Ye Zhao loved the purple dress and couldn't wait to put it on. But since she hadn't recovered from her cold, she added a short beige cardigan over it. Her slightly wavy long hair was draped over her shoulders, making her look very gentle and approachable, with a touch of girl-next-door charm. Even Cheng Yu couldn't help but compliment her, saying that she really looked great.

The two strolled leisurely through the huge shopping mall for an entire afternoon before Lin Yu finally arrived.

Seeing that their hands were empty, Lin Yu asked, "Didn't you say you were going shopping? Didn't you buy any clothes?"

Cheng Yu's expression was somewhat complicated: "Go back to the car and look at it later..."

Ye Zhao walked up to Lin Yu with a grin and took her arm: "Hehe, I bought a lot of clothes. This outfit I'm wearing is also brand new. Do you think it looks good?"

Lin Yu frowned and said, "It looks nice, but why wear it right after buying it without even washing it..."

Cheng Yu reached out and took her hand, saying, "Oh dear, we're already dressed, let's go eat first. I'm starving after shopping all afternoon."

The three of them walked hand in hand, and happened to pass by the store where they had just bought clothes. Several sales assistants stared wide-eyed at the sight of the three of them holding hands, and their eyes were filled with pity for Lin Yu.

Ye Zhao and Cheng Yu exchanged a glance, both unable to suppress a smile.

Lin Yu, the 'victim,' was completely unaware of the situation and even asked the two where they were going to eat.

"There's a pretty good restaurant nearby, with a quiet atmosphere and a wide variety of dishes. Shall we give it a try?"

Ye Zhao chimed in, "Sure, I'm hungry too. Is it far?"

"It's not far, just upstairs across the street. I forgot to make a reservation today, otherwise I could have enjoyed the night view from the window."

"No problem, as long as it tastes good."

As soon as she finished speaking, Ye Zhao felt nauseous. She searched around for a moment and hurriedly ran to the toilet in front of her. The two men followed her. Ye Zhao pushed open the toilet door and began to vomit violently. She had eaten hot pot for lunch, and after vomiting, she felt a burning pain in her throat.

Cheng Yu quickly fed her water to rinse her mouth, and Ye Zhao cried uncontrollably from the discomfort.

Lin Yu said with a worried look, "Why don't we go back? We can eat anytime."

Ye Zhao, who was feeling extremely unwell, immediately retorted upon hearing this: "Eat! Why wouldn't I eat? I've already thrown up, I'll starve to death if I don't eat."

Seeing that Lin Yu was about to say something, Cheng Yu gave her a look and said helplessly, "Let her eat if she wants to."

The two helped Ye Zhao rinse her mouth and only came out of the bathroom after seeing that she was much better.

The restaurant isn't far away; just cross the street and take the elevator up.

It was lunchtime, and the restaurant was quite crowded. Luckily, they arrived at the right time, as there was one private room left.

After ordering their food, the group started chatting, always having endless things to say and endless gossip to share.

Meanwhile, in another private room of the restaurant, Chen Du and Xie Yao sat facing each other.

"I've been wanting to treat you to a meal for a while, but I've been too busy with work and haven't been able to find the time."

"Are you complaining that I've given you too many tasks?" Shen Du teased.

If Lin Yi were sitting here, he would definitely find it hard to hide his surprise. Chen Du is usually taciturn and serious in front of others, let alone joking.

Xie Yao smiled upon hearing this: "That's not what I meant. The fact that President Shen assigns me a lot of work shows that I'm a reliable person and that President Shen trusts me, right?"

"You've already had such a heavy workload since you started working. Thank you for your hard work."

Shen Du was sincere in saying this. The company was short-staffed recently, and Yang Xu and Lin Yi were extremely busy. He didn't trust anyone else to do the work, so Xie Yao's arrival came at just the right time.

"It's within my job responsibilities, what's so hard about it? I should be thanking you. If you hadn't put in a good word for me, I probably wouldn't have gotten the hang of it so quickly." Xie Yao was speaking from the heart. Although she had experience before, every company's model is different. She could tell from the beginning that Lin Yi's help to her must have been at Shen Du's behest.

Xie Yao had just finished speaking when she saw that Shen Du wanted to say something more, so she interrupted him with a smile: "Alright, I invited you out for a meal, not to talk about work. I finally got a break, so please let me off the hook, boss!"

Shen Du nodded with a smile in his eyes, then changed the subject: "Tell me about your previous company abroad."

“Great, that company was in the UK, and I got the job right after graduation…”

Xie Yao recounted her experiences and observations abroad over the years, while Shen Du listened silently, occasionally offering a comment or two. Only after Xie Yao finished recounting her experiences over the years did he ask, "Since you felt so far from home, why did you leave in the first place?"

As soon as she finished speaking, the private room fell silent. The two stared at each other in silence, like waves surging beneath a calm river. Xie Yao was the first to give in, looking away and not mentioning anything about those years. She only said that she was young and impetuous and wanted to go abroad to see the world.

Chen Du listened in silence, and finally only replied, "Is that so?"

Xie Yao tugged at the corner of her mouth: "Yeah, how have you been these past few years? Taking over such a large group must have been tough, right?"

Nothing is easy; you'll get used to it eventually.

The conversation seemed to run out of steam, so Chen Du stood up and said, "I'm going to the restroom."

As soon as he left, Xie Yao slumped her shoulders in despair. The fact that she left without saying goodbye back then made her feel guilty when facing Chen Du. She was young and impetuous at the time, and left the country in a huff after listening to a few provocative words. It was too childish to talk about now, and there was no need to bring it up again.

Ye Zhao was eating and chatting peacefully when a sweet and sour fish was served. She glanced at it and felt nauseous. Not wanting to disturb Cheng Yu and the other person's conversation, she got up and said she was going to the restroom. However, before she even reached the bathroom, she leaned over the sink and started vomiting.

"Ugh... ugh..." Ye Zhao apologized in her heart as she vomited. After all, vomiting here and being seen by others would really affect her mood and appetite.

As soon as Chen Du stepped out of the bathroom, he saw the person vomiting violently over the sink. At first, he didn't pay attention and even frowned. It wasn't until he finished washing his hands and vaguely felt that the sound of the person vomiting sounded familiar that he turned his head to take a look.

"Ye Zhao?"

Ye Zhao had just raised her head when she saw Chen Du beside her.

The two stared at each other for a second, and Ye Zhao bluntly ordered, "Get me a glass of water."

Upon hearing this, Shen Du paused for a moment, nodded, turned around and asked the waiter to bring water, before walking over to Ye Zhao's side.

"What are you doing here? Why are you vomiting like this? Have you been to the hospital?" Shen Du asked a series of questions with a serious expression.

Ye Zhao's throat was burning with pain, and she didn't even rinse her mouth. She just shook her head and didn't answer him.