Heartthrob: Love You All My Life

It was seven o'clock on a midsummer morning. Olivia Ying was having a bad start to the day. After several efforts, she finally managed to get on to the bus, which was overflowing with people. It was so crowded, she couldn't move an inch. She thanked her lucky stars that she had decided to wear a pair of canvas shoes this morning. Otherwise, she wouldn't have ever caught the bus and missed her long-awaited job interview.

She breathed a sigh of relief and began going over some of the questions that the interviewer might ask her. Two years after graduation, she had landed a job as an assistant to the manager of the planning department in a branch office in W City. This time, because of family pressure, she had to move back to her hometown. She might have had a chance to get a promotion after working there for six months, but now that opportunity was completely ruined. It took her a long time to convince the manager to allow her to work at the headquarters. She would have to start from the position of a clerk and work her way up.

A sudden brake squished Olivia Ying against the glass door. The people behind her were trying to squeeze their way past her. Someone shouted, "Sir, open the front door. We can't get through the crowd."

"Ah!" As Olivia Ying yelled, the door opened without warning and she fell out, almost spraining her ankle. For the second time that morning, she felt lucky that she wasn't wearing her high-heeled shoes and opted to carry them in her bag to change later instead.

A wave of people emerged from the bus, creating a tiny bit of space on the bus. The driver was about to close the door when Olivia Ying quickly jumped back in. Holding on to the handle for dear life, she finally breathed a sigh of relief. When she lowered her head, she realized that her white dress was stained with some inexplicable black stuff. She was aghast as she didn't have spare clothes right now.

Half an hour later, she arrived at the destination and quickly hopped off, unable to salvage her stained dress. Standing across the road, she saw the eye-catching building of the headquarters. She took a deep breath and gave herself a pep talk, "Olivia, you can do it. You are not a rookie anymore."

She checked in at the reception counter and habitually glanced at the elevators. As expected, it was packed!

It was a common complaint among many white-collar workers that they were in bad shape because of being cooped up in the office all day long with no time to exercise. To combat this, Olivia Ying would always take the stairs to keep her tummy flat and weight in check. In fact, taking the bus was another excuse for her to get some exercise in the day.

Most importantly, the human resources department was on the eighth floor. She could climb the stairs with little effort.

She jogged up to the sixth floor with ease and finally leaned against the railing for a brief rest. Suddenly, some strange sounds reached her ears.

Driven by curiosity, Olivia Ying peeked up and immediately retracted her head. A man and a woman were discussing something.

Suddenly, a phone rang, which made Olivia Ying jump, thinking it was her phone. But when the people upstairs started talking, she relaxed.

"Tina, please help me deal with it. I'll go down soon," begged the woman to the person on the other side of the line.

Olivia Ying twirled a long, curly black lock of hair absent-mindedly, trying to block out conversation. It seemed that they were talking about a private matter.

'I'll just wait a moment,' she told herself, looking at her watch. Fortunately, she still had five minutes left.

"What do you mean by saying if we continue our relationship, your life will be ruined? You can't face anyone just because you are with me? In that case, let's file for divorce. Marriage is a burden to you anyway," the man said firmly.

Olivia Ying was flabbergasted. They were husband and wife?

"Why are you yelling at me? I'm just asking for time. I said those because Tina urged me. And now it's really important. How can I leave the building?" the woman whispered coquettishly, pulling the man's sleeve and playing the victim.

The man snorted, "It's very simple. Take my arm and get out of here. From now on, we don't need to hide anything anymore."

"Dick Zhou! Why are you still talking to me like that? Can't you understand? I'm just starting my career. Why can't you support me the way other husbands do?" complained the woman in an aggrieved tone.

Olivia Ying couldn't believe she was stuck in this crazy situation. What the hell was going on? Why were they still quarreling? She started to panic. If she made it to the eighth floor, she would get her dream job. She wasn't going to lose this opportunity because of them.

She braced herself and dashed up without raising her head, hoping to fly past them. However, something stopped her in her tracks. Her arm was grabbed forcibly.

Olivia raised her head and met a man's eyes, who could be described as handsome, but his eyes were too dangerous. "Sir, I'm going to be late. Please let go of me."

The man stared at her for an uncomfortably long moment and then he asked icily, "How long have you been standing there?"

"That's not the point, okay? I'm going for an interview. I have to be there in three minutes! You can't hold me responsible for this. You could have gone somewhere private for your quarrel." Olivia tried to pull her arm free from his iron grip, but he was holding on so tight his palm print was probably on her arm. How could he be so cruel?

"You heard that, Dick! What should we do? She will definitely leak this information." The woman was hysterical and tears filled her eyes.

Olivia was shocked. It turned out that this woman was an actress. No wonder she was so afraid of reporters. But Olivia couldn't remember ever seeing her on TV. Perhaps she was an upcoming star, who wasn't famous yet. Should she ask for her autograph? It might be valuable in the future. A good idea!

Dick Zhou checked out Olivia up and down and said curtly, "Clothes."

"What are you doing?" Olivia demanded. She subconsciously crossed her arms across her chest.

The man snorted, "Don't worry. I'm not interested in little girls like you. Swap your clothes with her. I'll help you pass the interview, and I'll compensate you for your clothes."

Olivia was taken aback. She couldn't understand why he said that, but from his authoritative tone, he seemed like a manager. "Is it true?"

What Dick Zhou really wanted to do was toss her down from the eighth floor. Did she think that QS Advertising Media Company was a collection station that would accept all kinds of rubbish? But he kept his cool and explained patiently, "I'm here. After changing your clothes, you can come upstairs with me. I won't run away."

"Yes, please trust him," coaxed the woman, who had already taken off her long Bohemian dress, revealing her sultry figure.

After making sure that the man wasn't looking, Olivia took off her dress and shyly handed her soiled dress to the woman. She couldn't help but envy her. She was sculpted beautifully by God.

"Thank you. I'm leaving now." The woman picked up her handbag from the ground.

Dick Zhou said, "Wait a minute. Change your shoes or you'll be too conspicuous."

The woman clearly loved her high-heeled shoes and was unwilling to take them off. Being a kind-hearted soul, Olivia opened her bag and took out a pair of high-heeled shoes. She put them on and handed her canvas shoes and the empty bag to the woman.

"Wow, you are my savior! Honey, take care of her." The woman hurried down the stairs.

Olivia turned her attention to the man. Dick Zhou scowled. Going by her behavior, she was trying to figure out whether or not he was a liar. He said unhappily, "Follow me."

Olivia trailed behind Dick in the corridor, holding up the long Bohemian dress with her both hands carefully. Dick strode forward at a fast pace while Olivia took small steps, trying hard to catch up with him.

Looking at herself, she found that the dress was still too long for her even though she was wearing high-heel shoes.

While Dick's wife looked so graceful in the same dress. They were really a perfect match. "Ouch!" Distracted by her thoughts, Olivia didn't realize that he stopped abruptly and bumped into him. She looked around and asked, "Sir, the human resources department is on this floor. Why did you call the elevator?"

Just then, the elevator dinged and Dick entered it. Seeing her standing there gawking at him with her bright eyes, he said, "If you want to work here, get in."

Olivia was hesitant as she was still wondering what his plan was. But the elevator wasn't going to wait for her. She quickly slipped in and murmured glumly, "If you don't get me a job today, I'll keep pestering you."

Dick snorted and ignored her warning. The elevator stopped on the fifteenth floor.

He walked to the innermost room. The secretary seated at a desk outside the room stood up and said, "Mr. Dick, the morning meeting will begin in fifteen minutes."

He nodded in acknowledgment and pushed the door open. Olivia smiled at the beautiful secretary and waved at her amicably. However, the secretary responded with a frosty stare and continued to work.

Olivia shrugged. The secretary was just like her boss. Well, one thing was for sure, he definitely held a high position at this company. Olivia was about to enter the office when she noticed the sign on the door, which said 'President'.

Her head was buzzing suddenly. What were the odds! She recalled his photos in the magazine interview.

"You still have twelve minutes. Close the door." 'Is she awake?' Dick wondered. He was starting to get testy.

She was stumped. Now she didn't know what to do. She quickly closed the door and stood in front of his table with an idiotic smile.

Dick put away his documents and looked up at her. Thirty seconds had passed. Her smile was very pleasant, but she was just standing there dumbly. He asked, "Don't you know why you are here?"

"Oh, yes! I'm sorry." It was not until then that Olivia came to her senses. She hastily opened her bag, took out her resume, and placed it in front of him neatly.

Dick read her resume carefully. Only the sound of him turning the pages could be heard in the room. Olivia could not help but feel nervous, as there was no emotion on his face.

"Miss Olivia, you used to be the assistant to the manager in our company's branch office. Why did you quit? Besides, your boss has written an impressive letter of recommendation for you," Dick asked, raising his eyes.

Olivia smiled, "I had to return to T city for some personal reasons. But Mr. Chen is excellent. As his assistant, I have learned a lot from him. We worked well together. The fame and cultural background of QS Advertising Media Company fascinated me deeply, so I don't want to leave this company no matter which city I'm in."

"You should know that if you come to the headquarters, your position..."

Seeing that he didn't finish his words, Olivia nodded, catching on quickly, "I understand. I'm willing to start from the bottom, as long as I have the chance to continue to work here."

Dick put down her resume and turned on his laptop. She couldn't see what he was typing on the keyboard, and there was no explanation from him either. Olivia became more and more nervous. Wouldn't he at least give a chance to start from the bottom?

Soon, a sheet of paper appeared on the printer. Dick handed it to her and looked at his watch. "I will only give you one minute to think about the offer. If you agree, you can stay here. If you are unwilling, don't say that I don't give you a chance."

The title of the document made Olivia suspicious. What were these "Three Rules" that he had printed out? What crime had she committed?

First, always remember Dick's position in QS Advertising Media Company.

Second, in view of her good performance at the company branch office, she was being promoted to the personal assistant of the president.

Third, if she ever dared to tell anybody about what happened in the corridor this morning, she should immediately resign. If she wasn't able to keep her promise, she would have to face the consequences. Tossing the paper on the table, Olivia raised her eyes and scowled.

Damn it! This was not a rule, but a clear threat.

"You don't agree? The door is over there." Olivia didn't know how tempting her pink lips were, but Dick couldn't take his eyes off them. He cleared his throat self-consciously. "Miss Olivia, if you leave here today, I will make sure you won't get a job in any advertising company in the entire T city," he threatened coolly.

Olivia was furious but she forced herself to smile. "First, you are Dick, the president of QS Advertising Media Company. Second, thank you for your appreciation, I will do my job dutifully. Third. I am not interested in the private lives of other people. This is the first time we have met. Please give me more guidance."

Dick applauded with satisfaction. "This is my requirement for my private assistant. Don't touch my taboo. You can start to work tomorrow."

"No problem. Boss, you still have one minute," she reminded him with a sweet smile.

After leaving the headquarters, Olivia was in two minds. She didn't know whether landing this job was a good thing or a bad thing. No matter what, there was denying that the money would be good. Her position had risen unexpectedly. She could not help but smile triumphantly, as if the wallet in her pocket was already full.

She crossed the road and walked into Starbucks, the coffee shop.

She ordered a cup of iced mocha and took a window seat. She took out her phone and opened the WeChat app. After sending a message to two people, she put her phone down with satisfaction.

There were not many people in the shop, and the melodious music created a peppy ambiance. Olivia slowly closed her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. So much had happened in the past month. As soon as she flew into the city, she had gone to the hospital to stay with her father for two weeks. She didn't start hunting for a job until everything was arranged.

A hospital was a good place to lose weight, but for people like Olivia who didn't have much weight to lose, it was a waste of resources.

"I still love you but this is the only way out." As soon as hearing that, Olivia opened her eyes and clicked the screen. However, it was not her phone ringing. She still got no message.

She put the phone down on the table with a bitter smile, which could not hide the tears in the corners of her eyes. It had been sixteen days since she received the phone call from him. She had only talked with him for less than a minute. What was she still clinging on to the hope that he loved her? If he really did, he would have called her earlier.

All of a sudden, someone patted her on the back. Even before turning around, Olivia knew who it was. She quickly wiped her tears and regained composure. "We haven't seen each other for almost two years. Don't you have any new moves yet?"

"You don't understand. Classics never go out of style! You bad girl! Good to know that you still remember your friends. When I went to the SPA with Lisa last week, I told her that I would have to fly down to W city to be your bridesmaid soon. And you will have to reimburse me." The more Sylvia Li spoke, the more excited she became and her decibel levels rose.

Lisa Yang tugged her arm and pulled her down on to the chair. "Keep your voice down. Everyone is looking at you!" she said.

It was not until then that Sylvia Li realized that she had created quite a scene in the coffee shop. She lowered her head and hid under her long hair in embarrassment. She grabbed Olivia's hand and cried, "Are there any handsome men here? Did they hear me? This is all your fault. I lost control of my emotions."

"Well, you are so beautiful that even if you were a man deep down, you would have many suitors lining up to marry you!"

Lisa Yang teased her, "Sylvia, if I were Rain and found out that you're still eyeing handsome men, I would immediately marry you. You are so playful. I wouldn't be able to let you go."

"No, Olivia is not married yet. So I'm going to be her bridesmaid, and then it's your turn, and finally it's my turn. As for Rain, if he loves me, he has to wait for two years. If he can't wait, he can just forget about it," Sylvia Li said determinedly.

Olivia smiled. This little girl was still as stubborn as ever. She loved Rain so much but never expressed it publicly.

"So Olivia, are you engaged to Flynn? Are you in town to take your father back to W city for your wedding?" Lisa Yang asked with equal parts concern and curiosity.

Olivia knew that she couldn't escape this topic when she met her friends. She had been with Flynn Fan in college for four years. After graduation, she had gone to his city with him. Her two dear friends had witnessed their six-year love affair. They often said, "Olivia, get married and set the ball rolling for us."

She had agreed back then, but now she was unable to say, "Don't worry, I will give you the invitation as soon as possible."

Avoiding the questions, Olivia held Lisa's hand and said, "I see something has happened while I was away. Tell me honestly, who gave it to you? Are you going to get married at the same time as me?"

"Hey, Lisa, when we met last week you didn't have it," Sylvia remarked in surprise. Then she thought for a while and said, "Olivia, you don't know. Lisa has changed her job. Now that she's working at the 4S shop, it's not a problem for her to meet rich, handsome men. Our Lisa is so gentle and lovely. Those men would fall for her the moment they laid eyes on her."

Lisa blushed and didn't know what to say or do. She swatted Sylvia's arm playfully and said, "Nonsense! It's not true."

Olivia always thought that Lisa was a gentle and docile girl. She had long, black, straight hair and fair skin. She wasn't the obvious kind of beauty, but she was very pleasing to look at. The more one looked at her, the more her beauty bloomed in one's eyes like a delicate flower. Sylvia, on the contrary, was vivacious and attractive at first sight.

"Olivia, what are you thinking about? Let's go shopping," Sylvia suggested, nudging her friend. Olivia nodded. "Sure!

But first, let me share some good news with you. I have been transferred back here. I will be working at the headquarters of QS Advertising Media Company now."

"Wow, that's great! The three of us can be together again. We must celebrate tonight!" Sylvia hugged Olivia happily and gave her a peck on her cheek.

Olivia wanted to cry. Sylvia's lip gloss was lovely and so were her lips but why did she have to plant it on her face? "Damn it. I have to go to the bathroom. Wait for me," she said.

"Lisa, why are you in a daze?" Sylvia was confused.

Lisa shook her head and replied, "Nothing." Looking at Olivia, she couldn't help but feel uneasy. Why had her friend suddenly returned to the city? Why did she even go and get herself another job here? Not long ago, Olivia had sent her a photo of herself and Flynn Fan on WeChat, and they looked so happy together. But this time, Olivia barely spoke about him. In fact, she was deliberately avoiding the topic.