Chapter 24 – The Collar
In the CEO’s office, Lu Heng sat in his executive chair.
He Lichen stood opposite him, holding a thick stack of documents.
The room was rather empty, with only a set of leather sofas placed in the center.
Originally, the office was large but poorly utilized.
After Lu Heng arrived, he had the space renovated, partitioning off about twenty square meters on the right side of the entrance to store miscellaneous items.
To this day, no one had ever gone inside — not even Secretary He.
After all, it was a room personally ordered by the boss himself.
Who would dare to enter?
The office was quiet.
Outside, the sun was blazing, pouring through the windows and onto the leather sofa, heating it until it was scorching.
A heavy, stuffy smell of sun-warmed leather filled the room.
On the tea table, the automatic kettle was on, and the boiling water made gurgling sounds.
He Lichen poured a cup of water for Lu Heng.
At this time of day, President Lu usually only drank warm water — to moisten his throat and protect his stomach.
“Is that all?” Lu Heng raised the cup, pressed his lips lightly against the outer rim, testing the temperature.
It was still a little hot, so he set it down again.
“Yes.” He Lichen stood with his hands behind his back, the documents tucked against his lower back.
“These are the only three candidates HR has submitted for now. All of them have PhDs. President Lu, please take a look — if they meet your requirements, I’ll notify HR to arrange their medical examinations.”
The three résumés on the table were densely packed with their life achievements.
Any single item listed on any of them would qualify as top-tier.
One of them in particular had not only numerous patents, but also so many SCI papers that even a full page couldn’t contain them all.
Lu Heng looked up at the photo.
It looked familiar — he felt as if he had seen this person somewhere before.
“This is Professor Tian Yu’s student,” He Lichen said, noticing that Lu Heng was flipping through Gu Han’s résumé.
Professor Tian had long been a leading figure in their field.
Even publicly listed internet companies were scrambling to establish connections with him.
Any company that managed to work with him would never have to worry about project funding again — investment banks would naturally come knocking.
Future Technology was already an industry leader and lacked none of such projects, yet they still held great respect for someone of Professor Tian’s caliber.
In the early years, collaboration had been common, but now that Tian Yu was nearing retirement, he no longer took on many projects.
The boiled water had cooled a bit.
Lu Heng raised the cup again and gently blew on it, creating small ripples on the surface.
Suddenly, he remembered where he had seen that person before.
At Lin Yan’s place — in that photograph.
“Our company has a student of Professor Tian as well, doesn’t it?” Lu Heng asked.
“Yes. In Technical Department Four. Lin Yan.”
Lu Heng lifted his gaze, flipped to the next page, and saw the same competition experience listed on Lin Yan’s résumé — except this one had a gold award, while Lin Yan had a bronze.
After a moment’s thought, he said, “Alright. Let them come in first and get familiar with the working environment.”
He Lichen acknowledged, retrieved the résumés, and added,
“Madam will arrive at one in the afternoon.”
“Got it. I’ll go back for a bit.” Lu Heng stood up, took the suit jacket draped over the chair, put it on, and adjusted his collar.
“I’ll head back this afternoon. If anything comes up, give me a call.”
“By the way, President Lu, the contract for that apartment has already been signed. When would you like to move in?”
“As soon as possible.” Lu Heng slid the pocket watch on his wrist downward slightly — he wasn’t particularly fond of wearing such things.
“Your personal items have already been arranged. You can move in directly,” He Lichen said.
“The locks have been changed — it’s not a keypad. You’ll need a physical key.”
He Lichen placed the house key on the desk.
Lu Heng took it and put it away.
Since he could move in now, he wouldn’t wait any longer.
In a few days, he would go back and transfer the things he had left at Lin Yan’s place.
Lu Heng returned to the villa in the suburbs.
Pushing open the heavy oak door, the afternoon sunlight slanted through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the double-height living room, casting dappled patterns across the cold marble floor.
His mother, Ding Yue, had been waiting for him for some time.
She was holding a glass of mint frappé.
Those deep, almost mixed-heritage eyes of hers locked onto him the instant he stepped inside.
“So you finally remember to come home?” Ding Yue’s voice was calm but sharp. “Out all day and night — has some little temptress stolen your soul?”
“Didn’t you just get back?” Lu Heng loosened his tie, neither admitting nor denying anything.
He was already used to this half-joking, half-serious interrogation from his mother.
In his memory, she had always been like this — distant yet close, more like a friend than a parent.
“I arrived yesterday,” Ding Yue said teasingly.
“I just didn’t tell you. I wanted to see when you’d finally come home.”
The wrinkles at the corners of her eyes smoothed as she walked up and examined her son closely.
Lu Heng’s tall, solid build resembled his father’s — dependable and steady — yet the relationship between father and son had been distant, almost like strangers.
As he grew older, it only worsened, and it never improved even after his father’s death.
Perhaps because their personalities were too similar, they had never been very close.
“Just busy with work,” he said lightly, brushing it off.
Ding Yue gently swirled the mint-green liquid in her glass.
Light passed through the drink and cast overlapping shadows on her hand, faintly resembling bite marks.
She suddenly smiled.
“Look at you — your suit is covered in cat hair. By the way, where’s the cat you’re raising?”
Lu Heng coughed unconsciously.
“I’m not keeping it here.”
“Then where?”
“I bought an apartment near the company. I’ve moved there.” Lu Heng crossed his legs, his expression calm.
Ding Yue let out a quiet sigh.
“Lu Heng, do you not like living here anymore?” She lit a cigarette and walked over to the window.
In the distance, the waves of the Pacific shimmered silver under the moonlight.
Just then, the door of the second-floor study shifted slightly.
Lu Heng glanced up, then looked away again.
The housekeeper finished tidying up and came out of the study.
“No, it’s just too far,” Lu Heng said lightly, as if it were nothing important.
“How long has it been since you came home?” Ding Yue smiled gently.
“Don’t overwork yourself.”
Lu Heng nodded faintly.
Ding Yue took out a gift she had prepared for him and said softly,
“Here — I brought this for you. I heard you’re keeping a cat, so I bought a collar for your little one.”
Lu Heng frowned.
The collar looked just like the previous one — only the logo was a different size.
“It doesn’t like this.”
“How do you know cats don’t like it?” Ding Yue didn’t give him time to argue. She grabbed his hand.
“I’m not sure if it fits. The sales clerk said the wrist should be about the same size as a cat’s neck.”
Click.
The alloy clasp snapped shut, and a collar appeared around Lu Heng’s wrist.
Because of the difference in size, it looked more like a bracelet on him.
The leather collar wrapped around his wrist as Ding Yue carefully adjusted the tightness.
It had three holes for sizing.
She tried one — too loose — and then fastened it one notch tighter.
This time, it seemed a little too tight.
Lu Heng shifted his wrist unconsciously.
“It’s too tight.” He tried to pull free, but Ding Yue was holding on firmly.
“It’s fine. Wear it for now, then put it on your little cat later.” Ding Yue looked up at him, a trace of amusement in her eyes.
“These little things — if you don’t secure them properly, the next second you won’t even remember where you put them.”
“Alright.” Ding Yue finished fastening the collar and lightly patted the back of his hand.
Lu Heng lowered his gaze to the collar on his wrist.
The texture of the leather felt both unfamiliar and strangely familiar. He disliked the feeling of being restrained.
He glanced at the watch on his other wrist — it was almost time to get off work.
He needed to leave.
“Mom, I’m heading out. I’ve got a dinner appointment.”
Ding Yue didn’t ask any further questions. She simply nodded and let him go.
On the way back, Lu Heng kept rubbing the collar around his wrist.
The sun had completely sunk below the horizon.
Only a trace of orange light clung to the edges of the floor-to-ceiling windows.
Soon, even that last bit of warmth was swallowed by the deep blue of night.
By the time the car entered the city, the sky was fully dark. Lu Heng returned to the apartment.