"Your pheromones are too faint. I can barely smell them."
"That's pretty hurtful, isn't it? Who says that to someone's face?"
"You should be grateful. Otherwise, I'd be asking you to leave right now."
"Then at least... you don't find them unpleasant?"
Dai Ciling picked up his teacup and gave Shen Yi, who was setting out refreshments, a radiant smile.
Shen Yi's expression did not change. He merely gave a slight, courteous bow, then turned to leave.
He had long grown accustomed to letting private conversations go in one ear and out the other. It was a basic skill for a secretary, honed over many years.
Yuan Chen made no attempt to conceal his impatience. He raised a hand to rub his temple, his brows faintly drawn.
"What exactly are you trying to say?"
"Let's get married."
Shen Yi's fingers on the door handle stiffened almost imperceptibly.
Although he had already suspected it, hearing those words himself still seemed to freeze his fingertips in an instant, leaving them unable to move.
A tangle of emotions churned at Dai Ciling's words.
He could not tell whether it was jealousy or sorrow, but something was certainly burning, boiling inside his chest.
Yet this was not a conversation he had any right to weigh in on.
His opinion did not matter. This was Yuan Chen's own affair.
All he could do was keep his mouth shut and leave in silence.
"Get married?"
"I'm serious. This marriage could bring you far more benefits than you imagine. Give it some real thought."
Shen Yi put the conversation out of his mind and gently closed the office door behind him.
The moment they were hidden from view, he felt all the strength drain from his body.
Shen Yi, pull yourself together, he repeated inwardly, like a