Chapter 450 Unedited
The following morning when An Xiulan woke up, Han Zixin was still sleeping. Although she left his room to give him space and peace that he was asking her for, she could not give it for long. She waited till he was asleep and then came to his room and slept beside him. She didn't want to come across as someone who could not understand her lover's wish to maintain a little distance for his peace of mind. However, it was easier said than done. Going away from him was the hardest thing she had done. She only returned when he was sleeping. She laid on the bed, quietly next to him for a long time before she fell asleep.
Again, this morning she was awake before the sun came up. In order to cheer him up, she entered the kitchen to cook something for him. She was a horrible cook, everybody knew it. But for him, she wanted to cook a simple meal. She installed her phone on the shelf and began following the recipe that she had looked at on the internet. She decided to make eggs for breakfast. It didn't look that hard to cook when the man in the video was cooking but when she imitated the same procedure, it sure was different. However, after great labor, she cooked the eggs and properly garnished it before making coffee. Thankfully, she could make a good coffee.
The breakfast was set up on the table and she was waiting for the alarm to ring so he would wake up and have food. She knew that he would wake up on time as he was punctual when it came to the office.
The alarm didn't ring but her phone sure did. It was her father calling her and even if she wanted to she could not reject his call. He had been calling her since last night. Initially, she told him that she would call him in the morning and since he was calling now, she had to pick it. It might be something important or he would have waited for some more time.
Taking deep breaths, she took her father's call, "Hello?"
Just as she took the call, the burden of a huge problem had fallen on her fragile shoulder and she just realized that things were going to be hard for her from this moment onwards.
"I will be there in thirty minutes, "An Xiulan told her father.
"You don't have thirty minutes. Come as soon as possible, "Her father said.
It seemed like she didn't even have time to look presentable. An Xiulan called a cab. Since it would take five minutes to arrive at her destination, she got dressed instantly and left for the office. She did her makeup in the cab as she didn't have any time inside.
"Uncle, I am sorry to ask you to overspeed but please I need to reach there soon, "An Xiulan said, tense.
The driver agreed instantly.
When she reached her office, she found her father's assistant waiting for her in the lobby.
"Miss An, Mr Lu is waiting for you in his office. I will take you there, "The assistant said.
"Wasn't I supposed to head to the conference room?" An Xiulan asked. She remembered getting a message from the HR team that she had to report to the conference room.
"I will escort you to the concerned room after this, "The assistant answered.
"Dad, "An Xiulan greeted him as soon as she saw him. She lowered her head, fearing that he was going to scold her. He was sitting on his seat and staring at her.
"An Xiulan, why are you looking down?" Lu Zhaolin asked. "Are you guilty?"
An Xiulan gulped, hearing his angry voice. She had only seen Lu Xuan and Lu Xun at this position where their actions would cause them to get scolded by their father. But today, it was her turn. And all she could say was that it was not a very comfortable position. She would like to switch with anyone available.
"I asked you a question, "Lu Zhaolin said once again.
"I am sorry, father, "An Xiulan answered in a weak voice.
She was ready to receive scolding as she believed that she deserved it.
Lu Zhaolin said in a hard tone, "Look at me and tell me what you are sorry for."
An Xiulan whispered, "I am sorry for causing trouble."
"How did you cause trouble?"Lu Zhaolin asked, "That's what I am asking from you."
He remembered his wife's words. She told him to handle the matter peacefully and not be hard on his daughter. He was not hard on her. He just didn't like how she was being so scared and unconfident. If she was so under confident here, was she going to handle a huge board awaiting to sack her? He needed her old confidence and fire back or she might lose this job or get entangled in the office politics. He didn't want this to happen to his daughter. Her mistake would become someone's playground to play office politics.
An Xiulan told her father, "I got involved in a fight in the office. I could not control my emotions and forgot to draw a line between personal and professional sphere."
At this point, she had no clue about the battle going inside her father's head. As much as he wanted her to be familiar with the battle, he could not tell her.
"That's all?" Lu Zhaolin asked.
An Xiulan answered, "I am sorry for harming an elderly. I have no excuse to give. Even if she started it, I shouldn't have extended it. I should have understood that she was older and I just couldn't not do what I did."
If An Qinyan found out that An Xiulan harmed an elderly, for whatever reason, she was going to be so mad. She didn't raise her daughter to raise hand at older people. Lu Zhaolin had the same kind of views in this matter. This was clear that she was going to be punished by her mother.
Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freew𝒆bnov𝒆l.c(o)m