Shen Heyu picked up her phone and checked the time; only a bit over twenty minutes had passed—she had enough time to return to the villa.
To prevent Lu Yi from developing any further fondness, Shen Heyu picked up her things and left without looking back. As she stepped out of the presidential suite and stood at the door, she took a deep breath.
As she was about to step away, her phone vibrated—Pei Yansi had actually called her.
Shen Heyu answered the call with composure.
"Shen Heyu, I want to remind you that half an hour has passed already."
"If I remember correctly, I never promised to come back, so what’s the point of your reminder?"
Lu Yi sneered, "You might fool yourself, but you can’t fool me. You’ll definitely come back tonight."
"I’ll use my own methods to force you to come back."
Shen Heyu had already reached the elevator entrance. Once inside, her phone would lose its signal.
She spoke her last words to Pei Yansi, "Actually, from yesterday to this morning, the things you confessed to me created an illusion that you had changed."
"But in truth, Pei Yansi has always been the Pei Yansi I knew, with no change whatsoever."
"What do you mean by that?"
Shen Heyu stepped into the elevator. With no signal inside, the call was forcefully disconnected.
Pei Yansi stared at the phone screen that had the call disconnected and frowned deeply, irritably throwing his phone onto the sofa beside him.
Zhao Jin saw Pei Yansi’s state and quickly poured him a glass of water.
"President, haven’t I already told you? Winning back madam’s heart isn’t like handling those cooperation projects in the business world; you can’t deal with it so forcefully."
"I am slowly changing; I’m just worried that there isn’t much time left."
"As long as you show madam the determination to change, she will definitely be willing to give you time to correct past mistakes."
Zhao Jin glanced at the time on his watch.
"It’s already past five twenty; there are only ten minutes left in the deadline you gave madam—why hasn’t she returned?" Zhao Jin stretched his neck uneasily to check the door.
It was hard to imagine what Pei Yansi would do if Shen Heyu didn’t return today.
Pei Yansi lifted his hand to massage the center of his brow and asked Zhao Jin, "Do you think she will return tonight?"
"The kitchen has already prepared dinner for you and madam; I believe she will definitely come back." Zhao Jin, seeing Pei Yansi in a bad mood, could only comfort him for now—there could still be a twist in the story.
"If she doesn’t come back tonight, forget about your year-end bonus."
Zhao Jin immediately straightened up, his scalp tingling.
He expressed delicately, "President, this is a matter between you and madam; it isn’t exactly fair to involve me. I only told you what you wanted to hear, yet now you’re going to withhold my year-end bonus."
"You’re afraid you’ll lose your year-end bonus because you’re not sure about this matter yourself; you think Shen Heyu might not come back."
Pei Yansi’s gaze was too sharp as he looked at him.
Pei Yansi didn’t expect that Zhao Jin was just being tested, and Zhao Jin felt a bit panicky. If he said at this time that Shen Heyu wouldn’t come back, Pei Yansi might get angry and withhold his next year’s year-end bonus in a fit of anger.
"Not at all, President. That’s not what I meant. I think the madam will definitely come back tonight."
Pei Yansi smiled, "Since you think she will come back, then why worry about losing your year-end bonus."
"I..." Zhao Jin really felt like having a bitter taste in his mouth that he couldn’t express.
"What are you?" Pei Yansi pressed.
Zhao Jin really suspected that it was because Shen Heyu hadn’t returned yet, and Pei Yansi was just playing with him out of anxiety.
"I think the madam will definitely come back tonight."
"Good." Pei Yansi loved to hear him say that.
Working with Pei Yansi was like walking on thin ice.
"If she returns today, your year-end bonus for this year will be quintupled; if she doesn’t come back tonight, forget about getting a year-end bonus for the next ten years."
"President, this is too..."
"Black-hearted" were the words Zhao Jin couldn’t manage to say and just swallowed them down.
"Finish what you were saying." Pei Yansi seemed to have guessed what he left unsaid, and with a slight raise of his eyebrow, his gaze bore a threatening air.
As Zhao Jin wracked his brains to smooth things over, he looked up and saw a familiar woman stepping into the villa.
His eyes brightened with joy as he said, "President, look, the madam has come back."
The playful smile on Pei Yansi’s face stiffened as he looked up and, indeed, he saw the figure of Shen Heyu approaching.
Shen Heyu walked up to Pei Yansi and lifted her phone to check the time.
She told Pei Yansi, "It’s exactly 5:30 now. I’ve returned within the time we agreed upon, so I hope you’ll remember your promise and absolutely not lay a hand on Lu Yi."
Having heard Shen Heyu’s words, the smile on Pei Yansi’s face locked up, and the tenderness in his eyes also slowly frosted over.
Zhao Jin was good at reading Pei Yansi’s expressions and, sensing his changed mood, he immediately stepped in to smooth things over.
"Madam, you’re back. After the President called you, he’s been waiting for you. You haven’t had dinner yet, right? The kitchen has already prepared your and the President’s dinner."
In this awkward situation, Zhao Jin had no choice but to stiffly stretch a smile.
"It’s not necessary, I already ate before I came back."
Zhao Jin was barking up the wrong tree with his flattery.
He wanted to keep forcing a smile, but his face was growing stiff. His eyes flitted back and forth between Shen Heyu and Pei Yansi as he strained to say something to ease the tension, "But the President hasn’t eaten yet because he was waiting for you. How about kindly joining the President for dinner?"
"I’m tired from coming back; I’ll go upstairs to rest first. Don’t disturb me if there’s nothing important."
Shen Heyu glanced at Pei Yansi and turned to leave.
"Did you come back today just because you were worried that I would hurt Lu Yi?" Pei Yansi called out to her.
Shen Heyu stopped in her tracks and turned her head to look at Pei Yansi, a four or five step distance between them.
"Don’t you know very well? Coming back here is not my personal wish at all."
"If I hadn’t threatened you with Lu Yi, but rather asked you to come back myself, would you have come?" They were only a few steps apart, and Pei Yansi took steps towards her.
Hearing his words, Shen Heyu laughed and countered, "Would you ask me?"