Chapter 21: Jealousy

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◎ Invincibility Is So Lonely ◎

Cen Mo took a few steps before spotting Su Xingzhi.

The man stood not far away, dressed in athletic wear—a black sports jacket paired with shorts, underneath which were compression leggings of the same color. His legs were long and straight. This time, his black baseball cap was worn higher, revealing his handsome features. His eyes were fixed on her, his expression tinged with subtlety.

“President Su, out for a workout?” She didn’t overthink it and greeted him as she approached.

“Hm.” As usual, he responded with a faint sound. Su Xingzhi glanced at her. “Where are you headed?”

“Me?” She was still muddled from her tussle with the big goose and momentarily forgot why she had come out or where she was going.

After a moment’s reflection, she said, “Just taking a walk, heading back soon.”

“Not eating?” Su Xingzhi asked again, naturally turning to walk alongside her.

“Eating? Yes, I should eat.” His mention made Cen Mo realize she was somewhat hungry. She had just been wandering aimlessly with no clear purpose.

She changed her mind, stopping to look around. When she came yesterday, she recalled seeing the resort’s restaurant not far ahead.

Beside her, the man murmured, “What do you want to eat? Iron pot stewed goose?”

“You saw that?” Cen Mo suddenly turned, a bit startled.

When she had been fighting the goose, she was certain no one was around. The whole ordeal lasted about fifteen minutes—who would bother to stop and watch?

Yet here stood a bored onlooker, calmly watching her.

Most girls would be mortified if someone saw them acting fierce and unruly like that. But Cen Mo wasn’t like that. Since she’d dared to battle that arrogant goose to the death, she naturally didn’t care much about her image.

Besides, this was a common rural occurrence. After being chased and bitten by geese countless times, who hadn’t fought a few battles?

“Alright then.” She sighed and let it go, treating it as a free performance for someone.

Still, she felt the need to explain so she wouldn’t be accused of bullying the weak: “I didn’t pick the fight with that goose; it chased me first. I was just defending myself.”

“I know, it chased you first.” Su Xingzhi nodded, his expression unchanged. “That goose looks fierce.”

Fierce? Yes, it was, but compared to the girl beside him, it seemed much gentler...

With that, they resumed walking.

The weather had been gloomy since early morning, with a persistent grayness. A gust of wind blew, and Cen Mo instinctively hugged herself.

Though they quickened their pace, soon fine raindrops began to fall with no warning, as if someone had suddenly turned on a showerhead.

The area was open with no shelter. Su Xingzhi casually took off his jacket and held it over Cen Mo’s head, shouting, “Run a few steps, the restaurant’s ahead!”

His broad jacket shielded many raindrops. Cen Mo, not wanting to waste his kindness, said nothing and followed him for a few steps, though feeling awkward.

Their height difference meant the jacket didn’t fit perfectly, practically covering her head and blocking her view of the path ahead.

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With that covering them, neither could run fast—it was more of a burden. It was just rain; she wasn’t that delicate.

Thinking this, she reached out and lifted the jacket away, wiped the rain from her eyes, and said to him, “The rain’s not heavy yet. Let’s run, don’t cover me!”

Without hesitation, she dashed forward at a remarkable speed.

Su Xingzhi draped the jacket over his shoulder and squinted at the woman ahead, running like a rabbit. He doubted his ears—had his secretary just complained he was too slow?

Cen Mo hadn’t thought much; she just wanted to reach the restaurant before getting drenched.

After a few steps, she heard footsteps behind—Su Xingzhi was catching up. His strides were long, and soon he was beside her. He raised his hand, took off his cap, and placed it on her head.

The restaurant was faintly visible ahead. They hurried onward and finally dashed inside just before the downpour.

The restaurant was nearly empty, creating a quiet atmosphere. Cen Mo took off her cap and found a seat.

Luckily, she had run fast enough to stay mostly dry. Her hair was fine, except the small braid at the back was slightly crooked, so she casually removed the hair tie.

Across from her, droplets clung to Su Xingzhi’s forehead. Cen Mo pulled out a tissue and offered it to him. He was holding his jacket, draping it over the chair back, so he didn’t take it immediately.

Seeing the raindrops about to drip into his eyes, she stood and leaned forward, pressing the tissue gently to his forehead.

His movement paused, and he looked up at her.

Under his steady gaze, Cen Mo suddenly realized what she’d done and felt a pang of regret.

Probably from tutoring Xu Lang for so long, wiping a child’s face had become second nature. Seeing water on Su Xingzhi’s face, she had instinctively reached out without thinking who he was.

A grown man likely wouldn’t appreciate someone touching him so casually, even through a tissue.

His forehead was firm, and the warm moisture seeped through the tissue. Cen Mo’s fingers hesitated for two seconds before she pulled back and sat down again.

The tissue, dampened, clung lightly to his forehead, fluttering softly.

The scene grew awkward.

After a moment, Su Xingzhi slowly reached out and removed the tissue. “Thank you.”

“No need, no need,” Cen Mo replied, feeling slightly guilty. As the saying goes, no good deed goes unpunished. She had merely stuck a piece of tissue on his forehead...

To make amends, she stood and said, “I’ll get the food.”

Meals at the resort’s restaurant were included in the lodging fee, so food was free and self-serve.

Cen Mo grabbed two plates from the sterilizer, then went to the counter to get some buns and staple foods. After preparing lunchboxes for so long, she roughly knew Su Xingzhi’s tastes and didn’t bother asking him.

He seemed to dislike greasy food—whether meat or vegetables—preferring lighter flavors with minimal seasoning. So she picked cold dishes of cucumber and broccoli dressed only with vinegar and sesame oil, plus two bowls of sticky red date eight-treasure porridge.

After gathering the food, she noticed a milk tea stand nearby and asked if it was open in the morning.

Though drinking milk tea so early was unusual, what girl could resist? She decisively ordered a warm cup of blood glutinous rice milk tea with pearls, deliberately without ice.

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Taking two sips, the flavor was authentic—no artificial fragrance, just milk, black tea, and sugar. The pearls were chewy but not overly sweet, pleasantly mild.

Cen Mo hesitated, intending to get one for Su Xingzhi as well, but eventually held back.

Back at the table, Su Xingzhi was warming cups with hot water, delicately swirling the water to heat every corner before pouring it out and moving to the next.

Cen Mo found his meticulousness amusing. Most men would be careless about such things, using whatever was available without concern. Clearly, Su Xingzhi was a neat freak.

Cen Mo herself had mild cleanliness tendencies. After touching that goose, she had washed her hands twice in the restaurant restroom until satisfied, her hands still sore from scrubbing hard.

“What are you drinking?” Su Xingzhi asked, having finished warming the cups and looking at her.

“Milk tea, quite good, not too sweet,” Cen Mo replied, chewing a pearl.

“Why didn’t you get me one?” Su Xingzhi glanced at the food on the table; she had gotten double portions of everything but not the milk tea.

“Well...” Cen Mo looked down at the cup and turned it to show him the cartoon design on the front. “You don’t like these.”

“….”

When would this joke ever end? Su Xingzhi rubbed his forehead; the secretary held grudges quite well.

Having said it casually, Cen Mo felt a bit petty. She had already teased him about this in the car earlier and thought it best to wait before bringing it up again; otherwise, it would seem unfair.

Now that they were away from the office, she felt more relaxed. She was always serious about work and kept professional and private matters well separated.

At work, Su Xingzhi was her boss and her superior, so she would never speak in such a casual tone. But now it was different.

Su Xingzhi liked this relaxed side of her—it looked natural and approachable. Sitting together, they could chat casually over a meal.

After Cen Mo finished her milk tea, he picked up his chopsticks and began eating the buns in small bites, a faint smile appearing on his face.

No matter how cool and handsome a girl was, she probably couldn’t resist sweets.

Cen Mo was somewhat distracted. After finishing a bun, she glanced out the window and clicked her tongue softly.

“What is it?” Su Xingzhi asked.

She nodded toward the window. “Look at that silly goose. It actually knows how to avoid the rain.”

Following her gaze, Su Xingzhi saw a pure white goose lying beneath a canopy outside. Its orange beak was tucked under its wing, sheltering from the rain.

Perhaps noticing their gaze, the goose shook its body, stood up unsteadily, and waddled to the other side of the shelter. There, it was partially hidden behind a pile of firewood, only a bit of white feathers visible.