"Let's go in and have a cup of tea," he said naturally.

"No need," Xu Xinchen waved her hand. "I have to go back to the company to work overtime."

Gu Yan held her elbow tightly, raising an eyebrow with interest. "You dare disobey the boss?"

Gu Yan rang the doorbell, and a kind old lady opened the door. She looked quite old, with deep wrinkles on her cheeks. Her eyes lit up when she looked at Xu Xinchen.

"Come in, come in quickly," she greeted warmly, then said to Gu Yan, who was about to enter, "Madam is waiting inside."

After Xu Xinchen politely greeted Gu Yan, she followed him inside. Her eyes were drawn to a series of classical Chinese decorative paintings, which, judging from the handwriting and titles, were quite expensive. The room was filled with an antique charm, and all the necessary writing implements were readily available, giving people a refreshing feeling.

As soon as Gu Yan led her inside, a woman came down from upstairs. Wasn't this the same woman who had been with Gu Yan that day?

It turned out to be his mother.

She suddenly looked at him; she could never forget the strange look he had given her that day.

Xu Xinchen was stunned for a moment, her mind a little confused. It seemed that some key information flashed through her mind, but she tried hard to grasp it but found nothing.

Although over fifty, Mrs. Gu was still graceful and her figure was no less than that of a young girl. She smiled at Xu Xinchen and said to Aunt Wang, "Serve the guests tea."

Sister-in-law Wang accepted the order and left.

She walked up to her with a smile, took her hand, and sat down on the sofa next to the coffee table in the living room. Gu Fei followed and sat down opposite her.

Mrs. Gu smiled and glanced at the two of them, complaining, "You two are hiding your relationship. If I hadn't stumbled upon it by accident, you might have kept it from me for who knows how long."

These words jolted Xu Xinchen awake like a bombshell. "Aunt Gu, I..."

"Cough, cough, cough." Gu Yan suddenly coughed violently, almost coughing up his lungs. Gu's mother was startled and stepped forward to pat his back. "Are you feeling better? What's wrong?"

Gu Yan continued coughing while covering his lips with his hand, and at the same time, when his mother wasn't paying attention, he looked up and winked at her.

Once the cause and effect were connected, Xu Xinchen finally understood. She glared at him with a straight face and turned her head away.

Gu Yan was stunned.

Seeing that he was better, Gu's mother sat back down, looked at Xu Xinchen's face, and asked eagerly, "Who pursued whom first? Mom wants to hear your love story."

Mrs. Gu stared at the two of them with a gossipy look on her face, unaware of the subtle tension in their atmosphere.

Gu Yan felt uneasy, looking at Xu Xinchen's expressionless face and pursing his lips.

Xu Xinchen felt both angry and amused. She had completely fallen into his trap. She felt indignant, but when she caught sight of Gu's mother's earnest gaze, she couldn't bear it.

Seeing her silence, Gu Yan spoke up before she could, "Mom, Xiaoshi and I fell in love on our own. Xiaoshi is shy, so please don't ask."

"Alright, alright, I won't ask anymore," Mrs. Gu said with a beaming smile. Seeing her son so protective of his girlfriend, she felt even more that the two had a deep relationship. She smiled and scolded, "You really are something. You have a girlfriend and you didn't even tell your mother, making her so worried and anxious about arranging things for you."

"Now that you've settled down, Mom is relieved. When are you getting married?"

Gu Yan almost spat out his tea when he heard this. He hurriedly looked at Xu Xinchen's face. She lowered her head and secretly glared at him.

Gu Yan spoke up, "Mom, why are you in such a hurry? Xiao Shi and I have only just started dating, and it's not even close to happening yet."

"What do you mean? Are you planning to play around and then shirk responsibility?" Gu's mother's sharp gaze swept over his face, and she said unhappily, "Gu Yan, you can't be that kind of man who breaks his promises. If you do anything bad to Xiao Shi, I'll break your legs."

"Mom, what are you talking about?" Gu Yan interrupted her as she became more and more outrageous. "Xiao Shi and I have only been together for a short time, so please don't interfere. Let us develop our relationship on our own."

Gu's mother was indeed difficult to deal with, pestering the two of them with all sorts of questions. Gu Yan managed to evade most of the questions, while Xu Xinchen simply went along with it.

When the two of them came out of Gu Yan's house, they both sighed deeply.

Gu Yan glanced at her and apologized first, "I lied to you, I'm sorry. That time my mom saw you sitting in my car and misunderstood you as my girlfriend, so she conveniently canceled my blind date. That's why I tricked you into coming here to see her today..."

"This is a one-time exception; there will be no next time."

Xu Xinchen hesitated for a long time before finally managing to say, "If Gu Yan weren't so handsome, I would have really wanted to beat him up."

Xu Xinchen had originally planned to go to a restaurant for Chinese food, but Gu Yan called again, "Come to my office."

He left with those words and then hung up.

Xu Xinchen raised an eyebrow, arrived at his office door, knocked, and said, "Come in."

As soon as Xu Xinchen opened the door, he saw him sitting at his desk, wearing those gold-rimmed glasses again. There were faint bruises under his eyes, and he looked unwell. He leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and rubbed his eyebrows.

She placed the work report on his desk. "Boss, what did you want to see me about?"

He took off his glasses and looked over, his unobstructed eyes like a deep pool of water that quietly drew her in.

She suddenly turned her head away.

He gave a brief laugh. "Since you're working so hard, I should at least see the results of your work, right?"

Hearing this, Xu Xinchen breathed a slight sigh of relief and focused intently on her work, discussing recent cases with him. Gu Yan was a good boss; he never interrupted her explanations, leaning against his desk with a calm expression, but she knew he was listening attentively, occasionally offering pointers that made her suddenly understand.

The assistant knocked on the door and came in a moment later, carrying two boxed lunches.

Gu Yan put down the documents in his hand, tapped the table, looked at her, and said, "Come and eat first, then we can continue."

Xu Xinchen sat down opposite him, separated by a desk. She opened her lunchbox, and the meal inside was surprisingly plentiful, with meat and vegetables, but Xu Xinchen didn't have a big appetite and ate very little.

Gu Yan sat opposite her, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw the woman lowering her head and taking small bites of her food. His brows furrowed involuntarily. This woman, even when she eats, she is so refined?

Xu Xinchen could only eat a couple of bites before she couldn't eat anymore. She has a small appetite and never eats much, which is why she maintains her figure.

That's good.

Gu Yan was taken aback when he saw her put down her chopsticks. He looked disapprovingly at the large amount of food left in her bowl, his brows furrowing. "You only ate this much?"

Xu Xinchen nodded, "You ordered too much."

Gu Yan sighed inwardly. This was hardly enough to fill his teeth. He resignedly took her bowl and, under Xu Xinchen's surprised gaze, unhesitatingly scooped up the remaining food from her bowl and stuffed it into his own mouth.

Xu Xinchen was momentarily stunned. Watching Gu Yan, dressed in a suit and exuding elegance, casually picking at the leftovers from other people's bowls without any hesitation, she was truly amazed.

Gu Yan finished all the food in his bowl, wiped his mouth with a tissue, and said, "You're coming with me on a business trip to B City next week."

The climate in City B is completely different from that in City N. As soon as she got off the plane, she was so hot that she took off her coat. It wasn't until she got to the hotel and took a shower that she felt a bit cool.

In contrast to her, Gu Yan was still dressed in a suit and tie, showing no discomfort whatsoever. This man truly never showed his emotions.

In the afternoon, she accompanied him to a meeting, and in the evening there was a candlelight dinner party.

That evening, when Gu Yan came to see her, she was surprised to find that he had taken off his ever-present suit and put on a shirt she had never seen before. The neat white shirt instantly highlighted his deep features, making him look even younger and more handsome, which was very attractive.

In Gu Yan's eyes, Xu Xinchen today was a rare sight. Her hair was slightly curled at the ends, shimmering with a brown luster, and hung down to her bare chest. The diamond earrings enhanced her overall temperament. Her fair and slender swan neck and the red V-neck mini dress perfectly outlined her curves.

He rarely saw her dressed up so meticulously.

He couldn't help but glance at her again.

As they entered the elevator, the two stood one behind the other, at a distance that was neither too close nor too far. His gaze wandered around, and somehow it landed on the back of the woman in front of him.

The smooth door in front of the elevator clearly reflected the two figures. Xu Xinchen looked up and her eyes met his unexpectedly. Gu Yan paused for a moment, then naturally looked away.

A subtle and awkward atmosphere filled the air.

As soon as they arrived at the party location, beautiful women surrounded Gu Yan from all directions. Gu Yan handled them with ease, and as he walked with the women to the other side of the pool, he completely left her behind.

Xu Xinchen suppressed her urge to complain and watched Gu Yan chatting and laughing among the girls, making them giggle. Some of the girls even deliberately laughed and fell onto him.

She looked away, took a glass of red wine from a passing waiter, intending to calm down, but the more she drank, the more excited she became, her heart pounding and her cheeks flushing.