Chapter 15 Meticulous Mind

Yang Changfeng always kept a certain habit: after staying in a place for a while, before leaving, he had to tidy it up. It was almost obsessive, something he couldn’t control. Even if the sofa was just a little creased from sitting, he would carefully smooth it out; otherwise, he felt uneasy.

Only in Chen Aijia’s office had he once forgotten this habit. Just as with the habit itself, he hadn’t even noticed that he should have smoothed the sofa before leaving.

The materials in the study room had been a bit messy, but after Yang Changfeng left, they were stacked neatly on the desk, tidier than a high schooler’s desk.

After stepping outside, Yang Changfeng noticed the distant security guards pointing and whispering about him. Was someone actually jealous of him?

Was being invited to dinner by the boss really something to be jealous of?

Some people are just like that—always thinking that if someone “noble” so much as smiles at them, it’s worth bragging about. They use the favor shown to others as a way to inflate their own worth. You find people like that everywhere.

He quickened his pace slightly, and after walking down the steps and opening the passenger door, Yang Changfeng realized what the guards had been talking about.

They were saying, “Who is this guy? Why does the boss value him so much?”

The boss’s car—with the boss sitting in the passenger seat, while an employee was left the back seat, especially the right rear, which, by certain unspoken rules, was the most honored seat—was that really such a big deal?

Yang Changfeng shook his head inwardly, unable to comprehend such logic.

It was just a car ride—the back seat was a bit more comfortable, but what did that have to do with status?

Strange indeed!

Getting in and closing the door, Yang Changfeng glanced in the rearview mirror at the two stunning women who were secretly observing him. A roguish grin appeared on his face, his voice full of exaggerated insincerity rather than genuine gratitude: “Wow, the boss really thinks highly of me. I’m so moved! Such humility and respect for talent! For a lowly employee like me, even if I gave my life in return, it wouldn’t be enough. There’s no way I could ever repay this kindness! I’m overwhelmed!”

“Drive!” Chen Aijia snapped, her temper flaring once again.

Spending just three minutes a day with this man would cost her ten years of happiness, she thought. What a scoundrel—he was the very definition of one! Chen Aijia felt she’d finally found the perfect term for this bastard, and decided to always label Yang with it from now on.

The car had barely started moving when Yang Changfeng, after his showy speech, sighed dramatically. “It seems, President Chen, that there’s only one way I can truly repay you: by offering myself. Isn’t that so, my dear wife?”

“Shut up!” Chen Aijia shouted, furious.

Yang Changfeng went on, “Women who get angry easily tend to have hormonal imbalances—most obviously, their monthly cycles become irregular, and people might think they’ve had an accident. What’s more, according to the beauty industry, frequent anger causes wrinkles that not even hyaluronic acid can smooth out. Take care, my dear wife!”

Gnashing her teeth, Chen Aijia tried to remain graceful, half covering her ears to block out his voice without sacrificing her poise.

“To the Eiffel French Restaurant!” she snapped, regretting ever letting this scoundrel in the car. She told Anya their destination, then, to preempt any more of Yang’s chatter, spoke loudly enough for him to hear, “After we arrive, you can drive the car home. Starting tomorrow morning, you don’t need to pick me up anymore. And don’t forget to bring your things tomorrow—you’ll be living with me from now on.”

Anya was startled, almost mistaking the brake for the gas pedal before regaining her composure. “Why is that?” she asked in surprise.

“You’ll find out then… Never mind, we’ll talk in a few days. Start by giving up your apartment; move in with me this weekend.” With that, Chen Aijia said no more, pulling out her earbuds and jamming them into her ears so forcefully it hurt—she almost thought she’d ruined her hearing.

All thanks to that scoundrel—scoundrel! Fuming inwardly, Chen Aijia cursed Yang to choke on his meal. Her high heels stomped on the car’s plush carpet, scraping it so badly it was clear it needed to be replaced.

The Eiffel French Restaurant was said to have an authentic French chef and was quite renowned in the city, especially among the wealthy. It was practically a golden ticket—if you hadn’t dined at the Eiffel, you were missing out on the very currency of social conversation.

It wasn’t that the restaurant itself was such a topic of discussion, but rather that all the news and gossip among the city’s wealthy found its way there: a company’s cheap sale, a new acquisition, negotiations over a buyout—these stories all spread from the Eiffel.

Chen Aijia had picked up business intelligence there many times, and she loved the atmosphere—quiet and elegant. In the Eiffel, she truly felt she belonged to her own world. The people there were all of a similar temperament.

Glancing at Yang Changfeng in the rearview mirror, Chen Aijia had no intention of humiliating this bumpkin by bringing him along. No matter how much she disliked someone, she would never stoop to seeking victory that way—it was beneath her.

When they arrived, Anya watched the two of them—foes in all but name—enter the restaurant together, feeling increasingly uneasy.

What had just happened already left Anya nervous. In front of all those security guards, having Yang get into the boss’s car in such a way, taking the most honored seat, was sure to spread like wildfire in the company chat group within minutes. By tomorrow, everyone would believe Yang was Chen Aijia’s undercover agent in the security department. Whatever Wang Hu did next was uncertain, but the gossip and suspicion, the colored glasses everyone would wear when looking at Yang, would put him under immense pressure.

This was bound to cause trouble. Either Wang Hu would drive Yang out by force, or Yang and Wang Hu would come to blows, causing unrest within the company. In the former case, Chen Aijia's reputation as boss would take a heavy blow—her personally appointed person, thrown out by the head of security? It would mean she couldn’t even control a security chief.

The more Anya thought about it, the more disturbing the consequences seemed.