Chapter 35 part 1

On the drive back, Lin Li turned to look at Zhou Han for a long moment before finally saying, "I never realized you were such a good actor."

Zhou Han glanced at her, then turned his eyes back to the road ahead. With a faint, half-smile playing on his lips, he said, "I’m a businessman; I value efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Getting it right the first time is always better than having to make endless revisions later."

Lin Li nodded, adding with a touch of sarcasm, "True enough—one-and-done, right?"

Zhou Han didn't turn his head; he kept his focus on the road.

The atmosphere inside the car shifted abruptly, becoming heavy and stifling.

Lin Li felt inexplicably out of sorts—agitated and uneasy. She knew her foul mood stemmed not just from her parents' departure, but also from the encounter with Cheng Xiang’s mother at the airport.

After a long silence, Zhou Han spoke first, a hint of a smile in his voice: "It seems your judgment is truly terrible. You’re no good at picking men, and you’re just as bad at sizing up women."

Lin Li turned to look at him, knowing he was referring to Cheng Xiang and his mother. A cold, mocking smile touched her lips as she retorted sharply, "Your judgment isn't exactly stellar, either."

Zhou Han slowly brought the car to a halt at a red light. He nodded in agreement, then turned to look at Lin Li. "So, does that make us two of a kind—fellow travelers in misfortune?"

"Are you happy about that?" Lin Li glared at him and turned away, her face impassive and cold. "I don't think there's anything to be happy about there!" 

To put it poetically, they were "fellow travelers in misfortune," but to put it bluntly, they were just two fools who had believed in love, wasted the prime of their youth on it, and had their feelings squandered by others. 

Two truly pathetic souls—what was there to be happy about? 

Zhou Han didn't get angry; instead, he turned his head and continued speaking matter-of-factly: "I don't find any of this amusing. I just think you're being silly—bordering on foolish."

----- please read the translation from https://irisatdusk.blogspot.com/

Lin Li turned to look at him, her brows furrowed tightly, as if silently asking what he meant.

The traffic light turned green, and the car ahead began to move slowly. Zhou Han started his car and followed, keeping his eyes fixed on the road ahead. 

"You try so hard to act like everything is fine in front of your parents and friends because you don't want them to worry or feel sad—convincing yourself you've let go and moved on. Yet, the moment you turn away, you suffer and cry in silence. You know full well there’s no turning back, and that even if the person apologized or repented right in front of you, it wouldn't change the reality of what happened. And yet, seeing a certain person or hearing a single phrase can still leave you hurting for ages. If that isn't foolish, what is?"

Perhaps because he had been through similar experiences, Zhou Han could always see straight into her heart. His words were blunt, ruthlessly stripping away her defenses and piercing straight to her core.

Lin Li bit her lip. Even though every word he said was spot-on, she refused to show weakness. "That's not true," she said defiantly. "Stop acting so self-righteous."

"You know deep down whether I'm being self-righteous or not. I just want to tell you that truly letting go isn't about what you say—it's about what's in your heart." Having said that, Zhou Han fell silent and focused entirely on driving.

Lin Li turned her head to look out the window, a hint of petulance in her manner. In truth, she understood the situation perfectly well; the problem was that while everyone grasps such principles, putting them into practice is far easier said than done.

----- please read the translation from https://irisatdusk.blogspot.com/

While Lin Li was still lost in her own thoughts, Zhou Han drove back to the company. He grabbed his briefcase from the back seat, and as he turned, he noticed Lin Li was still sitting in the same position. After a brief silence, he said, "I don't have time to drive you back; if you want to go home, you'll have to drive yourself." With that, he opened the car door and headed straight into the building.

Only then did Lin Li snap back to reality, realizing they had arrived at the office without her even noticing. She sat in the car for a moment longer before removing the key and heading inside.

As she went up, she ran into Zhou Han, who was carrying documents and heading to the conference room for a meeting, accompanied by his Special Assistant Xu. Zhou Han paused momentarily upon seeing her step out of the elevator but said nothing, continuing toward the conference room with his papers. 

Xu, however, looked at Lin Li as if she were a savior; the distressed look on his face vanished, replaced by a glimmer of hope as he hurriedly handed her the netbook he was carrying. "Hurry and come to the meeting—we need someone to take the minutes," he said, before following Zhou Han toward the conference room.

Lin Li had no time to process the situation; she simply took the computer and followed them into the meeting.

The meeting lasted nearly three hours, focusing primarily on the planning and implementation of the next phase of the project. Lin Li couldn't help but marvel at Zhou Han's composure; despite such a crucial meeting taking place, he had still insisted on driving her parents to the airport.

It was Lin Li's busiest day yet. Documents piled up one after another; no sooner had she finished organizing one batch than another arrived. She was so swamped all day that she had no time to think about anything else, and by the end of it, she felt completely drained—as if her body were falling apart.

After completing the final document, Lin Li leaned back in her chair, tilting her head up and closing her eyes; she was so exhausted she didn't want to move a muscle. 

As Zhou Han emerged from his office with some documents, he spotted Lin Li leaning back with her head tilted and eyes closed—it was unclear whether she had fallen asleep or was simply resting her eyes. He walked over and tapped on her desk.

Lin Li snapped her eyes open; seeing the documents in his hand, she couldn't help but ask, "Are there more files to organize?"

Zhou Han smiled and, maintaining a strictly professional manner, handed the papers to her. "These are for tomorrow morning's meeting. Please distribute them to everyone then."

Relieved to hear this, Lin Li took the documents and muttered to herself, "Even if you brought more files for me to sort, I wouldn't do it—just look at the time."

Hearing this, Zhou Han checked his watch; without realizing it, it was already nearly 10:00 PM. He lowered his arm, glanced at Lin Li, and said, "Pack up your things; it's time to go." With that, he went straight into his own office to gather his belongings.

Lin Li had been wanting to leave for a while, but the constant stream of documents had kept her so busy she hadn't even had time to step away to the restroom.

By the time she had tidied her desk and returned from the restroom, Zhou Han was already packed and standing by her desk with his briefcase in hand; he was holding her mobile phone, his brow slightly furrowed.

----- please read the translation from https://irisatdusk.blogspot.com/

TN: Sometimes, the chapter came with a title, but sometime it didn't. So I just translated them as it is.