Pei Shaoze stood up from his seat, a hint of impatience flickering across his face. His dark eyes swept over Su Banxia as he said, "I've slept with you."
The words were succinct, to the point.
Su Banxia was stunned for a moment.
Seeing her frozen in place, Pei Shaoze curled his lips into a smile and said, "I'll give you time to think it over. When you've made up your mind, you can come to me on your own."
With that, he turned and walked toward the exit of the café.
"Pei Shaoze!"
Before he had taken many steps, Su Banxia called out to him from behind.
The man's tall, jade-like figure halted, but he didn't turn around.
Su Banxia stared at his back, pausing before she said, "Pei Shaoze, I just want to work normally and properly."
Pei Shaoze frowned, walked straight out of the café, and left behind one final remark, "That's your business."
The implication was clear: whatever she wanted to do had nothing to do with him.
But if she wanted to stay at Dingsheng, she had to follow his orders.
In the café, Su Banxia stood for a long time, a heavy lump of frustration lodged in her chest.
What exactly did Pei Shaoze want?
She wasn't naive; she knew that his talk of being interested in her was just an excuse.
After sitting in the café for a long while, she finally went home.
……
At Pei Shaoze's villa.
Yan Xin rang the doorbell for the umpteenth time before Pei Shaoze finally opened the door.
"Oh, what are you, some maiden locked in a tower? It took you half an hour to open the damn door."
As soon as Pei Shaoze opened the villa door, Yan Xin started grumbling.
Muttering under his breath, he stepped inside the villa.
Pei Shaoze ignored his complaints, casting a casual glance at him before walking over to the wine rack to pour himself a glass of red wine.
Yan Xin sat down on the sofa, watching him leisurely pour the wine, and grumbled, "You couldn't pour me one too?"
Pei Shaoze lifted his eyes to glance at him and said flatly, "Don't you have hands?"
"Son of a bitch!"
Cursing under his breath, Yan Xin got up to pour his own drink, launching into a tirade. "Damn it, this is your place, and I'm supposed to be a guest. Is this how you treat a guest?"
Pei Shaoze paid no attention to his rambling. Leaning his tall frame back against the sofa, he crossed his long legs and glanced at Yan Xin. "What's the matter, coming over in the middle of the night?"
Yan Xin was in a bad mood. He downed the wine in his glass in one gulp and looked at him. "I came to murder you at your place!"
"Speak like a human."
Tossing those three words at him, Pei Shaoze set down his wine glass and fixed his gaze on the contract on the table.
It looked like he was about to switch into workaholic mode.
Yan Xin walked over and sat down beside him, cutting straight to the chase. "What did you say to Su Banxia at the café today?"
Pei Shaoze kept his eyes on the documents and said flatly, "If she wants to stay at the company, she has to be with me."
"I..."
Yan Xin barely stopped himself from cursing out loud. Holding back, he said, "What the hell are you thinking? Don't you know Su Banxia is married, with a husband and kids?"
Pei Shaoze put down the documents, turned his head to look at him, and said expressionlessly, "What's that got to do with me?"
"Of course it does!"
Yan Xin started, but then remembered that Pei Shaoze's way of thinking was different from normal people's, so he added, "You want her to be with you—do you like her?"
"No."
Replied Pei Shaoze, his attention drifting back to the documents.
Yan Xin was puzzled. If he didn't like her, why did he want Su Banxia to be with him?
Setting up some ambiguous relationship—was he crazy?
After a moment, he sorted out his thoughts and looked at Pei Shaoze. "If you don't like her, then don't shamelessly cling to her."
"What's it to you?"
Putting down the documents, Pei Shaoze fixed his pitch-black eyes on Yan Xin, a hint of scrutiny in them.
This question caught Yan Xin off guard. He pursed his lips, not bothering to dwell on his own feelings about Su Banxia, and just said, "It's nothing to me, but personally, I think Su Banxia is a good woman. I don't know what you're planning, but I hope you won't hurt her."
Pei Shaoze's dark eyes narrowed slightly, carrying a note of warning. "Yan Xin, stay away from Su Banxia from now on."
Yan Xin wanted to argue, but meeting his cold, ruthless gaze, he shut his mouth and nodded helplessly.
Looking seriously at Pei Shaoze, he said, "Shaoze, whatever you're planning, in the end, please don't hurt Su Banxia."