Li Yufei's eyes were slightly red as she looked at the exquisite decorations before her, and the piles upon piles of blue roses.
Her heart felt a warmth spreading through it.
"What's with all this? So many blue roses... it's going to take me several garbage bags to clean up."
Li Yufei laughed, and as she laughed, tears streamed down her face.
She wasn't as strong as she appeared to outsiders.
Born in the countryside, with parents in poor health, she had to borrow money for her education since childhood. It wasn't until after she graduated that she slowly paid off the debts.
So, ever since high school, Li Yufei had been frugal and saved every penny.
She rarely went out for fun.
Her friends were very, very few.
Only one or two.
And they weren't even in the same city, only seeing each other for two or three days a year.
Work kept her busy most of the time.
So, she had always been alone.
Going out alone, coming home alone.
Originally, under Lucas's oppression and scolding, her life was already exhausting.
She had been forcing herself to persevere.
And now, her cold-blooded boss suddenly pulled a stunt like this.
Even though his temper was still awful just moments ago...
It was enough.
Li Yufei hugged the bouquet of blue roses. She smiled brightly, beautifully, tears still tracing paths down her cheeks.
She wiped her tears with the back of her hand, muttering, "Mr. Lucas must have taken some fake medicine."
"Otherwise, why would he send me so many flowers?"
"And arrange a surprise?"
She said that, but her body sat down very honestly.
Looking at the five-pound, two-tiered cake, Li Yufei took a small piece and began eating it with a plastic fork.
"Hahaha."
She couldn't help but laugh.
Looking at the empty living room before her, the romantic sea of blue roses scattered on the floor,
and that little banner that read 'Happy Birthday, my little secretary.'
All of it made her feel a touch of warmth.
But...
The truth was, the委屈 (injustice/wronged feeling) was given by Lucas, and this last bit of warmth was still given by him.
The most crucial part was... it was just that tiny bit of warmth.
Yet, it moved her to tears.
Leaving Li Yufei's apartment, Lucas chuckled to himself. "My little secretary must be so touched she's sniffling by now."
"Ah, what can you do? That's just the burden of being a暖男 (warm, considerate guy)."
The thought of Li Yufei secretly crying after he left made him want to laugh.
Am I too mean?
After all, he was the unscrupulous boss exploiting his employee first, then secretly setting up a little surprise for her.
Wasn't that a bit... underhanded?
"Hmm, anyway, I left Li Yufei a 100,000 yuan work bonus."
"But... I dumped 80% of the workload on her. Once the graphene industry layout is complete, maybe I should just buy her an apartment?"
Lucas shook his head, lost in thought, as he took the elevator downstairs.
Walking along the garden path in the complex, heading home...
Suddenly, an ethereal woman's voice sounded beside him. "Lucas?"
Hm?
Hearing the voice, Lucas quickly turned around, startled. "Miss Claire? What are you doing here?"
Damn.
What was Claire Dubois doing here?
Good thing he was just talking to himself internally earlier. Being overheard wouldn't have been great.
Claire was wearing a white dress tonight, holding a lazy Ragdoll cat in her arms, looking somewhat listless.
Claire smiled. "I worked too late today and didn't go back, so I'm staying here for the night."
"You... live here?"
Lucas nodded. "Yes, I bought a place here over a year ago."
Though somewhat surprised,
he was more puzzled.
Why was Claire here?
The original story never mentioned her coming here.
Claire nodded. Then her delicate little nose twitched. "Huh... why do I smell women's perfume?"
She looked in the direction of the scent.
She didn't speak, but a hint of amusement flickered in her eyes.
Well, well.
So Lucas had a girlfriend.
For some reason, when this thought surfaced, she felt an unexpectedly tiny pang of失落感 (sense of loss).
Strange.
He had a girlfriend. Why should she feel失落 (loss)?
Hearing this, Lucas immediately became alert. He smiled nonchalantly. "I just came back from my secretary's place. It's her birthday. I prepared a gift for her. After all, she's been with me for two years."
His attitude was very proper, without a trace of panic.
He didn't go out of his way to explain that he and his secretary were just colleagues.
After all, there was nothing to hide.
You couldn't exactly say you'd just been... bumped into by a girl, right?
That wasn't realistic.
Better to state it openly and honestly.
Seeing Lucas's reaction, Claire said with a teasing smile, "Is that so? Nothing else between you two?"
So calm. Really nothing?
This 'secretary' clearly sounded like a woman.
Although she knew asking this wasn't entirely appropriate, thinking of it from a friend's perspective... it seemed perfectly fine!
After all, she was just concerned about him.
If he didn't have one... she could introduce him to someone!
Lucas smiled. "We have a purely professional relationship. She's quite capable, though she still has some areas for improvement. Plenty of room to grow."
"Why do you ask, Miss Claire? What brings this on suddenly?"
Counter-question.
As a top-tier warm-hearted (and slightly player-ish) guy, Lucas knew best that in such situations, you should change the subject first.
Take back the initiative.
Claire smiled slightly. "I was just curious about what your... significant other looks like."
"Can I say she looks like you, Miss Claire? Hahaha." Lucas laughed.
Don't try to trick me into saying anything, miss. Over the years, at least fifty people have tried to pull this on me, let me tell you.
Claire gave him a sideways glance. "Stop talking nonsense."
Lucas glanced at the cat. "Why are your Ragdoll's eyes so red?"
"Inflammation. I already took her to the vet," Claire explained.
To be honest, their relationship wasn't particularly close.
It could only be said that since that night, she had subtly come to regard Lucas as a friend.
Well...
For now, it was limited to the status of 'friend.'
Lucas nodded. "Want to go grab some bubble tea?"
"There's a nice bubble tea place just outside Yujing Garden. Good atmosphere. Want to walk over together?"
Claire hesitated for a moment, then also nodded. "Alright, then—"
Before she could finish,
a slightly surprised voice suddenly rang out.
"Lucas? What a coincidence! What are you doing here?"