Chapter 16: The clue is right in front of us

Today was Friday, and with the weekend approaching, the atmosphere in the company was a bit more relaxed than usual.

Colleagues chatted idly while handling their work.

However, it was still a workday, and there were times when people needed my help.

“Li, can you help me look at this? I can’t decide…”

Not today.

I was in no mood to help at all.

“Think about it a bit more yourself. I’m a little busy.”

The colleague seemed slightly surprised that I would refuse.

He nodded.

“Keep at it; we can help you too,” he said, leaving after dropping those words.

Come to think of it, there was never any need for me to help in the first place.

‘I only felt this exhausted because I was constantly thinking about perfectly integrating into the company…’

Now that I discovered even my hiring seemed to have been orchestrated — including my popularity and the early completion of my probation — it all felt like a lie.

But I still didn’t have any evidence.

Regardless, I felt as if my hard work had been betrayed.

Mo You, who had been sitting next to me since morning busy reviewing various drafts with her eyes fixed on the screen, glanced sideways at me.

She tilted her head slightly before diving back into her work.

She occasionally came to the office area to sit beside me.

Usually, this happened when she found a new client and entered the adjustment period; she would personally oversee things to resolve any issues.

Looking at her refined profile dusted with blush and her elegant fingers with black nails constantly tapping the keyboard, I couldn’t help but feel nervous.

If I wanted to ask clearly about the newspaper incident, I would have to ask her out first, but I couldn’t even find the right moment to speak.

Time slipped away until the lunch break.

She stretched, her long legs in black stockings extending forward, and then she stood up and walked out without saying a word.

She must have noticed my gaze.

Then, just as I was looking at her desk in disappointment, I found it — a slightly thick red pen tucked inside her notebook.

While my colleagues were noisily leaving the office, I grabbed the red pen to examine it closely.

The pen’s casing was so exquisite it was reflective, and the deep red ink inside looked almost like clotted blood.

There was also… foreign text I didn’t recognize on the barrel.

This pen was imported.

At the very least, I had never seen it in any stationery store.

It must be difficult to buy.

I tried drawing a circle in my notebook with it.

Both the color and the thickness were identical to my memory.

This was the pen!

There was no mistake.

It was impossible for Su Xixia to have bought the same pen, which meant she was lying…

“Li Mingshan? Do you like it?”

“Eh…? Ah! Yes…”

I was caught! When did she get here?

Where were the footsteps?

The moment I heard Mo You’s voice, I capped the pen in a panic and turned around.

Mo You was standing there holding her black high heels, smiling as she met my eyes.

I looked down and saw her bare feet, wrapped in black stockings, standing on the floor.

I had been played.

“You’re very absent-minded today. You’ve been looking at me often, too. Does it bother you that I’m sitting next to you?”

Mo You sat in the adjacent chair, the tip of her crossed foot tapping against my calf.

‘Is she really treating me differently? To make such an intimate gesture…’

“No… it’s just that you’re so mature and beautiful…”

What was I saying!?

I actually just went along with the atmosphere and said that.

Why would I rather face this awkwardness than ask about the newspaper?

“Men and their mouths… so you’re that kind of person. Do you use words like that to attract the opposite sex?”

From the unchanging smile on her face, it was hard to tell if she was joking or being serious.

‘There’s probably a bit of blame in there,’ I guessed.

“I’m sorry…”

“Sigh, you’ve been strange lately. Your focus isn’t on work at all. If something is on your mind, just tell me. I don’t want to sense any mistrust toward me from you.”

“Right! Of course I trust you, Mo… Mo You…”

Between the hard-won job and a worker’s natural fear of a superior — combined with my own cowardice — I stayed silent.

‘I feel like if I expose it, she’ll get angry. She might fire me…’

“Li Mingshan, I’m starting to trust you less and less. That decent-looking face of yours, and that mouth…”

“Huh??”

What did that mean?

Were being handsome and well-spoken considered points against me in her eyes?

I was being wronged. What did my face do wrong?

However, she simply smiled slightly, put on her high heels, and stood up to leave.

Her large ponytail swayed proudly behind her.

She left me sitting at my workstation with a face full of confusion.

There was… definitely something going on here!

Recalling how her behavior turned cold when I first showed her the umbrella and the bag… maybe the key wasn’t the items themselves, but the ‘her at home’ that I had mentioned…

And everything that followed, like when I had contact with Yu Qian…

‘Could it be jealousy…? No, no.’

It was better not to make wild guesses about a feeling known as one of the three great delusions of life.

Something so melodramatic couldn’t possibly happen to me.

She wouldn’t do something like that either.

***

It was dinner time as usual.

Ever since Su Xixia got hold of my salary, the lavish meals had become increasingly mismatched with this dilapidated little wooden table.

“Hurry and try it! I added a secret ingredient this time.”

Su Xixia sat opposite me, picking up a piece of meat coated in a black sauce and placing it in my bowl.

‘Why is this person, who was crying in my arms as she fell asleep yesterday, acting so arrogant now?’

“Hey, I haven’t forgotten what happened before.”

“Then use this flavor to replace the past! I’m also working hard to straighten out the path I took as a child. That is the correct way to express love, right?”

“Honestly… I can’t do anything with you. Where did you learn those lines?”

“None of your business! Just eat!”

She was still the same; she would get shy whenever I praised her and then act all tough.

Recalling the past this time, though I still disliked it, I surprisingly didn’t feel as repelled.

Especially when I ate that chewy beef and the sweet and sour flavor spread through my mouth, the unpleasant feeling faded slightly.

“It’s not bad.”

“Right? I learned how to use my phone to find recipes online and followed them.”

Is that so?

How clever.

I held back that slightly mocking comment.

Being able to use the internet was already a huge breakthrough for her.

She was trying too.

Moreover, I felt she wasn’t as overbearing toward me as before.

Her tone was much gentler, though it still had the occasional sting.

If she were a bit milder… she might actually be quite popular in the city.

‘No, it’s better if she’s only gentle with me…’

Wait.

‘It shouldn’t matter who she’s with.’

When did I start becoming possessive of her?

That night, I didn’t make a move on her, or rather, I wasn’t in the mood.

Lying beside me with her back turned, she seemed quite aggrieved, but she didn’t force anything or go out of her way to seduce me.

Had she become submissive because she sensed something?

But I had no intention of letting her off the hook.

“Xixia…”

“Yeah? Wh-what is it now!?”

Her body jerked violently, and then she pressed herself against my back in a pleasing manner.

“This job of mine — you saw it in a newspaper you bought, circled it with a red pen, and then recommended it to me. Is that right?”

I spoke in as much detail as possible.

“Yeah.”

Why hadn’t I noticed sooner?

She had just arrived in the city and was unfamiliar with the place.

How could she have done all that?

“Do you still have that newspaper?”

“I definitely threw it away! Why would I keep something I’ve already read? You’re so weird.”

‘Right, aside from the fact that you actually read it, you’re lying about everything else. That’s why you’re emphasizing it so much.’

“After you finished reading it, did you go through the trouble of tearing off the other parts and only showing me the recruitment section?”

“…Because!… It’s a hassle to bring back the whole newspaper. Of course I’d tear it off… it’s also easier to put in a pocket.”

I felt her back beginning to sweat again.

Unlike her personality, her body wasn’t very good at hiding things.

“You really put a lot of heart into it, specifically showing me only that part and then going out of your way to buy a red pen to circle it.”

“So what!? It’s not like that was the only recruitment ad. Of course I’d circle the best one! You’re overthinking again. If you’re not going to do anything, then go to sleep. I’m tired too.”

We were only lightly touching back-to-back, yet her intense heartbeat was transmitted through her spine.

I had to harden my heart…

I clenched my fists.

“That red pen you used — where did you buy it?”

I forced the question out of my mouth, but I only received silence in return.

“Xixia… I want you to tell me the truth.”

*Hiss — hu —*

Even though she made the sound of steady breathing, her body’s reaction wouldn’t disappear.

This time, I wouldn’t let her go.

What would I gain after verifying my guess?

Perhaps it would be Su Xixia’s repentance and Mo You’s confession.

Maybe the result of all this reasoning wouldn’t resolve the irritation hidden in my heart.

But at least it could serve as a distraction.

Having made up my mind, I turned around, grabbed those white shoulders, and pulled her toward me.

I heard her let out a startled “*Ya!*”

Then, I asked —