Yan Shuyu, who thought they were only there for some porridge was a little stunned. She asked as soon as the servers had left. “You ordered that many dishes?”

Zhou Qinhe casually scooped out a bowl of porridge and put it in front of her as he smiled at her and said, ‘You don’t like it?”

“It’s too much,” said Yan Shuyu as she rubbed her tummy, feeling some pressure. “I’m just worried that I won’t be able to eat too much.”

“Then just have a little bit of everything,” said Zhou Qinhe gently. “Just think that you are here to keep me company.”

The boss seemed to have already said for her to keep him company earlier, but Yan Shuyu didn’t pay it much attention. Now that he had repeated himself, she reflexively asked him, “You haven’t had dinner yet?”

“I came looking for you as soon as I got out of my meeting.”

The boss said it ever so casually, but Yan Shuyu couldn't help but read a lot into it.

There was a very big difference between him suddenly being in the mood to get a late-night snack with her versus him looking for her to have dinner with him after working overtime. At least in Yan Shuyu’s mind, the latter was something that should only take place between a couple, or at the very minimum, two people who were fond of each other.

Yan Shuyu blushed a little. But then she glanced over quickly at her purse and was calmed again. She wasn’t here on a date with the boss today.

Yan Shuyu had some porridge calmly and ate a lot of the other dishes before she rubbed her stomach, which was now so full that it was about to explode. She took a look over at the boss sitting next to her. When she decided that he, too, was about done eating, she put down her chopsticks and cleared her throat. “Em… there’s something that I want to talk to you about.”

Zhou Qinhe wiped his mouth and gave her an elegant smile. “Oh? What is it?”

Yan Shuyu quietly pulled out the check that she had treasured. She thought long and hard but still couldn’t figure out how to broach this subject with the boss. Finally, she decided to just start from the beginning. There was no way he’d fight her over the check anyway. She could perfectly use the check to lead into what she wanted to say to him.

With the check in her hand, she concisely told him about the rich woman showing up at her work place, offered her certain conditions and that they had come to an understanding, etc. etc. The boss’s reaction was relatively normal. He was very calm after hearing her recount of the event except that he, too, just like Manager Yang, asked a relatively odd question, “Who was it that you’ve talked to?”

“Em… your stepmom?” replied Yan Shuyu. Seeing the odd look on the boss, she quickly explained herself. “That is just my guess. Maybe she’s an elder in your family? I asked her if she’s your mother and she said ‘more or less’.”

Zhou Qinhe raised his brows and suddenly reached out his hand to her. “Let me see it.”

Yan Shuyu was a bit nervous. She worried that the boss would fight her over her check. After all, the check that was given to her by the rich woman was a cash check. Manager Yang had told her that it has no specific payee. Anyone can cash the check at the bank.

Then again, it was only 2 million yuan that they were talking about. The rich woman didn’t even blink an eye when she wrote it out. The boss, as the head of a prestigious family, has no reason to fight her over the check. So, she finally handed the check over to him reluctantly after a slight hesitation.

Zhou Qinhe took a look at the check and gave a meaningful smile. “The Qin’s…”

Yan Shuyu studied his look and was somewhat curious. “Aren’t they relatives of yours?”

“Of course not?”

“Then who are they?” They were not even related to him, but they’d jump out and offer her a check? What nice people they were!!

Zhou Qinhe didn’t answer her question directly. He merely gave her a look and said, “Do you really want to know?”

For some inexplicable reason, Yan Shuyu felt that the boss’s look seemed somewhat alarming. She shook her head, intimidated. “No… not really.”*

Yet the boss felt that she was very curious and insisted on clarifying it for her. “Do you remember I went to your coffee shop once with a girl?”

Yeah, the very first time. And his date was a White, Rich, and Pretty. Yan Shuyu nodded without hesitation, “Of course I do.”

Zhou Qinhe immediately casted her glance. Most likely it wasn’t exactly a look of approval for her exceptional memory. Yan Shuyu felt that the boss’s look was very loaded, but she couldn’t quite figure out what was the message behind it. Then she heard him carried on and laid it out for her. “Qin is the surname of that girl’s mother.”

___

“For some inexplicable reason, Yan Shuyu felt that the boss’s look seemed somewhat alarming. She shook her head, intimidated. “No… not really.”

Yan Shuyu’s eyes widened. She suddenly felt that she got something. Zhou Qinhe slowly added another clue. “Miss Xie is also the cousin of Mr. Qin whom we ran into at this restaurant the other day.”

Oh. Em. Gee. It took Yan Shuyu quite a bit of time before she was able to sort out the complicated relationships between all these people. She couldn't help but lament, “Your circle of rich people is so messy.”

Zhou Qinhe, who had been very calm the entire time, twitched his lips suddenly. “What did you just say?”

“No, nothing. I am just rambling.” Yan Shuyu shook her head quickly. Looking at the check in the boss’s hand, she asked cautiously, “Now that we have it all sorted out, em… can I please have it back?”

“Have it back?” asked Zhou Qinhe with a nonchalant look. “Are you telling me that you intend to carry out your promises?”

As much as Yan Shuyu was intimidated by him, the thought of the 2 million yuan that was almost hers finally helped her make up her mind. She gritted her teeth and said, “But she was so sincere. It’d be wrong not to ….”

Before she was even done talking, Zhou Qinhe suddenly got up and walked behind her. He placed his hands onto her chair and leaned into her.

Yan Shuyu felt a strong pressure coming at her before she heard the boss’s emotionless words next to her ear, “Then why were you looking for me?”

“To…” Before she could finish saying “give you a heads up”, Yan Shuyu noticed that the boss’s face was leaning in closer and closer to her. Feeling the threat coming from him all of a sudden, she quickly changed her tune. “To discuss with you about it!”

Her choice turned out to be the right decision. As soon as she finished saying that, the pressure that was coming down on her from above was lifted all of a sudden. She could see lights in front of her again.

The boss went back to his seat and toyed with the check in his hand. Chuckling, he said, “If that’s the case, then my opinion is to…”

Yan Shuyu held her breath nervously. That’s when she heard the boss say in a relaxed tone, “Give it back.”

Yan Shuyu saw nothing but darkness in front of her all of a sudden.

Yan Shuyu had pictured many scenarios before this meeting. She thought that Zhou Qinhe might be infuriated; he might be disgruntled; or, the most likely scenario, finally saw through how much of a gold digger she truly was and walked out on her. The only scenario that she had never pictured was him telling her to return the check without blinking.

And now he was asking her to return a check for 2 million yuan? He couldn’t do that to her. Summoning up all of her courage, she asked, “What if I do not accept your suggestion?”

Even so, Zhou Qinhe showed no intention in handing the check back over to her. He enunciated one word at a time. “Then get ready to return this to her in person.”

In person? Yan Shuyu recalled how haughty the rich woman was when she discussed the deal with her. If she was to tell her in person that she was returning the check and calling off the deal, she worried that the angry rich woman just might tear her apart on the spot.

Yan Shuyu shuddered from fear and shook her head reflexively.

Zhou Qinhe took her head shaking as her response, put away the check, and stood up. “Let’s go.”

Even though Boss Zhou didn’t say anything and his expression didn’t change much, it was obvious from his motions that Yan Shuyu had finally successfully angered him. Zhou Qinhe, who had always been the perfect gentleman, didn’t even ask Yan Shuyu if she was done eating before he started walking away briskly.

Yan Shuyu, like a wife who had been wronged, had no choice but to follow behind him in small steps, clutching onto her purse and not daring to say another word.

It wasn’t Yan Shuyu’s plan to be so docile – wouldn’t it be safer and nicer if the boss had stormed off and she could take the subway home by herself?

Unfortunately, she had barely stalled for a few seconds before she looked up and saw the boss standing by the door looking at her with a let-me-quietly-watch-and-see-what-other-stunts-are-you-going-to-pull look. Startled, Yan Shuyu quickly caught up to the boss and dared not try anything else.

Just like that, Yan Shuyu was sitting inside of the boss’s car in no time.

On their way out, Yan Shuyu comforted herself. The boss was still pretty efficient even when he was mad. He didn’t scold anyone but just walked straight ahead quickly. At this rate, the time it would take to get home would be shortened by half. That was so amazing!

Once they got inside the car, however, Yan Shuyu realized that her happiness came too prematurely. All of a sudden, the boss was no longer in a hurry to take off. He didn’t start the car but just sat there silently. Even though Yan Shuyu felt that at a moment like this, the less she talked the better, after fiddling with her phone for a few minutes, she finally couldn't help but start talking. “Boss… Boss Zhou. Aren’t we heading out?”

Zhou Qinhe turned and gave her a quick glance before he said in a nonchalant tone, “You finally want to talk?”

His tone sounded like a woman who was wrong. Yan Shuyu quickly squeezed that idea out of her mind as soon as it was formed. But she was, nevertheless, baffled by his question. Exactly what did he mean by “you finally want to talk”? He was remaining silent too, okay?

Yan Shuyu was still defending herself in her mind when she heard the boss’s voice again. “Aren’t you going to ask me why I want to return the check?”

“That…” Did she really need to ask that? One way or another, she was losing out on the 2 million yuan, no? That was what Yan Shuyu, who was still feeling very disgruntled, really wanted to say. But as soon as she looked up and met the boss’s gaze, she wisely swallowed all the words in her mouth. The check was gone already. Then she couldn’t afford to also completely pissed off the boss. She was going to start working at the musical institution next month, and her and her son’s happy days relied on Daddy Customer – as much as little male lead was the walking RMB. His father was the one footing the bill in the back.

Yan Shuyu, who was extremely flexible in her mannerism, played along with the boss, “That’s right. Why?”

“Take a guess.”

Yan Shuyu, “……”

She now seriously felt that the boss was just toying with her. But then Boss Zhou asked again, “You don’t have an answer?”

Zhou Qinhe toyed with the car key in his hand and said casually, “Then take your time. We are in no rush here.”

Yan Shuyu looked at the boss by her side. It was still that gentle and graceful face but she suddenly got his meaning. The fact that the boss was toying with the car key as he spoke to her was a threat. He was telling her that she was not getting home tonight unless she could answer his question.

Except she was used to being threatened her entire life.

His threat only made her annoyed. She sneered and stubbornly turned her head away from the boss. She reached out to open the car door. If the boss didn’t want to drive, then she could just go take the subway. She didn’t necessarily need him to take her home.

Nevertheless, the very stubborn Yan Shuyu, try as she might, was not able to open the car door.

Behind her, Zhou Qinhe said in a casual tone, “Pardon me. I think I just locked the doors.”

Then unlock it! Yan Shuyu really wanted to shout those words at the boss. However, at this very moment in time, there were more uncertainties in her mind – so the boss didn’t give her a hard time even though he was angry at her at the restaurant wasn’t because he didn’t want to. It was just that he figured it’d be easy for her to get away from the restaurant. In order to prevent that from happening, the boss decided to lock her in the car first before he had it out with her.

What a pity that she had gotten inside of the car with the boss so cooperatively. The possibility of this happening had never occurred to her at all. That was the textbook case of “walking right into it”.

That very moment, Yan Shuyu really wanted to cry over her own stupidity. Leaning up against the window and mulling over her own mistake for a while, she started wondering about the possibility of having a discussion with the boss to let her go home. But, as soon as she turned her head, she noticed that the boss who was sitting in the driver’s seat, was leaning over her.

There was very limited room inside the car, and Zhou Qinhe was tall and big. He had only leaned in a little bit when Yan Shuyu felt a tremendous pressure coming down at her. Every last bit of confidence within her disappeared immediately. Having no principles whatsoever, she said, “Boss Zhou, I think I have an idea about your question now!”

“Oh? Do share,” said Zhou Qinhe nonchalantly.