Lin Xi sidestepped Shu Xi, intending to head further down the hall. Song Xu had mentioned that his office was at the very end of the corridor.

She had only taken two steps when Shu Xi darted in front of her again, arms outstretched to block her path. “Whose lunch are you delivering? No one on this floor ordered takeout except me.”

“Who told you I was a delivery girl?” Lin Xi said, gently pushing Shu Xi’s arm aside and continuing her walk.

Shu Xi blocked her again. “I’m the one who took the call from the front desk. If you aren’t here to deliver my food, then please leave. This isn’t a place for people like you.”

“What’s wrong with this place? Why can’t I be here?” Lin Xi scanned the floor. “Is it a high-security zone?”

Shu Xi looked Lin Xi up and down. The girl was undeniably pretty, but her clothes were cheap and worn. Shu Xi curled her lip in disdain. “You aren’t here to try your luck at ‘hooking’ a man from Huayue Group, are you?”

“I’ve seen plenty of girls like you. You look for any excuse to strike up a conversation with successful men, pretending to deliver food just to get a foot in the door. You’ll take whoever bites, won’t you?”

Lin Xi was genuinely baffled by the girl’s logic. How could someone come up with such a ridiculous, melodramatic script? “You’re just projecting your own thoughts onto others.”

She had no interest in continuing the conversation. Their mindsets were worlds apart; talking to her was like playing a lute to a cow—a complete waste of breath.

Just then, the internal phone rang again. Shu Xi shot Lin Xi a glare before running back to answer it.

It was the front desk again, informing her that her actual takeout had arrived. Shu Xi glanced at Lin Xi and realized she was heading toward the very end of the hall—straight toward President Song’s office.

“I’m sorry, the girl who just came up isn’t my delivery person. I made a mistake,” Shu Xi told the receptionist. “But she refuses to leave. Please send security up to escort her out.”

Shu Xi hurried to the elevator to grab her food. Bag in hand, she practically jogged toward Song Xu’s office.

The rest of the floor was empty since everyone else was at lunch. It was just her and President Song, and she wasn’t about to let some random woman harass him.

Lin Xi walked slowly, trying to get her bearings. Eventually, she spotted a large office with the door standing wide open.

Just as she reached out to knock, someone grabbed her arm. She turned to find the same girl from before.

“Let go of me,” Lin Xi said, her brow furrowing.

“You can’t go in there,” Shu Xi hissed, trying to yank Lin Xi backward. “That is our General Manager’s office.”

“Are you insane?” Lin Xi snapped, forcefully shaking off Shu Xi’s grip. “He’s exactly who I’m here to see.”

The momentum sent Shu Xi stumbling back a few steps. She landed hard on the floor, though she managed to keep a tight, protective grip on her bag of takeout.

Two security guards stepped off the elevator and, seeing someone on the floor, ran over to investigate.

They recognized Shu Xi’s intern badge and helped her up. “What happened?”

Shu Xi pointed a trembling finger at Lin Xi. “Get her out of here! she snuck in!”

Lin Xi opened her mouth to explain, but a familiar voice rang out from behind her. “What is all this noise?”

Lin Xi turned to face Song Xu, her expression one of pure exasperation. “President Song, I—”

“President Song, she pushed me!” Shu Xi cut her off, rushing to Song Xu’s side. She pointed at Lin Xi accusingly. “I don’t know where this crazy woman came from, but she’s been wandering around the floor.”

Song Xu looked at Lin Xi, his expression unreadable. “You…”

“President Song, are you hungry? I ordered some congee. Would you like some?” Shu Xi didn’t give anyone else a chance to speak, her words coming out like rapid-fire pulse rounds.

Song Xu was reaching his limit. He liked girls who were quiet and composed, like Lin Xi.

He reached out, grabbed Lin Xi’s hand, and pulled her toward him. “You’re so stupid. You made me wait forever. Didn’t I give you directions? If you were lost, why didn’t you just call me?”

How noisy. Lin Xi frowned, glancing at Shu Xi before looking back at Song Xu. “She spent the whole time blocking me. She wouldn’t let me in and wouldn’t let me find you. Your staff seems a bit… slow. She doesn’t seem to understand plain English.”

Shu Xi stared at their joined hands, feeling as if she’d been struck by lightning. Impossible! How does this girl know President Song? And why are they holding hands?

“What’s going on here?” Zhang Qing asked, returning from his lunch break to find a crowd outside Song Xu’s office.

The security guards took one look at the situation and realized they were in over their heads. They quietly slipped away before they could be dragged into the mess.

“Oh, Miss Lin is here.” Zhang Qing recognized her immediately. Knowing her history with Song Xu and remembering the hospital incident, his gaze instinctively dropped to Lin Xi’s stomach. Is there a little CEO in there yet?

Lin Xi gave Zhang Qing a small nod of acknowledgment, unsure of what to call him.

Song Xu pulled Lin Xi behind him, effectively shielding her from Zhang Qing’s gaze. He glared at his assistant and pointed at the stunned Shu Xi. “Where did you find this idiot? Get her out of my sight.”

Zhang Qing’s mind raced as he tried to piece together what had just happened.

Song Xu didn’t wait for him to figure it out. He turned and pulled Lin Xi into his office, slamming the door shut and clicking the lock.

Lin Xi immediately yanked her hand back. “President Song, why are you locking the door? I’m leaving now.”

“What’s the rush?” Song Xu took off his baseball cap. He’d been wearing it all morning, and his head felt stuffy. Since Lin Xi had already seen his face anyway, there was no point in hiding. “Is there a man waiting for you at home?”

There isn’t a man, but there are mountains of men’s clothes waiting for me to photograph and list. Song Xu had an absurd amount of clothing; she’d only managed to get through a fraction of it that morning.

Seeing the marks on Song Xu’s forehead, Lin Xi felt her mood lift slightly. She offered a mock-sympathetic look. “Does your head still hurt, President Song?”

Song Xu let out a cold snort and looked up at her. “What, did you not get enough yesterday? Do you want to give me another row of bruises?”

Lin Xi shook her head and began unpacking the lunchbox, arranging the dishes in front of him. “Actually, medicine is usually the best cure for an illness.”

Song Xu could hear the underlying sarcasm in her voice. “Lin Xi, you’d better hope you never get sick.”

Knowing when to quit, Lin Xi handed him a pair of chopsticks. “Please eat, President Song. You must be starving.”

He was. He’d eaten breakfast early, and his stomach had been empty for hours.

To be able to eat a meal Lin Xi had cooked herself, he had waited until he was practically seeing stars from hunger. He lowered his head and began inhaling the food, finishing every last bite she had brought.

Lin Xi sat in the opposite chair, watching him eat. Once he was finished, she stood up to pack away the containers.

“President Song, if there’s nothing else, I’ll be going now,” she said, placing the lunchbox back in the bag.

Song Xu wiped the corner of his mouth and gestured for her to stay. “Sit down. I want to talk business with you.”

Business? What business could we possibly have? Lin Xi sat back down, her expression wary. “Aside from helping you sell your second-hand goods, what other business could there be?”

Song Xu folded his hands on the desk, his expression turning uncharacteristically grave. “I want you to pretend to be my woman. I’ll add twenty thousand to your monthly salary.”