Lu Yan turned around, only to meet Wei Yuhe’s meaningful gaze.

The dinner gathering was set for seven, so there was still an hour to spare. Lu Yan decided to go look for Liang Mu.

After searching around and still not finding him, just as he was about to make a call, he saw Wei Yuhe walking over in his direction.

“Looking for someone?” Wei Yuhe’s face was expressionless, and his gaze at Lu Yan was hard to decipher.

Lu Yan nodded. Wei Yuhe suddenly let out a cold snort. “After all these years, you’re still tangled up with him?”

Lu Yan frowned. What did he mean by “tangled up”? Since when did his relationship with Liang Mu fall under the term “tangled up”?

“What do you mean?” Lu Yan asked, his brows furrowing, his voice filled with resistance.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Wei Yuhe’s stare was complicated.

“You’ve always liked dating one person while keeping ambiguous ties with another, haven’t you?” Wei Yuhe leaned in, his posture overbearing as he examined Lu Yan with a scrutinizing gaze.

Lu Yan felt his head spin with anger. “What business is it of yours? Who I date and who I’m with has nothing to do with you anymore, right?”

Lu Yan hated it when people talked to him in that judgmental, overbearing tone.

He didn’t even feel any particular resentment toward Wei Yuhe before this. Back when things got so bad between them, he knew he had his share of the blame.

He had intended to treat Wei Yuhe like any other ex, but it seemed like this man had no intention of coexisting peacefully.

Lu Yan’s words made Wei Yuhe’s face darken. He stared at Lu Yan in silence, his deep, dark eyes full of emotions Lu Yan couldn’t decipher.

“President Wei, there you are,” came Wang Lu’s voice from not far behind Lu Yan, breaking the tense atmosphere between them.

“Oh, Xiao Lu, you’re here too.” Wang Lu’s surprised gaze flickered between Lu Yan and Wei Yuhe.

“Wang-jie.” Lu Yan nodded and greeted her with a smile.

As soon as he spoke, still smiling, he noticed that Wei Yuhe’s already cold face turned even chillier.

Ignoring Wei Yuhe’s unreadable mood, which was more unpredictable than the weather, Lu Yan asked Wang Lu directly, “Wang-jie, for the dinner gathering later, are we heading out from the company?”

Wang Lu nodded, “Yes, I was just about to discuss it with President Wei.”

“You didn’t drive, right? You can ride with one of our colleagues.”

Lu Yan nodded. “Alright. My friend’s waiting for me; I’ll go let him know. I’ll meet you all at the parking lot.”

Wang Lu nodded, “Sure, don’t be late.”

After agreeing, Lu Yan turned and left, not sparing a single glance for Wei Yuhe, who was standing nearby.

When he found Liang Mu, the guy was fast asleep in his car.

Lu Yan knocked on the window to wake him up.

“Finished?” Liang Mu rubbed his eyes, his voice hoarse from just waking up.

“Our department has a dinner later. You should head back.” Leaning against the car window, Lu Yan looked at him apologetically.

“A dinner?” Liang Mu frowned. “Is that guy going too?”

Lu Yan nodded. But before he could say anything, Liang Mu grumbled, “Does he not have anything better to do as the boss? Always hanging around a small department like he’s got all the free time in the world.”

“Maybe it’s because the company plans to put more resources into our department?” Lu Yan explained, “They mentioned it in the meeting.”

Liang Mu turned to look at Lu Yan silently for a moment before asking, “So, you’re really not planning to terminate the contract?”

Lu Yan shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to, but the new contract was only signed a month ago. If he insisted on breaking it, the penalty fee alone would be more than he could bear.

Besides, judging by Wei Yuhe’s attitude, it didn’t seem like he had any intentions toward him.

This mutual disdain thing they had going on was just fine.

After seeing Liang Mu off, Lu Yan went to meet up with his colleagues to hitch a ride.

However, before he could leave the underground parking lot, he bumped into Wei Yuhe again.

This guy was like a ghost, standing there quietly without him noticing, who knows for how long.

Lu Yan was about to bypass him, but as they passed, he heard Wei Yuhe ask, “Are you planning to terminate the contract?”

Lu Yan frowned and glared at him. “Were you eavesdropping?”

Expressionless, Wei Yuhe stared at Lu Yan, ignoring the accusation and instead repeating, “You want to terminate the contract?”

Lu Yan sighed in frustration. This guy eavesdropped but only heard half?

“You can’t afford the penalty,” Wei Yuhe added coldly before Lu Yan could respond.

Lu Yan: “…”

“How much could it be? And how do you know I can’t afford it?” Lu Yan retorted, irritated.

“You could try.” Wei Yuhe’s tone was cold.

“Hmph…” Lu Yan snorted and walked away without looking back.

Back at the office building, Lu Yan ran into Wang Lu, who was rushing out.

“Oh, there you are. I’ve been looking all over for you, and you didn’t answer your phone. We’re just waiting on you.” Wang Lu rattled off, clearly exasperated.

“Has everyone else left already?” Lu Yan asked, slightly apologetic.

“Yes, so let’s hurry.” Wang Lu urged him.

Lu Yan had no choice but to follow her back into the underground parking lot.

As he watched her walk toward a familiar area, his heartbeat quickened.

He hoped it wasn’t what he thought, but from afar, he could see that Wei Yuhe’s car was parked with its hazard lights flashing.

Lu Yan looked down, feeling a bit guilty.

“We’ll ride with President Wei,” Wang Lu explained as she approached.

Lu Yan: “…”

“Is that really okay? We’re not exactly close with President Wei,” Lu Yan whispered nervously.

Wang Lu gave him a disapproving tap on the arm. “Do you think you get chances like this every day, to ride with the boss? And you’re complaining?”

Lu Yan looked at her with a pitiful expression and then tried to cover up with a smile, “I’m not complaining. I just thought President Wei might just be being polite.”

“President Wei offered. You think I’d be so thick-skinned otherwise?” Wang Lu assumed Lu Yan was just nervous around the boss, so she patted his arm again reassuringly, “He’s about your age. Maybe you’ll even find things to talk about. Don’t be so stiff.”

Left with no choice, Lu Yan braced himself to go along. He figured sitting in the front passenger seat would help him avoid facing the cold-faced Buddha that was Wei Yuhe.

But before he could open the door, Wang Lu tugged him toward the back seat. “You sit in the back.”

Lu Yan: “…”

For a moment, his mind went blank. He stood there, dazed, unable to move forward or backward.

Through the car window, he could see a glimpse of Wei Yuhe’s frosty face. He really didn’t want to get in. Just minutes ago, they had a tense standoff, and now he was expected to ride with him?

As he hesitated, the car window suddenly rolled down, and Lu Yan found himself staring into Wei Yuhe’s piercing black eyes.

With a slight frown and a deep, unreadable gaze, Wei Yuhe was glaring at him, unblinking.

Something about that expression felt oddly familiar, like a sign of a bad mood.

Lu Yan couldn’t help but wonder, did this guy manage to put himself in a bad mood just sitting in his car?

“Get in.” Wei Yuhe’s icy voice rang out, pulling Lu Yan from his thoughts and leaving him with no choice but to climb into the car.