"What the hell did you say to my parents?!"

  Xiu Mei couldn’t stop herself from pressing Lu Chen’s number after hearing her mom’s words. She quickly shot up from her seat, ignored the fallen teacup and rushed to her own bedroom. Quickly locking the door, she pulled out her phone to call her persistent superior.

  "That we were not engaged." Lu Chen briefly replied.

  Xiu Mei flared up in anger as she listened to his words. He knew why she was calling yet he was trying to act so innocent!

  "But you told them you were trying to court me!!"

  "Then should I have directly told them I was proposing marriage to you instead?"

  Xiu Mei almost choked with Lu Chen’s words. Was he trying to tease her?! Ugh!

  If Lu Chen had mentioned those to her parents…… Xiu Mei couldn’t even imagine what kind of disaster will start. She would not even have any way out!

  Xiu Mei paused and took a deep breath to gather her thoughts.

  Fine. Since it already happened, she can’t do anything about it anymore. It’s no use crying over spilled milk.

  Since it’s come to this, the only option she has is to move forward.

  She bit her lip, quietly and calmly thinking about something. Surprisingly, the person on the other line wasn’t bothered by the silence at all. It seems he was patiently waiting for Xiu Mei to speak as if he could easily see through her thoughts. Like he knew very well what she was contemplating about right now.

  "Lu Chen."

  This was the first time Xiu Mei had spoken Lu Chen’s name. She would always call him ’Mr.Lu’ or ’boss’ to stay professional but now, she was willingly calling his name.

  Hearing his name being softly spoken by Xiu Mei, Lu Chen’s grip on his phone tightened. Her soft voice caused his once calm heart to throb nervously. The slight ripples that he was feeling were something very unfamiliar, yet it felt so right. He didn’t find it uncomfortable and he even felt himself being more comfortable than before.

  "Xiu Mei." He spoke her name back with such gentleness that no one could’ve ever imagined. He smiled as he called her name, and the tone he used was so tender and filled with an indescribable sweetness.

  Xiu Mei jumped in surprise. Even though this wasn’t the first she had heard him call her by her name, she couldn’t help being startled.

  She immediately placed a hand on chest, patting it lightly. Her actions seemingly trying to calm her heart that was beating so fast. She could even feel her cheeks slightly reddening from fl.u.s.ter.

  "I don’t wanna be bound by a loveless relationship." She voiced out her thoughts.

  "You won’t be. I promised you that I may not love you right now, but I will love you." Lu Chen firmly said. He sounded so assured that he will fall in love with her in the future, ignoring the possibility of him falling in love with other women.

  He was promising her so sincerely that she almost felt like accepting his proposal.

  "But what if I won’t fall in love with you?"

  This is also one of the possibilities.

  Their situation right now is really weird. Two people trying to get into a relationship yet they don’t have feelings for each other. If others would’ve known this, they would surely laugh at them for saying such ridiculousness.

  "You will." Because I won’t let you. Was the unspoken sentence of Lu Chen.

  Her breath hitched. So confident. How confident was he that she would really like him back?

  "But it’s weird."

  "What is?"

  "This. Is this really just for the sake of turning me into Lu Qiang’s mother?"

  This was one of the main reasons why she was so against in accepting Lu Chen’s proposal. She knew that Lu Chen was just persistently chasing her is because he was desperate in looking for a mother figure for Lu Qiang.

  Xiu Mei was actually fine with to be Lu Qianq’s mother figure, but without the premise of marriage. She was fine with just being a mother but not as the wife of Lu Chen.

  "Partly." His honestly prickled Xiu Mei’s heart. "But not only that."

  Leaning back on his office chair, Lu Chen continued his words.

  "You are the only woman I’ve taken interest in."

  Weirdly, Xiu Mei felt like slapping Lu Chen after listening to him. She knew that it was his true thoughts, yet she couldn’t help but feel frustrated. Was he courting her just because he felt like she was a very interesting person? It sounded like he was comparing her to a toy he’s enjoying playing with.

  "It’s because you don’t interact with other women at all!"

  Her meaning was that, if Lu Chen wasn’t very elusive with women, he would probably meet more interesting women than her. And if that happens, he would start ignoring her and throw her away.

  Basically, this reason that Lu Chen has at the moment is too vulnerable for Xiu Mei to believe in. How can she entrust herself to a person who’s merely chasing her because she is an interesting person?

  "No." He quickly said. "It’s because it’s you."

  Lu Chen scoffed at the thought of meeting other women. He had met a lot of women before and all of them tried climbing his bed with the intention of marrying him. He understood their thoughts and he was pretty sure that aside from his face, it was his wealth and fame that they were in love with. That was why he had no intention of marrying at all before, but now, he was very welcoming with the idea of marriage if Xiu Mei is his partner.

  "Me?"

  "You’re different from them."

  "Like how?"

  "Because you just kept being yourself despite everything that happened."

  Of all the people who have a similar status as Xiu Mei, one would really wonder if Xiu Mei really did come from such a great family.

  He may not know her completely but after working with her for a few years, his opinion on Xiu Mei is really high.