Chapter 13: Embrace Her

Page 1/3

“Don’t move, I’ll carry you over.”

Is this man really face-blind? For a moment, Cen Mo found herself doubting it.

High heels were truly inconvenient. She furrowed her brows, steadied herself against the wall, and blinked as she looked at Su Xingzhi’s face.

His skin was naturally fair, but not in a sickly way. His long eyelashes lowered as he quietly stared at her, occasionally blinking gently, his expression serious as he waited.

“How did you know it was me...” In this situation, refusing to answer didn’t seem feasible, so she chose to turn the question back to him.

“Maybe it was your voice,” the man replied, his tone clearly casual and indifferent.

“Oh...” Cen Mo dragged out the sound and began to seriously reflect. From now on, when outside, she must lower her voice.

Why fight? He was clearly such a calm person.

But it wasn’t calmness—it was numbness. After being talked about so much, naturally she no longer cared about a few idle words. After being misunderstood so often, she was too tired to explain.

However, deep down inside, there was one place she would never allow anyone to touch—that was her last boundary.

“Because she mentioned my parents. You can insult me a hundred times, but if you say something about my mom and dad, I have to fight back,” she said calmly, raising her head.

“You care about them deeply,” the man stated affirmatively this time.

“Yes.” Cen Mo inhaled softly, looking down at the ground, her voice dropping. “Who doesn’t care? It’s just that I’ve already missed my chance.”

…

The event Su Xingzhi was attending was an exclusive international brand exhibition, showcasing a new handbag collection alongside classic products from previous years. Many celebrities were invited to walk the red carpet.

After the car stopped, numerous reporters were already taking photos outside.

Su Xingzhi rolled down the window and instructed the driver, “Go around to the back. Enter through the inner area.”

He had just assumed his new position, not yet well-known to the public, and rarely attended events, so he faced no harassment. After showing his invitation, he entered smoothly.

Most people remained outside, photographing stars; inside was much quieter. Cen Mo glanced at the various expensive handbags displayed on the shelves nearby but showed no interest.

Only when one’s financial status reached a certain level would they take an interest in such luxury goods. Otherwise, seeing these things only triggered immediate calculations of their monetary value.

Then the mind would ask: Is it worth it? If not, what’s a smarter purchase? The brain kept clicking back and forth with calculations.

It was rather dull, but that was reality.

She believed Su Xingzhi’s purpose here was definitely not to admire the exhibition. He had too many matters to attend to and no time to spare. He must have another reason.

After briefly surveying the surroundings, the man’s disinterest was clear as he shifted his gaze away.

“Remember the flash drive I gave you? There’s a Ji Maosheng, an elder Mr. Ji. He’s an old friend of my father’s and will also attend this event today. But those photos were taken five years ago; he might look different now,” Su Xingzhi explained.

“I remember.” Cen Mo thought for a moment. “Mr. Ji should be seventy this year, right? He founded the country’s first fashion clothing brand decades ago. Now his business empire spans many fields. He retired ten years ago, handing most of the operations over to his daughter.”

Page 2/3

“Yes.” Su Xingzhi nodded softly. “The chief designer of this brand today is his granddaughter, who studied abroad in her youth. She’ll be here as well. Mr. Ji is attending to support her.”

As they spoke, a celebrity finished walking the red carpet, surrounded by organizers and reporters as she grandly entered.

Cen Mo looked closely—it was currently the most popular actress, stunningly beautiful with a perfect figure. Her legs were straight and slender like chopsticks, and even in high heels, she walked with a swaying grace.

The men present immediately stirred with excitement; even some middle-aged gentlemen stopped their conversations and moved toward her, preparing to talk and take photos after the interview.

Holding the handbags before them for photos, the actress maintained her smile and posed seductively under the flashing lights.

Cen Mo was curious about Su Xingzhi’s reaction. Aren’t men usually interested in this type? Even if he couldn’t recognize faces, surely he could appreciate a figure.

But just as she turned to look, she saw the man’s face darken, as if someone owed him money, his brows knitting in disgust.

“Let’s go, move away from here,” he said.

“Why?” Cen Mo asked, puzzled.

“The perfume is too strong.” Without even glancing that way, he headed toward another exhibition hall.

Perhaps because of his face-blindness, Su Xingzhi was always sensitive to smells and hated strong scents, perfumes included.

No matter how expensive the perfume, sprayed too heavily, the scent layers piled up and became just as unpleasant as cheap ones—equally unbearable.

Yet many women failed to understand this.

Finally away from that area, Su Xingzhi relaxed his brow slightly as his secretary stayed close behind.

Wearing high-waisted wide-leg pants that accentuated her slender waist, Cen Mo had just applied light makeup for the event. Her shoulder-length hair was tucked behind her ears, revealing a delicate, fresh face, giving her a clean and sharp beauty.

Even with the outfit change, a faint sweet fragrance still lingered—subtle and not overpowering.

After scanning the direction ahead, Cen Mo turned her head and lowered her voice.

“President Su, the older gentleman on the right side of the front exhibition booth, wearing a dark gray suit and leaning on a cane, is the person you’re looking for. The lady in the black dress beside him should be his granddaughter.”

At that moment, the elderly man approached accompanied by his granddaughter. As they drew closer, Su Xingzhi stepped forward politely and greeted, “Uncle Ji, hello.”

“Who is it?” The old man’s eyes were dim. He took the reading glasses from his granddaughter and squinted at Su Xingzhi a few moments before smiling.

“You’re Ah Zhi, right? You’ve grown up; you look so different.”

“Yes, I’m Ah Zhi.” Su Xingzhi smiled and nodded, then greeted the granddaughter. The group moved aside to chat.

“Your father… ah.” The old man shook his head, unwilling to continue the topic. After a pause, he added, “I remember you loved art in middle school, didn’t you? But now you’re still in business.”

“Yes. My father’s business must be inherited.”

As the granddaughter went off to attend to others, Su Xingzhi helped the elderly man sit on a nearby chair. They began to reminisce—old stories, clearly not having seen each other for many years.

Throughout the conversation, Cen Mo listened quietly. From what she knew, it seemed Mr. Ji had known Su Xingzhi’s father from very early on.

The two had cooperated during their startup years, so some assets overlapped. Now Mr. Ji still held shares in Asia Creation, holding considerable influence among shareholders, though he’d lived in seclusion recently, rarely appearing in public.

That was why Su Xingzhi chose this moment to meet him. Though just newly appointed and well-connected abroad, he still needed some veteran backing to solidify his position.

This was a typical maneuver in the business world.

Page 3/3

Originally thinking this conversation didn’t concern her, Cen Mo was surprised when Su Xingzhi suddenly beckoned her over as they were about to part.

“Uncle Ji, this is my secretary, Xiao Cen.”

“Hello, Mr. Ji. My name is Cen Mo.” She quickly bowed slightly and shook the old man’s outstretched right hand politely.

“Good child, well done. Keep helping Ah Zhi by his side,” the old man smiled kindly, appraising her before leaning on his cane and getting into the car.

With the purpose achieved, there was no need to linger. Cen Mo followed Su Xingzhi as they prepared to leave.

Unlike their entrance, the inner area was now almost entirely occupied by celebrities and reporters. A group of fervent fans had also heard the news, guarding the entrance and shouting slogans, making exit impossible.

Cen Mo sought out a security guard, who led them through a smaller side door.

Once outside, she noticed a row of rain grates on the ground where rainwater had pooled. Walking over them in heels would surely cause the stiletto heels to get stuck repeatedly.

By the time they finished, the shoes would likely be ruined. Since they weren’t even her own shoes, she had to be careful.

Seeing no alternative path, she crouched down and took off her heels, carrying them in her hand.

Su Xingzhi turned around and saw the woman’s pale feet stepping directly on the ground, the stark contrast against the dark cement. Her rounded toes curled slightly, as if cold, looking a little pitiful.

“What are you doing?” His heart skipped a beat as he raised an eyebrow.

“The heel will get stuck up ahead,” Cen Mo replied, rolling up her pant legs and taking a few steps forward. The wet, cold ground made her gasp.

Probably because it had rained yesterday, the cement had absorbed moisture and felt chilling. Barefoot on it was quite uncomfortable.

She would need to hurry across. Taking a deep breath, she prepared to dash, but the man stopped her.

“Don’t move. Put your shoes back on,” Su Xingzhi said coldly as he strode toward her.

“What for?” Cen Mo didn’t put the shoes back on and cautiously stepped back, shivering from the cold. Standing on one foot, she instinctively warmed one foot by placing it on top of the other.

Was this woman insane? Self-torture? Frozen like this and still refusing to obey.

Su Xingzhi’s brow knitted into a knot. He repeated firmly, “I said don’t move. I’ll carry you over.”

“Carry me? President Su, forget it. I’m afraid you’ll grab my collar.” Cen Mo swayed slightly then straightened up, instinctively touching her collar.

Only then did she realize her top was off-shoulder. She added softly, “I know you don’t like physical contact with women. Don’t trouble yourself on my account. I’ll just run a few steps. Actually… at this distance, a big leap would get me across in one step.”

Her tone was sincere. As a secretary, she was supposed to solve problems for her boss, not create more.