After being reborn, the aloof female CEO became a paranoid.

On his first day at the company, Zhou Yu's life was as bland as plain water. He spent all his time in meetings and training sessions, so boring that he could practically dig a three-bedroom apartment out of the blue.

Even so, when it was time to leave work, he still didn't want to go home.

That place felt like a cage to him, making him feel suffocated.

Just as he was thinking about how to dawdle a little longer, Xu Xinran appeared as if she had arrived right on time.

Zhou Yu's heart skipped a beat. He quickly turned on his computer and pretended to be a serious landlord, typing away on the keyboard while his ears perked up like a rabbit's, waiting for her to leave.

"I'll take you home."

Xu Xinran's voice suddenly rang out, and Zhou Yu's hand trembled, almost causing him to throw the mouse away, but he still gritted his teeth and replied.

"I still have some work to do, you can go back first."

"Work? Didn't we have a meeting and training today? Where did this 'work' come from?"

Xu Xinran's tone was somewhat mocking, her eyes sharp as X-rays, seeing right through him. Zhou Yu was annoyed; his little schemes were utterly futile in front of Xu Xinran, the head of the Xu Group.

But the words had already been spoken, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and continue making things up.

"Well, I've been taking on some extra work on the side to earn some extra money."

"Oh? So how long do you plan to stay at the company?" Xu Xinran persisted, and Zhou Yu felt that his lie was about to fall apart.

"I didn't say I wouldn't go back, I just need to finish up this little thing I have to do."

Zhou Yu chuckled, but in his heart he was already prepared to retreat, and at the same time he wanted to see how much Xu Xinran could tolerate him.

Xu Xinran saw through his thoughts and didn't press him further. She simply sighed softly, her tone carrying a hint of gentleness.

"Alright, let's go home. Don't let the people at the company laugh at us."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yu immediately knew when to stop, shut down his computer, and followed Xu Xinran outside.

……

The two returned to the villa together, and Zhou Yu went straight to his room. He ignored Xu Xinran, who followed him in, and slammed the door shut, as if that would shut out the outside world.

But a few minutes later, the doorknob turned gently, and Xu Xinran walked in.

Zhou Yu raised an eyebrow, thinking irritably, "This woman still doesn't know how to respect people; she just walked in without even knocking."

"How was your first day at work? Did you get bullied by the older folks?"

Xu Xinran asked half-jokingly, trying to ease the tension.

"It's alright, nothing special."

Zhou Yu gave a brief reply, his voice clearly revealing impatience.

Xu Xinran ignored his coldness, walked straight to the bedside and sat down, naturally taking Zhou Yu's arm and gently leaning on his shoulder.

That familiar scent instantly enveloped her, giving her a strange sense of peace.

The regrets of her past life haunted her like a nightmare, leaving her to spend half her life in endless guilt and longing.

Now, Zhou Yu is sitting right next to her, and her desire to make amends and protect him is stronger than ever.

She secretly vowed that this time, no matter what, she would hold on to him tightly and never let him disappear from her world again.

Zhou Yu glanced at the woman beside him and sensed that something was wrong with her. He shifted slightly and softly called her name.

"Xu Xinran..." He was interrupted by Xu Xinran before he could finish speaking.

"I heard... you didn't register for the emerging design exhibition. Can you tell me why?"

Zhou Yu remained silent for a moment, a barely perceptible struggle flashing in his eyes, before finally speaking slowly:

Whether I participate or not makes little difference to me. I'm not interested, so naturally I don't want to waste my energy.

Upon hearing this, Xu Xinran frowned instantly, her tone filled with dissatisfaction and confusion.

"I've already promised you that we'll go through the proper procedures to get you into the new generation of talent, so why are you still so stubborn?"

"I'm not being stubborn! The new generation is good, but they're not what I want."

"Then what do you want?"

Zhou Yu looked at her seriously: "I just want to go abroad to learn something real, to make a game with soul, instead of just dealing with code all day long."

He knew perfectly well that Xu Xinran knew what he wanted, but he also knew even more clearly that she wouldn't compromise so easily, nor would she give in.

Therefore, when he said these things, it was more like he was talking to himself, just to feel better.

"I won't let you leave me."

Xu Xinran's voice was soft yet firm, carrying an uncompromising tone.

Although she understood Zhou Yu's pursuit and wanted to respect his choice, she couldn't bear for him to leave her sight.

So she decided to be even more domineering and was determined to keep him firmly by her side no matter what.

At this moment, Zhou Yu gently pushed Xu Xinran away, his eyes revealing a sense of freedom and unruliness.

“Since we can’t see eye to eye, there’s no point in saying more. Xu Xinran, I know that with your abilities, you could trap me for life without any problem. But there are some things you can’t control, like this new talent show. I definitely won’t participate because I don’t care.”

"not give a damn about?"

Xu Xinran sneered. How could she not understand Zhou Yu's implied meaning? He was simply telling her that he not only didn't care about this new talent show, but he also didn't care about her.

But so what?

"Do as you please, I'm taking you anyway." Her words were direct and blunt, without any hesitation.

As she spoke, she moved closer to Zhou Yu again, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist with such force that Zhou Yu couldn't help but frown.

He was about to resist when he saw Xu Xinran standing on tiptoe, her stubborn and beautiful face right in front of him.

“Zhou Yu…”

Xu Xinran ignored his little actions, simply gazing into his eyes, her red lips slightly parted, softly uttering his name, then suddenly rising on tiptoe and directly sealing his lips with hers...