TGSS - Chapter 37

Chapter 37: The Truth

The next morning Chu He was woken up when Liang Zhouyi yanked the blanket off her with force. She had slept well all night and, for once, did not wake up irritable. Still groggy, she fumbled for her phone to check the time. It was still early. Chu He yawned, rubbed her hair, and climbed out of bed with bleary eyes. A faint, lingering fragrance drifted through the apartment.

"What delicious thing are you making?" The smell of food chased away Chu He's sleepiness. Her long hair loose and without her glasses, she looked lazy and at ease. She swayed toward the kitchen doorway, following the aroma, and turned back to ask Liang Zhouyi curiously.

Liang Zhouyi, wearing an apron, reached out from behind and nudged her aside a little, as if she found her in the way.

"Tell me, why are you such a good cook? You should be a kitchen disaster like me," Chu He said, sticking to Liang Zhouyi like an animal that could not be shooed away. She leaned her head against Liang Zhouyi's shoulder, squinted at what she was cooking, and sounded rather indignant. Chu He had a strange persistence about cooking, perhaps because she was neither naturally talented nor able to improve much through effort.

Liang Zhouyi turned off the heat and said with an amused smile, "Who says I have to be like you?"

What kind of logic was that? Chu He had no idea what she was basing that on. She could not have just looked at her face and decided she was also a kitchen killer the way she used to do.

Chu He did not want to explain and just muttered, "I just know."

Amused by her matter-of-fact tone, Liang Zhouyi held the edge of the bowl and frowned slightly, but in the end she still offered an explanation. "If one day you would starve to death if you did not cook for yourself, you would realize there is no such thing as an incurable kitchen disaster in this world."

Although she did not know how Chu He had projected her own experience onto her and guessed correctly, she was not wrong. Liang Zhouyi really did not have any talent for cooking. In fact, her skills now were only passable. Liang Zhouyi always felt that Chu He was viewing her through some inexplicable filter.

Liang Zhouyi's words made Chu He pause, her head still resting on Liang Zhouyi's shoulder. She stiffened her neck and stood up straight, her expression tinged with regret. She knew Liang Zhouyi's life had probably not been easy, but she had not known it had reached the point where she would go hungry if she did not cook for herself. The blurry image of the middle-aged woman she had glimpsed long ago became clearer in her mind. Was she really as fragile and unreliable as Liang Zhouyi had described?

"Do not overthink it. My mother is just a woman who has been spoiled her whole life, indulged first by her parents, then by her husband, then by her children. I just did the things she could not do. It is not as tragic as you are imagining," Liang Zhouyi said as she scooped the snow-white noodles from the pot. She could not help noticing that Chu He had a full set of kitchen tools. Was this what they meant when they said a poor student has the most stationery?

She turned around and met Chu He's eyes, which looked both sad and distressed. Liang Zhouyi felt as if she had been scalded and looked down awkwardly, hurriedly urging Chu He to go wash up.

Liang Zhouyi had made a simple bowl of hot oil shredded pork noodles with the few ingredients left in Chu He's refrigerator, but Chu He still ate it with great enthusiasm. She ate quickly yet maintained elegant table manners. Even when she used a spoon to drink the soup, she made no clattering sound, like a small cat eating silently. It made Liang Zhouyi's heart melt completely.

"Liang Zhouyi, what do you think about quitting our jobs and opening a breakfast shop? No, wait, I cannot get up early for breakfast. A late night snack stall then," Chu He said excitedly, lifting her face. At the thought of some amusing scene, her whole face lit up with a smile.

"A restaurant with only you as a customer would bankrupt me," Liang Zhouyi said, admiring her wild imagination. She had not eaten much herself, since she was not in the habit of eating breakfast and had little appetite. But watching Chu He eat like that gave her a satisfied feeling of fullness. She said lightly, "If you really like it that much, just do not get sick of it later and find you cannot take another bite."

The half joking remark almost made Chu He choke on her soup. She narrowed her eyes and said seriously, "I will not. I will eat and cherish every bite."

After saying that, Chu He noticed Liang Zhouyi's expression seemed to freeze for a moment. She realized she might have said the wrong thing and quickly tried to make up for it. "What I mean is, when our great photographer gets busy in the future, where will she find time to cook for me? I have to cherish it while I can, right?"

Liang Zhouyi stopped what she was doing. Being called great photographer made her eyes sting with heat. She took a deep breath and said firmly, "I will always have time. Your matters will always come first."

"Then I am honored," Chu He said, deliberately turning Liang Zhouyi's words into a joke. She looked away, smiling without speaking. The atmosphere was warm, yet an undercurrent quietly surged beneath it.

On their first day living together, Chu He found everything agreeable. She still carried a soft, lingering gentleness and was in a good mood as she put on light, elegant makeup. She looked as fresh as a recent graduate, wearing a wool jacquard shawl. She stretched lazily and saw that Liang Zhouyi was already waiting for her in the entryway before she strode over on long legs. The relaxed joy between her brows made her look nothing like someone heading to work.

Chu He's cheerful mood infected Liang Zhouyi as well, dispelling a trace of fatigue from her. She did not tell Chu He that she still had not slept well all night, even less soundly than when she slept beside Chu He.

"Is your injury better?" Chu He only asked about it once they were at the company. But when she leaned in, Liang Zhouyi quickly stepped back to dodge her, as if Chu He were some kind of flood or beast. Chu He tilted her head to look at her, stung by the movement, and felt a subtle discomfort in her heart.

"Do you not know what they are all saying? They say you accompanied me on the business trip because you like me, and that once we got there we just played around and ignored the real work. So the whole project going wrong is both our fault," Liang Zhouyi said, pinching the hem of her clothes. Her face paled a few shades, but she still explained calmly.

Seeing how she was trying to avoid her at all costs, Chu He let out a scoff. "So what, we should immediately keep our distance? Do not make it sound like you are some femme fatale. A rumor is called a rumor precisely because it is hard to tell true from false. But justice lives in people's hearts. I would not say the proposal I made for Wen Xiaoying used everything I have ever learned in my life, but it lives up to my position and the salary I am paid. What exactly are you afraid of?"

Chu He's words carried absolute firmness and confidence. Liang Zhouyi stared at her with her mouth slightly open, stunned. This Chu He was so familiar it startled her, just like seeing herself back in university, when she had not cared at all about gossip and rumors, equally sharp and unyielding, preferring to break than bend.

While Liang Zhouyi was dazed, Chu He had already reached out and lifted her collar to take a careful look. On her fair neck there was only a faint red mark. It looked like there was nothing seriously wrong, and only then did she feel at ease, though her impression of Wen Xiaoying worsened a little more.

"But..." Liang Zhouyi grabbed her wrist and tried to pull her hand away, but when she met Chu He's sharp, penetrating eyes, the rest of her words suddenly would not come out.

"There is no but. Although I do not know what you are worried about, as long as I am here, you do not need to worry about anything," Chu He said, hooking her lips into a gentle smile as she tidied Liang Zhouyi's collar and patted her shoulder before looking up with satisfaction. Those eyes, bright as stars, illuminated a damp, shadowed corner inside Liang Zhouyi, and some stubborn wound began to quietly heal without her noticing when it had started.

"Well, President Chu is here," said Zheng Xinyan, her pretty face dark. She had wanted to pretend she had not seen Chu He, but watching the two of them get affectionate right inside the company, she finally could not hold back.

Beside Zheng Xinyan was Wen Xiaoying, wearing a mask that left only her eyes visible. When she caught sight of Liang Zhouyi, her gaze turned abruptly cold. She looked as if she wanted to flare up, but because the occasion was not suitable, she forcibly suppressed her anger until the cheek that had been hit the day before began to tingle again. She barely held back her fury and turned to greet Chu He, acting as if Liang Zhouyi did not exist at all.

"Morning, Chu He. My matter has caused you a lot of trouble. You have really worked hard these past few days. How about this, when everything is over, I will treat you to dinner. You cannot refuse me this time."

Sometimes even Liang Zhouyi could not help admiring Wen Xiaoying's ability to control her emotions, or rather, her ability to be so hypocritical, hating someone to death yet still able to put on her innocent act as if nothing had happened.

Chu He glanced at Zheng Xinyan, who was watching intently and waiting for her answer, and immediately laughed. "Sure."

As if she had never expected Chu He to agree, Liang Zhouyi's lips straightened in an instant, her fingers curling and digging into her palm.

"Let us go," Zheng Xinyan said, showing Chu He no courtesy. She tugged at Wen Xiaoying and said disdainfully, "Xiaoying, what time is it and you are still thinking about romance? Do not learn from certain people who lose their minds when they fall in love and will fall for anyone at all."

The innuendo was too obvious. Chu He's gaze shifted to Zheng Xinyan and she shot back sarcastically, "Right. I wonder who the real love struck fool is, pestering someone relentlessly just to be humiliated."

Chu He's words were so aggressive that both Zheng Xinyan and Wen Xiaoying felt their scalps prickle and the corners of their eyes twitch. Liang Zhouyi silently closed her eyes. Chu He and her sharp tongue really did not need to fear any rumors, because she would snap back at every single one.

Zheng Xinyan looked like a fan who had turned anti fan and come back to trample her idol. She let out an incredulous laugh. "President Chu, I misjudged you. I thought with your work ability and your rationality you would not make this kind of mistake, but for someone like Liang Zhouyi..."

Liang Zhouyi could not help clenching her hands into fists. Sure enough, the damage of rumors was always there.

Chu He's eyes turned completely cold. She just lightly smoothed the shawl on her shoulders and gave Zheng Xinyan a disdainful look, her phoenix eyes sharp. "And what kind of person are you? Someone who secretly took photos of me in S City and sent them to Liang Zhouyi, a petty person who only knows how to scheme behind people's backs?"

Zheng Xinyan froze. Chu He had never spoken to her so harshly before. Her heart suddenly ached. Just for Liang Zhouyi, a plain, unremarkable woman with no redeeming qualities at all?

Chu He turned and walked away, not caring about her tottering, wounded expression. Her politeness and courtesy had always been a disguise, a mask worn from years of navigating the business world. There was no reason to save face for someone who had crossed her bottom line.

When Liang Zhouyi passed through the aisle between workstations, the originally lively atmosphere suddenly fell silent. No one dared to say anything in front of Chu He, but malicious and speculative gazes still landed on Liang Zhouyi, one of them especially conspicuous.

Locking onto the source of that gaze, Chu He spoke in a casual tone, just loud enough for everyone to hear, "Zhou Yi, I heard that internet celebrity Liu Ziyu's company has a business manager who is quite capable. What was her name again? Is it Xie Rongrong?"

The name made Sen Sen feel as if he had fallen into an ice cellar. He could not catch his breath, and panic surged from the soles of his feet to his nose like a tide. In that instant he could not control his expression at all, his eyes revealing extreme terror. It took several seconds before he barely managed to hide his emotions and avoid Chu He's gaze, but his body still swayed unsteadily.

Good. A smile flickered across Chu He's narrow phoenix eyes. It really was him.

Before Liang Zhouyi could speak, other colleagues eagerly chimed in, "President Chu, your information is a bit outdated. That business manager is capable enough, but the kickback scandal at her last company two years ago caused a huge uproar. I do not know where she got the nerve to take such a large rebate..."

"Yeah. Everyone in the industry has heard about it. Speaking of which, that unlucky company seems to have been Xiaoying's last company, right?"

"Hey! Now that you mention it, that does seem right..."

The topic was gradually led astray by Chu He's single sentence, and a heated discussion about Xie Rongrong spread. No one noticed Sen Sen's abnormality, and the air filled with gossip. The smarter ones had already caught on. After all, Chu He was not someone who spoke without purpose.

Liang Zhouyi caught the despair in Sen Sen's eyes and exchanged a look with Chu He. Could this business manager's matter also be related to Wen Xiaoying? Then what role had Wen Xiaoying played in the whole affair?

Chu He raised her eyebrows at her, her eyes reassuring. Since Liang Zhouyi was afraid of rumors, she would resolve this matter sooner rather than later.

"President Chu, they are here," Xu Lu said, running over from Chu He's office, sweating profusely. "President Qin wants you both to go over together."

Chu He casually hung her expensive bag on the back of Liang Zhouyi's chair and turned her head to look at Sen Sen. "Come on, are you not coming with us?"

"I... what would I go for? President Chu, what are you talking about? I have not offended you, have I? My attitude toward Liang Zhouyi may have been a bit bad at times before, but you do not need to target me like this, do you?" Sen Sen's tone shifted quickly from guilty to angry, and he did not forget to take a jab at Liang Zhouyi.

"Oh, do you really need me to spell it out so clearly?" Chu He looked quite helpless. She leaned against the workstation and glanced at those who had already quietly sat down after sensing something was off. Her tone was gentle with a chill underneath. "If the culprit does not go, would it not be boring for just us to go?"

"Don't fucking slander me!" Sen Sen was provoked by her words and took two steps forward. His hand clenched into a fist and lifted involuntarily, his brows full of fear and forced composure. "President Chu, I get it. Because Liang Zhouyi made a mistake at work, you want to protect her, so you found a scapegoat to take the fall, and I am that unlucky guy, right? We call you President Chu out of politeness, do not think you can really run the whole company by yourself!"

Sen Sen now acted like a pitiful person who had been wronged. His words sounded forceful and resounding. A few people who had been criticized by Chu He before and disliked her began to whisper among themselves, looking at Chu He with strange expressions.

"I am talking to you about business, and you insist on dragging in personal matters?" Chu He sneered. "If you feel so wronged, go tell it to the police."

"Police?" Everyone broke into an uproar, and Sen Sen trembled, his hand frozen in place.

"Why are you all so surprised?" Chu He shook out her shawl and stood up straight. "You did not naively think the company would just brush this off, did you?"

Was that not how it was? Similar things had happened before, though perhaps not as serious as this time. Companies often suppressed such matters for the sake of reputation, firing the employee and imposing a fine. Bringing in the police made it an entirely different matter.

Chu He was too lazy to waste more words and was the first to follow the somewhat bewildered Xu Lu. She said with a smile, her brows arched, "Since we came to find you, it means we have evidence. Come with us."

Sen Sen's knees went weak. He forced himself to keep up with Chu He, still holding onto a sliver of fantasy. He had done it so cleanly, he should not have been found out. Perhaps Chu He was just bluffing him?

But she had already traced it to Xie Rongrong. How much did they actually know? The feeling of complete uncertainty hung over him like a knife suspended high above, and his heart felt as if it were being gnawed by countless tiny insects. Under extreme panic, he even felt a wave of nausea rising.

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