Chapter 9: Is She Still Willing?

Zhou Mingyuan stared at Su Qing for at least a minute. In the silence, the ticking of the wall clock was clearly audible.

She was beautiful and capable, an attentive secretary who made his life easier and more pleasant than it had ever been. He couldn’t bear to let her go.

But he truly doubted that she and Zhang Cheng could keep from sleeping together in secret. They had already done it at least once. And now she was warning him in advance not to be suspicious? Was he paying to send Zhang such a beautiful, seductive girlfriend? The thought was unbearable.

At last he said coldly, “Fine. I won’t be quick to suspect you. But remember this: if you and Zhang Cheng make it real, I won’t be lenient. You know what I’m capable of.”

“You’re so good to me, boss. I love you.” Su’s face lit up. She kissed his cheek and added coaxingly, “Zhang Cheng is only a driver. How could I be interested in him? You can rest assured. I won’t make it real with him, and I won’t let him take advantage of me again.”

…

Zhou summoned Zhang with a phone call and pointed to the chair before his desk. “Sit.”

Zhang sat cautiously on its edge, ready to spring up at any moment.

Zhou took a carton of Hetianxia cigarettes from a drawer and tossed it onto the desk. It slid to a stop beside Zhang’s hand. “Take these.”

Zhang stared. A carton cost over a thousand yuan, half a month’s rent. “Boss, they’re too expensive. I can’t accept them.”

“If I tell you to take them, take them.” Zhou drew on a cigarette and exhaled, the smoke blurring his face. “I’ve run into a little trouble and need your help.”

Zhang’s heart jumped into his throat. “Whatever you need, boss.”

Zhou put out his cigarette, leaned forward and folded his hands on the desk. Looking Zhang in the eye, he said slowly, “I want Su Qing to move in with you.”

“Wh-what?” Zhang sprang up so abruptly that the chair legs scraped the floor.

He must have heard wrong. Su Qing—the alluring secretary who had Zhou enthralled, the woman Zhang had spent the previous night with—was going to move into his one-bedroom rental?

“You heard me.” Zhou clenched a fist, though his face remained calm. “Tell people your relationship has progressed and you’ve moved in together. Then Lin Wanshu will stop watching Su and me. Think of it as a favor to me. You’ll be our cover.”

Zhang’s thoughts were in chaos. Living with Su as a cover? It sounded impossible. The memory of their night at the hotel made his heart race.

“Boss, what if… what if something happens? You know how attractive Secretary Su is. I’m afraid I won’t be able to control myself.”

If they hadn’t spent that night together, perhaps it would have been easier. Living with her every day afterward, he couldn’t promise he would stay within the limits.

Zhou’s face darkened. “Zhang Cheng, this is an act. Behave yourself. Without my permission, don’t touch one of Su Qing’s fingers. No—not even a hair! You can’t afford the consequences.”

The threat made Zhang shiver. “Boss, my apartment really is in poor condition. I’m afraid Secretary Su won’t be comfortable there.”

As he spoke, he watched Zhou, hoping his boss might relent and give him somewhere better to live.

“If the place is poor, make do. What’s wrong with young people enduring a little hardship? If necessary, sleep on the floor or in the living room and give Su Qing the bed.” Zhou paused. “I can give you a little more for rent. An extra thousand yuan a month, as a housing allowance.”

An extra thousand? Zhang was delighted.

“Have you made up your mind?” Zhou asked, growing impatient.

After a moment’s hesitation, Zhang nodded. “I’ll do it, boss. I won’t touch a hair on her head.”

He was a poor driver with no education or connections, and he didn’t consider himself particularly handsome. He might never find a girlfriend. Now he could live with Su Qing as her pretend boyfriend. They had already kissed, embraced and slept together, and there was a feeling between them he couldn’t quite name. Perhaps the act could become real. Wouldn’t that be a tremendous stroke of luck?

…

Zhang drove out of the company in another of Zhou’s cars, a Mercedes E500. His boss’s words echoed in his head: Su was to move in, but Zhang mustn’t touch a hair on her head.

He wanted to sleep with her, though. Would she still be willing? If she was, how long could it last?

Sunlight flickered across the dashboard as he pulled up beneath his rental in an old apartment complex. It was on the sixth floor, with no elevator. By the time he had climbed the stairs and unlocked the door, he was out of breath. Dust and instant noodles greeted him.

The one-bedroom apartment was painfully small. In the corners, the wall coating curled away in waves, exposing gray cement. The secondhand sofa had holes worn in its arms; the old bed creaked, and the wardrobe’s paint was patchy.

Zhang looked around the messy rooms, his face growing hot. Was this where Su Qing, in her elegant suits and expensive perfume, was going to live? Was she supposed to sleep on that battered old bed?

“No. I have to clean up.”

He wiped the table three times, reaching into every dusty corner, then stuffed the dirty clothes from the sofa into the washing machine. Its rumble filled the little apartment. Finally, he found some tape and carefully stuck down the curling wall coating, though the result looked even more ridiculous.

He worked until sunset. The place finally looked presentable, but a sour feeling remained. However clean he made it, he couldn’t change how shabby it was.

Afterward Zhang returned to the company and drove Zhou after work. Then Su Qing called.

“Zhang, I’m almost finished packing. Come and help me move.”

Her voice was sweet and seductive, as though she were moaning in bed.