Chapter 23: The Color of Her Eyes

The man’s wrist, adorned with her hair tie, was thrust right in front of her. In the dim light of the barbecue area, it looked almost surreal.

After a long pause, Cen Mo blinked slowly. She felt as if she were hallucinating—had she really gotten tipsy after just one can of beer? She should have eaten some peanuts first.

It wasn't that she was being pretentious, but such a scene was truly rare. When had CEO Su ever participated in a group activity? She had never seen it, especially not in a place like this, filled with thick smoke and the pungent scent of grilled food. Even for this company retreat, his attendance was unprecedented.

Yet, there he was, appearing right beside her in the middle of the night, wearing her hair tie on his wrist.

It was a childish gesture, reminiscent of a primary school student, but coming from him, it carried an inexplicable air of nobility and nonchalance. It was alluring, and quite romantic.

Cen Mo finally recalled that she hadn't lost her hair tie at all; Su Xingzhi had taken it when he let down her hair at the foot of the mountain earlier that day.

"Hurry up." The man moved his wrist forward again, his tone slightly impatient.

"Oh." Snapping out of her trance, she reached out, pulled the tie from his wrist, slipped it onto her own, and reached behind her head to tie up her hair.

Nearby, the Yachuang employees gathered around the tables had fallen silent.

Was it more shocking that Secretary Cen had styled her hair in such a cool way, or that the CEO had personally attended the dinner with her hair tie on his wrist?

For a moment, no one could quite tell. They all stared fixedly in their direction. Several young women had flushed faces, their eyes filled with the eager desire to ship a real-life couple.

After tying her hair, Cen Mo kept her hand up, pretending to smooth her hair while her mind raced. Being young herself, she was well aware of the popular trends in dating.

A few years ago, when this trend was at its peak, she would see boys on the street with colorful hair ties on their wrists, their blushing girlfriends tucked under their arms.

What did it mean for a man to wear a woman’s hair tie? She had looked it up online once, and the result was: "If he wears my hair tie, he’s mine."

The general idea was that if a girl gave her hair tie to the boy she liked, it signified that they were in a relationship—that he belonged to her.

It was a fairly innocent romantic gesture, usually popular among students. Cen Mo wasn't sure if Su Xingzhi knew the specific meaning of this trope or if it was just a coincidence.

She turned to look at the man, but he remained calm, unhurriedly pulling down his sleeves before glancing around the area.

Immediately, the various gazes directed their way vanished. People looked down at their plates or stood up and moved to other spots, consciously leaving space around the two of them.

Cen Mo felt even more helpless. She had already felt out of place, and now, it was even worse—she was completely isolated.

Su Xingzhi, however, seemed satisfied. He had been in a bad mood, and being surrounded by a crowd had only added to his irritation.

This was perfect. The faint scent of body wash from the little secretary drifted over, smelling fresh and washing away the choking smell of the barbecue smoke.

She must have just taken a shower.

Su Xingzhi didn't know what was wrong with him; he just hated seeing Cen Mo looking so lonely. In the midst of the lively dinner, even though she was sitting at the table, she felt as if she were in another dimension, completely shut out.

Everyone else was chatting and eating happily, while she just kept looking up and drinking.

***

It was a good thing he had come out to take a look.

"Do you like this food?" Su Xingzhi glanced at the woman beside him and stood up, moving to the seat opposite her so they were facing each other.

"It's alright." Cen Mo nodded. She wasn't picky about food; as long as it tasted good, it was fine.

Just then, someone brought over a plate of grilled meat skewers. Su Xingzhi nudged the plate toward her. "Then eat."

She didn't know if the hair tie incident had caused a misunderstanding, but Cen Mo faintly felt she could hear a hint of pampering in his tone.

The man leaned back against the table, his hair still slightly damp and falling softly over his forehead. He had unexpectedly worn a white T-shirt, giving him a casual, homey look that softened his usual imposing presence. He rested his arms lazily and watched her, his gaze direct.

"Why aren't you eating?" He raised an eyebrow and asked again.

Cen Mo lowered her head and took a bite of a skewer. It tasted quite good; the meat was tender and well-seasoned.

She ate one bite after another, her mind wandering, and before she knew it, she had finished three or four skewers, washing them down with two cans of beer because of the saltiness...

When she finally realized what she was doing and looked down, Cen Mo felt as if her stomach had grown a size.

Why did she eat so much late at night...

Nearby, the other colleagues were also eating quietly. It should have been a lively dinner, but it felt like a solemn meeting.

"CEO Su, I'm done eating." Cen Mo couldn't take it anymore and simply stood up.

Su Xingzhi followed suit. The two walked one after the other. The night was deep, the lights were fading, and in the quiet space, only the sound of their footsteps remained.

The man had his hands casually tucked into his pockets, walking at an unhurried pace beside her. Cen Mo endured it for a long time before turning to look at him. "CEO Su, may I ask you something?"

"What is it?" He stopped and looked at her calmly.

"Do you know about the hair tie trope? The one where a boy wears a girl's hair tie on his wrist?" Cen Mo felt that if she didn't ask this, she wouldn't be able to sleep tonight.

"What is that?" The man's voice didn't sound like he was joking.

He didn't know...

Cen Mo was stunned. "Then why were you wearing my hair tie on your wrist?"

"It was convenient." The answer was even more concise this time.

Fine. She had overthought it. Cen Mo puffed out her cheeks. They were almost at her lodging, so she waved at him to say goodbye. "I'm going then. Goodnight, CEO Su."

The woman walked away quickly, her slender figure disappearing into the night. Su Xingzhi stood there watching for a while before raising his arm to examine his wrist, where a faint indentation remained.

That hair tie was quite small; it had looked so loose on the woman's wrist earlier.

***

Cen Mo had a dream in the middle of the night.

She had drunk three or four cans of beer, but for her, that was basically water. Unless she drank too much, she wouldn't get drunk.

It was the same tonight. After her usual routine, she fell asleep early. Falling asleep was easy enough, but once she was under, it was like a movie was playing in her mind—various absurd plots unfolded one after another.

Eventually, for some reason, her head was covered in tiny braids, all tied with colorful hair bands. Su Xingzhi stood by, untying them one by one and putting them all on his own wrists.

When she woke up, Cen Mo sat up in bed, dazed, still wondering how long his wrists were to be able to fit so many hair ties.

Outside, the sky was already turning gray. The rooster from yesterday was crowing tirelessly again until someone threw something at it, and it finally fell silent.

She checked the time—it was only a little past six. Since she couldn't fall back asleep, Cen Mo washed her face and went out for a couple of laps on the path.

By eight o'clock, when the group training started, she made an appearance, her hair tied up as usual.

The instructor was stunned when he saw her. "You are... Little Cen, right?"

"Yes, Instructor. Do I still need to join in the training today?" Cen Mo asked.

The instructor waved his hands repeatedly. "No, no. You're already good enough. You can just sit on the side."

Listening to his tone, Cen Mo wondered if he thought she was there to cause trouble.

But it was a group activity, and she still cared about what Zhou Juan had said yesterday. She didn't want to provide gossip fodder, so even as an observer, she intended to participate in the whole process.

Afraid the grass might get damaged, she made sure to untie the grass braids she had made yesterday before sitting on the lawn, taking out her phone to pass the time.

A while later, during a break, several girls from the secretarial office ran over and stood by Cen Mo to talk to her.

"Secretary Cen, your hairstyle is so nice. You look like a completely different person. So cool."

The girls chattered away. Someone added, "Don't be angry about what happened yesterday. That Auntie Zhou is just that kind of person. She loves to lecture everyone as if she's the only one who knows anything. It's so annoying, but it's hard to say anything to her. Your scolding was so satisfying! She didn't even attend the dinner yesterday—she left the resort overnight."

The girls laughed as they spoke, sitting around Cen Mo and chatting intimately.

Cen Mo was quite surprised by this change. What had happened suddenly? Weren't they afraid to approach her before?

After a while, a girl giggled, her face flushed, and said to her, "Secretary Cen, did you know? Many people support your romance with the big boss. We're all your fans. Last night, I stayed up all night discussing it with my roommate. What kind of divine love is this!"

Looking at the girl's starry-eyed, intoxicated expression, Cen Mo was baffled. How did things end up like this?

Divine... love?

***

Inside Yachuang, the internet was buzzing with two events last night. One was that the "fierce" Secretary Cen, who was always fighting by the CEO's side, turned out to be a cool, handsome lady once she tied her hair up!

The other was that the super cold CEO had actually attended the dinner, wearing the lady's hair tie on his wrist, and had personally handed it to her so she could tie her hair.

What kind of idol drama plot was this, appearing in real life? The colleagues who had complained about Cen Mo just a few days ago were now all saying how "delicious" it was and started happily shipping the couple...

Of course, Cen Mo knew nothing of this. She wasn't in any group chats and wasn't interested in such things. She only clearly noticed that people's prejudice against her had lessened significantly. When she went to the cafeteria for lunch, people were even competing to sit at her table.

Things were always moving in a better direction.

***

In the afternoon, Xu Xudong brought Xu Lang to the resort. He had a two-day vacation and wanted to spend some time with his son, and as Su Xingzhi happened to be there, he would also be able to catch up with his friend.