"You're completely spaced out," Yibo said when he noticed Zhan lost in thought. This was after Mrs. Lan talked with the printing department. "I just confirmed Mom's statement about me getting married, and you're standing there like a statue."
"N-nothing, Mr. Lan. You just surprised me. Congratulations." Zhan awkwardly stretched out his hand to Yibo, who shook it with a smile.
"Thanks."
Zhan withdrew his hand abruptly. "Congratulations. Zhou Fei is beautiful, and you two are such a great pair." Zhan just hopes Yibo doesn't notice the insincerity and bitterness in his voice. If it weren't for the filing cabinet behind him, he might not have been able to handle the trembling of his knees.
"Yes, she is beautiful." Yibo shrugged his shoulders. "We've been dating for two years, Zhan. But you might have noticed that Zhou Fei was not in the country in those months. Her modeling career is very important to her."
He wasn't sure why Yibo was telling him that."Well, you have a famous girlfriend. It's no surprise that she's so busy." Zhan was trying to sound so casual. He was doing his best to hide from Yibo that his heart felt like it was being gripped tighter and tighter, making it hard to catch his breath.
Besides feeling jealous, how is he supposed to deal with the reality that the woman Yibo is marrying is the daughter of the man who took his aunt's life?
"I wonder how Mom convinced her. We've been endlessly choosing wedding dates. And when it's set, we'll end up canceling at the last minute because Zhou Fei has this important modeling gig to attend."
"Maybe she figured it was about time for you to get married, Mr. Lan," Zhan replied, his voice quivering as he silently prayed Yibo wouldn't notice his unease. Zhan felt foolish, almost condescending. Why was he even defending Zhou Fei to Yibo?
"Actually, it was Mama who pushed us to get married. She's all about wanting grandkids," Yibo said drily.
Then Yibo stared at him. "Did you know Zhou Fei is jealous of you?"
"J- jealous of me, Mr. Lan?" Well, that was unexpected and honestly pretty surprising.
"Yes, Zhan. Zhou Fei is jealous, and I can sense it. She might deny it, but she gets super annoyed whenever I talk about you."
"I... I don't understand," Zhan was confused and for a second forgot how he felt.
Zhou Fei is jealous of him? As in him, with his nerdy look? And she's feeling jealous over a boy?
"Women!" Yibo murmured wryly.
"Why would she even feel that way about me? I'm your secretary, just nerdy secretary..." Zhan stressed the word nerdy with a hint of bitterness. "...and she's so beautiful. Seriously, why would she be jealous of a boy?"
Yibo gave a little shrug. "Maybe she knows I am not dependent on you now for quite a few things. That's likely why." I hate to admit it, but Zhou Fei's too possessive."
"For sure, that's the reason. Because if we're talking about personality, that's a big joke."
"Don't underestimate yourself, Zhan," Yibo said, frowning as he looked at him.
"I am a realistic person, Mr. Lan. I do not have any illusion-"
"You have so many plus factors," Yibo cut him off mid-sentence. "And if you'll just change the way you dress..." Yibo's voice trailed off, stared at him intently.
"I'm going to call Mr. Haikuan now, Mr. Lan" Zhan dodged and picked up the phone.
Yibo let out a sigh, stood up, and headed back to his office.
