"Yes, I have a dinner engagement," Ye Ziyu said, pulling out a chair and slumping into it, exhausted. Her toes ached from being squeezed into her heels for most of the day.
A dinner engagement?
Di Mingjue thought he'd misheard.
"What did you just say?"
"I have a dinner engagement, so I can't eat with you at noon."
"No."
Di Mingjue stood up from the sofa, his voice filled with agitation.
Shen Lin, carrying a cup of water, almost dropped it when Di Mingjue roared.
Steadying the cup, Shen Lin walked curiously toward Di Mingjue.
"Where are you now? I'll come find you," Di Mingjue said, tearing off the cooling patch on his head.
One dinner engagement had nearly led to disaster. If there was another, he wouldn't let Ye Ziyu take any risks, even if it seemed impossible.
Hearing footsteps on the other end of the line, Ye Ziyu stood up from her chair anxiously. "I'm with my elder brother, nothing will happen."
If Di Mingjue knew she was dining with Gu Xiuyu, he'd probably sprout wings and fly over.
"I won't feel at ease no matter who you're with," Di Mingjue's heart had been uneasy since he heard the words "dinner engagement."
Thinking of this, Ye Ziyu understood.
He was still bothered by the last incident.
Ye Ziyu soothed him, "Don't worry, it's just a simple meal with collaborators, at the restaurant downstairs from the company."
"My phone is on twenty-four hours. Call me anytime if something happens," Di Mingjue instructed.
Di Jue Group was only a five-minute drive from Ye's. If she sensed danger, she could send him a message, and he would be there.
"Okay, I'll contact you the moment there's any danger. I've memorized that phrase," Ye Ziyu responded playfully, changing her serious tone.
"If you don't remember, I'll know how to punish you!" Di Mingjue sat back on the sofa with a sense of relief.
The tense atmosphere suddenly turned intimate. Shen Lin, standing by the table, felt inexplicably cold. He looked down at his arms, covered in goosebumps with his hair standing on end.
After hanging up, Di Mingjue's smile remained on his lips.
"President Di, it's time for your medicine," Shen Lin reminded him.
After sneezing that morning, Di Mingjue had felt a bit dizzy. He was worried about Ye Ziyu coming to the company alone and had followed her, enduring his discomfort.
Upon arriving at the office, Shen Lin saw his pale complexion and got a thermometer to check his temperature. Only then did he realize Di Mingjue had a fever.
Taking the cup of water, Di Mingjue popped five pills into his mouth. With a gulp of water, the medicine went down.
A few minutes after taking the medicine, Di Mingjue felt his head swim. The cold medicine contained sleeping pills, and their effect made his body feel weak and extremely drowsy.
Shen Lin tidied the sofa meticulously. "President Di, would you like to rest for a while?"
If he slept, he wouldn't be able to see Ye Ziyu's messages.
Di Mingjue refused Shen Lin's suggestion and stood up from his chair, pacing back and forth in the open space of the office.
"President Di, you're still running a fever. You shouldn't overexert yourself," Shen Lin said with a motherly concern.
"Go and attend to your work. You don't need to stay here and watch over me." Di Mingjue dismissed him.
Shen Lin's incessant chatter was giving him a headache.
Shen Lin kept looking back, his face full of worry.
Every three minutes, he would pick up his phone to check it, afraid of any network delays that might prevent him from receiving Ye Ziyu's messages promptly.
...
Restaurant.
Ye Shaoting had booked a highly popular French restaurant downstairs from Ye's.
"Mr. Gu, please take a look and see what you'd like to eat."
The menu was placed before Gu Xiuyu. He then passed it to Ye Ziyu.
Ye Ziyu's expression stiffened, thinking he was about to say something awkward.
"Ladies first," Gu Xiuyu said.
"Mr. Gu is indeed a gentleman," Ye Shaoting said with a smile.
It wasn't about being a gentleman; he was simply using it as an excuse to show concern for Ye Ziyu.