Chapter 33: Ensnared

Cen Mo was not a person lacking in reason. She knew perfectly well that this business trip was for the sake of negotiating a partnership. To hit the younger brother of the opposing company’s president at such a juncture was a serious matter.

However, after seeing Su Xingzhi’s reaction earlier, she was genuinely worried. What did he mean by asking her to step out and wait? Wasn't it clear that he intended to start a fight inside? While Shen Xilin certainly deserved a beating, it could not be Su Xingzhi who did it; otherwise, it would escalate into a conflict between the two companies, inevitably turning them into enemies and making any future cooperation impossible.

After much deliberation, she decided to take action herself, catching him off guard to see if she could teach Shen Xilin a lesson and vent some frustration on Su Xingzhi’s behalf.

It had actually worked. Shen Xilin, seeing that she was a woman, hadn't let his guard down, and she had managed to splash a face full of kiwi juice on him.

Seeing Shen Xilin now—eyes red and swollen, yet still spewing nonsense out of spite—Cen Mo felt even more disgusted. Still, she couldn't just leave him alone in the lounge. She called the waiter in to handle the aftermath, then grabbed Su Xingzhi and pulled him out. Standing by the door, she whispered, "I can resign. It doesn't matter. Just put the blame on me. Tell them I hit him because he insulted me, and the surveillance footage can prove it."

Her mind was entirely focused on the company's interests, so she didn't pay attention to her own situation, nor did she notice Su Xingzhi’s expression darkening, as if he were displeased.

"Let’s go. We’re leaving here." That was all he said, his large hand gripping hers tightly as he led her toward the parking lot.

The man’s palm was broad, dry, and radiated a warm heat that offered a sense of security. Cen Mo was momentarily stunned, her heart suddenly beating faster. This was likely the first time the two of them had truly held hands. Before, when he was checking her ankle, he had held her hand in his palm, but the situation had been chaotic, and she had no heart to dwell on it.

Now, however, it was different. Walking along the flat path, their hands clasped together, the sensation of fingers intertwined felt magical, as if their two hearts were linked. They walked all the way to the car. Su Xingzhi opened the passenger door for her, got in himself, and slammed the door shut with a thud.

"What's wrong?" Cen Mo turned to look at the man’s face, finally sensing something was off, and felt a bit bewildered.

His long fingers tapped lightly on the steering wheel. Su Xingzhi seemed to be composing himself. After a while, he looked at her: "Why did you engage with Shen Xilin? You clearly had the chance to leave."

Seeing the concern in his eyes, Cen Mo felt a bit guilty. "He told me things about you. I felt he was hostile toward you and was afraid he might do something, so I wanted to probe for information."

Su Xingzhi’s tone grew sterner. "He is a very dangerous person; you shouldn't have done that."

Cen Mo admitted as much. From their conversation, the man truly seemed paranoid, almost mentally unstable. She lowered her head. "Alright, I was wrong. I won't take such risks again."

"Setting that aside, what was that about wanting to resign?" Su Xingzhi leaned back in his seat and asked.

"That..." Cen Mo was momentarily at a loss for words.

What she had said earlier was merely a spur-of-the-moment impulse. Only now did she realize that her decision to resign was a one-sided sacrifice; she hadn't consulted the man's opinion at all, which was quite disrespectful. She usually kept such boundaries very clear, but today, her haste had muddled her judgment, leaving her feeling sheepish.

"I have already said: ten times the cooperation with Shengda combined isn't worth as much as your safety. So, don't say things like that again." Su Xingzhi’s words were unexpected; he wasn't blaming her. After saying this calmly, he started the car.

Seeing him drive straight out, Cen Mo grew anxious. "Are we just leaving? Shouldn't we say goodbye to President Shen?"

"No need." Su Xingzhi shook his head and added, "Notify the other senior executives at Yachuang to leave immediately, tell them there is an urgent matter at the company."

"Okay." Cen Mo agreed and pulled out her phone to make the calls.

Although she had doubts about his decision, she couldn't offer any suggestions; she wasn't good at such high-level decision-making, and she trusted that Su Xingzhi had his reasons. Still, her mood dimmed. After making the calls, she leaned back in her seat, feeling heavy-hearted as she looked out the window.

Su Xingzhi caught her state with a side glance, his tone softening. "Don't worry, this isn't our fault. Everything is recorded on the surveillance cameras. The people from Shengda will come to us."

"Really?" Cen Mo felt a bit better and sat up straight.

The man continued, explaining at a measured pace: "Although Shengda is larger than our company, it’s just an empty shell. They’ve had several failed investments in recent years and suffered heavy losses, so they are even more desperate for this partnership than we are."

Once he put it that way, Cen Mo understood. She had wasted all that time worrying for nothing. She reached up to brush back her hair, feeling a touch of regret. "If that’s the case, I should have hit him harder. I held back specifically because I was afraid his brother would come looking for trouble."

She said this with complete sincerity. Not only that, but she balled her hand into a fist and flexed her wrist with lingering frustration, looking rather adorable.

Glancing at the passenger seat, Su Xingzhi took in her little gestures. He found it amusing—how did his little secretary have such a competitive streak?

His tone lightening, he asked casually, "When did you learn those fighting skills?"

"When I was a kid, I suppose." Cen Mo thought for a moment, her eyes bright as she recounted, "I was really something when I was little. The older boys in the village couldn't beat me because I played dirty—I’d throw dirt when they weren't looking, or I’d pretend to beg for mercy and then launch a sneak attack from behind. I had so many tricks; I never used the same one twice, and they could never figure out my patterns."

"What were the fights about?" Su Xingzhi asked, turning a corner.

"At first, it was because I was young and a city kid, and my accent was different. The other kids didn't like it and bullied me. Later, it was because they couldn't accept losing to me and kept coming back for revenge."

As she spoke, they reached the villa Su Xingzhi owned in B City. After parking, they both got out.

After hitting Shen Xilin, Cen Mo hadn't washed her hands. Although she wasn't extremely germophobic, she found him too filthy. After changing her shoes, she hurried upstairs.

She turned on the faucet and rinsed for a while, but it didn't feel like enough, so she pumped more soap. As she looked up, she saw Su Xingzhi walking over in the mirror.

The man had changed into home clothes—a loose, black silk-cotton top and matching casual trousers that pooled around his feet. His cotton slippers were the same style as hers, just a different color.

He leaned against the doorframe watching her for a moment, then walked over and stood behind her. His large hands reached past her sides to the sink, taking her hands and patiently helping her lather the soap.

Was he washing her hands for her? Cen Mo felt embarrassed, as if she had returned to kindergarten, yet it felt different. She glanced at the mirror inadvertently and saw that her ears were bright red.

They looked as if they were embracing, intimate and inseparable.

Compared to her distraction, Su Xingzhi’s expression was much more serious. He frowned as he carefully rinsed the soap from her hands, then took a towel and dried them for her. "You don't usually seem to have any germophobia, so why do you scrub your hands so hard? You rub them like you're washing clothes. Look how red they are. It was the same at the resort last time—wasn't it just touching a goose?"

He was referring to the time they were teasing the geese. It had started raining, and they had run to the restaurant to eat. When she washed her hands, she worried about germs from livestock and washed them several times until her skin was red. She hadn't expected him to notice.

"You noticed that?" Cen Mo was surprised and turned to look at him, but since they were standing so close, her head bumped into the man's chin.

She could hear the sound of teeth clashing in her ears and her heart tightened. Terrified, she reached out to cradle his chin. "Are you okay? Did you bite your tongue?"

Her head was quite hard, and the movement had been abrupt. She was terrified she had hurt him and was frantic with worry.

The woman’s fair, delicate face was just inches away, her eyes filled with genuine concern. Su Xingzhi looked down at her, gently peeled her small hands off his chin, and held them in his palms. "It's fine, just a bit of a toothache."

Saying this, he led her to the study on the second floor. Two tall bookshelves stood against the wall, filled with various books, and there was a sofa and a round table nearby.

Cen Mo looked around and noticed most were original English editions, some with notes in the margins.

Su Xingzhi stood behind her and explained, "These are all from when I was studying abroad."

He went downstairs to make two cups of coffee and brought them up, then invited Cen Mo to sit on the sofa, his arm resting casually on the back. "Is there anything you’re curious about? I can answer."

Seeing his calm demeanor, Cen Mo thought for a moment and asked tentatively, "What’s the deal with Shen Xilin? Why is he targeting you like this?"

She was genuinely curious, but not out of a desire for gossip—she was worried about him. Especially the scar on Su Xingzhi’s wrist, which gave her a faint, aching pain, fearing he had encountered something terrible in the past.

"Shen Xilin and I were indeed classmates when we studied abroad. But when I was a freshman, he had already been held back for three years and couldn't seem to graduate."

Taking a sip of coffee, the man continued, his long fingers pressing against his brow. "This person may seem normal on the surface, but he has severe psychological issues. Simply put, he has an obsession with prying into other people’s privacy. His mind wasn't on his studies; he secretly installed many cameras throughout the school to spy on people, including the women’s dormitory."

"Didn't anyone find out?" Cen Mo’s eyes widened.

While such voyeuristic incidents were currently rampant in the country, she couldn't imagine that such things had been happening years ago.