Chapter 71 - Regrets

"Why do you always say you are alright when your expression always shows that you are not alright at all? Can you compare your mood now to the one inside the hall earlier? You were so elated some moment ago, but why do you look so sad right now? If you need someone to listen to you talk, I am here for you so you are free to tell me anything that is bothering you," Yifeng said sincerely out of concern. For a moment Yang Zi could not help but feel guilty about how she always treated him. She told him countless times to leave her alone, but he would not just stop caring. At first she found his stalking a nuisance, but at the moment she could not help but want to believe that maybe he really cared about her. Yang Zi quickly shook off the foreign feelings and instantly put on her cold facade back.

"That is because I am really alright besides people's mood cannot remain the same forever, it is bound to changes so it is not right of you to compare my mood then to now and we are definitely not close enough to discuss personal matters. I am just your employee, so let's not cross that boundary," Yang Zi said firmly. Yifeng frowned when he heard her words. "She really has the habit of bringing that stupid boss and employee's relationship up whenever she wants to avoid me. Who on earth even sets such a boundary that says employer and employee should not talk casually?" Yifeng imagined angrily, still staring at Yang Zi. ​​

"What do I have to do to break the boundary you just mentioned? And aren't people who slept in the same house, ate the same food and applied the same lotion close enough to discuss personal stuff? We are much closer than you think," Yifeng stated, trying to see whether she will at least tell him what was bothering her.

"All I want you to do is to stay away from me. I believe we won't have a clash if you do that and do you consider sharing the same meal, using the same lotion and sleeping inside the same house together as having a close relationship with someone? If that is what you think then does that mean you are in a close relationship with all the people you had a meal with? I am sure you are not, and that is exactly how our relationship is. We are not friends and we are definitely not enemies. Our relationship is just neutral," Yang Zi spoke her mind boldly.

"Ok, let's say you are right about our relationship but how on earth do you expect me to stay away from you when we are working in the same office and Yang Zi, that I am trying to get close to you does not mean that you have the right to tell me what to do. You have your own right to avoid me like you normally do and I also have my right to keep on pursuing you like I always do so I will suggest that we respect each other's right or don't you think so?" Yifeng asked with seriousness. Yang Zi was left speechless when he heard him talk about his right when he was the one violating her right.

"Don't stay out too long or else you will catch a cold," Yifeng suggested, seeing her in a daze before he walked away. He would have loved to talk to her some more, but he had to leave her alone since he knew that they would only end up fighting at the end. The dumbfounded Yang Zi just watched him walk away without uttering a word. After staring at his departing figure for some minutes, she still continued with her walk, but in the opposite direction. She finally went to her room after a few trips around the extensive field. She showered and got dressed after she got to her room.

She was on the phone with Shiyi and Shui Shui till 1:00 am when Shiyi activated the virus on the two games Zhou Corporation recently launched. She went to sleep with smiles on her face. At first Yang Zi was so sure that tonight would be different since she felt so happy and accomplished, but she was wrong because her nightmares still haunted her like it usually did. After much struggle, she woke up with tears in her eyes. She was soaked by her own sweat.

She sat down on her bed with her face down for fifteen minutes, trying to calm herself down. For the first time in her life, she wished she didn't witness that horrible scene eight years ago. She wished she wasn't in coma back then for four months, unable to attend her sister's funeral. She wished she was just an ordinary lady who had nothing to weigh her down. She wished she could turn back the hands of time to when there was no Zhou Yixian in the picture. She had loans of things she wished didn't happen but no many how many times she wished, she knew she could never go back to the time everything was alright.

Realising that she was back to her usual self, she used a clean towel to wipe off the sweats, went to her dressing room and changed into her sportswear. She tied her hair into a ponytail before she walked out of the room at that early hour to jog. She ran around the enormous field ten times without taking a break. The way she ran energetically was as if she was possessed. She direly needed peace of mind, and she knew the only way to get it was to clear her mind of every useless thought. She didn't know why, but she always felt at peace whenever she put herself through extreme physical torment. Yang Zi who assumed that everyone in the resort was fast asleep at that hour did not know that somewhere in the third floor of a building. Someone was up there watching her with a perplexed expression.

"Is she crazy? She will end up passing out at this rate if she doesn't take a break. Why is she torturing herself in this manner?" the guy watching her through the window of his room said feeling scared on her behalf, seeing her complete her fifteenth lap round the field. Yifeng did not know when his feelings for her started developing exactly. "Did it start when he met her daughter or was it when she took care of him for four days?" Yifeng always thought whenever he found himself wanting to take care of her and protect her. He tried so many times to stop caring about her, but it was never successful.

Yang Zi, who was so exhausted after completing her twentieth laps, fell down on the field. There was no energy left in her to continue again. "You have come this far, girl. You are prohibited from having useless thoughts or feelings if you don't want to ruin everything you have worked so hard to achieve for the past eight years of consistent practice. You will definitely be punished severely if you fail your sister who died unjustly in this lifetime," Yang Zi muttered to herself, panting heavily. She stayed in that position for close to thirty minutes before she staggered to her room.