What? He's downstairs?
Terrified, Xu Ai almost knocked over the chair beside her.
She glanced at Lin Shen and saw he was looking at her calmly with coffee in his hand. With a dark face, she walked away quickly with the cellphone and said with suppressed anger, "Don't pull my leg."
Su Xuan sighed over the phone. "I'm not joking. I'm indeed downstairs."
Xu Ai walked quickly to the window and opened the shutters. Sure enough, a car parked before the building, and a familiar figure was leaning against it; the elegant figure was indeed Su Xuan. She said from gritted teeth, "What are you doing here?"
Seeming to sense her stare, Su Xuan looked up, saying in a low and deep voice, "I came here with a night snack for you."
Xu Ai's face darkened. "Who told you to do it?"
"I'm your boyfriend and I came with a night snack for my girlfriend who's working late." Su Xuan raised the meal box in his hand for Xu Ai to see the food. "Come down and get me."
"Impossible. Go away. I don't want to eat." Xu Ai closed the window with a snap.
"If you don't want to be on tomorrow's headline, you'd better come down and get me." Su Xuan's voice was still melodious even though he was threatening her. "Su Xuan of Empyrean Corp. delivered a night snack to his girlfriend who was working late but got rejected; he waited outside for her for one night but she didn't show up. This would be the headline of tomorrow's news. It will be quite entertaining, huh?"
"Su Xuan!" Xu Ai stomped her foot with a scowl.
"Be a good girl and come down to get me." Su Yu hung up.
Furious, Xu Ai almost threw her cellphone to the ground.
How could he do this to her? She had never seen a person as shameless as Su Xuan.
She held her head and grabbed her hair. Then she remembered something; putting down her hands, she looked up at Lin Shen.
But he had put down the coffee and was reading the file in his hands. She couldn't see his expression, but he seemed cool.
Xu Ai suppressed her fury and calmed down suddenly. Gripping her cellphone, she said to him, "I'll go downstairs."
Lin Shen raised his head and looked at her. "Su Xuan is here?"
Xu Ai pursed her lips and nodded; then she opened the door and walked out of the office.
The lights in the corridor were on. Xu Ai entered the elevator and leaned on the wall, closing her eyes.
With a ding, the elevator arrived on the first floor. Xu Ai opened her eyes and inhaled deeply before walking out of the elevator.
Pulling open the door of the building, she saw Su Xuan and his eye-catching car immediately.
The lights in the dark night were still radiant; the young man leaning against the car was tall, handsome, and elegant. Backdropped with the cars running on the distant street and the skyscrapers dotted with lights, he stood there waiting for her as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
Xu Ai paused her steps and shook her head, trying to shake this sudden and terrifying thought off. She walked up to him with a dark face.
"I knew you can't bear to let me wait." Su Xuan smiled in satisfaction.
Xu Ai gave him a dirty look.
Seeing her dark expression, he was amused. "I came all the way to deliver a night meal to you. Even if you don't like it, you don't need to look…" He paused as if he was looking for a proper word and continued, "You don't need to look so heartless."
"You want me to be good to you?" Xu Ai had the urge to tear him into pieces. "Don't you remember what you did?"
"What did I do?" With a faint glint in his eyes, Su Xuan said with a gentle smile, "I was supposed to attend an important dinner party tonight. But your grandma called me. Considering her advanced age, I didn't want to disappoint her, so I canceled the dinner and went to see her. I chatted with her and helped her make dumplings, waiting for you to return. But you said you had to work through the night, so your grandma and I had to eat the dumplings without you. She's worried that you'd go hungry working all through the night and asked me to deliver food to you. I'm your boyfriend and must listen to your grandma to win her favor. So I came."
He sounded as if he was doing her a favor.
Xu Ai knew he was too glib for her to argue with him. This guy could always find loopholes in others' words and read people's minds, turning everything to his advantage. His mind was a platter of colors and he could concoct any color he wanted. She'd never be able to win a verbal fight.
Realizing this point, she extended out her hand with a scowl. "Give it to me."
Su Xuan raised his eyebrows.
"You came here to deliver the night meal, right? I got it; you can go now," Xu Ai said with a dark expression.
Su Xuan looked at her with a faint smile. "I worked hard tonight, spending almost four hours cooking with your grandma and another four hours on the road. I came all the way to deliver a night snack to you and you treat me in this way?"
"I didn't ask you to do it. You brought it to yourself." Xu Ai wasn't softened.
"Yeah. I brought it to myself." Su Xuan looked at her with hurt in his eyes. "I feel hurt that my girlfriend doesn't appreciate my efforts."
Xu Ai was displeased. "Don't look like this. I'm not your girlfriend."
Su Xuan chuckled. "Really? If you're not my girlfriend, who is?"
Xu Ai got angry. "Su Xuan, I've told you explicitly that I don't want to be your girlfriend."
He took one step forward and held her hand, saying, "Hush."
Xu Ai swallowed back her words.
He gestured to her to look back.
Xu Ai turned her head slowly and saw a security guard who seemed to be looking at them stealthily at the door. As she glanced at him, the guard looked away immediately.
"If you don't want to fight with me and cause a scene, you must quiet down. I don't want to cause a scene, either." Su Xuan lowered his voice and said tiredly, "I'm tired and don't want to fight with you." After a pause, he added, "Besides, I don't want to lose face in public."
Xu Ai gave him a dirty look, knowing he was lying.
She thought his skin was thicker than the city wall. No one would believe that he was afraid to lose face.
"Are you really going to work through the night?" As she quieted down, Su Xuan asked her in a low voice.
Xu Ai nodded.
He sighed. "I'm tired and can't drive, or I might get into an accident. I'll stay with you while you work."
Xu Ai widened her eyes in disbelief.
"Let's go." Su Xuan took her hand.
"No." Xu Ai refused in a loud voice.
She didn't want to see him for even one second. If he stayed and watched her work, she'd not be able to finish the work even if she was given eight days.
His presence would pull her spirits down.
"Your objection is invalid." Su Xuan pulled her to the door of the building.
"Su Xuan!" Xu Ai tried to shake his hand off but couldn't. She got angry. "You can't do this."
Su Xuan stopped and turned to look at her. "I can't stay with my girlfriend as she works overtime?"
She glared at him. "I'm working. Don't mess with me."
"Don't worry. Do your work. I won't make trouble for you." He thought for a second and added, "If you could find me a place to sleep, it would be great."
"There's no place for you to sleep." Xu Ai scowled.
"It doesn't matter. I'm not used to staying up all night, but one night is no problem for me." Su Yu shrugged.
"Still no." Xu Ai was stubborn.
He leaned over to her. "Stop fighting me. Except for the security guards at the door, several cars have stopped, and people are looking this way. Do you see that?"
Xu Ai gritted her teeth and dragged him into the building.
Su Xuan's lips curved up as his mood lightened suddenly.
"I'm warning you: don't make trouble for me." Xu Ai gave in, knowing he was determined to stay.
"I promise." Su Xuan nodded with a smile.
Xu Ai led him toward the elevator under the curious glances of the security guards.
In the elevator, Xu Ai let go of his hand.
Su Xuan loosened his grip and leaned on the wall, saying with a smile. "I'll call your grandma in a while. Before I set out, she told me to call her once I arrived. She's worried about my safety on the road."
Xu Ai's face turned dark again as she demanded, "You exchanged phone numbers with my grandma?"
"She asked for my number."
"How could she do that?" Xu Ai was angry again.
"Why not?" Su Xuan looked at her. "It's true. On the other day outside the restaurant, when you and Little Li went to my car to fetch your jacket, your grandma asked me to save my number in her cellphone, so she can call me to have supper in your home."
Xu Ai was about to retort but closed her mouth as she remembered her grandmother's unusual behavior after meeting Su Xuan. The old lady seemed totally charmed by him and acted quite oddly.
"Will you call her yourself or let me do it?" Su Xuan asked.
Xu Ai didn't want to hear her grandma's rattling about Su Xuan and said in resentment, "Of course you do it. She didn't tell me to call her anyway."
Su Xuan smiled. "Okay. I'll call her in a while."
As they talked, the elevator came to the top floor. Su Xuan followed her out of the elevator with the meal box.
The door to the office was open and she remembered she had forgotten to close it when she left the room. Lin Shen sat there staring down at the desk before him, but he didn't seem to be looking at the file. She wondered what he was thinking.
The files on the table were the same as she had left them.
Hearing their footsteps, he looked up slowly. Seeing Su Xuan came in after her, his eyes glinted, and his hands touched the file subconsciously.
Xu Ai didn't speak, feeling guilty for bringing Su Xuan to the office; she was afraid that Lin Shen would think she had no respect for her work. It was truly improper to bring someone up while she was working.
But she had no choice since she couldn't drive Su Xuan away.
Anyway, Lin Shen didn't like her or have a high opinion of her.
At this moment, Xu Ai realized that it didn't matter if he liked her or not. She just couldn't let go of her old habit of liking him.
But one day, she'd let go of this old habit, right?
"I'm sorry, President Lin, but Ai's grandma is worried about her and let me deliver food to her." Su Xuan met Lin Shen's eyes and said with a smile.
Lin Shen stood up. "I'm honored by your presence, Young Master Su. You're welcome."
Su Xuan put the meal box on the desk. After Xu Ai sat down, he touched her head and said in a gentle voice, "I guess you didn't eat much at supper. Since it's an all-nighter, take your time. The dumplings are still warm in the thermal box. Eat some, so you'll have the energy to work."
Xu Ai had calmed down from her frustration. Besides, she hadn't eaten much at supper and felt hungry. She didn't want to scold him in front of Lin Shen. So, she looked at the meal box and nodded.
Su Xuan opened the meal box for her.
"So many?" Xu Ai frowned.
Su Xuan chuckled. "I knew President Lin was working with you, so I brought enough for two."
Remembering Lin Shen ate little at supper, she raised her head and asked, "Would you..."
"I'm not hungry," Lin Shen said before she could finish the sentence and sat back down.
Xu Ai bit on her lip. "You ate little at supper. It's enough for two people. Eat some, okay?"
Lin Shen said calmly, "No, thank you."
Seeing he had no intention to eat, Xu Ai picked up the chopsticks.
Su Xuan picked up the cup on her desk and frowned. "The coffee is cold. I'll dump it and get you some warm water."
"Okay." Xu Ai nodded.
Su Xuan glanced around and saw the water dispenser and the waste can beside it. Dumping the cold coffee, he washed the cup, refilled it with warm water and placed it on her desk.
Without looking up, she pointed at the sofa. "Do you see that sofa? You can go and sleep on it."
Su Xuan nodded. "Okay. I'll call Grandma first."
Xu Ai didn't speak.
Su Xuan dialed her grandma's number.
After two rings, the old lady answered, "Little Xuan?"
"Yeah, it's me, Grandma." Su Xuan smiled and said in a gentle tone, "I'm in Ai's company. I'll stay with her in the company while she works overnight. Don't worry."
"Good, good. I'm not worried that you will stay with her." Delighted, the old lady asked, "What's she doing?"
"She's eating dumplings." Su Xuan chuckled.
"Did she say your dumplings are delicious?" The old lady asked.
Su Xuan looked at Xu Ai and asked in a low voice, "Grandma asked you if the dumplings are delicious."
Xu Ai wanted to say no, but her conscience made her nod.
Su Xuan's smile deepened. "She likes my dumplings."
"Don't let her eat too much. She needs energy to work but eating too much in the night is bad for her stomach," the old lady instructed.
"I got it, Grandma." Su Xuan nodded with a smile.
Saying yes to the old lady's instructions, Su Xuan hung up.
Xu Ai was not pleased with him but couldn't find a fault to berate him; she could do nothing but rolling her eyes at him.
Su Xuan touched her head and said gently, "The dumplings are delicious, but Grandma said you can't eat too many of them. I'll grab some sleep. Call out to me if you need something."
Xu Ai raised her hand to brush his hand off, but he went away before she did it and lay down on the long sofa.
The sofa was not long enough for him and his legs dangled over the edge. She looked away from him in resentment. If people saw the president of the Empyrean Group lowering himself to keep her company as she worked overtime, she'd be swallowed by criticism.
Anyway, he was the one who was on the short end of the stick. He'd be stiff after waking up.
He deserved it.
He dumped his comfortable bed and came here to suffer of his own will.
At this thought, she felt better. Eating several dumplings, she put away the meal box and continued working on the file.
Lin Shen raised his head and looked at her.
Xu Ai sensed his glance and looked up, but he lowered his head and flipped through the pages of the file in his hand. She pursed her lips and drank some warm water before concentrating all of her attention to the file.