Yan Beicheng lowered his head to see her adorable look and could not help kissing her roughly upon her lips once more. After he loosened his grip on her, he noticed that Lin Chu was panting, her eyes glazed over with tenderness.

"I"ll send you up," Yan Beicheng said pressed against her lips with his softly.

Lin Chu"s eyes went wide and she started shaking her head quickly. "No need! You…you should go back soon, I can go up myself."

Yan Beicheng smiled and tapped her soft lips. "It"s not like your colleagues don"t know about us, what are you so nervous for?"

Right as his words fell, Yan Beicheng"s expression s.h.i.+fted, as if he was enduring something.

Noticing his uncomfortable expression, Lin Chu frowned and asked, "What"s wrong?"

Yan Beicheng did not reply immediately. He kept silent for a moment before he replied, "I"m fine."

However, his low voice was tight, as if he was in pain, so it was obvious he was not fine at all.

"What"s really wrong?" Lin Chu furrowed her eyebrows and continued, "If you don"t tell me the truth, I"m going to get angry."

Yan Beicheng glanced at her once before he reluctantly said, "It"s really nothing, I just have a slight stomachache."

"And you call that nothing?" Lin Chu was anxious now. "It must be because you haven"t been eating properly because you"re too busy working. You didn"t even have a proper lunch. You"re always concerned about whether or not I"m eating properly, but why can"t you be concerned about yourself for once? Wait here."

With those words, Lin Chu got out of the car. She did not tell him to leave yet.

After being berated by Lin Chu, Yan Beicheng did not dare leave simply, otherwise, she might give him another scolding.

Although he was not afraid of her, he could not stand her disapproving gaze, which would always put him under a lot of pressure. Besides, he knows she"s just worried about him, so even if he had just been scolded, he enjoyed every minute of it and his heart was swelling with fondness.

Yan Beicheng watched Lin Chu cross the road to enter a small pharmacy that was diagonally opposite the main road.

Soon, she came jogging back to the car with a small bag in her hands.

Lin Chu entered the car once more and pa.s.sed the medicine to Yan Beicheng. "Eat these with warm water, you better go soon so you can eat your medicine. Don"t think of it as nothing. I"ll call Zuo Qiu and have him make sure you take your medicine."

He did not know if it was because of the terrible stomachache he was currently nursing, but Yan Beicheng had no strength to refute her. Yan Beicheng was extremely docile right now; his head was leaning against the seat and he was especially obedient.

Realizing that Lin Chu was looking at him, he obediently nodded and said, "Okay."

If it were not for the fact Yan Beicheng was sick, Lin Chu definitely would have laughed at his current appearance.

Seeing his pale face and weak body, Lin Chu caressed his forehead as her heart ached.

Yan Beicheng was originally in a lot of pain, but once her soft palm touched his forehead, he felt his entire body relax as her warm and gentle touch inexplicably made his stomach ache a little less.

Lin Chu studied his pale face closely and could not help aching for him. She lowered her head to plant a kiss upon his chapped lips before saying, "I"m going up now, hurry on back to your company so that you can take your medicine."

Noting just how uncomfortable he was, Lin Chu did not want to delay him anymore.

Once she had gotten Yan Beicheng"s affirmative answer, she turned to get off the car but he held on to her wrist gently.

She turned her head to see Yan Beicheng looking at her pitifully. "Kiss me once more before you go."

Lin Chu said nothing. "…"

"Your stomach is already in so much pain and you still want to cause a fuss!" Lin Chu could not help glaring at him.

He had quite a pain tolerance, so it meant that he was in quite a lot of pain if it was enough for him to show it on his face.

Lin Chu threw all her worries to the wind and lowered her head to kiss him lightly once more, her kiss full of appeas.e.m.e.nt. Her soft lips touched his slightly pale ones softly as she tried to show him all her heartache in a single kiss.

Once they separated, she held his pale face gently with her hands. "Okay, off you go now."

Although she said so, she was still somewhat reluctant to let him go; she wanted to go back to Yan Hui with him now more than ever. However, she thought about it and she knew that Yan Beicheng had work that she could not help with even if she was there. Besides, she would only be a bother to him and she had her own work to attend to as well.

Finally getting off the car, she waited until Shao Huai left with Yan Beicheng before she went upstairs to her office.

After estimating that Yan Beicheng had about reached his office, she immediately called Zuo Qiu.

"Lin Chu, what"s the matter?" asked Zuo Qiu enthusiastically upon picking up the phone.

Even if he was already holding back, Lin Chu still was not accustomed to Zuo Qiu"s enthusiasm. She regained her composure and asked, "Has Beicheng arrived at the company?"

"Yes, Master Yan has just entered his office," replied Zuo Qiu.

"I"m sorry for troubling you but please pour him a cup of warm water and bring it to his office. He has a stomachache so watch him take the medicine and don"t hang up. Tell him I said so," said Lin Chu. She was worried that he would be so busy with work upon returning that he would continue enduring the pain rather than make a bit of time to eat medicine.

Zuo Qiu immediately went to fetch a cup of warm water and pushed the door to enter the office, only to see Yan Beicheng fis.h.i.+ng a box of medicine from a small bag.

"Master Yan, here"s some warm water. Lin Chu called me and told me to watch you eat your medicine," repeated Zuo Qiu, his phone still against his ear.

Yan Beicheng knew that Lin Chu really did call Zuo Qiu to get him to supervise.

He chuckled before downing his medicine with the warm water. Once he set down the cup, his stomach still ached since the medicine would not be acting so soon, but he reached out a hand to Zuo Qiu anyway.

Zuo Qiu handed the phone over to Yan Beicheng before he heard Yan Beicheng say softly to Lin Chu, "I"ve eaten the medicine."

"Okay." Lin Chu was still worried about him. "Try to drink less when you go out tonight. I know the business deal this time is very important and I know it"ll be impossible for you to not drink when everyone else is drinking, but please try to drink as little as possible, okay?"

Even a single mug less was better than nothing.

"Okay." Yan Beicheng continued in earnest, "It would be impossible to not drink, but I"ll try to drink less. I"ll just drink strictly for social reasons, don"t worry."

He did not say that he would not drink at all to comfort her but merely stated the reality of the situation. However, Lin Chu knew that he was not lying either and that he really did promise to drink less; he could not avoid drinking, so he could only drink less.

"Good." Lin Chu smiled to herself and said, "Remember to drink more warm water. If you get busy and the water goes cold, then don"t drink it. I"m hanging up now."

"Okay." Yan Beicheng hung up the phone blissfully and felt that his stomach did not ache as much anymore. 

He then handed the phone back to Zuo Qiu.

…

Once work ended in the evening, Shao Huai showed up in Yan Beicheng"s Grand Cherokee just as expected.

Lin Chu got into the car before she realized. "If you"ve come to pick me up, then what about Beicheng?"

"The company has another driver but he isn"t especially for Master Yan usually. When the workers in the company have somewhere to be, this driver is the one that sends them. Now that I"m here to pick you up, this driver will be sending Master Yan to Sheng Yue," explained Shao Huai.

Only then could Lin Chu set her mind to rest.

…

Hotel Sheng Yue.

In order to show his sincerity, Yan Beicheng intentionally waited at the entrance of Hotel Sheng Yue for D.N.Y Asia"s representative.

D.N.Y was mainly based in the film and animation industry, but the company expanded into theme parks, clothes, and accessories, books, etc. It was headquartered in the United States and plenty of young idols work under them as well. Recently, they have been showing signs of expanding in Asia and from the looks of their recent collaborations for film and animation, their focus was China.

In recent years, the company has been recruiting popular celebrities from China to partic.i.p.ate in their films or to do voiceovers for their animations. Han Zhuoli"s company especially has been in numerous collaborations with them.

"President Quan." Yan Beicheng stood at the door and upon noticing a middle-aged man getting down from a black Mercedes, he immediately extended his hand for a shake.

D.N.Y Asia"s President, President Quan Zhiwu, walked up the steps before taking Yan Beicheng"s extended hand with a smile. "President Yan, h.e.l.lo."

Zuo Qiu was standing right by Yan Beicheng.

Yan Beicheng and Quan Ziwu entered the lobby while exchanging pleasant conversation. Just as they were about to enter one of the rooms, a surprised voice could suddenly be heard. "Beicheng, President Quan."

The three of them stopped in their tracks to turn, only to see Lu Weining with Shu Yuxin in tow.

Lu Weining"s smile was one of pleasant surprise. As they were out in public, the recently popular Shu Yuxin had donned a pair of sungla.s.ses as well as a cap, though it did not do well in hiding her beautiful face. If a hardcore fan were to see her, they would still be able to recognize her easily.

Yan Beicheng, on the other hand, was expressionless, nor did he express any surprise at meeting Lu Weining.

Lu Weining walked towards them together with Shu Yuxin. "President Quan, what a coincidence."

"Heh, President Lu, do you and President Yan know each other?" asked Quan Zhiwu with a chuckle, noticing how intimately Lu Weining had addressed Yan Beicheng earlier.

Lu Weining glanced at Lu Beicheng and, as if not seeing his indifference, said, "We played together a few times when we were children."

As if realizing something, Quan Zhiwu laughed lightly before replying, "Childhood sweethearts, I see."

"I knew that President Quan was in B City, but I never expected us to meet," said Lu Weining with a smile.

"I was planning to drop by Xing Chuang once I had the time." Quan Ziwu looked towards Shu Yuxin, who was standing beside Lu Weining. "Is this Miss Shu?"

Shu Yuxin took off her sungla.s.ses and reached her hand out. "Nice to meet you, President Quan."

"Haha, what a coincidence indeed. I originally had plans to visit Xing Chuang tomorrow or the day after to discuss our collaboration and had wanted to see if Miss Shu had the time to join us," said Quan Zhiwu with a laugh.

"President Quan is here mainly for the theme park, right?" asked Lu Weining with a smile.

Quan Zhiwu did not evade the question and nodded his head. "I"m here tonight to discuss things with President Yan."

Lu Weining replied, her smile ever-present. "I can guarantee that you"ll never regret handing things over to Yan Hui."

Quan Zhiwu had a knack for doing things as well. "Have President Lu and Miss Shu made plans to meet with someone?"

"We haven"t. We just wanted to have a meal together since we were both free," replied Lu Weining.

Quan Zhiwu had agreed to meet Yan Beicheng today but they had not decided to do so in the name of talking about business; on the surface, it would only seem like they would be merely making casual conversation with the other to sound out the other person.

Quan Zhiwu was the person making the choice here, which meant that he had the upper hand in looking for opportunities to smooth things over.

Therefore, he offered, "If you have nothing going on, then join us."

Yan Beicheng"s cold eyes glared at Lu Weining.

Paying his glare no mind, Lu Weining said with a smile, "We wouldn"t be hindering your business discussions?"

Quan Zhiwu laughed and said, "We"re just having a meal together today to get to know each other better. Nothing to do with business."

"Then we gladly accept your offer," said Lu Weining with a smile.

Shu Yuxin was the current hot new kid on the block so Quan Zhiwu also had his sights set on inviting her into a collaboration. At the dinner table, he and Lu Weining shared quite an engaging conversation.

"Excuse me, I need to use the restroom." Quan Zhiwu stood up slightly before leaving the dinner table.

Right as Quan Zhiwu left the room, Yan Beicheng immediately shot a cold gaze at Lu Weining, in a tone that was obviously not welcome, he said, "Miss Lu, I am here to talk about business with President Quan, so I don"t you think you should be here. If you want to talk to him about Miss Shu, do meet him some other time. You"re not welcome here."

Lu Weining traced her thumb across the rim of her wine gla.s.s and calmly said, "Beicheng, as you can see, President Quan is very interested in working with us and Xing Chuang has always engaged in friendly relations with him. I can provide a good amount of help."

"No need. I don"t need you interfering in my company"s matters," Yan Beicheng continued coldly, "Miss Lu, the both of us share no friendly relations. Besides, I especially detest those that act on their own initiative regarding my business matters. Even those that are closest to me are no exception, much less someone like you, who is quite irrelevant."

Yan Beicheng clicked his tongue, smirking as he continued, "Moreover, do you think your network can compare to that of the Yan family? I haven"t even asked for help from the elders of my family, so how dare you think I need your help? Or do you think a single word from you is enough to cause this collaboration with Yan Hui to fall through?"

If she did not have the skills, what was the point in her acting all big in front of him?

He had not even needed his family for help, so what help could an outsider like her give?

"Beicheng…" Lu Weining"s lips trembled; she never expected Yan Beicheng to embarra.s.s her like this in front of someone like Shu Yuxin.

This time around however, she no longer cared about Shu Yuxin or Zuo Qiu, her heart had been completely broken into pieces by Yan Beicheng"s cruel words.

"I just wanted to help you." Lu Weining"s lips were pale, trembling as she spoke.

"No need," Yan Beicheng indifferently continued, "We"re not friends so I"m unable to accept your help. Besides, it would be best if Miss Lu kept her distance from me. Beicheng or whatever, you shouldn"t be calling me that."

"You…" Lu Weining wanted to ask how could he not recognize her good intentions, but her words were stuck in her throat.

Seeing Yan Beicheng"s chilly reactions, she felt extremely upset. He was completely disregarding her goodwill.

"Why can"t you accept my help? It"s not like I want to use this to ask things from you, nor am I greedy for something you own. I merely want to help you, I want to see you succeed. Lu Weining gripped her hands tightly. "Is this so wrong of me?"

Yan Beicheng scoffed. "I don"t need your kindness. All these things you"re doing for me are completely unnecessary and it gets on my nerves. I have nothing to do with you, so I don"t need you interfering in my matters."

Lu Weining wanted to speak, but Quan Zhiwu had returned so she could only swallow her words.

Zuo Qiu felt that Yan Beicheng had already made himself so clear that there was definitely no way Lu Weining could continue staying here. However, n.o.body expected that Lu Weining would not leave at all. It seemed as if she really was sparing no effort in wanting to help Yan Beicheng.

…

Lin Chu was at home boiling soup for Yan Beicheng. Currently, a small fire was going on for the soup to simmer. She pondered for a bit before saying, "Aunt Zhuang, help me watch the soup, I"m going out for a bit."

Aunt Zhuang was in the midst of putting on a face mask, so her expression was otherwise unreadable save for her eyes, which were bent in tiny crescents as if she were smiling.

She joked, "Off to pick up your husband?"

"Yeah. He had a stomachache today and he"s off drinking tonight. I just can"t relax thinking about it, so I"m going to go take a look," explained Lin Chu.

She thought about something for a second before deciding to make a cup of warm honey. She poured it into a vacuum flask that she would bring with her to Yan Beicheng so that he could drink as he drove.

"Off you go then. I"ll look after the soup for you, don"t worry," said Aunt Zhuang, chuckling.

Lin Chu packed her things and left the house, her vacuum flask in tow.

As she had to send Yan Beicheng to the resort the last time, despite the fact that she was trembling with fear, she was able to practice her driving quite a bit since it was a long drive.

Yan Beicheng had made time to bring her to places with fewer cars for her to practice afterward too.

Though Lin Chu"s driving was nothing amazing, she could still handle her way in general situations.

While on the way there, she called Zuo Qiu to ask about Yan Beicheng and had found out that Yan Beicheng was still at Hotel Sheng Yue, though it seemed like he no longer suffered from the stomachache.

Lin Chu then told him that she would be picking Yan Beicheng up but had ordered him not to tell Yan Beicheng, lest he not allow her to wait for him and would then be in a hurry to leave.

She wanted to pick him up because she wanted to do something nice for him, so she did not want to disturb his business discussions.

Once she had arrived at Sheng Yue, she parked her car at the entrance but did not get down. Instead, she had locked her gaze onto the entrance since she was able to see into the hotel through the gla.s.s doors.

She had expected that Yan Beicheng would be ending work very late tonight, so she never once thought that she would see Yan Beicheng appear after only waiting in her car for a while.

Through the gla.s.s doors of Sheng Yue, she could see a few other figures as well.

The first person she saw was Yan Beicheng in his black suit, posture proper and upright, standing out like a stork in a flock of fowls.

Lin Chu got out of the car, locking it before walking towards the entrance.

Once Quan Zhiwu had arrived in B City, he had immediately booked a room at Hotel Sheng Yue, so Yan Beicheng and Zuo Qiu had personally sent him to his room before coming back down to the lobby.

Lu Weining had shamelessly followed along as well, together with Shu Yuxin. Unfortunately, Quan Zhiwu was quite willing to maintain a good relations.h.i.+p with Lu Weining. Since Quan Zhiwu did not send her away, Yan Beicheng could not say anything as well.

After bidding Quan Zhiwu farewell and getting off the elevator, Yan Beicheng"s eyebrows furrowed slightly. He had already taken his medicine so his stomach was no longer aching in the afternoon. Unsure if it was due to the alcohol he had taken, once he had stepped out of the elevator, his stomach was suddenly gripped with a sharp pain.

It was sudden enough to stop him in his tracks.

Zuo Qiu was busy looking at the door to see if Lin Chu had arrived or not, so he did not notice Yan Beicheng"s unusual behavior.

Once he saw Lin Chu enter through the entrance, Zuo Qiu immediately heaved a sigh of relief and a faint smile graced his face.

Yan Beicheng"s eyebrows were furrowed in pain so he did not notice Lin Chu had appeared at the entrance. His left hand was currently pressed against his stomach as he continuously kneaded at the area.

Lu Weining had her attention on Yan Beicheng the entire time so she had immediately noticed his unusual behavior.

"Beicheng, what"s the matter?" asked Lu Weining anxiously, the worry showing on her face as her hands immediately went to hold his arm.

Zuo Qiu glanced at Lin Chu, who was walking towards them from the entrance and exclaimed "Oh my!" inwardly, knowing the terrible situation they were in. He quickly took hold of Yan Beicheng and said, "Master Yan, Miss Lin is here."

Yan Beicheng was originally planning to shrug off Lu Weining, but once he heard what Zuo Qiu had said, he was stunned and his hand slowed.

He turned to look at Zuo Qiu in confusion. "Miss Lin, was it the same Miss Lin he was thinking about?"

Zuo Qiu could not bear looking at his face. With a sympathetic tone, he said to Yan Beicheng, "Lin Chu is here."

As if he had completely lost his ability to think, Yan Beicheng slowly turned his head to look towards the direction of the entrance, only to see Lin Chu coming towards them with a small cylindrical bag in her hand.

Noticing he had looked over at her, she raised an eyebrow and her mouth pulled up into a particularly obvious sneer.

With sudden renewed vigor, Yan Beicheng immediately shoved Lu Weining away.

Lu Weining did not even have time to prepare herself. The momentum of his action caused her to stumble a few steps back, almost falling as she did so, which made her quite a sorry sight.

"Beicheng, you—" Lu Weining could not even finish her sentence.

Yan Beicheng was already taking big steps towards Lin Chu, his hand still around his stomach, and was completely ignoring her.

"Why"re you here?" asked Yan Beicheng in surprise.

"I was originally worried that your stomach would still be hurting, but now that I see you, it seems I was worried for nothing." Lin Chu raised her eyebrows and sneered. "I must"ve arrived at a terrible time, sorry for bothering you."