Lin Xi declined: "If you need me to bring you a meal, that's fine—but eating together? Let's skip that." She pushed past Duan Yiheng, intending to leave, but he reached out and pulled her back with a swift motion.
"Dinner together tonight?" Lin Xi's waist was pressed firmly against the edge of the office desk; seeing the intense depth in Duan Yiheng's eyes, her heart fluttered with momentary panic. She suspected that if she refused, Duan Yiheng would absolutely lean in and kiss her. However, she couldn't guarantee she would actually have the time, so she replied:
"It depends on my workload and schedule." Duan Yiheng chuckled: "Secretary Lin is certainly hard to pin down." Lin Xi retorted: "...I'd better get back to work." Since they were, after all, still on company premises, Duan Yiheng finally let go of her. Lin Xi returned to the secretarial office, clutching her rapidly beating heart.
At lunchtime, Lin Xi brought a meal back from the cafeteria for Duan Yiheng, taking the opportunity to collect the documents he had signed. There was another stack of paperwork waiting for the afternoon; Lin Xi went back and forth several times to report on her progress, yet—unusually—she rarely saw Duan Yiheng look up from his work.
She remained busy until six o'clock that evening, at which point she called him to remind him to take a break. Realizing that the workday had officially ended, Duan Yiheng let out a deep breath and leaned back against his chair. He glanced at Lin Xi's reflection in the glass partition, then pressed the intercom button: "Secretary Lin, could you step in here for a moment?"
Lin Xi pushed the door open and entered, her eyes meeting Duan Yiheng's. After a busy afternoon, his appearance had undergone a subtle shift. His suit jacket hung to the side, his shirt sleeves were rolled up twice at the cuffs, and his tie had been loosened—gone was his usual air of meticulous precision.
Lin Xi, by contrast, remained impeccably poised—even the bow formed by the ribbons at her neckline looked exquisitely charming. "You wanted to see me?" Lin Xi maintained a strictly professional demeanor. Duan Yiheng replied: "...Stop using formal honorifics." Since he was six years her senior, her continued use of such formal titles made it feel as though there were a generational gap between them.
As it was already after working hours, Lin Xi pursed her lips slightly: "Well, we *are* still in the office; I just haven't switched gears yet. Anyway—why did you call me in?" Duan Yiheng turned his head to gaze at the deepening twilight outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, then asked: "Would you like to have dinner together?"
Lin Xi did not accept immediately; instead, she seemed to be weighing the offer. With a shift of his hips, Duan Yiheng's executive chair glided right up to Lin Xi. He wrapped his arms around her waist and remarked, "Secretary Lin, you really are hard to pin down. Just how many times have I asked you out today?" Lin Xi gave a dry chuckle.
"How about we just work overtime together?" "..." Duan Yiheng suddenly let out a laugh. "Alright then. But before we work overtime—how about we grab a bite to eat?" Lin Xi nodded blankly. Duan Yiheng took her hand and pulled her to her feet. "Let's go eat first. After dinner, we'll head to Tiandu Yuxi to work overtime." Lin Xi:
"..." For a moment, she wondered if there was something wrong with her hearing. Upon leaving the company building, Duan Yiheng went straight to the passenger side and hopped into Lin Xi's car. Lin Xi prompted him, "...Seatbelt." Duan Yiheng buckled up and asked her, "What do you feel like eating?" Lin Xi pulled out her phone and did a quick search.
"Let's just look for a place nearby with a nice atmosphere." Since it was essentially a date, the specific food they ate was secondary. In the end, they settled on a high-end fusion restaurant. They ordered four dishes between them; Lin Xi particularly loved the restaurant's Thai-style shrimp spring rolls, and Duan Yiheng smiled as he snapped a photo of her. Lin Xi covered her mouth, waiting until she had finished chewing her food before snapping at him, "Why are you taking pictures of me while I'm eating? I look hideous." "Not at all—you look adorable," Duan Yiheng replied. "I'm keeping them to look at later." Lin Xi gave a sarcastic huff:
"Give them to me! Those are *my* photos; you have no right to keep them." Duan Yiheng choked on his words: "...Is this payback?" Lin Xi gave a haughty nod: "You crumpled up the photos I had hidden inside my music box." Duan Yiheng sighed:
"I really *was* angry back then. I was standing right there in front of you, yet you spent all day staring at those photos—anyone who didn't know better would have thought I was dead." "What on earth are you babbling about?" Lin Xi glared at him. "Where are the photos? Did you throw them away?" "How could I dare?"
Duan Yiheng said in a resigned tone. "You said I couldn't throw them out, didn't you? So I put them in the study back at the house." Lin Xi asked him, "Then when are you going to give them back to me?" Duan Yiheng feigned deep thought for a moment:
"I put them in the study at 'North District No. 1.' It's such a huge room, I can't quite remember which book I tucked them into." Lin Xi: "..." Duan Yiheng suggested, "How about the next time we go there, you have a look around?" Lin Xi narrowed her eyes: "...I have a distinct feeling you're up to no good." Duan Yiheng chuckled softly: "I'm completely innocent."
The meal lasted until around ten o'clock. Lin Xi settled the bill, and the two of them walked out of the restaurant together. Suddenly—! A familiar voice called out from behind them: "President Duan? Secretary Lin?" Lin Xi turned around to see Lin Xiaoying, striking in a fiery red dress. "What a coincidence, Editor-in-Chief Lin,"
Lin Xi greeted her first. "I'm meeting with an advertiser tonight to discuss some business," Lin Xiaoying replied with a smile, then turned her gaze toward Duan Yiheng and offered him a good evening. Duan Yiheng gave a slight nod, then turned to Lin Xi and said, "Let's go."
Lin Xi bade farewell to Lin Xiaoying. Once they were back in the car, a brief silence fell between them. Seeing this, Duan Yiheng took the car keys from her hand and said, "Let me drive." Unable to stop her mind from wandering down speculative paths, Lin Xi got out of the car and swapped seats with him. The two of them didn't exchange a word on the way up; it wasn't until Duan Yiheng and Lin Xi had reached their floor that she snapped back to reality with a start: "Why did you follow me up here?" Duan Yiheng shook his head helplessly: "You looked like you were deep in thought about something major, so I didn't want to disturb you. Can you tell me about it now?"
Lin Xi sighed: "It's just pointless speculation; it's probably better left unsaid." Duan Yiheng pulled her into his arms and patted her back: "We're behind closed doors, and you'd only be telling *me*. What's the harm in that? It's not like I'm going to grab a megaphone tomorrow and go shouting it to the whole world."
Lin Xi conjured up a mental image of that scenario and burst out laughing. Duan Yiheng cupped her face in his hands, making her look him in the eye: "Go ahead and tell me. Don't go to sleep harboring any bad feelings." Lin Xi thought for a moment, then asked him: "What do you think of Editor-in-Chief Lin?" Duan Yiheng frowned:
"Don't tell me she's the one you were thinking about in the car?" "It's just a gut feeling—my sixth sense, you know? I just felt like the way she looked at you seemed a little off," Lin Xi mumbled. Duan Yiheng didn't rush to dismiss her claim; instead, he asked her slowly and carefully: "Why do you say that?" Lin Xi replied:
"When she greeted you, she tossed her hair back." Duan Yiheng blinked: "...I didn't notice that." Lin Xi shrugged: "...Oh, never mind. Maybe I'm just imagining things." Duan Yiheng suddenly recalled an incident that had occurred during the shoot—the time Lin Xiaoying had tripped over a cable on the floor.
He possessed an exceptional memory and could vividly recall every word and action of everyone present in the billiard room that day. Crew members who work in filming environments for extended periods develop a keen sense of safety; they instinctively watch where they step and avoid tripping over cables.
Yet Lin Xiaoying, on that particular day... Duan Yiheng gave Lin Xi a light tap on the head: "Stop overthinking it. Go take a shower first; I need to make a quick phone call." Lin Xi didn't understand why he had suddenly changed the subject, but since dwelling on it really wouldn't do any good, she turned and headed into the bedroom.
Duan Yiheng walked out onto the balcony and placed a call to the estate manager at "North District No. 1": "Pull up the security footage from the day we filmed in the billiard room. Send me the specific clip where Editor-in-Chief Lin took that fall." The manager acknowledged the request. Duan Yiheng then placed another call to his driver:
"Look into Lin Xiaoying's background—don't miss a single detail. Also, find out what she did tonight—specifically, whether she met with any advertisers to discuss business." After hanging up, he stood rooted to the spot for a long while. Turning around, he once again wore a gentle smile as he went to knock on Lin Xi's door:
"Lin Xi, may I stay the night?"