He didn't send a message as he couldn't find a suitable excuse to bother her, thinking she might be tidying up or studying.
It wasn't until dinner time that he couldn't bear it any longer. He hadn't seen her for a full five hours and didn't know what to eat for dinner.
Should he use this as an excuse to invite her over?
Jiang Jingyu completely threw caution to the wind and, after much deliberation, sent her a WeChat message.
How are you planning to solve dinner?
A minute, two minutes, ten minutes, half an hour, an hour passed, but Tong An'an didn't reply.
As if something had happened and she had vanished, Jiang Jingyu stared at his phone, growing increasingly impatient and prone to overthinking, and couldn't help but take the elevator downstairs.
It was already dark. If someone were home, light should have been visible from under the door.
He glanced at Tong An'an's place; it was dark. Could she be asleep?
He forced himself not to overthink. She must be sleeping. He picked up his phone and went back.
After enduring for another hour, he looked again, and her place was still dark.
He couldn't help but ring the doorbell, but there was no response after several tries.
Now he was sure: Tong An'an wasn't home.
Jiang Jingyu couldn't help but feel angry. He was putting all his heart and soul into thinking about her every second.
He thought that even if Tong An'an was dense, she should have some feelings for him by now.
Yet, she acted as if nothing had happened. If he didn't contact her, she wouldn't give any response, living her life as usual. This was incredibly frustrating for Jiang Jingyu.
He returned home in a huff, losing all appetite for dinner. He opened a bottle of red wine and drank it all, glass after glass, pacing around the house in frustration, wishing he could yell at someone.
Just then, his phone, lying on the table, beeped.
He rushed over as if he had seen a lifeline, but when he grabbed it, it was just a promotional spam message.
He finally flew into a rage, threw his phone onto the sofa, and yanked the door open, ready to leave.
He was going to see what Tong An'an was so busy with! Pretending not to see his message!
There was absolutely no other employee as bold and dismissive of him as her in the Zhan Group!
The door slammed open, and as he stepped out, he almost collided with someone.
Looking down, it was Tong An'an.
She was holding a large plastic bag and was startled by Jiang Jingyu's sudden appearance.
She looked at him with a frightened expression and only dared to speak after a couple of seconds.
"Mr. Jiang, you are..."
Jiang Jingyu's face was flushed from the wine. Although he wasn't drunk, far from it, his red face and the smell of alcohol, coupled with his towering rage, naturally startled her.
His towering anger dissipated by more than half the moment he saw her petite figure.
Even though Tong An'an hadn't said or done anything, Jiang Jingyu couldn't help but revert to his usual tone.
"It's so late, do you need something from me?"
His words made it seem as if they were strangers, leaving Tong An'an feeling awkward.
It was already ten o'clock at night. A female employee knocking on the CEO's door was indeed inappropriate. Moreover, judging by his demeanor, the CEO was in a bad mood.
She had thought sharing hometown snacks would be nice, but now she felt they were too plebeian and wanted to hide them.
But it was too late; she could only brace herself and say.
"My brother came to pick me up this afternoon, and we went back to our hometown. We were cooking and eating, and I was chatting with my brother on the way back, so I didn't get a chance to check my phone, which delayed your dinner. Have you eaten?"
"These are snacks my mom brought me from home. If you don't mind..."
So that was it. She hadn't gone out with friends for frivolous fun, nor was she involved in the kind of debauchery Jiang Jingyu had imagined.
She had simply gone back to her hometown with her brother.
He suddenly felt overly sensitive.
People say that when one falls in love, their IQ drops to zero. If it weren't for Tong An'an, he wouldn't have realized that after so many years, he would still be so childish and impulsive when it came to romance.
"If you have something to say, come in."
He stepped back into the door and stood by the entrance, waiting for Tong An'an.
But she didn't want to go in.
Jiang Jingyu's distant demeanor just now made her realize she had become too presumptuous recently.
Her boss simply thought of her as a companion who ate heartily and a virtuous woman who kept a tidy home, hence he had shown her some favor.
Tong An'an had actually started to consider them friends!
Fortunately, she had realized this in time. If this continued, it would cross boundaries.
"No, I have to work tomorrow. You should also rest early. If you want the things, take them inside. If you don't like them..."
Jiang Jingyu could tell she wasn't in a good mood, her expression and tone were dispirited.
"What's wrong? Did something happen in your hometown? Why don't you seem very happy?"
He was giving her that impression again.
He was the one who had been in a bad mood just moments ago.
Tong An'an thought to herself with annoyance: Mr. Jiang, can you stop this? Draw a clear line and maintain a proper distance with your female subordinate! If you keep acting like this, I don't know how to treat you anymore!
"No, maybe I'm just a little tired and want to sleep."
She handed the bag forward.
"So, do you want to eat them?"
Seeing that she was tired, Jiang Jingyu didn't dare to say more. He reached out and took the bag.
"Then you should go back and rest early. Thank you for the snacks, see you tomorrow."
See you tomorrow, did that mean they would be going to work together again tomorrow?
Tong An'an didn't want this to continue.
The more favors she owed him, the more embarrassed she would feel, even if he didn't expect her to repay them.
He was a wealthy person, with the privilege to spend his time and enjoy life. She was different.
She needed to utilize all her time, work diligently, and build her career.
Although she disagreed internally, she didn't say it aloud and headed home with a dejected air.
She hadn't slept well all night and woke up at five in the morning, reciting vocabulary while getting herself ready.
Just as the sky began to lighten, she started running outside the villa, considering it a form of exercise, and she thought while running.
She took the bus to the company and ate in the canteen, then began analyzing the various excellent case studies accumulated by her department.
Jiang Jingyu only got out of bed when people were already looking at case studies.
Because the residential area where he lived was very close to the company, if there was no traffic, it wasn't too late to leave at 7:30.
As a result, after he got ready and took the elevator down to Tong An'an's floor, he rang the doorbell for a long time only to find that she wasn't home again.
The feeling of annoyance from last night resurfaced. He stood at the door and called Tong An'an.
"I'm at your door. Where are you?"
Tong An'an, looking at the case study, told him, "I've already arrived at the company. Thank you for your kind offer to give me a ride, but I don't think it's good to continue like this. What if colleagues see us... So I won't bother you anymore. I need to sleep and wake up early from now on, so I'll walk a bit out myself. You should hurry and get busy."