Chu Zhiye and Shen Ling sat on the steps chatting until night fell.

After a simple meal, Shen Ling drove him home.

Back to Limin Lane residential area.

Chu Zhi also got out of the car and said, "Thank you."

"It's nothing," Shen Ling said dismissively. "I'm leaving now."

"Bon Voyage."

Chu Zhi watched the car disappear into the traffic, somewhat lost in thought.

"Aha, look what I've seen." The voice of the toothless old lady pulled him back to reality. She laughed like an old fox. "Young man, you're no human being. You're two-timing me. You're a complete scumbag."

"How could you do this? How could you do this to Ms. Xu? How could you do this to that woman? How could you do this to Heaven? How could you do this to Earth? How could you do this to me?!"

"I want to tell Ms. Xu about this."

At this point, the old lady with the missing tooth rolled her eyes and said, "However, it's not impossible to negotiate. If you buy me lots and lots of snacks, I won't tell anyone."

Chu Zhi didn't answer, and turned to leave.

"Hey, why did you leave?"

"It doesn't matter if I can't buy a lot of snacks, a bag of snacks is fine too."

"I want three bags of potato chips."

Two bags.

"One bag is fine too."

"Are you going to buy it or not? I'm not leaving if you don't."

Watching Chu Zhiye's rapidly disappearing figure, the toothless old lady was very angry: "You stingy guy!"

It wasn't that Chu Zhi was stingy, but rather that Grandma Bao had said that the old lady with missing teeth had a medical condition and couldn't eat snacks, so she could still buy them for her.

When I got home, the lights were on.

Xu Man straightened up, looked at him, and said seriously, "Chu Zhiye, who is that girl?"

“Chen Ling,” Chu Zhiye replied.

"I wasn't asking for her name."

"I mean, what is your relationship with her?"

Chu Zhi also glanced at it: "Why should I tell you?"

"We are..." Xu Man was about to state her relationship with him in a righteous manner when she suddenly froze.

Yes, what is their relationship?

Boyfriend and girlfriend?

That's fake.

“I’m your landlord,” Xu Man said in a much softer tone.

Chu Zhi also went into the bedroom and did not reply further.

Seeing Chu Zhiye's calm demeanor, it took Xu Man a long time for the nameless fire in her heart to gradually subside.

She frowned, lost in thought.

Her father just sent her a message, telling her that he would only hand over the company to her if she further developed her relationship with Chu Zhiye.

This was a very difficult thing for her to do.

To acquire her father's company, she needs to cultivate a good relationship with Chu Zhiye; otherwise, everything will fall apart.

... ...

The next day.

Chu Zhi also woke up and was preparing to make breakfast.

As soon as I left the bedroom, I saw the table full of breakfast: steamed buns, fried dough sticks, soy milk, porridge... all kinds of delicious dishes.

Xu Man was dressed casually at home, with a single ponytail, looking gentle and virtuous.

She smiled and said, "You're up. I'll treat you to breakfast."

Chu Zhi sat down, picked up a bowl of noodles and started eating, but didn't touch the rest.

He doesn't like to eat too much in the morning.

Xu Man sat opposite her, smiling, "I'm sorry about last night."

There's no need to apologize for that.

Are you angry?

"No."

Those two sentences wouldn't cause Chu Zhiye to have any emotional reaction.

"What happened last night wasn't my fault." Seeing that Chu Zhiye was still the same as always, calm and indifferent, as if he wouldn't have any emotional change even if the sky were to fall, Xu Man finally felt relieved.

She said, "I don't know what happened, but when my dad found out that you were with that girl and that you were having a great time chatting, he assumed that there was something going on between you two and became even more suspicious of our relationship."

“Last night, my dad messaged me saying that I want to take our relationship to the next level, otherwise he won’t hand over the company to me.”

"What do you think we should do about this? Everything is completely ruined."

Chu Zhiye finished the last of his noodles in one bite, wiped his mouth, and said, "I believe you have a way to solve this."

"I have no choice. I was so worried that I couldn't sleep all night. Chu Zhiye, you have to help me," Xu Man said. "I'm your landlady."

Her eyes darted around, as if a bold idea had popped into her head, and she said with a grin, "How about this, let's take our fake relationship a step further and get a fake marriage certificate. That way, my dad will be completely at ease."

"We're just getting a fake marriage certificate. Once we're done, I can get the company shares and then we can get a divorce. After the divorce, I'll give you money and guarantee you a good life. What do you think?"

Chu Zhi also slung his backpack over his shoulder and left, leaving behind a comment before closing the door: "Not good."

Then the door slammed shut.

"Ah!" Xu Man clenched her fists and punched the sofa pillow, venting her anger on Chu Zhiye. "Chu Zhiye, I'll fight you to the death!"

She had already said all that, yet Chu Zhiye still wouldn't agree, and even made a disgusted face.

Imagine how many men would want to have a relationship with her, yet Chu Zhi actually looked down on her.

How could she not be furious?

After a while, Xu Man gradually calmed down and stroked her chin: "What should I do next?"

"Or, I could drug Chu Zhiye, put him in a sedative, and then make it so that we end up sleeping together, and then he'll have to have a fake marriage with me."

"Oh dear..."

"Looking at it this way, I feel so pathetic."

"No, that would mean I'd lose my virginity, and there's also a chance it wouldn't be successful."

"I still want Chu Zhiye to sincerely accompany me in playing a role that goes further."

"what do I do?"

... ...

Chu Zhi walked slowly along the street until he arrived at the company building, where employees lined up to enter the elevator.

He bypassed the queue, went to the boss's elevator, and headed towards the company.

He was quite averse to this special behavior, but ever since he was recognized by the employees while queuing, many of them acted as if they didn't dare to breathe while queuing. When they got to the elevator, they let him go up alone, for fear of running into him.

From then on, he stopped queuing.

It's good for both sides.

Sometimes, the existence of something must have its reasons.

When he arrived at Founder Investment, he continued to work as usual, reviewing documents, receiving clients, or holding meetings.

After finishing his meal, he rested until 2 p.m. before preparing for work.

Suddenly, a message from an unknown number came in.

"Hello, are you Chu Zhiye?"

"I am."

"Your grandma wants you to come over here for a bit."