Chapter 177: Chapter 177

Ji Rui’s tone was steady and his voice low, but Le Tong could easily tell that there was a trace of arrogance and pride in his words as he spoke.

Originally, she could deceive herself into believing that the check and contract were just his cruel joke, not to be taken seriously. But his words left Le Tong completely dumbfounded, then furious!

This is him looking down on her, treating her like a commodity, writing a contract whenever he pleases?!

Her chest heaved violently, indicating she was already enraged to the point of madness, nearly tempted to flip the table or just rush over and slap him twice.

But she did not do so!

She just closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and struggled to suppress the tempest raging in her heart. Then she opened her eyes and gazed directly into his deep, dark green eyes before raising her lips in a smile.

"Mr. Ji, you are truly generous! What merits do I, Le Tong, have to deserve you spending five million to buy three years of my life? Surely, this amount is enough for Mr. Ji to keep a small star entertained for several years, right?"

Despite the fury in her heart, her hand hanging at her side clenched tightly into a fist, but the smile on her face was exceptionally bright, her eyes even brighter than usual.

Listening to Le Tong compare herself to those lowly little stars, Ji Rui felt a hint of discomfort in his heart.

"Le Tong, you are not like those little stars."

Involuntarily, he began to speak kindly of Le Tong.

"Oh? Mr. Ji, tell me then, how am I different from those little stars?" Le Tong’s face and eyes were full of sarcasm as her clenched fists dug nails into her palm, the pain piercing her heart! Latest content published on nοvelfire.net

The small glimmer of hope flickering dimly in her heart was blown out by the strong wind and extinguished completely!

Though ever since that night, his attitude towards her had been cold and sarcastic, those were merely small acts of aggression, only hurting her on the surface.

But his words and the check and contract in his hand were like five horses running in different directions, tearing her arms and legs apart, bloodily and brutally ripping her whole apart into shreds!

Ji Rui felt a slight pain in his heart from the sarcasm in Le Tong’s eyes, his breath paused as he saw Le Tong still staring tightly at him, seemingly waiting for his response.

"Anyway, you’re not like them!" He emphasized with a frown, his eyes showing a hint of annoyance.

In fact, he couldn’t truly answer how Le Tong was different from the little stars.

But he felt very uncomfortable and resistant to putting Le Tong in the same category as those coquettish little stars.

Le Tong laughed at him, "Heh, what’s the difference? After all, it’s just about being able to be bought with money. In Mr. Ji’s eyes, I am the same as them! It’s just a matter of high or low price!"

Le Tong’s laughter sounded strangely harsh in Ji Rui’s ears.

He wanted very much to make Le Tong believe she was different from those little stars. But precisely his actions had placed her on the same level as them.

Ji Rui wanted to say something but was stopped by Le Tong raising her hand.

"Mr. Ji, thank you for thinking so highly of me! For such a generous offer, give me a few days to consider it!"

Le Tong said, lowering her head, carefully folding the check and contract and holding them in her palm.

Suddenly, Ji Rui felt uneasy, staring at her, hoping she would lift her head where he might read some reassuring information from her eyes.

But she kept her head down, unwilling to look at him.

Ji Rui’s originally high spirits were slowly sinking due to Le Tong’s unexpected response.

He sighed silently, gazing at her lowered yet still beautiful face, stubborn despite everything. "Okay, I’ll give you three days."

Le Tong raised her long lashes, her beautiful eyes no longer clear and bright as Ji Rui admired, now shadowed by a gray haze.

"Five days! During these five days, find someone to cover my work!"

Le Tong finished speaking and without waiting for Ji Rui’s response, clutching the folded check and contract tightly, briskly turned to leave.

Ji Rui silently looked at her back until she slipped beyond the door, still staring at the door panel in a daze.

Le Tong slipped out of the room, using her last ounce of strength to close the door, leaned against the wall, slowly sliding down to the floor.

She sat on the ground, having used all her energy to face Ji Rui, feeling like a spring silkworm completely drained, unable to even move a finger.

She hugged her knees tightly, slowly lowering her head, burying it deeply between them...

Le Tong sat at the door to the CEO’s office, unsure how long had passed before strength returned to her limbs, and she supported herself on the cold floor, struggling to stand up, slowly walking back to her seat.

With trembling hands, she placed the tightly gripped items onto the desk, slowly spreading them out.

Le Tong stared fiercely at the two items in front of her, unable to snap back to reality for a long time.

The clock slowly reached noon.

Ji Rui, who had never been so attentive nor so punctual before, stood up energetically as the clock struck twelve, preparing to go to the cafeteria for lunch.

Opening the door, his gaze eagerly fell on the secretary’s position.

The empty desk made his already anxious heart float aimlessly, unable to find a supporting point.

Had she gone for lunch?

Ji Rui closed the door, walked over, and his gaze fell on the neatly arranged desk.

Ji Rui felt faintly that something was wrong, but only furrowed his brow, quickening his pace into the elevator.

Upon entering the cafeteria, employees eating noisily fell silent as if struck dumb, instantly quiet, and those nearby stood to greet Ji Rui.

Ji Rui nodded in acknowledgment, responding to their greetings, his gaze naturally turning to the table where Le Tong usually sat.

The table near the terrace was occupied by several employees from the finance department who usually had a good relationship with Le Tong. Ji Rui’s gaze swept across their faces; among them, Le Tong was absent.

Ji Rui felt some disappointment, then turned his gaze outside the terrace. A few days before, he had seen Le Tong animatedly chatting on the phone at the terrace.

That time, she was probably talking to Luo Yifan because her smile was exceptionally bright and eye-catching in the sunlight!

But today, in the same bright sunlight, she was nowhere to be seen!

[Second update posted, four thousand words complete today. Zhu Zi’s mood in writing matches yours in reading, ups and downs, sometimes happy, sometimes sad, sigh... Ladies, give some motivation, I’ll try for three updates with six thousand words tomorrow! Love every one of you!]