Chapter 29 I'm So Cool

Her tone was serious, her brows were slightly furrowed, and a hint of anxiety was in her eyes.

Seeing her serious expression, Sheng Tingzhou realized that she seemed genuinely troubled by the matter.

He paused for a moment, then asked calmly.

Do you know why my mom suddenly came here?

"Why?"

Song Zhiwei subconsciously pressed for an answer.

"She came to arrange a blind date for me."

After he finished speaking, he raised his hand and rubbed his temples, a gesture that revealed a hint of helplessness.

"This afternoon, she brought a top candidate to the company building and insisted on meeting me. I made an excuse to go to a meeting and avoided her, but she followed me all the way here. I couldn't even hide from her in time."

Song Zhiwei was taken aback, her eyes flashing with surprise and astonishment.

She never expected that Sheng Tingzhou would be such a powerful, cold, and decisive group president.

I'm even being pressured by my family to get married.

She almost burst out laughing.

But then he thought about it again and realized that he had just used himself as a shield, so he couldn't laugh anymore.

"But you can't drag me into this just to avoid blind dates, can you?"

Her tone was somewhat helpless, yet tinged with a hint of accusation.

His brows furrowed slightly, and he looked directly at the other person.

Sheng Tingzhou had a calm and composed expression.

His tone was so certain, as if he were stating a perfectly normal fact.

"You are my employee, and solving problems for the boss is within your job responsibilities."

Song Zhiwei was speechless for a moment.

Is this considered workplace exploitation?

On the surface, it speaks of reason and high-sounding principles. But upon closer inspection, it's all just a routine.

It was clearly his private matter, but he forcibly cloaked it in the guise of "job responsibilities".

It leaves people with no room to refuse.

She hesitated for a moment, then finally cautiously tried to speak.

"So... can this 'responsibility' be considered overtime? And get a raise?"

Sheng Tingzhou smiled.

Her eyes curved slightly, and a smile spread from the corners of her lips to the depths of her eyes.

"A little stingy."

Song Zhiwei rolled her eyes inwardly:

Capitalists are indeed capitalists; they don't hesitate to exploit their employees.

They say nice things, like "scope of responsibilities."

But when it comes to money, they refuse to give an extra penny.

She grumbled inwardly, but had to maintain a professional smile on her face.

"Okay, I'll give you extra money."

After Sheng Tingzhou finished speaking, he casually took out his phone from his pocket.

The transfer notification sounded almost before she could react.

Upon hearing this, Song Zhiwei was overjoyed.

He just blurted it out.

"President Sheng is truly generous!"

She wasn't being deliberately flattering.

Instead, they genuinely felt that this act of using someone as a "shield" was worthwhile.

At least we didn't suffer any financial loss.

She is indeed short of money right now.

I just returned to China, paid rent and deposit for a house, and used up most of my savings from abroad.

Every living expense that follows will require her to pay for it.

So this windfall came at just the right time.

She picked up her phone and looked at it.

The moment the amount on the screen came into view, her eyes widened.

"Mr. Sheng, did you press the wrong button?"

Why are there so many zeros after it?

Five hundred thousand?

This isn't overtime pay, it's more like hush money!

Sheng Tingzhou glanced at her indifferently, his expression unchanged.

He slowly sat back down at the table, picked up his chopsticks, took a slice of beef, and put it into the boiling pot.

Her movements were elegant and composed, as if nothing had just happened.

Song Zhiwei hesitated for a moment, but still went over.

Standing beside him, holding her phone, her gaze shifted back and forth between the screen and his face.

"Is this amount too much?"

Sheng Tingzhou looked up at her, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"Are you worried about me spending money?"

Song Zhiwei was speechless for a moment, her cheeks flushed slightly, and she quickly waved her hand.

"No, no, I was just afraid you'd slip your hand."

"Thank you for your generosity, boss."

Speak respectfully and adopt a humble attitude.

But in his mind, he was silently keeping accounts:

This money can be considered an advance payment of future wages for hard work.

Sheng Tingzhou put down his chopsticks and suddenly said.

"However, I have one more condition."

"What are the conditions?"

Song Zhiwei's heart sank.

Indeed, there's no such thing as free money.

He shrugged, his tone quite helpless.

"I'm still playing along with my mom lately. She's been pressuring me to go on blind dates every day, it's driving me crazy and it's affecting my work."

Song Zhiwei hesitated for a moment.

Madam Sheng actually made a pretty good impression on her.

Gentle and polite, with proper manners.

She remembered that when she was having dinner at the Sheng family's house that day, Madam Sheng specifically asked her if she wanted to change into a pair of slippers, worried that her feet would be cold.

But precisely because of this, she felt even more guilty.

Besides, what if this gets out? How will we handle it later?

Song Zhiwan was somewhat worried.

"Mr. Sheng, can you guarantee that your aunt won't tell anyone?"

She asked cautiously.

Sheng Tingzhou gave her a cold glance.

"Do you think I'm someone you're ashamed of?"

"ah?"

Song Zhiwei didn't react for a moment, her pupils widening slightly.

He stared straight at her, his tone a little cold.

Yet, there was also a hint of barely perceptible injury.

"Do you think it's shameful for others to know that you have a relationship with me?"

"Or are you afraid he'll be unhappy if he finds out?"

No.

Song Zhiwei quickly shook her head.

"You've misunderstood, that's not what I meant."

She wanted to explain, but found herself at a loss for words.

Someone like Sheng Tingzhou is someone many people would kill to climb up to.

Let alone going public, even if it's just a rumor, people will be eager to claim it.

If word gets out, people will just say she's lucky.

They say she's climbed to the top, reached a high position.

But she didn't care about any of that.

What she fears is trouble, conflict, and endless speculation and attacks.

Sheng Tingzhou raised an eyebrow, his eyes flickering slightly.

"Then what are you worried about?"

His tone softened, but it still carried a hint of inquiry.

Song Zhiwei clenched her fingers, her knuckles turning slightly white.

She lowered her head, her voice as soft as falling snow.

"As you know, I just left the Zhou family."

Sheng Tingzhou remained silent for a moment, his gaze lingering on her face for a few seconds.

Finally, he nodded.

"Understood, I'll talk to my mom first."

"Um."

Song Zhiwei looked up and smiled at him.

The smile was faint, yet sincere, like a ray of warm sunshine in winter.

Sheng Tingzhou stared at her for two seconds, his gaze lingering slightly.

After finishing the meal, Sheng Tingzhou voluntarily rolled up his sleeves and cleared the table.

He placed the dishes into the dishwasher one by one, his movements swift yet meticulous.

He didn't care at all when water droplets splashed on his sleeves.

Song Zhiwei stood by the sink rinsing the cups.

I caught a glimpse of his movements out of the corner of my eye and couldn't help but be a little surprised.

According to outside rumors, he has a powerful background, a fiery temper, and is known in the business world as a cold-blooded tyrant.

But now, he stands here, his cuffs slightly damp, intently fiddling with the cutlery.

They don't seem that difficult to get along with.

She thought to herself silently.

Sheng Tingzhou put down the tableware, and when he looked up, he met her gaze.

Sunlight streamed in through the window and fell on Song Zhiwei's eyelashes.

It cast a small shadow.

Sheng Tingzhou smiled.

"What are you looking at? Am I too handsome for you?"

Song Zhiwei's heart skipped a beat, as if her heart had been gently bumped by that smile.