Li Si'ao didn't understand what he meant at first. Later, when he saw Gu Qingzhou arrive late, he finally reacted. Afraid that Jiang Xu might have a brain fart and, like last time, urge the little admin assistant to record Gu Qingzhou's tardiness, he said to him in a low voice, "Hey, don't cause any trouble."

Jiang Xu thought to himself, 'What trouble could I possibly cause? Last time, if Gu Qingzhou hadn't pushed him to the edge, he wouldn't have bothered with open and hidden struggles with the other party; he couldn't avoid him fast enough.'

But that being said, although Gu Qingzhou had a bad temper, he was quite easy to coax. As long as Jiang Xu didn't deliberately provoke him, things could basically remain calm for a long time. Even today, when a designer from Team Three accidentally messed up a client's order, he wasn't seen punishing anyone, just sending it back to be redone.

Gu Qingzhou was stricter about deadlines than Old Luo. Coupled with the fact that the company's employees were used to being lax, things suddenly became fast-paced, and most people found it hard to adapt. During the lunch break, at least, Jiang Xu heard quite a few people complaining about him in secret, just like how students would curse in droves when a teacher assigned too much homework.

Jiang Xu thought to himself, 'The industry competition is already fierce. If they continue to be lax, they'll just be eliminated by the market. The company's performance can't keep facing losses. In the long run, headquarters will sooner or later order them to shut down. At that point, it'll either be a large-scale reorganization or mass unemployment, neither of which is a good thing.'

Besides, where would the money come from if they didn't take orders? Without money, they could only drink the northwest wind.

Ever since he delivered a jug of water to Gu Qingzhou's office last time, Jiang Xu had basically taken over this task. While a few male colleagues were helping change the water in the breakroom, he stretched lazily at his desk, then got up, picked up a jug, and went into the manager's office.

At that moment, Gu Qingzhou was on the phone with someone. Seeing him push the door open, he paused, then discreetly ended the call and lowered his head, pretending to be busy with something else. Jiang Xu swapped the water jug in a few swift movements. Seeing that Gu Qingzhou didn't even look at him, he leaned lazily against the water cooler and said, "Tsk, so rude."

There was no one else here besides Gu Qingzhou, so it was self-evident who he was talking about.

In his entire life, Gu Qingzhou had never heard a single good word from Jiang Xu's mouth and had long since gotten used to it. Hearing this, his body stiffened slightly. He slowly tightened the cap on his fountain pen and said, seemingly nonchalantly, "So what if I'm rude? What can you do to me?"

Jiang Xu thought to himself, 'Gu Qingzhou still has that same stubborn and unlikable personality. Would it kill him to say thank you?' At the same time, he also felt he had a big mouth. He clearly knew this person was petty, yet he always had to go and tease him a bit. Wasn't he just asking for trouble?

With one hand in his pocket, Jiang Xu leaned against the doorway. "You're the manager, what can I do to you? I'd be burning high incense if you didn't do anything to me."

Gu Qingzhou himself didn't even notice that he was always very childish in front of Jiang Xu. "Next time, I'll change the water myself. I don't need you to do it."

Jiang Xu's fingertips tapped lightly on the water jug, making a rhythmic sound. 'With that small frame of yours, what water can you carry?' he thought. He tilted his head to look at him and said, "Do you have to hold such a grudge? I just said a couple of things to you, is it that serious?"

Hearing this, Gu Qingzhou glanced at him expressionlessly and said seriously, word by word, "If I didn't hold a grudge, I wouldn't be here right now."

If he didn't hold a grudge, he should have completely forgotten the person Jiang Xu, along with everything in the past, and lived his own comfortable life in the prosperous circles of City A, instead of returning to this small place, Hai City, after so many years.

If he didn't hold a grudge, for the latter half of their lives, the two of them would never have any interaction again. Because as long as Gu Qingzhou didn't look for Jiang Xu, Jiang Xu wouldn't look for Gu Qingzhou either. They would just live out the rest of their lives in silence, in places unknown to each other.

If this hypothesis were true, the ending would be quite realistic.

Everything in the world likes to talk about fate, but such a thing is too illusory and ethereal. Once missed, it's truly for a lifetime. If he forced it, he could still grasp onto something; if he didn't, he would have nothing at all.

Compared to Gu Qingzhou's extremity, Jiang Xu's thoughts were very realistic. In this life, one shouldn't harbor such intense love or hate. No matter how much you can't let go, no matter how unreconciled you are, you must learn to let it fade, because the drudgery of life will not spare you one bit because of it.

But obviously, Gu Qingzhou had not been able to let it fade. He had driven himself into a dead end and hadn't been able to walk out of it for so many years.

The atmosphere in the office momentarily froze. Jiang Xu keenly sensed the change in his emotions and unconsciously stood up straight. He wanted to say something, but in the end, didn't say it. After a moment's hesitation, he could only turn and leave the office.

Due to his personality, Gu Qingzhou couldn't say any soft words. He could only watch Jiang Xu's retreating back, slowly clenching his fists. He sat alone in the vast office, his tit-for-tat attitude tormenting others as well as himself.

During the lunch break, everyone went downstairs to eat one after another. Although Jiang Xu had more money on hand now, he was in no mood for enjoyment or entertainment. At most, he switched from eating instant noodles to ordering takeout, but this still surprised Li Si'ao a little.

Li Si'ao asked, "Did you win the lottery? Why aren't you eating instant noodles anymore?"

Jiang Xu glanced at him and said, half-jokingly, "I found my long-lost uncle. He's richer than me."

Of course, Li Si'ao didn't believe him upon hearing that, only thinking he was spouting nonsense again. After saying goodbye, he went to a nearby restaurant to continue eating his boxed lunch. Jiang Xu was about to go downstairs to get his takeout when he subconsciously glanced at the tightly closed office door, thinking to himself that he seemed to have never seen Gu Qingzhou come out to eat.

The other person was like a snail, completely treating the office as his shell.

It wasn't that Jiang Xu was completely heartless, but he was just unwilling to think about many things, living from day to day most of the time. He slowly ambled to the ground floor of the company building, sat down with a heavy heart, and smoked a few cigarettes before going to the front desk to pick up the takeout. There were two portions in total.

During the lunch break, there was usually no one in the company; even the receptionists had gone to eat. Jiang Xu was hesitating whether to bring a portion of takeout to Gu Qingzhou when, just as he reached the office door, he heard a fierce argument from inside.

To be precise, it was a one-sided argument from a woman.

Jiang Xu thought, 'It couldn't be a client making a scene, could it?' He quietly opened the door a crack and vaguely saw a well-maintained middle-aged woman in an exquisite suit arguing with Gu Qingzhou about something. Due to her extreme anger, her still-charming face was flushed red. "I'll ask you one more time, are you coming back with me or not?!"

Jiang Xu had never seen Gu Qingzhou look like this, so cold that he kept people a thousand miles away. The ridicule in his eyes was even thicker than when he was facing him, yet it was also filled with a silent deadness. "...I've said it before, I'll go back when the time comes."

"When the time comes? When will that be? Do you have to wait until the family assets have been completely divided up before you're willing to go back?! Do you want me to kneel down and beg you?" The woman, whether her heart ached for money or something else, covered her face with a handkerchief and cried her eyes out. Seeing that Gu Qingzhou remained unmoved, she said, hating that he failed to meet her expectations, "I shouldn't have given birth to you in the first place, I should have just strangled you! You were born just to cause me trouble and grief!"

A flash of surprise crossed Jiang Xu's face when he heard this. He probably hadn't expected her to be Gu Qingzhou's mother. After all, the tense, sword-drawn-bow-taut atmosphere between the two of them made them look less like mother and son and more like enemies. He didn't know what irreconcilable event had occurred.

Jiang Xu gripped the doorknob, suddenly realizing he knew nothing about Gu Qingzhou's affairs, and couldn't help but fall silent for a moment. By the time he came to his senses and was about to close the door, a sharp slapping sound suddenly rang out from inside, startling him so much that he almost dropped his takeout.

"If you have the guts, then don't ever acknowledge me as your mother again!"

Mother Gu's slap was extremely forceful. Gu Qingzhou's face was turned to the side. His complexion was already pale, and now a bright red handprint silently appeared on his left cheek. His hair also fell limp, making him look utterly wretched.

There was one thing Jiang Xu said that was right: Gu Qingzhou was just unlikable, the kind that even his own mother detested.

Mother Gu's fingertips trembled slightly. She gave him a deep look, then turned and opened the door, leaving like the wind in her high heels. Jiang Xu ducked behind the partition of a nearby desk just in time to avoid being seen by her.

After the argument, the office was deathly silent, with only the sound of the air conditioner running. Jiang Xu blinked blankly, not yet recovered from the shock. A beat too late, he peeked through the crack in the door to check on Gu Qingzhou, only to see that he was still in the same position, unmoving.

Jiang Xu knew that Gu Qingzhou was proud and would least want others to see him in a wretched state. His footsteps paused, and in the end, he didn't go in. He could only watch him through the partially open crack of the door.

It was unknown how much time had passed—perhaps a minute, perhaps two, or maybe only a few seconds—when Gu Qingzhou finally moved. He didn't tend to his injury, not even touching his red and swollen cheek. He did his best to straighten his back, and then, as if nothing had happened, he lowered his head to collect the documents that had been accidentally swept onto the floor, one by one, and closed the ajar door.

Jiang Xu heard the soft click of a lock; it was the sound of the door being locked from the inside.

He had never seen Gu Qingzhou's mother, nor had he heard Gu Qingzhou mention a single word about his family, so naturally, he couldn't guess what had just happened. Jiang Xu was silent for a moment, glanced at the takeout box in his hand, and could only return to his seat, his mind uncontrollably starting to wander.

A slap, it should be fine, right?

Jiang Xu remembered how his mom had chased him halfway down the street with a laundry pole when he was a kid, and he had been fine. He went back, ate and drank as usual, and was perfectly okay.

For the entire afternoon, Gu Qingzhou did not leave his office. The door remained tightly shut, faintly isolating him from the outside world, detached from the crowd and the clamor. Fan Jiajia wanted to deliver some documents inside but was intercepted by Jiang Xu.

Jiang Xu scared her with a half-truth, "Manager Gu is in a bad mood today. If you go in now, you'll definitely get scolded. Just leave it there. I'll help you take it in for a signature after work."

Fan Jiajia, a rookie intern, believed him without a doubt. Plus, she was usually intimidated by Gu Qingzhou's cold demeanor, so she obediently handed the documents to Jiang Xu and even thanked him several times.

Li Si'ao stared at his computer, scoffed, and said without turning his head, "Since when were you so kind?"

Jiang Xu glanced at the office door and ignored him.

As closing time approached, everyone left one after another. The main lights were turned off, and the office was instantly plunged into darkness. Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, one could only see the neon lights of the skyscrapers outside lighting up in succession, creating a sense of desolation before the hustle and bustle had arrived.

Jiang Xu wanted to leave, but he didn't. He draped his jacket over his shoulder and, after much hesitation, walked to the office door, knocked, and said to the person inside, "Hey, it's time to go. The building's lights will be turned off soon."

His voice came through the door, sounding somewhat unreal. Gu Qingzhou came back to his senses at the sound, subconsciously raising a hand to touch his still stinging and swollen left cheek. He glanced at the darkening sky outside and thought that after a whole day, the mark should have faded.

He stood up from his chair, but his legs were numb from sitting for too long, and he fell back down. Gu Qingzhou closed his eyes, waited a second or two before getting up again, and as soon as he pulled the door open, he saw Jiang Xu peeking inside, craning his neck at the glass window.

Gu Qingzhou's footsteps paused slightly. "What are you doing?"

Seeing him come out, Jiang Xu habitually stood up straight, his gaze sweeping discreetly over Gu Qingzhou's left cheek. The latter, sensing his gaze, flinched as if pricked by a needle and quickly turned his head away. Without looking back, he took the lead and walked out, his calm tone hiding a deliberate panic. "You don't need to take me home today."

Jiang Xu thought to himself, 'Gu Qingzhou's mom really hits hard. This handprint won't fade in two days.' He strode to catch up with Gu Qingzhou, feigning ignorance, and said cheerfully, "I took you home yesterday, why not today?"

Gu Qingzhou didn't speak, just walked quickly outside, not wanting anyone to see his current wretched appearance. Seeing this, Jiang Xu caught up to him in a few strides, grabbed his wrist, and pulled him back. He offered some clumsy comfort, "Tsk, what are you running for? Isn't it just a slap? My mom slapped me when I was a kid, too."

Gu Qingzhou struggled fiercely but was pinned against the wall by Jiang Xu, unable to break free. Hearing his words, his face turned pale. Seeing Jiang Xu staring intently at his face, he uncontrollably closed his eyes and turned his head away, hiding the flash of embarrassment that flickered in his eyes. He pressed his lips tightly together, unable to speak.

When had Jiang Xu ever seen him look so wretched? His grip on his hand loosened unconsciously. His gaze involuntarily fell on Gu Qingzhou's red and swollen cheek. Perhaps because the other's skin was fair, it looked rather startling. Hesitantly, he reached out and touched it.

"Hey..."

Jiang Xu looked at him and asked in a low voice, "Does it still hurt?"