World 1: Gloomy Retired Third-Gen X the Original Heroine’s Pitiful Coworker 02

“Get out.”

Those were the first words Huo Hanting said after stepping into the private room.

Get out?

Everyone there couldn’t wait to bolt out the door—running far away to avoid getting caught in the crossfire.

No wonder Chen Manzi had bolted faster than a rabbit earlier. She must’ve known Huo Hanting was about to go on a rampage.

In a flash, the crowd emptied out of the room, leaving only Fu Yu behind.

Fu Yu lowered her head, revealing her slender, fair neck.

Huo Hanting’s gaze landed there and couldn’t look away. Almost involuntarily, his hand reached out and grabbed her arm.

She was slightly chubby, her arm full and smooth. When he gripped it, his fingers sank in, as if digging into her flesh and bone.

Fu Yu frowned faintly, seemingly displeased with his overstepping boundaries—but because of her manners and the situation, she didn’t speak up.

Her soft pink lips pouted slightly.

He had just felt them earlier.

So soft. So smooth.

Probably… quite tasty too.

Huo Hanting felt as if someone had grabbed his heart and squeezed tight.

For the first time, a strange and unfamiliar desire stirred inside him.

“You said you’d help me wash it clean. That wasn’t just talk, was it?”

Recalling her capture mission, Fu Yu pressed her lips together.

“Of course not.”

The Huo family’s businesses stretched across the globe. After retiring from the military, the old man handed most of the company’s weight to Huo Hanting.

Flying around the world became his daily routine.

Even on his private jet, he’d be holding remote meetings and handling corporate affairs.

The old man had drilled into him since young—time is precious, and should only be spent on people and things of value.

So when Huo Hanting personally sent Fu Yu home, then stood outside her apartment door… even he found it odd.

Fu Yu lived in a single-occupancy apartment. Over twenty units shared the same floor.

The walls weren’t soundproof at all. As soon as he entered, he could hear the suggestive moans from next door.

Fu Yu was already used to it. She knocked twice on the wall, then said coldly, “Wait here.”

She poured him a cup of hot tea, then took the soiled pants into the bathroom. She soaked and scrubbed the stain, then tossed them into the dry-cleaning machine.

The sound of rushing water came from the bathroom. Huo Hanting frowned.

He suffered from insomnia. Just last night, he’d pulled an all-nighter handling work.

At first, he felt fine. But the moment he stepped into Fu Yu’s place, his eyelids grew unbearably heavy. Sleepy. Exhausted.

By the time Huo Hanting woke up, Fu Yu had already left for work, leaving behind only her lingering scent throughout the room.

His freshly cleaned trousers were neatly placed beside him, along with a hot cup of soy milk.

Huo Hanting stretched lazily. He hadn’t slept that well in ages.

Clearly, this comfort… was all thanks to Fu Yu.

When his assistant saw Huo Hanting leave Fu Yu’s apartment looking refreshed and energized, he blinked meaningfully.

Several days passed, and there was still no sign of Huo Hanting in Chen Manzi’s life.

It looked like she had finally shaken off the clingy yandere male lead.

She even went to Fu Yu to subtly probe about what happened that night.

Hearing that Fu Yu had taken Huo Hanting home and that he hadn’t done anything to her, Chen Manzi finally relaxed.

There’s no way Huo Hanting would fall for someone like Fu Yu.

The two of them were having lunch when Gu Huai called.

But the call was for Fu Yu.

They were college classmates. After graduation, Fu Yu became an office worker, while Gu Huai started his own business and now ran a small research company.

Whenever his team hit a technical wall, he’d call Fu Yu for backup.

Though Chen Manzi had also studied computer science abroad, she’d practically returned all her knowledge the moment she graduated.

“You want me to come to your office?”

“Yeah, there’s a block of code that’s throwing errors no matter how I debug it. I have no choice but to ask for your help.”

“I—”

Chen Manzi and Gu Huai had been steadily getting closer.

He was a gentleman—even when touching her hand, he was careful and restrained.

But Chen Manzi always felt… something was missing.

There was no spark between them. No passion.

So when she heard Gu Huai had invited Fu Yu to work overtime, she instantly stepped in.

“Ah-Huai, I majored in CS too. Fu Yu’s been really busy lately—why don’t I help you instead?”

Just the two of them, alone at night, in the same room?

No way Gu Huai could resist that.

Fu Yu glanced at Chen Manzi, then followed her lead. “Yeah, my current project’s in the testing phase. I’m really busy.”

“T-then okay.”

Chen Manzi gave Fu Yu an apologetic look, but didn’t really feel guilty.

Gu Huai had always been hers.

Still, she bought Fu Yu’s favorite Portuguese egg tarts—whether out of guilt or something else, even she wasn’t sure.

Fu Yu had never been the competitive type. Besides, she didn’t know that in the past life she was meant to end up with Gu Huai.

So, Fu Yu wouldn’t blame her…

Just as Chen Manzi was comforting herself, she heard an employee shout:

“President Huo of Huo Corporation is here!”

What?

Chen Manzi’s hair stood on end.

Everything was supposed to be going her way. Why was Huo Hanting showing up like a lingering ghost again?

This year, Huo Corp was launching a major drone project—directly competing with their company. They were bitter rivals.

Was he really throwing everything aside just to see her?

Chen Manzi and Fu Yu had just passed the time clock when they saw Huo Hanting and his bodyguards approaching with overwhelming presence.

This scene—Chen Manzi had seen it countless times in her past life.

The first time, she found it dashing and romantic.

But after that, it was only fear and despair.

No matter how far she ran, even to the ends of the earth, Huo Hanting would find her and drag her back.

That suffocating existence… was worse than death!

She didn’t care about appearances anymore. She didn’t even wait for the elevator and fled straight into the stairwell.

Leaving Fu Yu standing there holding her milk tea—slurp.

Just then, Gu Huai’s call came in. Not quite confident in Chen Manzi’s coding skills, he sent the code to Fu Yu instead.

“You’re sending such critical code directly to me? Aren’t you trusting me too much?”

“I know your character. You’re not the type to betray others.”

At that moment, Huo Hanting approached Fu Yu.

His deep, husky voice brushed past Fu Yu’s ear—and, intentionally or not, through the phone’s speaker.

“Miss Fu, thank you… for last night.”