C21 President Gu's Stubborness

"Gu Tianqi, what did I do in my previous life to deserve this?" Du Xiaoxiao murmured under her breath. Not wanting to see what anyone else would say about her, she resigned herself to her fate and got up to leave.

Only when she finally stepped out of the bathroom did she realize that he had already left. She tilted her head to the side, scanning the perimeters. When she was finally sure, she let out a sigh of relief.

Coincidentally, the waiter who had just been cleaning up the table walked right past her. Du Xiaoxiao subconsciously turned around to see that Gu Tianqi had actually eaten her cooking.

She froze.

He had deliberately made things difficult for her, but he ended up eating her cooking?

What was he thinking?

At that time, Zhang Su, the lobby manager, walked over.

Du Xiaoxiao took a look and lowered her head. "Sorry Manager, it's my fault again. I swear I'll–"

He sighed. "What's your relationship with Young Master Gu?"

"I..." There was a short pause before she said, "We have nothing to do with each other."

"You aren't Young Master Gu's girlfriend, are you?" Zhang Su narrowed his eyes at her. "I mean–"

"Please, Manager, don't make some bold assumptions." She chuckled, trying to cover her embarrassment. "Mr. Gu is the type of man I wouldn't be entangled with. That, I can promise you."

The corners of his mouth twitched. "Of course, I will not talk anymore." He waved his hand and laughed. "But it's a good thing he didn't intend to cause you any trouble. He told me to ignore everything that had transpired today, so you wouldn't have to worry about anything else."

Zhang Su himself had felt that there was this indescribable connection between Du Xiaoxiao and Young Master Gu. But since neither of them had said a word, he didn't dare gossip.

As soon as she heard his words, she couldn't help but furrow her eyebrows.

Then what was he doing here?

When they finally returned to the company, Gu Tianqi strode over into his office. Zheng Yue's face fell as soon as he had entered his own office, which was right at the other end of the floor.

As soon as the secretary had entered the room, everyone else hovered around him. "Secretary Zheng," they all whispered. "What's wrong with the President? Did something happen?"

"The man has activated his Monster Mode," he murmured under his breath. "Everyone should be on their feet."

"He's in a bad mood? Wasn't he okay when he had gone out to eat?"

Zheng Yue shrugged. "Maybe he had eaten something bad? I don't know, it's not like I could read whatever that man was thinking." With a sigh, he turned away. "Let's just all get to work. Hopefully, we can get off work on time today."

He had planned to watch a movie with his girlfriend tonight, but knowing his boss, he might have to cancel. If the boss were to work overtime, then they'd all have to follow.

It really wasn't easy working for him. It was a good thing the salary was high enough to accomodate their frustrations.

In the office, Gu Tianqi twirled his pen, unable to get his thoughts in order.

He had always been the type of man who separated his personal and professional matters, but why was he suddenly so caught up with Du Xiaoxiao's frustrations? No matter where he looked or what he did, his thoughts kept turning to her.

He gritted his teeth. Should he have explained things clearly? After all, perhaps she had misunderstood him too.

He dotted the paper with ink till he finally looked up.

He'd look for that stupid woman once she had gone off. After all, he had no reason to be misunderstood.

He'd also buy her a few clothes–just to make sure that she'd actually wear them.

It was weird to see how stubborn his mind works, but even he couldn't see how baffling he was. Only then did he not feel so irritated as he did around half an hour ago.

He nodded.

If there were matters getting out of track, then it's his job to drag them back onto the track.

No one could tell him what to do. After all, he was Gu Tianqi.

Only then did he manage to get back to work. He organized all the documents in his hand and read through them till around five in the evening. He went to have dinner first. Once everything was set, he sat in the coffee shop and waited. However, as the seconds passed by, he grew more and more anxious.

It was Du Xiaoxiao's first day of work. In order to familiarize herself with her obligations, the restaurant wouldn't let her off till around 9:30 P.M. Because of this, he had no other choice but to wait till then. He drove his car around to the entrance of Charm Hotel, knowing fully well that she'd pass by this street.

Rolling down the window, he put on his sunglasses and stared at the empty sidewalk.

Du Xiaoxiao had been busy this entire day. However, just as she was about to get off work, Wang Dandan's voice echoed across the hall, "Du Xiaoxiao, why don't you come over?"

She had already been so exhausted after following all their instructions, but it wasn't like she could do anything about it. With a sigh, she turned towards the older woman. "Senior, it's almost time for the next shift. Do you need me to do anything else?"

Wang Dandan pulled her over and pushed her towards the kitchen. "Just take out the trash," she snapped. "Originally, Little Zhang was supposed to be the one to do it, but he had a date with his girl so he had already left. Since we're rushing to close the shop, do you mind helping us out?"

Of course she'd ask that.

A part of her wanted to refuse, but after going through what she had today, she certainly didn't want to cause any trouble. With a nod, she plastered a smile on her face. "That's fine, I'll just dump out the trash."

"All right. We're leaving."

Du Xiaoxiao grabbed the large garbage bag and headed out the back door. What she didn't know was that the streetlamps to the back had broken down a few weeks ago. The shadows crept around the alleyway, making it hard for her to see. The breeze brushed against her face, but she seemed unbothered as she dragged the bag towards the trash can.

Just as she was able to reach the can, someone grabbed her arm.

She froze. The middle-aged man sounded from behind her. "It's so late at night. Aren't you afraid of the dark?"

She trembled. "Who are you? Let go of me! Let go of me!"

She swung her bag to the right.

The garbage bag hit one of the people behind her, but he was already too fast. He immediately pushed her up against one side of the wall and her head crashed against the surface. "Crap!" she breathed out as her vision blurred all around her.

Her heart raced in her chest. As the grip around her arms tightened, she found herself feeling faint. It's a man...it's a man...Somehow, his appearance was far more terrorizing than a ghost.

Her face paled.

In the darkness, a flashlight hovered over her frightened face. The bags under her eyes were evident as she trembled. "Take the bag, please," she stuttered. "I'll give you all the money. Please just let me go."

"Why would I need something I already have?" A lewd smile slipped into his lips. The middle-aged man ran his fingers up and down her waist. "Little beauty, it seems we meet again."

Her body trembled under his grip as she gazed into the person's eyes. It was the same customer who kept dropping his spoon at the restaurant today.

She screamed.

Gu Tianqi waited on the side, gazing at the empty road. However, no matter how long he had waited, he still couldn't see the small figure prancing across the street. Even when the waiters had already dispersed, he still couldn't see her.

Only then did he overhear a bit of their conversation.

"Dan, you're evil! How could you let Du Xiaoxiao throw out the trash?" One of them chuckled. "I heard that there's a pervert at the backdoor!"

"It's just a rumor. What pervert is there? Besides, it's just to scare her."

"No way, I really heard that there was someone else who had seen the pervert," one of them insisted. "He was wearing a suit, and I heard that he even raped another woman."

"Please, why didn't she call the police if she really was raped?"

"Because he's rich! He even gave her a full briefcase and told her how influential she was." The woman snorted. "It would've been useless to sue him."