Chapter 110 - His Trepidations (1)

When Wu Lina started working for the Yang Corporation, she had to move out of the nurses' quarters into a new accommodation within a week's time. She wanted an apartment near the company so that she reduce her commute time. However, being the downtown area where the Yang Corporation was located, it had houses and apartments that were very expensive. If that was the case, she needed to hunt for a cheap accommodation after her office hours so she wouldn't need to worry about it later.

When Yan Xiaojun had heard of her situation, he offered her one of his flats on the excuse that it was his friend's place who had left the country for a few years to study abroad but she refused the offer. The house was extremely luxurious and far away from the company for crying out loud. Also, it was partially because she felt odd taking his help.

One of the days when she was extremely tired, so instead of going to look for the apartments, she decided to go to the nurses' quarters. She met the head nurse Su Sāng Ní in the foyer of the building.

"Wu Lina, my child, how are you holding? How are you adapting to your new job?" Su Sāng Ní asked her enthusiastically. She was very proud of Wu Lina for she was intelligent and diligent and she could not be any prouder than that.

"I am fine, ayi," replied Wu Lina with a tired smile. Su Sāng ní invited Wu Lina over to her house for some small talk.

Over a few cups of tea, Wu Lina spilled her concerns regarding the accommodation.

"That's all? Wu Lina you should have come to me earlier. My elder brother's apartment is in that area but I don't know how far is it from your company. That apartment has been vacant from a long time since he has moved in with his son's family. If it is okay you can move in there. Let me talk to him."

Su Sāng Ní called her brother and within minutes, Wu Lina's problem was solved.

"Thank you, Auntie," said Wu Lina while gratefully hugging her.

They had tea and rest of the day passed quickly with both of chatting and remembering the old days.

Wu Lina moved into her new apartment after signing the lease. It was a tiny apartment, just enough for her to live comfortably. The rent was affordable since Su Sāng Ní's brother wanted someone to maintain it more than anything else.

It was close to her company, being only twenty minutes away by bus.

Over the next days, she became busy with her job. Yan Xiaojun would often come to drop her home. But he was careful not to park his car near the Yang Corporation building. He would park it at a distance and wait for her there. He wanted to be with her at every given opportunity.

He would wait for Wu Lina in her route to catch the bus for home. Initially, Wu Lina was happy that he gave her a lift home, but later she didn't feel his actions were out of courtesy and it made her uncomfortable. He had started waiting for her more than her comfort limit.

Yan Xiaojun was treading on something different now. He was becoming desperate to confess his love for her. He carried the ring everyday, waiting for an opportunity to confess. One of the days when he was waiting for her in the car, he saw that Yang Xinyu was behind Wu Lina. Yang Xinyu was looking at Wu Lina and it appeared that he was following her.

Yan Xiaojun became restless. He couldn't get out of the car and watched the two walk together. 'Is Yang Xinyu following Wu Lina?' the thought gnawed at him relentlessly.

They had entered a bookshop nearby, which were a few meters away from the bus stand, his eyes never leaving Wu Lina.

Yan Xiaojun's worst fears were surfacing and he didn't like the thought of it. He clutched the wheel of the car tightly until his nails started digging his palm. He wanted to be with her, take her away from there, yet he couldn't be with her while Yang Xinyu was with her.

The bus came and Wu Lina boarded it without even knowing Yan Xiaojun mind had become a mess because of her…

Yan Xiaojun sped away from his location.

When Wu Lina reached her home, to her surprise she found Yan Xiaojun standing there, waiting for her.

"Hi!" she waved at him.

Yan Xiaojun's anxieties were all washed away the moment she waved at him.

"How are you today?" he asked smiling at her.

"I am good, but really tired. Would you like to have some tea or coffee?" she asked suggesting a nice café near her home.

Yan Xiaojun accepted her suggestion and they walked to the café bar round the corner. It was a small cozy place with very few tables inside. She was hungry, so along with coffee she ordered a variety of food for herself. Yan Xiaojun was surprised at her appetite and couldn't help saying, "You are one little dinosaur!" he laughed heartily.

Wu Lina remembered Yang Xinyu teasing her like that. For a moment, she became sad.

Over coffee and snacks, Yan Xiaojun asked her, "How's your job going on?"

"Right now, I am a trainee so we have to go to various departments to learn. By the end of the training period, we will be assigned our final departments" she said with a mouthful.

"Okay… how are the people there?" he continued.

"Everyone is nice… professional… I don't talk so much, but I have made a very good friend, Zhou Zhili," she replied still mouthful but still kept her enthusiasm.

"And have you met your boss?" he probed, very anxious at how she was going to answer.

'Yes!" she kept the answer short.

Having somewhat confirmed his fears, he asked more with increasing awareness of his own nervousness, "Have you talked to him?"

"Yes!" she promptly replied.

His hands started shaking. He looked intently at her eyes wide open. "What did he say to you?"

Wu Lina found it strange that Yan Xiaojun would ask her a question like this.

There was so much that could be said but what could she say?

"Well we had an orientation where we had to meet the CEO."

"Okay… and what happened in the orientation?" he had to know because he had seen Yang Xinyu follow her that day.

"They asked us to introduce ourselves and we had to go and shake our hands with the CEO. That's all," she kept the answer to the point, not giving much more room for him to find her at fault.