In fact, Shen Wang wouldn’t say he liked Yin Yao as a person.

The “like” mentioned here isn’t romantic love, but more of a general liking in the sense of having a good impression.

Shen Wang has a straightforward style, and like attracts like. He prefers girls who are more “simple and sweet.”

…Hmm, to be honest, and he knows it’s a bit rude to say this, the representative of such a type would be Shang Xinglu.

He had liked Shang Xinglu for several years.

But this silly girl, when he graduated from high school, could only cry and say, “Wuwuwu, Wang Cai, now that you’ve graduated, who will buy me popsicles?”

She only remembered the popsicles, not him, which nearly gave him a heart attack at the time!

Someone like Yin Yao, with so many thoughts, Shen Wang took one look and felt exhausted.

As he grew older and gained more experience, Shen Wang realized that not everyone qualifies to be “simple and sweet.”

Even Louise wasn’t purely “simple and sweet.”

Yin Yao must have her own reasons.

Of course, whether he liked Yin Yao or not, Shen Wang could now be certain of one thing: he particularly disliked Ye Songtao.

Using such underhanded methods, taking advantage of a girl verbally and then slandering her behind her back—it was beneath him, truly beneath him!

As soon as Shen Wang finished speaking, everyone stared at him in shock.

After all, with Ye Songtao’s hints earlier, some people didn’t quite understand what was going on.

Someone then asked, “Second Young Master Shen, you and Miss Yin are…?”

Shen Wang responded, “What? Do we need to report to someone now that it’s free love?”

“No, no, not at all, it’s just that Mr. Ye…” The person stopped mid-sentence, the implication was clear.

Shen Wang, with flawless logic, said, “It hasn’t been long, and I haven’t told my family yet. The thing is, Yao Yao’s parents are getting anxious and pushing her into blind dates, and she told me about it.”

When he said this, and changed the way he addressed her, not only the others, but even Ye Songtao nearly believed it!

But Ye Songtao remembered that when he left that day, Shen Wang had said behind his back, “Yin Yao, someone like her, is going on a blind date? That’s too desperate.”

He clearly seemed unaware, and it didn’t look like they were a couple.

But now Shen Wang had made this claim, and no matter what Ye Songtao said, no one would believe him.

Shen Wang sneered. Isn’t this just like when Ye Songtao spread rumors about Yin Yao, and no one would believe her no matter how much she tried to clarify?

Ha, deserved!

Seeing that the situation had changed, Shen Wang didn’t say this sincerely but still said, “Mr. Ye, I’m just protecting my girlfriend. I may have offended you earlier, sorry about that.”

Everyone was shocked that Shen Wang and Yin Yao were together. But now with Shen Wang’s words, they all remembered the boast Ye Songtao had made earlier…

They awkwardly looked at Ye Songtao.

Ye Songtao’s face turned ashen!

With all this trouble, he couldn’t salvage it anymore, but Shen Wang was in a good mood.

After taking a few swings, he suddenly remembered something and dialed Yin Yao’s number.

…It was important to coordinate.

Although he thought, with Yin Yao’s intelligence, even if she didn’t know, she wouldn’t slip up. But, just in case? The consequences of her being silly were disastrous.

After Yin Yao listened, there was a moment of silence.

Shen Wang thought she would say, “I, Yin Yao, don’t care to pretend to be in a relationship with you!”

After all, they had disliked each other intensely before.

…And if it were him, he might, possibly, maybe, say something like that.

Instead, Yin Yao said, “Shen Wang, thank you.”

She didn’t address him as “Second Young Master Shen” with sarcasm or deliberately call him “Mr. Shen” with formality.

She was so straightforward that Shen Wang felt… something was off.

At that moment, he heard someone on the other end say, “Huh, is that the bad-tempered, irritable Shen Wang?”

—It was Louise’s voice.

Shen Wang raised his voice, “Who’s bad-tempered? Who’s irritable? Yin Yao, give her the phone!”

Shang Xinglu took the phone, and seemed to back down.

“Uh… I don’t know why, but I just couldn’t resist the urge to criticize you… You’re not irritable…”

Shen Wang stayed silent.

Shang Xinglu added, “…You have a bad temper.”

Shen Wang replied, “…Can you speak properly?”

Shang Xinglu immediately changed the topic, “Did something happen? Is it related to Ye Songtao?”

Shen Wang briefly explained the situation with the coordination.

Shang Xinglu’s eyes shifted, “Ye Songtao has done a lot recently. I think we should really coordinate this story.”

Shen Wang asked, “Is it really that necessary?”

It was just coordinating the story, both sides knew what was going on, and that would be that.

Shang Xinglu said, “It’s very necessary. I’ll invite you and Yao Yao to dinner. When do you have time? It won’t take much of your time.”

Shen Wang thought, “Helping someone all the way, sending the Buddha to the West.” Since he had already said it publicly, what was a little more time? So, he agreed.

Shang Xinglu hung up the phone, handed it back to Yin Yao, and reminded her again about the dinner.

Yin Yao narrowed her eyes slightly, staring at Shang Xinglu.

“What’s wrong?” Shang Xinglu blinked once, then again, trying to look innocent.

Yin Yao smiled and simply said, “Nothing.”

The three of them arranged to meet the next evening. To avoid eavesdroppers, they decided to have dinner at Shang Xinglu’s home.

That night, Shang Xinglu excitedly ran to the wine cellar to pick a bottle of wine.

Lin Heng immediately noticed Shang Xinglu’s unusual enthusiasm. After asking a few questions, he learned that the three of them were going to have dinner together.

How could Lin Heng not know what Shang Xinglu was up to?

She was trying to set up the two of them, unaware that both of them were actually interested in her.

So Lin Heng said, “I’ll go too.”

Shang Xinglu cautiously asked, “Aren’t you working overtime?”

“No.”

“Don’t you have social engagements?”

“Nope.”

Shang Xinglu moved closer to Lin Heng and touched his forehead. “…No fever.”

Lin Heng grabbed her hand and asked, “Are you saying you don’t want me to come?”

Shang Xinglu suddenly had a sense of déjà vu.

Wasn’t this just like a wife suspecting her husband of going out—wondering if it was really for business or if he was meeting a mistress?!

…Since when did President Lin act like this?

Hmph! Ever since he became the one responsible for supporting the family, he really has changed!

Shang Xinglu felt a bit smug but also slightly uneasy.

She quickly pulled her hand away and expressed her most sincere welcome!

Shang Xinglu clapped her hands rhythmically, like an enthusiastic extra in a news interview.

As she clapped, she said, “Welcome, welcome! A warm welcome!”

Lin Heng: “…”

She continued, “Welcome, welcome! A warm welcome!”

Lin Heng: “…If you don’t want me to come, just say it.”

Shang Xinglu was shocked and quickly clung to Lin Heng’s arm. “How could that be? I clearly said ‘welcome’!”

Lin Heng stared at her for a while before finally curling his lips into a satisfied smile.

“Then I’ll reluctantly join you.”

Shang Xinglu: “…?”

…Wait, something felt off.

The next evening, when Shang Xinglu brought Yin Yao home after work, Lin Heng was already there.

Not long after, Shen Wang also arrived.

The chef had already prepared a lavish meal. After drinking tea for a while, they moved to the dining room for dinner.

At the table, Shen Wang gave a detailed account of what had happened at the golf course.

Shang Xinglu had originally been eager to reignite her plan to set up Shen Wang and Yin Yao, but now she was fuming because of Ye Songtao!

She huffed, “How can someone be so shameless?! Throwing a tantrum like that—who would even be interested in such an ugly, petty man?!”

Then she spread her hands toward Shen Wang, making a grand “introducing the main attraction” gesture.

“Look at this! The looks, the character—at the very least, our Yao Yao deserves someone like Shen Wang!”

Shen Wang: “…”

Yin Yao: “…”

Meanwhile, Lin Heng casually took a sip of his wine, looking quite amused.

Today, Shang Xinglu was not the one setting the mood, nor was she the social lubricant—she was the one completely oblivious to the mood!

She continued, “A guy like Ye Songtao, humiliated in public, will definitely hold a grudge. He won’t dare go after Shen Wang, but he might target Yao Yao. So, Shen Wang… I think you should keep up this act for now.”

Her words seemed childish, but they actually made a lot of sense.

If Ye Songtao were broad-minded, he wouldn’t have publicly insulted Yin Yao on the golf course.

However, this situation wasn’t exactly fair to Shen Wang.

And Yin Yao might not be too thrilled about it either.

Among them, only Louise had the guts to say it outright.

Shen Wang wasn’t thinking about anything else at the moment—he simply saw Ye Songtao as a common enemy to be dealt with.

After a moment of thought, he said, “I don’t have a problem with it. It depends on Miss Yin.”

Yin Yao didn’t resist and simply said, “Shen Wang, I owe you one.”

Deal.

It was settled way too smoothly.

Shang Xinglu beamed with joy. “Then you two need to go on dates from time to time to keep up the illusion!”

Shen Wang frowned and glared at Shang Xinglu.

Shang Xinglu shrugged innocently.

“You have no idea how outrageous Ye Songtao is. I was planning to rent land near the A City factory to expand, but Kaihua International bought it and refused to lease it to us. They even falsely claimed we violated our contract. If we don’t make him give up, he’ll keep coming after us!”

Lin Heng frowned and said, “If you need extra factory space, I have some land…”

At the same time, Shen Wang also said, “Yeah, I have some land…”

Neither of them got to finish their sentences before Shang Xinglu waved a hand dismissively, looking completely unfazed.

“Land? That’s not a problem. I already found Ye Songtao’s aunt—Kaihua International’s vice president. She strongly opposes moving the factory. Since I approached her, she used the previous contract to lease the land to me instead.”

Then, she smoothly changed the topic.

“So, back to discussing your dates—oh, I mean, fake dates?”

Shen Wang: “???”

Yin Yao: “???”

No, Louise, wasn’t the land issue the important part here?!

“Well done.” Lin Heng patted Shang Xinglu’s head, not holding back his praise. Then he added, “Also, I agree. A little acting is necessary.”

Shen Wang and Yin Yao: “???”

This couple…

One indulges, the other schemes. Fine, fine—carry on with your act.