She picked up two stainless steel bowls and filled them with soup. Spotting the engineer's position, she held a bowl in each hand, preparing to go over.
Unexpectedly, the floor had been splashed with water, making it slippery.
Her stiletto heel accidentally stepped into a puddle, causing her to stumble. Her hands shook, and the scalding soup spilled onto her clothes.
He Yao was wearing a white shirt, a dark blue skirt, and three-inch heels that day.
The soup splashed onto her chest, not only scalding her but also staining her shirt.
Feeling a bit embarrassed, she steadied herself and was about to put the bowls back to find some tissues to clean herself up.
Before she could do any of that, a familiar voice called out from across the room.
"Little He, what happened? Did you spill soup on your clothes?"
It was CEO Fu's voice.
He Yao looked up and saw two people with powerful auras approaching from the express elevator to the CEO's office.
One was CEO Fu, and the other was Zhan Jingrui.
They had appeared out of nowhere, likely having witnessed her embarrassing moment.
Seeing the water on her clothes and hands, CEO Fu reached for his pocket to find some tissues for her, but realized he didn't have any. He turned to Zhan Jingrui, who pulled a silk scarf from his pocket.
CEO Fu took it and handed it to her.
"Be careful. You women are already unsteady walking in high heels, and with water on the ground, it's easy to slip. More than one employee has made a fool of themselves in the cafeteria. Luckily, you didn't fall. Are you burned?"
Perhaps it was because they had enjoyed their chess game, CEO Fu was very gentle with her.
He Yao was already feeling awkward about the incident, and then to have Zhan Jingrui see it made her feel even more mortified, but she tried to maintain a calm demeanor.
She took the silk scarf and wiped herself.
"I'm not burned, thank you for your concern, CEO Fu. Are you here to eat too?"
After saying that, she felt she had asked a foolish question.
CEOs were people too, and it was mealtime, so of course, they would come up to eat.
CEO Fu chuckled, "Yes, we're here to eat too. Why are you eating at our company today? Are you here for work?"
From a distance, the engineer had also seen He Yao spill soup on herself. Seeing the two CEOs standing opposite her, he quickly ran over with some tissues.
"CEO Zhan, CEO Fu, you're here for lunch too? This is an employee from one of our suppliers. She's at our company today for work, so I brought her up to eat."
"He Yao, are you alright?"
Being so many people's concern, with curious eyes from those around her, He Yao felt too embarrassed to stay any longer.
"I'm fine, I'm fine. CEO Fu, please go and eat. Thank you for your concern. I'm going to eat too. I'm alright now."
CEO Fu nodded, "It's good that you're alright. Go and eat. Take your time. You have plenty of time during the lunch break, no need to rush."
The engineer took another bowl of soup and, holding it with both hands, accompanied He Yao to her table.
As she sat down and took the chopsticks offered by the engineer, she realized she was holding something.
He Yao opened her palm to reveal Zhan Jingrui's silk scarf.
CEO Fu and Zhan Jingrui went to the serving counter to get their food, chatting along the way.
"It's a shame you didn't come to play chess on the weekend. This young lady is really good at it. I haven't met such a good opponent in years. We played for a whole day. Guess what?"
Zhan Jingrui lacked work experience and followed Zhan Beijue's advice to learn from CEO Fu, so they interacted quite a bit.
CEO Fu treated him like a son and discussed everything with him.
He didn't want to get involved in He Yao's affairs, but seeing how enthusiastically he was talking, he couldn't help but respond.
"What happened?"
"I lost to her several times. And this girl, to protect my pride, sometimes deliberately let me win, otherwise, I would have lost even more miserably."
"Ah, you can't deny age, the younger generation always surpasses the older. The world will belong to you young people from now on."
Zhan Jingrui was a little surprised.
He Yao actually knew how to play chess, and played so well?
Someone as dispirited and restless as her, to be praised by CEO Fu, was unbelievable.
He couldn't help but tilt his head slightly to look for her.
In the center of the dining hall, among the male engineers from the technical department, she was sandwiched in the middle, her back appearing particularly slender and graceful.
Everyone seemed to welcome her, turning their heads to chat with her.
Zhan Jingrui silently withdrew his gaze.
No matter how He Yao changed, one thing would never change.
That was—she was a woman who men liked.
Just for that reason, she probably wouldn't have a bad life.
The lunch break passed in a flash. After waiting for more than an hour, the test results came out.
The product's performance and quality were satisfactory and could match Zhan's terminal products. The technical department gave them an excellent rating.
They had secured the supplier qualification.
He Yao was very happy, finally no longer needing to come to Zhan's company.
She messaged Xu Zheng, who was also very happy. He granted her permission to leave work early.
"You've worked hard these past few days. Since it's getting late, don't bother coming back to the company. You can leave early. Get some good rest. Consider it a perk."
He Yao left Zhan's Group building, preparing to take the bus back to the employee dormitory.
It wasn't that she couldn't afford a taxi, but the factory's employee dormitory was quite far from here, spanning almost half the city, making a taxi uneconomical.
Since she wasn't in a hurry, she decided to walk slowly.
As she exited the group building, the sky was overcast, seemingly brewing a storm.
She didn't know where the bus stop was, so she used her phone to navigate.
It would take 20 minutes to walk there.
Without an umbrella, she was afraid it would start raining as she walked, so she kept her head down and walked quickly.
Unexpectedly, less than five minutes after she started walking, CEO Fu's voice called out again.
"Little He."
He Yao stopped, turned her head, and saw Zhan Jingrui's low-key black Bentley again.
CEO Fu, sitting in the passenger seat, rolled down the window, looking at her with a gentle expression.
"Work is finished? Are you heading back to the company?"
He Yao didn't bend down. From this angle, she could only see Zhan Jingrui's long, well-defined fingers resting on the steering wheel.
"Yes, CEO Fu. Are you going out for something?"
"Yes. CEO Zhan and I have something to attend to. The park is quite large, and it's a long walk to get a taxi. Get in, we'll give you a ride."
Her work was completely done, and she wouldn't need to come to Zhan's Group anymore, meaning she wouldn't have to see Zhan Jingrui again.
After just a few minutes of relief, how could He Yao get in his car again?
"No need, thank you, CEO Fu. It's not far, I'll just walk a bit and get out."
CEO Fu knew that employees felt pressured when speaking with their superiors, so they would unconsciously be polite, and most of the time, their words weren't entirely genuine.
He could tell that He Yao wasn't a slick or insincere person, and she was about the same age as his daughter. He felt a pang of sympathy and wanted to show her some care.
"Why be so polite? We're not sending you all the way back. We'll just drive you a short distance to the main road where it's easier to get a taxi. Come on up."
With CEO Zhan waiting in the car and CEO Fu earnestly inviting her, if she refused again, it would seem too unappreciative.
Although He Yao was a hundred times reluctant, she obediently got into the car.