Chapter 048　 He treats Mari Ono better than he ever treated you.

  *

  On December 24th, Su Xian had originally planned to take Honda and Li Chengshi to the hospital to visit Zhao Nanfeng in the afternoon, and then the three of them would go see the Christmas light displays around the city in the evening. However, just after noon, a call came from the hospital: Zhao Nanfeng was missing.

  What?!

  The three of them rushed to the hospital to demand details. The nurse said a woman had come to visit him that morning; after she left, the nurse did her rounds and found him gone. He wasn't answering his calls, and his phone was turned off.

  Su Xian asked if there had been any abnormality in his physical condition. The nurse replied that he was perfectly fine—his recovery had actually exceeded expectations, and he might even be discharged before New Year’s.

  Given the good news from General Manager Sato regarding work, Su Xian deduced that he wasn't off to kill himself. It shouldn't be a major crisis.

  The nurse said a woman was there... he definitely ran off with a woman again.

  Honestly, there was absolutely no need for him to recover this well!

  Just then, Honda remembered there was an old phone of Zhao Nanfeng’s at the office that shared the same ID as his current one, which could be used to track his location.

  The three immediately doubled back to the office and plugged in the old phone. A few minutes later, it finally powered on. They found his location: Narita Airport.

  **

  Zhao Nanfeng looked at the planes taking off one by one into the low sky. He couldn't be sure which one was Flight JL3087 to Italy, but the departure time had passed. She was safe. He let out a sigh of relief and turned to leave.

  The company car pulled up right in front of him. Honda was the first to jump out, lunging forward to grab his arm tightly. "社長、大丈夫ですか？ (Boss, are you okay?)"

  "どうしてわかるの、私の行方？ (How did you find my whereabouts?)"

  Honda showed him the location on the old phone.

  "意外に賢いね。(Surprisingly clever of you.)"

  "バカ！みんな心配してたよ！ (Idiot! Everyone was worried sick!)" As she spoke, her eyes turned red.

  "ごめんな。(I’m sorry.)" He apologized sincerely.

  Su Xian turned off the engine but kept her hands on the steering wheel, feeling a sudden impulse to drive forward and bump into him. She exhaled a long breath, opened the door, and got out, leaning against the car window with her arms crossed. "Come on, Boss. Explain."

  "I just saw off Mari Ono."

  ?!

  "さっき、小野茉莉を見送りました。(I just saw off Mari Ono.)" Zhao Nanfeng explained to Honda as well.

  "小野茉莉？警察が探してる小野茉莉？ (Mari Ono? The one the police are looking for?)"

  "そう、あの小野茉莉。 (Yes, that Mari Ono.)"

  **

  At noon, Zhao Nanfeng had been focused on revising the latest version of his design. His hospital meal sat nearby, already cold. A slender figure entered the room. He assumed it was a nurse and didn't pay much attention. She sat by the bed, scooped up a spoonful of steamed egg, and offered it to him, saying softly but firmly, "食べて。(Eat.)"

  The voice sent a slight tremor through his body. He snapped his head up.

  Mari Ono pulled down her large mask and gave him a faint smile before pulling it back up.

  "なぜここにくる？危ないよ！ (Why are you here? It's dangerous!)"

  "わかります。イタリアに行くわ、別の名前でね。行く前にどうしてもあなたに会いたいです。こんなことに巻き込んで、ごめんなさい。(I know. I'm going to Italy—under a different name. I had to see you before I left. I'm sorry for involving you in all this.)"

  "気にしなくていい。(Don't worry about it.)"

  "じゃ、食べてね、これは最後だから。 (Then, please eat. This is the last time.)"

  After finishing the meal, Zhao Nanfeng went to the bathroom to rinse his mouth. When he came out, Ono was already gone. A small package was left on the bed containing 5 million yen.

  Zhao Nanfeng threw his trench coat over his hospital gown and chased after her.

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

  **

  "でも、彼女は詐欺師だよ、彼女のせいで社長はこんなひどい目にあったじゃないの？ (But she's a scammer! Didn't Boss suffer so much because of her?)" Honda asked, confused.

  "自分の女を刑務所に送るなんて、私にはできない。(I can't myself to send my own woman to prison.)"

  "Well, you don't have to worry now. She's flown far away and probably won't ever come back," Su Xian comforted him.

  "I know I’ve let you all down. But if the mob finds her, she'll definitely lose her life. She's been hiding all this time just to prepare for her escape; there was no need for her to risk seeing me..."

  Su Xian didn't know how to respond. Ono was a scammer. Besides this 5 million yen, she made off with hundreds of millions in stolen funds. The undeserved disaster they had suffered was directly linked to her, yet Zhao Nanfeng’s reaction was exactly what Su Xian expected of him.

  Honda and Li Chengshi remained silent. They knew it was too late to say anything now anyway.

  Su Xian gave a self-deprecating laugh, thinking she could probably sell this story to Xu Shuyi for her to write into a "Tomato Novel" web story.

  *

  On the way back, Honda contacted the hospital to say they were returning Zhao Nanfeng soon, but he said he wanted to go to Meguro River.

  Fine. There was a light show there anyway.

  They found a place to park. The three of them accompanied him along Meguro River for a long walk in silence, and then silently delivered him back to the hospital.

  **

  On the way home, Li Chengshi took the wheel again. Seeing how exceptionally quiet he was, Su Xian asked, "Baby, why aren't you talking? Are you angry?"

  "Baby? Humph." He gave a cold laugh. "Taking your current boyfriend to accompany your ex-boyfriend to his romantic spot to mourn his fugitive lover... who exactly is your 'baby'?"

  "You came along too. I should be blaming you!"

  Seeing her turn the tables on him, Li Chengshi was amused in spite of his anger. "Then let me ask you: you didn't say much all afternoon either. Were you jealous of Mari Ono?"

  "What?! That's absurd! How could you even think that?"

  "Because he treats Mari Ono better than he ever treated you."

  "Really?" Su Xian thought about it, but quickly realized there was no comparison. "I don't care who he's good to. I stayed because he's my boss and Towa Design needs him back to hold the fort. Just wait until my 'wings are strong' enough; we'll leave even more decisively than Ryo Wakui. We... we can even snatch Honda away."

  "Hmph." Li Chengshi gave a helpless smile. In truth, his silence today wasn't out of anger, but from re-evaluating Zhao Nanfeng as one man looking at another. He had discovered why he attracted women. "Su Xian, no matter how good he is, you're not allowed to fall for him again."

  "I've already been 'disenchanted' with him. Unless gold starts falling off his body, it's impossible."

  "But gold doesn't fall off me either."

  Su Xian turned her face to look at him, rubbing her hands and biting her lip.

  Predicting she was about to say something dirty, he immediately warned: "Shut up!"

  **

  Perhaps fearing legal responsibility if he stayed, the doctor signed Zhao Nanfeng’s discharge papers two days later.

  On the last day of the year, there wasn't much work. The three of them were planning to have a tea party and slack off all day, but the "clueless" Boss returned. He tore down all the discarded drafts pinned to the wall and replaced them with the final design proposal. Su Xian was immediately captivated and stood there for a long time.

  Even after all these years, his work still amazed her.

  Zhao Nanfeng came to her side with a cup of hot tea. "Any thoughts?"

  "Hmm. It's perfect. But..."

  "But?"

  "But it's too perfect. It has a kind of coldness that rejects intimacy. Is this what 'philosophy' feels like?" Su Xian regretted being too pragmatic and not delving deeper into philosophy and art.

  "Then go and change it."

  "I change it?"

  "Isn't this project why you're here for?"

  "I suppose so. But if I change it, I'll destroy your unity." This was a large-scale complex building; Zhao Nanfeng had made it very complete.

  "Philosophy is inherently full of contradictions. Don't be afraid. Go and break it."

  **