The crisp ring of a mobile phone echoed. Susan sighed and unlocked the screen.
Not off work yet?!
As expected, it was our little Superman, Lin Feng…
Susan had lost count of how many messages Lin Feng had sent.
But there wasn't a trace of impatience in her heart, only a sense of amusement.
Patiently replying to the text again, Susan glanced at the time. Four o'clock, an hour until quitting time.
Her work was mostly wrapped up, and her day was coming to an end. Susan decided to have a cup of coffee to perk herself up.
The television station offered excellent benefits. The work area Susan was in had two coffee machines and several small refrigerators stocked with various snacks, all available for free.
Hmm… Sitting for a long time inevitably made her lower back feel a bit uncomfortable. Susan massaged her slender waist as she made her coffee.
Her job either involved going out to take photos or sitting down to write copy.
Logically, going out should count as exercise. A sore back could only be blamed on that darn stiff office chair!
She had reported it several times, but the stingy boss still hadn't replaced it! Susan grumbled inwardly.
"Ding-dong-ding-dong! Susan!" A large lumbar cushion was suddenly held up in front of Susan.
"Ah!! John, what are you doing?!" Startled, Susan jumped, turning to ask angrily.
Susan's exclamation drew the attention of her colleagues. Some glanced over, then returned to their work.
However, their work slowed down, and their peripheral vision kept flicking towards them.
Everyone knew what was happening; there was gossip to be had!
John hadn't expected to startle Susan. He had intended to surprise her, and now seeing her so taken aback, his plump face was etched with embarrassment.
"Su, Susan, I just wanted to give you a cushion, for your lower back!" John held up the carefully chosen green cushion with his thick, short arms. "This way, your back won't ache!"
"No… no, thank you!" Susan waved her hands, refusing. "I appreciate the thought, and please call me Miss Carter!"
With that, Susan didn't want to look at John anymore. She picked up her coffee and turned to leave.
"Susan!" John's voice rose slightly as he stepped forward to block her. Susan almost stumbled and ran into him.
"What do you want!" Susan was getting annoyed, her delicate face hardening into a frosty expression.
A shadow flickered in John's eyes as his voice dropped. "I'd like to invite you to dinner tonight! I know a new steakhouse nearby that's quite good…"
"I'm sorry, I have plans tonight," Susan said expressionlessly, her eyes betraying her clear disgust.
After speaking, Susan, holding her coffee, sidestepped John and hurried away, leaving him with only her retreating back.
John didn't stop her. He merely watched Susan's retreating figure with an unnervingly dark look in his eyes.
This was the seventh time he had brought Susan gifts, whether flowers or other items, expensive or practical. Susan had rejected them all without a second glance.
This scene was also witnessed by her colleagues at the television station.
Almost every team had its own gossip chat group. At this moment, the gossip-loving colleagues stopped working and were buzzing in the chat.
"That fatso is chasing Susan again! I don't know where he gets his nerve!"
"Doesn't he know Susan dislikes green? He even brought her a green cushion?"
"Just look at him, does he really think beauty and the beast will happen with him?"
"He thinks a few bucks means all women will fawn over him? I bet if he wasn't the boss's nephew, he'd have been kicked out of the company by now!"
"How many times has he pursued Susan? The 17th time this month?"
The staff happily gossiped while John returned to his office. His office was on the floor above, a specially soundproofed room for John and his girlfriend to do… private things.
Of course, his girlfriends usually changed about once a month.
As soon as John entered, he roared in anger, smashing anything he saw.
"Damn b*tch!" After smashing things for a while, John collapsed into his chair, breathing heavily. Prolonged indulgence had left his face covered in acne, his complexion sickly.
There isn't a woman I can't have! Damn it!
Just because she took a couple more photos of Superman, what right does she have to refuse me?
John cursed inwardly, his expression growing increasingly grim.
After a while, his anger spent, John's face regained its composure.
It's fine. Against a woman who won't yield, he usually had another plan.
…
Susan stretched, turned off her computer, and finally, it was time to leave work.
*Ding!* The text message alert sounded again.
"Susan! I'm downstairs at your company building! Come down quickly!"
Susan couldn't help but smile upon seeing the message. Five o'clock, texting right on time.
Why did this usually steady young man seem so restless today!
"Coming, coming!" She replied to the text, pulled out a small makeup mirror, quickly reapplied a light touch of makeup, and then headed for the elevator.
It was rush hour in Times Square after five o'clock, with countless office workers flooding the streets in search of dinner.
After greeting a colleague she bumped into, Susan walked out of the building, her beautiful eyes scanning for Lin Feng.
"Hey! Susan!" a familiar voice called out from behind her.
Susan turned around, and Lin Feng's large face was almost pressed against hers.
"Wow! What are you doing?!" Susan instinctively took two steps back, her pretty face flushing, and chided.
"Ta-da!" Lin Feng didn't answer but simply extended his hands and drew a circle in the air.
*Poof!* In the next second, a large bouquet of roses appeared as if by magic in Lin Feng's hands.
Lin Feng, like a gentleman, elegantly handed the roses to a dumbfounded Susan. "For you, beautiful Miss Susan."
"Oh my goodness! Is this magic?" Susan exclaimed in surprise, taking the roses and sniffing their fragrance. The fatigue of the day almost melted away. "Lin, how did you know I like roses?!"
"That's a secret!" Lin Feng winked conspiratorially at Susan, then bowed slightly, extending a hand in invitation. "Beautiful Miss Susan, may I have the honor of inviting you to dinner?"
Susan's face flushed again. She calmly extended her hand. "Of course, my big boy!"
Her accelerated heartbeat betrayed Susan. Although it was a cliché romantic scenario, for the two of them, on their first date, it was filled with novelty and excitement.
Lin Feng smiled slightly, took Susan's fair, soft hand, and walked to the roadside.
A Rolls-Royce was parked there, a vehicle Tony had arranged for them. The driver was Happy.
Initially, Happy was quite reluctant, but upon hearing he was driving for Superman, his attitude completely changed.
Lin Feng carefully opened the car door for Susan, and they both got in. The flying golden man slowly set off, heading towards a seafood restaurant.
"Oh! Did you see that? Susan got into that luxury car?" In front of the office building, several of Susan's colleagues witnessed the scene and exclaimed in unison.
"Is that her boyfriend? So young, and he has such a sunny smile!"
"And most importantly, so rich!"
"Did you get a picture? Quickly send it to the group, let's all enjoy the gossip!" Even while gossiping, they remembered their friends, truly reliable colleagues…
As soon as the photos were posted in the group chat, it triggered a flood of previously silent members.
The group erupted in a frenzy of envy and sourness.
"Heh, it's probably a rented car, isn't it? He's too young to afford a Rolls-Royce?" one envious person muttered sourly.
"Come on, couldn't he be a second-generation rich kid?" someone retorted, unable to stand it.
"What do you guys do for work? Don't you usually do your research? Doesn't that license plate look familiar?"
"I know! That's Stark Industries' license plate!"
"Oh my god, if they have this kind of treatment, they're probably shareholders!"
"Or maybe her boyfriend is Tony Stark's illegitimate son!"
"Am I the only one who wants to laugh right now? I want to see John's face when he finds out…"
"Seconded!"