Mr.Richard Only Loves Me

chapter 7

No matter how much pain and hardship there have been in the past, as long as the sun rises, everyone must embrace a new day.

In the morning, Ayria still took Richard's car to the office. Before getting out, she asked, "Do you have any social engagements tonight?"

Richard glanced at her, then asked Donald, who was in the front passenger seat, "Do I have any plans tonight?"

Donald, who had been his assistant for so long that he had memorized his schedule by heart, immediately said, "You have a dinner with Mr. Haem from SUNLN."

"Cancel it."

Ayria, hearing this, immediately said, "No."

She hadn't even mentioned what she wanted to talk about, yet he was already willing to cancel a scheduled appointment.

Richard turned to look at her, his deep and pleasant voice saying, "Don't you have something to discuss?"

Ayria looked at him for a moment, then said, "Don't take your allergy lightly. Let's move back to the villa tonight."

Richard frowned slightly, starting to say, "There's no need..."

"I'll move with you," Ayria interrupted him.

Richard remained silent for a while before speaking, "Star, you don't

need to take my mother's words to heart."

Yesterday, Ella's talk about mutual accommodation in marriage hadn't made an impression on Richard, but it seemed to have affected Ayria.

Ayria remained calm, saying, "Your mother's words weren't unreasonable. She was right; in a relationship, it can't always be you making concessions for me. I didn't even know you were unwell these past few days, which was my fault."

Richard didn't expect her to say so much, feeling moved.

He placed his hand on Ayria's temple, gently rubbing her soft hair and her fair ear. Ayria's earlobe was beautifully shaped, plump and white, with a smooth, tender feel.

Richard was silent for a moment before saying in a deep voice, "You don't need to make concessions, because I can keep doing it."

This man always had an air of detachment from worldly affairs, yet at this moment, his words were warm and touching. Ayria knew he wasn't just saying it.

Such a proud person living with her in that old house had never once frowned.

He always reassured her with his actions.

Ayria said, "My father has been gone for so long; it's unlikely he'll just happen to come back in the next few days."

Richard said nothing, pulling her into his arms and gently stroking her back for a long time before saying softly, "He will come back. His little star is still here."

Ayria's cheek rested on his broad shoulder, her heart melting with warmth.

Even her grandmother had bluntly told her that her father wouldn't come back. He had been gone for so many years, and he went to such a dangerous place.

Since her father's disappearance, Ayria had heard this countless times.

Even though she knew they wanted her to move forward with hope, she still couldn't let go.

For so long, she was the only one who believed her father would come back. Until Richard appeared, from the moment he knew about this, he had always told her he would wait with her for her father to return.

Many people told her to give up.

But she persisted alone for so long, and finally, someone was willing to wait with her.

It was probably because it was a Friday that there were especially many people running late today. Particularly at the clock-in station at the entrance, where there was almost a line forming. Seeing that time was running out, people in the back were stomping their feet anxiously.

Kate arrived at her desk, still panting.

When Ayria turned to look at her, she saw her take a few deep breaths before saying miserably, "Twelve floors. I had to climb twelve floors in one go."

The Time Gate newspaper's office building was quite old, with only a few elevators. Every morning, there was a queue for the elevators downstairs. If you arrived just on time for work, nine times out of ten you wouldn't make it.

Fortunately, Ayria had a good habit of arriving at the office twenty minutes early.

As Kate was speaking, Nanny, dressed in a waist-cinching dress, strolled by with a Chanel bag. She came in with another colleague.

The colleague exclaimed, "Nanny, that Chanel bag is gorgeous. The color matches your dress perfectly."

Nanny replied nonchalantly, "I specifically brought this bag to match this dress."

As Nanny walked past, she cast a glance at Ayria, smiling with a hint of malice in her eyes.

During the morning team meeting, everything was routine, with everyone sitting around the conference table with their laptops, listening disinterestedly.

Just as the meeting was about to end, Team Leader Wright looked around and said, "By the way, what's the status of that interview assignment from the advertising department?"

Everyone froze.

The print media industry had declined so much that advertisers had become rare and treated like royalty. As long as their demands weren't too excessive, the advertising department would try to meet them.

This time, the task was to interview the owner of a health product company who wanted a feature in the newspaper.

It wasn't a difficult task, so the advertising department had readily agreed.

The task had been assigned, but Winter, who specialized in personality interviews, wasn't interested in interviewing some obscure entrepreneur. She found it beneath her and didn't want to go.

So, the task had been delayed.

But today, for some reason, Team Leader Wright brought it up.

Everyone looked at each other, unsure of what to say. Honestly, these health products were often dubious. However, since they had official certification, calling them outright frauds was tricky.

Everyone knew how this industry worked.

Any journalist with a bit of ambition wouldn't want to handle such dirty work.

Wright looked around for a while before Nanny flicked her hair and smiled, saying, "Team Leader, may I make a suggestion?"

"Go ahead," said Wright, always eager to appear democratic.

Nanny smiled coyly, "I think this interview should be assigned to the younger members of the team. It would be a good opportunity for them to gain experience and help out the senior members. Some newcomers have been here for a while and are still just running errands."

Ayria had been quietly sitting in the corner, listening to the discussion.

But after Nanny said this, the other colleagues began to glance at Ayria with sympathy and schadenfreude.

Everyone knew Ayria had offended Winter, though they weren't sure how. Recently, Winter had been assigning her all sorts of menial tasks.

Not only was she being made to run errands at work, but now Nanny was using the meeting to make things difficult for her.

Ayria was a graduate of a prestigious university and had outstanding abilities. Among the new hires, she was unmatched in talent.

Nanny's attempts to make Ayria uncomfortable were in vain since Ayria's actual work performance far outstripped Nanny's.

However, everyone knew that Nanny was just a pawn, with Winter being the one truly trying to undermine Ayria.

Finally, Kate couldn't hold back and said, "Ayria's abilities are evident to everyone. Even the editor-in-chief has praised her writing."

Being young and impulsive, Kate couldn't stay silent.

Nanny glared at her and smiled, "Did I mention Ayria? Don't accuse me unjustly."

Kate glared back, knowing that the senior staff's ability to be insidious far exceeded her own.

Ayria spun the pen in her hand, her expression calm and silent.

Feeling she had the upper hand, Nanny continued to assert her dominance, "I think our young team members today are too restless. Back in the day, we all started from the bottom. Newcomers should act like newcomers, humbly learning and not seeking shortcuts."

No one spoke, and the conference room seemed to belong entirely to Nanny.

Then there was a crisp 'clack' as Ayria placed the pen on the table.

She slowly raised her head and looked at Nanny, squinting slightly, "Before you start acting like a superior, at least learn to be a decent human being."

The entire conference room fell into a deathly silence, with everyone's faces showing disbelief.

Even Nanny herself didn't react immediately.

It wasn't that they hadn't seen conflict before, but Ayria was so unconventional. The workplace often saw veterans acting superior to newcomers, expecting them to endure silently.

Many newcomers would silently endure, and eventually, everyone would pretend to get along.

But when Ayria showed her disdain so openly, everyone was stunned.

Moreover, her tone and gaze were so on point that it made people feel that she was not to be trifled with.

Kate, snapping back to reality, looked at Ayria and felt she had completely misjudged her.

She had thought Ayria was just a bit cool, but now it was clear: Ayria was a queen.

Nanny finally regained her composure and jumped up from her seat, the wheels of her chair rolling back and hitting the wall with a crash.

She said furiously, "Who do you think you are? What gives you the right to talk to me like that? How dare you act so arrogantly, who do you think you are..."

Nanny was genuinely infuriated, speaking incoherently. She was a veteran at the newspaper, but with mediocre abilities. Winter was the newspaper's star, and Nanny only had the role of occasionally picking on newcomers.

Today, however, it felt like she had been slapped in the face in front of everyone.

Ayria didn't care about her reaction. When Nanny paused to catch her breath, Ayria looked at her and said, "If I make a mistake in my work, point it out directly. But don't play little games. Everyone knows what's going on. Don't fool yourself into thinking your tricks are impressive. People are just watching you make a fool of yourself."

A suppressed laugh broke the silence.

Winter's face darkened because Ayria's 'you all' referred to Winter and her cronies.

Everyone could see that Winter was behind Nanny's actions.

Nanny wanted to retort, but Team Leader Wright, who had been silent, coughed and said, "Alright, alright, this is a meeting, not a place for arguing. Whatever issues you have, the priority is work. Let's not get caught up in petty squabbles."

Everyone's expressions became colorful.

Wright's words seemed impartial but were clearly taking sides. Ayria mentioned tricks, and Wright implied the same, indirectly criticizing Winter's group.

Though Winter was a star at the newspaper, she was in Wright's team. Her arrogant behavior had tested his patience.

This was an opportunity for Wright to curb Winter's antics.

Moreover, compared to the trouble-making Nanny, Ayria, with her beauty, talent, and quiet demeanor, was much more likable.

Wright often wished his daughter could be like Ayria.

But occasionally, looking at Ayria's strong presence, especially moments like this, he thought maybe his daughter wouldn't be able to handle it.

After the meeting, everyone left the conference room.

Kate was bursting with things to say. Although she usually acted impulsively, she felt like a paper tiger in comparison.

Back at her desk, Kate immediately approached Ayria, asking, "Ayria, you're amazing. How did you dare to talk to her like that?"

Ayria clicked her mouse a few times and printed a few documents.

As she got up to get the prints, she responded lightly, "If I talk back to her, will the company fire me?"

Kate blinked. Of course not.

Ayria: "Then why should I tolerate her?"

Kate: "..."

Wow, that makes so much sense. So true.