Paper Lover At Old Town Bookstore Chapter 26

sudden departure

I just turned around and was about to rush out, but my foot suddenly stumbled and my body threw forward uncontrollably.Xu Xingruo subconsciously stretched out her hand to pull me, but I lost her balance and the two of them fell to the ground together – my palms were on her sides, my forehead was against hers, and our lips touched each other without warning.

The warm touch exploded instantly, like electric current flowing through the body.Her lips were soft and cool, with a faint sweet fragrance of milk tea. I could even feel her suddenly tense body and her rapid breath spraying on my cheek.

Time seemed to stand still. The warm light in the tea room fell on the overlapping figures of the two people, making even the air thicker.

“Bang——”

The door of the tea room was pushed open violently, and a young employee who had just joined the job stood at the door with a water glass in his hand. His eyes were wide open. The water glass in his hand fell to the ground with a clang, and water splashed all over the floor.

He obviously didn’t expect to see this scene, his face turned red instantly, and he stammered: “Yes, I’m sorry! I, I didn’t see anything!”

But his exclamation had already attracted his colleagues around him. Their footsteps quickly gathered around him, and the entrance to the tea room was quickly filled with people.

Some people poked their heads through the door frame, and some were talking in low voices. Yang Changwen squeezed in at the front. When he saw us overlapped on the ground, his face instantly turned livid, and his eyes were full of jealousy and unwillingness.

Xu Xingruo suddenly came back to his senses, turned his head and pushed me away like a frightened deer. His cheeks were so red that they were almost bleeding. His voice was crying and panicked: “No, it’s not like that! It was an accident!”

I stood up on the ground and felt a terrible pain in my ankle, but I didn’t bother to rub it and quickly went to help her.

But the gazes around her were like countless needles, pricking people with nowhere to hide. Those whispers became clearer and clearer: “We accidentally kissed each other? What a coincidence.” “There were rumors that something was wrong with them before, but now it seems to be true.” “Mr. Song was protecting her just now, and now…”

Yang Changwen suddenly squeezed in and pulled me away. The force was so strong that my injured ankle suffered a sharp pain and I almost fell down again.

He stared at Xu Xingruo with deliberate pity in his tone, but in fact he was inciting emotions: “Xingruo, don’t be afraid! Did President Song force you? I’ll tell the president now!”

I endured the pain and stood firm, pulled Xu Xingruo behind me to protect me, and looked at Yang Changwen with cold eyes: “Shut up. This has nothing to do with her. If you have anything to do with me, come at me.” As soon as I finished speaking, there was a suppressed commotion outside the crowd. The colleagues who were talking about each other instantly fell silent and subconsciously stepped aside to make way for a passage.

The CEO stood expressionless at the door, his eyes scanning the water stains on the ground, Xu Xingruo’s and me’s messy clothes, and Yang Changwen’s hands frozen in mid-air. There was no wave in his eyes.

He didn’t say a word, didn’t even look at anyone, he just said a few words lightly: “Song Qiusheng, come to my office.”

After saying that, he turned around and left, his back showing unquestionable majesty.

The air around him completely solidified, and the eyes of his colleagues became increasingly ambiguous and fearful. No one dared to say another word.Xu Xingruo held my sleeve, his fingertips were cold, and his voice was choked: “Qiu Sheng, what should I do…”

I patted the back of her hand, suppressing the pain in my ankle and the panic in my heart, and whispered to comfort her: “Don’t be afraid, I’ll be right back.” I turned to look at Yang Changwen, with eyes as cold as ice, “Don’t try to trick her again.”

After saying that, I held on to the wall and limped toward the second floor following the CEO’s back.Every step involved severe pain in his ankle, but his heart was heavier than his body – the president’s silence at this moment was far more disturbing than his rebuke.

What on earth does he want to do?Do you want to pursue the farce just now, or do you want to warn me again to stay away from Xu Xingruo?

The door of the office was gently closed, blocking out the eyes from outside, leaving only the president and I standing opposite each other.He sat behind his desk, tapping his fingertips on the table, making regular sounds, as if he was thinking about something.

The silence in the office was prolonged by the sound of fingertips tapping on the table, until the regular tapping suddenly stopped. The president raised his eyes and looked at me, his tone was calm but with unquestionable weight: “Qiu Sheng, it’s the opening ceremony of the new company, you go and sit in charge.”

I froze in place, and the pain in my ankle seemed to fade a little.I originally thought it was an invitation to investigate, but I didn’t expect it to be such an innocuous arrangement. I didn’t know how to react.The new company is located in a neighboring city. Although the opening ceremony is important, it does not require me, the head of the department, to be personally present. This is more like…a deliberate transfer.

“President,” I calmed down, my voice a little tentative, “What happened in the tea room just now…”

“I don’t care what your relationship is in private.” He interrupted me, his fingertips fell on the documents again, and his eyes stopped looking at me, “But in the company, you are the management and she is the intern. The opening ceremony lasts for a week, which is enough for you to calm down.”

These words were like a layer of window paper being pierced. They neither broke the ambiguity nor explicitly reprimanded me, but separated me from Xu Xingruo in the most direct way.

I instantly understood that it was not that he didn’t care, but that he was too lazy to pursue the matter and just wanted to use distance to calm the farce.

But a week is enough time for a lot to happen.Yang Changwen will never let go of this opportunity. If Xu Xing stays alone in the company, will he continue to pester him?Will it be one step closer to the destined tragedy?Countless worries came to my mind. I clenched my fists and tried to fight for it: “President, I still have a few urgent projects on hand…”

“Leave it to the deputy.” His tone was decisive, leaving no room for negotiation. “We will leave early tomorrow morning.”

I looked at his determined profile and knew that it would be useless to argue.When I turned to leave the office, the pain in my ankle came back again, but my heart felt colder than my body – I’ve been away for a week, how should I rest assured about her?