Was he angry?

Chi Ye raised a hand in greeting. He wore a smile, but inwardly, he could not muster any happiness at all.

[Was he angry?]

Shen Zhiyi looked at him without speaking, but the question had already surfaced in her mind. Chi Ye lightly rubbed his fingertips together, and this time, his smile grew a little more pronounced.

[Was he fine again?]

Chi Ye had not expected Shen Zhiyi to notice the change in his mood so quickly. He might not even have noticed those changes himself, yet she could see through him at a glance.

Liu Muyan finally spotted Chi Ye standing outside the window. She stood and said,

"Zhiyi, Chi Ye is waiting for you outside the window. I'm nearly finished here too, so why don't you head back with him?"

Once Liu Muyan finished brushing on the oil and left it to dry, it would be ready for mounting. The remaining steps would be fine without Shen Zhiyi there. Shen Zhiyi packed up her things and gave a few instructions before leaving the classroom.

Chi Ye stepped forward and took the things from her hands. He had not gone inside, but he had seen the general outline from outside.

"All done?"

Shen Zhiyi said, "Mm."

Chi Ye walked on the side nearest the railing, blocking the sun. She walked at a leisurely pace, her gaze unfocused. Chi Ye stayed a little ahead of her, not only to block the sun, but more to guide her along the way.

Shen Zhiyi moved without any particular destination in mind. As long as someone walked beside her, her gaze would lose focus, and her feet would simply follow that person.

Much of the time, she was rather listless.

"Did you make a new friend? I saw you chatting with him for a while."

Shen Zhiyi said, "Mm."

Chi Ye did not give up. He turned his head and lowered it to look at her intently as he continued,

"What did you talk about? He looked pretty happy when he left."

Shen Zhiyi said, "He asked for my contact details."

Even as Chi Ye asked, he had known that the scene earlier could only have involved asking for her contact details or getting acquainted. But why did hearing her say it still leave him a little annoyed? A veiled emotion flashed through his eyes before they quickly returned to normal.

He gave a few feigned chuckles. Only he knew just how fake that amusement was.

"That's nice. You've made another friend. And he's a junior at your university, too. You must have plenty to talk about. I really am a little envious of him."

Anyone else listening would have recognized just how barbed his words were, with a hint of affected innocence.

But Shen Zhiyi did not. Listening to him, she frowned slightly and thought,

[Why did we need things in common to talk about?]

Hearing that made Chi Ye even angrier. So it was fine even without anything in common to talk about? Then why wouldn't she talk to him more?

[I didn't even want to get to know him.]

The words on the tip of his tongue came to an abrupt halt, and delight welled up in their place. He suppressed the smile tugging at his lips, and even his gaze held a trace of tenderness as he looked at Shen Zhiyi.

His palm itched slightly. He really wanted to pat Shen Zhiyi's head, though she would probably glare at him.

"Getting to know people is a good thing, but these young people are just too impetuous. They pretend they only want to chat, but they're actually cooking up all sorts of bad ideas.

"Shen Zhiyi, don't let them fool you. Young people are full of tricks."

Listening to him made Shen Zhiyi drowsy. It was another day without an afternoon nap.

[So tired...]

Chi Ye saw that her eyes had narrowed a little. It was three in the afternoon, usually not long after Shen Zhiyi woke from her nap.

"Tired? Then let's hurry back so you can rest." Just as he finished speaking, the phone in his pocket rang.

It was Assistant Fang. An urgent meeting required his presence; apparently, there was a problem with the software.

He listened with a frown, then hung up and looked at Shen Zhiyi apologetically. Shen Zhiyi had not noticed anything and kept walking ahead.

If he went to the meeting, he would not be able to take Shen Zhiyi home. But he did not feel entirely comfortable letting her go back alone.

Without thinking for long, he soon came up with a solution.

"Shen Zhiyi, come to the office with me."

Shen Zhiyi looked up at him.

"Why?"

Chi Ye glanced elsewhere, then said with a serious expression,

"Something's come up at work, so I can't take you home. It'll take a while for the driver to get here, and I'd worry about you going home alone.

"More importantly, we should make this more believable. Madam Ye definitely won't believe I've just started dating someone. If you come to my office and everyone there sees you, it'll be more convincing. What do you think?"

He looked at her a little nervously, tightening his grip on the toolbox.

Shen Zhiyi said, "Either way is fine."

She agreed quickly, without asking any more questions.

Chi Ye took her to the car. They soon left the area around campus and headed for his company. They should have been rushing there anxiously, but Chi Ye was relaxed, even finding the time to tell her about the streets around them.

He told her, one by one, which places had good food and which were a letdown. Shen Zhiyi's sleepy mind perked up a little, and she looked out the window as she followed what he was saying.

There were not many people on the streets, since it was working hours. But summer was at its finest, and even the breeze blowing past had color.

"There's a rest area in my office. You can rest there later. Tell me if you want anything to eat or drink, and I'll have someone arrange it."

Without turning her head, Shen Zhiyi answered,

"No need."

Chi Ye said, "All right."

The car pulled smoothly into the underground parking lot. He swiped his card and pressed the elevator button to go upstairs.

Assistant Fang had long since been waiting near the secretaries' office. He flipped through a few pages of the documents, and the elevator chimed.

With a ding, the elevator doors opened. Assistant Fang had just started to step forward when he stopped in his tracks. His boss was not alone in the elevator. Miss Shen was there too.

Assistant Fang put on a professional smile.

"Miss Shen, long time no see."

"Hello, boss."

Chi Ye was a little puzzled by his perfectly serious demeanor, but he quickly began issuing instructions.

"Get all the documents ready. The heads of the relevant departments and everyone involved are to meet in the first conference room on the left in ten minutes."

Assistant Fang dropped his smile and immediately went to make the arrangements.

The others from the secretaries' office were away. There was plenty to do every day, and Chi Ye was not the type to work himself to death, so he delegated most tasks.

That was why his occasional early departures did not affect their progress, though he still worked overtime more often than not. There was no real rest in the internet industry. Most of the time, they had to keep monitoring progress and fixing BUGs.

"Would you like something to eat before you rest?"

He asked after they entered his office. Shen Zhiyi merely glanced around once before finding herself a place to sit.

"No, I want to sleep."

Chi Ye nodded in understanding, then pushed open the door to the rest area and pointed inside.

"Everything is new. I don't rest here often, so most of the time it's just for show. Get some rest. I'll be back after the meeting. If you need anything, you can message or call me."