“Fair point,” Pei Jiangchen nodded. “She’s far too slick and worldly. You wouldn’t be able to handle her. You need someone purer, with a gentler nature. Someone who won’t walk all over you.”
Wen Shuyu couldn’t help but smile. “My mother says that romantic destiny is preordained by the heavens. If the time isn’t right, fretting over it is useless. When the time is right, there’s no escaping it. So… I’ll just let things take their natural course.”
As he spoke, Wen Shuyu lowered his gaze. His long, slender eyelashes veiled his eyes, as if he were trying to hide his inner shyness. His usually somewhat stiff expression came alive with this small, subtle movement.
“Letting things take their natural course…” Pei Jiangchen mused, turning the phrase over in his mind. “That works, too. Anyway, if you set your sights on someone later and can’t quite manage to win them over, just let me know. I can offer some advice.”
“Oh? Right…” Wen Shuyu agreed rather hesitantly.
“What’s with that look?” Pei Jiangchen asked with a laugh, giving Wen Shuyu a playful kick on the foot. “Don’t you trust your boss?”
Wen Shuyu shrank back slightly, smiling shyly. “Young Master Chen, it’s not that I don’t trust you. It’s just that your experience probably wouldn’t apply to me. You’ve never had to put any real effort into pursuing a girl in your life, have you? It’s always the girls chasing you.”
“Even so, it’s still better than your current situation,” Pei Jiangchen remarked.
“My situation?” Wen Shuyu asked, puzzled.
Pei Jiangchen fell silent, feeling he might have been overthinking things.
It was merely a guess Amanda had made based on a few scraps of evidence, hardly a certainty. Voicing it aloud might just make him look like he was reading too much into things.
Those at the pinnacle of power generally dislike mixing work with romance, even if the affection is entirely one-sided on the other person’s part.
If one were to reciprocate those feelings, professional and personal boundaries would blur, reason could easily be clouded by emotion, leading to poor decisions.
Conversely, if one didn’t reciprocate, the other person might turn love into hate, potentially leading to serious consequences.
That was why the Pei family had a strict rule prohibiting romantic relationships within the same department.
The options were simple: either break up, or have one party transferred to a different department. Had any other subordinate harbored such feelings for him, Pei Jiangchen would have long since kicked them flying into the horizon. But Wen Shuyu was so incredibly capable and suited to the role as if custom made by the heavens for him that Pei Jiangchen was willing to cut him some slack.
What Pei Jiangchen appreciated most about Wen Shuyu was his ability to read the room.
Developing feelings for Pei Jiangchen was only natural, and failing to win his heart was just as natural. Wen Shuyu surely understood this reality.
Once he came to terms with it and let those feelings go, the matter would simply blow over.
The motorcade suddenly slowed, then came to a halt.
“Young Master Chen, there’s a landslide up ahead blocking the road,” Brother Guang said, holding his walkie talkie. “It’s not serious. We’re getting ready to clear the debris manually, but it’ll cause a bit of a delay.”
Pei Jiangchen nodded indifferently. “Take a few men and go help out.”
Brother Guang picked two off duty bodyguards, and they grabbed shovels and stepped out of the vehicle.
The rest of the team went about their business as usual.
The Pei family’s motorcade consisted of custom built, fully bulletproof vehicles, essentially a convoy of mobile steel fortresses. In addition to the onboard security detail, they were escorted by four armored vehicles carrying soldiers at the front and rear. Moreover, in the North Republic of Suman, no highway bandits or local thugs would dare target the Pei family.
Wen Shuyu stepped out of the car and surveyed the surroundings, though his brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.
Landslides were common in mountainous areas, but they had been blocked at a particularly unfavorable stretch of road.