Chapter 46 – “Don’t worry, I’ve ridden in cars way faster than this.”

Exiting the back door of the office, Tu Shanju once again ran into that black cat.

As expected—it got spooked again and bolted off with a terrified yowl.

Tu Shanju was speechless. Just as she was about to step out of the alley, her phone rang.

She glanced at the screen—it was Xie Shiyu. She picked up while continuing forward. “Hello?”

There was background noise on Xie Shiyu’s end, as if he were outdoors. “Xiaojiu, you done with work?”

Tu Shanju held the phone to her ear. The moment she heard his intimate tone, her ears warmed involuntarily.

“Mm, I’m done. I was just about to head back to the old house.” After a pause, she added, “What about you? Are you still busy?”

As soon as she asked, she regretted it.

Wasn’t it obvious? If he were that busy, would he be calling her?

Clearly, she wasn’t someone good at small talk.

But Xie Shiyu didn’t let her flounder. He answered directly:

“Not too busy, but not idle either. I’m at a golf course in the suburbs for a business meeting. The meeting just ended, and there’s no one else around now. I wanted to ask if you want to come over and hang out. Don’t go back to the old house for lunch—I’ll take you out for French cuisine.”

The moment she heard there were no outsiders, Tu Shanju didn’t hesitate. “Sure! Send me the location—I’ll grab a taxi now.”

“No need. Just send me your location and find a nearby milk tea shop to wait. I’ll have Assistant Li pick you up.”

“Alright then. I am a bit thirsty. I’ll send you my location now. Hanging up!”

On the other end, Xie Shiyu’s voice carried a smile: “Okay, see you soon.”

Tu Shanju could hear the happiness in his tone. She figured the business meeting must’ve gone well for him to be in such a good mood.

After sending him her location, she didn’t go far. She found a nearby milk tea shop.

It wasn’t far from the Xie Group offices. Just as she finished a bowl of red bean coconut sago, a call came in.

It was an unfamiliar number—likely the Assistant Li Xie Shiyu had mentioned.

“Hello, is this Miss Tu Shanju? I’m Li Kai, Special Assistant to President Xie. I’m already parked by the roadside—a black Bentley with hazard lights on. Once you’ve finished your drink, you may come out.”

Tu Shanju happened to be sitting by the window. She looked out and saw a black car by the curb, tail lights blinking.

She got up and headed to the counter. “Okay, I’m done. I’ll be out in a moment.”

“Not a problem. Please take your time.”

After hanging up and settling the bill, Tu Shanju exited the dessert shop.

Just as she neared the car, a man in his thirties stepped out, respectfully opened the back door, and gestured with a slight bow. “Miss Tu, please.”

Tu Shanju glanced at Assistant Li and softly thanked him.

Truthfully, she still wasn’t used to this kind of treatment. But she knew she had to start getting used to it.

Once she was seated, Li Kai gently closed the door.

Actually, he was also a little surprised upon seeing her.

Tu Shanju gave off a clean, clear presence—what stood out most were her eyes, as if they could see through everything. One look and it felt like all evil things had nowhere to hide.

Li Kai started the car but drove very cautiously, afraid the bumps might disturb her.

After all, before he came, the president had reminded him repeatedly: drive slowly.

In the back seat, Tu Shanju pursed her lips and after a moment said, “Assistant Li, you can actually drive a bit faster.”

“Ah? Alright, Miss Tu.”

Li Kai inwardly thought, Oh, so Miss Tu thinks I’m driving too slow. He’d assumed, based on her quiet demeanor and the president’s instructions, that she didn’t like fast cars.

As if reading his mind, Tu Shanju added lightly, “Don’t worry—I’ve ridden in cars way faster than this.”

Like ghost buses.

Those didn’t travel on earthly roads, so naturally, their speed was beyond anything mortal vehicles could achieve.

The speed limit for humans on highways was 120 km/h, but ghost buses in the underworld had a minimum speed of 240 km/h.

When she was younger, she had snuck out of curiosity to ride one—and ended up vomiting for an entire day and night. It took her a full twenty-four hours to recover.

Since then, any time she needed to take a ghost bus, she made sure to pop three motion-sickness pills beforehand.

As she was lost in thought, the northeastern sky suddenly darkened.

In an instant, black clouds spread rapidly in all directions. Thunder and lightning followed shortly after.

Tu Shanju furrowed her brows and stared in that direction.

Li Kai also noticed and muttered, “How’d the weather change so suddenly? The forecast didn’t mention thunderstorms.”

At a red light, he turned to ask, “Miss Tu, should I call President Xie and cancel the golf plans? I could arrange an indoor course instead.”

Tu Shanju did a quick calculation with her fingers—sure enough, the golf course was right under that thundercloud.

But she shook her head. “No need. It won’t rain. The lightning will stop soon.”

Li Kai hesitated, then nodded, “Alright,” and turned back to the wheel.

The light turned green, and the car began to roll.

Soon it picked up speed, and after driving about ten meters, they passed a water-sprinkling truck.

As the Bentley went by, Tu Shanju glanced out the window and thought, That’s a lot of water. I hope Lin Xiu’er remembers my warning. She won’t be hurt, but getting zapped by her own lightning must sting a bit.

She imagined Lin Xiu’er’s round head turning into a giant frizzy puffball.

…Kinda tragic.

But she’d warned her. Whether she avoided it or not wasn’t something Tu Shanju could control.

Meanwhile, at the golf course, Xie Shiyu was frowning at the sky.

Suddenly, his phone on the table rang.

He thought it was Tu Shanju and smiled as he reached for it. But when he saw the name on the screen, his smile vanished as if it had never been there.

He tapped “Answer” and said plainly, “Hello?”

A voice burst through, “Are you serious, Xie Shiyu? I come back to the country and you don’t even pick me up? And now when I call, you sound this cold? So now you’ve got a fiancée and forgotten your brothers, huh? Hmph! I didn’t know you were this shallow!”

Sitting on the lounge chair, Xie Shiyu let out a low chuckle. “Lu Zeyuan, cut it out. Just say what you need. I don’t have time today. Xiaojiu’s coming soon—I’m teaching her how to play golf.”

“Oho—calling her Xiaojiu already? Sounds like things are moving fast between you two.” Lu Zeyuan laughed mischievously.

Xie Shiyu neither confirmed nor denied it.

“Let’s grab dinner tonight—my treat. Qi Chen just got back too. We should all have a meal with your fiancée and get to know her.” Lu Zeyuan finally got to the point.

Surprise flickered in Xie Shiyu’s eyes. “Didn’t he have a mission?”

“It’s done. I’m driving to his place now. Let’s meet at our usual spot tonight.”

Xie Shiyu didn’t agree right away. “My fiancée’s a bit shy. I’ll ask her. If she doesn’t want to go, I’ll come by myself.”

Just as he said that, he heard thunder through the call.

He looked up—he thought he’d just seen lightning over his own head as well.

Lu Zeyuan grumbled, “What’s up with South City’s weather these days? So moody! One second it’s fine, the next it’s—”

Suddenly, Lu Zeyuan’s voice cut off.

The next sound was his phone dropping and rolling across the floor.

Xie Shiyu’s heart skipped. His expression turned serious. “Lu Zeyuan?”

Thinking something might have happened, he reached to hang up and order someone to check—

But just before he could, he heard Lu Zeyuan’s terrified voice come through the line:

“Holy sh*t! What the hell is THAT?!”