I Secretly Read My Boss' Diary (GL) - Chapter 20

The commotion had put an end to lunch.

Once Yan Zhao had calmed down, Gong Muyu apologized to the server and led her out of the restaurant.

Yan Zhao’s parents had divorced before she even understood what it meant.

Yan Zhao had no memory of her father’s appearance. Watching other children play with their parents, she often asked her mother why she didn’t have a dad. She couldn’t remember her mother’s response. Then, in first grade, her so-called father appeared with a few-month-old Yan Chong. Only then did Yan Zhao realize that some people could truly be rotten to the core.

Her father’s idleness and lack of earning power led him to rely on his decent looks and silver tongue to deceive another woman into pregnancy.

After the child was born, the woman discovered Dad’s true nature and decisively abandoned him and the infant Yan Chong, vanishing without a trace.

Cornered, Dad turned to his first wife. Exploiting Mom’s weakness, he dumped the hungry infant Yan Chong onto her and disappeared.

Enraged, Mom initially wanted to abandon Yan Chong. But seeing Yan Zhao’s joy in holding him and Yan Chong’s innocent, vulnerable smile softened her heart. She raised both children on a mix of tears and blood.

They had originally believed that everything would improve once the children grew older. Unfortunately, fate had other plans. Yan Chong, who had seemed so sweet and obedient as a child, grew increasingly like his father as he matured. By then, Yan Zhao was capable of helping her mother, but when she tried to discipline Yan Chong, he completely ignored her. If pressed, he would simply turn off his phone and vanish without a trace.

Despite having watched her younger brother grow up before her eyes, Yan Zhao lost all patience after witnessing his repeated behavior. During a heated argument, Yan Chong accidentally revealed that their father had secretly returned long ago and had been in contact with him. Heartbroken, Yan Zhao refused to stop him this time. She packed his belongings and kicked him out of the house.

She had hoped that once Yan Chong left, things would return to normal. However, like a vampire, their father continued to manipulate Yan Chong—who had been raised entirely by their mother—into constantly demanding money from Mom and Yan Zhao.

Worried that their mother’s health would suffer from the stress, Yan Zhao secretly blocked Yan Chong’s number on her mother’s phone. Though she kept his number herself, she ignored eight out of every ten calls she received from him.

That day, when Yan Zhao was having dinner with Gong Muyu, the call came from Dad’s personal number. Yan Zhao hadn’t saved his number, so she only realized who it was after answering. She initially wanted to hang up, but the caller’s insults ignited all the resentment and anger she felt toward Yan Chong. Disregarding the public setting and the possibility of being overheard, she roared into the phone.

Since they’d become friends, Yan Zhao had always been cheerful, as if born with a naturally endearing smile. Gong Muyu had always believed that only a happy, harmonious family could raise such an optimistic girl, but now she realized that wasn’t entirely true.

“Thinking about it now, if I hadn’t been a fool back then, clinging to that ungrateful wretch, maybe Mom wouldn’t have had to suffer so much all these years.”

Gong Muyu reached out and tucked Yan Zhao’s messy hair behind her ear, her gaze toward Yan Zhao softening imperceptibly.

“This isn’t your fault either. You were just a child back then, too young to discern right from wrong. And you don’t have a superpower that lets you predict the future and foresee your brother turning out like this. Yan Zhao, don’t take all the blame onto yourself.”

Yan Zhao nodded at Gong Muyu’s comforting words. “I know, I know. But whenever I think about how my mom has suffered all these years because of me, my heart aches.”

As Yan Zhao spoke, her eyes reddened again.

“If they don’t consider you family, why are you still clinging to them? Wouldn’t it be better to just cut ties completely?”

Yan Zhao sniffled hard and took a deep breath. “Yeah, I’m trying not to think about it. From now on, whether Yan Chong lives or dies has nothing to do with me. I’ll get Mom a new phone number and move her to a new place. I don’t believe those two scum will find her there!”

Seeing Yan Zhao’s mood gradually improve, Gong Muyu felt relieved. It was already afternoon, and after such a long cry, Yan Zhao must be hungry. After ordering a pizza with her phone, Gong Muyu remembered some cookies in the drawer. She retrieved a few boxes and handed them to Yan Zhao.

“You must be hungry. Here, have some cookies to tide you over.”

No sooner had Gong Muyu spoken than Yan Zhao’s stomach grumbled loudly. Gong Muyu instinctively glanced up at Yan Zhao, who was staring wide-eyed, a look of disbelief on her face. Then both of them burst into laughter.

After laughing, Yan Zhao felt a little better. Rubbing her empty stomach, she unhesitatingly grabbed the cookies Gong Muyu had left on the table and tore open the packaging to eat them.

Seeing that Yan Zhao was fine, Gong Muyu returned to her desk and began organizing documents. The crunching sound of Yan Zhao eating the cookies mixed harmoniously with the tapping of Gong Muyu’s keyboard. Even the screen full of tedious data now seemed more endearing and manageable to Gong Muyu.

Before long, Gong Muyu received a call from the delivery person. Noticing Gong Muyu was still busy, Yan Zhao volunteered to fetch the food. However, when she returned upstairs with the meal, she was surprised to see Sun Yiming walking in through the main entrance.

Sun Yiming was equally taken aback to see her. He hurried over, glancing at the takeout in her hands, and asked, “Are you here to work overtime? I heard from Old Zhang that things aren’t particularly busy during this holiday.”

Yan Zhao couldn’t exactly say she’d been dragged here by Gong Muyu, so she smiled and explained, “I left a few loose ends yesterday, so I came in today to finish up. General Manager Mu is preparing a proposal and is busy upstairs.”

Yan Zhao hadn’t forgotten Gong Muyu’s possible crush on Sun Yiming. Seeing Sun Yiming at the company now, her first thought was that he might have followed Gong Muyu here, knowing she was coming in to work overtime.

If she took the takeout upstairs with her, wouldn’t she be like a 5 million-watt spotlight?

Remembering Gong Muyu’s dark, furious face when she got angry, Yan Zhao felt her calves begin to cramp. Before she could decide whether to run, the elevator arrived. As the doors opened, Yan Zhao stuffed the takeout box into Sun Yiming’s hands, gave him an encouraging thumbs-up, and fled before he could react.

But after sprinting out of the office building, Yan Zhao imagined the scene she’d just left. Before she could even smile, she realized she’d left her backpack upstairs when she went to fetch the takeout. Even worse, her keys were all in her backpack…

Just as Yan Zhao was debating whether to go back, her phone rang from her pocket. Seeing Gong Muyu’s number on the screen, she answered with a grimace, only to be met with Gong Muyu’s thunderous roar:

“Yan Zhao, where the hell do you think you’re going?!”

“Ah…”

“Ah what?! Look up at the building! You have three minutes to get back here, now!”

Yan Zhao instinctively turned to look at the floor where her company was located, only to see Gong Muyu standing on the third-floor balcony, phone in hand, staring at her. Even from a distance, Yan Zhao could feel the fiery intensity of Gong Muyu’s glare.

Anticipating the storm that awaited her upon returning, Yan Zhao’s legs wobbled, nearly buckling beneath her.

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