-12:15 P.M. Chen Corporations- Conference Room

Lunch time finally arrived as Chen Mu listened to the fifth financial plan proposal from the fifth financial advisor about the progress of recent investments. All the complicated business terms that could have been easily simplified to one line was stretched to a fifty-page proposal per person and the presentations were long and dull.

Chen Mu could only curse in his head because he had to temporarily take over the company due to family issues. Even though he had no interest in taking over his family business, he was talented in discovering great opportunities. He knew that once he takes over temporarily, it would mean that he had stepped foot into the business field and escaping from his family's plans would be something difficult.

Since it reached lunch time, Chen Mu stopped the financial advisor from continuing his suggestions on the upcoming project, "Let's take an hour lunch break."

He took out his cell phone and texted Susu to remind her to eat lunch or take a break from work.

Chen Mu: "Don't forget to take a break and eat your lunch. Drinking coffee on an empty stomach is very bad for your stomach, so you better eat something."

Susu was about to get up to brew another cup of coffee when she received his text, "d.a.m.n! What timing... He must have some spy camera on me."

She replied, "I'm not hungry."

Chen Mu: " Even if you're not hungry, you should eat something small."

Susu: "No appet.i.te."

Chen Mu:" As your boss, I forbid you from working until you take a break."

Susu: "Okay."

Chen Mu: "And replying 'Okay' is not enough. Make sure you eat something."

Susu: "Kk"

Chen Mu: "You're not going to eat, huh? I request a selfie of yourself eating."

Susu: " :( "

Chen Mu smirked at her sad face emoticon. Taking out his wallet, he handed his credit card to his a.s.sistant, "Thank you everyone for your hard work. I want to treat all of you to the Five Star Thai Cuisine. Order as you wish, but when you order, please help me order a Soup Veggie (small), Papaya Salad, Black Sticky Rice Coconut Milk, Coconut Sticky Rice, and Chilean Sea Ba.s.s. Thanks."

Everyone thought they had heard wrong because Chen Mu looked so bored and strict during the meeting that they were afraid he would flip out on their economic plans. They did not expect him to treat them to a fancy meal, especially the famous Five Star Thai Cuisine.

"What?" Chen Mu looked up from his phone when he noticed the awkward silence that followed after he finished telling them the order that he wanted.

His a.s.sistant instantly noted the orders that his boss wanted and hurriedly asked the other employees what they wanted. Within half an hour, the food was delivered to the conference room.

Chen Mu's a.s.sistant handed him the orders in a separate bag, "Mr. Chen, this is the order that you requested."

"Oh! Thank you." Chen Mu smiled as he got up from his seat, fixed the wrinkles on his suit, and walked out with the food in his hands. Before he entered the elevator, he had sent a text to his a.s.sistant, "Tell everyone their official lunch break starts now, so take their time eating. No rush."

His a.s.sistant was once again left speechless with his mouth dangled open, "Boss... must be in a good mood today. Does that mean I can finally go home and not work overtime today?"

The elevator doors opened and Chen Mu quietly stepped into the empty office. He frowned when he noticed that everyone went to lunch except for Susu. She was still typing on her laptop trying to correct the tiniest detail of the upcoming seasonal poster.

The bag of food was placed right by her laptop, startling her.

"Chen Mu! Huh? What's this?" Her long hair was tied in a messy bun and her eyes looked more energetic behind the gla.s.ses frame. The glossy soft lips of hers looked sweet like fresh cherries.

With a smile on his face, he listed all the dishes that he had ordered exclusively to her taste, "All of these are your favorites that you have never turned down in the past. Work is important, but your health is my top priority. Let's eat."

Leaning against her chair lazily, she questioned, "Don't tell me you purposely went to this place to grab delivery just so I would take a break and eat something."

"Half bingo! I was at a meeting, and my employees wanted something from the Five Star Thai Cuisine. I only went along and ordered. It was a pure coincidence. Now, let's eat before the food gets cold. I also have your favorite dessert."

Seeing her tired figure slouching in her chair, he offered to roll her chair to the dining area. Even though she had her doubts, the long list of orders and the total cost eliminated her suspicions. "Hmmm... then thanks for the food and I could move on my own, so you don't have to push my chair." She got up from her seat and walked to the dining table.

While he set out the dishes, her stomach growled from the mouth watering fragrance coming from the food. She quickly grabbed two sets of dining utensils and joined him for lunch. No matter how little appet.i.te she has, she could never resist this amazing Five Star Thai Cuisine. Even during rush hours, this place made their food fresh and top notch.

Chen Mu was glad to see her enjoying her food and feeling more cheered up compared to this morning. 'This place always does the trick.'

He sliced up the Chilean sea ba.s.s and carefully placed the pieces onto her plate as she devoured the other foods that he had already put on her plate.

She noticed that he had barely eaten anything while she was almost full, "I can't finish that much food! You need to eat too."

"I'm fine." He was in a great mood seeing that she was fed properly.

"Chen Mu.. you..." She sounded a bit shy, making him tease her.

"What? Don't tell me you want to marry me~~" He chuckled as he chewed on a piece of sea ba.s.s.

"No, I was going to say that you remind me of my dad." She nodded while rubbing her chin.

"Huh?....in what ways...?" He almost choked on the word 'dad'

"The way you remembered my favorite dishes, sliced everything for me and placed it on my plate before serving yourself." She sounded a little disappointed when she said that line, but he didn't understand why because her father doted on her from everything that she told him.

After they had finished eating, Susu rubbed her tummy with a blissful smile on her face, "That was a great meal! Do you know what would make this even more perfect?"

Seeing her sweet smile, he knew exactly what she wanted, "A warm cup of Pa.s.sionfruit Jasmine Tea in mild level." She nodded, "Ahhh, that would make this lunch beyond perfection!"

"Wait here." He rolled up his sleeves and walked towards the private pantry. After a few minutes later, he came out with two mugs filled with her favorite Pa.s.sionfruit Jasmine Tea in Mild level. She blinked a few times before taking a sip, "Oh my!!! This is really good. When did you learn to make this?"

"A while ago." He wasn't lying when he said a while ago since he indeed took months of practice to perfect the tea taste. Of course, he would never let her know about this.

In the middle of holding onto her warm mug, she brought up the courage to ask him a question that has been stuck in her mind, "Chen Mu, when you called me earlier, I already sensed that you wanted to ask a lot of questions. How come you never asked anything after seeing me?"

"I don't need to know things that you don't want me to ask. If you wanted to tell me, you will eventually. I won't force you to say anything you don't want to talk about, but if you ever need to rant or complain about anything, I'll always be there for you. Just one call and I'll be there." He noticed that she was feeling slightly upset again.

"If only he would listen to me even a millionth of the amount you do. I still don't understand why he hates me so much." Her voice sounded a little shaky as she lowered her head.

'She's trying to hide her emotions again..'

He placed his mug onto the table, moved closer to her, and gently rubbed her back in a comforting manner, "If you ever feel like you really can't handle the situation, never hesitate to ask me for help."

"Chen Mu.."

"Hmm?" The gentleness in his voice knocked down the last bit of control she had over her emotions. Her heartbroken voice trembled as she asked in a low volume, "W..what if one day something really bad happens, and you hear bad things about me? Would you leave me too?"

He stopped rubbing her back and rotated her chair so that she was now facing him. His warm hands caressed her cheeks, lifted her face up, and looked at her straight in the eyes, "You have my word on this. No matter what happens in the present, future, or already took place in the past, I will choose to believe in the Yin Susu that I have known since young. Even if n.o.body else believes you, as long as you say it, I'll believe it."

Hot tears streamed down her face, wetting his fingers as he wiped the droplets using his thumb. The tears that she had held back since this morning fell from her eyes like a waterfall. Every tear that flowed down her face stained his suit, as well as his heart. He felt like someone clenched his heart together like mincing meat to sauce.

No matter how difficult or frustrating things were in the past, she had never once cried in front of him. Hearing and seeing her cry like an abandoned child made him extremely anxious. All he could do now is to give her a tight hug and comfort her to lessen her stress.

He stood by her side, wrapped her in his arms, and let her release her years of built up pain.

'Tian Yuo, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d.' He silently cursed his childhood friend.