“He who walks by the river will inevitably get his shoes wet.”
From then on, Tong An'an would leave work with Jiang Jingyu every morning and evening, eat lunch at his office, and nap together. Over time, people were bound to notice something unusual.
One day, someone in the department was celebrating their birthday and invited everyone to dinner. Tong An'an usually didn’t participate in office gatherings, feeling she was already an exception. If she didn’t attend a birthday celebration, she would appear unsociable. Therefore, she informed Jiang Jingyu in advance that she wouldn't be leaving with him that evening and would be back late.
Jiang Jingyu had grown accustomed to seeing her several times a day. Today, being alone felt quite disappointing. He playfully pestered Tong An'an to come to his office after work for a hug and kiss before leaving. Tong An'an agreed, but as work neared its end, her supervisor asked her to translate some documents, leaving her no time. She ended up delaying her departure.
Ten minutes after closing time, she still hadn't finished. Everyone was waiting, discussing their evening plans when Tong An'an received a call from Jiang Jingyu. Of course, she didn't dare answer it in front of her colleagues. After hanging up, she texted him an explanation, adding that she might be out very late as they were discussing going to karaoke.
Jiang Jingyu was even more reluctant. "I'm in the car right now. Come find me immediately, or I won't let you go out tonight."
Tong An'an had no choice but to make an excuse about going to the restroom, telling her colleagues to go ahead and that she'd join them later. She quietly left the floor. She quickly ran to the underground parking lot, found his car, and darted into the passenger seat. They looked at each other, and Jiang Jingyu eagerly pulled her into his arms.
“Why are you so busy? Busier than me, the CEO. You can’t even rest during your off-hours. It’s so annoying.”
Tong An’an caressed his chest. "I'm already quite a homebody, I don't socialize. It's just a rare occasion, please be understanding."
"Fine, I'll be understanding and let you go, but you have to promise me you won't drink."
"I don't drink at all, don't worry."
"It's precisely because you don't drink that I'm afraid to let you. What if you embarrass yourself... Call me before you come back, and I'll pick you up."
Tong An'an said, "I don't know how late it will go. I can just take a taxi myself."
"No, if it's too late, I won't be at ease with you alone."
Tong An'an felt quite embarrassed, having to trouble him. But Jiang Jingyu said, "When else should a boyfriend be useful if not now? You're always so polite with me, do you not even consider me your boyfriend?"
“How could I not? I’m just worried about you. I’ll call you, okay?”
They held each other affectionately, exchanging tender words. Tong An'an checked the time; five minutes had passed. She guessed everyone had already left. She quickly said goodbye to Jiang Jingyu. Reluctantly, she got out of his car and ran out of the basement, only to be seen by two female colleagues who had come down to drive.
“Did I just see wrong? Was that Tong An'an getting out of that car?”
“Your eyes aren’t playing tricks, I saw it too. But isn’t that CEO Jiang’s car?”
Everyone knew the CEO’s parking spot. Coupled with his flashy license plate and car emblem, the two colleagues exchanged a look and immediately understood.
“Tong An’an, this woman, is something else. She seems low-key, never fighting for anything, but unexpectedly scheming behind the scenes to latch onto the CEO!”
“CEO Jiang’s eyes must be blind. There are so many beauties in the company, why would he pick someone so unremarkable!”
However, they hadn't taken any photos and didn't dare to spread rumors. They decided to observe further. During the evening gathering, the two sat next to Tong An'an and deliberately tried to pry, asking if she had a boyfriend. Tong An'an shyly admitted she did, and they asked who it was.
“How come we’ve never heard you mention him? And we’ve never seen him pick you up or drop you off?”
“We just started dating not long ago. Besides, he’s busy too.”
“Really? What does your boyfriend do that keeps him so busy?”
Seeing Tong An'an’s reluctance to elaborate, Anna felt her colleagues were being excessive, prying into personal matters. She interrupted and pulled Tong An'an aside. During the meal, the two deliberately urged her to drink. Tong An'an refused. Someone advised her, "Everyone is drinking, and you're the only one not. Aren't you disrespecting the birthday person?"
Tong An'an replied, "I've never drunk alcohol my entire life, I truly have no tolerance."
"As a salesperson, how can you not drink at all? What if you need to interact with clients in the future? This won't do. Have at least a little."
This time, Anna didn't defend her, feeling her colleagues had a point. "If you can't drink much, drink a little. Just have some, don't spoil everyone's fun."
Tong An'an ended up drinking a glass of baijiu, a glass of red wine, and later at the karaoke bar, quite a bit of beer, leaving her completely dizzy. Everyone was singing and dancing merrily. She kept checking the time, eager to leave. Around ten o'clock, Tong An'an felt she had fulfilled her social obligation for the day. She quietly texted Jiang Jingyu and then said goodbye to everyone.
The two colleagues, wanting to catch her, readily agreed. “How are you getting back? Will you take a taxi or have your boyfriend pick you up?”
“I’ll take a taxi,” Tong An'an lied. “I’m leaving now. Thank you everyone, see you tomorrow.”
She went to the roadside to wait for a taxi. As soon as she left, the two colleagues rushed to tell everyone what they had seen in the underground parking lot. The reactions of the others were similar to theirs.
“Impossible? Someone like Tong An’an could latch onto CEO Jiang?”
“We’ll find out if we go out and look. After all, she has some appeal, just young. Who wouldn't accept a freebie? Let’s see where she’s going.”
The group stealthily hid by the karaoke entrance. After a while, a shiny black car pulled up to the curb. Then, Jiang Jingyu, dressed in casual loungewear, hurried out of the car and helped the swaying Tong An'an. As if serving a queen, he opened the passenger door and carried her inside.
Everyone was stunned. CEO Jiang himself came to pick her up, and he treated her so well! Oh my goodness! However, Anna still wasn't convinced. What if they were discussing serious matters? Or maybe there could be other relationships besides boyfriends and girlfriends?
“Don’t just spread rumors. If CEO Jiang finds out it’s not what it looks like, you'll all be in trouble.”
The group, suppressing their curiosity, decided to observe further and went to the company early the next day. As expected, someone had staked out the underground parking lot and saw her arriving at work with Jiang Jingyu. The two walked hand-in-hand into the elevator, solidifying the rumors.
A stream of photos entered the company’s administrative group chat. The news that Tong An'an, the seemingly pure but secretly seductive white lotus, had hooked up with CEO Jiang, spread throughout the entire company in an instant.