8
After a few months of working together, Zachary and I became good friends. I no longer called him Mr. Chen, and he no longer called me Miss Lin.
One day, I was working on a financial report in my courtyard when I heard Zachary’s voice from a distance. Soon, he was standing in front of me. “Working on the report?”
“Yeah, almost done. Wait for me for a bit.”
“Sure.”
Although he was waiting for me, Zachary didn’t stay idle. He helped me clean the courtyard and washed my dirty dishes. At first, I was embarrassed and told him not to do it, but he wouldn’t listen, so I let him be.
Your bowl is still from yesterday. Did you skip breakfast again?”
My fingers, which were typing, paused for a second. I felt a little guilty.
“Don’t even think about making excuses to fool me, Sophia.”
I smiled helplessly and had to admit it. I was often so busy with the fish farm that I forgot to eat. Zachary was very concerned about me not eating.
Seeing me nod, Zachary looked at me with a mixture of exasperation and affection. “Your body is your most important asset. The usual?”
“Yeah.”
The “usual” was Zachary’s tomato and egg noodles. He made them really well.
They were both CEOs, but Damian was always so high and mighty. Let alone cook for me, after Chloe appeared, even asking him to get me a glass of hot water
when I was sick was considered a gold–digging act.
Maybe Zachary wasn’t as rich as him. But a self–made man will always be smarter and more resilient than a rich heir.
After I finished the report, the bowl of noodles was placed in front of me.
Halfway through my meal, Zachary smiled and said, “Full?”
Wherever I was full, I would eat slower. I always finished what others had prepared for me, even if I was full.
“If you’re full, don’t eat anymore. You’ll feel uncomfortable if you eat too much.”
I bit my chopsticks and laughed out loud. “Zachary, are you a mind reader? How do you know me so well?”
“Hahaha, I can’t help it. You’re an open book. It’s hard not to know.”
An open bock?
That was the first time anyone had described me that way.
Damian had always thought I was a calculating gold digger. If I was really as transparent as Zachary said, why had Damian never once considered my feelings?
Seeing my expression change, Zachary quickly asked, “What’s wrong? Did I say something wrong?”
I smiled and shook my head, my mood returning to normal.
Then Zachary took out a gift box from behind his back. “See if you like it.”
I didn’t hesitate. I took it and opened it.
It was the Heart of the Ocean, a gift for one’s one and only true love.
“Last month, I was invited to a jewelry exhibition. The organizer just gave it to me, for me to give, and I thought it would suit you. Hahaha, I haven’t found a chance to give it to you. If you don’t like it, just, just put it somewhere. Anyway…
“I love it.”
“What did you say?”
Zachary was surprised by my answer. He had given me many things, and I had always accepted them politely. This was the first time I had actively expressed my Viking for something, not out of politeness, but because I genuinely loved it.
Zachary’s stunned expression was just like when we first met.
Chapter 2
སས་པ་་ བབས་་་ས འ་བཔ་པ་ ད་–བདསབ་ ་་n ད་་fཆས་ ་་་་་བ་ ..་ཅ‧
“I said, I really love your gift.”
The way the man had been stammering and trying to cover up was really funny. He said I was an open book, but wasn’t he one too?
08:14
The Heart of the Ocean wasn’t just any gift. It cost a lot of money and required a lot of determination. Once you bought the Heart of the Ocean, all the female jewelry you bought for the rest of your life could only be given to the person who owned it.
It was a promise, and a deep expression of love.
Zachary probably thought I didn’t know about these things. But anyone who wasn’t a fool could see it. Such a beautiful piece of jewelry couldn’t possibly be a com- plimentary gift from an exhibition.
Had Damian ever given me a gift?
I didn’t think so. At least, not that I could remember.
If there was one, it would be the half of the cake he paid for on my birthday every year. But he was the one who ate most of the cake. To cater to his taste, I always
bought a mango cake.
Thinking about it, I really was a fool. To think that a man like that truly loved me. The little things he did that touched me were all low–cost gestures that anyone
could do, and yet I was so moved that I thought I couldn’t live without him.
Zachary looked at me with a gentle expression, and I felt a little shy under his gaze. “Why are you staring at me?”
Zachary
Zachary snapped out of his daze and quickly looked away. He didn’t dare to admit that he had been mesmerized by my face.
“Ahem, sorry, Sophia. I was thinking of taking you to see the new fish farm tomorrow. Do you want to go?”
“The great CEO is inviting me. Of course, I’ll go.”
“Yeah, you can dress up nicely tomorrow. There’s a party at the new fish farm in the evening. The scenery is great. I’ll take pictures
for you then.”
Perhaps afraid that I would misunderstand, Zachary quickly explained. “I’m not saying you don’t look good in your usual clothes. You always look good. I, I saw on your social media that you like taking pictures, so I wanted to help. You can wear whatever you like.”
Zachary really did stutter when he was nervous.
“I know. I’ll wear my favorite dress tomorrow. Don’t overthink it. I’m not overthinking it either.”
