Chapter 11: Sweet Fragrance

The woman's hair was soft and smooth, feeling like fine silk to the touch, exuding a faint sweet fragrance. Just as before, even touching it brought no sense of aversion whatsoever.

Like a startled kitten with its fur standing on end, the young girl who had obediently stood before him just moments ago suddenly took a few steps back, her eyes wide with surprise and confusion as she stared at him.

A faint smile tugged at the corner of Su Xingzhi’s lips. He lowered his hand, running his long fingers over his palm as he savored the lingering sensation of those strands of hair.

This was truly a strange occurrence.

From as far back as he could remember, Su Xingzhi knew he disliked physical contact. It wasn’t due to any traumatic incident or psychological scar; it was simply an innate aversion, much like face blindness — a natural part of who he was.

He didn’t regard it as a flaw, so he never gave it much thought. As a child, he had no choice but to comply with his parents, but as he grew older, he indulged his nature and rarely touched others.

Apart from occasionally hugging pets like cats or dogs, he had little to no contact with living beings.

Therefore, when he first met Cen Mo, although he intended to help her, he chose to grab her by the collar—not out of disdain for her, but because it was the same with everyone.

Later, in the office, when he deliberately had Cen Mo pull up the blinds and pretended to be close to her in front of others, he still maintained a safe distance, except for that one brief moment when he touched her hair.

And yet? After returning home, he found himself repeatedly recalling the sensation of that touch.

Being a man of action, he naturally decided to try once more. It was indeed a kind of “reward,” but the one deserving the reward should have been himself.

A gleam of amused intrigue flickered in his eyes as Su Xingzhi fell silent, quietly watching the girl before him to see how she might respond.

It was precisely this gaze that confused Cen Mo even more.

After all, she was just a recent graduate, knowledgeable in social graces but somewhat lacking in experience.

Furrowing her brow in puzzlement, she wondered if he had just treated her like a cat. After all, he was the one who had earlier regarded her as a burden to be carried, yet now he specifically called her over to touch her hair?

But if she were to get angry, he hadn’t really done anything overly offensive—it was just hair, after all, and hairdressers often cut it short.

Besides, what did he mean by a “reward”? What kind of reward was that?

Since he was her employer, she couldn’t exactly grab him by the ear and ask. After some thought, her expression softened into earnestness.

“Mr. Su, I think if you want to give a reward, something practical would be more sincere—like… a raise?”

Leaning slightly against the desk, Su Xingzhi spoke rare words: “Is that so? Then I’ll give you a raise at the end of the month.”

With those words, Cen Mo felt she could completely forget the earlier incident. She thanked him and, clicking her heels, elegantly walked away.

Feelings or no feelings, a raise was what mattered most.

That was the unshakable principle in Secretary Cen’s heart.

...

On Tuesday, Cen Mo took the day off to return to her university for the graduation ceremony.

Her university was not only strict in management, but also had peculiar rules. Generally, it did not follow the standard procedures of other schools, always doing things its own way.

Take the graduation ceremony, for example—it was held unusually late. Even though classes had long since ended, the graduates were kept on campus without receiving their diplomas.

By now, most had already found jobs but were unable to sign contracts due to the missing certificates. Some had even returned to their hometowns for work, only to be called back again.

To be honest, Cen Mo had never developed much affection for this university. She had been too busy to attend classes regularly or make friends.

Only in the last few months had she grown closer to her roommate, Huang Zhi.

“Cen Mo! Cen Mo!” Huang Zhi came running toward her, beaming with joy.

“How’s the tutoring job going?” Though she could tell by Huang Zhi’s expression that it must be going well, Cen Mo asked in line with her friend’s expectations.

Sure enough, Huang Zhi linked her arm and gushed, “I’m doing great! You know, Xu Lang’s grades improved by three ranks in his class! His father even thanked me and took me out for barbecue!”

“You mean Dr. Xu? He’s a nice person,” Cen Mo said, trying to disentangle her arm twice before letting it be, smiling softly.

At once, Huang Zhi launched into chatter about Dr. Xu’s looks, comparing him to a mature, charming actor—someone with a captivating allure.

Cen Mo found herself puzzled. She had known Dr. Xu for quite some time but had never thought of him that way. Probably because she wasn’t a fan of celebrities.

“Yeah, you’re right,” she responded casually.

After a while, someone brought the graduation gowns, and everyone selected their sizes and dressed before heading to the auditorium for the ceremony.

Walking along the way, Cen Mo happened to run into her class advisor, Teacher Huang, and they chatted for a moment.

Teacher Huang still looked at Cen Mo with much regret: “Are you sure you don’t want to continue your studies? If you want, we still have a guaranteed spot for graduate studies reserved for you.”

Cen Mo smiled and shook her head: “Teacher, I want to start working first. I’ve already found a job.”

Teacher Huang sighed: “Well, it can’t be helped. Your grades are excellent… such a pity. Can you tell me why? Do you think graduate studies here won’t help your future? But if you did stay on, I promise you could work at the university afterward.”

“It’s not that, Teacher,” Cen Mo said, touched.

Though unlike middle school, university rarely saw class advisors, Teacher Huang had been very caring, even trying to apply for a scholarship on her behalf, which Cen Mo had declined.

The scholarship wasn’t much, and even if she got it, it wouldn’t cover a year’s living expenses. Plus, it required submitting various reports, so working part-time was simply more straightforward.

Seeing Teacher Huang so eager for her to continue her studies, Cen Mo patiently explained: “I just want to work for a while and earn some money. I don’t want to keep doing part-time jobs forever.”

It was the truth. Over the years, Cen Mo had tried various jobs, but repeating the same cycle wasn’t beneficial for her personal growth. It was also exhausting and taking a toll on her health.

“That’s good too. Work hard. With your grades, you have a bright future wherever you go,” Teacher Huang sighed as they reached the auditorium entrance, then parted ways to take her seat among the faculty.

“What did the advisor say to you?” Huang Zhi caught up, smiling.

Cen Mo shook her head: “Nothing much—just about the guaranteed graduate spot.”

“That…” Huang Zhi clicked her tongue disdainfully. “It’s amazing you don’t spend much time on campus. You have no idea how vicious some girls in our department have gotten fighting over those spots.”

Seeing Cen Mo’s lack of interest in gossip, Huang Zhi gave up.

They arrived late, so the auditorium was nearly full. Huang Zhi dragged Cen Mo to an empty seat at the back instead of their class section.

Soon the ceremony began with long, tedious speeches that bored everyone. Whispering filled the room as attention waned.

Cen Mo said little, her mind distracted.

She kept thinking about Su Xingzhi’s gesture of touching her head—the warmth of his large hand pressing gently on the crown of her head, fingers softly threading through her hair with a tenderness she barely dared hope for.

She hadn’t often let anyone touch her head, or rather, such memories existed only from her childhood—a rare warm memory.

To her, only someone who cared deeply, who cherished and doted on another, would touch their hair in such an intimate way.

But Su Xingzhi’s action didn’t seem to fall into that category.

Cen Mo had always considered herself perceptive, despite her youth. Having entered society early, experienced various things, and met all kinds of people, she had long grown numb to the many faces of human nature.

Yet now she had to admit she couldn’t read Su Xingzhi at a glance. He was like a thick book: she peeled off the hardcover, thinking she understood him, only to find many pages beneath.

And each page brought new discoveries.

She had to admit, the process was truly fascinating—utterly fascinating.

Thinking this, Cen Mo couldn’t help but lift the corner of her mouth into a slight smile. She bent forward, resting her elbow on her knee, propping her chin on the back of her hand, lowering her gaze.

Perhaps out of kindred spirit attraction, she didn’t like people who could be seen through at a glance.

Beside her, Huang Zhi suddenly leaned in with a mischievous grin: “What are you thinking about? It’s rare to see you smile. Come on, tell me—is it some handsome guy?”

They exchanged a few lighthearted words before Huang Zhi glanced slyly over her shoulder and whispered, “See that long-haired girl back there? That’s Zhou Lingqiao, one of the girls competing for the guaranteed graduate spot. I heard she’s even pulling strings behind the scenes.”

Seeing Cen Mo remain indifferent, Huang Zhi tugged her arm: “Listen, she knows about you, knows you’re a strong competitor, and she’s been sneaking around trying to find out your business. I even overheard her badmouthing you just now.”

Cen Mo finally turned to look at the girl.

She had a rather ordinary face, unremarkable and easily overlooked—even with Cen Mo’s skill at remembering faces, this type was hard to distinguish.

Amid the crowd, she blended in perfectly.

Out of professional habit, Cen Mo studied the girl a few more times, seeking any memorable traits beyond her clothing.

It wouldn’t have been an issue—Cen Mo was quite immune to people talking behind her back and rarely got angry.

But perhaps because she looked a few times too many, the girl’s expression darkened noticeably. She shot several fierce glares in Cen Mo’s direction and, though speaking to someone beside her, spoke loudly enough for Cen Mo to hear.