"I have no idea which two you want to sing!" Ann felt embarrassed.
"I can sing! I don't mind at all!" Gu Mo continued.
"Oh! I already ordered them. You have to sing!" An Jiu Ying said, turning and walking toward the desk. She picked two songs for Gu Mo.
After ordering, An Jiu Ying went back to playing.
A few songs later, the prelude to the song An Jiu had chosen for Gu Mo began to play. Someone asked who picked it. An Jiu said, "It's Gu Mo's." So someone grabbed a microphone and handed it to him.
The first line of lyrics passed. Gu Mo started singing from the second line. He hit the rhythm perfectly.
The room fell silent. Everyone listened to that textured, low voice.
An Jiu was eating fruit. When she turned her head, she noticed everyone else was listening to the song.
Suddenly, she felt weird being the only one eating. She stopped and listened too.
It wasn't that she had never heard Gu Mo sing before. She had actually participated in the school celebration competition before, and he had directed everything.
So she knew how talented he was.
But hearing him sing in a KTV felt different.
His voice was naturally a bit deep. Now, amplified by the microphone and paired with the music, it took on a whole new flavor.
In An Jiu's mind, she pictured Gu Mo playing and singing this song at his villa.
That image was like a painting.
"It sounds amazing!" someone sighed.
"He plays and sings this song himself. It's also really beautiful!" An Jiu echoed.
"You've heard it before?" Secretary Li turned to ask.
An Jiu just then realized what she had said. She froze. After a long pause, she nodded stiffly.
"An Jiu, what's the relationship between you and President Gu?" Secretary Li leaned in and lowered her voice.
An Jiu didn't know how to answer. She looked at Secretary Li awkwardly.
Just then, Gu Mo finished singing. Applause erupted.
It was her turn for the next song. Secretary Li raised her hand and said it was hers. So she took another microphone and started singing.
An Jiu breathed a sigh of relief. She got up and went to the bathroom. She just needed some air.
There was actually a bathroom in the room. But An Jiu walked out anyway.
After using the restroom, she decided to walk around a bit. Then she couldn't find her way back.
She felt a little frustrated.
This seemed to be her most common problem—getting lost!
She asked a waiter for help, but she forgot the name of her room.
In the end, she had to call Gu Mo from the front desk phone.
Her phone was in her bag. She only remembered Gu Mo's number.
Besides him, she didn't know who else to call.
"Gu Mo, I'm lost!" An Jiu said pitifully on the phone.
Before long, Gu Mo came out of the room to pick up his lost little pig.
"I should install a tracker on you, just in case," Gu Mo said, taking her hand and walking back.
"I just forgot the name of the room!" An Jiu explained.
"You mean, as long as you remember, you won't get lost?"
"Of course! If I know the room name, I can ask the waiter for directions!" An Jiu answered confidently.
Gu Mo turned his head and stared at her for a long time. He shook his head, both amused and exasperated.
"I don't know what to do with you."
"Just spoil me!" An Jiu said with a smile.
When they reached the door, it opened from the inside.
Secretary Zhang was stunned when she saw Gu Mo and An Jiu. But she quickly recovered and said with a light smile, "I was just wondering where An Jiu had gone!"
"I just stepped out for a bit!" An Jiu said. Then she realized she was still holding Gu Mo's hand. She quickly pulled hers back and laughed nervously.
Gu Mo didn't say anything. He walked into the room, and An Jiu followed.
Gu Mo went back to his seat in the back. An Jiu went to the front sofa with Secretary Zhang.
Everyone was tired of singing by now. They were sitting on the sofas, eating and resting.
Secretary Zhang forked a piece of cantaloupe and handed it to An Jiu.
An Jiu took it and chewed on it for a while.
Then someone suggested playing a game. Everyone agreed.
So Special Assistant Xu turned his head and called out to Gu Mo, "President Gu, come over and play with us!"
Gu Mo put down his water bottle, got up, and walked over.
Almost instinctively, everyone left a spot open next to An Jiu.
An Jiu was embarrassed. She looked around in surprise.
Gu Mo didn't care. He sat down in the empty seat next to An Jiu and started learning the rules.
The rules were simple. It was an idiom chain game. The loser had to play Truth or Dare. It was a classic!
Especially today, everyone agreed to the game without objection. They all wanted to know what was going on between President Gu and An Jiu.
"Is this the rhythm to make me lose?" Gu Mo said half-jokingly.
Everyone laughed. Special Assistant Xu comforted him, "It's fine! It's all about participation!"
After the rules were set, they started playing.
An Jiu wanted to lose. But she didn't want to win.
So she listened carefully to every idiom being said. Going clockwise, she had to pick up the idiom Gu Mo said.
So she shot him a look. Her eyes clearly said, "Don't say anything too hard. I won't get it!"
But Gu Mo didn't notice her look. An Jiu felt like she had wasted her effort.
After rock-paper-scissors, Special Assistant Xu went first. Then they went clockwise one by one.
Special Assistant Xu's first idiom was "gather tonight."
But it was judged not to be a real idiom. So he had to punish himself. Then he said another one—"everything goes well."
Special Assistant Xu's wife went next—"be inspired!"
Secretary Zhang went next—"there is a reason for the incident."
Everyone went one by one. When it came to Secretary Liu, she said "spring is full of vitality."
Then it was Gu Mo's turn. Gu Mo asked, "Is 'happy' okay?"
"Yes, but it's not the first word. It doesn't count!" Special Assistant Xu laughed.
"Okay. But I can't think of one starting with that word. I accept the punishment!" Gu Mo said.
"Hurry up!" An Jiu blurted out anxiously.
"What An Jiu said doesn't count! What An Jiu said doesn't count!" everyone started teasing.
"I accept defeat. Secretary Liu, go ahead!" Gu Mo said with a smile.
"Secretary Liu, don't waste such a good opportunity!" Secretary Li said with a smile.
"Yeah, miss this, and there might not be a next time!" Secretary Liang echoed.
So Secretary Liu smiled and said, "Then I'll throw a brick to attract jade! Mr. Gu, don't mind me. But at the request of my colleagues, I'll take the liberty of asking you this question!"
"It's fine. As long as everyone's happy!" Gu Mo nodded.
"Actually, what we all want to know is—where are we going for this spring outing?" Secretary Liu asked.