Chapter 51 Part 1

At 5:55 p.m., Qiao Ke waited for Chi Yumo at the restaurant entrance.

“Miss Mo, I’m delighted to see you again so soon.”

Chi Yumo had taken the initiative to invite her boss to dinner, which turned Qiao Ke’s mood from rainy to sunny, complete with drifting clouds and rainbows.

[No need to be polite. Consider it a small token of thanks for the Lan Wei trip.]

Chi Yumo already had her communication tablet in hand. She had brought it in case she couldn’t find the private room and needed to ask a server for directions. Now, it was perfect for typing a message to show Qiao Ke.

After reading it, Qiao Ke opened her mouth slightly, and the smile on her face faded a bit.

She said faintly, “This meal is more than just a small token of thanks to President Shi. Please follow me, Miss Mo.”

On the short walk to the private room, Chi Yumo tucked the tablet into the inner pocket of her coat.

At the door, Qiao Ke pushed it open and said, “Enjoy your dinner.” Once Chi Yumo entered, she headed off to have the staff meal with Zhang Kai.

“Little Mo.” Shi Youwan’s brows and eyes curved into a gentle smile. She rose from her chair but stopped her steps abruptly. “Have a seat. The steak will be ready soon. Did you finish your business?”

Chi Yumo shook her head, removed her black disposable mask, pulled out a chair, and sat down. She placed her phone on the table as well.

The restaurant’s decor leaned toward neo-classical style: black leather chairs, dark brown wooden furniture, Western vintage paintings on the walls, and an iron chandelier overhead.

The warm lighting wasn’t too bright—just enough for Chi Yumo’s sharp eyesight to discern the emotions on the face across from her, but not the fluctuations in her eyes.

There was no paper menu on the table, nor a QR code for ordering. Instead, there were service bells at each end of the table. The last time she came, she had rung one and seen the menu the server brought.

The restaurant offered steaks from beef varieties around the world, with prices ranging from a low of 300 yuan to a high of 1,200 yuan.

She and Zhang Kai had ordered the most expensive one. So she hadn’t felt right about adding another steak and had discussed it with him, opting for a more cost-effective set meal instead.

That time, Shi Youwan had been busy negotiating with business partners and couldn’t spare attention for them. This time was different—Shi Youwan could focus entirely on whether Chi Yumo ate well and enough.

“Did you come back with Shen Muxi?”

Chi Yumo shook her head.

She picked up her phone: [She has her own matters, and I have mine. It was just a coincidence.]

The phone screen lit up, and Shi Youwan picked up her own phone too. She knew why Shen Muxi had returned, but she truly couldn’t guess what Chi Yumo had come back to handle.

Before her flight took off, she had received Chi Yumo’s dinner invitation and was overjoyed. In that moment, she even heard her own “thump-thump-thump” heartbeat. She even regretted flying to Lingjiang City.

That way, she could have had a few more hours with Little Mo in Yinzhou.

After returning to Yinzhou City and booking the restaurant to send to Chi Yumo, Shi Youwan had called Shen Muxi.

—President Shi, don’t you have her WeChat already? Why come to me?

—I have something to ask you.

—Go ahead.

—Have you paid Little Mo her salary these past few months? How much?

—Shi Youwan, what crooked ideas are you scheming now?

—Sorry, poor wording on my part.

—Hah, then speak normally for once, without the poor wording.

—Does she have money in her own account?

—Yes, plenty. Six figures—is that enough? Afraid I signed some unfair contract and exploited her to death?

—Good. Thanks.

—Hey…

—That’s all. Goodbye.

Shi Youwan hung up neatly, completely unaware that Shen Muxi was cursing her viciously on the other end—not just crazy, but a bit deranged too.

The server brought the main course steaks. Chi Yumo looked at the double portion of perfectly sliced steak on the wooden board in front of her and felt a surge of emotion. There was also bacon shrimp salad, lemon butter chicken wings, cheesecake, fruit and vegetable salad… an exceptionally lavish dinner.

Shi Youwan had ordered the meal in advance. Since Little Mo had plenty of money in her account and let her choose the restaurant, she should match her own standard of living.

That was the proper way to respect Little Mo.

They didn’t talk much during the meal. The two steaks were just a few extra chews for Chi Yumo. She had a naturally slim build and exercised regularly, so her appetite was always much larger than Shi Youwan’s.

Halfway through her steak, seeing Shi Youwan eat slowly, she only had a few pieces of beef and shrimp.

How had she fallen out of the habit of eating properly again after just a week apart?

Chi Yumo set down her knife and fork, pulled two disposable gloves from one of the paper boxes, put them on, and carefully deboned the chicken wings with the dinner knife before placing them on Shi Youwan’s plate.

“Thank you, Little Mo.”

There were five wings. Chi Yumo deboned them all—two for Shi Youwan, three for herself.

The lemon butter chicken wings used perfume lemon juice, mainly to remove any fishy taste. The acidity helped break down the meat fibers, making the chicken tender, refreshing, and not greasy—very appetizing with no sourness detectable.

[Chi Yumo: You ordered it yourself. Don’t waste it.]

[Shi Youwan: Okay.]

They both looked up at the same time, their gazes accidentally meeting. Chi Youwan was scorched by Shi Youwan’s peachy smile and burning eyes, startling the little deer in the woods into frantic dashing through the lush forest.

How could this woman Shi Youwan make her heart race so easily?

After the meal, Chi Yumo rang the service bell to pay. Once she scanned the code and finished, Shi Youwan said warmly, “Thank you for treating me to dinner, Little Mo.”

The male server who came to settle the bill hadn’t left yet—no telling if he recognized Shi Youwan. Chi Yumo suddenly felt embarrassed and, unable to sit still, put her mask back on as cover.

[Chi Yumo: Let’s go. Don’t waste your time.]

Seeing the switch from “you”(ni) to the more formal “您”(nin-respectable and formal way of saying “you”) in the chat box, Shi Youwan smiled wryly.

She typed back glumly: [Do you have to be so distant with me? No more formal ‘you’. Little Mo, it makes me sad too.]

Chi Yumo hadn’t expected Shi Youwan to express herself so directly—it didn’t match her usually enigmatic personality.

But thinking back to those words she’d overheard not long ago, it wasn’t all that surprising. Shi Youwan had probably unleashed her true nature.

Meeting Shi Youwan’s earnest gaze, Chi Yumo nodded slowly.

The door greeter politely pressed the down elevator button for them as they exited.

It was peak dining time on a weekend, so even in a high-end, pricey restaurant, the crowd was larger than on weekdays. When the elevator doors opened, several guests from lower floors were already inside.

VIP high-end clients of the restaurant were eligible for the building’s dedicated elevator—Shi Youwan just needed to give her name, and a client manager would arrange access. But she didn’t use the privilege.

Because she wanted to date Little Mo like an ordinary couple, go on dates like ordinary couples.

Chi Yumo had ridden that dedicated elevator before and wondered why Shi Youwan didn’t take the privilege route. Wasn’t she afraid of being recognized by staff or people in the elevator?

She wasn’t dressed all in black today. If photographed, claiming she was a “bodyguard” wouldn’t convince anyone.

The elevator passengers exited one by one. Chi Yumo used her body to block others’ views—fortunately, only she and Shi Youwan were entering on this floor.

But as soon as they stepped in and the doors hadn’t closed yet, Shi Youwan took her hand.

“B2 level.”

Chi Yumo stiffly pressed the B2 button.

Neither Qiao Ke nor Zhang Kai was there, and she couldn’t just abandon Shi Youwan to ride down alone.

The Western restaurant was on the sixth floor, with the fifth and sixth floors as the gourmet area. This elevator’s buttons were only for B1, B2, 1, 5, and 6—it skipped 2, 3, and 4.

The fifth floor had more mass-appeal food like barbecue, buffets, and hotpot, so several times more people entered and exited there.

When the doors opened on B2, at the sight of the crowd waiting outside, Chi Yumo instinctively turned sideways, shielding Shi Youwan between herself and the elevator wall to keep strangers from bumping or crowding her.

Shi Youwan was thrilled by Chi Yumo’s instinctive reaction—wasn’t this exactly what she hoped for?

She lifted her free hand, grabbed Chi Yumo’s waistband, leaned her head forward, and rubbed her temple against Chi Yumo’s ear: “Little Mo, let me see you back to your hotel, okay?”

Her warm breath sprayed against her neck, making Chi Yumo’s body even stiffer. Had Shi Youwan become so bold as to seduce her regardless of the occasion?

She gave no response.

They were the last to exit when the elevator stopped at B2.

Zhang Kai and Qiao Ke were already “on orders” waiting in the garage, and the car had been driven over from the dedicated elevator side.

Chi Yumo let go of her hand, but Shi Youwan still held on, stubbornly leading her forward by it.

Seeing the boss approach, Zhang Kai got into the car first.

Qiao Ke raised her phone to Chi Yumo and said, “Miss Mo, send me the hotel address. We’ll take you back first. Storm clouds are gathering outside—it looks like a downpour. Driving in the rain isn’t safe. The sooner we leave, the less risk.”

As expected of the ever-resourceful presidential assistant, Qiao Ke always hit the nail on the head, effortlessly coaxing Chi Yumo into compliance.

Chi Yumo sent the location to Qiao Ke—not sending it would make her seem unreasonable.

“Kai Ge, head here.” Qiao Ke forwarded it to Zhang Kai. “President Shi, Miss Mo, please get in.”

Shi Youwan finally released her hand contentedly and got in first.

Even if traffic jammed them up, it was at most a ten-minute drive, so Chi Yumo didn’t fuss over the seating. She followed, sitting behind the passenger seat for easy exit.

The weather outside was just as Qiao Ke predicted: gray clouds churned low, a black curtain slowly drew in, fierce winds howled, and a torrential rain loomed.

The hotel Chi Yumo booked lacked a grand porte-cochère for cars. The adjacent garage was a public parking lot.

After checking in, she had noted the elevator had a garage button, but she was eager to escape and didn’t want to enter the garage again, giving Shi Youwan another private space.

She couldn’t even figure out what she was afraid of.

So she messaged Qiao Ke: [Just drop me at the intersection later. Going into the garage would be more trouble.]

[Qiao Ke: Got it, Miss Mo.]

Three traffic lights, eight minutes—the hotel sign came into view.

The business van stopped steadily. Chi Yumo nodded to Shi Youwan on the left as farewell. Shi Youwan just smiled without speaking.

As soon as Chi Yumo’s foot touched the ground, Shi Youwan got out too, pulled her hand, and murmured by her ear, “Little Mo, I missed you so much. Stay with me a little longer, okay?”

Another “okay.”

Was Shi Youwan bullying her inability to voice a refusal, or banking on her soft spot for not hurting feelings?

And just then, the storm that had been brewing all day poured down. Bean-sized raindrops fell fiercely and rapidly, stinging cold and painful on the skin.

Qiao Ke hurried from the passenger seat, dove into the compartment without pause, pulled an umbrella from the drawer under the last row’s seat, opened it, and handed it to Chi Yumo.

“Miss Mo, the rain is heavy. If you and President Shi have things to discuss, go inside the hotel.”

Shi Youwan was already under the tilted umbrella with Chi Yumo: “Qiao Ke, you and Zhang Kai head back first. Call if anything comes up.”