As soon as she finished speaking, the expressions on their faces all became a little strange. She asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"

The others remained silent, while Shen Jiayi, with a mournful face, said, "I was just about to tell you this, sis. Kong Yingying has been going to the old house a lot lately, probably trying to pull that trick Ye Zhao used to use, eagerly going to see my grandfather..."

Shu Yang's expression darkened slightly, and he said with a forced smile, "She's really cunning!"

Shen Jiayi hugged her arm and said softly, "Okay, Sister Shuyang, she can only play petty tricks. She's not very sophisticated. My brother won't fall for her tricks again."

That being said, was Shen Du's engagement due to being tricked? Wasn't it because Old Master Shen was pressuring him to get married? Shu Yang had heard that many people in their circle were being pressured by their families to get married recently. What if Old Master Shen got anxious and arranged another engagement for Shen Du? Shu Yang didn't want Shen Du to have another fiancée like that.

Seeing that she was in a bad mood, the others changed the subject, but Shu Yang remained silent for a long time, seemingly lost in thought.

Meanwhile, the Shen Group.

Xie Yao dressed up for once today, wearing a blue dress that was extremely form-fitting, outlining her slender figure. Her long hair was draped over her shoulders, making her look much more gentle, and she also had light makeup on her face, making her look delicate and beautiful.

As soon as she walked in, Lin Yi noticed that she looked a little different today and asked curiously, "What day is it today? I haven't seen you dressed like this in a long time."

It's no wonder he said that. When Xie Yao first started working at Shen's, she really liked dressing up. But as her work got busier, she gradually stopped caring about dressing up. Unless there was a work requirement, she would dress up extra elaborately. Otherwise, she would just dress up simply.

Xie Yao smiled and casually placed her bag on the table, replying, "My family has arranged a blind date for me. I'll go check it out after get off work."

"A blind date?" Lin Yi's eyes widened in surprise, and he hurriedly asked, "Why would you suddenly want to go on a blind date? Do you want to get married?"

Xie Yao smiled and said, "At my age, it's about time I started dating and getting married. I can't stay single forever, can I?"

Despite saying that, Lin Yi's expression became somewhat subtle when he thought about Xie Yao and Shen Du's relationship.

"No, it's just a bit strange, I've never heard you mention it before."

Xie Yao said softly, "What's so strange about that? It's perfectly normal to talk about marriage when you reach a certain age."

Lin Yi nodded thoughtfully, and later mentioned this matter when he reported to Chen Du.

Chen Du paused for a moment, then nodded, without any further reaction.

Seeing this, Lin Yi didn't say anything more and left with the documents.

It wasn't until Xie Yao came to report on her work that Shen Du asked, "I heard you're going on a blind date this afternoon?"

Xie Yao was stunned for a moment, probably not expecting the news to reach Chen Du so quickly.

"Yes, that's right," she replied with a slight smile.

Chen Du nodded, and after a two-second silence, said, "Leave the afternoon's work to others. You can go ahead and do your job. Consider it a half-day off for you."

Upon hearing this, Xie Yao's smile gradually faded. After a long silence, she spoke seriously under Shen Du's increasingly puzzled gaze: "In the future, if President Shen is not interested in a girl, please don't do anything that might cause her to misunderstand, or she will take it seriously."

Under Shen Du's questioning gaze, she took the documents, turned around, and walked out. The moment she stepped out, the hem of her skirt was lifted in a graceful arc by the breeze.

If Mr. Shen is not interested in a girl in the future, he must never do anything that would cause her to misunderstand, otherwise she will take it seriously.

Chen Du sat in his seat for a long time before slowly realizing what she meant.

He has always been somewhat slow to react when it comes to relationships. Apart from that brief romance, he doesn't know much about these things, so his judgment is often limited in these matters.

For example, he was slow to realize Shu Yang's feelings for him. If she hadn't repeatedly provoked him, he might not have realized Shu Yang's feelings for him for a long time, and would have only regarded her as a childhood friend, giving her a lot of tolerance.

Then there's Xie Yao, who only realized her mistake belatedly.

No one told him that what he did was wrong, but it's not too late for him to know now.

He's busy with work all day long and has never been willing to put much effort into matters of the heart. He can't figure out the intricacies of relationships, nor does he have the time to do so.

He stopped thinking about these things and started working.

At this moment, Kong Yingying was still at the Shen family's old house, playing chess with Old Master Shen.

She actually knew nothing about chess, but had only recently learned a little, and couldn't wait to come to the Shen family's old house.

The old man didn't expose her, and chatted with her for a while with a smile before asking, "Good child, do you like my Adu?"

Kong Yingying was focused on playing chess when she suddenly heard this. She paused for a moment, then blushed slightly, nodded honestly, and asked cautiously, "I do have feelings for President Shen. You don't think I'm being cunning, do you?"

The old man smiled kindly: "I understand."

Kong Yingying felt a little flustered and quickly said, "Grandpa Shen, I didn't mean anything by it. I genuinely like President Shen..."

The old man smiled and said gently, "I've gotten older these past two years, and I generally don't go out unless there's something important. Of course, I'm happy that you can come and keep this old man company for a game of chess and a chat, but I still have to tell you, I'm no longer involved in A-Du's affairs. If you really like him, go find him; don't waste your energy on the wrong thing."

After saying this, Kong Yingying's face turned a little pale, but she still smiled and said in a slightly trembling voice, "Thank you for your advice, Grandpa Shen, but President Shen... I really couldn't get close to him, so I came up with this method. I hope you will forgive me."

Grandpa Shen smiled and said, "It's alright. You're a young man. I'd be very happy to have you come over to my house if you like."

Kong Yingying's face flushed red, then turned pale, then flushed red again. The game of chess was completely unplayable. She hurriedly said a few words and left in a hurry.

Watching her almost fleeing figure, Butler Liu asked, "Weren't you usually quite lenient with these children? What's wrong with you today?"

Old Master Shen sighed and said, "It's not as good as Zhaozhao. Look, you've only been playing chess for a short while, and you've already subtly inquired about Adu's situation."

Butler Liu smiled but didn't say anything. It was obvious that the old man was biased and viewed people with prejudice. He remembered that Miss Ye was much more blatant than Miss Kong before.

Old Master Shen lowered his eyes, seemingly lost in thought, and suddenly said, "She just said the Ye family went bankrupt. Call Zhaozhao and ask what's going on."