Mr. CEO, You Look Strangely Familiar

The female students chimed in with concern.

He waved his hand. ”I’m fine. Class dismissed.”

He packed up his teaching materials as the students swarmed out of the classroom.

In the end, only two people remained: the man at the lectern and the heavily disguised woman below.

”Professor, I have a question for you.”

He remained perfectly composed, pretending not to recognize her. ”Go ahead, miss.”

Zoe Ellsworth stood up from her seat, walked to his side, and said, ”I just want to know, Professor, what is love?”

”Miss, I have the perfect answer to that question in my office. Would you like to come see for yourself?”

”Sure,” Zoe Ellsworth said with a swagger.

He led the way with his books, and she followed. They weaved through several hallways until they arrived at a door. Herman Hawthorne took out a key, opened it, and stepped inside. ”Come in.”

Zoe Ellsworth closed the door and saw him sit down in his chair, open a drawer, and take out a book.

He then stood and faced her. ”Regarding your profound question, this book contains a detailed explanation, complete with illustrations. I hope you’ll read it carefully, ponder its contents, and strive to grasp its profound essence.”

Zoe Ellsworth took it, surprised to see the book’s main title was: *Let Me Tell You What Love Really Is!*

She sat down on the sofa and said, ”Well then, I’d better take a look.”

But the book’s cover was so plain—a white cover with a black title.

When she opened the first page, however, Zoe Ellsworth blushed.

The title of the first Chapter was: *Understanding What Love Is.*

But below it, there was no text, only pictures.

The images held her mesmerized. He had never shown her a book like this before.

An hour flew by as she read the book from cover to cover, completely forgetting the time.

When she finally looked up, her eyes met his.

He had taken off his sunglasses at some point.

”Did you learn anything?”

”Some professor. You’re more like a beast! Is this how you usually teach your students?”

He laughed. ”Of course not. This is a topic I only teach to you.”

Zoe Ellsworth froze. ”You recognized me?”

He took off her glasses and mask. ”This shoddy disguise might have fooled me for a second, but don’t you think it just makes you more conspicuous? And that voice... talk about a dead giveaway. Did you forget to use your brain when you cooked this up?”

Zoe Ellsworth sheepishly pulled two boxes of medicine from her clothes. ”Here. I came to bring you your medicine. I just felt bad about it... Put some on when you have a chance. I’m leaving now.”

She put the book down and was about to stand, but would a certain man—a beast in professor’s clothing—let her go so easily?

He grabbed her hand and pulled her down onto the sofa.

”Now that you’re here, it’d be boring to just leave. Are you hungry?” His voice grew deeper, huskier.

”Get off me,” Zoe Ellsworth said. ”It’s already five or six. Of course I’m hungry. I haven’t eaten.”

”I have something to eat right here. Want some?”

”No thanks. I’ve got nothing but money. I can buy whatever I want.”

”I have money too, Zoe. I’ll give you a fortune if you sell me two of your buns.”

Zoe Ellsworth laughed. ”Idiot. A fortune for two buns? Are you stupid? Outside, you can get two for a dollar. With your ’fortune,’ you could open ten bun shops.”

He laughed too. ”The buns they sell aren’t as fragrant or sweet. They don’t taste as good as yours.”

Zoe Ellsworth thought this professor was nuts. ”I don’t sell buns, I sell clothes!”

Herman Hawthorne’s smile widened. ”Zoe, I’ll take your clothes and your buns. How about it?”

”It’s just clothes and buns. Money first, and I’ll get them for you in a bit.” ’I can just pop out and buy a couple of buns,’ she thought. ’And while my shop only has high-end women’s clothing, I can just buy something from a men’s clothing store.’

”How much?”

A radiant smile spread across Zoe Ellsworth’s face. ”Ten million.”

He took a card from his wallet and handed it to her. ”There’s exactly ten million in there. It’s yours. The PIN is the last six digits of the card number.”

Zoe Ellsworth took it, looked it over, and then said, ”A pleasure doing business with you, then.”

He gave a meaningful smile. ”Yes. We can have a very pleasant ’cooperation.’”

With that, his hand pulled open the zipper on her clothes.

”Hey, hey, hey! What are you doing, taking off my clothes!” She quickly covered herself, glaring at him.

”You idiot, we’re starting our ’cooperation.’ Have you forgotten?”

”But... our deal wasn’t for the clothes on my body...”

”Weren’t they? Especially these two... buns...”

Zoe Ellsworth was about to go crazy with anger. ’What kind of twisted logic is that!’

”Take the card back! I’m calling off this deal!”

”Calling it off... is not an option...”

The consequences were predictable.

It was the first time the two had been together since their divorce.

Zoe Ellsworth felt like a complete idiot. ’Didn’t I just walk right into the tiger’s den? And to think I even brought him medicine.’

She swore she would never do something so self-defeating again.

A tempestuous passion... the two of them blending into one another again. Whose heart was it that trembled?

After her initial struggles, Zoe Ellsworth simply let him do as he pleased.

The situation was more intense than she had imagined. He was like a starving wolf, a wild horse that had broken its reins.

Galloping across a soft meadow.

In the end, Zoe Ellsworth lay there, watching him get dressed in an orderly fashion, her eyes practically popping out of her head.

’She was thoroughly displeased.’

”Bastard,” she slowly spat out the word.

He turned to look at her. ”So much for not getting back together. A few days go by, and you’ve already given in.”

Zoe Ellsworth’s face flushed crimson. Exhausted, she said weakly, ”You think I’m such a spineless person? If I don’t agree, you can... do this countless times... and I still won’t remarry you.”

”Then we can just do this for a lifetime. That’s fine too.” He took out a blanket and covered her with it. ”Be good. Get some sleep. I’m going to get us some food.”

With that, he walked out the door.

Zoe Ellsworth didn’t want to move a muscle. She lay there, completely exhausted.

But she wasn’t going to stay here.

She slowly got up, threw off the blanket, got dressed, and then left a note on top of her underwear before leaving.

When Herman Hawthorne returned with two boxes of takeout, the room felt as frigid as the dead of winter, despite the air conditioner being on.

There was no warmth at all.

He placed the takeout boxes on the table, tossed the blanket onto the bed, and his gaze swept toward the sofa.

Her bra and panties were lying there quietly.

He walked over, sat on the sofa, and took the note in his palm. As his eyes fell on the words on the note, a smile spread across his lips, and a soft chuckle escaped him. ’Ah, his Zoe.’