Chapter 27: Arrogance

Cen Mo was stunned. After recalling for a moment, she remembered some hazy details, which only made her feel more guilty. "So, the red marks on your forehead and arm... were they caused by me?"

Turning her head, she spotted a pharmacy nearby and hurriedly said, "Please, pull over."

She hopped out to buy some spray and ointment, then climbed back into the car, holding the items in her hand. "Mr. Su, shall I treat your injuries?"

Her tone was filled with ingratiating sweetness. Su Xingzhi let out a soft "hmm," leaned back in his seat, and allowed her to lean over.

The next second, he watched as she extended two fingers, stealthily comparing them against the red marks on his arm, her head tilted as she scrutinized them with great care.

He didn't pull his arm away, letting her inspect it as she pleased. He asked in a leisurely, deliberate tone, "What’s the matter? Still think I'm lying to you?"

"No," Cen Mo shook her head sheepishly. "I just... I think I have a surprisingly heavy hand."

She squeezed out a bit of ointment, wiped her own hand clean with a disinfectant wipe, and began to apply it slowly. Without realizing it, she bowed her head and blew on the spot. "Does it hurt? Tell me if it does."

Having taken care of Xu Lang so many times, she had developed a habit of treating people like children.

Realizing what she had done, she looked up, flustered. "Mr. Su, I didn't mean to do that."

The woman's cool breath brushed against his skin. Perhaps it was because of the ointment, but Su Xingzhi felt a cooling sensation on his arm that wasn't entirely unpleasant.

"Continue." Even though the marks were so faint that he deemed medical treatment unnecessary, he allowed her to keep applying the cream.

Cen Mo lowered her head again, muttering as she read the instructions. "Mr. Su, your forehead is a bit swollen. You must use this spray, otherwise it’s likely to bruise."

She lifted the bottle and gave his forehead a quick spritz. A pungent medicinal scent instantly filled the car cabin.

Cen Mo coughed a few times, hurriedly rolled down the window, and packed the medicine back into the bag, leaning over to place it in the backseat. "Mr. Su, please remember to use the spray when you get home."

Although most of her memories from the previous night had yet to return, she was filled with remorse. She recalled receiving a phone call, which she assumed was what had brought Su Xingzhi to her.

She knew that when she drank too much, she would regress into a childlike state, but she never imagined she would be so violent—enough to beat a powerful CEO like this.

Beside her, Su Xingzhi had already straightened his sleeves and smoothly started the car.

Cen Mo pondered for a while and decided to apologize as soon as possible; the guilt was becoming unbearable. "Mr. Su, I am truly sorry. I lost control after drinking last night. How about you pull my hair or flick my forehead a few times to get even?"

Her tone was utterly sincere. It looked as if she were truly prepared for him to retaliate.

Su Xingzhi couldn't help but let out a low chuckle. Although he knew her personality was always this earnest, the memory of her calling him "Daddy" while drunk created such a stark contrast that it amused him.

They drove for a while longer until they reached her apartment building. He brought the car to a stop, turned to her, and said, "I want to ask you something."

"What is it?" Cen Mo asked, expecting something serious.

"The iron tool you mentioned for flicking foreheads—does it actually exist?" The man rested his arm on the window frame and asked with complete seriousness.

"What is that?" Cen Mo was completely bewildered.

"You mentioned it last night while we were playing games, saying you wanted to use it to flick my forehead," Su Xingzhi recounted calmly.

Cen Mo wanted to crawl into a hole in the ground. Even though she was usually calm, she couldn't handle such an embarrassing thing being brought up.

"No! Am I crazy? Why would I buy something like that? I probably just said it randomly because I was drunk," she explained, her ears turning bright red.

"I see. Go on, then." Su Xingzhi nodded and leaned over to open the car door for her.

He watched her head upstairs, his eyes fixed on her slender silhouette for a long moment before he reached up to touch his cheek.

She surely still hadn't remembered the kiss from last night.

***

As soon as Cen Mo entered her apartment, she saw the large bag of snacks by the door. Remembering how she had sworn to him that she had gone out to buy them herself while drunk, her face flushed even deeper.

For the first time in her life, she felt too ashamed to face anyone. It seemed she would have to drink less in the future.

She sighed, carried the bag to the coffee table, and began taking out the items. She put the perishables in the fridge and tucked the rest into the cabinets.

As she did so, she marveled at how much Su Xingzhi had bought for her. Was he worried she would go hungry?

She couldn't help but imagine the man, with his usual cold expression, placing these girl-friendly snacks into a shopping cart, which struck her as quite funny.

Checking the time, it was just past six in the evening. She took her shopping bag and headed out again to buy ingredients for dinner. Although she had visited the market yesterday, she hadn't been in the mood and had bought nothing but peanuts.

Thinking about how much trouble she had caused Su Xingzhi last night, and how she had left his forehead swollen, she felt a wave of guilt. The only way to make amends was to prepare a delicious bento for him.

There was a supermarket near her apartment. While the selection was limited, it was sufficient. Cen Mo walked there, finished her shopping, and headed back along the same route.

As she neared her residential building, she felt something was wrong. It felt as if someone were following her.

Cen Mo had always been a vigilant person. Even though she knew certain scenarios were unlikely to happen in reality, she often idly hypothesized how she would respond if they did.

Take stalking, for example. It was hard to notice in crowded areas, but if someone kept trailing you when the streets were empty, that was a red flag.

As she passed several shops, Cen Mo observed through the glass doors behind her and noticed a short, thin man wearing a wool hat and a mask walking behind her, never keeping much distance.

Of course, it was possible the man lived in the same building and was just heading the same way. Cen Mo intentionally took two detours, but the person continued to follow her.

Feeling uneasy, she ducked back into the supermarket. Instead of going to the grocery section, she wandered through the clothing department on the first floor and, taking advantage of the crowd, slipped out the back exit and caught a taxi home.

Throughout the process, she pretended to be on a phone call, using her phone to record the scene behind her, including the man standing still to stall for time when she had stopped on the sidewalk to tie her shoelaces.

Reaching her door, she carefully checked to make sure no one was around before unlocking it, stepping inside, and locking the deadbolt twice. She then turned off all the lights and peeked out from behind the curtains.

Sure enough, less than ten minutes later, the man in the wool hat wandered slowly into the complex and stood downstairs, looking up at her window.

Cen Mo pulled back suddenly. She leaned against the wall in the living room, pondered for a moment, and opened her phone to search for the forum thread from before.

Once inside, the homepage was still filled with insults directed at her. Clicking on a post, her expression darkened. It clearly contained candid photos of her at work.

It wasn't from any of her previous jobs, but from her recent time at Yachuang, taken from hidden angles.

The title read: "Look at what that notorious person from Minzhong has turned into now." Below it was a long thread of mocking comments.

"I'm a student at Minzhong now. If I hadn't seen the posts the OP shared, I never would have known that a former 'legend' would turn out to be someone like this."

"Exactly! I heard she loved to fight back in school and even put someone in the hospital. Her conduct was also questionable; she used to disappear into the woods with guys in broad daylight."

"How can someone with that kind of character work at a high-end company? Let’s all report her and get her fired."

She didn't need to read any further; the rest were just more rumors and slander. She had no connection to these high school students, yet that didn't stop them from jumping on the bandwagon to insult her.

Minzhong, located in the suburbs of Z City, was a dumping ground for the worst students—mostly those whose middle school exam scores were too low to get them anywhere else.

There were exceptions, however, like Cen Mo, who came there because she couldn't afford tuition elsewhere; she used her excellent grades to win awards for the school in exchange for a free education.

To this day, the trophies from the various competitions she had won were still displayed in the school auditorium, and her photo remained on the honor wall.

In a place full of students who took pride in being failing students, what happens when a top-tier student appears? Most of them hated "nerds" and usually ostracized them.

The situation persisted even now. The honor wall was in the most prominent position upon entering the school; these new students must have recognized her from there, hence their mocking nickname for her.

Of course, there were those stoking the flames—like the person who kept posting on the forum, whose ID was "Ling Yu Youran."

That was the same woman whom Zheng Fan had tracked down the identity of last time.

Cen Mo leaned against the wall, lost in thought, when her phone rang. It was Zheng Fan.

As soon as she answered, he shouted anxiously, "Have you seen the forum? The person who started the thread has found your workplace and is taking secret photos of you!"

"Yes, I saw them." After the emotional release of drinking earlier, Cen Mo was much calmer now; her voice was steady. "I was just looking at them. Judging by my clothes in the photos, it happened within the last day or two."

Zheng Fan asked urgently, "Have you found the person taking the photos? This could be a threat to your safety!"

"I haven't found the photographer, but someone followed me home tonight and knows where I live," Cen Mo said calmly. She held the phone behind her back so the screen's light wouldn't give her away, then carefully walked to the window to look out again.

The man downstairs was gone. She breathed a sigh of relief but remained vigilant. She kept the lights off and returned to the living room.

Over the phone, Zheng Fan's voice cracked with panic: "Someone followed you?! Why aren't you calling the police? Where are you? I'll jump the wall to come find you!"

"I don't have evidence, so how can I call the police?" He was a warm-hearted kid. Cen Mo had been tense, but hearing his voice made her want to smile. "It’s okay. My doors and windows are locked tight, they can't get in, and they've already left."