My CEO's Code of Love

One early summer morning. Zara lay on her bed, turned over, and in a daze, heard a painful groan. Her scalp tingled, and she quickly jumped out of bed, rushing to the adjacent bedroom. Her mother lived in the next bedroom. She saw her mother's brows tightly furrowed, her hollow eyes filled with pain, helplessness, and sorrow... Zara clutched her chest, fighting back tears as she threw herself at her mother, "Mom, I'm sorry, I'm useless!" Her mother squeezed out a faint smile and said weakly, "My dear, don't be afraid. As long as there's life, there's no fear of sickness! I'll get better!" "Mom!" She hugged her mother tightly, her heart feeling as if an invisible phantom was seizing it, making it hard to breathe. "Mom, don't worry, I will definitely find a job, I will definitely earn money to cure your illness!" "Good child, Mom believes you!" Her mother gently patted her shoulder and back, her tightly furrowed brows slowly relaxed, and then her eyelids fluttered open and closed, as she slowly leaned on Zara's shoulder and fell asleep. The phone rang. Zara took out her phone and saw it was Sophia, her senior. She quickly adjusted her mother, laid her flat on the bed, pulled up the thin quilt, and answered the call. "Hi, Zara, could you do me a favor!" "Sophia, you sound so tired!" "I have a cold and a fever... Tomorrow at 10 AM, I have an interview. You know, the Senior Programmer position at Voes family's Salmart Software Company is mine, but unfortunately, I can't make it!" "What do I need to do?" "My dear, for someone with no work experience like you, seizing opportunities is more important than anything!" "Are you asking me to impersonate you? And for a senior programmer position?" Zara looked incredulous. "Think about your mom, think about your future, think about how many people are eagerly eyeing that position!" Zara glanced at her mother beside her. Her mother's withered body seemed to speak of life's fragility and vicissitudes. Her mother was tormented by illness, but once a person gets sick, especially an ordinary person, the daily medical and nursing expenses make anyone's scalp tingle. "Sophia, you are my angel, bless me!" "Then, shall we get ready? You'd best come over to my place. I think my measurements are similar to yours, which could save you a lot of money, if you don't mind!" "I'll be right over!" The next morning at 10 AM, Zara arrived at the interview location punctually. Although it was a business suit borrowed from Sophia, it looked perfectly natural on Zara. When it was Sophia's turn, Zara confidently walked into the interview room. A female interviewer stared at the online resume on her computer for a moment, then looked up and smiled, "Please introduce yourself!" "My name is..." "Wait!" The interviewer looked at the photo on the online resume again, then at the person in front of her, and asked with a puzzled expression, "Are you sure you are Sophia herself?" "Oh no," Zara felt her mind buzz. She lowered her head, cast down her eyes, and twisted the hem of her clothes repeatedly, muttering, "Sophia is my senior... She can't come for the interview because of a cold and fever... I didn't want to miss this opportunity..." The interviewer's face darkened, and she said solemnly, "This is impersonation, which means you are not honest. The company absolutely cannot accept dishonest employees!" Zara's face flushed. She thought, "I'm going for it." She suddenly raised her head, met the interviewer's gaze, and said solemnly, "I'm sorry, dear interviewer, I just voluntarily confessed my motive, which is enough to prove my honesty! Since I'm already here, I humbly ask you to give me a chance, and give us both a chance!" "No, please don't waste time!" "Years from now, if an interviewer discovers that a female programmer she personally hired has achieved great success, she will certainly be grateful for her leniency back then! And this female programmer will also be grateful to this interviewer! After all, not all interviewers have such magnanimity!" The corners of the interviewer's mouth curved slightly. She looked at the time. "Only 10 minutes!" Zara smiled, "My name is Zara, and I just graduated from the computer science department at the University of Chicago this year..." "I'm sorry, we only hire senior programmers, and you have no work experience! I think we shouldn't waste each other's time!" The interviewer stood up and walked towards the door. Zara's interview was a complete flop, and she couldn't help but feel depressed. She silently walked down the street towards home and, before she knew it, found herself in front of a luxurious bar. Suddenly, she had an urge to indulge herself. She tossed her head and stepped inside. The bar wasn't crowded; it was unusually quiet. Zara found a seat by the window. While waiting for her order, her gaze drifted outside. She was in the most bustling part of S City, famous for its enchanting scenery and diverse cultural charm, and leading the world's trends with cutting-edge technology and fashionable art. Fashionably dressed ladies and dapper gentlemen strolled through the streets, many of them smiling as they entered the bar. Soon, the bar became exceptionally noisy. As the lights swayed, the music grew wilder, and the singing and dancing became more energetic, Zara felt increasingly lonely. She looked around, relieved that there was no one she knew. She quickly stood up, lowered her head, and fled in disarray, accidentally bumping into a man. Still startled, she looked up and saw a man of unparalleled handsomeness, his face chiseled with distinct features. Out of politeness, she hastily lowered her head and apologized repeatedly, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" The young man's name was Evander. Standing beside him was a young, beautiful woman named Lyssa, with an arrogant expression. "How unlucky! There's actually an adult woman in this world who hasn't learned to walk yet!" Lyssa said sarcastically. Zara had no time to deal with this sudden mockery. She just wanted to leave as quickly as possible, so she didn't respond and walked out calmly. "How ill-mannered! Don't you understand that sometimes silence is the greatest insult to a person? You're wearing a business suit, so you must be working for some company. That company is really unlucky to have an employee like you!" Lyssa crossed her arms over her chest, turned to Zara's retreating back, and said loudly. Zara paused, turned to face Lyssa, and said solemnly, "My dear lady, aren't you afraid that I might be working for a Fortune 500 company? If my boss found out, what would my boss think? Are you insulting his employee or insulting the boss for not knowing how to hire?" Evander was taken aback. He turned, looked at Zara, and his eyes lit up. This woman looked so familiar. Where had he seen her before? His mind raced, but he shook his head in disappointment! Lyssa was speechless. Zara continued, "I think it's necessary for me to explain that my silence wasn't to insult you, but actually to protect you! You wouldn't want everyone to gather around, excitedly watching 'a beautiful woman from high society having an argument with an ordinary woman,' would you? Who would suffer a greater loss from that? I'm sure you're very clear on that!" Zara took a step forward, bringing her head close to Lyssa's face. "Please learn to respect people, otherwise, don't blame me for being impolite!" Suddenly, Zara's phone rang. She walked to the side and answered the call. Evander and Lyssa walked forward. "Senior, I messed up, I didn't get the interview... I'm at a bar right now! Of course, it's noisy! I messed up! I didn't get the interview!" Zara pressed her phone tightly to her ear and shouted. Evander stopped in his tracks, abruptly turned around, and saw that Zara had already hung up and was walking out. He quickly called out, "Wait!" Zara stopped and looked back. "You could speak a bit louder just now, otherwise, the deaf people in the bar won't hear you!" Evander winked and said teasingly. Zara's mouth twitched. She chuckled sheepishly. She had just implied she was working for a Fortune 500 company, and now she was immediately exposed. She wished she could crawl into a hole. Evander took out a pen and paper, scribbled a few lines, and handed a slip of paper to Zara, smiling, "Here's my contact information. You can contact me when you think you won't be disturbing me! I might be able to help you with your job!" Zara let out a snort of laughter, took the paper, and quickly glanced at it. "Sir, thank you. I'll confirm with you in advance whether I'll be disturbing you!" With that, she placed the paper on a nearby table, turned, and walked out. Evander widened his eyes, raised his eyebrows, smiled slightly, and watched her retreating figure. Lyssa pouted, "Evander, she didn't even appreciate it! Why would you rather help a stranger than me?" "Let's go, aren't you hungry?" Evander turned and walked deeper into the bar. Gemini *****