Yan Xianjue looked even more surprised than Shen Fangli.
But when he saw the conflicted expression on Shen Fangli's face, he sat down beside her.
He reached out and tapped her forehead, then chuckled. "Why are you frowning?"
"Maybe I should be saying yes right now. That would better fit the stereotype many people have about our circle—that romance is just a partnership of interests."
"But sorry, it isn't."
"Huh?" Shen Fangli hadn't expected Yan Xianjue to be so straightforward.
Their eyes met, and Shen Fangli muttered softly, "I don't want it to be, either."
Yan Xianjue nodded solemnly. "After all, President Shen looks like a total daughter doting dad. He'd never agree to let you date someone just because of one collaboration."
"So, have you come clean to your dad yet?"
Shen Fangli's ears instantly turned red. "What are you talking about?!"
Yan Xianjue narrowed his eyes and reached out to pinch the soft flesh of Shen Fangli's cheek. "You really haven't told him?"
"I really haven't." With her cheek pinched, Shen Fangli's words came out muffled.
But she wasn't brushing him off. "I was going to tell him, but he brought up the collaboration first, and then I forgot."
Yan Xianjue: "..."
Yan Xianjue: "Pfft."
Before Shen Fangli could shoot him a glare sharp enough to kill, Yan Xianjue raised his hands in surrender as though he had anticipated her reaction.
"Alright, alright, I'm not teasing you anymore."
Though he said that, anyone could see that the smile on his face had not faded.
Still, when Shen Fangli looked at him, he became a little more serious.
"I have two older brothers and two older sisters. Right now, my eldest brother is in charge of the family."
"Although my dad is still the chairman in name, the only