The work before the holiday was always extra busy, and Yu Xi was no exception.

These past few days, she had been overwhelmed with heavy translation work. On Saturday, there was also an exhibition, and she, Xu Weiwei, and Liu Pingping were all selected to attend.

On the day of departure, they took the company’s car.

However, due to limited seats, by the time they arrived, all the spots were taken.

“Why don’t you squeeze in with Meng Xia and the others?” Xu Weiwei suggested hesitantly, sticking her head out from the half-open car door.

After speaking, her face turned a bit awkward.

Yu Xi also felt awkward.

Meng Xia was a senior executive at the company, and squeezing into the car with those leaders would be quite inappropriate for her.

She hesitated when a van drove up next to them.

The back door of the van opened, and Yu Xi looked up to see Xiao Lin’s indifferent face. “Get in, there’s an extra spot here,” he said.

She hesitated but didn’t move.

The situation that day had been unpleasant.

She wasn’t foolish. She had figured out what Xiao Lin meant when he left. He had implied that she was living in such a big house only because she had found a rich man to rely on.

At first, she was furious, but before she had a chance to say anything, he had left, leaving her feeling frustrated with no way to vent.

She had thought about messaging him to ask a few things, but then realized they weren’t close, so why should she explain herself?

Even if she did explain, it didn’t matter if he believed her or not. There was no need to, and it would only make her seem guilty.

Moreover, she wasn’t good at communicating with people she wasn’t familiar with.

Someone in the backseat urged, “What are you stalling for?”

Yu Xi had no choice but to lower her head and climb into the van.

Xiao Lin instinctively offered her his hand, but the moment she reached for it, she paused. She didn’t even glance at him, instead climbing in by grabbing the side of the door. She deliberately avoided him, sitting next to a female leader.

Xiao Lin: “…”

His brows furrowed slightly, feeling unsure if it was disappointment or something else, but it left him feeling uneasy and strangely defeated.

In fact, he regretted his actions that day, especially after seeing Shen Shu.

A mature man like Shen Shu could easily deceive a young girl. Not to mention, even without deception, there were plenty of young girls eager to chase after him.

Yu Xi, being introverted and naïve, was so easy to trust others…

Xiao Lin felt a heavy weight in his chest and a deep disdain for Shen Shu.

He had met Shen Shu a few times, always through his older brother. He remembered him as someone calm and aloof, and often heard positive comments about him from the older generation, describing him as dependable and with good character.

Xiao Lin scoffed at this.

He thought to himself: Knowing someone’s face but not their heart, he should let them see Shen Shu’s true nature.

Throughout the ride, Yu Xi deliberately kept her distance from him.

The backseat was spacious, and with her small build, it wasn’t overly obvious.

But Xiao Lin felt like something was blocking him, suffocating him. He tried a few times to say something to her but kept holding back.

He simply couldn’t get over his pride.

Upon arriving at the venue, Yu Xi again avoided Xiao Lin, keeping her distance.

She wasn’t the type to force herself into someone’s space. If someone didn’t want her around, why should she hang around them?

Any shred of goodwill she had for him had long been worn down.

He was still arrogant, still had the temper of a young master, always misinterpreting things and looking down on others.

“I wonder when this will end? I’m starving,” Xu Weiwei muttered quietly, pulling at Yu Xi’s sleeve.

Yu Xi sighed and let her face fall.

Liu Pingping, on Yu Xi’s other side said, “Right, can’t they at least let us eat first? I heard the partner is coming, no wonder they’re dragging this out. They’re really pushing us. We’re translators, not standing props…”

Seeing a group of people walking toward them, she immediately stopped talking and stood straight.

Yu Xi was surprised and followed her gaze, unexpectedly spotting Shen Shu surrounded by several well-dressed men.

Though he was wearing a simple, standard suit, the unassuming color of it didn’t hide his presence.

Tall, with long legs, broad shoulders, and a narrow waist, his smile was as charming as a spring breeze. He stood out in the crowd like a crane among chickens.

Yu Xi was surprised to see him here, but upon seeing him, her mood lightened.

Shen Shu seemed to feel something and looked toward them.

Their eyes met from a distance, and he gave her a small smile.

There were other colleagues around, so Yu Xi quickly averted her gaze.

“Ahhh, is he smiling at me? Shen Shu’s smile is so handsome!” Xu Weiwei said, grabbing Yu Xi’s arm.

Liu Pingping snorted, “Stop being delusional, he was clearly looking at me!”

Xu Weiwei retorted, “Shut up, it was me!”

Yu Xi couldn’t help but smile, and her mood lightened even more.

But after a while, she couldn’t smile anymore. She was truly hungry, with a dull, burning pain in her stomach.

She frowned slightly, bent down, and pressed her hand to her stomach, rubbing it gently.

She really felt like she was about to starve.

At that moment, Meng Xia walked over with a group of staff, smiling as she said, “The sponsor provided lunch, come eat. You’re lucky this time. Eat first and then get back to work.”

Yu Xi received her lunch box, but when she opened it, she froze.

Her portion had more food than anyone else’s. She glanced at Liu Pingping’s lunch box, which also had vegetables and meat, but the portions weren’t the same.

As she continued eating, she found several small pieces of ribs at the bottom of her box.

After finishing, she noticed a small note pressed under the lid.

She set down her lunch, carefully unfolded the note.

It was familiar handwriting, and she recognized who it was from:

[Let me guess, you’re the type to only notice this note after finishing your meal? How’s the food? You’re too thin, eat more! ^-^]

Yu Xi: “…”

Shen Shu actually sent her a message with an emoji?

She started to doubt whether this was really written by him, but his handwriting wasn’t easy to imitate.

It seemed like she had discovered an unknown side of him.

Yu Xi squeezed the note in her palm repeatedly, and couldn’t help but smile wider at the corners of her lips.

This translation event had Meng Xia and the others as the main stars, and she was just a backup, spending a few hours accompanying them before it finally ended.

However, she still had to stay behind and clean up the venue’s trash with Liu Pingping and the others.

Gradually, the staff and guests in the venue began to leave, and only a few of them remained.

“We’re worse than janitors,” Liu Pingping sighed. “They get paid more than we do, and here we are, cleaning up trash, exhausted like dogs. We’ll probably get scolded when we get back.”

Yu Xi gave her a “Well, that’s what happens when you’re at the bottom of the company” look.

At that moment, someone stopped at the half-open door and knocked lightly on the doorframe. “Sorry to interrupt, I’m looking for someone.”

The closest person to the door was Xu Weiwei, who froze and looked up.

Shen Shu was still wearing the same elegant gray suit as before. His tall figure and impressive presence were clear, and the simple action of knocking on the door exuded effortless charm.

For a moment, Xu Weiwei couldn’t find her voice.

She had seen the boss of Zhongheng before, but only from a distance. People like her were not supposed to interact with him.

Seeing him being stared at so intently, Shen Shu couldn’t help but laugh. “What’s wrong? Do I have something on my face?”

Xu Weiwei snapped back to reality, hurriedly saying, “…Do you need something?”

Then she remembered that he had said he was looking for someone, so she quickly changed her question. “Who are you looking for?”

Shen Shu’s gaze passed over her, scanning the venue, quickly locking onto his target. He smiled politely at Xu Weiwei and walked past her.

In the surprised eyes of Xu Weiwei and Liu Pingping, he slowly stopped in front of Yu Xi.

Yu Xi stood up straight, seemingly surprised that he was here.

“Still not off work?” Shen Shu naturally took the bag from her hands.

Yu Xi nodded, then shook her head and gestured to him: [I’m done, just need to finish cleaning up and I’ll leave.]

“I’ll help you,” he said, rolling up his sleeves and bending down to join her in cleaning up the scattered papers and trash.

Not only was Yu Xi stunned, but Xu Weiwei and Liu Pingping were also in shock, unable to process what they were witnessing.

“By the way, I forgot to introduce myself,” he suddenly seemed to remember, turning back to address the two of them. “I’m Yu Xi’s husband, Shen Shu. Please take care of me.”

It felt as though lightning had struck them, leaving them frozen in place.

This sentence dropped like a bombshell.

It was too surreal…

Yu Xi? Shen Shu?

One was a low-level employee at a regular translation company, while the other was the big boss of a top-tier venture capital firm, a prominent figure in the Beijing business circle.

How could these two possibly be together?

An absurd feeling washed over them both.

Yu Xi felt awkward under their gazes, but before she could say anything, Shen Shu had already pulled her away.

[What are you doing here?] Yu Xi asked, looking at him weakly.

“Don’t you welcome me?” Shen Shu raised an eyebrow.

[No, it’s just a bit sudden. My coworkers saw you.]

“Am I embarrassing to you?”

[Of course not, it’s just…] She gestured, though it was hard to express her feelings through gestures.

“Don’t overthink it. So what if they know? Does it affect your work?”

[Not really.]

“Then it’s fine. Don’t think too much. The New Year is coming up, and I happen to be free today. Let’s go to the supermarket.” He had noticed long ago that she loved shopping.

But with her small salary, she was always very frugal when shopping. For instance, when buying toothpaste, she would compare several brands to pick the cheapest one.

He thought this carefulness of hers was very cute.

Sometimes, when he was too tired from work, he couldn’t help but stop what he was doing and watch her, seeing her lost in thought over trivial matters, trying to figure out the best way to solve them.

Watching her like that, he would smile without realizing it.

He liked being with Yu Xi, for no particular reason.

Going to the supermarket with her, even just for a casual stroll, was very meaningful to him, and it even made him feel happier than closing a major deal.

As they reached the door, Yu Xi suddenly pulled her hand away from his. [I almost forgot, Chuyi asked me to buy some of the local colored tape for her. Wait for me.]

She immediately ran toward a shop nearby.

“Slow down, slow down—” Shen Shu’s voice was low, with a touch of reproach and worry, more than anything else, a sense of helplessness.

Seeing her skip into the little shop and wander aimlessly among the shelves, he couldn’t help but laugh and shake his head.

“Does Mr. Shen really like Miss Yu?” Wei Ling asked, walking over and smiling at him.

Shen Shu smiled without answering. After a moment, he suddenly asked him, “Have you ever loved anyone?”

Wei Ling frowned, not quite understanding the question.

He came from a poor family, his parents divorced when he was young, and he even dropped out of school for a time. It was Shen Shu who helped him finish his university education and rise to success. He was capable, visionary, and ambitious, but lacked true affection.

Shen Shu smiled and looked up at the faint orange light of the setting sun, saying, “If you’ve had everything like I have, grown up immersed in luxury, spent the first half of your life battling in business, there’s nothing left to look forward to. You’d long for simple, everyday warmth, just like I do.”