The soundproofing in Hengtuo’s office was already excellent.
Now, it was so quiet that it felt as if all the air had been sucked out of the room. Even the sound of the air conditioner could no longer be heard.
Fortunately, You Jue did not respond.
He did not even blink. He simply looked at Ni Xia calmly.
Cold and indifferent, his expression revealed nothing.
“I’ll pretend you never said that.”
With that, he lowered his eyes and closed his laptop. Then he pointed toward the door with his phone.
“I’m leaving first.”
His change in expression and smooth transition in conversation were so natural that it was almost as if Ni Xia had truly said nothing.
But she did not have time to think about anything else.
She could only nod blankly.
“Okay. Take care.”
You Jue turned and walked away.
Even though it was his own office.
In the blink of an eye, Ni Xia was alone again.
All the strength drained from her body at once, and she staggered over to the sofa and sat down.
After You Jue left, her embarrassment and humiliation quickly swelled in her chest. She did not even dare to think about everything that had happened over the past few days.
Just moments ago, she had lost her head and said something like that simply to save the situation.
Thank goodness You Jue had pretended she never said it…
Wait.
Ni Xia suddenly sat upright.
What did he mean by pretending she never said it?!
Is this really how someone rejects another person?!
The first thing Ni Xia did when she got home was delete the ambiguous social media post she had made a few nights ago.
Then she grabbed a cushion from the sofa and tried to suffocate herself with it.
After holding her breath for a long time, Ni Xia finally threw the cushion aside and stared at the ceiling, breathing heavily.
Once her chest stopped rising and falling so violently and the embarrassment began to fade, several questions finally occurred to her.
Whose friend was that painting actually?
And why did that person have a portrait of her?
It couldn’t be one of their high school classmates, could it?
Could there really be someone who had secretly loved her for years, only it wasn’t You Jue?
The moment that thought appeared, Ni Xia immediately killed it herself.
She could not embarrass herself a second time.
Maybe the girl in the painting was not even her.
Then what about Xu Shaoxin?
If You Jue had not asked her to help, why had Xu Shaoxin shown her such inexplicable kindness and care?
…Maybe she was simply a kind person.
Anyway, none of that mattered anymore.
Ni Xia stared blankly at the ceiling.
Her 50 million yuan was completely gone.
That night, even her dreams were filled with the sight of the 50 million yuan in her bank account mysteriously disappearing.
The next morning, when she woke up and received a message from Gu Yusheng, she was still immersed in the grief of losing such a huge amount of money.
[Gu Yusheng]: I looked into the current IP market yesterday. Things are different now. Renewing the copyright isn’t going to cost us what it did back then!
[Ni Xia]: …
[Gu Yusheng]: I’m on my way back. I arranged to meet the copyright owner in a couple of days. We’ll see what happens first.
[Gu Yusheng]: Don’t panic yet.
Ni Xia gave a dry laugh.
She wasn’t panicking.
There was no point panicking when panic could not create money.
She had not eaten since last night, and she had no appetite anyway. Only the growling of her stomach kept protesting.
She ordered takeout and weakly sank back onto the sofa.
After an unknown amount of time, her phone suddenly chimed.
Ni Xia glanced at WeChat.
She immediately sat straight up, her entire body heating up.
Why was You Jue messaging her?
Didn’t he say he didn’t like her?
Then why was he taking the initiative to message her?
After a while, once her mind had cooled down a little, Ni Xia carefully read his message.
[J]: How is the evidence coming along? Can you finish organizing it before next Wednesday?
Oh…
So that was what he wanted.
Ni Xia glanced toward the dining table behind her.
Paper receipts and various materials were piled up like a mountain. There were also countless chat records waiting to be organized on her phone and computer.
There was no hope for the 50 million yuan, but she could not abandon the lawsuit halfway.
Besides, she had already paid the legal fees.
But the thought of having to face You Jue again made her scalp tingle slightly.
Fortunately, there was still an assisting lawyer on the legal team.
[Ni Xia]: @Lai Min, Lawyer Lai, are you free today to help me organize the evidence?
After sending the message, Ni Xia stared nervously at her phone, hoping You Jue would not say anything else.
But for some reason, Lai Min did not respond.
Actually, Lai Min had seen the message immediately.
She simply did not reply right away. Instead, she rubbed her temples in frustration.
Yesterday, she had personally watched You Jue leave the office first.
A few minutes later, Ni Xia came out.
One had a face as cold as water and had walked away at such a fast pace that it looked as if he were running away from love itself.
The other had a flushed face and heavy steps, looking as though she were about to cry.
Anyone could tell they had argued.
Lai Min could not help recalling her painful past.
She had quit her previous job because her boss had treated her like a tool for pacifying his girlfriend.
She had learned absolutely nothing useful from the experience.
All day long, she had been asked to choose and deliver gifts to his girlfriend, write long messages for him, and act as his messenger.
Otherwise, she had to run out several times a day to buy coffee.
You Jue was different.
He did not like coffee, and he never ordered her around to run errands.
Lai Min was very satisfied with that.
But the moment she saw Ni Xia’s message, Lai Min understood.
Couples were all the same when they had a disagreement.
So she secretly made up her mind.
This time, she had to learn how to say no.
Fortunately, she really did have work on hand.
“Miss Ni, I’m sorry, but today I—”
Before she could finish typing her refusal, You Jue called.
“Give me your work. Go help her.”
“…”
Lai Min hesitated.
“That doesn’t seem right.”
You Jue asked, “Why?”
“Um… I just think everyone should handle their own work.”
“…”
You Jue did not understand why Lai Min, who was normally so hardworking and enthusiastic, had suddenly become reluctant to work.
But he did not want to force her either.
After staring at Ni Xia’s message for a while, he replied:
[J]: She isn’t available right now. I’ll go.
Why was it still You Jue?
Lai Min, the assisting lawyer, was unavailable, yet the lead lawyer somehow had time?
Ni Xia collapsed face-first onto the sofa.
Even without the painting, it was still hard not to read too much into it.
Before long, the doorbell rang.
The few short steps from the living room to the entrance felt to Ni Xia like a walk to the execution platform.
When she finally reached the door, she still did not have the courage to open it directly.
Instead, she peeked at the video doorbell.
Even during the day, the light at the entrance was on.
The screen had a high resolution, allowing Ni Xia to clearly see You Jue’s expression.
He looked completely expressionless.
As if he had simply come to visit an ordinary client and do some ordinary work.
Ni Xia forced herself to calm down as well.
She told herself that today she would not say one unnecessary word.
She would keep things professional and get everything done as quickly as possible.
With a swift motion, Ni Xia opened the door.
Their eyes met.
Neither spoke.
Then You Jue casually walked past her and entered the apartment as if he knew the place by heart.
His eyes went toward the dining table.
“Have you organized everything?”
“Yes.”
Ni Xia kept her face serious and pointed toward the dining table.
“The phone beside it is a backup phone. There’s no password. I transferred all the chat records onto it.”
You Jue opened the phone and glanced at it before roughly looking through the materials on the table.
“Does your production team have an accountant? I want to see the detailed accounting records.”
“And the bank transfer records and contracts. Are they all here?”
“The accounting records are behind the computer.”
Ni Xia was still standing at the entrance, making her look more like the guest.
“Some of the transfers were later canceled, so I didn’t bring those out.”
“Don’t decide for yourself whether they’re useful. As long as the other company stamped them, bring them all to me.”
Ni Xia gave a quiet “Oh” and immediately ran toward the study.
Although she had told herself to stay calm, she still became a little flustered.
While looking for the files, she accidentally scattered documents all over the floor.
After finally reorganizing everything, she carried the documents out of the study.
You Jue was already sitting calmly at the desk, slowly going through the accounting records.
He did not even look up when Ni Xia placed the thick stack of documents beside him.
Ni Xia silently sat down on the sofa.
Then she could not help turning around and sneaking another look at You Jue.
She could not understand how he could remain so calm after being confessed to.
How could he not be distracted at all?
Was it because he had received so many confessions that he had become numb to them?
Impossible, right?
Ni Xia herself had received plenty of confessions.
Even she would feel at least a little awkward when someone confessed to her.
Ni Xia silently turned her head back.
Almost at the exact same moment, You Jue looked up.
What entered his view was the messy living room and Ni Xia’s slender back.
She seemed to be thinking about something.
She was unusually quiet, without making any small movements.
She simply stared blankly at the watercolor painting beside the television.
The soft rustling of paper sounded like soothing white noise in the quiet room.
To avoid awkwardness, Ni Xia tried her best to reduce her presence.
She curled up on the sofa and stayed completely still.
Before long, she became drowsy, and her consciousness began drifting in and out.
Then her grandfather suddenly called.
The vibration of the phone on the coffee table was quite noticeable.
Ni Xia quickly grabbed it.
She glanced back at You Jue to make sure he had not been disturbed before answering in a low voice.
“Hello, Grandpa.”
“Are you home?”
“Yes. What’s wrong?”
“Come over for dinner tomorrow night.”
Ni Jianguo was always brief and direct, so Ni Xia did not ask much.
“Okay. Should I buy some roast goose from your favorite restaurant?”
The moment Ni Xia finished speaking, You Jue suddenly asked,
“Do you have scissors?”
Ni Xia’s heart suddenly raced.
Without thinking, she coughed several times in an attempt to cover his voice.
Hearing the noise, You Jue looked up and realized that Ni Xia was on the phone.
“Sorry. Go ahead.”
Then he continued with his work, leaving Ni Xia holding the phone in a daze.
On the other end, Ni Jianguo was silent for a moment.
“Is Lawyer You at your house?”
Ni Xia: “…”
She still had not managed to hide it.
She gave a quiet “Mm.”
Before her grandfather could ask anything else, she quickly explained,
“I just needed his help with something.”
Ni Jianguo rarely laughed, but he let out a small chuckle.
There was a knowing tone in his voice, as if he understood everything.
“Then do this. If he’s free tomorrow night, invite him over for dinner.”
Ni Xia’s face almost twisted into a knot.
She walked into the bedroom and closed the door before speaking hesitantly.
“Grandpa, it’s like this… Um… Lawyer You probably… doesn’t really like me.”
Ni Jianguo’s voice immediately became serious.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean—”
Ni Xia hurriedly tried to explain, but she did not know how.
“Anyway, he just isn’t interested in me. You can’t force feelings.”
This time, Ni Jianguo was silent for a long while.
But there was no way the old man would give up so easily on the grandson-in-law he had set his heart on.
“It’s like doing business. How many deals are successful at first sight? If you like him, then put in more effort.”
Ni Xia: “…”
After hanging up, Ni Xia gave a cold laugh.
Her grandfather made it sound so easy.
But if the man did not like her, what could she do?
She could not exactly take a knife and force him to go with her to the Civil Affairs Bureau.
She walked out of the bedroom and looked at You Jue from a distance.
This was already the second time he had come to her house, yet he still treated her like she was invisible.
What was the point of trying anymore?
Suddenly, her phone chimed.
It was that familiar bank-transfer notification.
Every nerve in Ni Xia’s body seemed to tremble.
She slowly raised her phone, her gaze moving inch by inch from You Jue to the screen.
The moment she saw the number, she thought she had read it wrong.
She immediately opened her banking app and counted the digits one by one.
Ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand, hundred thousand, million…
Three million.
A full three million yuan.
Forget You Jue not being interested in her.
Even if he had 220 volts running through his body, she would still be willing to hug him.
Her eyes suddenly widened as she stared directly at You Jue.
At that moment, all her embarrassment and disappointment disappeared.
If her grandfather had told her earlier that this was what “putting in effort” meant, she would have been willing to flip herself 360 degrees into a sea of fire.
After all, it was only a man.
Ni Xia’s gaze was so intense that You Jue could hardly fail to notice.
And it lasted so long that he could not ignore it either.
He raised his head and met her bright, sparkling eyes.
His narrow eyes narrowed slightly.
Surely she wasn’t going to confess to him again?
“Is something wrong?”
Their eyes met, neither willing to back down.
Finally, Ni Xia managed to pull a tiny bit of reason back from her excitement and restrained herself from doing anything too forward.
“Are you thirsty? Would you like some coffee? I can make you some.”
“Thank you.”
He lowered his eyes and let out a nearly imperceptible sigh of relief.
He calmly turned another page of the accounting book he had not yet read.
“I’ll have a cup.”
From the kitchen came a series of clattering sounds.
Nearly thirty minutes later, an elegant French coffee cup was finally placed beside You Jue.
Before he could even say “thank you,” he turned his head and saw three layers of foam floating on the surface of the coffee.
It was clearly an elaborate heart-shaped latte art that Ni Xia had deliberately taken great care to make.
You Jue: “…”