Chapter 40: Waiting for Initiative

The next day, after work, Wen Jiu returned to her apartment. She packed a few clothes, ready to go back home.

Standing at the doorway, she glanced at the tightly closed door opposite—Gu Zehuai’s apartment. Suddenly, the image of Gu Zehuai’s faint, smiling lips flashed through her mind. Wen Jiu shook her head, forcing herself not to dwell on it.

The memory of Gu Zehuai’s drunken night, and the words and actions that followed, remained vivid in her mind. Wen Jiu couldn’t discern Gu Zehuai’s true feelings for her, so she waited—waited for him to take the initiative, to reveal his heart to her, even if it meant confessing he didn’t like her.

Part of the reason she wanted to move back home was to distance herself from Gu Zehuai and calmly reflect on their relationship.

Wen Jiu knew she couldn’t maintain a serene composure in front of him. So, until she had a clear understanding of both his feelings and her own, she wouldn’t take the first step.

She was passive by nature, slow to warm up to things, often appearing indifferent. Yet only she knew that this nonchalance was simply because she hadn’t met anyone she truly cared about—until now.

Now, someone had appeared, stirring her emotions and plucking at her heartstrings. She needed time to cool her head and think: was this merely a fleeting affection, or genuine love?

Reining in her thoughts, Wen Jiu drove back to the Wen residence.

In the days that followed, Wen Jiu dedicated herself to designing uniforms for the Huo Group’s employees. As she was putting the finishing touches on the sketches, her work WeChat received a new friend request.

Since it was her work account, it had to be a colleague or a client. Wen Jiu accepted the request.

The profile picture was a little white dog, and the nickname was simply “Huo.”

Connecting this to her recent orders, Wen Jiu guessed this might be the newly appointed president of Huo Group.

After accepting, Wen Jiu greeted the contact.
“Hello, this is Wen Jiu, designer at Jingyan Design Company.”

The other party quickly replied with a name.
“Hello, Huo Yeran.”

Now Wen Jiu was certain—this was the new president of Huo Group.

She was puzzled as to why a president would add a designer personally, and briefly wondered if he might be a scammer.

Just then, Huo Yeran sent another message.
“Sorry to bother you. If it’s convenient, could you show me a draft of the employee uniform design?”

He added, “I have some knowledge of fashion design—though I’m not a professional, I can at least offer some insight.”

Wen Jiu replied, “I’m sorry, Mr. Huo. It’s not that I can’t send you the drafts, but I can’t verify your identity. I hope you understand.”

On the other end, Huo Yeran wasn’t surprised. Such caution was only natural.

So, Huo Yeran sent her a location and proposed meeting the next afternoon to discuss in detail.

Seeing that the location was a café near Jingyan that she often frequented, Wen Jiu agreed. After all, a scammer wouldn’t choose such a busy, public place.

At two o’clock the next afternoon, Wen Jiu arrived at the café and walked in the direction shown in the photo Huo Yeran had sent.

From afar, she spotted a man in a suit whose tall figure was evident even as he sat. His back was to Wen Jiu, so she couldn’t see his face, but judging by the way the women around him gazed, his looks must be exceptional.

Wen Jiu approached, calling out tentatively, “Mr. Huo?”

The man turned slightly at the sound of his name.

As he turned, Wen Jiu saw his face clearly, and at the same moment, he recognized her.

Both stared at each other in astonishment.

“It’s you…”