Chapter 4 - Knife at My Throat
No matter the reason, inviting someone over when they don’t want to come is straight-up harassment.
It wasn’t me who did it, but seeing the pain in Lin Yan’s eyes still hurt.
I took a deep breath. “I’m sorry.”
She jerked her head up, staring at me in disbelief.
I kept going. “Everyone knows how capable you are. Losing you would be a huge loss for the company. I promise nothing like that will ever happen again. You can work here without worry.”
“Mr. Huo,” her voice shook with disbelief, “are you serious?”
I met her eyes steadily. “Dead serious.”
Back when I worked my ass off and no one noticed, it ate at me. I didn’t want Lin Yan, who worked just as hard, to feel the same.
I smiled faintly. “Go back to work.”
After she left, I fired off an email to HR and CC’d the entire company: Effective immediately, all employee drinking and entertainment obligations are canceled.
I still remembered how my old boss forced me to drink until my stomach gave out, the deal fell through, and he called me useless anyway.
From that day on, I despised bosses who treated people like trash.
I refused to become one of them.
In the restroom, Lin Yan was on the phone.
The second she saw me, she hung up fast.
She straightened like a soldier. “Mr. Huo!”
I nodded and walked into the men’s room.
When I came out, whispers floated down the hall.
“Did Mr. Huo take the wrong pills today?”
“He canceled the drinking policy and didn’t even harass Secretary Lin in the bathroom.”
“Who knows—maybe he’s got a new target.”
“Yeah, wouldn’t put it past him.”
“We’ll see.”
Let them watch.
I wasn’t that pervert anymore.
Everyone else left at quitting time. I was last, as usual.
But the moment I stepped outside, someone blocked the corner.
A guy—188 cm, broad shoulders, narrow waist, long legs, and strikingly handsome features.
He looked familiar, but I couldn’t place him.
He spun a butterfly knife between his fingers.
“You won’t let my sister quit?” He slammed me against the wall, knife tip pressing into my throat. “Guess last night’s lesson wasn’t enough.”
I blinked. “Who’s your sister?”
Was someone else trying to resign?
He sneered. “Still playing dumb? You threatened me before to make my sister give in to you.”
Then it hit me.
This had to be Lin Qi—Lin Yan’s younger brother, the one she lived for.
The novel barely mentioned him, just that he was good-looking. No details.
But the only person who’d come after me for Lin Yan was her brother.
So the cross-dressing intruder from last night… was him?
I studied his face. Even under makeup then, the nose and mouth matched perfectly.
It was definitely him.
Relief washed over me.
From the few lines the book gave him, it seemed he valued his life above everything—he still had a sister to protect.
His hand trembled slightly; it looked like he wouldn’t actually hurt me. Maybe this was all show.
That might explain why he bolted right after scaring me last night. Perhaps he was afraid of taking it too far.
I figured the siblings had planned to exploit the original Huo Chichen’s inability to recognize faces, but they ended up with me instead.
His jaw was clenched, the hand holding the knife trembling just slightly.
I couldn’t resist messing with him.