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"Please forgive me," Jia Lin bowed, clenching her fists. "I…couldn\'t help before my cousin\'s request."

Guiying lowered her gaze in silence. She thought she made good friends and would lead a good office life with her colleagues. She especially didn\'t want Jia Lin to be the perpetrator who had welcomed her so warmly.

But it turned out that the warmth was simply a facade behind her cold calculations. Even though much time hadn\'t passed since they met, the disappointment still crushed her heart.

"You are not sorry," Zixin said, "You wouldn\'t have framed Guiying in the first place. Or if you really felt guilty, you would have come forward and confessed yourself. But you didn\'t because you were confident that Guiying wouldn\'t pursue the matter. That she would definitely accept it as her mistake and apologize. Who would bother investigating a simple wrongly sent email by a newbie is what you must have thought."

Jia Lin said nothing.

"I would have considered giving you another chance had you owned up to your ploy but you either repeatedly kept denying or gaslighting Guiying or throwing the blame on Zheng Jiao. Trust once lost like this cannot be gained back. Not for me."

"S-Sir, please don\'t do this! I-I am really sorry!"

Jia Lin paled, the gravity of the situation hitting her. But none of the three budged.

"Guiying, please! Just once. I promise something like this will never happen again!"

Guiying felt her heart waver which was a struggle for her to not get swept in those waves and in Jia Lin\'s tears.

"It was very embarrassing for me as the board looked at me with their judgemental stares. Just one misunderstanding was enough to destroy my credibility in front of them. Had I not remained stubborn to prove myself right, they would have always deemed me as irresponsible and unreliable. I trusted you but you didn\'t hesitate even once before dragging me into this. You are only sorry because you got caught."

"It\'s not like that! Just…"

Eventually, she was led out by Assistant Ling with her continuing to plead Zixin and Guiying.

As the two were left alone, Zixin walked up to her and read the loneliness in her gaze.

"You did great."

"Should I have forgiven her?"

"No. You did the right thing. She was selfish. She had no intentions to ever clarify the misunderstanding. She never cared about the impact it will cause on your reputation. People like her don\'t deserve any sympathy."

Guiying released a sigh after a long time. He smiled and held her shoulders. "You have become strong, Guiying. You stood up for yourself despite it being easy for everybody to blame you and end the matter. You confronted Jia Lin and punished her. I know how difficult it would have been for you but I am glad you stood your ground. And this time, \'she\' didn\'t help you. You did it all on your own."

A tremble moved her eyelashes.

A tiny sense of pride enveloped her heart. She couldn\'t imagine herself before being the center of such a scuffle and even winning it.

But today, Guiying felt an accomplishment that she had never before. The accomplishment of taking a stand on her own. It was either Ai or \'her\' or Zhan Yahui supporting her and protecting her. But today, she proved herself all by herself. It made her feel like a renewed person. A strength gained that made her feel more confident.

She wasn\'t sure what changed. Was it her repaired relationship with Ai or her relationship with Zixin and his family or Zhan Yahui\'s death or seeing her brother in jail? But unbeknownst to her, the experiences she went through up until this point was slowly but surely changing her from within.

A better person than before.

A more confident person than before.

Zixin\'s eyes shone with a smile. "Since this was such a big accomplishment for you, we should have a small celebration."

Guiying scratched her head. "It\'s not necessary. It\'s all Chyou who put the hard work-"

"Don\'t negate your actions by something else," he frowned. "She found Jia Lin, yes, but you stood up for yourself from the beginning to the end. You decided to take Chyou\'s help. These are all your decisions."

He nodded gravely. "It\'s very necessary. Every little step towards a good change must be acknowledged and celebrated."

"You…"

Seriously, what good deeds have I done in the past to have someone like Zixin by my side?

"Okay. Let\'s celebrate."

He gleamed.

"Also," she said with a sincere smile, "Thank you so much for believing in me. For standing against the board for me. I never wished for this altercation to happen."

"I will stand for you even if I have to go against the whole world. Board of directors are pep squeaks in front of that."

"..."

She choked. She cleared her throat. "I will head out for some coffee."

He nodded.

Guiying turned and took two steps. She stopped and looked back, twisting her body halfway between walking ahead and turning back as if she was contemplating something.

"What\'s wrong?" He blinked.

"Nothing."

It was nothing but she came back at Zixin\'s side, tiptoed, dropped a feathery peck on his cheek and zoomed past the office exit with a bullet train\'s speed.

Zixin remained standing frozen at his spot.

Huh?

When did she come back? When did she kiss me?

Did she really leave a peck on my cheek? I definitely felt her lips. Or did I?

He hovered his palm over his cheek, still trying to figure it out. It happened at such Godly lightning speed that he couldn\'t distinguish if it was reality or his wishful dream.

Slowly, a broad grin stretched his lips wide as he trembled with bliss and disbelief.

The super shy Guiying kissed me on her own!