56. Go to work together

The next morning, Chi Jin woke up before her alarm went off. The thought of going to the company with Chen Yisheng had left her sleepless. Furthermore, she wasn't going home tonight. Although she was already a responsible adult, she still worried about her roommate Taozi questioning her when she woke up, or her mother calling to check on her.

He had thought he would be "interrogated" by Taozi last night, but unexpectedly, Taozi had been partying with friends until late at night and was still sleeping soundly. Chi Jin quietly washed and packed up, and left the house quietly like a secret agent.

The black car was parked quietly. She opened the door and got in. The fresh aroma of coffee filled the air, overpowering the jasmine scent.

"Good morning!"

"Good morning." He turned his head to look at her, his eyes lingering on her for two seconds, "Have you had breakfast?"

"I ate half an apple." Chi Jin fastened his seat belt. "Have you been waiting for a long time? You even went to buy breakfast."

On the center armrest was a cup of her usual American coffee and a packaged sandwich.

"Actually, I want to eat with you, but I want you to sleep more." Chen Yisheng started the car. "How did you sleep last night?"

God knows she's using two layers of concealer to barely hide the signs of insomnia. How could she possibly sleep well with all these emotions swirling around in her?

"Not... not bad." She took a sip of coffee, the warm liquid flowing down her throat. Judging from the temperature, she also judged that he must have been waiting for a while. "You got up early, didn't you? I'm sorry to bother you with driving. I've worked hard. Let's go to the beach tonight, let me drive."

"No need." He refused briefly, but in a gentle tone, "I sleep well, don't worry."

The morning light, streaming through the car window, cast a soft shadow on his chiseled profile. Having not been in love for so long, Chi Jin had almost forgotten the intimacy of having someone waiting for him, someone remembering breakfast. It was both novel and heartwarming.

Chen Yisheng held her hand the entire time, occasionally letting go when traffic was heavy. Chi Jin chuckled and said, "Editor-in-Chief Chen, you really are different than you appear."

"How do I look?"

Chi Jin was about to make fun of him when he heard his phone vibrate. A call came in from an unfamiliar local number.

He signaled with his eyes that Chi Jin could help him answer it.

"Hello Mr. Chen, I'm the customer service representative for Good Water and Good Electricity Coupons. We've detected that you're our VI..."

Before the other party could finish speaking, Chi Jin simply hung up the phone: "It's a harassing call. Today's AI voice is so real that it's almost indistinguishable from the real thing."

"Block him as well," he ordered.

Chi Jin finished the operation neatly, his eyes rolled, and a mischievous thought came to his mind: "Then...can I see your phone?"

"Just look at it." He answered frankly, "I have nothing to hide."

"Such a good attitude?" Chi Jin opened WeChat and said deliberately, "Then let me see what you noted for me."

Thinking of this, Chen Yisheng suddenly chuckled: "You probably don't know, but not long after you started working, I knew that you had already labeled me as 'Living King of Hell'."

Chi Jin sat up straight instantly, his face slightly hot, and argued: "That was...that was a class contradiction! At that time, our relationship was purely one of exploitation and exploitation!"

"What now?" He raised his eyebrows and glanced at her.

"Now?" Chi Jin suppressed his laughter and raised his chin. "Now it's my turn to exploit you!"

"I'm happy with it."

As she spoke, she quickly flipped through her WeChat list. Then her face fell and her voice rose: "Chi Jin, the editor of Face?! Is that all you're noting to me?"

"Don't be angry." He squeezed her left hand. "You said before that the relationship is different. I use this format for notes to all my colleagues."

"What about the trumpet? The one that was used to conduct the sting operation through Qianjinding?"

"Chi Jin." He said truthfully, "Actually, you always thought that the second visit was just a sting operation. In fact, the first time I saw your ad, I guessed that 'Qian Jin Ding' was actually you."

"Sinister man!"

As the car approached the company, Chi Jin felt an invisible sense of restraint, which made him act like an ostrich. After all, he was about to enter a field where he needed to pay attention to his words and actions at all times.

"I'm sorry to bother you during the day. Editor-in-Chief Chen is definitely more calm and steady than me." Chi Jin turned his head to look at Chen Yisheng who was parking the car and lowered his voice, "See you here tonight."

Chen Yisheng looked at her slightly nervous yet forced calmness, a faint smile flickering across his eyes, but it quickly faded away. He hummed softly and said pitifully, "It's really aggrieved. What can I do?"

Chi Jin's heart skipped a beat, thinking he was thinking of going public, and was shocked: "Now is definitely not the time!"

Chen Yisheng smiled when he heard that. He stopped the car, unbuckled his seatbelt, and suddenly leaned closer to her. He lowered his voice and said, "Then kiss me."

Chi Jin's cheeks flushed instantly. This option was obviously much easier to accept than going public. However...

“What if a colleague passes by and sees it?”

"It's a holiday today, so there aren't many people in the basement." He had a good reason, his eyes fixed on her lips.

Chi Jin glanced around quickly, then pecked him on the cheek very quickly and lightly, like a thief, and then patted his shoulder quickly, saying in a panic: "Alright, alright! Compensation completed!"

After saying that, he pushed the door and got out of the car almost as if he was running away.

From the basement to the elevator hall, a distance of only a few dozen meters, the two people tacitly maintained a safe distance of about half a meter, one in front and one behind, walking calmly without any communication, like strangers who happened to be traveling the same way.

Guo Xin happened to be standing in front of the elevator. Seeing Chen Yisheng, he greeted him respectfully, "Good morning, Editor-in-Chief Chen."

"Good morning." Chen Yisheng nodded slightly, his expression his usual calm and indifferent, devoid of any emotion. He stood slightly in front of the crowd, his posture erect, his aura natural and distant.

"Team Leader Xiaochi, did you drive here today?" Guo Xin asked casually. He had the impression that she had always been a subway commuter.

"Ah..." Chi Jin scratched his head in panic, "I took a ride, and it happened to be to the securities company on the tenth floor."

"Haha, we're better off. We're only on duty during the holidays, but they're miserable. They work almost all year round." Guo Xin said, "We'll be fine just by getting through today. What are Team Leader Xiaochi's plans for New Year's Day? Lying at home again?"

"Yeah, that's all I have." Chi Jin laughed as usual. "Where's Brother Xin? Are you going out to play with your wife and children during the holidays?"

"It's so crowded, maybe we should wait until the kids have winter break."

The elevator arrived, and everyone entered. In the small space, Chi Jin huddled in a corner, keeping a distance from him. She could clearly sense his presence, but she had to force herself to ignore it.

The elevator first stopped at the floor where the editorial office of "Face" was located.

"Editor-in-Chief Chen, we're leaving first." Guo Xin said.

Chen Yisheng's gaze seemed to quickly sweep over Chi Jin, but also seemed not to. He just nodded slightly at Guo Xin as a response.

The elevator door closed behind Chi Jin, isolating her from the figure that had caused her heart to race. She let out a soft breath, her tense nerves finally relaxing a bit. Yet, a faint sense of loss crept into her heart—this feeling of pretending to be unfamiliar wasn't a good one.

The morning was busy and fulfilling. Chi Jin tried to focus on the manuscript in front of him, but his thoughts kept drifting upstairs. What was he doing? A meeting? Reviewing documents? Did he... even think of her occasionally?

Lunch break was almost over, and a message popped up on DingTalk. It was from a system default snicker, and the note was "Zhong Xin - Editor-in-Chief Chen"—

[Staff cafeteria? 12:10.]

Why didn't he send a WeChat or DingTalk message? Chi Jin was startled and quickly replied with an emoji.

At 12:10, Chi Jin deliberately lingered for a while, waiting until most of her colleagues had left before she got up and headed for the restaurant. The restaurant was bustling with people, and the aroma of food filled the air. She glanced around and soon spotted him in a relatively quiet corner by the window.

He had already taken the food, with two sets of tableware in front of him. Seeing her coming, he raised his eyes and nodded to her almost imperceptibly.

Chi Jin walked over and sat down opposite him.

"Chen Yisheng!" She kicked him from under the table. "How dare you send me a DingTalk appointment?"

Chen Yisheng calmly took out her phone and turned the screen towards her, revealing a red exclamation mark indicating an unsent message. "The bad guy is complaining first? I almost forgot. It seems a certain top editor has blocked me on WeChat."

Chi Jin looked at the red exclamation mark and remembered that he had acted impulsively and not only blocked his secondary account, but also his main account.

She suddenly lost all her momentum, and quickly put on a flattering smile, clasping her hands together as if begging: "I was wrong, I was wrong, Mr. Editor-in-Chief Chen, please be magnanimous! I'll add it back now!" She took out her cell phone and operated it in a panic.

Chen Yisheng held out his hand, his tone unquestionable: "Give me your phone. I'll edit the notes."

"Doesn't 'living devil' sound good? It's so appropriate." She muttered softly, but still handed over the phone.

Chen Yisheng snorted softly, took their phones, and skillfully changed the notes of both WeChat accounts to "Chen Yisheng" with their full name before handing them back to her.

Chi Jin glanced around cautiously, making sure no one was paying attention. Then he nudged his calf with his toes, his voice low and coquettish, "Did you miss me this morning?"

Chen Yisheng remained calm, but gently clamped her restless ankles with his legs under the table. His tone was serious, but the meaning was completely different: "Of course, the King of Hell wants to deal with the disobedient little devils below the most. Come and eat."

Chi Jin's heart skipped a beat, and a sweet, greasy warmth instantly surged through her body. She hurriedly lowered her head, pretending to concentrate on shoveling the rice in her bowl. Her ears were completely red, and her heart was pounding in her chest, the sound so loud that it almost drowned out the noise of the restaurant.

The bad guy opposite her paused almost imperceptibly, and then she heard a very light and low chuckle that was almost drowned out by the noise.

The ankle was clamped tighter under the table, then loosened.

No other action.