“Chen Tianyou, get to Yayun Pavilion within ten minutes!”
The message was from Ye Ningshuang.
Chen Tianyou frowned deeply, a wave of disgust rising in his heart. It was precisely because of this woman that he had lost both his wealth and dignity. Even now, her tone hadn’t changed at all—emotionless, commanding, as if he were supposed to obey her every word.
He let out a cold laugh.
If he remembered correctly, the fastest route to Yayun Pavilion from here would take at least twenty minutes. Get there in ten? What, was he supposed to ride a rocket?
He scrolled up the chat history. It was filled with his own “Good morning,” “Good afternoon,” “Good evening,” “What are you doing today,” and all sorts of daily updates. Ye Ningshuang’s replies? Just a simple “Mm.”
The more he looked, the more frustrated he felt.
Damn it!
Why on earth did he, a rich second-generation heir, insist on playing the role of a simp?
Just thinking about how Ye Ningshuang later teamed up with Lin Mo to rob his family’s fortune made him furious.
Chen Tianyou picked up his phone and replied with a careless message.
…
Inside a luxurious private room at Yayun Pavilion.
“CEO Ye, congratulations on landing another major contract! Let’s all raise a glass to CEO Ye!”
“Cheers!”
…
The well-dressed men and women in designer suits and dresses all stood and toasted Ye Ningshuang.
Under the sparkling chandelier, she looked especially dazzling tonight. Her tailored professional outfit perfectly outlined her figure. With soft waves cascading over her shoulders, her face held a cold beauty, and her sharp eyes radiated confidence. She wore high-end crystal heels.
As the clinking of glasses echoed, Ye Ningshuang took a sip of red wine, a faint flush blooming on her cheeks.
“CEO Ye, you’ve really gone all out tonight. With all this wine, the bill must be over 100,000 yuan!”
“Tch! Even if it’s over a million, it’s not like she’s paying. Everyone in Donghai City knows CEO Ye has a rich second-generation simp who would crawl through fire for her if she asked!”
“Hahaha, right? With her looks and talent, who could resist?”
“CEO Ye, since everyone’s enjoying themselves, why not open two more bottles of the good stuff?”
Ye Ningshuang glanced sideways, thought for a moment, then nodded. “Since we’re all here to enjoy ourselves, eat and drink as you please.”
She had just sent a message to Chen Tianyou telling him to arrive in ten minutes. By the time they ordered more wine, it’d be about right.
“CEO Ye is so generous!”
“Thank you, CEO Ye!”
“Much appreciated, CEO Ye!”
“Since everyone’s in such high spirits, I’ll go ahead and share another piece of good news.” She set her glass down.
“What good news?”
Everyone stopped drinking and turned to her.
“Our company has secured several contracts worth over 100 million yuan for next quarter. The construction of our new office building has also begun. If everything goes according to plan, we’ll be moving in by next year!”
“Wow! That’s incredible, CEO Ye!”
“CEO Ye is amazing! You graduated less than a year ago and already grew your company to a 1 billion yuan scale. With all these contracts, your future is boundless!”
“It’s just normal business progress. Don’t worry, I’ll do my best to lead the company well,” Ye Ningshuang replied modestly.
More compliments followed.
“CEO Ye, is Chen Tianyou almost here?” the female secretary beside her asked.
“It’s only been a few minutes. That simp showing up this fast? That’d be something,” someone else chuckled.
“No way. I only sent the message a minute ago,” Ye Ningshuang said with a smile and shook her head.
From his house to here was at least a 20-minute drive. Even if he rushed out the moment he saw her message, he couldn’t possibly arrive so quickly.
She had said ten minutes on purpose—just so she could accuse him of being late and get him to pay the bill. Based on what she knew of him, if he saw her angry, he’d agree to anything just to please her.
Besides, this wasn’t the first time they’d pulled something like this.
“How about we make a little bet?” said a tall, skinny man in a suit, grinning at the others.
“What kind of bet?”
“Let’s bet how long this simp Chen Tianyou takes to get here. Whoever guesses right gets 1,000 yuan from the rest. What do you think?”
“That sounds fun! I’m in!”
“Alright, count me in!”
“CEO Ye, are you joining too?” the female secretary asked.
“Forget it… doesn’t feel right…” Ye Ningshuang hesitated and shook her head.
Even though everyone knew Chen Tianyou was her simp, it still felt wrong to joke about him so publicly. What if he showed up and saw this? Wouldn’t that just turn his feelings into a punchline?
And he had already agreed to sign future contracts with her company. For the sake of the company’s development, she still felt a bit guilty.
“It’s fine, CEO Ye. We’re just messing around—it’s all in good fun!”
“Yeah, don’t overthink it!”
“I’ll go first! I bet thirty minutes!”
“Too safe! I say twenty-five!”
“That simp probably floored it the second he got the message. I’m guessing fifteen at most!”
The debate grew livelier.
“Alright, let’s start the timer!”
Everyone kept an eye on their watches as time ticked by.
Ten minutes.
Fifteen minutes.
Twenty minutes.
Then something started to feel off.
There was still no sign of Chen Tianyou.
“What’s going on?”
“Maybe traffic? Let’s wait a little longer.”
Another ten minutes passed.
It had now been a full thirty minutes.
Still no Chen Tianyou.
“What the… this is weird. He’s never been this late before after getting a message from CEO Ye!”
“Exactly!”
“CEO Ye, maybe check where he is?”
“You guys are ridiculous,” Ye Ningshuang muttered, swirling her wine glass.
Still, she pulled out her phone to check.
The moment she looked at the message, her pupils dilated, her lips parted slightly, and her entire body froze.
After she’d sent her message, Chen Tianyou had replied with just four words:
“Tired. Going to sleep.”
What?
That was Chen Tianyou’s reply?
Ye Ningshuang blinked and rubbed her eyes, reading it several times.
“What’s wrong, CEO Ye? Did that guy get stuck in traffic?”
“Yeah, that must be it!”
“CEO Ye? Why aren’t you saying anything?”
“Don’t tell me… something happened to Chen Tianyou on the way?”