As soon as Zhao Youlin said that, the expression of Ye Yan's secretary, who was standing behind him, darkened again.

Ye Yan, on the contrary, did not have any particular reactions. The smile on his face did not change as he said with a deep voice, "Well, it seems that you do have a point."

Hearing Ye Yan's reply, Zhao Youlin was actually a little stunned. Ye Yan's compromise did not make her relax at all, instead, she had tensed up even more, being on guard against Ye Yan's unexpected move.

As expected, after they had been discussing the cooperation for some time, when Zhao Yulin finally pushed the document prepared at the beginning in front of Ye Yan again, he smiled lightly and said something that was completely unrelated to the cooperation.

"It's getting late now. It's time to go to lunch, I wonder if you would be willing to give me the pleasure of going out for lunch with me, Youlin?"

As soon as Ye Yan said that, the people in the room were stunned.

Zhao Youlin was stunned for a moment, but she came around in the next second. She politely and detachedly rejected it. "It's a gracious invitation, Mr. Ye. I really shouldn't turn you down, but at this time of the day, I normally have to go home and have lunch with my child. I believe you won't compete with a child, right?"

Zhao Youlin was not only using Joy as an excuse to politely refuse Ye Yan's invitation, but she was also implying to Ye Yan that she was a single mother who already had a child and had no intention of finding a stepfather for her child for the time being. It did not matter why this man was trying to approach her, she hoped that he had better put away the intention that he should not have so that he would not end up embarrassing both of them.

How could Ye Yan not understand what Zhao Youlin was implying? However, he was not the kind of person who would give up easily. Besides, he had expected that Zhao Youlin would reject him.

Ye Yan knew it better than anyone that perhaps in the eyes of other women, he was the third son of the Ye family, his identity represented supreme wealth and superiority. Though to this woman here, he was just an ordinary man. And based on the current situation, he assumed that she did not just classify him as an ordinary person, but she might also include him in her no-contact list.

However, since he had already expected that Zhao Youlin would turn him down, Ye Yan was naturally prepared for this as well. After he put on a smile, he slowly said, "Youlin, it's enviable that you and Joy are still as close as ever. By right, I shouldn't compete with a child indeed. However, you get to meet with Joy every day, while it isn't easy for me to see you. In that case, I still hope that you would give me an opportunity to have lunch with me, is that okay?

Now that Ye Yan had put it like that, it would be unkind of Zhao Youlin if she continued to reject him. However, she was reluctant to agree to his invitation so passively like this, especially when she looked at Ye Yan's overly charming long and slender eyes, she just had…a bad feeling about this.

As if he had seen the hesitation in Zhao Youlin's eyes, Ye Yan lowered his eyes slightly, looking really disappointed. "Last time when we were at the old master's banquet, you clearly promised to dance with me, but I never saw you again, even until the end of the banquet. I just want to invite you to lunch now, are you going to turn me down too?"

Zhao Youlin was speechless. What did he mean by her promising to dance with him? She had not said anything to him at all the whole time. It was him who said one-sidedly that he was willing to wait. It was his choice to wait. How could he blame her now in the end?

Zhao Youlin twitched the corners of her mouth. She was about to make a sarcastic remark when she heard the chief secretary next to her cough lightly, stopping her words in time. "Manager, since Mr. Ye has graciously invited you, you should have lunch with him. We can talk about the contract later."

Zhao Youlin raised her eyebrows. As she cast a reflexive glance at the chief secretary, she met his meaningful gaze that contained an implicit message.

Zhao Youlin instantly understood that the chief secretary was hinting to her that the reason why Ye Yan was like this was because he had his own ulterior motive, and she could just take advantage of his motive to close the deal with him.

This was how the world worked. If you wanted to obtain something, you had to pay the price that was equivalent to it, not to mention that it was just a lunch together, so Zhao Youlin really had got nothing to lose. Given her status today, no matter how brazen Ye Yan was, he would not dare to do anything out of line to her.

Zhao Youlin got the chief secretary's hint. After a moment of hesitation, she looked up at Ye Yan, who was waiting across the table for her decision. She smiled politely and said, "In that case, I will humbly accept your invitation then."

Ye Yan seemed to have expected such a result. The smile on his face was still gentle, but a trace of rare excitement in his eyes could vaguely be spotted. "That's good. It's getting late. Let's leave now. I already had someone book a table in Jing Ting Restaurant."

Upon hearing that, Zhao Youlin's eyes narrowed slightly, thinking that this guy had really came prepared. He had even found out that she liked Japanese cuisine and booked the table early. He had obviously predicted that she would compromise. He was a bloody wolf in sheep's clothing.

No matter how unhappy Zhao Youlin was, this matter was set, after all.

As the group of people walked out of the exclusive elevator, they did not realize they were really drawing people's attention.

"Hey, that one over there seems to be the new general manager, right? She's so pretty."

"That's right. She's so much better than that vixen in the development department who seems prim and pure, but is actually a slut."

"That's right. Just because that woman is moderately attractive and she's the relative of the president, she kept flirting with the men in the office. Yet she still treats everyone with a condescending attitude. I'm so sick of her already."

"The man next to the general manager is so handsome, especially when he smiles, he looks so gentle. Who is he? Could he be the general manager's boyfriend?"

"He looks like…Oh, I remember him. I think he's a client who came here today to talk about a contract. I heard that he's someone from the Ye family."

"Ye family? That famous Ye family in Sharnork? In that case, the handsome guy is a rich son of a wealthy family. He's the complete package!"

"Wipe off your drool. Didn't you see how gentle he was when he was talking and laughing with the general manager along the way? He might really be the general manager's boyfriend."

"Well, it is true that in the real world, the prince always ends up with the princess. Cinderella only exists in fairy tales. But honestly, the general manager and the man look quite perfect for each other. What a glamorous couple they make."

A group of girls gathered around to see Zhao Youlin leaving with others. They were so focused in their conversation that they did not notice in an inconspicuous corner not far away from them, a figure was watching Zhao Youlin and Ye Yan leaving the company as well in silence. His eyes were flashed with a trace of danger and blatant... lewdness.