“Jing Rui, you’re so despicable!” She glared at him hatefully. This was the first time in her life she accused him so sorrowfully, so mournfully.

Yet he couldn’t understand, his expression still harsh as winter snow, freezing her heart.

She trembled from the cold, turning in a panic, like a frightened butterfly, fluttering away.

“Jiang Yuyan, stop right there!” The domineering command came from behind her. She ignored it, resolutely entering the elevator and heading downstairs. Outside, it was raining, and the fine mist of raindrops wove an impenetrable fog in front of her, making it hard to discern her direction. Well, it didn’t matter; she had lost her sense of direction long ago. For so many years, she had never remembered paths or looked at maps. She only focused on one person, following in that person’s footsteps. She couldn’t even grasp where she was now, so how could she determine the direction of her future?

She stepped into the rain, into the fog, not thinking, nor caring to think. All she wanted was to find a place to hide and cry freely, without letting anyone see her weakness.

But before she could find a hiding spot, tears flooded her eyes, warm yet cold. They boiled her blood but froze her heart.

She felt a sudden chill, trembling and weak, suffering from torment. Suddenly, her vision blurred, and she could see nothing.

She thought she might not be able to move anymore—

Where had she gone? After she stormed out of the company in anger, he had no idea how many hundreds of calls he had made to find her. She had cruelly ignored them all, leaving him to look like a fool on a stage, performing a solo act. Did she think that by not answering her phone, he wouldn’t be able to find her? Jing Rui seethed with anger, jumped into his car, and sped through the streets to her place.

Inside the house, the lights were dim, and silence reigned. He hesitated, unsure whether to stay and wait for her. But thinking back to when he had foolishly waited in that same house, his anger ignited, burning away his rationality.

Damn her! She wasn’t with that man again, was she? That man who had only known her for a few days and had the audacity to call her “Little Swallow” so intimately. She must really like him, right?

He knew her personality; if she didn’t have a considerable liking for Deng Yuanhong, she wouldn’t allow him to act so familiar and playful. She would have firmly rejected him, just like she had rejected other men before.

But she didn’t reject Deng Yuanhong. In fact, she had been alone with him in the office late at night…

“Shit!” Jing Rui cursed under his breath.

He wasn’t sure what was happening to him, only that his once-proud rationality was teetering on the edge of collapse because of her.

This red flower blooming in the jungle had slowly injected its vibrant poison into him.

The poison had seeped into his being, tightly consuming all his rationality. He should have been able to break away from her; that was the only way to truly be heartless. He shouldn’t let her continue to stay by his side. So what was he doing now? Why was he crazily searching for her, desperately wanting to know her whereabouts? He worried about her, afraid that she might encounter some danger wandering alone outside, but he also feared that she wasn’t alone—that someone was tenderly caring for her.

“Jing Rui, you idiot!” he cursed himself furiously while driving through the streets and alleys, clinging to a sliver of hope that he might accidentally run into her.

He searched all night and berated himself all night. The next morning, when he dragged his exhausted body into the office, he was shocked to find her calmly sitting at her desk.

He immediately felt embarrassed; he truly was a complete fool.

“Good morning, General Manager.” She greeted him nonchalantly, a subtle smile curving her lips.

He felt even more embarrassed, hating her and hating himself. He didn’t respond to her greeting and strode into his private office, slamming the door shut behind him.

He didn’t see Jiang Yuyan, who watched his retreating figure, quietly rubbing her aching forehead and patting her flushed cheeks.

“Get it together!” she whispered to herself, placing her hands on the keyboard to continue typing. Her work efficiency had always been brisk, but today she found herself slowing down several times. Sometimes, the words on the screen blurred together, and at other times, she suddenly couldn’t think of how to use certain words. The internal phone rang with the General Manager’s command—”Bring me the materials needed for this afternoon’s meeting.”

“I’m sorry.” She wiped the cold sweat from her forehead. “I haven’t finished yet.”

“How much longer?” His tone was harsh.

“How long…?” What time was it now? She glanced dully at the time display on her computer screen but couldn’t decipher the meaning of the numbers.

“Get it to me before noon!” he ordered impatiently.

“Yes.”

She picked up her mug and drank nearly half of the warm water, finally feeling a little more energized. She went through the documents on her desk, compiling the key points into a report.

Finally, she completed the last report, hurriedly printed it out, and was just about to deliver it to the General Manager’s office when the desk phone rang.

“Is this Secretary Jiang? This is Director Luo.” An elderly voice came through the line.

She paused for a moment, adjusting her overly short breath. “Good afternoon, Director Luo. How can I help you?”

“I would like to meet with General Jing. Could you arrange a time for me?”

“Of course.” She took out her PDA.

“What does Director Luo want to discuss with General Jing?”

“It’s about some operational strategies of the Luo Corporation. I know I’m no longer the chairman and am just a nominal director, but this company is like a child I raised. I hope General Jing will listen to my opinion.”

“I understand. I will convey your message.” She cradled her heavy head with one hand, trying to gather her thoughts.

“General Jing will be swimming at the gym tomorrow afternoon. Maybe you can meet there; the atmosphere might be more natural.”

“Okay, thank you.”