Manager Xu looked at Wen Junhe standing still on the spot and could not help but call out again, “President Wen? Aren’t we leaving?”

The moonlight struck half of Wen Junhe’s profile, casting mottled shadows. He suddenly spoke in a low voice, “It turns out that for some people, saying forever is really just saying it.”

He Ning had thought about resigning because he did not want to see Wen Junhe and could not afford to let his colleagues notice anything unusual.

Both of these matters put him to too much of a test.

Crossing paths with Wen Junhe daily in the elevator banks and conference rooms was a regular occurrence, especially when there was someone gossiping about the newly arrived executive vice president in the pantry every single day.

During yesterday’s lunch break, He Ning was hiding in the emergency exit stairwell to smoke, only to run straight into Wen Junhe the moment he stepped out.

The building rooftop.

This was He Ning and Zhou Ji’s secret location.

He Ning opened his lunchbox, pushed Zhou Ji’s portion in front of him, and poked a chicken leg with his chopsticks, saying, “Resigning and staying behind both of these options are too cruel to me.”

Zhou Ji focused on eating with his head down. He worked as a programmer next door and had recently requested a hair growth diet, so He Ning had already been cooking a hair nourishment menu for him for an entire week.

Zhou Ji suggested, “Then why don’t you just switch jobs directly.”

His cheeks were still bulging as he spoke, looking like a hamster hoarding food.

He Ning looked down, shifting the rice in his lunchbox, his voice muffled, “Jobs aren’t that easy to find these days.”

Besides, the benefits at this company were already quite good.

Zhou Ji pushed up the glasses that had slid down his nose bridge. “You said he was very composed. I think you might be overthinking it. Maybe he doesn’t want to hold a grudge against you at all.”

He Ning choked on his words, “Ah.”

Zhou Ji suddenly expressed from the bottom of his heart, “Based on what you said, he is such a rational person, and what he detests most is a messy complication, right? The best way to handle it is to treat you as non-existent. He doesn’t exactly like that past of yours. His best move is naturally not to give you a single glance, unless you stick yourself to him again.”

He Ning quickly denied it, “Of course I won’t!” Zhou Ji said, “Then that’s fine. This is just like him stepping into a pile of dog feces in the past. You can’t expect him to step in it a second time.”

He glanced at He Ning’s stiff expression and continued, “Furthermore, he has status and position now, so what benefit does he get from being involved with you? Didn’t you say he is a pretty upright person? He wouldn’t deliberately come to make things difficult for you. Just adjust your own mentality.”

He Ning had no idea he could actually be compared to dog feces.

Although Zhou Ji’s analogy sounded unpleasant, it was surprisingly accurate.

Wen Junhe had always been well liked by the people around him, whereas He Ning, by contrast, really had a terribly poor reputation.

His father was sentenced to life in prison by the state, and in Wen Junhe’s court, he was also sentenced to life without parole.

In reality, He Ning also knew that he was just being difficult. Wen Junhe would absolutely not make things hard for him because he believed in his character, but He Ning could not mentally process it for the time being.

After finishing their meal, He Ning took charge of cleaning up the lunchboxes this time. As the two stepped out of the elevator, Zhou Ji gave him some encouragement, “Just let that past blow away with the wind. Focus on your work. I want to eat stir-fried pig liver tomorrow.”

He Ning then clenched his own fist, remembered something, and chased after him while holding the lunchboxes, “No way, if we go to buy the ingredients later, they won’t be fresh.”

Zhou Ji patted his shoulder, “Then you decide on the menu, little chef.”

He Ning did not notice someone behind him when he turned around, and the two lunchboxes held in his arms crashed loudly into the person’s chest. Sauce splattered out from the loosely closed lid gaps, soaking a piercing oil stain across Wen Junhe’s snow-white shirt. He Ning’s mind buzzed instantly, with nothing but the words “it’s over” echoing repeatedly.

Secretary Xun, who was walking beside Wen Junhe, was also startled.

Secretary Xun, who accompanied Wen Junhe, let out a sharp intake of breath. He Ning lifted his head to look at Wen Junhe’s face, and all his emotions deflated like a punctured balloon in an instant, leaving behind nothing but empty helplessness.

He felt that he was very incompetent and clumsy, always doing things that made people annoyed.

Wen Junhe’s expression showed no change, as if he had not been offended at all. He just looked down at the stained area and suddenly called He Ning’s name, saying, “Put your things down and come with me.”

He Ning then asked subconsciously, “Where to?”

Wen Junhe replied, “Do you think I intend to wear this shirt for the entire day?”

He Ning then quickly caught up and said hurriedly, “There is a shopping mall two traffic lights ahead of the company, and there are men’s clothing counters there.”

Wen Junhe walked toward the parking lot, and He Ning followed awkwardly behind him. It was not until he started the car and sounded the horn that He Ning opened the door and sat in the back seat, stating, “…Turn right out of the parking lot, then go straight for a few hundred meters…”

“Move to the front.”

He Ning said, “…I’m giving you directions.”

“Am I your driver?”

He Ning sat into the passenger seat and lowered his head to open the navigation. Wen Junhe had already driven out of the underground garage. He held out his phone, the screen lighting up with the route map. Wen Junhe swept a glance and shifted his eyes away, so He Ning could only retract his hand.

“I didn’t memorize it,” Wen Junhe said.

He Ning then held it out again, but thought to himself that Wen Junhe used to have an excellent memory, even reaching the point of photographic memory. He probably didn’t look closely just now.

Once they spotted the mall, He Ning put his phone down and followed Wen Junhe out of the car. He brought Wen Junhe into a shirt shop. This brand was in a similar price range as the one Wen Junhe was wearing, and the clerk greeted them enthusiastically.

He Ning was currently feeling a sharp pain over the money he would have to pay shortly. The price tags of two shirts here added up to roughly half of his monthly salary.

Wen Junhe turned around abruptly, lifted his hand to unbutton his cuffs, and raised his chin toward He Ning, stating, “He will choose for me.”

In the past, his favorite thing to do was to buy clothes for Wen Junhe, personally selecting everything from undershirts to coats. Even though Wen Junhe wouldn’t wear them eight out of ten times, he still did it tirelessly.

However, most of the time, Wen Junhe would not wear the items he bought for him.

He Ning casually picked out two shirts. The sizes were probably incorrect because he had long forgotten Wen Junhe’s measurements. He was just choosing randomly now, but he could be certain they wouldn’t fit.

He felt that Zhou Ji was right. He could not show even a hint of wanting to cling to him, as that would be truly repulsive.

Right now, intentionally choosing the wrong sizes was his way of proving that he truly did not care anymore.

Wen Junhe really had a very good temper and was a very good person.

Regrettably, he no longer belonged to him.

He Ning watched him calmly accept the two shirts that were clearly an incorrect fit and step into the fitting room without even a knit of his brow.

The curtain of the fitting room swayed gently. He Ning sat on the bench in the waiting area, his gaze unconsciously drawn to a black shirt on the display rack. The sharp tailoring looked as if it were specially designed for a clothes hanger body like Wen Junhe. He could almost imagine Wen Junhe wearing it, with the fabric smoothly wrapping around his broad shoulders and narrow waist.

The fitting room door was then pulled open.

As expected, the fit was not quite right. Wen Junhe handed the smaller one to the clerk, saying it was a bit tight, while the larger one was somewhat loose around the waist.

Wen Junhe suddenly pointed to the black shirt He Ning had been looking at just now, “Excuse me, I would like that one.”

He Ning was stunned.

Wen Junhe asked, “Otherwise, what were you looking at just now?”

After saying that, he called out a size, and the clerk quickly brought one over. He Ning spoke up to say no, but Wen Junhe suddenly opened his mouth, “What? Do you want to buy it for that boyfriend of yours?”

He Ning looked at Wen Junhe, thinking to himself where on earth he would get a boyfriend. Reflecting that his flawless face and expensive shirt were luxuries he could no longer afford, a sudden wave of sorrow and a helpless feeling of resentment washed over him for no reason.

“Ah, yes. I was just thinking that my boyfriend would probably look quite handsome in black.”

He Ning thought that this should put Wen Junhe’s mind at ease; he really wouldn’t pester him anymore.

The look in Wen Junhe’s eyes changed suddenly, like an undercurrent vortex beneath a calm sea surface.

He Ning could sense anger and suppression from him. In the next second, Wen Junhe even questioned him in front of others, his tone shockingly cutting.

“Are you still only capable of these same old tricks? Cooking and cleaning, pestering relentlessly, and gifting some flashy, useless trash?” His voice was pressed very low, “With that meager salary of yours, how many times can you afford to be deeply affectionate?”

He Ning felt as though all the blood in his body had frozen completely.

He used to believe that as long as he poured his heart out to someone, he could always get a little bit of sincerity in return.

Now, Wen Junhe was crushing the devotion he offered into pieces right in front of his face.

“Did I never tell you that those tactics used on me were completely atrocious, yet you actually have the nerve to use them on someone else again.”

He Ning had nothing to say.

Today, Wen Junhe told him that everything He Ning had worked so hard to do had not moved him even a fraction of an inch.

Was he angry that he was going to ruin someone else? Was he merely feeling indignant on behalf of a stranger?

He Ning had no idea why he suddenly wanted to laugh. It turned out his years of dedication were nothing but a joke in Wen Junhe’s eyes.

In the end, Wen Junhe did not take that black shirt either, choosing a white shirt himself instead. He Ning wanted to pay, but Wen Junhe swiped his card a step ahead, picked up the paper bag, and strode forward.

He Ning ran a couple of steps behind him, then passively gave up the chase.

He thought it would be best if Wen Junhe would just abandon him and let him walk back by himself.

But Wen Junhe did not. That black car backed up again and stopped steadily in front of him. The window rolled down, and Wen Junhe’s expression looked even worse than before.

He Ning did not move.

He suddenly wished Wen Junhe could be even more heartless. Just like when his family fell into trouble back then, this person clearly should have walked away without looking back, yet he insisted on saying he would take him abroad together.

This kind of forced pity was more humiliating than outright disgust.

There was no need for Wen Junhe to sympathize with him; he was technically a victim too.

He Ning said, “…No thank you, President Wen. I will take your shirt to the dry cleaner’s; it should be able to wash out.”

Wen Junhe then drove away.

With Wen Junhe’s car gone, He Ning stood blankly on the spot for a while before remembering to take the soiled shirt to the dry cleaner’s.

He returned to the company, and after work, he got into Zhou Ji’s car, suddenly remembering the lunchboxes left behind at the office.

The moment Wen Junhe returned, his entire rhythm was thrown into disarray, as if a pause button had been pressed, making him a beat slower in everything he did.

He Ning tapped his own head, and Zhou Ji told him to stop tapping, saying he would only get sillier the more he tapped.

They went to the supermarket together to buy a new lunchbox, and then set tomorrow’s menu. Zhou Ji picked up a cabbage larger than his head, lifted it up, and asked him to guess how heavy it was.

He Ning took it to weigh it in his hands, then used his fingers to gesture dividing it into four portions, tapping them in turn, “This for a quick stir fry, this for a cold salad, this to make a glass noodle cabbage soup, and this to make cabbage stuffed buns.”

Suddenly, someone behind them called out Junhe’s name. He Ning turned his head and saw Wen Junhe pushing a shopping cart at the end of the aisle, his dark gaze landing heavily on him and Zhou Ji.

Han Qing stepped forward and said to Wen Junhe, “How did you manage to walk so fast in just a short moment.”

Following Wen Junhe’s gaze, Han Qing also looked over toward He Ning.