The waiters saw this scene when they brought the other dishes out.

  There were originally two people sitting in front of the table, but now, there was only one person sitting there with his head bowed, and he was staring at his hands. No one knew what he was thinking about. His slightly downcast almond-shaped eyes were filled with a hint of weakness, and the moment anyone saw him, they would feel their hearts aching for him and pity him.

  “Sir?” The waiter who took their orders in the beginning looked at the others at a loss. Finally, he summoned his courage and called out to Ye Yan.

  Ye Yan looked like he had just woken up from a dream. He quickly put away the dejected look that appeared briefly on his face and resumed smiling gently. He said politely, “You don’t have to serve the other dishes. If you’ve already made them, then just set it aside.”


  If what they saw just now was not still circulating in their heads, the waiters may have believed that their eyes were playing tricks with them just now.

  Ye Yan spoke to the waters before he went out to pay for the food.

  The waiter who took Ye Yan and Zhao Youlin’s orders just down saw Ye Yan’s slightly dejected and desolate back, and in an instant, he came up with the image of a gentle young man summoning his courage to confess to the woman he liked, only to be tragically rejected because her heart already belonged to someone else!

  When one of the passing waitresses thought of this, the girl was instantly filled with maternal love, and she sighed pitifully when she looked at Ye Yan’s back.

  However, this lamentable sigh for him turned into one for herself when she turned her head around and saw the pile of expensive food that was barely touched.

  ‘Sigh, there are plenty of handsome, rich, and tall people all around the place, but why hasn’t any of them taken a fancy to me? Such is life!’


  Meanwhile, after Zhao Youlin got rid of Ye Yan, she walked out and saw a familiar car. Before she could register who it belonged to, the car window had already wound down slowly to reveal the chief secretary’s stern expression.

  The chief secretary observed Zhao Youlin for a while. Once he was certain nothing happened to her, he discreetly sighed in relief.

  Zhao Youlin saw his reaction and wrapped her arms over her chest before chuckling. “So, you’d feel nervous too, Uncle Xiao? Weren’t you certain that the third son of the Ye family won’t dare to do anything out of bounds with me? Why are you worried now?”


  Xiao Jingyao could hear the faint, teasing words in Zhao Youlin’s voice, and his eyes sparkled a little. He believed that Young Master Ye must have annoyed the currently popular eldest lady of their company.

  He did not mind having Zhao Youlin venting her rage on him. He opened the door and let Zhao Youlin inside before he said, “The negotiation didn’t go smoothly?”


  It would have been better if Xiao Jingyao did not mention it, because the moment he did, Zhao Youlin’s expression turned dark once again, and the atmosphere in the car instantly turned much graver.

  She gave a simple account of what had happened in the restaurant, and the more Xiao Jingyao listened to her, the more he frowned. In the end, after he finished listening to Zhao Youlin’s tale, he just said something in slight surprise, “That’s it?”


  Zhao Youlin was stunned. She widened her eyes and cast a cold glance at the person in front of her. What did he mean by “that’s it?”? What else did he want? Did he want her to just fling herself into his arms?

  Xiao Jingyao saw the displeased gaze Zhao Youlin had through the rearview mirror, and he immediately understood what she was thinking. He sighed and said, “Young Master Ye has ulterior motives when it comes to you, but to be honest, he wasn’t going overboard with his request. I believe that Young Master Ye is sincere when it comes to his love for you. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have done so much just to ask for a small chance. General Manager, do you want to consider—”


  Before Xiao Jingyao finished speaking, Zhao Youlin had already snorted and interrupted him. “Uncle Xiao, I’ve been working with you for so many days, but I never expected that you would be such a gossip under your stern countenance. So, you actually want us to be together?”


  Honestly, Zhao Youlin herself understood what Xiao Jingyao meant, and she knew that she might have gone overboard with her reaction, but a person who was once bitten would be twice shy. Ye Yan might be sincere, but he used the wrong methods. From the moment he used his conditions in exchange for another condition, his image in Zhao Youlin’s heart just inevitably overlapped with the man who had ulterior motives with her in the past.

  In that sort of situation, how could Zhao Youlin possibly calmly agree to his conditions and think about the possibilities of them having a future together?

  Xiao Jingyao pushed the golden-rimmed glasses on his nose while he stopped at the traffic light. He said glumly, “When it comes to a relationship, both parties must have a mutual love for each other. Since you don’t harbor any feelings for Young Master Ye, no one can force you into it. I’m just worried about the deal. Have you thought about how you’re going to explain things to the president?”


  The moment Xiao Jingyao mentioned Zhao Shunrong, Zhao Youlin felt troubled.

  Zhao Youlin could tell that Zhao Shunrong valued this deal highly. He had not given up on it despite the fact that the plan had been set aside for so long. Instead, he brought it up once more after it had been set aside for a long time. This meant that Zhao Shunrong had never forgotten this plan all these years, and he had been preparing for this plan all along.

  Now, practically everything was in place, and all that was left was for her to finish things off.

  The moment she thought of this, Zhao Youlin rubbed her temples, feeling a headache incoming. In slight frustration, she said, “I’ll explain to Dad about this, you don’t have to bother.”


  Xiao Jingyao remained silent for a while before he asked tentatively, “Then, the land—”


  “Do you think that there is still a possibility of us working together with Young Master Ye after this meal?”


  Xiao Jingyao fell silent. Clearly, he felt that after Zhao Youlin caused such a ruckus, the chances of subsequent negotiations for the deal was… slim to none.

  Zhao Youlin frowned and thought about this for a while before she suddenly asked, “Must it be that plot of land? I remember that I saw another plan in the proposal, and it can completely avoid that plot.”


  Xiao Jingyao did not expect that Zhao Youlin would mention this. His expression changed a little, and he hesitated a little before he said ambiguously, “…That plan can indeed avoid involving the Ye family’s land, and if we really have to talk about effectiveness, then it’s much better than the plan including the Ye family’s land. But…”


  The moment Zhao Youlin heard Xiao Jingyao’s words, her eyes lit up, and she asked in slight urgency, “But what?”


  “But that plan is like the plan in your hands right now. Aside from the land that we have for the resort plan, there is one important land in another person’s hands.”


  “Another person?” Zhao Youlin focused, and an inquisitive look appeared in her eyes. She was quite curious as to who this land belonged to, and why Zhao Shunrong would give up on buying it from the other person but instead think about buying Ye Yan’s land.

  Xiao Jingyao pursed his lips under Zhao Youlin’s stare. He hesitated for a moment and revealed the truth. “That land… is in the hands of Mu Feng Group’s president.”


  Zhao Youlin found herself speechless.