Dai Ciling kept chattering, then suddenly seemed to remember something and changed the subject:
"Are you busy tomorrow?"
"Why?"
"If you're free, how about we go to your family home for lunch?"
Yuan Chen tilted his head slightly without shifting his gaze and asked directly:
"Shen Yi, do I have anything scheduled for tomorrow afternoon?"
"No, President Yuan," Shen Yi answered evenly, watching the road ahead.
Only then did Yuan Chen briefly turn his gaze from the streets outside the window, as though weighing something, before telling Dai Ciling:
"All right."
"Great!" Dai Ciling readily agreed.
"Save whatever you have to say for tomorrow. For now, be quiet and sit properly."
Perhaps that commanding tone had worked. Dai Ciling did settle down a little and stopped chattering.
But the smile on his face never faded. If anything, it grew brighter.
Yuan Chen's tone, which others might have found cold or even offensive, seemed to have no effect on him at all. It even appeared to give him a certain pleasure in being indulged.
After dropping Dai Ciling home, the car turned around and headed toward Yuan Chen's residence.
It was almost midnight. Once the car stopped, Shen Yi and the driver got out together and stood to one side, watching Yuan Chen walk toward the gate.
"Shen Yi." Yuan Chen took two steps, then stopped without turning around. "Stay a moment."
The driver understood immediately. After a respectful bow, he drove away first.
Left alone with him, Shen Yi felt an inexplicable flicker of nerves. His fingers quietly curled behind his back.
According to their past "routine," moments like this could lead to certain "extensions" beyond work.
He remained where he was, watching Yuan Chen's back.
Yuan Chen did not go inside immediately. Instead, he watched the direction the driver