Chapter 39: The Romance of an Older Man

Ever since returning from Anle Town, Gu Yao had been closely following local news.

Until one day, a headline in bold print—“Nursing Home and Resort to Coexist”—took the front page, leaving her utterly stunned.

She recalled how, the last time they parted ways, the big boss had asked her, “If your proposal is adopted in the end, what reward would you like?”

A reward?

Gu Yao hadn’t thought it was even possible, so she had casually replied, “I want to watch fireworks on New Year’s Eve.”

A simple yet hard-to-fulfill wish.

Because in Qionghai, fireworks were strictly prohibited by law.

Back then, Zhou Zhengliang merely smiled faintly at her response—
He didn’t say yes.
But he didn’t say no, either.

More than half a month had passed since that conversation. She’d long thrown that little moment to the back of her mind.

But now, staring at the freshly published news, she couldn’t help but wonder.

She absolutely didn’t believe she was the hero here.

In other words—

The coexistence plan for the nursing home and the resort must have been in the works long before she ever brought it up. The big boss had probably started preparing already.

So then… why?

Why had the man still listened patiently to her finish her entire idea on the ride back, and even given her thoughtful, serious praise at the end?

It was the first time Zhou Zhengliang had ever complimented her face to face.

Gu Yao had felt a little embarrassed.

But now… now she just felt a little awkward.

She finally understood what that unreadable look meant when she’d mentioned fireworks.

Perhaps, in Zhou Zhengliang’s eyes, she was still just a kid.

After all, she’d let a perfect opportunity to claim credit slip right through her fingers.

He must think—

She’s naive.

And to be fair, Gu Yao was a little naive.

As the end of the month approached, the department faced a mountain of year-end backlogs that needed clearing before the holiday.

Just then, Xia Wei had family matters to attend to and took a three-day leave, right through the New Year.

Naturally, some tasks fell on Gu Yao’s shoulders.

The final workday of the month—New Year’s Eve—came. Two hours before clock-out, the section chief stopped by her desk and asked if she needed help from any coworkers.

Gu Yao shook her head. “I can handle it.”

She had no idea that in the chaos of trying to get everything done, she’d forgotten something very important.

Today was her birthday.

It wasn’t until she got a reminder message from her cousin that she came to her senses.

Somehow, she had worked until eight at night.

Looking around at the now empty office, regret welled up in her chest.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

Gu Yao… you really overestimate yourself sometimes.

About ten minutes later, she finished up the last of her tasks.

After a quick trip to the restroom, she came back to tidy up her desk, cleaned up the mess of printouts, locked the doors and windows, and finally left with her bag.

Outside the government building, night had already fallen.

Just as she pulled out her phone to hail a ride, a black SUV quietly rolled up from the corner and stopped directly in front of her.

The passenger window lowered, revealing Zhou Zhengliang’s chiseled profile.

Inside the dimly lit car, he lifted his chin slightly—inviting her in.

Startled, Gu Yao blinked in surprise.

What were the chances he’d show up so perfectly timed?

Was he just passing by?

Collecting herself, she gently declined, “No need to trouble you, Secretary Zhou. I have plans with a friend tonight.”

Her cousin had already ordered a lavish dinner and was waiting at home to celebrate her birthday and ring in the new year.

So she wasn’t going back to her apartment tonight.

Just as her words landed, the door unlocked.

Zhou Zhengliang’s voice was gentle, but firm:
“It’s not safe to take a cab alone. I’ll drive you.”

Huh?

“In your jurisdiction, I feel very safe!” she puffed her cheeks in protest, defiant and unwilling to budge.

She was clearly ready to stand her ground.

Two seconds passed.

Zhou Zhengliang said nothing, just calmly unbuckled his seatbelt and prepared to get out of the car.

The moment his long legs started to move, something outside caught Gu Yao off guard.

Startled, she jumped, and without any more fuss, quickly opened the door and climbed into the passenger seat.

Under his cryptic gaze, she calmly gave him the address.

A wise person adapts to the times.

It was late. Not safe to walk alone at night.

Yes. That’s the only reason.

Convincing herself, she gave a small smile and murmured, “Thanks, Secretary Zhou.”

As he steered out of the compound, Zhou Zhengliang reminded her,
“I told you, no honorifics in private.”

Before, he said “don’t.”

Now it had become “not allowed.”

The tone had changed—firm, and unmistakably authoritarian.

Gu Yao (the poor little thing) felt like she simply couldn’t manage it.

The SUV didn’t follow the expected route.

Several times, she caught him glancing at his phone’s GPS, checking directions before quietly turning the screen off again.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught her confused, wistful gaze.

Zhou Zhengliang smiled faintly, voice soft:
“Don’t look so glum. I’m not going to sell you.”

Honestly, being sold might not be so bad—at least she’d be worth something.

But that wasn’t the issue—

She turned toward him, slightly exasperated.
“So where exactly are you taking me?”

Before she could press the point, the view ahead began to brighten.

They had entered the city’s coastal loop road.

Following the crescent-shaped one-way, they headed east. Cool night air blew through the window. She looked out and saw the wide river lit up in dazzling colors, crowds gathered on the shore to watch the light show.

Turns out, there were New Year’s events being held tonight.

Unfortunately, because of overtime, she and her cousin had missed the biggest part—an elaborate drone performance.

As the light show drew to an end, Gu Yao reluctantly rolled up the window, cupping her cold cheeks just as she was about to look away—

Suddenly, a sharp silver streak ripped through the night sky and exploded at its peak—
A bloom of golden light rained down like stars, illuminating the entire river.

Then came a second, then a third.

Crimson, indigo, violet…

Brilliant colors burst across the sky, fireworks blooming in layers. And finally, amid the brilliant night display, a line of birthday wishes appeared:

Happybirthday-G

……

Gu Yao was stunned, frozen in place as she stared at the sky.

She couldn’t help but marvel—some rich guy must’ve gone all out to impress a girl.

And, coincidentally, that girl shared her birthday.

In the passenger seat, the young woman rested her chin on the window ledge, completely absorbed in the fireworks. She didn’t move.

Zhou Zhengliang glanced at her, eyes warm and indulgent. He didn’t interrupt.

A belated moment of serendipity—once in a lifetime.

To be cherished.

No one knew that on this night, a 35-year-old man had given his rarest display of romance… to Comrade Xiao Gu.

Wen Jing was horrified. “You still have the appetite to eat?”

Of course.

“New Year’s Eve needs a sense of ritual. We can’t waste such a beautiful night.”

The moment she finished speaking, the doorbell rang.

The two of them exchanged a glance.

When they opened the door, the delivery man handed over a large bouquet of pink roses and asked Miss Gu to sign for it.

The sender was anonymous, leaving no other information.

But Gu Yao knew exactly who it was.

Looking down at the fresh, full petals in her arms, she couldn’t help but think of last time.

Tulips for the restaurant’s anniversary.

Roses for her birthday tonight.

If there’s a next time, what will it be?

As she thought about it, the corners of her lips unknowingly curled into a faint smile. She was so lost in thought that it wasn’t until she heard a soft click that she snapped back to reality.

Wen Jing had finished taking the candid shot and casually put away her phone. She asked offhandedly, “Be honest. Is someone pursuing you again?”

The young girl quickly shook her head in denial.

“No?”

Wen Jing clearly didn’t believe her.

She chuckled and reached out to pinch little Comrade Gu’s cheek. “Silly girl, if you’ve got something on your mind, you need to say it. Bottling it up is bad for your health. Tell me what he does, what kind of person he is, how things are going between you two. Let your big sister help you analyze.”

A third of it was gossip.

But more than that—it was genuine concern.

With Cheng Ergou as a lesson learned, Wen Jing didn’t want her cousin to fall for the wrong person again and get hurt.

Sure enough, under her sugar-coated artillery, the girl soon surrendered.

And told her everything.

Wen Jing listened, eyes widening in shock, speechless for a long time.

It took her five whole minutes to fully digest the information.

Her first point of doubt was: “I remember you once said your big boss holds quite a high position—and he has a family in Beijing. So what’s this? He wants you to be his mistress in the dark?”

The words were sharp and direct.

Gu Yao was immediately choked.

The next second, she hurriedly corrected her, serious: “He was married, yes—but he’s been divorced for three years.”

“Are you sure?”

“He told me himself, face to face.”

No hesitation, the words came out instantly.

Perhaps even Gu Yao herself didn’t realize it—how eager she was to explain, to keep her cousin from misunderstanding him.

That instinct to defend was already there.

And for a girl, that was a dangerously telling sign.

Well then.

Since it could be considered proper pursuit, Wen Jing was reassured.

But then another doubt popped into her head.

“By the way, how old is your boss this year?”

If he’s been married, then age might be a bit…

Under her unblinking stare, the girl guiltily muttered a number.

Uhh.

Wen Jing did the math in her head.

Good grief.

A full twelve-year gap.

This really was some serious cradle-snatching.

Thinking of the man’s identity, she couldn’t help but give a warning. “Men with power and influence are the hardest to manage. But I can see you’ve fallen for him. No matter what, don’t dive in too fast. Go slow. Protect yourself.”

Gu Yao blushed, unable to argue.

She had clearly fallen for him.

But for now, reason still held the reins—the boat was rocking, but hadn’t tipped yet.

Around eleven o’clock, her cousin brought out a birthday cake from the kitchen, lit the candles.

While she made her wish, the birthday song played by her ears, and the entire process was recorded on video.

Emotions were running high.

After blowing out the candles, Gu Yao casually posted on her Moments (WeChat feed).

The comment section was flooded with well wishes from friends and family near and far.

Zhou Xingduan was especially active.

He sent a private message, saying he’d be on winter break by mid-January. He asked if she could work as an assistant teacher, joining him in a rural county near Qionghai for a volunteer program.

The details of the event were still confidential.

Gu Yao replied:
[I’ll try to make time, but I can’t guarantee I’ll be available.]

The young master was polite:
[No problem. If it doesn’t work, there’s always Plan B.]

If the weekend didn’t work, they’d switch to a weekday.

He even planned to ask his second uncle to personally help by requesting a two-day leave on her behalf.

Perfect.

It could only be said—he hadn’t yet been slapped by reality, still too idealistic.

Before bed, after showering and lying down—

Gu Yao opened her phone and noticed she’d missed a message.

[Happy Birthday.]

It was from Zhou Zhengliang.

Under the soft glow of the bedside lamp, her delicate, porcelain face took on a silly dazedness. Holding her phone, she stared at the chat screen, eyes focused and melancholic.

She wanted to say something.

The fireworks tonight were beautiful?

She typed it out, then deleted it.

She went back and forth countless times.

At last, she sent a cute sticker:
[Thank you]

She didn’t want to play hot-and-cold games, didn’t want to waste his time.

But once the window of ambiguity was broken, how were they supposed to face each other at work from now on?

To her, Zhou Zhengliang was like a mountain.

The most comfortable angle was to admire from below, not to force herself to stand beside him.

After all, she was only 1.62 meters tall.

Standing on tiptoe… was tiring.

After the New Year holiday, Xia Wei brought back a ton of local specialties from her hometown. As soon as she arrived at the office, she began distributing them to everyone’s desks.

Looking at the small mountain forming in front of her, Gu Yao grabbed the spinning top of a woman next to her and hinted: “I live alone. I can’t finish all this.”

“Keep it! I specially asked an old master to blend that just for you.”

Xia Wei stepped back a few steps and whispered, “This isn’t just any flower tea. It’s affordable, yes, but it works wonders for **.”
([The word censored, implying a sensitive or awkward topic.])

“……”

She felt faintly discriminated against.

Gu Yao slowly straightened her spine and gave her figure a casual glance.

These days, not being a C-cup was… a crime?

She refused to accept that.

Pushing the goods back, she declined: “No need. Save it for someone who really needs it.”

The other girl just smiled.

Patted her on the shoulder and whispered, “Don’t worry. Once you get a boyfriend, it’ll still grow.”

As she said this, Xia Wei suddenly remembered Gu Yao’s ex—the rich second-gen.

“You and Young Master Cheng… you didn’t…?”

A look from Gu Yao silenced her.

The air froze for two seconds.

She cleared her throat. “Sorry, I’ll slap myself.”

Then added—

“A girl should know how to protect herself. You two only dated for six months, being cautious is smart. That’s why you can’t trust men—trust this instead. Really, take it back and try it. If there’s no change in three months, I’ll give you your money back.”

It felt like a hard-sell pitch at a tea shop.

Gu Yao couldn’t help but study the pile of assorted flower teas—shabby packaging, unclear origins. Were they really hometown specialties?

Comrade Xia.

Please don’t get scammed.

Mid-January arrived quickly. Early Saturday morning, Gu Yao received a message from Zhou Xingduan, saying he’d landed in Qionghai.

[Teacher Gu, can we meet at 2pm at my second uncle’s place at Yufeng?]

At that moment, she was biting into a piece of bread while stirring oats into a glass.

When she saw the words “second uncle,” she paused inexplicably.

The kid said he wanted to hire her as a teaching assistant.

But… was the salary again coming from that big boss?

Thinking of the sky-high tutoring pay from summer break, Gu Yao felt a little weird.

She typed back:
[Is this countryside volunteering trip arranged by your second uncle?]

[Of course. He even made me write a 2,000-word reflection at first.]

A true old-school cadre move.

Gu Yao chuckled.

Then Zhou Xingduan suddenly added:
[But he’s barely keeping himself afloat now. Probably won’t have the time to worry about me.]

Huh?

What did that mean?