No, she had to repay at least once.
But the question was: what could she give?
She knew so little about Ying Jingsheng.
Only that he had lived in her apartment for four months, and his room had nothing but the essentials.
What did he like? What didn't he like? What were his hobbies? What did he do in his spare time?
A complete blank.
Tao Xinrou rested her chin on her hand, staring blankly at the computer screen.
Suddenly, an idea struck.
Wang Anran.
He was Ying Jingsheng's secretary—he would know everything!
Tao Xinrou's eyes lit up. She immediately opened DingTalk and found Wang Anran's chat.
Tao Xinrou: Secretary Wang, thank you for your help today with fetching Li Nannan.
Wang Anran: You're welcome. It's my job.
Tao Xinrou: By the way, I'd like to ask you something.
Tao Xinrou: President Ying is so busy with work—does he have any particular likes or hobbies? I want to express my gratitude, but I'm afraid of giving him something wrong and embarrassing myself.
After hitting enter, she quickly switched to a web page, but her heart was pounding.
Wang Anran: ?
Tao Xinrou felt a chill on her scalp and quickly tried to backtrack.
Tao Xinrou: Secretary Wang, please don't misunderstand. I'm not trying to pry into President Ying's privacy. It's just that he helped me so much this morning, I have to show my appreciation. Could you give me a hint?
Wang Anran: President Ying doesn't have any particular likes. He's a workaholic. His only hobby might be drinking coffee. He prefers Jamaica Blue Mountain, from the No. 1 Estate.
Then he sent a location.
Now that she knew his preference, Tao Xinrou rushed to buy the coffee, along with a simple grinding set—very practical. He wouldn't... refuse it, would he?
But the next problem came: how to give it to him?
If she gave it at home, her mother would definitely see and would ask all sorts of questions. After thinking it over, Tao Xinrou decided to pick an appropriate time to give it at the company.
So she contacted Wang Anran again and soon learned that Ying Jingsheng would be working late tonight.
As evening fell, the headquarters building gradually quieted down. Tao Xinrou gripped the plain paper bag containing the coffee beans and grinding set as she arrived at the 39th floor.
Wang Anran saw her and only nodded formally: "President Ying is still in. Go straight in, but don't take too long."
"Thank you, Secretary Wang." Tao Xinrou nodded, walked to the door, and knocked.
"Come in." A cold voice came from inside.
She pushed the door open.
"President Ying, sorry to disturb you."
Ying Jingsheng looked up, seemingly surprised to see Tao Xinrou.
She placed the bag gently on his desk, stepped back, and fidgeted with her hands. "I heard you were running low on coffee, so I bought some beans on a whim. I'm not sure if they'll suit your taste."
Ying Jingsheng looked puzzled, then glanced at the coffee packaging on his desk: "Jamaica Blue Mountain, No. 1 Estate. How did you know?" He read the small print on the label and looked up at her.
Tao Xinrou panicked—she couldn't betray Wang Anran. "I passed by and bought them. They're not very expensive." She defended herself in a low voice.
"Passed by? That shop is at least three kilometers from our building, isn't it?" Ying Jingsheng tried to find a crack in her expression.
Under the light, his eyes were cool and sharp, making Tao Xinrou afraid to meet his gaze.
"Really, I was just passing by. I had to run an errand outside, hehe." She looked away.
Ying Jingsheng decided not to press her. "Fine. Coincidentally, I am out of coffee. Your timing is perfect."
With that, he put the bag aside.
Seeing him do that, Tao Xinrou breathed a sigh of relief, her hanging heart finally easing a little.
"Then I won't bother you anymore, President Ying. Please carry on." She stammered, ready to retreat.
"Wait." Ying Jingsheng stopped her. "Did you come just to give me coffee?"
Tao Xinrou halted and turned back nervously. "Yes, no other reason."
"Are you sure it's not because of this morning?"
Ying Jingsheng looked at her. Tao Xinrou quickly defended herself: "No, no! Of course, I'm also grateful for this morning."
"Those childish tricks of theirs are easy to see through. Just focus on your work. Oh, here."
Ying Jingsheng opened a drawer and pulled out an exquisite box bearing the logo of a high-end hotel, pushing it toward her. "Since you went out of your way to bring me something, I can't accept it for nothing. The dessert department downstairs was testing new products today, and they gave me an extra one. I heard girls like this kind of thing."
Tao Xinrou froze.
That box looked clearly expensive.
Was he really going to give it to her?
"That's too kind..." Tao Xinrou looked at the dessert box, then at him, at a loss.
"It's a token of mutual respect." Ying Jingsheng said lightly. "Or... don't you like it?" He pushed the bag a little closer.
"Like it, of course I like it." How could she dare say she didn't like something from the president?
She forced as natural a smile as possible, reaching to take the bag from the table. Their fingertips touched.
In that instant, images flooded in—
In the president's office at night, brightly lit, Ying Jingsheng stood by the floor-to-ceiling window. His back was straight but carried an air of loneliness. His eyes scrutinized the neon lights of the street.
In his hand, he held a dark blue file, bearing the words "Secret File."
A curl tugged at his lips. He muttered to himself, "Now, let's see how you can deny it."
Then he opened the file, and on it was clearly written: "2009 Tao Haizhen Vehicle Dispatch Record... Time of Death Confirmation: June 3, 2009, 22:17."
The image flickered and instantly overlapped with Ying Jingsheng's calm face before her.
Shocked, Tao Xinrou saw Ying Jingsheng smiling at her.
That smile looked no different from usual, but Tao Xinrou seemed to read sinister, hidden, secret words from it, sending a chill down her spine.
He was investigating her father's matter?
Why was he investigating her father?
Or was he trying to stop her investigation by getting to the truth first?
Was he really being good to her?
...
Tao Xinrou couldn't stop the flood of thoughts in her mind, and her hand froze mid-air.
"What's wrong? Don't you like macarons?" Seeing her suddenly pale face and her hand suspended in the air, forgetting to take the box, Ying Jingsheng frowned slightly.
"No, no, it's... nothing. Thank you, President Ying. I'll go now."
Tao Xinrou snapped back to reality, yanking her hand back as if burned. She frantically grabbed the macaron box and hugged it to her chest.
She didn't dare look at him again. Almost stumbling, she rushed out of the door.