Chapter 9

The waiter led the three of them into a private room.

The decor in the private room was even more luxurious than the lobby.

A large wooden round table stood in the center of the room, with a transparent glass lazy Susan that was spotless. On top of it, there was a delicate and dewy white jasmine bouquet.

To the right, there was a screen with a wooden frame, exuding an antique charm. Further in, there was even a simulated landscape with flowing water, the gentle sound of the stream filling the air, and sparkling light subtly reflected on the water.

It almost screamed “expensive.”

Chi Xiting glanced at it briefly and then looked away.

Compared to the environment, he was more concerned about the food.

Shen Zhizhe was a diamond member of Qingtingxuan, and when the restaurant manager heard that Shen Zhizhe had arrived, he personally came over to greet him, chatting with him warmly and mentioning that the emperor crab of the day was of exceptional quality.

Shen Zhizhe, being experienced in socializing, made the manager laugh with delight, insisting that the manager send him a special dish.

—-

After the pleasantries, the manager left with a smile, signaling the waiter to serve them well.

The waiter nodded repeatedly and, after seeing off the manager, immediately brought tea and appetizers. After scanning the room, his gaze shifted between Chu Yu and Shen Zhizhe, uncertain about who would be placing the order.

Shen Zhizhe glanced at the waiter and smiled. “Can I have the menu?”

The waiter visibly sighed in relief, handing over the menu and standing aside, introducing the restaurant’s signature dishes with a smile.

Chu Yu, sitting nearby, calmly drank his tea, seemingly uninterested in what Shen Zhizhe would order.

Chi Xiting took a quick glance at Chu Yu, then silently took a sip of his tea. His eyes lit up, and he looked down at his cup.

He wasn’t an expert on tea and didn’t know exactly what it was, but judging by his taste, this tea was likely not cheap.

It had a pleasant fragrance, refreshing and soothing.

Chi Xiting sipped the tea until the bottom of the cup was visible.

Chu Yu glanced at him from the side, his gaze lingering on Chi Xiting’s teacup for a moment.

Noticing Chu Yu’s gaze, Chi Xiting blinked in slight embarrassment, just as Chu Yu leaned forward and reached for the teapot.

Chi Xiting froze; his eyes fixated on Chu Yu’s hand.

Chu Yu’s hand was beautiful, with long fingers and distinct joints. His wrist had a strong bone structure, and the veins on the back of his hand slightly bulged as he grasped the teapot, looking quite alluring.

Before Chi Xiting could avert his gaze, Chu Yu moved closer, holding the teapot and gently refilling Chi Xiting’s cup.

Chi Xiting’s eyes instinctively followed Chu Yu’s movements, then lowered to his cup, smiling at Chu Yu. “Thank you, Mr. Chu.”

Chi Xiting was very focused when looking at someone. His eyes, bright and beautiful, slightly curved, and the bags under his eyes became more prominent, as if fragments of light were dancing in his clear gaze, effortlessly causing anyone to lose their focus.

Chu Yu’s hand tightened slightly around the teapot, but he remained silent and lowered his gaze to top up his own cup.

On the other side, Shen Zhi She was still ordering dishes.

“Crispy pigeon, chicken head mushrooms and cordyceps with leek, and for cold dishes, I’ll have sea jellyfish and crispy roasted pork.” Shen Zhizhe quickly placed his order, flipping through just a few pages before finishing.

“Dear Mr. Chu, would you like to add anything?” Shen Zhizhe pushed the menu toward Chu Yu.

Chu Yu casually asked, “How many have you ordered?”

Shen Zhizhe smiled shyly. “Eight.”

Chi Xiting, who had been quietly enjoying his blueberries, was startled and looked up.

Three people ordering eight dishes?

Chu Yu had no noticeable reaction, but his thin, rosy lips curved up meaningfully. Before he could speak, Shen Zhi She immediately added, “If we can’t finish, I’ll take it with me!”

“Two rich shrimp, please.” Chu Yu lowered his gaze to the menu, his fingers lightly tapping on one of the pages.

Chu Yu was an observant person.

He could easily tell that Chi Xiting hadn’t originally wanted to dine with them, but after Shen Zhizhe mentioned the rich shrimp, Chi Xiting’s expression softened.

Chi Xiting paused while eating the blueberries, instinctively glancing at Chu Yu.

Two?

Chi Xiting quickly looked away, a visible joy spreading across his face.

Wow.

That’s great.

When he glanced at the menu earlier, he had noticed the portion sizes.

—

The dishes at this restaurant were usually not very big, and the rich shrimp would likely have the meat removed, leaving very little to eat. If it were just one, Chi Xiting would have been too shy to eat it.

This meal was definitely worth it.

Hmm.

Chu Yu was thoughtful.

A good leader.

Chi Xiting unconsciously finished the blueberries the waiter brought and looked at his empty plate. He felt a bit guilty for a moment and then glanced over at Chu Yu and Shen Zhizhe, relieved to see they were engaged in conversation and not paying attention to him.

This was great.

As long as they treated him like air.

They kept talking, and he just kept eating.

Chi Xiting’s gaze shifted to another small dish.

It was almond pastries.

Chi Xiting scratched his chin, carefully glancing at his two bosses, before reaching for the small appetizers in the middle of the table.

“The project in C city has encountered a small issue.” Shen Zhizhe, when discussing business, completely dropped his casual attitude, his expression turning serious and clear. “Didn’t I give you the project proposal before I left?”

Chu Yu sipped his tea slowly, his eyes half-closed behind his glasses, not looking at Shen Zhizhe. “Mm.”

Chu Yu put down his cup and, as he raised his gaze, noticed Chi Xiting stealthily reaching for the almond pastries.

Perhaps the plate of almond pastries was too far away, and Chi Xiting had reached for it several times but couldn’t quite reach. Not wanting to draw attention, he leaned forward as much as he could, extending his finger carefully to hook the edge of the plate, slowly inching it toward him.

Chu Yu: “…”

—–

On the other side, Shen Zhizhe took a sip of tea, and when he looked up, he noticed Chi Xiting, who was quietly eating snacks, staying silent and behaving obediently.

“Are you hungry?” Shen Zhizhe asked.

Perhaps it was because Chu Yu had mentioned that Chi Xiting was an intern in his department earlier, Shen Zhizhe felt a bit of a “familiar” closeness towards Chi Xiting.

Earlier, he had been talking with Chu Yu about work and hadn’t paid attention to Chi Xiting. Now, he felt a bit neglectful.

Seeing both Chu Yu and Shen Zhizhe is looking over, Chi Xiting immediately fell silent. Holding a piece of almond crisp in his mouth, he obediently looked back at them, his round eyes filled with innocence and confusion.

What’s going on?

Weren’t they talking just fine?

Why are they suddenly looking at him?

“I’m fine.” Chi Xiting swallowed the almond crisp in his mouth, and after a moment of thinking, he continued, “This biscuit is really good.”

Chu Yu glanced at the small dish on the table with the corner of his eye.

A small dish of almond crisps was almost finished, with only a few lefts.

Shen Zhizhe chuckled, losing interest in continuing the work conversation with Chu Yu. He suddenly decided to tease his intern, “Really? Then eat more. You look so thin. Is the food at our company not good?”

“It’s really delicious.” Chi Xiting quickly shook his head in denial. “I was in the hospital a few days ago, so I probably lost some weight.”

“In the hospital? Were you sick?”

Chi Xiting stuck to the same explanation as before.

“Oh, I see.” Shen Zhizhe straightened up, then his eyes shifted as he remembered the resumes he had seen on Chu Yu’s desk.

A pile of resumes, probably all from interns.

The first one was Chi Xiting’s.

Since he was just an intern, Shen Zhizhe hadn’t paid much attention, but when he thought about how Chu Yu had specifically asked for the intern resumes, he felt something was off.

How could a busy person like Chu Yu have time to focus on interns?

Maybe this group of interns was special in some way?

Shen Zhizhe casually speculated, and when he looked at Chi Xiting again, he suddenly felt like he was evaluating an employee. After thinking for a moment, he asked, “Did you hear what I was talking about with Mr. Chu just now?”

Chi Xiting looked at Shen Zhizhe warily.

Hmm?

Is he testing him?

“No, I wouldn’t dare listen.” Chi Xiting blinked innocently. “I’m afraid if I hear something I shouldn’t, it might affect my career.”

Chu Yu: “…”

Shen Zhizhe: “…”

“You two must have come from the same class, right?” Shen Zhizhe glanced at both Chi Xiting and Chu Yu. “Your Chinese proficiency seems to be exceptional?”

Chu Yu remained silent as usual.

Chi Xiting looked back at Chu Yu in confusion.

How could Shen Zhizhe tell they were good at Chinese just from how little Chu Yu said?

Is it because his words are concise?

Shen Zhizhe made a quick comment before changing the topic back to his evaluation of Chi Xiting, summarizing the work discussion with Chu Yu in just a few sentences.

Although Chi Xiting claimed he hadn’t been paying attention, he had been sitting right next to them, and he had absorbed a bit of information.

It seemed that a marketing plan for a project had some issues.

—-

Chu Yu’s company, Chu Corporation, covered a wide range of industries and had many product brands, but the brands directly under the headquarters were few and refined. Most of the sub-brands were divided among the various provincial branches, and their operations were handled by the marketing departments of those branches.

Shen Zhizhe had gone to C City specifically to deal with problems at Chu Corporation’s C City branch.

“Their project proposal seemed fine, but when they started implementing it, everything went wrong,” Shen Zhizhe tapped the table, his brows furrowing. He was clearly unhappy with how the project was being executed.

The door to the private room was knocked, and the waiter began bringing in the dishes. Soon, the table was filled with delicately arranged dishes.

Chi Xiting’s gaze unconsciously followed the dishes, and he absentmindedly stared.

“What do you think the problem is?” Shen Zhizhe asked as the dishes were served. He suddenly lost interest in evaluating the intern and reached for some food, not looking at Chi Xiting. It seemed like a casual question, not expecting a particularly insightful answer.

Chi Xiting was completely distracted by the food. Seeing that both leaders had started eating, he decided not to be polite and picked up a small piece of shrimp.

The shrimp was drenched in yellow wine.

The moment it entered his mouth, the fragrance of the wine spread throughout, and the firm, chewy shrimp delighted his taste buds. Chi Xiting’s eyes slightly brightened, and satisfaction filled his body as he swallowed the shrimp.

Feeling happy, Chi Xiting forgot to be cautious and said quickly, “Either the product department and publicity department didn’t implement things properly, or maybe the project planning itself was flawed from the start.”

As soon as Chi Xiting finished speaking, Chu Yu’s hand froze midair. His eyes darkened as he gave Chi Xiting an appraising look. After a pause, he calmly withdrew his gaze and slowly ate the shrimp.

Chu Yu’s reactions were always calm, but Shen Zhizhe was different. After blinking twice, he looked directly at Chi Xiting, suddenly intrigued. He put down his chopsticks and leisurely waited for Chi Xiting to continue, “How do you figure?”

Chi Xiting had just heard Shen Zhizhe and Chu Yu discuss the project.

—-

The departments involved had done nearly everything correctly, fully following the project plan. So, if that reason were ruled out, the problem must lie with the planning itself.

This raised many considerations…

Chi Xiting was a little distracted, and as he turned the table’s revolving plate, he forgot to stop.

The plate spun several times.

Chu Yu’s fingers tightened around his chopsticks, wanting to grab some food, but by the time he reached for it, the dish he intended to pick was already out of reach.

Chu Yu: “…”

He glanced at Chi Xiting a few times before speaking.

“Do you like the taste?”

Chu Yu’s voice was soft and deep. Perhaps he deliberately slowed down his speech and lowered his tone, making him sound oddly gentle and affectionate.

Shen Zhizhe glanced at Chu Yu as if he had seen a ghost. His hand, which had been resting on his chin, instinctively moved to cover his lips, hiding the subtle change in his expression.

Chi Xiting snapped back to reality and, as he lifted his gaze, his eyes met Chu Yu’s.

Chu Yu’s eyes were ink-dark, with a deep heavy) look in them, seemingly carrying intense emotions. But as soon as his eyelashes fluttered slightly, any trace of emotion was gone.

Chi Xiting’s seasoned work persona kicked in for a moment, and he stubbornly and persistently tried to analyze Chu Yu’s emotions. After thinking for a long while with no result, he finally decided to just go along with the conversation.

“It’s delicious.”

Chu Yu’s lips curved slightly as he leisurely looked away, his tone calm. “Yes, I thought it should suit your taste.”

Chi Xiting blinked in confusion.

Chu Yu continued, his tone still steady, “This table is spinning so fast that it almost gave me a cold.”

Chi Xiting: “…”

Shen Zhizhe wasn’t wrong.

Chu Yu’s Chinese skills were also quite impressive.