“What nonsense are you saying?!”
The staff member who ran her mouth off was reprimanded, then she made a face as she retorted, “It’s not like I said anything wrong.”
“Miss Zhou?”
After a while, Yan came back to her senses. Then, she looked at the carefully decorated room and the present she had prepared. After mulling over it, she decided to pick up the gift she had prepared and turned around. “Thank you for your hard work today. Unfortunately, I don’t think we will be coming back today. I’m going to chase after him and check on him now.”
“We understand, Miss Zhou. Please go quickly; if there are any misunderstandings, you must explain yourself clearly.”
“Thank you.”
After Yan left, the loose-lipped staff member from before muttered again, “Her boyfriend probably felt repulsed by her because she is overly proactive. If a woman doesn’t cherish herself, they will end up in this situation. When you get a boyfriend next time, you must not act like her.”
A slightly older lady glanced sideways at her and said, “Only people your age would want to get a boyfriend that cherishes you in the palm of their hands. What do you know? Were you born rich, or as someone’s ancestor? They might treat you like a goddess for a while, but can they do it for the rest of your life?”
“Miss, you can’t say that! If he doesn’t cherish you before marriage, won’t it be worse after marriage?”
“Tsk. Relationships are all about reciprocity. You must not have met somebody you love yet; that’s why you’re so full of yourself. Wait until you meet somebody you really love; then, we’ll see if you still think that way.”
Yan had not heard their discussion about herself, nor was she interested in listening to their conversation. After leaving the restaurant, she began to search for Han Qing. However, she couldn’t find him anywhere. Thus, she went to the parking lot. Sure enough, his car wasn’t there anymore. Feeling extremely anxious, she wanted to call him. Unfortunately, her phone was out of battery. In her rush to prepare everything for his birthday, she had forgotten to charge her phone.
She did not know what had happened. Therefore, she had no idea where he could have gone. After ruminating over it, she decided to call for a taxi and head to the company for now. When she arrived at the company, she wasted no time going upstairs the moment she got out of the car. Even so, she could not find him anywhere. Instead, she ran into Su Jiu who was working overtime.
Su Jiu looked a little surprised to see her there. “Yan, didn’t you leave together with President Han? Why did you return?”
Since Yan did not know what was going on, she had no intention of telling Su Jiu about the incident from before. Therefore, she only said, “My phone ran out of battery and I can’t find him. Did he come back here?”
Although her words were evasive, what did she take Su Jiu for? Su Jiu immediately had an idea about what was going on based on Yan’s expression and actions. Then, she shook her head. “He did not come back here. What happened between the two of you?”
Yan did not expect Su Jiu to figure out the situation so quickly, and she sighed in response. “I’m not too sure either. I’m trying to find him so I can ask him.”
“Is your phone out of battery? Then, let me try calling him for you.”
“Oh, that’s right. Then, I’ll have to bother you, Secretary Su. Please help me give him a call.”
Thus, Su Jiu took out her phone and called Han Qing. However, the other party’s phone was always busy and her calls couldn’t get through the line. After repeatedly facing this situation, she put down her phone and looked at Yan intently. “What in the world happened? How did things turn out like this? Is he missing or what? Should we file a police report?”
File a police report? I don’t think that’s necessary. So, Yan shook her head. “I think I made a mistake. There’s no need to file a police report. I guess he just doesn’t want to see my face for the time being.”
Hearing that, Su Jiu was even more confused. “Just what in the world happened?”
“It’s nothing. Since he isn’t here, I’ll try looking for him at another place.” There were not many places Han Qing would go to, and Yan knew every one of them. Hence, she decided to try the Han residence first. If he wasn’t there, she would look for him at his private villa.
Since Yan didn’t want to talk about it, Su Jiu did not press further. Even so, she felt sad looking at Yan’s back as she walked away while carrying something in her arms. It wasn’t easy for this couple to get together. Although they were very sweet to each other after becoming a couple, she did not know what was happening between them right now. However, it wasn’t her place to stick her nose in their affairs, so she went back to her work.
Yan went back downstairs with a heavy heart. Her mind was in a mess. Just as she was about to leave, she coincidentally met Xu Yanwan. The Han Group was working overtime today. When Yan returned to the company, Xu Yanwan was surprised to see the expression on Yan’s face, but she had an idea about the reason behind it. Knowing that she shouldn’t go up to Yan right now, she still couldn’t help herself from walking toward Yan and greeting her. “Yan, why are you still here?”
When Yan saw Xu Yanwan, her heart stirred slightly. Xu Yanwan was Han Qing’s childhood friend. Perhaps, if she asked Xu Yanwan about it, she might know something. As the thought crossed her mind, she swiftly strode over. “Yanwan, you grew up together with Han Qing, right?”
Xu Yanwan was stunned to hear those words. Why is she suddenly asking me this? Don’t tell me somebody said something to her? However, she swiftly got her emotions under control, then she smiled and nodded in response. “Yes. Our families have a good relationship with each other, so we grew up together. Is there a problem?”
“I have a question. I don’t know what happened, but since you grew up with him… I thought I should try asking you.”
Looking at Yan’s eyes and her expression and thinking about what day today was, an answer came to her mind immediately. However, she waited quietly for Yan to speak. Sure enough, the question Yan asked was exactly what she was expecting.
“I celebrated his birthday today, but… he seemed unhappy about it, then he left. Until now, I have not been able to find him.”
Despite all the mental preparations she made, her heart still leaped in excitement when she heard the words that came out of Yan’s mouth. She thought Han Qing had gotten over his psychological issues over celebrating birthdays with Yan’s help, but that didn’t seem to be the case… So, the relationship between the two of them was not as strong as she had imagined. At the very least, Yan knew nothing about his past. Similarly, Han Qing was not ready to tell her about it. As a result, the situation turned out the way it did. Mulling over it, she made an astonished expression. “Have you not celebrated his birthday with him before?”
“Huh?” Yan’s expression was confused. “Before this? No…” This was Han Qing’s first birthday since they became a couple. How could she have dared to celebrate his birthday with him in the past?
Then, Xu Yanwan’s face took on a distorted expression. “How can that be? When I heard you saying that you were going to celebrate his birthday the other day, I was surprised, since Han Qing has never celebrated his birthday before. However, you seemed so sure about it. I thought that you had managed to cure him of his psychological issues.”
“What?” The moment Yan heard that, she felt faint. “He doesn’t celebrate birthdays? Why is that?” Han Qing doesn’t celebrate birthdays? This was news to her. Neither he nor the people around him had told her about it. Then again, she had never asked about it.
