Inviting him to dinner was a pretense; sleeping with him was the real, long-planned scheme.

Song Yunxi asked, "I'd like to skip work today, is that okay?"

Mu Chen nodded. "Okay."

After working so many overtime hours, it would be worth rewarding her with a day off.

Song Yunxi raised her hands above her head and stretched lazily. "Then I need to think carefully about what to do today."

Before she could even make up her mind, her plans had already been meticulously arranged by others.

Dai Shuo sent a voice message: "Song Yunxi, let's go out and talk?"

The tone was cheerful, yet assertive and brooked no argument.

Song Yunxi replied with a voice message: "Aren't you going to work today?"

"I'm at work. That's why I invited you to my workplace to talk."

As Dai Shuo spoke, as if afraid Song Yunxi wouldn't know the address, he sent over the location of the Tourism College. He also casually tossed her a red envelope, saying, "Take a taxi, I'll reimburse you."

Song Yunxi accepted the red envelope and decided to go to the appointment out of consideration for Dai Shuo's generosity.

Mu Chen accompanied her home to change her clothes, and then drove her to Dai Shuo's school.

As Dai Shuo handed Song Yunxi a cup of tea, he chuckled and complained, "Miss, you're too slow!"

“There’s nothing I can do, my chauffeur drives a bit slowly.” Song Yunxi took a sip of tea, found the taste mediocre, and casually put the teacup aside. “You called me here to talk about work? Internship matters are not my responsibility.”

"It was indeed about work, but you guessed it, it was your partner."

Dai Shuo glanced at the teacup that Song Yunxi had pushed aside. After all these years, her skills really hadn't become rusty at all.

Dai Shuo smiled ingratiatingly. "I'd like to offer a tea ceremony elective course at the school, but I haven't found a suitable teacher. Could you help me out?"

Song Yunxi laughed too. "I've never given a lecture before, I can't command the room."

"Yes, yes, you can. Back when you were giving book club talks at school, the department head chased after you for several sessions."

It was originally a small-scale book club organized by the department, where Rui Yan talked about "Dream of the Red Chamber". Unexpectedly, the response was so good that she was invited to give many more lectures in other departments.

Their department head was a middle-aged woman. From the moment Rui Yan pointed to Miaoyu's picture and said, "If I were fortunate enough to become a nun..." she listened with a smile to the entire rest of the speech. Moreover, whenever Rui Yan gave a lecture in another department, the department head would always attend if she had the time. She was practically a die-hard fan.

Song Yunxi asked, "What did they talk about?"

Dai Shuo quickly handed her two books on tea ceremony. "I thought these two were pretty good after looking at them. You can choose one to talk about, or you can improvise as you like."

Song Yunxi casually flipped through the books and picked up a simple one suitable for beginners. "This one."

Then she asked, "Why offer tea ceremony classes? It doesn't seem to have much to do with tourism and hotel management, does it?"

"It's all to enhance students' competitiveness. More and more people are studying hotel management now, and having an extra skill means having more opportunities."

Song Yunxi nodded, deeply agreeing with Dai Shuo's statement.

"Since I can give your students a competitive edge, shouldn't I get something in return? After all, a win-win situation is the only true win."

"Of course, I will help you apply for a teaching grant."

Song Yunxi shook her head, "I don't care about that little bit of subsidy. How about you lower the management fee for the Platinum Hotel interns?"

"Didn't you say that the interns' affairs weren't your responsibility?" Dai Shuo crossed his arms, looking like Song Yunxi was about to slap him in the face.

"I didn't say I was managing the interns, I meant reducing the management fee. Students put in the work, and Platinum Hotel pays them—what a natural and harmonious labor-management relationship! What amazing thing has your school done to deserve such a high management fee?"

The hotel pays interns arranged by the school the same wages as regular employees, but much less. Another portion of the cost is paid by the hotel to the school as administrative expenses.

Since the school is offering her a teaching stipend, she might as well negotiate the terms and lower the administrative fees. If all that money were paid to interns as wages, she wouldn't bother haggling. But if the money was going directly to the school, she felt there was still room for negotiation.

After all, every penny she takes from the hotel is related to her GOP.

Sigh! She's the kind of person who's devoted to the GOP.

Dai Shuo looked troubled: "I can't make that decision."

"Then you should talk to the school. If that doesn't work, you can put the teaching subsidy into the management fee and then charge the hotel less."

“The teaching subsidies are not much, so they don’t cover much of the management fees.”

Song Yunxi raised an eyebrow and chuckled. "What if the general manager of Platinum Hotels occasionally came to give a lecture to the students, conveying some positive energy from the industry?"

If Mu Chen could come to the school to give lectures, not only would it be a perfect fit for her industry, but she could also gain a wave of die-hard fans from the very beginning. This would not only save her GOP, but also benefit the future stability of the hotel's staff.

After all, if students regard Mu Chen as their idol early on, they will be reluctant to quit their jobs and leave after interning at the hotel.

Song Yunxi continued, "Furthermore, I can also find a way to get Platinum Hotels to allocate more internship slots to your school. As you know, there are so many people studying hotel management, and other schools are also vying for more slots."

"Isn't the intern your head steward, Ms. Fu? I remember you two don't get along. Are you sure you have the ability to get her to give you more spots?"

"Do you understand the concept of 'love-hate relationship'?"

Looking at Song Yunxi's smile, Dai Shuo felt that she was plotting against her, but she didn't have any evidence at the moment.

Seeing Dai Shuo frowning in consideration, Song Yunxi handed her the tea ceremony book she had just chosen. "Otherwise, I won't give the lecture. The general manager's lecture is gone, and so is the internship opportunity."

"Is this how you treat your own classmate?"

Even close classmates need to keep clear accounts.

After Song Yunxi finished speaking, she got up as if to leave, but Dai Shuo grabbed her arm.

"Oh, we can talk this over." After pulling Song Yunxi back into her chair, Dai Shuo sighed, "You really do have a lot on your mind for Platinum Hotel."

"There's nothing I can do, it's my boyfriend's hotel."

Dai Shuo chuckled and gave Song Yunxi a thumbs up.

After having lunch with Dai Shuo and chatting about the start of classes at school, Song Yunxi prepared to go back to the Platinum Hotel to pick up her suitcase and move.

Just as Dai Shuo escorted him out of the office building, he saw Mu Chen standing under the shade of a tree in front of the door with his hands in his pockets.

He wore a black shirt with the collar buttons undone and the sleeves rolled up to reveal his forearms, and black casual trousers. He stood there leisurely and languidly.

Dai Shuo whispered to Song Yunxi, "Should I run away quickly?"

After all, when she last met Song Yunxi, she said that Mu Chen didn't know she was Rui Yan and asked Dai Shuo to keep it a secret.

Song Yunxi said, "It's okay. He already knows."

Dai Shuo greeted Mu Chen, then hurriedly took his leave. Before leaving, he winked at Song Yunxi, reminding her not to forget to persuade Mu Chen to give a lecture.

Song Yunxi tilted her head and asked with a smile, "President Mu, what's going on?"

Mu Chen reached out and took Song Yunxi's hand. "Perhaps the general manager of Platinum Hotel can also skip work."

"But I still need to move."

"I've already moved in."

Song Yunxi's stay at the Platinum Hotel was only a temporary emergency, and she didn't bring much with her. The so-called move was just a single suitcase.

She had packed everything up in her room yesterday, waiting for Mu Chen to come back and pick her up. If it weren't for the unexpected incident, she would have stayed at home last night.

This morning, after finishing his work at the hotel, Mu Chen went to Song Yunxi's room to get his suitcase and put it in the trunk of his car.

Although the Tourism College cannot compare with Lancheng University, the campus has a similarly strong atmosphere of youth and romance. As campus couples walked past them hand in hand, Song Yunxi turned to look at Mu Chen.

If that unforeseen event hadn't happened back then, perhaps she and Mu Chen could have been like that couple, going to the library together, going to the cafeteria together, and walking hand in hand on campus.

Song Yunxi said, "How about I treat President Mu to dinner tonight? I still owe you a meal, so let's do it today."

Last time, she invited Mu Chen to do a fan appreciation event, personally making milk and cherry drinks for the guests when Miss Chi's afternoon tea was launched. At the time, she said she would cook for him herself.

Mu Chen smiled and nodded. "I couldn't be happier."

Back home, Song Yunxi went to the kitchen to prepare the groceries the two had just bought from the supermarket, while Mu Chen sat on the carpet in front of the coffee table, adjusting the projector in preparation for watching a movie after dinner.

What she called a dinner invitation and her signature dish was nothing more than two steaks, two glasses of red wine, and candles lit in the dim light of dusk.

The wine glasses clinked together with a crisp sound. The two exchanged a smile, then each took a small sip. The steak was cooked to perfection. Mu Chen took a knife and fork and carefully cut it into pieces before bringing it to Song Yunxi's lips.

The movie after dinner was a romance, and the two sat snuggled together on the carpet under the sofa. Mu Chen's arms were around Song Yunxi, and she wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head on his neck.

In some intimate scenes in the movie, Song Yunxi suddenly looks up at Mu Chen, and the moment she lifts her head from his arms, he reflexively looks down at her.

Their eyes met, and Song Yunxi smiled and said, "I drank too much yesterday, but I still remember what I said."

"What did you say?"

I said: I'm ready.

Mu Chen paused for a second, then smiled and lowered his head to kiss Song Yunxi's lips. Afterward, he stood up and picked her up in his arms, and Song Yunxi pointed towards the bedroom.

He placed her on the bed and then climbed on top of her, gazing intently at the person beneath him. Song Yunxi raised her arms in mid-air, waiting for him to lower his body further so she could wrap her arms around his neck.

Mu Chen pressed his body down to its lowest point, pressing tightly against hers. From her lips to her chest and then to her lower abdomen, their bodies were pressed together without any gap. He kissed her lips down to her chin, then to her collarbone, and then gently unbuttoned Song Yunxi's shirt, removing all obstacles that might have hindered his kisses.

Song Yunxi seemed more skilled than yesterday; she pulled Mu Chen's shirt hem out of his belt with just a couple of tugs of force. Then, she reached in and touched his lower abdomen.

I didn't get to touch it enough yesterday before someone forcibly stopped me, so I have to touch it again today, right?

Mu Chen was very thin, but his muscles were firm; he was probably the legendary man who was all muscle when he took off his clothes.

Mu Chen's kiss returned to Song Yunxi's lips, his body burning hot, his breathing heavy.

Song Yunxi reached into the bedside drawer and took out a small square box, handing it to him.

Mu Chen held it in his hand, lingering on her lips, and asked, somewhat mumbled, "Where did you come from?"

"I just bought it at the supermarket."

It seems that inviting him to dinner was a pretense; sleeping with him was the real plan that had been brewing for a long time.

All the beauty in the world cannot compare to the mutual affection of youth and the unbridled revelry after a long separation.

No matter how many trials he has faced, he remains a youth at heart.

Despite her life away, she returned still a young girl.