Chapter 276: Chapter 276 Office
Behind him, his guards exchanged horrified glances, their jaws practically hitting the pavement.
Oh my god.
Boss bought a stuffed bunny.
And he carried it himself.
Their eyes widened further as they pieced it together. Could it be... ma’am was pregnant? Was that why boss wanted something pink? Did he... want a daughter?
The guards nearly tripped over themselves in shock, one whispering under his breath, "If boss really becomes a dad, I’m quitting. I won’t survive seeing him smile every day."
Leo didn’t hear them, or maybe he just didn’t care. He looked down at the soft pink bunny in his hands, and for a fleeting second, his cold eyes softened.
Yes. Bella had her army of plushies. But maybe he should have one too.
Because when he held this bunny, he thought of her.
And that thought alone was enough to make the corner of his lips curve in something dangerously close to a smile.
Leo carried the giant pink bunny in one arm as he continued down the street, his expression calm, but his eyes searching every storefront with a rare, restless energy. He wasn’t a man who spent time in malls or shops. His assistants usually prepared everything, but today was different. Today, he wanted to choose something for Bella himself.
He entered boutique after boutique, his gaze sweeping over glittering displays of jewelry, perfumes, shoes, handbags. Nothing impressed him. None of it felt good enough for her. The skirts were ordinary, the necklaces felt empty, the perfumes smelled too sharp. His jaw tightened.
He wanted something that made her eyes sparkle. Something that would make her hug him the way she hugged those stupid stuffed animals.
Finally, at a quieter boutique tucked at the edge of the street, he stepped inside. The racks were lined with soft pastel dresses, delicate fabrics, and simple but elegant cuts. His eyes lingered on a rack of light summer dresses in white, sky blue, lavender, and soft pink. They were modest, playful, and sweet.
The salesgirl’s hands trembled as she approached him, intimidated by his sharp aura and the absurd contrast of the pink bunny in his arm. "S-sir... may I help you?"
"Pack all of these." His voice was calm, but his eyes were deep as he pointed to an entire set of dresses.
"All of them, sir?" she asked, stunned.
"Yes. Every color," Leo said without hesitation.
The girl hurried away, and Leo’s gaze softened almost imperceptibly as he imagined Bella wearing them. She would pout if the size was too big, twirl if it was too flowy, and probably ruin one with food stains in the first week. But she would look beautiful in every single one.
When the dresses were brought out neatly folded and packaged, Leo paid without blinking. He carried the bags himself, one hand holding the large shopping bags, the other still cradling the ridiculous pink bunny.
****
Meanwhile, Bella had been given her own office, a clean, minimalist space tucked away in one corner of the building. The room itself was simple but sleek, with smooth gray walls, a wide desk, and a leather chair so comfortable she sank into it with ease. The air was cool, humming faintly with the sound of the machines. Three large monitors spread across the desk, glowing in the otherwise dim light.
One monitor displayed the company’s spline, the digital heartbeat of its network. Its lines flickered in red and green, nodes pulsing like stars against the dark interface. Whenever a breach or error flickered, the red blinked sharp and angry.
Bella leaned forward, fingers moving rapidly across the keyboard. Her small hands flew so quickly that the motion blurred, almost leaving afterimages in the low light. She bit her lower lip, brows furrowing as her focus deepened. She hardly blinked, her doe eyes locked onto the shifting data.
On the second screen, strings of code cascaded in neat lines, green flooding in as she corrected vulnerabilities, red reappearing as she unearthed deeper flaws. The third monitor mirrored the effects in real time, sending ripples through simulated systems like stones dropped into water. The glow painted her face in soft neon light, reflecting off her fair skin and catching in her dark lashes.
She didn’t even notice the strands of her fluffy wig hair falling across her eyes. With one hand, she brushed them back absently while the other continued typing. For a moment, she looked nothing like the clumsy, giggling girl everyone knew. She looked like a professional, calm, serious, and commanding.
The room itself seemed to bend around her concentration. The steady beep of the spline, the soft clack of keys, the subtle vibration of cooling fans, it all merged into a rhythm that followed her movements. Every few minutes, she leaned back, tilting her head slightly, scanning the screens as if she were reading hidden messages only she could understand. Then she leaned forward again, typing faster, chasing the red nodes until they flickered out one by one.
From outside the glass, it almost looked surreal. Bella, small and delicate in her chair, completely absorbed, surrounded by glowing screens that made her look like she was inside some futuristic cocoon. Anyone watching would forget she was nineteen, forget she looked soft and harmless.
"Hh... it’s so long," Bella muttered under her breath, her lips pouting slightly as her fingers raced across the keyboard. Her eyes darted from one screen to another, lashes flickering as the codes shifted faster and faster.
She tapped enter multiple times, her small hand pressing the keys with quick determination. On the spline monitor, the neat line of green suddenly bled into red, spreading across the entire graph like spilled ink. Bella leaned closer, her brows knitting.
"Oh no, no, don’t you dare turn red at me," she whispered, as if scolding the machine itself.
She tapped again, faster this time. Her right hand flew across the mouse, clicking open another sequence of scripts. And then, suddenly, two splines split apart on the screen. One still pulsed red, stubborn and angry. The other flickered and glowed, shifting from red to green.
Bella’s lips curved into a small, triumphant smile. "Ha! Got you," she said softly, as though she had won a game.
She pressed enter once more. The second spline gave a faint stutter, its green flickering lighter and lighter until it stabilized into a soft, glowing hue.
"There we go... light green means you’re calming down," she whispered, as if talking to a child she had just soothed to sleep. Her eyes sparkled with relief, and she tilted her head slightly, her hair falling over her cheek.
Her fingers hovered above the keys for a moment, tapping lightly in rhythm with the beeping monitor. Then, unable to contain her satisfaction, she leaned back in the chair, hugging her knees for a second before quickly straightening again.
She didn’t notice how focused she looked, eyes shining, cheeks glowing faintly from the monitor light. In that dim room, surrounded by red and green codes, Bella looked like a secret magician in her own little world.