The runaway Cinderella of the billionaire president

"It's windy outside, you wait inside for a while, I'll go get something," Xu Zehao pushed Zhou Yian into the sunroom and went out again.

Zhou Yian looked at him curiously through the glass. He looked mysterious and had no idea what he was up to.

Xu Zehao walked to the car, opened the trunk, and took out several cardboard boxes, some large and some small, and moved them all to the open space in front of the house.

Fireworks? Zhou Yian's eyes lit up, and he quickly ran over to help him set up the fireworks.

"Didn't I tell you not to come over? It's windy, what if you catch a cold?" Xu Zehao muttered as he stood up and put down the fireworks in his hand. He raised his hand to tighten the collar of Zhou Yian's coat, pulled up her scarf, and wrapped her tightly, fearing that she would catch a cold.

After helping her tidy up her clothes, Xu Zehao squatted down again, took out the fireworks from the carton and placed them on the ground one by one.

Zhou Yian happily helped him, and the two of them quickly disassembled and arranged all the large fireworks.

"Stand back, I'll light the fire."

After seeing Zhou Yian retreat to a safe distance, Xu Zehao lit the fuse of the firework. Sparks flashed instantly, bang...bang...bang..., accompanied by crisp sounds, and the fireworks bloomed with brilliant light in the dark night sky.

Zhou Yian stood quietly by the side and looked up. Her face flickered in and out of view as the firelight flickered. Xu Zehao walked behind her, opened his coat, and hugged her tightly against his back, "Are you cold?"

"It's not cold. Thank you for preparing a fireworks feast for me." Zhou Yian turned his head to look at him, his eyes misty and his smile sweetly.

"Does it look good?"

"It looks good, what do you think?"

"It's beautiful, the fireworks are beautiful, you are beautiful too, everything is beautiful." Xu Zehao usually looks like a serious person, but I didn't expect that he could say sweet words so fluently.

"There are also fairy wands over there. When this one is finished, I'll play with that one with you."

"You also bought fairy wands?" Zhou Yian was surprised. Xu Zehao was cold and indifferent by nature and he never smiled. She didn't expect that such a distant and alienated person like him would specially prepare these little toys for her.

"Other children have them, so mine can't be without them." Xu Zehao's eyes were full of doting. He was only four years older than Zhou Yian, but in his eyes, she was his little friend.

The two of them just stood there silently, watching the fireworks in the night sky and welcoming the New Year together. It was romantic and beautiful.

After watching the fireworks, Xu Zehao brought a sparkler to Zhou Yian, and while she was playing, he secretly took a photo and hid it.

"Okay, it's cold, you should go back to bed, I'm going home now."

Zhou Yian's eyes widened, looking confused. "Aren't you going to stay here overnight? It's too late today. You can leave early tomorrow."

"No, I have something else to do tomorrow."

"Yeah, there are so many people in your family, it's not a good idea for you to leave, so drive slower." Zhou Yian was considerate and thought for him.

"Okay, you go in first, and I'll leave after you go in."

Zhou Yian was about to turn around and walk into the house.

"Wait, An An, Happy New Year." Xu Zehao held her and took out a box from his pocket and handed it to her.

Zhou Yian recognized the box at a glance. It was the necklace she accompanied him to buy that day, a necklace that was priceless in her eyes.

"You... give it to me?" Zhou Yian was surprised, his eyes widened in disbelief, and he did not reach out to take it.

"Yeah, it's for you."

"I... can't take it, it's too expensive." Zhou Yian felt timid. The necklace was very valuable and it was not something he could afford. It would not be natural for him to wear it.

"It's not expensive. This is the first time I give you a gift." Xu Zehao took her hand and forced the box into her hand. "Come in quickly."

Zhou Yian couldn't refuse and could only take it.

"Come in, dear."

Xu Zehao's eyes were always on her. He watched her enter the house before he retracted his gaze and looked towards the balcony on the second floor.

Zhou Yian walked back to the room with heavy steps. She came to the balcony and found that Xu Zehao had not left yet. He stood upright next to the car with his hands in his pockets, with smoke all around him, giving people a feeling of being isolated from the world.

When he saw Zhou Yian, he smiled and waved, then waved for her to go back. Zhou Yian also waved, nodded, and went back to the room.

Only after seeing her enter the room did he drive away contentedly.

Zhou Yian hid behind the curtains, watching him get into the car and drive away, clutching the necklace in his hand, feeling mixed emotions.

She put the necklace in the drawer. The contract written in black and white in the drawer was extremely conspicuous, reminding Zhou Yian at all times not to cross the line. That was the gap they could not cross.

Zhou Yian lay in bed, unable to fall asleep for a long time, thinking over and over again in his mind what he had said before, [You need money, I need your body, we each take what we need.]

[We signed a contract. You know my identity. I don’t want anyone to make a fuss about our relationship.]

[You are the canary I raise. If you serve me well, I am at work.]

Yes, it was just a deal, just a game for rich people, but he seemed to have thoughts that he shouldn't have. The reason why he signed the contract was to prevent someone with ulterior motives from making trouble, and that person probably included himself.

Once the relationship is exposed, she will be just a canary who is willing to serve him for money, and he and her are just playing around.

Obviously, many of my previous misfortunes were caused by him, but now I have forgotten the pain and am indulging in his gentleness.

His thoughtfulness, his gentleness, his domineering, his indifference, his delicacy, were like deadly arsenic, but she accepted them willingly, drinking poison to quench her thirst and bringing about her own destruction.

She was a little panicked, as if she was sinking consciously, and she couldn't control her heart that was pounding for him.

Zhou Yian was even more afraid that his love would be like the fireworks tonight, beautiful and colorful but short-lived.

The more she thought about it, the more her headache worsened. She stood up, picked up the small bag she carried with her, took out the white medicine bottle, poured a pill into her mouth, and swallowed it with a frown.

Maybe it was the effect of the medicine, or maybe he was really tired, Zhou Yian fell asleep quickly.

Zhou Yian slept very soundly that day until the hourly worker called and woke her up.

"Ms. Zhou, did you set off fireworks yesterday? I saw several fireworks tubes in the courtyard."

"Well, I bought a few for the New Year to add to the festive atmosphere." Zhou Yian was vague, fearing that his mother would find out something.

Mother Zhou knew her daughter too well. She knew that if Zhou Yian had prepared the fireworks in advance, she would not have failed to arrange for her to watch them, but she remained calm and said nothing.

"An...An, when you have time, invite...your...friend...to come for dinner..." Mother Zhou squeezed out a few words with difficulty.

"Mom, it's New Year's Day, he's very busy. I'll call him when I'm free."

"Is she... a man or a woman?"

"He...is a female." Zhou Yian didn't want Zhou's mother to know too much, so he could only lie to her against his conscience.

Mother Zhou nodded with difficulty and said nothing more. She was the one who raised her daughter, so she knew everything about her. She saw everything but didn't say anything.

The Spring Festival passed quickly, Zhou Yian's vacation ended, and Zhou's mother moved back to the nursing home.

After a brief period of warmth and bustle, Nanwan returned to its former quietness. Xu Zehao hadn't come since he showed up late that night, and Zhou Yian never asked about his whereabouts. She greeted him when he came and saw him off when he left. She was afraid that she would fall in love because of a game and end up being doomed.