? Café de la Rive Gauche.
The melodious sound of a violin drifted through the air. As Su Banxia entered, a waiter approached and asked, "Are you Miss Su Banxia?"
She nodded with a faint smile. "Yes."
"Please follow me."
Following the waiter into the café, they arrived at a relatively quiet and elegant spot. Su Banxia not only saw Pei Shaoze but also Yan Xin.
Both were here?
What was this about?
Could Pei Shaoze have called her over just to have her join them for coffee?
"President Pei, President Yan."
Standing to the side, Su Banxia spoke in a measured, proper tone.
Yan Xin was also surprised by Su Banxia's appearance. He only knew that Pei Shaoze had invited him out; he hadn't mentioned that Su Banxia would be coming too.
He gave Su Banxia a faint smile, maintaining a deliberately distant demeanor, and said, "Please, Miss Su."
Pei Shaoze remained silent, his expression unreadable as he observed their interaction, finding nothing unusual.
Su Banxia sat down and ordered coffee, wondering to herself why Pei Shaoze had called her out for no reason.
How bizarre!
Unsure of Pei Shaoze's intentions, Su Banxia stayed on guard. Yan Xin kept a polite distance, and Pei Shaoze was as cold as ever.
The three of them chatted lightly for a while.
"I'm going to the restroom."
Pei Shaoze stood up and said in a low voice.
As he left for the restroom, both Su Banxia and Yan Xin breathed a sigh of relief.
Yan Xin had a lot he wanted to say to Su Banxia. Once Pei Shaoze was gone, he looked at her and asked, "How have you been lately?"
He noticed that the red, swollen pimples on her face had faded, though she still wore those bulky, oversized glasses. Even so, he could catch a glimpse of her beauty.
With Pei Shaoze temporarily gone, Su Banxia felt a bit more relaxed, and her tone became lighter. She smiled and said, "Everything's fine!"
After a pause, she added, "President Yan, thank you for keeping my secret."
She knew that with Pei Shaoze's suspicious nature, he must have asked Yan Xin about her. If Yan Xin had spoken, Pei Shaoze wouldn't just be testing her lately.
Yan Xin chuckled. "What's there to thank? I promised to help you keep it a secret, so of course I wouldn't say anything. That's a matter of principle. When you promise someone something, you can't go back on your word, right?"
Their conversation was heard word for word by Pei Shaoze, who hadn't actually gone to the restroom. The café was designed with small private booths.
A partition separated the tables, so while people at neighboring tables couldn't see each other, they could still hear each other's conversations.
Pei Shaoze hadn't gone to the restroom at all; he had simply moved to the next booth.
Su Banxia and Yan Xin continued chatting, but Pei Shaoze's face was already darkening.
"President Yan..."
"I told you, when no one's around, you can call me Yan Xin. Banxia, there's no need to be so formal between us, right? We should at least be friends by now."
Su Banxia was about to say something else when she suddenly looked up and saw Pei Shaoze standing nearby, his face dark and cold. She was startled.
Instinctively flustered, she stammered, "President Pei, you're back?"
Pei Shaoze's face was grim. His dark eyes fixed on Yan Xin as he spoke in a low, cold voice. "I remember you said you weren't that familiar with her. So why are you now using such... intimate terms?"
Yan Xin hadn't expected him to appear suddenly. The two were brothers, and his secrecy was only because he had promised Su Banxia.
Now that this had happened, it was inevitably awkward.
"Shaoze, about Banxia's matter..."
"I'll handle it with her. You leave first."
Pei Shaoze gave a direct order, his face darkening further.
Yan Xin knew him too well. This was a sign of his impending anger. Worried about Su Banxia, he frowned and said, "Shaoze, Banxia has her own reasons. She came to the company with no ulterior motives—just some personal issues..."
Before he could finish, Pei Shaoze shot him a cold glance, and Yan Xin fell silent.