Volume 1, Chapter 124: The man's hand remained firmly wrapped around her waist, its presence impossible to ignore.
Inside the hotel room.
After sending the WeChat message, Xu Zhi noticed that Liang Muzhi hadn’t responded, so she put away her phone and remembered to look for Liang Jinmo.
Where is he?
She circled around and finally found him in the study.
He was sitting behind the desk, focused intently on the laptop screen.
Xu Zhi raised her hand and knocked twice on the door panel.
Liang Jinmo looked up.
“You’re working, right?” Xu Zhi asked.
He didn’t answer directly but asked in return, “What’s your second foreign language?”
Students majoring in English typically had to take a second foreign language, and failing to earn enough credits would affect graduation. Xu Zhi had chosen Spanish and answered truthfully.
“Perfect,” Liang Jinmo said. “Come over and help me look at this.”
Obediently, Xu Zhi walked over. The laptop screen displayed a Spanish email. She skimmed it and said, “This is a client from Colombia approaching you for cooperation.”
The sender was an internet operations company from Colombia, apparently introduced to him by a manager through a third party.
Noticing the name in the email, she asked, “Is your English name Nate?”
Liang Jinmo responded with a simple “Mm.”
“My English name is Emily,” Xu Zhi said. “In freshman year, everyone had to choose an English name. Yang Xue helped me pick mine, saying it represented a petite, cute, quiet, and conservative girl.”
Liang Jinmo raised an eyebrow slightly, thinking Yang Xue was quite good at choosing names.
Xu Zhi continued, “But I feel like that name doesn’t suit me anymore.”
“Want to change it?”
“I’m thinking about it. I’ll decide when I find a better one. Back in college, people just picked any English name randomly, but after graduating, if you work in a multinational company, you really need to think it through.” She lowered her head, then glanced sideways at him. “Who gave you your English name?”
“The year I went abroad, before applying for my visa, I searched a few names online and picked one by drawing lots. This one came up.”
Xu Zhi was speechless.
So casual?
She said, “But actually, it’s a good name. I used to like a male lead in an American TV show who was also called Nate—super handsome.”
Liang Jinmo frowned, then she added, “But he was such a scumbag, cheating on both sides.”
“...” He asked, “You like that kind of guy?”
“No, once I saw he was two-timing, I didn’t like him anymore...” She suddenly recalled something and hurriedly told him, “I don’t like that kind of person, and I would never do that.”
Liang Jinmo was silent.
Xu Zhi was now grasping every chance to prove her loyalty, but the man seemed indifferent.
“Look at the email,” he said calmly.
Xu Zhi sighed inwardly. Back downstairs at the hotel, she thought she had managed to soothe him, but now it seemed she had been too naive.
She bent over to examine the email carefully.
The desk space was limited, and the two of them crowded close to the computer. Xu Zhi, slightly nearsighted, had to lean in close, which made her posture awkward.
From the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of the man’s profile. So close, her heart involuntarily quickened.
Liang Muzhi’s words suddenly flashed through her mind—that in lovers’ eyes, even an ugly man seems a treasure.
She thought he was just jealous. Liang Jinmo was undeniably more handsome.
So close up, she couldn’t find a single flaw in Liang Jinmo’s face. Moreover, not only was his skin pale, but it was so flawless, as if without a single pore...
Liang Jinmo stared at the screen and asked calmly, “Had enough?”
Xu Zhi’s cheeks flushed, and she awkwardly defended herself, “I wasn’t looking at you! I was looking at the email.”
She quickly returned her focus to the screen. Caught peeking, her ears turned red. She dared not be distracted and earnestly discussed the email’s content with him.
The sender addressed him by name, explicitly wanting to cooperate with him personally, not with the Liang Group or the team. After translating the entire message, Xu Zhi felt somewhat disheartened.
She realized she couldn’t just indulge in romantic matters now; she still had to find a job.
Liang Jinmo was so impressive—catching up to him felt daunting.
Liang Jinmo had no idea why, in less than ten minutes, Xu Zhi suddenly seemed deflated.
After relaying the entire content of the email, when she straightened up, her eyes were filled with disappointment.
He was about to say something when her phone rang.
She casually stuffed it into her jeans pocket, took a quick glance, and immediately frowned. “It’s Liang Muzhi.”
She explained to him, “I just told him that the engagement was my idea. Maybe he wants to clarify something. Can I go answer it?”
As she spoke, she turned, ready to leave.
But before taking a step, her gaze stayed fixed on him.
Regarding Liang Muzhi, she didn’t want to keep any secrets from Liang Jinmo. Their relationship was still fragile, and she didn’t want misunderstandings to arise.
Liang Jinmo’s dark eyes locked onto her face, and he spoke: “Take the call right here.”
“Huh?”
He shifted his body sideways, sliding back his large office chair. Suddenly, he stretched out his long arm, hooking it around her slender waist, pulling her toward him.
Caught off guard, Xu Zhi was drawn in and ended up sitting on his lap.
Startled, she cried out, losing balance and feeling like she might fall off. He promptly steadied her by wrapping his arm around her waist.
By the time she registered what had happened, Xu Zhi’s heart was still racing and her free hand had already clenched the fabric of his shirt sleeve.
Now sitting sideways on his lap, their eyes met with just a slight turn of her face.
Their breaths mingled.
Her heart pounded wildly. Nervous, she released his sleeve but felt herself enveloped by the familiar, long-awaited scent of wood. His hand still held her waist firmly, his presence undeniable.
Liang Jinmo repeated: “Take the call right here.”
She didn’t recall ever seeing him so possessive before, but...
Since it was Liang Muzhi on the line, perhaps he did care after all. Thinking this, she didn’t refuse and answered the call directly.