Chapter 25 25

Chapter 25 25


For a second, she just stared, as if she was confirming she wasn’t imagining things. Out of all places, of all people, why was he here?
Her expression hardened immediately.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
He didn’t answer right away. Instead, his gaze moved lazily over the papers spread before her, then back to her face.
“Am I interrupting something,” he asked, “Or are you just not happy to see me?”
Lily blinked, then gave him a dry look. “Both.”
His eyebrows rose, but instead of looking offended, he smiled. “That was honest.”
“I’m busy. I’m working. So if you don’t mind…” She didn’t finish the sentence. She simply looked back down at her document, dismissing him.
“I can see that.”
“Good. Then you can also see that this isn’t a good time.”
Lily lifted her hand and pointed at the pile of books, folders, printed document and open file spread around her. “Unless you came here to magically reduce this mountain of work, go ahead and leave.”
The words came out sharper than she intended, but she did not apologize.”
“I thought people came here to relax,” he said after a moment.
“I didn’t,” Lily replied flatly. “Now, if you’re done standing there, you can go.”
She flipped a page, trying to focus, but her eyes kept scanning the same line without understanding it. Her head already ached from everything. She didn’t have the patience for distractions.
Instead of leaving as instructed, he leaned slightly closer. Lily stiffened slightly when he leaned over, his eyes moving to the page she had been staring at before he arrived. His presence was warm and distracting, and the faint scent of his cologne drifted toward her with the breeze. She was about to tell him again to leave when he pointed at a section of the document.
“Start from here,” he said, pointing at a section of the page.
Lily’s head shot up. “Excuse me?”
He pointed at the column without touching her paper.
“This calculation here. You’re using the wrong figure. You’re calculating from the projected total, but the instruction is asking for base value before adjustment. That’s why everything looks wrong.
Lily stared at him, then she looked down at the paper, and back at him.
“How do you know that?”
He shrugged lightly. “It’s a basic calculation.”
“No, it’s not,” Lily said, frowning. “I’ve been staring at it for almost twenty minutes.”
“That doesn’t mean it isn’t basic,” he replied.
Her eyes narrowed. “Are you insulting me?”
“Not at all,” he said smoothly. “I’m saying the person who gave you this probably did not explain what they wanted properly.”
Lily said nothing. That calmed her a little, because it was true. The CEO had shoved the file at her like a punishment. That silly arrogant fellow. How on earth would he agree to explain something to anyone?
“You’re breaking it down the wrong way,” he continued. “If you calculate the adjustment first, then align it with the previous data, everything else becomes easier.”
Lily frowned.
“That’s not how it was structured.”
“That’s why it’s taking you longer,” he said.
She hesitated. For a moment, she considered ignoring him. But the frustration in her chest pushed her to listen.
“Explain,” she said shortly. He didn’t smile this time. He lowered himself onto the edge of the mat, leaving enough space between them to keep from making her uncomfortable. “May I?”
“Go on,” Lily permitted, then pushed the page toward him. He took a pen and began to explain.
“Look,” he said, his tone now focused. “This part doesn’t need to be separated. You combine it first, then compare.”
He explained step by step, clearly, without rushing. He was patient, which surprised her. He broke the calculation into smaller parts, showing her where she had started wrong and how that one mistake affected the rest of the figures. He did not make her feel stupid. He did not rush her. Whenever she frowned, he slowed down and tried another way.
Lily followed his explanation carefully, her eyes moving between the numbers and his notes. By the time he was done, Lily stared at the corrected values with disbelief.
“That’s it?”
“That’s it.”
“…wait,” she said, leaning forward. “If I do that, then this part…”
“…becomes unnecessary,” he finished.
Lily blinked, then she quickly grabbed her pen and tried it.
A few seconds later, she stopped. Her eyes widened slightly. It worked. The entire section that had been stressing her out suddenly made sense. She looked at him again.
“You…” she paused. “You’re right.”
“I know,” he said calmly.
Lily gave him a look, but this time, she could not completely hide her smile.
He leaned back slightly. “Do you want help with the rest?”
“You’re offering to sit here and help a stranger with office work?”
“You’re not exactly a stranger.”
“I only met you once at the mall.”
“And now here.”
“That still makes you a stranger.”
“A stranger with useful skills.”
She looked at the pile again. Her pride wanted to send him away.
Her exhaustion told her not to be foolish.
Finally, she slid another folder toward him. “Fine. But don’t be annoying.”
“I’ll do my best.”
“That doesn’t sound promising.”
“It’s the most honest answer I can give.”
They began to work together.
At first, Lily remained guarded. She answered his questions with
short replies and kept her attention on the documents. But as the minutes passed, something eased. 

The breeze from the water moved gently around them, carrying the fresh scent of water and earth. The surface of the river stretched out in front of them, calm and steady, reflecting the light of the afternoon. 
The quiet sound of water brushing against the edges of the shore filled the silence whenever neither of them spoke.
He didn’t talk unnecessarily. He only spoke when explaining something, and when he did, it was clear, direct, and efficient.
Lily typed as he spoke, and slowly, the proposal began to look less impossible. Her shoulders lowered. Her breathing became easier. For the first time since she had opened the files, she felt as if she was not drowning beneath them.
After a while, she looked toward the water. “Do you come here often?”
The young man followed her gaze. “Not as often as I used to.”
“You used to come here?”
“Yes, when I was younger.”
“To do what?”
“Write.”
Lily turned to him, surprised. “You write?”
“I tried to.”
“That sounds like you failed.”
He placed a hand over his chest. “That was unnecessarily cruel.”
“Was I wrong?”
He smiled. “Not completely.”
She laughed again, softer this time.
He looked toward the river, and his expression changed slightly.
“I used to sneak here with a notebook. I thought sitting near water would make me a serious writer.”
“Did it?”
“No. It almost killed me.”