"Boss, the photos are all taken care of." A charming voice rang out in the luxurious hotel in the capital.
"Very good."
"How will you reward me? I'm waiting for you at Haojing." The sweet voice was seductive, completely dissatisfied with the coldness on the other end of the phone.
"I'm afraid you won't be able to leave Haojing for at least three days."
"You're so mean!" The soft, seductive voice scoffed, but was quite pleased with his husky "threat."
…
Mu Yichuan embraced Xin Yu, even he was surprised that his anger had been extinguished so completely by Xin Yu.
Just now he wanted to punish her severely, but now he only wanted to love her fiercely, wanting to give her the whole world.
But the words that came out were still cold and sharp, "You think you can get away with this?"
Punishment?
Xin Yu suddenly remembered what happened yesterday and quickly straightened up to explain, "That…that was Cheng Yao who called me and asked me to go."
Besides, didn't he forgive her yesterday? "From now on, you'll have to spend all your time with me except when you're at school." Mu Yichuan commanded, lowering his head, gently stroking Xin Yu's clear, dark eyes. They were so captivating; he didn't want her to be tainted by any darkness.
Huh?
"I...I still have an internship! I also have to teach traditional Chinese painting in Qiuze... umm." Xin Yu glared. Was this man not letting her have a proper conversation? He kissed her all the time; who could stand it?!
After kissing for a long time, just when Xin Yu almost thought she was doomed, Mu Yichuan actually released her, carried her to the desk, and looked at her painting.
She was indeed very talented...
"What did you paint?" he asked deliberately, his thick eyebrows slightly furrowing.
"Oh, Baimu Mountain!" Xin Yu feigned nonchalance. "I heard it's a major scenic spot in the capital, but I haven't experienced it myself yet."
"You painted it so well without experiencing it yourself?" He gave Xin Yu a cold glare. She dared to lie! "I...I really am quite good at painting! My traditional Chinese painting skills have been with me for over ten years!" Xin Yu chuckled, determined not to reopen old wounds.
Besides, he was just grieving yesterday on the anniversary of his death...
Seeing her evasive gaze, Mu Yichuan was displeased. "I wasn't planning on punishing you."
Xin Yu pretended to listen respectfully, secretly glancing at him a few times. Seeing that his words weren't a joke, he was genuinely angry. Did he know her schedule for today?
No way, Mu Jian wasn't with her today.
It seems he's truly in a bad mood. She should have known better than to impulsively paint this...
"I...I'm not very well-educated, and I was just boasting in front of Mr. Jiu," Xin Yu scratched her head. "This painting isn't good, throw it away."
She was about to put it away when Mu Yichuan's gaze froze her. "Everything in this study is mine."
In his eyes, the painting was almost flawless except for the missing tombstone. A tombstone?! Mu Yichuan gave her a cold, sharp glance. What…what had Nan Yu said to her?
Did she think he and Qiu Feng were…?
"You're my first…and you're running away again?!" Before she could finish her sentence, Xin Yu grabbed her bag and tried to run!
This brat…
With a clatter, Mu Yichuan accidentally ripped open Xin Yu's schoolbag—
Condoms, birth control pills, masks, books—almost everything fell out.
"You've got some nerve?"
"Ah!" Xin Yu gasped, quickly stuffing everything back into her bag, her face flushed red as she shoved the condom at Mu Yichuan. "This…this is for you."
She didn't want him to misunderstand anything, and she certainly didn't want to take any more of those pills.
"Who gave you permission to buy this kind of thing!" He lowered his voice, his tone chilling.
"I…we didn't use protection last night…so I bought some pills this morning. I'd already embarrassed myself once, so I just bought some too." Xin Yu said quickly, steeling herself.
"Embarrassing? Buying medicine? You took medicine?" Mu Yichuan pulled Xin Yu up abruptly. This woman was truly formidable; she had successfully reignited all his pent-up anger.
His domineering, emperor-like demeanor sent a chill down Xin Yu's spine, causing her to shrink back, afraid to nod.
While she wouldn't admit it, Mu Yichuan noticed that one pill was missing from the pack of pills…
"You belong entirely to me, don't you know that?!" How dare he do something so self-destructive!
Xin Yu's lips twitched. He was truly shameless; was she an object?!
"What? You have a problem with that?"
Xin Yu shook her head indifferently, inwardly scoffing. Considering his bad mood, she decided not to argue today! "I think you should review our agreement."
"I promise I'll never buy it again, and I won't eat it again!" Xin Yu raised her hand in a huff, muttering under her breath, "Who wants to eat that kind of stuff?"
Mu Yichuan grabbed Xin Yu's waist, the thought of her eating that stuff making him want to flip her over and make her vomit!
*Knock knock knock.*
"Mr. Ninth, Commander Nan called." Mu Jian stood outside the door, his eyes lowered, surprised that Xin Yu was completely unharmed!
And Mr. Ninth had even forgotten about Commander Nan because of her!
Watching Mu Yichuan's retreating figure, Xin Yu smiled brightly. She could finally get a good night's sleep tonight…
The next day, she was planning to return the things to the boy with acne, but Xin Yu realized she had to work part-time at Ya Culture. A little annoyed, she immediately grabbed her friend Cheng Yuan and explained what happened at the hospital that day.
Cheng Yuan reached out her chubby hand and tapped Xin Yu's head. "You! How did you become such a nagging little rascal!"
Xin Yu pouted coquettishly, blinking her beautiful eyes, making Cheng Yuan plead for mercy. "Please, my dear Xin Yu! Keep your image together. Henhen has already finished setting up the website framework."
Upon hearing this, Xin Yu immediately regained her composure. She'd been so busy these past few days that she'd forgotten to give Liu Hen her designs. "You saw her? Did she contact you?"
Cheng Yuan nodded. "I was worried you might have something going on with Mu Yichuan, so I didn't let her contact you directly."
Xin Yu remained silent, pondering that she'd need to dedicate time to running her own business. "Yeah, it's okay. I'll contact Liu Hen later. Let's get together tonight."
"Okay."
"Xin Yu, come here for a moment." Just as the two finished their discussion, Zhang Hong appeared in the break room.
Nodding to her friend, Xin Yu went to Zhang Hong's office. Although she didn't know how Mu Yichuan had explained the last dinner, thankfully Zhang Hong didn't dwell on it.
"Xin Yu, could you deliver something to Imperial View Pavilion 999 for me at noon?"
Imperial View Pavilion? Xin Yu frowned slightly.
What kind of place was that? She'd only heard of the Imperial View Hotel.
Seeing her confusion, Zhang Hong handed her a large, ornately packaged square box. "Don't worry, it's the Imperial View Hotel's restaurant. I can't leave at noon, so I wanted to ask you for a favor. You won't object, will you?"
The restaurant…
Xin Yu nodded, took the box, tidied herself up a bit, and headed towards Imperial View Pavilion. So she had no idea that Zhang Hong was letting out a deep sigh of relief in her office.
"If you dare stand me up again, I'll disown you!" she yelled fiercely into the phone. "This time, I shamelessly grabbed a colleague to take the blame..."
Xin Yu, carrying a large box, walked with a slight limp.
"Need any help?" a steady voice sounded behind her. Just as Xin Yu was about to turn around and say no, her phone rang. She carefully put the box down and casually waved behind her. "Hello, Henhen."
"Ayu!" Liu Hen's voice was unusually excited. "I have good news for you. I'm going to meet someone at the Imperial View Pavilion later."
"You're coming to the Imperial View Pavilion too?" Xin Yu was quite surprised, turning to look at the entrance. "Who are you meeting?"
"My brother introduced us to a specialty goods merchant from Country S. I think it might be a great help to our business."
"Really?" Xin Yu's voice rose several octaves with joy. "Your brother is so kind!"
Liu Hen on the other end of the line scratched his head, wanting to say a good word for his brother, but afraid he'd be clumsy and make things worse, just like when he helped Cheng Yuan years ago.
"Henhen, I'll meet you later. I'm at the Imperial View Pavilion now."
"Really?" Liu Hen had meant this when she called, but Xin Yu brought it up herself. "That's great! We'll definitely succeed!"
After hanging up, Xin Yu's delicate face lit up with excitement and a bright smile. With a slight smile, she carried the box towards 999, knocked on the door, and entered. She was completely stunned.
"T-Teacher, what are you doing here?" Her mentor was actually here?
"Xin Yu?" Donghua was also surprised. "You? You're not that blind date, are you?"
Blind date?!
Xin Yu's eyes widened, her pupils contracted. Her mentor was on a blind date?!
Could it be with Zhang Hong? Impossible, they're from different generations!
"I-I'm not! Someone asked me to deliver this gift." Xin Yu put down the box, waved her hands hurriedly, and explained anxiously.
"I see." Donghua breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't want to send his prized student away so soon; he had to help her choose carefully.
"Teacher, then...then I'll be going!" No matter who it was, Xinyu didn't want to stay a moment longer.
Donghua glanced at his watch and started chatting casually, "How's class going lately? After military training next month, I'll introduce you to an internship related to your thesis."
Although she understood her professor's control over time, Xinyu still felt uneasy, her heart burning with anxiety. She briefly explained her recent situation and her eyes drifted towards the door.
"This girl!" Donghua chuckled, "Would your professor sell you out? Even if that person came and liked you, I wouldn't agree."
Xinyu scratched her head, grinning foolishly, and after a few flattering remarks, quickly left the private room.
But she was extremely suspicious. Was Zhang Hong doing this on purpose? Was she sending her on a blind date?
Thump! Ouch—
Xin Yu, walking with her head down, bumped into someone. How much muscle must that person have? Her head throbbed with pain. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she said hastily without even looking up.
"It's alright," a steady voice sounded again.
It was…the person who offered help in the lobby earlier?
Xin Yu looked up, but the person had already walked past, leaving only a cold, hard back view.
"Ayu!" Liu Hen, wearing a black knee-length skirt, ran towards Xin Yu, her usually taciturn demeanor now showing a hint of liveliness. "Come quick, I saw that person coming!"