Someone had touched it.
Rong Xiu's expression turned cold and severe, his thin lips pressed into a hard line. He immediately took out his phone, disregarding that it was already two in the morning, and called the housekeeper, then Zhuang Nian.
"Ashtray? What ashtray?" Zhuang Nian mumbled sleepily.
"The ashtray on the coffee table in my living room. Did you clean it? Answer me!" Rong Xiu practically shouted these words, his voice hoarse.
Even when facing harsh criticism from the board of directors, Rong Xiu had never lost his composure like this. Zhuang Nian's drowsiness instantly cleared. Though he didn't understand what the big deal was about an ashtray, he knew the gravity of the situation.
He immediately got out of bed and thought for a moment before answering, "The living room coffee table? I didn't touch it... But I did see General Assistant Fan come in earlier carrying a stack of documents. She seemed to put them on the coffee table. She probably saw it and cleaned it for you. Is that ashtray very important, CEO? CEO? CEO?"
"Beep————"
Rong Xiu collapsed onto the sofa, his hand gripping the phone trembling with suppressed emotion. His face was pale, and unprecedented panic and helplessness appeared in his cold, thin eyes.
She had seen it.
She knew he smoked.
Ever since cigarettes were invented, men smoking has been seen as uncouth. Even with the impact of modern Western ideas, this traditional mindset hasn't changed. Rong Xiu used to abstain from both alcohol and cigarettes. But ever since he took over the struggling Shanhai Group from Rong Yan, the doubts from the group's directors and shareholders, as well as the overwhelming societal criticism of his male identity, had left him gasping for air.
He suffered from insomnia, with only alcohol and cigarettes to ease his mind. In business circles, Rong Xiu never bothered to hide the fact that he didn't drink or smoke. On the contrary, these male vices helped ward off some unwanted romantic attention, making women avoid him like the plague.
But he never imagined that his ugliest side would be exposed to Fan Xia like this.
Why did she have to see it? Why did it have to be her of all people? Rong Xiu lowered his head in shame, his carefully maintained facade shattered. He felt utterly mortified. How could he compare to Wen Lan Sheng like this?
When Fan Xia saw the pile of cigarette butts in his ashtray, she must have been disgusted and repulsed. He didn't dare imagine how she had endured her revulsion as she dumped out those nauseating things and cleaned it thoroughly.
At that moment, she must have been thinking how fortunate she was to be marrying Wen Lan Sheng instead of him.
At least Wen Lan Sheng neither smoked nor drank. That was the kind of traditional man Fan Xia would like, not someone like him who was entrenched in the business world and constantly in the public eye.
Rong Xiu slumped lifelessly on the sofa, blood red to the point of being horrifying seeping from his mouth.
"Look at you. I stay up all night because I sleep during the day. But you? You work during the day, then it's either social engagements or overtime at night. It's past 2 AM now, and you're still here drinking. Do you have a death wish?" Chen Yu Ze wiped a glass, his teasing tone tinged with concern.
"Give me a vodka." Rong Xiu ignored Chen Yu Ze's words.
"Are you insane? Such strong liquor - drink that and you won't be able to go to work tomorrow, you know?"
"I know." Rong Xiu's gaze lowered, his flat tone filled with inescapable loneliness.
"This is so strange. You used to hate wasting even a minute of the day
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