Chapter 25: A Day Filled with Lies!

  Zhang Ziheng ran back to the company and arrived at the design department. When he finally reached Director Xu's office, panting and out of breath, he was so exhausted that he could hardly stand up straight.

  Xu looked at him in confusion and said: "Ziheng, what's wrong with you? What happened? Why are you panting so heavily?"

  Zhang Ziheng took a few deep breaths, and when he looked up, he saw the anklet on Xu's left foot. Suddenly, he was stunned. It turned out that she hadn't taken it off; she was still wearing it. This was Zhang Ziheng's first reaction in his mind, and at the same time, he felt very happy.

  When Zhang Ziheng knew the true meaning of the anklet, he was afraid that President Xu would misunderstand, so he hurried back to retrieve it. However, when he saw President Xu still wearing the anklet he had given her, he suddenly changed his mind, thinking that this might be for the better, and perhaps President Xu didn't know its significance.

  "Ah...... nothing, just... I ran a few steps casually when I came, so I'm a bit out of breath. That... President Xu, are you okay?" Zhang Ziheng asked, rubbing the back of his head.

  Xu nodded in confusion and said: "I'm fine, what's wrong? Ziheng, is there something on your mind?"

  "No, nothing's wrong, I'm fine. It's just...I was thinking of you, so I came to see you." Good grief, what was he saying? Zhang Ziheng regretted his words as soon as they left his mouth, and he didn't even know why he said something like that.

  Xu was taken aback for a moment, then smiled awkwardly and said: "Really? Then what do you think of me?"

  "Ah...... haha, look at me, I was in a daze when I came just now and spoke nonsense. That... Director Xu, you're busy, I have something to do, I'll leave first." After finishing speaking, Zhang Ziheng walked out of the office without looking back.

  "Ah..." Xu Zong had wanted to call out to him, but it was already too late. She couldn't help but glance at the shackles on her feet, wondering if he had come to take them back.

  As he walked out of the design department, Zhang Ziheng let out a deep sigh. He had been so nervous just now that his brain hadn't been able to react in time and he didn't know what to say. After returning to the planning department, Wang Xue still hadn't come to work, probably she was at home doing who-knows-what again.

  Finally managed to hold on until the end of work hours, Zhang Ziheng simply tidied up and immediately left. He had a dinner date with a girl today and didn't want to be late.

  When he arrived at Li Wencheng's company, he saw Zhou Ling waiting for him downstairs and hurried over to her, apologetically smiling: "Sorry about that, there was a bit of traffic on the way, I'm late."

  Zhou Ling smiled and shook her head, saying: "No, I came down too early. Where are we going to eat?"

  "Hmm, what about Xiao Nan? Aren't you waiting for her?" Zhang Ziheng asked.

  "Oh, she has something urgent and can't make it, so it's just the two of us today." Zhou Ling said with a smile.

  "Is it? Then you wait here for a moment, I'll go and stop the car." Zhang Ziheng said as he walked away.

  At this time, Zhou Ling's phone rang. She took a look and then quickly turned around to answer it, saying softly: "Hello, Xiao Nan."

  "Where did you go? I couldn't see you as soon as I came out of the toilet?" Xiang Nan's puzzled voice came from the other end of the phone.

  "Oh, I have something urgent to attend to, so I'll leave first. You can find a place to eat dinner by yourself, don't wait for me." Zhou Ling said hastily, while turning her head to look at Zhang Ziheng who was still hailing a taxi.

  "What? Won't you eat with me? Letting me eat alone, what a great friend you are. What's going on anyway? You're in such a hurry to leave, do you need my help or not?"

  "Ah, nothing's wrong, you don't have to worry about me. Also, I might be late coming back tonight, so if you're sleepy just go to bed first, okay? That's all, bye." After finishing speaking, Zhou Ling hurriedly hung up the phone and put it in her handbag.

  "Hey, hey. Oh dear, this Zhou Ling is really something." Xiao Nan said with a helpless shake of her head as she looked at her phone.

  "Zhou Ling, the car is here." Zhang Ziheng opened the rear door of the taxi and shouted.

  "Oh, here it comes." Zhou Ling smiled and said.

  Then the two came to a hot pot restaurant that wasn't too crowded, ordered a few plates of meat and started eating. During this time, Zhang Ziheng carefully observed Zhou Ling and felt that she was the kind of girl who looked very quiet on the outside but was actually very lively inside. In fact, after spending more time together, she turned out to be quite talkative.

  "By the way, what do you usually like to do when you're not working?" Zhou Ling asked while scooping meat into the pot.

  "Hmm... actually, I'm a pretty boring person and don't have any special hobbies. During holidays, I prefer to sleep in my room, and after waking up, I just tidy up the house, wash some clothes, and before I know it, the day is over." Zhang Ziheng said with a smile.

  "Didn't expect you to be a good family man, looks like your usual quietness and honesty match your personality."

  "Hehe, yeah, people who know me all say that."

  "You can't be so naive, it's easy for people to take advantage of you, you need to learn to be a bit more cunning." Zhou Ling said.

  "What kind of logic is this? I feel that as long as I don't go and provoke others, others won't come to bully me." Zhang Ziheng said this when he couldn't help but think of Wang Xue.

  "Haha, really? By the way, I heard from Wen Cheng that you used to have a girlfriend before, but it didn't work out. What happened? Tell me about it." Zhou Ling asked with interest.

  Zhang Ziheng was slightly stunned, thinking to himself that this little brat had been telling everyone about his personal business. This was also something he least wanted to mention, after all, having been hurt before, he didn't want to recall it again.

  "Ah... actually, it's nothing much. I was just too young back then and didn't understand things well, so I fell in love. Breaking up later on was normal too, who can blame me for not being capable enough?" Zhang Ziheng said with a casual smile.

  Just then, Zhang Ziheng's phone rang. He took it out and saw that it was a call from Wang Xue. "Sorry about this, I'll take the call, you go ahead and eat first." Apologetically saying so, Zhang Ziheng got up and walked to the side.

  "Hey, where are you? It's already this late and you're still not coming home?" Wang Xue's unhappy voice came from the other end of the phone.

  "I'm having dinner with friends, it's Li Wencheng and Xiao Tian, the two who went on a trip with me yesterday evening. The three of us." Zhang Ziheng seemed relaxed when he said this, but in his heart, he was very nervous. Moreover, he found himself lying frequently lately, feeling like he had become a different person.

  "Is it? Why didn't you call me and tell me? And is there a woman?"

  "No, absolutely not, they're all just buddies. If you don't believe me, you can call Wen Cheng and ask him, I'll give you his phone number." Zhang Ziheng said hastily.

  "No need, since you're together, just give him the phone, why make me call again?" Wang Xue said.

  This is terrible. How could I have overlooked something so important? Zhang Ziheng was stunned on the spot, secretly blaming himself for being so stupid in the first place, and it was all because of Wen Cheng's reckless decision.

  "What's wrong? Why aren't you talking? Are you deceiving me?" Wang Xue asked.

  "No, no, I wouldn't dare to deceive you. He... he went to the restroom, him and Xiao Tian, two of them drank too much beer, they both went to the restroom and haven't come back yet." Zhang Ziheng wiped the sweat off his forehead, speaking nervously.

  Wang Xue immediately sensed something was off, "To be honest, who exactly are you with? Is it a woman?"

  "No, I'm really with Wen Cheng and them, we're having hot pot, don't believe me if you don't hear how noisy it is," Zhang Ziheng said nervously.

  "You're getting better and better at lying, if you're with them, why don't you dare let them answer the phone? Do you think I'm stupid? Do you think I'm easy to fool?" Wang Xue asked angrily.

  "No, no, I didn't, I really didn't cheat you. They really went to the toilet, maybe they'll be back soon. If not, when they come back, I'll get them to call you back, I really didn't..."

  "That's enough, aren't you done yet? Tell me, are you with that fox spirit who called you yesterday?" Wang Xue shouted loudly into the receiver.

  How did you know? Zhang Ziheng almost blurted out this sentence, and secretly thought that this woman was really formidable, she could guess who he was with.

  "No, no, there's no woman! I'm telling the truth. Oh no, my phone is running out of battery. Let me call you back tonight." Zhang Ziheng quickly hung up the phone and set Wang Xue's number to block calls. After returning to his seat, he let out a deep sigh, thinking that it was really close just now.

  Zhou Ling looked at him and then smiled: "What's wrong? What happened? Is your girlfriend checking on you?"

  "Huh? No, I don't have a girlfriend. That... is my mom, you know how it is with old people, once they reach a certain age, they get really worried about their sons. Since I started working away from home, she's always calling me to ask this and that, haha." Zhang Ziheng chuckled.

  At this time, Zhang Ziheng's phone rang again. He picked it up and took a look, startling him. Zhou Ling slightly furrowed her brow and asked: "What's wrong? Who is it this time?"

  "My mom." Zhang Ziheng said, then answered the phone. "Hello, Mom? What's up? Ah, ah, I know, I'm fine, everything is fine... what was that, Mom? I'm having dinner with friends now, I'll call you back tonight, okay? Alright, bye." Zhang Ziheng casually spoke a few words and hung up the phone, thinking to himself that this call really came at an inopportune time.

  "Didn't your mom just call you a moment ago? Why are you calling again?" Zhou Ling asked.

  "Huh? Oh, um... that's what happened. Just now my mom called me, but didn't say a few words before my dad snatched the phone away, so actually just now I was talking to my dad on the phone. Then my mom got unhappy and called me again. Hehe, parents missing their son is normal." Zhang Ziheng chuckled, also feeling quite tired, thinking to himself that lying wasn't easy either.

  "Haha, your parents are really interesting." Zhou Ling laughed and said.

  "Hehe, yeah, it's quite interesting." Zhang Ziheng nodded and smiled.