different Today?

I hurried inside with the food carrier.

He said nothing, merely looking through the documents in his hands, while I stood beside him, unsure how to begin.

For a while, the only sounds in the office were the rustle of his documents and the occasional scratch of his pen.

He hadn't told me to sit, and I didn't even dare sit down. I felt awkward. The courage I'd mustered while reassuring myself outside the door had already run out. Now I only wanted to leave as quickly as possible.

I set down the food carrier and was just about to speak.

His gaze left the documents in his hands, and he looked at me with a faint, ambiguous smile. "What? Trying something different today? How much are you borrowing this time? Has it gone up again? Twenty million? Thirty million? Or fifty million?"

"Can't you speak to me properly?" I felt aggrieved, but didn't dare lose my temper.

"Do you deserve to have me speak to you properly?"

"I only came to bring you lunch today. I'm not..."

Before I could finish, someone pushed open his office door. "Brother Hansheng, we can go... Huh? Sister Yu Han, you're here?"

It was Shen Nian. She came in carrying some ingredients and paused when she saw me.

At the sight of Shen Nian, Gu Hansheng's expression warmed a little, and his voice softened too. "Didn't I tell you not to go shopping yourself?"

"It's only a few groceries. It's fine. Besides, I don't trust anyone else to buy them. I'm afraid they won't know how to choose the ingredients." Shen Nian glanced at me. "After all, I'm cooking myself. I have to make sure Brother Hansheng enjoys his meal."

A hint of a smile appeared on Gu Hansheng's face.

It had been so long since he'd smiled at me.

When he was with me, he was either arguing with me or wearing a cold expression.

I headed outside. "I'll leave, then."

Shen Nian glanced at the food carrier I'd brought. "Did you come to bring lunch, Sister Yu Han?"

Then she glanced at Gu Hansheng before looking down at the ingredients in her hands. "Then I suppose these ingredients won't be needed today."

Without looking up, Gu Hansheng continued leafing through his documents and said gently, "They will."

Shen Nian set down her things and opened the food carrier I'd brought. "What did you bring, Sister Yu Han? Why don't you have a taste first, Brother Hansheng?"

Gu Hansheng glanced at the open food carrier, his gaze lingering for a second.

Shen Nian said in surprise, "I never thought you'd know how to make snacks like these, Sister Yu Han! I thought you were a rich young lady whose ten fingers had never touched dishwater!"

"I made them with the housekeeper."

"With her? Hah..." Gu Hansheng gave a cold snort.

My face burned.

Shen Nian looked at Gu Hansheng. "Can I try some?"

Gu Hansheng stared at me coldly, but his words were directed at Shen Nian. "Be good. Don't eat something that'll upset your stomach."

My heart ached uncontrollably, and my hands and feet felt a little weak.

What was wrong with me, coming here just to invite humiliation? I packed up the food carrier. "I'll leave you to it. I'm going."

Shen Nian's voice came from behind me. "Brother Hansheng, when are we going home?"

"Right away."

Home. Yes, to him, only a home with Shen Nian in it was truly home.

I fled his company as though escaping.

Once outside, I got into the car. My hands were still trembling slightly around the food carrier.

So he didn't like me. If he didn't, then so be it!

Romantic entanglements would only slow down my money-making!

I looked down at the food carrier. What was I supposed to tell Auntie Zhang when I got back?

Should I throw it away? No, I couldn't waste food.

I returned to the villa, and Auntie Zhang saw that I'd brought the food carrier back.

Afraid she'd worry, I said sheepishly, "Well, he wasn't in his office. I went there for nothing."

Auntie Zhang looked at me for a few seconds without saying anything. She put the food carrier in the fridge. "Then you can eat it tonight if you're hungry."

I murmured an acknowledgment and went back to my room.

I no longer had any thoughts of starting my own business. I would just buckle down and find a job.

I opened a recruitment website. There were plenty of listings, but for the moment, I couldn't tell which job would suit me.

I called An'an, and after we discussed it, she felt that supermarket promoter, sales, customer service, clerical work, and restaurant server were all jobs without particularly high barriers to entry.

I was eager to give them a try.

On the other end of the phone, An'an hemmed and hawed, as though she had something to say.

"If you have something to say, just say it."

"Hanhan, I think, apart from office and clerical work, the others might be... Never mind. Why don't you try them all?"

"Just tell me."

An'an paused. "Apart from clerical work, those other positions are all in the service industry. If you run into unreasonable customers, you might have to put up with mistreatment.

"I'm afraid you won't be able to take it. After all..."

She didn't finish, but I knew she was worried about me. I gave a bitter smile. "Things have already come to this for me. Would I still care about being mistreated?

"Could customers possibly put me through more than I've already endured lately?"

An'an fell silent for a moment. "I'm sorry, I..."

"There's no need for apologies between us. I'll take your advice and try applying for clerical jobs first. Maybe I'll get hired and won't have to apply for anything else."

After sending out a few résumés, I washed up and went to bed.

I'd thought that when I woke up, even if I hadn't heard back from all of them, I'd at least have a few replies. But when I woke, I hadn't landed a single job.

Not one had even invited me for an interview.

I stared at my empty inbox, puzzled for a moment. I... couldn't I even get hired as a clerk?