56: What exactly do they want to do?

The city's evening rush hour had just passed, and the traffic on the road was relatively smooth.

Lin Chao was driving, his mind still replaying that heart-pounding scene from earlier.

It was truly strange.

The white maserati ahead was neither fast nor slow, consistently hovering about a hundred meters in front of him.

After passing one intersection, it didn't turn.

After passing another intersection, it still didn't turn.

The unease in Lin Chao's heart grew stronger and stronger.

Finally, at a crossroad, the red light turned on.

Lin Chao slowly brought his car to a stop.

Coincidentally, that maserati stopped right in the lane to his right.

The two cars were side by side.

Just then.

Swoosh—

The window of the maserati slowly rolled down.

Shen Zhixia's cold and beautiful face turned toward him, and from a distance of over two meters, she looked at him quietly.

In her eyes, there was no longer the pressure from the meeting room, nor the searching gaze from the elevator, and certainly not the fragility she showed during her attack.

There was only a calm scrutiny.

Lin Chao's heart skipped a beat, and he subconsciously rolled down his window as well.

He was about to force a smile and say hello.

But Shen Zhixia said nothing; she just looked at him for three seconds.

Then, with a 'swoosh,' the window rolled back up.

"..." Lin Chao was completely bewildered.

What exactly does this woman want?

The light turned green.

Both cars started moving at the same time again.

Lin Chao became more cautious; he decided that at the next intersection, whether she turned or not, he had to turn.

If he kept following like this, he really would be seen as a perverted stalker.

However, after driving forward for less than five hundred meters.

Lin Chao's eyes nearly popped out of his head.

He saw the maserati ahead turn on its right signal and slowly drive toward the entrance of an upscale residential complex.

On the sign at the entrance, three large characters were written in a flourishing script.

Qinglan Garden.

Lin Chao's hands suddenly tightened around the steering wheel.

Holy crap!

Almost subconsciously, he also turned on his signal and followed her in.

Beep!

The maserati swiped an access card.

Beep!

Lin Chao also swiped his access card.

The community gate slowly rose.

Lin Chao's brain had completely turned into mush.

He watched helplessly as that white phantom turned into the entrance of the underground garage.

And that entrance was the very one leading to the building where he lived.

Mechanically, numbly, and almost purely by instinct, he also drove his car down.

Level B2, the second basement floor.

Lin Chao found his parking spot and slowly came to a stop.

He turned off the engine but didn't get out.

He just stared blankly toward the front right.

There, the white maserati had just parked.

The car door opened, and Shen Zhixia's long, slender legs, clad in stockings, stepped out.

She also saw Lin Chao's car.

She also saw Lin Chao sitting in the driver's seat with an expression like he'd seen a ghost.

This time, her face was finally no longer calm.

In those cold phoenix eyes, a flash of... equally unbelievable shock appeared.

At this moment, Lin Chao's brain completely crashed.

He finally realized a fact that made his scalp tingle.

This new she-devil Director.

Was not only his direct boss, but she was also... his damn neighbor!

The air seemed to freeze in the B2 parking lot.

It was Shen Zhixia who snapped out of it first.

As a high-ranking workplace elite who had seen many storms, her emotional management was clearly several levels above Lin Chao's.

The shock on her face vanished at a visible rate, quickly replaced by a layer of weary calm.

She strode forward with her long legs, her high heels clicking as she walked toward Lin Chao step by step.

Clack, clack, clack...

The crisp sound of heels hitting the ground echoed in the empty parking lot, sounding like it was tapping against Lin Chao's heart.

She stopped in front of Lin Chao's car.

Those cold phoenix eyes looked him over, the previous sharpness and scrutiny having faded significantly.

"I'm really fine," her voice carried a hint of post-illness hoarseness, but her tone was much softer than it had been at the company. "You can go back now."

Lin Chao: "..."

He froze for a moment, then realized what was happening.

So this she-devil thought he was worried about her and had followed her all the way from the company to escort her home?

In an instant, Lin Chao didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

He gave a dry cough and forced a smile that looked worse than crying. "Um... Director Shen."

"I'm also coming here."

Shen Zhixia was also stunned.

Her beautiful brows furrowed slightly, clearly not quite understanding Lin Chao's meaning.

"The... client you're meeting also lives here?" She subconsciously found the most reasonable explanation for this bizarre coincidence.

Now, the expression on Lin Chao's face became even more interesting.

He raised a hand to rub his nose, hiding his intense embarrassment.

"No."

He braced himself and continued the lie he had casually made up at the company entrance. "I live here..."

"I just... thought I'd come back to change my clothes before going to see the client."

After he finished, even he felt that this excuse was incredibly lame.

Now, it was Shen Zhixia's turn for her expression to freeze.

A visible blush spread from her snowy-white neck all the way to the tips of her ears.

Shen Zhixia's lips moved, but she couldn't say a single word.

Finally, she just squeezed out a single sound from her throat: "Oh."

Then, as if to escape this suffocating atmosphere, she abruptly turned around and walked quickly toward the elevator lobby.

Her departing figure carried a sense of flustered panic that she would never normally show.

Lin Chao watched her back, his heart filled with a mixture of emotions.

He sighed, locked the car, and quickly followed.

You can run, but you can't hide.

Since they were neighbors and were bound to run into each other, they couldn't keep being this awkward forever.

Anyway, they had already been alone in the elevator earlier; one more time wouldn't hurt.

One after the other, they walked into the elevator waiting area.

The atmosphere was even more bizarre than it had been in the parking lot.

Lin Chao looked at the elevator display.

One was slowly descending from the 30th floor.

The other had just gone up from the 3rd floor.

It looked like they would have to wait for a while.

This silence was practically torture.

Lin Chao felt he needed to say something to break this damn silence.

He thought about it and decided to start from the area he was best at.

He looked at Shen Zhixia, who was standing stiffly beside him but quietly peeking at him from the corner of her eye, and spoke up: "Director Shen."

Shen Zhixia's body stiffened imperceptibly.

"Your illness..." Lin Chao chose his words carefully, trying to make his tone sound like a pure, well-intentioned reminder.

"Normally... is there anyone to take care of you?"

"With heart problems, the biggest fear is an emergency. It's best to have someone around to look after you."

Lin Chao's words fell like a pebble into stagnant water.

Shen Zhixia finally turned her head, her cold phoenix eyes landing on his face.