The next morning, the design department was in an uproar.
When Luo Shu walked in, everyone's eyes were fixed on her, and quite a few people were pointing and whispering behind her back.
Her almond-shaped eyes could immediately deduce that this "uproar" was probably about her.
"Shu'er, the design department was hit by a thief last night," Ye Li whispered beside her. "The design drafts for the competition, which were kept in the director's office, were moved to your desk."
Hearing this, Luo Shu understood instantly.
For the year-end designer competition in the design department, many colleagues had finalized their prepared drafts and handed them over to Director Nan Huainan for safekeeping.
If they went missing or were leaked, all the designers' hard work would have been for nothing. They would have to redesign their entries, which was not only a waste of time but also gave their rivals time to think.
Luo Shu said nothing, her eyes scanning the room.
Everyone was taken aback by her sharp gaze; they probably hadn't expected Luo Shu to be so calm.
The noisy design department became so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
She let out a small laugh. She hadn't even put down her bag and tablet when she saw the small stack of papers on her desk.
With a look of disgust, she pinched the papers on her desk between her thumb and index finger, raised her eyelids, and scanned the crowd once more.
"It seems your design drafts might have run over to my desk."
She let go of them with disgust. Sure enough, their design drafts were placed neatly on her workstation.
Everyone knew the drafts were on her desk, but no one had gone to get them, all waiting for her to arrive so they could confront her.
"Luo Shu! You don't need to do something like this if you want to win first place!"
"I was wondering why you were working overtime last night! So you were 'referencing' our work!"
"The designs are all confidential. Now that you've seen all of ours, how can this be fair?"
…
They chattered on, all pointing their fingers at Luo Shu.
Luo Shu was unhurried.
"If I wanted to reference them, I would have just taken pictures and looked at them slowly at home. Why would I leave the drafts on my desk? I could have just thrown them in the trash! Leaving you with no recourse!
And why would I post on my Moments that I was working overtime? Shouldn't I be hiding as far away as possible?
Who would do something so stupid as to practically announce their own guilt?"
Her words left everyone speechless.
But many were still unconvinced, especially the senior designers, who wished she would be crushed right then and there.
Luo Shu didn't want to listen. She swept all the drafts from her desk onto the nearby printer.
Her temper was usually quite good; at the very least, she wouldn't start a conflict with others before she had even found her footing in a new company.
But for some reason, lately, she found she couldn't tolerate being wronged in the slightest.
"What's going on? So noisy first thing in the morning!"
Nan Huainan walked in. Following behind him were Yu Zhan and Shen Yan.
It was the first time they had seen the boss make a surprise visit, and everyone immediately shut their mouths.
Luo Shu glanced at Nan Huainan and, past his ear, her eyes met Yu Zhan's from behind him. She didn't dare to look for long and quickly averted her gaze.
"It's nothing, just that our Ms. Luo Shu was 'referencing' the drafts for the year-end competition last night. We were just complaining a bit."
Someone started it.
"I did not."
Luo Shu's tone was firm.
At that moment, she noticed Yu Zhan was staring at her. His ice-cold gaze made her feel afraid, and she even sounded a bit nervous as she spoke.
"Everything requires evidence. Although I did leave late last night, that doesn't mean I did this.
Besides, I don't think any of the works from the teachers here have any reference value in my eyes. I don't think their designs can affect my ability to win first place at the end of the year."
"..." Another wave of clamor erupted in the design department.
Some said she was arrogant, some said she was conceited, and others said she was just bragging.
After hearing her, Yu Zhan lowered his gaze slightly and let out a soft chuckle.
"We'll know once we check the surveillance footage," Nan Huainan said.
"The security guard said the cameras were under maintenance last night and couldn't be accessed. They only saw Ms. Luo working in the office, but it didn't capture anything about the design drafts."
Ye Li answered timidly.
The first thing Ye Li had done when the incident occurred was to check the cameras, wanting to clear her good friend's name.
The matter remained unresolved, and they continued to argue endlessly. Luo Shu chose to remain silent, her mind pondering why that stack of drafts had appeared on her desk.
"Luo Shu."
A steady voice cut through the crowd, and everyone immediately fell silent.
It was Yu Zhan.
"Follow me."
His tone was devoid of any emotion, as cold and indifferent as ever.
After speaking, he turned and walked towards the elevator.
The moment he turned, everyone began to whisper amongst themselves.
They all thought she was about to get fired.
Luo Shu, having a clear conscience, was not afraid. She held her head high and followed him.
Stepping into the elevator, the scent of sandalwood from his body washed over her, slowly calming her agitated heart.
They entered his office, and Shen Yan walked out, closing the door behind him.
"Sit down and have breakfast together."
He pointed to a simple breakfast on the table.
"Huh?" She was a bit bewildered.
What did he mean?
She wanted to say something, but her stomach chose that inconvenient moment to rumble loudly.
He sat down, unwrapped a pair of disposable chopsticks, and handed them to the stunned Luo Shu.
Luo Shu didn't understand why the plot had twisted so quickly, but tempted by the food, she took the chopsticks from him and sat down opposite him.
Today, she was wearing loose-fitting casual pants with a short-sleeved mock neck T-shirt, and her hair was in a messy yet chic bun on top of her head, giving her a very alluring look.
From time to time, it drew an inadvertent glance from Yu Zhan.
She ate very slowly. Matching Luo Shu's pace, Yu Zhan also slowed down, eating deliberately as he accompanied her.
"Are you full?" Yu Zhan asked.
"Mm."
Luo Shu pulled out a tissue and wiped her mouth.
This past month, she had been so busy with the National Day event that she hadn't had a proper breakfast in a long time.
"Work hard. You can go now," he said and began to clean up.
Luo Shu quickly helped him. Her small hand unintentionally brushed against his warm, large palm. She pulled it back and hid it behind her back.
"I'll be going then."
"Mm." He didn't even lift his head.
Luo Shu didn't know why he had called her up at this time. She thought that after breakfast he might ask about the design drafts, but to her surprise, he didn't ask or say anything at all.
She walked to the door, stopped, and turned to look at him. "Mr. Yu."
"Mm." He threw the take-out box into the trash can, dusted off his hands, and looked at her with his clear eyes.
"Our business… don't tell anyone else."
"Which business?"
Which business?
"All of it."
"Okay," he replied, then walked towards his desk.
Luo Shu breathed a sigh of relief, not understanding the domineering CEO's intentions.
Back at her desk, the atmosphere in the office was unusually tense.
"I can't finish these xiaolongbao. Do you want them?" Ye Li pushed the buns in front of Luo Shu.
"No, thanks. I'm full," she said, sitting down.
"Right, you're probably full of anger!"
A short while later, Shen Yan came in and called Nan Huainan upstairs.
The sound of discussion grew louder as people began to shamelessly speculate on what would happen next.
"Did the abstinent tycoon tear you apart?" Ye Li asked quietly.
"No."
"Then what were you doing up there for over ten minutes?"
"He just asked about this morning's incident."
Luo Shu felt a pang of guilt, quickly cut off the topic, and started her work for the day.