CHAPTER 218: CHAPTER 220: GOSSIP IS HUMAN NATURE

She stepped down from the Bentley’s back seat, taking the private elevator upstairs with him.

All the way, he held her hand, which led her, upon reaching the top floor and about to be led out, to become abruptly nervous and withdraw her hand, "Lu Shifeng, if I take the public elevator down from your side, I have to pass by the secretary’s desk, right? So wouldn’t your secretaries see me?" His secretaries were more than just Xie Jian; there was a whole secretarial department.

Lu Shifeng didn’t let go of her, simply saying, "It’s okay if they see, their mouths are very tight."

Those who can be his secretaries are not the kind to gossip frivolously; even if many among them like to chat, they’re well aware of what can and cannot be transmitted.

Su Xingyu still felt worried.

Lu Shifeng glanced at her, "Here’s what we’ll do, I’ll go out first and dismiss the on-duty secretary, and then you can seize the opportunity to go downstairs."

Su Xingyu: "...Forget it, I’ll go out with you." She really didn’t want to trouble him anymore; if it were just once or twice dismissing the secretaries, that would be fine, but if she had to take this route for so many days in a month, dispatching people each time really wasn’t a long-term plan. Moreover, Su Xingyu couldn’t help but internally grumble, Lu Shifeng, you truly have lonely syndrome! This emotional intelligence is really low, if you go to dismiss them, won’t it be as revealing as covering up a theft by limiting security? They’ll likely be even more curious to investigate which woman you’ve brought into the company!

With deep sadness, Su Xingyu silently followed Lu Shifeng out of the elevator.

The entire floor was the president’s office, with dark peach heart wood doors exuding luxury and grandeur.

There was a large secretary’s desk at the door, and the female secretary on duty behind the desk was visibly startled when she saw them appear together, then hastily greeted them, "Good morning, Mr. Lu, good morning, Miss Su."

Unlike those in other departments within the company, they had long suspected that the woman around Lu Shifeng was Su Xingyu, even though they hadn’t personally seen Su Xingyu get out of Lu Shifeng’s Bentley, they’d witnessed countless times seeing this Miss Su dine with Mr. Lu! A man and woman dining alone frequently, what kind of relationship could that be? Everyone understood.

Therefore, seeing Su Xingyu merely caused them a brief pause before quickly expressing an "Of course" expression.

Su Xingyu realized at that moment that the secretarial staff probably had long deduced it was her, feeling somewhat embarrassed for her earlier struggles in the elevator, what’s there to dwell on? They’d already figured it out. However, this did confirm that Lu Shifeng’s secretaries indeed had tight lips, not one had leaked anything outside. She’d had lunch in Lu Shifeng’s presidential office many times, and not a single rumor had spread externally.

Thinking of this, she felt at ease, and also smiled, nodding at that secretary, "Good morning."

The secretary appeared somewhat flattered, usually, when Mr. Lu arrived alone, he always carried a cold face directly into his office, never smiling, and now just this smile from Su Xingyu truly felt like a refreshing spring breeze in the early morning.

And as for Su Xingyu, she skillfully bypassed the secretary’s desk, headed toward the direction of the public elevator, got down the floor, and went towards the photography center’s location.

The journey was particularly smooth, without anyone questioning where she came from.

However, unexpectedly, upon entering the photography center, there was a bit of trouble, as the early colleagues in the break room started gossiping: "Have you heard? The underground parking lot over at the main building has been cordoned off in a large area, said to be specially fenced off at Mr. Lu’s orders, for an exclusive parking lot. Do you think it’s to protect that woman?"

Su Xingyu silently went to fetch water with her cup, while Anna sidled up to her, "Xingyu, you’re here too? Have you seen that woman?"

Su Xingyu promptly shook her head.

Another colleague addressed Xia Ranran saying, "Ranran, didn’t you and Yun Xi go to investigate yesterday, any findings? Could it be that Mr. Lu discovered you guys and therefore cordoned off the parking lot?"

Xia Ranran was about to say something when she suddenly glanced at Su Xingyu subconsciously. The window in the break room faced east, and the morning sunlight fell gracefully on Su Xingyu, accentuating her palm-sized face, making it look white and delicate, with lightly closed shallow cherry-colored lips, appearing quite beautiful. Could it be that Mr. Lu’s woman is indeed Su Xingyu...?

Such thoughts flashed through Xia Ranran’s mind, but she quickly dismissed them herself, what an international joke!

"We were unlucky, didn’t see a thing," Xia Ranran said to the colleague, "but Mr. Lu fencing off the parking lot shouldn’t concern us; we weren’t found out by him. Probably it’s because recently there’s been too much rumor within the company, and someone suspicious near the car was spotted? Who knows." Saying so, she gave Su Xingyu another meaningful look.

Su Xingyu understood the sarcasm hidden in her words, wasn’t it implying that she was standing so close to Lu Shifeng’s car yesterday, intending to create a chance encounter?

Yet, such matters are always made darker the more they’re explained, so she simply stayed silent, filling up her cup with water, returning to her seat.

Inside the president’s office.

Xie Jian came to find Lu Shifeng for routine reporting of the daily schedule.

At the end, he added, "Today several people from the secretarial department asked me whether the sudden fencing of the exclusive parking lot was for your wife?"

Lu Shifeng raised his head from the heap of files to look at him, "Aren’t they too idle?"

Xie Jian said, "Not idle. The workload every day is almost getting as heavy as yours, last week Zhang Xiaoli even tendered her resignation to me, saying she’d die from overwork if she didn’t."

"Where do they find time to gossip?"

"Gossiping is human nature," Xie Jian replied.

Lu Shifeng frowned, "Why don’t I have such human nature?"

"You’re the BOSS, can you be an ordinary person?" Xie Jian replied in a watertight manner, showing no change in expression.

Lu Shifeng thought for a moment, it indeed made sense. Only then did he respond to his question, "The exclusive parking lot is built for Xingyu, she doesn’t like being seen."

Xie Jian rarely added another comment, "BOSS, this isn’t a long-term plan, she’s your rightful wife, sooner or later her status will need to be announced to the world. Also..."

"Also, what?"

Xie Jian hesitated, then said, "Actually, I always found it strange, you seem incredibly tolerant toward your wife. She wishes to keep her identity secret, and you truly keep it for her, that doesn’t align with your style." Lu Shifeng’s usual manner is quite authoritarian, saying one thing means nothing else, indeed, even though Su Xingyu grumbled about him being a tyrant, truthfully, speaking with a clear conscience, he has given her more concessions than anyone else.

Lu Shifeng lowered his head, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and only realized upon Xie Jian’s comment that he’d been indeed too kind to her.

This revelation left him somewhat confused.

"Perhaps, I shouldn’t be treating her specially?" he seemed to ask Xie Jian, or himself.

Xie Jian quickly said, "No, pretend I didn’t say anything." He had a lot of nerve to interfere with the BOSS’s family matters; if someday the wife found out, she’d definitely make him pay.

Lu Shifeng was silent for a moment, then said, "She’s a bit like me."