When Hearts Collide: From Ashes to Love

The project was going smoothly, and Marian had been eating and sleeping well lately. Glancing at the calendar on her desk, she counted the days: just half a month until the May Day holiday. She planned to head back to her hometown to visit her grandmother. Recently, every time she phoned, she hadn't been able to speak with her; Caregiver Li only mentioned her condition had worsened. How bad, exactly, she couldn't say.

The county nursing home's medical resources were limited, so Marian intended to bring her grandmother to a top-tier city hospital for an expert consultation. After setting an alarm to fight for train tickets, she set aside that worry for the moment and returned to working on a project-report PPT.

Julian had mentioned that Aaron was extremely picky—not just about the PPT's content, but also its layout, design, and overall style. This made Marian's work on the PPT painfully difficult. She understood the project, the technology, and the product side of things, but aesthetics and art were never her strong suit. Those were skills that typically required a lot of training (and money).

After multiple revisions and having Julian review it as well, she finally felt confident enough to schedule a presentation with Aaron.

On Friday at four in the afternoon, Marian knocked on Aaron's office door. A low "Come in" sounded, and she pushed the door open.

"Mr. Aaron, perhaps we should use the conference room? It'll be easier to project," she suggested kindly. Aaron raised an eyebrow. "No need. Just bring your chair over here, and we'll look at your computer together."

Caught off guard, Marian hesitated. "I… sit next to you?" Wouldn't they be way too close?

"Mm. Is that a problem?" With his long arm, he dragged a chair over to his side. His gaze lifted toward her.

Marian quickly shook her head. "No, not at all." She reluctantly took a seat in the chair he'd moved. She couldn't understand why he wouldn't choose the conference room—better comfort, better visibility.

Once seated, she opened her laptop, gently moving the mouse to bring up the prepared PPT. Then she carefully pulled her hand back, wary of touching anything she shouldn't. "Mr. Aaron, I'll begin?"

"Go ahead," he said, his tall frame leaning in.

They were indeed too close. She could distinctly smell the pleasant scent of his body wash and hear the subtle sound of his breathing. The tips of her ears glowed red, and her heart pounded faster.

She shook her head slightly, clearing away distracting thoughts. Throwing herself into the presentation, she soon forgot her nervousness—and failed to notice how the gaze of the man beside her was growing increasingly intense.

Aaron stole a sideways glance at her crisp white suit, then trailed his eyes up to her petite chin and smooth jawline. In truth, she was quite delicate-looking and matched today's beauty standards well. Back in college, she was too skinny and tanned, so her first impression on others was that of a feeble bean sprout.

At that time, Xu Huanran would often tease Marian in front of Aaron. But he'd been so preoccupied with someone else back then, he never stepped in to defend her.

"Mr. Aaron? Mr. Aaron?" Marian's eyes widened slightly in disbelief. Was he spacing out?

Clearing his throat, Aaron straightened, crossing his legs in a practiced motion. "Yes, overall it's pretty good."

Long accustomed to his role as CEO, Aaron had mastered the art of creating praise on the fly. "That Gantt chart, for instance, looks well-done."

"Oh. Thank you, Mr. Aaron," she answered, a bit underwhelmed. She'd hoped for more detailed feedback than just praise for her chart—especially since it was just an Excel default. A basic skill for any project manager…

"If there's nothing else, I'll just…" She pointed toward the door, ready to escape.

But in true fashion, Aaron decided to nitpick. "The interface design could be improved. Here and here—simplify things, extract your keywords, and summarize in a single concise line."

He stood up, bending over slightly with half his body leaning toward her, as though embracing her. The pose was undeniably suggestive.

"Alright, thank you for the guidance," Marian replied, lowering her gaze to avoid looking at him. Her heart hammered even more. "I'll, um, head out now."

Before she could leave, someone knocked urgently on the door. The door opened to reveal Yi Ming, who seemed taken aback to find Marian present. His expression was full of surprise.

"What's going on?" Aaron asked, frowning.

Yi Ming shifted uneasily, glancing toward Marian. "Mr. Aaron, it's about… er, about…"

Marian's heart sank. She had a bad feeling—did this have something to do with her?

"You call yourself a special assistant? You can't even speak properly?" Aaron snapped, anger evident for the first time since Marian had known him.

Sensing trouble, Marian offered quietly, "Mr. Aaron, it's alright. I'll leave—"

"No need. Stay and listen."

Clearly, Yi Ming's hesitation was tied to Marian. Feeling somewhat cornered, Yi Ming finally explained, "There's a middle-aged woman making a scene in the first-floor lobby. She's yelling that the company should fire…" He shot Marian an apologetic look. "Fire Miss Marian."

Aaron's face turned quizzical. "What is this nonsense?"

But before the assistant could elaborate, Marian had already hurried out the door. Aaron promptly followed.

Downstairs, Marian immediately recognized the woman causing trouble: it was He Bing's mother!

When He Bing's mother spotted Marian, she abruptly stopped her shouting. She marched up, rage twisting her features, and slapped Marian across the face. "You little seductress, daring to lure my son again! You're poor and ugly—how dare you try to latch onto my son? You should drop dead!"

With that, she lunged to shove Marian.

Thankfully, Aaron arrived right behind her and pulled Marian to safety, placing himself in front of her. His strong, broad hand shoved He Bing's mother aside, his voice frigid. "Who are you, making a scene in YuTou Tower!"

He Bing's mother stumbled back, stunned for a moment. Then she lunged forward again, snarling in crude language, "So, in your fancy suit, you're just her lover? I can't believe this cheap girl dares to juggle two men—clinging to my son while hooking up with another!"

"Shut up!"

The sudden roar from the man in front of her made her jump. She tried to speak again, but his tone turned icy as he threatened, "If you dare say one more word, I'll have He Bing fired on the spot!"

He Bing's mother's eyes widened, finally grasping that this man wasn't someone to be trifled with.

"Yi Ming," Aaron continued in a clipped voice, "disperse the crowd. Take this woman to the reception room and figure out what's going on."

Once everything was arranged, Aaron turned back to Marian. Her left cheek bore five red marks, her entire body trembling. Her eyes glistened with tears she struggled to hold back.

"It's over now. Come with me." He placed a comforting hand on her back and led her toward the underground garage.

Once inside the car, Marian slumped against the window, looking desolate. "Aaron, I… didn't…"

She left the sentence unfinished, but Aaron understood. Calmly, he answered, "I know. I believe you."

Marian looked up at him, startled by his response.