Chapter 44: How Did I Offend Him?

The moment Gu Shenshen finished her question, she felt as if the air pressure in the elevator had dropped. She didn’t need to look to know that Zhou Ci’s expression must be unpleasant.

She watched the floor numbers descend one by one in silence. Zhou Ci remained quiet for a long while, and her heart seemed to plummet with the elevator’s descent.

Finally, the elevator stopped and the doors opened. Gu Shenshen let out a breath of relief and hurriedly stepped forward, eager to leave.

“Stop!” Zhou Ci’s cold voice called out from behind her.

There were still people waiting to get into the elevator. But, noticing Zhou Ci’s grim face and the tense atmosphere, no one dared to enter.

“If there’s an issue, let’s resolve it back in the room. This is the hotel’s elevator, not yours—” Gu Shenshen turned, hoping to calm him down, but before she could finish, he reached out and pressed the door-close button.

Zhou Ci’s icy gaze was filled with menace.

“Ah Ci…” she began.

Zhou Ci was obviously all too familiar with her tactics. The moment you catch her, she acts miserable; let her go, and she’ll flee. Gu Shenshen was exactly this kind of person.

“Do you think that now I’m married, you’re finally free?”

Gu Shenshen parted her lips, about to retort, but Zhou Ci suddenly gripped her chin. The pain made her frown, unable to utter a word.

“Even if I’m married, I won’t let you go.”

Watching Zhou Ci’s unhinged behavior, Gu Shenshen fought hard to suppress her own anger. Provoking him at a time like this would only bring her trouble.

The two stood locked in a standoff for a moment. Perhaps Zhou Ci found her lack of resistance dull, for he eventually released her.

On the highway back to Haicheng, Gu Shenshen focused intently on driving. Seated in the back, Zhou Ci seemed to be watching her—or perhaps not—but he remained silent the entire way, making Gu Shenshen increasingly uneasy.

“Do you care that much about Shen Qiqi?” Zhou Ci suddenly asked out of nowhere.

At his words, Gu Shenshen felt a foreboding chill.

“She’s just a normal friend,” she replied.

Zhou Ci ignored her explanation and continued, “If you don’t behave, I’ll make sure all of Haicheng hears about her affair during her marriage.”

Gu Shenshen clenched her teeth tightly at that.

“President Zhou, the grievances between us shouldn’t involve innocent people.”

Zhou Ci chuckled quietly, “If you’d thought of that sooner, we wouldn’t be here now, would we?”

Gu Shenshen didn’t wish to speak further. She was constantly thinking of ways to escape safely, while Zhou Ci seemed determined to keep her under his thumb.

Back at Zhou Corporation, after completing the handover of her work, Gu Shenshen hadn’t even had a chance to sit down before project proposals from the project department began piling up on her desk like a waterfall.

Even the menial work of filtering documents had been dumped on her.

She did the secretary’s work, and even tasks beyond her role; Zhou Ci seemed intent on working her to death.

“Secretary Gu, sorry to trouble you—these are all President Zhou’s instructions.” The assistant delivering the documents stared wide-eyed at the mountain of files on Gu Shenshen’s desk.

Since the day she started, she’d been working at full throttle—her boss truly didn’t treat her like a person.

After being stared at with such pity for a while, Gu Shenshen couldn’t help but look up. “I understand.”

“Did you offend President Zhou somehow?” the assistant asked in a low, conspiratorial tone.

Gu Shenshen replied, “I owe him money I can’t repay. Working for him is all I can do.”

The assistant’s face lit up with sudden understanding, though she also thought Gu Shenshen was incredibly bold.

Before they could exchange another word, the internal phone rang.

“Come in.” Zhou Ci’s voice came through, cold and devoid of any warmth.