Chapter 4

He'd been busy putting Xu Yanshuang on one of his key projects to polish her résumé. Why would he have time for me?

Remembering that, I stood dutifully before his desk.

“Is there anything you need, Mr. Jiang? If not, I'd like to get back to work.”

His face darkened.

“Ye Nuonuo, don't you have something to explain?” he asked through clenched teeth.

I genuinely had no idea what I was meant to explain, so I shook my head.

He looked ready to choke on his own fury.

He abruptly stood, intending to pull me into his arms and kiss me fiercely, the way he used to, then ask if I remembered who my husband was.

But the moment he approached, before he could even lift a hand, I recoiled as though he'd come at me with teeth bared.

He froze. Hurt flickered in his eyes.

He closed them tightly.

“Ye Nuonuo, what's that supposed to mean?”

I gave an awkward laugh.

“Mr. Jiang, we're still keeping our marriage secret. Someone could come into your office at any moment. It wouldn't look good if they saw us. We should keep our distance.”

In fact, nobody entered his office freely. Even his most senior secretary had to call for permission first.

Xu Yanshuang was the sole exception.

He could tell I was making excuses. He was about to lose his temper when he remembered how I'd stood before him before, red-eyed and miserable.

His heart softened.

“Nuonuo,” he said suddenly. “Let's tell everyone.”

“No!”

The refusal escaped before I could stop it.

If he'd wanted to announce our marriage when I first joined the company, I would have been overjoyed.

Now I could only cringe.

If people found out we'd been secretly married for five years, I'd have to explain Sheng Xinghe. And then there would be the looks from my colleagues.

My work had struggled. My husband hadn't helped.

I'd been sexually harassed. My husband had ignored me.

Most importantly, instead of defending his actual wife, he'd taken the side of Xu Yanshuang, the old sweetheart he couldn't forget.

Just thinking about it made me want the floor to swallow me.

Besides, he and Xu Yanshuang had been a famous couple at school. Plenty of people knew their history and thought they belonged together.

There was even a little group at work devoted to shipping them, complete with daily updates.

Imagine all the hearts I'd break if I told the truth!

I repeated myself with absolute conviction.

“We are definitely not telling anyone!”

06

His eyes reddened with anger.

“Are you that determined to keep people from knowing I'm your husband?”

How was I supposed to explain the tangled lives of us lowly employees to a senior executive?

Exasperated, I said, “What good would it do? It would just get in the way of my work!”

“Work! What's wrong with you lately? Every time you open your mouth, it's work, work, work. Are you planning to spend the rest of your life with this job?”

His curse brought a delighted smile to my face.

With unemployment this high, a lifetime position at the Jiang Group sounded like winning the lottery: nine to six, weekends off, six types of insurance and a housing fund, paid overtime, triple pay on public holidays!

At the sight of my smile, he looked so furious he might black out. He seemed ready to strangle me.

With an effort, he held himself back and flung a hand toward the door.

“Get out!”

“Yes, sir!”

I turned on my heel.

No employee enjoyed running into the boss. I was no exception.

Back at my desk, I threw myself into work.

Helping on someone else's project was one thing. Running my own was another matter entirely.

I was swamped. After several nights of working late, I finally finished the proposal.

I stretched and began packing up to leave.

Then Qiao Xue appeared with a mysterious smile and pressed a box into my hands.

I looked up, puzzled.

“What's this?”

“Your birthday present, obviously!” She laughed and tapped my forehead. “Have you been so busy you've forgotten your own birthday?”

Of course I hadn't.

My parents used to tell me I was their most precious treasure, a gift from heaven. The day I was born was the happiest day of their lives.

Whatever happened, I must never forget my birthday.

I just couldn't celebrate with my colleagues.

What if they got carried away and suggested coming over?