Yuchen's expression remained calm, not revealing any surprise or flustered as he listened to Elena's sudden question.
When Yuchen joined the mafia, he was assigned a mission to become a spy, infiltrating their enemy's gang. This experience further honed his ability to hide his emotions, a skill he had cultivated from a young age.
Throughout his childhood, he endured relentless bullying from his stepbrother, and of course his attempts to fight back but the adults often scolded him instead.
In the end, Yuchen eventually chose to adopt a calm and composed facade, even during the most challenging situations.
"Well... maybe?" Yuchen responded with a smile, casually placing the teacup back on the table. He was curious to see how Elena would react, and his intuition seemed to be right on target.
Elena's eyes widened, and her mouth opened slightly in surprise. She instinctively stepped back, not expecting her casual guess to be so accurate.
She just said it casually, but it turns out that it's true?
Yuchen tried to suppress his laughter at her reaction; he hadn't anticipated that she would be so taken aback.
"Actually… I am…" Yuchen said softly, deliberately drawing out his words. Seeing Elena's reaction made Yuchen feel an urge to tease her.
He himself didn't know why he was acting this way, but perhaps it was because he hadn't felt this relaxed and playful while conversing with a woman in a long time or maybe it was because he was already in mode to become Elena's partner.
Whatever it was, Yuchen wanted to enjoy this moment.
Elena's curiosity got the best of her as she unconsciously swallowed, her mind racing with wild speculations because Yuchen seems like gonna reveal something big. Does Yuchen really have a secret?
Is he a hacker, like her sister-in-law? Or maybe… a killer?!
The corners of Yuchen's lips curled into a mischievous smile, relishing in the suspense he had created with his teasing demeanor.
"Chef. I'm a chef," he revealed with a big smile, playfully putting an end to the suspense and surprising Elena with his unexpected answer.
Elena's immediate snort and annoyed expression revealed her disappointment upon learning that Yuchen was simply a chef.
She had hoped for a more intriguing revelation, a secret identity, but it turned out to be information she already knew.
"You're deliberately teasing me, aren't you?" Elena asked, clearly annoyed as she observed Yuchen trying to suppress his laughter.
"Haha! But I really mean it! I'm a chef! You couldn't have guessed that, right?" Yuchen chuckled, noticing Elena's irritation rather than disbelief.
As he expected, Elena was the one who had searched for his information last night.
"Yes, yes," Elena replied with an air of indifference.
The atmosphere between them suddenly turned silent, and both Yuchen and Elena felt the awkwardness looming, unsure of what to say next.
"By the way, when can I come to your office?" Yuchen attempted to find a topic of conversation, seeking to break the uncomfortable silence.
"You can come anytime," Elena replied curtly, lifting her coffee cup again to take another sip. She felt unsure about what to do or say at this point
Yuchen nodded his head in response to Elena's curt reply.
"Then it's a pleasure to work with you," Yuchen said, trying to fill the awkward silence that had enveloped them. He felt unsure of what else to say, and staying silent seemed even more uncomfortable.
He then extended his hand with a smile on his face intending to shake hands with Elena.
However, Yuchen's smile faded when he noticed Elena's response.
The woman froze in her seat, her eyes betraying a faint glimmer of fear that she attempted to conceal. However, Yuchen couldn't help but notice it. He was all too familiar with the fear in people's eyes, a reaction often elicited by his association with the mafia.
But, why did Elena appear afraid of him?
Elena, who had just set down her glass, suddenly trembled slightly as she saw a large hand reaching out towards her.
In that moment, a painful memory from two years ago flashed through her mind. The recollection of a past encounter with a large hand triggered a rush of fear, sending signals to her brain that something bad was about to happen.
Yes, unbeknownst to others, Elena had been carrying trauma from that incident. A trauma that until now was not realized by others, and hopefully that it would remain unnoticed in the future as well.
She actually felt terrified whenever a man's hand reached out to her, and for Elena, it was something she couldn't afford to reveal.
As the CEO, she often had to shake hands with men in various business settings. If word got out about her trauma, she knew it would only be a matter of time before her enemies used it against her, jeopardizing her position and authority.
Thus, entering into a contract marriage seemed like the perfect solution for Elena. It provided a way to keep her secret tightly sealed. People wouldn't suspect that she harbored such trauma with men and she can deal with her mother pestering questions about marriage.
"Ah, yes. Nice to work with you," Elena said, attempting to suppress her fear as she raised her hand to shake Yuchen's.
However, she immediately let go of his hand and averted her eyes, trying to distract herself to prevent her body from trembling violently.
Even though she hadn't fully healed from her trauma, Elena was doing her best to maintain control.
Yuchen pulled back his hand, looking at Elena with a puzzled expression, filled with questions.
Did she somehow know his true identity?
Yuchen immediately shook his head as the thought crossed his mind. If Elena had known about his identity as a mafia member, he was sure she wouldn't have contacted him again or continued with the contract marriage.
Yuchen also believed that his men could successfully conceal that information from Elena's men.
However, the lingering question remained: why did she look so afraid of him? He couldn't forget how yesterday she casually hugged his arm when they met Wu Jia Ni.
"Ahem, then see you later," Elena said abruptly, deciding it was time to leave. Apart from having nothing more to discuss with Yuchen, she needed some time to compose herself. Elena retrieved the brown envelope from the table and placed it in her bag.
"Are you busy?" Yuchen asked suddenly, just before Elena was about to stand up from her chair.
"Eh? Ah? No. Do you have any other questions?" she asked, a bit flustered by the unexpected inquiry.
"Do you want to go with me?" Yuchen asked spontaneously.
He remained curious and puzzled by Elena's reaction, as she had suddenly appeared scared of him earlier, despite her attempts to conceal it.
"What?" asked Elena, unable to conceal her surprise at Yuchen's sudden proposal.
Yuchen finally realized that he had spoken too casually. In truth, he simply wanted to spend more time with Elena to understand what had caused her fear.
"Since your reporter is still lurking there and seems eager to take more photos, why don't we go together? We can head to..." Yuchen paused briefly, trying to come up with a plan.
"I mean we could hang out for a bit and make it look like we're on a date! Yes! Date! What do you say? Would you like to go on a date with me?" Yuchen asked suddenly.