The door was pushed open.
Zhang Yan walked in.
Their eyes met.
Zhang Yan was slightly stunned; she hadn't expected... a scene like this.
She instinctively looked away, but couldn't help stealing glances at Zhou Xing.
He had a youthful body, well-maintained through exercise.
From head to toe,
not a single ounce of excess fat could be seen.
His abdominal muscles were well-defined.
Combined with his height of 185cm and his bright, handsome face, the visual impact was immense.
Zhang Yan's face suddenly flushed red.
Her heart rate quickened even more.
Zhou Xing didn't think much of it; after all, he was still wearing a pair of large boxer shorts.
"What are you doing here?"
Zhou Xing asked, somewhat surprised.
Zhang Yan calmed herself down and finally remembered her purpose: "I heard from Su Xi that you... seemed to have gotten into an argument with someone this afternoon, so I came over to check on you."
"You're not hurt, are you?"
Zhou Xing raised an eyebrow and said, "Do I look like someone who's injured?"
Zhang Yan had been publicly acknowledged by Zhou Xing as the boss's lady within the company.
Su Xi also knew about their relationship.
So it was only natural that she would choose to tell Zhang Yan about this.
"It's good that you're not hurt."
Zhang Yan breathed a sigh of relief. "Su Xi told me about it as soon as she got back to the company. She's been feeling quite guilty, saying that if it weren't for her, this wouldn't have happened."
"It's fine. Tell her it's not a big deal."
Zhou Xing said indifferently, "Focusing on work is what matters. I won't blame her for this."
Although this matter was triggered because of Su Xi,
it was an unintentional mistake on her part.
Su Xi hadn't known she would run into a boor like Li Guoxing at the Tianma Racetrack.
Although Zhou Xing wasn't the most magnanimous person, he wasn't so petty as to shift the blame onto Su Xi.
Hearing this, Zhang Yan's gaze couldn't help but fall back on Zhou Xing.
After a moment,
she forced herself to look away and nodded. "Okay, I'll tell Su Xi tomorrow."
"I'm relieved that you're okay."
After saying that, Zhang Yan seemed to feel she was being too direct, so she added, "You are a VIP of our China Merchants Bank. Besides helping you with economic issues, I also have a responsibility to ensure your personal safety."
But the more she spoke, the more it sounded like she was protesting too much.
Zhou Xing chuckled and picked up his clothes. "I'm going to take a shower first. Sit here for a bit, and we'll talk when I come out."
Zhang Yan was quite familiar with this place.
She even knew the door code, and Zhou Xing had registered her fingerprint.
There was really not much difference between her and the lady of the house.
He wasn't worried that she would feel uneasy or too constrained here.
"Then I won't disturb you. Get some rest; I'll be heading back now."
Zhang Yan spoke.
Staying here any longer was extremely risky.
Just a few glances at Zhou Xing's body had made her face flush; if she waited for him to come out of the shower, she might not be able to resist at all and would willingly surrender herself.
"Just stay here tonight; it's getting late."
Zhou Xing glanced at Zhang Yan and smiled. "I still have some economic issues I need to ask you about later."
Zhang Yan looked up at Zhou Xing somewhat suspiciously.
Why did she feel like there was something off about Zhou Xing's words?
But she still nodded and sat down on the sofa.
Seeing this, Zhou Xing immediately took his clothes and went into the bathroom.
Ten odd minutes later.
Wearing a bathrobe and with wet hair, Zhou Xing walked out. Drying his hair, he said to Zhang Yan, "I'm done. You should go wash up too."
"Huh?"
Zhang Yan was stunned, then blushed. She bit her lip and interlaced her fingers, showing her internal conflict.
After a long while,
she finally looked up, not daring to meet Zhou Xing's eyes, and asked weakly, "Weren't there economic issues? Why do I need to take a shower?"
"Haven't you had a long, tiring day? A shower will help relieve your fatigue so you can be in a better state to answer my questions."
Zhou Xing smiled.
"Okay."
Zhang Yan hesitantly stood up. She sniffed herself; although she spent most of her time in an office building with central air conditioning,
in such hot weather, sweating was inevitable.
She had been busy all day in high heels.
She was indeed exhausted. If she could take a hot bath to relieve her fatigue and refresh herself, she would. She immediately walked into the bathroom with her head down.
Many things in there had been personally bought and arranged by Zhang Yan.
So, her understanding of the place might even be a bit better than Zhou Xing's.
Taking a brand-new bathrobe from the walk-in closet nearby... Zhou Xing sat on the sofa, poured himself a glass of fruit wine, and added some ice cubes from the fridge.
He sat on the sofa,
overlooking the night view of Shanghai.
Taking a small sip of the fruit wine, he wasn't in a hurry; girls usually took a long time to shower... Just as Zhou Xing expected.
Half an hour later,
Zhang Yan finally emerged from the bathroom wrapped in a bathrobe.
Water droplets still trickled down her snow-white neck.
Her fair skin was slightly flushed. Her cheeks, whether from the hot water or shyness, looked as if they were coated in a layer of red frost.
Zhang Yan tightened her robe.
She came to Zhou Xing and sat on the sofa, looking up at him. "Zhou Xing, can you tell me what the issues are now?"
She wrinkled her small nose. "But... even though I work at a bank, I don't know everything. If there's really something you want to know, I can ask my colleagues tomorrow, or you can just talk to Branch Manager Lin."
Zhou Xing glanced at Zhang Yan; this woman was truly a master at playing dumb.
He didn't say much else. Some things... would lose their meaning if spoken too plainly.
It was enough that they both understood.
He put down his glass and stood up.
He grabbed Zhang Yan around the waist.
With a slight exertion of his core, he easily picked Zhang Yan up in a princess carry.
Zhang Yan's body was quite light.
Holding her in his arms, Zhou Xing felt no strain at all.
Zhang Yan, however, was like a startled rabbit and couldn't help but cry out. Before she could speak, Zhou Xing was already carrying her toward the bedroom.
"Zhou Xing..."
Curled up in Zhou Xing's arms, Zhang Yan lightly tugged at his robe. She ducked her head and whispered in a voice as tiny as a mosquito's buzz, "Weren't there still issues? Why are we going to the bedroom?"
Zhou Xing smiled. "This issue... can only be resolved in the bedroom."
"After all, economic issues are quite complex."
"We might need to talk all through the night to clear up the doubts in my heart."
With that,
he kicked open the bedroom door.
He walked into the bedroom.
With a hook of his foot, the bedroom door closed.
He casually pressed the switch by the door.
The curtains in the entire room... slowly closed.