From that day on, Du Xiaoxian"s life had undergone tremendous changes.
Every day, she left home early and returned late, getting familiar with the scenery on streets of G City and environment of the school.
Sitting in the car, she tried to memorize the route back to home and the route to the Gu"s Company.
She concentrated on cla.s.ses and never allowed her mind to stray away. Gradually, she was able to understand them. As for cla.s.ses in sciences, the young master said that she did not need to learn them and she did not understand anything either. Therefore, during sciences cla.s.ses, she just lowered her head and drew on the notebook.
She had always liked drawing. Back when she got bored at her hometown, she would pick up a twig and sat in the courtyard drawing randomly to kill time for the whole morning. She drew flowers, dragonflies, trees and gra.s.s as well as chickens, ducks, fish, pigs, sheep, dogs, cats…everything around her.
In breaks, she still didn"t dare to talk to anyone. But gradually she nerved herself to do eye contact with others. When meeting someone friendly, she would even smile back.
After school, Xiaoding would pick her up and drop her off at the Gu"s Company. She would do her homework in Gu Nianbin"s office.
Now that she understood the cla.s.ses and no longer needed the mentoring of Gu Nianbin when doing her homework, she would only turn to him for help when she really couldn"t work things out. Therefore, she became brave. If Gu Nianbin wasn"t in the office, she would go outside to find Zhou Ting.
Sometimes when seeing Shao Boqing, she would nod and smile from afar at him but never get close. Although Shao Boqing showed kindness and courtesy when seeing her now, Xiaoxian did not trust him. The young master had warned her to stay away from him, so she would listen to him.
In Gu"s Company, she would stay in the President"s office and rarely go out. Therefore， even if she came here everyday, few employees knew her.
After finishing her homework, Gu Nianbin would allow her to play on the computer. She didn"t know anything else on the computer so she can only watch the animation "Boonie Bears".
She often covered her mouth with hands when chuckling at the amusing plots.
Gu Nianbin would sit at his desk to do his work while occasionally raise his head to check on her. His face was calm but eyes were revealing faint smile. Zhou Ting once came in and noticed this scene. She was shocked since she had never seen such an expression from the boss before, so gentle that it could even be called…spoiling. She frowned. Just because Du Xiaoxian saved the master once and the boss was planning to marry her? No way, she would never believe it.
On Gu Nianbin"s table was still a picture of Xia Xiaowan, who was beautiful, graceful and elegant, a perfect match her boss. Delicate as Du Xiaoxian was, she was merely a country b.u.mpkin with a weak body. She didn"t deserve the boss in any sense.
Zhou Ting knocked on the door with an invitation she just received. Gu Nianbin responded to the knock coldly without raising his head. His eyes did not even leave the materials in his hand.
This was the normal poker-faced Gu Nianin with whom Zhou Ting was most familiar. There was no emotion on his face at all. Maybe she just overreacted, misreading and thinking too much of what she had seen. She did not like romance novels or idol dramas. Only G.o.d knew why she thought of such a groundless and lousy story of Cinderella.
"President, this is the invitation from the Chamber of Commerce, requiring you to bring a female companion. Well…"
Gu Nianbin took over the invitation, took a glance and threw it aside, tapping his finger gently on the table.
Zhou Ting knew that this meant he was thinking about it.
Usually, Gu Nianbin would choose a female companion from several rich and powerful families with which his family had good relationships. But this time, Zhou Ting felt that there might be a different result.
Gu Nianbin was indeed thinking. He hated this type of banquets the most because they were extremely boring and he couldn"t decline their invitations.
More annoyingly, some invitations required him to bring a female companion. Although he could choose from several ladies from those families, whoever went with him eventually, he would get pestered for some time afterwards. They would invite him to dinners or musicals. He cannot give them a sour face, because they did him the favor and accompanied him to the banquet after all.
Zhou Ting looked at the boss"s worried frown and suggested, "How about Miss Xia?"
Gu Nianbin stopped knocking his fingers. After pausing for a moment, he said, "Call her."
Zhou Ting said yes and left the office. She was overreacted indeed.
Gu Nianbin did not object her proposal of Xia Xiaowan, proving that he also thought Du Xiaoxian was not suitable for such an occasion. He was very clear about the gap between them.
Therefore, she must have misread it.
Although she had never met Xia Xiaowan before, she had invited her to lunch on behalf of Gu Nianbin. Her voice sounded very pleasant over the phone. She spoke straightforwardly without hesitation.
This suggested that she was a capable woman who would be the ideal female companion to go to the banquet with Gu Nianbin.
Xia Xiaowan readily accepted the offer over the phone.
Zhou Ting hung up the phone and started contacting the clothing supplier that she worked with. Chief secretary as she was, she was involved to everything about Gu Nianbin and handled each task in person no matter whether they were her job responsibilities. Therefore, preparing the banquet dress for Gu Nianbian and his female companion was also her job.
After Xia Xiaowan hung up the phone, she was stunned for some time.
But she was extremely happy in her heart because this invitation implied that Gu Nianbin finally took a step closer to her.
After the dinner at the Gu mansion last time, she went to visit Fang Yaru and Gu Guangxian once again. To avoid gossip, she deliberately went there when Gu Nianbin was away. She enjoyed tea and chatted with them for a long time before leaving.
But she didn"t visit them since then. She wanted to be reserved to avoid leaving a bad impression on Gu Nianbin that she was pestering him.
Her waiting was not in vain. Gu Nianbin finally invited her to partic.i.p.ate in the Chamber of Commerce banquet with him, the implication of which was obvious.
Looking outside the window, Xia Xiaowan couldn"t see anything but his elegant and handsome face. She liked him and confided her feelings to Gu Nianbin the second time when they met.
She did not value wealth highly because she herself came from a rich family, though her uncle managed the family business. What she liked about Gu Nianbin was his mature, cool, n.o.ble and extraordinary nature. What would he be like when he was gentle? Xia Xiaowan was curious to find out. Although Gu Nianbin was nice and polite to her, she knew that was merely etiquette and there was distance between them. His smile was only facial instead of coming from his heart.
Now, things came off to a good start. She believed that one day, Gu Nianbin would greet her with a sincere smile.
Xia Xiaowan took up her coffee and had a sip. The bitter black coffee somehow tasted sweet. She couldn"t help but smile at the thought of that excellent man. She could even imagine how many envious gazes would fall on her when she took Gu Nianbin"s arm and entered the banquet hall.
The headline on the entertainment page of the newspaper the next day would definitely be a picture of them. Although it was just a picture, everyone would think that the relationship between Gu Nianbin and her was something, at least for a short period.
The two stars of the Gu"s Company were the frequent topic of the media. Shao Boqing was high-profile, hanging out with one girl after another and was never tired of it. Countless celebrities had been in a romantic relationship with him. He was a frequent figure on the entertainment page of the newspaper.
Gu Nianbin was low-key and reserved. He was mostly discussed about in the financial section. However, as long as the media caught him staying with any woman, he would immediately become a buzz on the entertainment section of the newspaper. Xia Xiaowan just cannot understand it. Gu Nianbin didn"t belong to the entertainment industry. Those who went to banquets with him were all upper-cla.s.s society celebrities. Why would the news about him be a hot topic, even hit the headline in the entertainment section? Nonetheless, the subsequent result was no less sensational than that of a hot star.
For quite a couple of days, Xia Xiaowan was immersed with enjoyment about the invitation. When Zhou Ting called to tell her that the banquet dress would be delivered to her house, she lied and told Zhou Ting that she was near the building of the Gu"s Company and would like to pick up the dress by herself.
Love also required skills. Xia Xiaowan naturally created an opportunity for herself to meet Gu Nianbin.
However, when she entered Gu Nianbin"s office, she was surprised to see a little girl sitting on the sofa, watching animation with her chin supported by both hands.
The room was very quiet, so was the little girl. Even if she occasionally chuckled, she was not noisy at all.
Xia Xiaowan was very surprised. Why was a little girl watching animation in the President Office of the Gu"s Company? She couldn"t even imagine the scene where the cold President Gu stay together with a little girl watching cartoon under the same roof. It was a little out of tune.
Gu Nianbin buried himself in business and did not raise his head until the visitor approached. "It"s you." he looked up and said.
Xia Xiaowan raised the paper bag in her hand and smiled, "Miss Zhou asked me to come and pick up the banquet dress."
Gu Nianbin frowned, "Didn"t she ask someone to deliver it to you?"
Xia Xiaowan replied, "I happened to be nearby. So I decided to come and pick up the dress myself. Hope I did not take up your time. I intended to leave after getting the dress. But on second thought, it would be impolite if I do not come to say hi."
"Not at all. I"m almost off work."
While Gu Nianbin was talking to her, his eyes caught someone, "Where are you going?"
Xia Xiaowan turned around and found that the little girl was at the doorstep. She was about to open the door and leave when caught up by Gu Nianbin. She replied, "I"m going to find Miss Zhou."
Gu Nianbin nodded and didn"t say anything.
When the little girl left the room, Xia Xiaowan pretended to ask casually, "The little girl is quite delicate. Is she a relative?"
Gu Nianbin smiled and invited her to sit down in the chair in front of her. He said, "She is the benefactor of my family."
Benefactor? How could a little girl who looked so weak be a benefactor of the Gu"s family? Xia Xiaowan was puzzled, but Gu Nianbin didn"t intend to explain anything more. He talked about the banquet at the coming weekend.
Seeing Du Xiaoxian got out, Zhou Ting asked, "You want to go to the bathroom again?"
Du Xiaoxian shook her head and said softly, "The girlfriend of the young master is here. It"s not appropriate if I am inside."
Zhou Ting had become close with Xiaoxian over the past few days. So she smiled and asked, "Well, you also know that being a third wheel is not appropriate?"
She suddenly thought of something, "How do you know she is the girlfriend of the President?"
"She had visited the family. Everyone knows that."
Zhou Ting realized that the boss and Miss Xia were really starting a relationship.
Looking at Du Xiaoxian, Zhou Ting sighed. She originally thought that there would be a dramatic Cinderella story. But it turned out she was wrong. The mature and rational boss knew very well what kind of wife he needed.
Xia Xiaowan said goodbye after chatting with Gu Nianbin for a few minutes. She was slightly disappointed because Gu Nianbin did not invite her to dinner.
However, this was not important. The grand banquet at the weekend was the highlight.
She gracefully turned around and left, only to find Du Xiaoxian standing in front of Zhou Ting"s desk. She smiled at the little girl and nodded at Zhou Ting.
Zhou Ting stood up immediately. This was the future wife of the boss!
"Goodbye, Miss Xia!"
"Bye," Xia Xiaowan smiled, "Thank you for preparing the dress for me."
"It"s my honor."
Zhou Ting accompanied Xia Xiaowan to the door and did not leave until Miss Xia went into the elevator. She turned around and smiled at Du Xiaoxian, "Alright, she"s gone. Go inside to watch your "Boonie Bears"."