"You're welcome... Did he say anything else?"
Ye Zisu's mind raced, but she maintained her sweet smile.
"How did you know he had something to tell me?"
Lu Yiming, with delight, lifted a delicate cake box and a cloth strip from the passenger seat, handing them to her.
"This cake is a welcome gift the boss specifically asked me to deliver."
Ye Zisu usually avoided sweets, especially cake, to maintain her figure.
But the moment she saw the packaging logo, "Xing Fu" (Happiness), she recognized it. It was a long-standing brand favored by daughters of prestigious families, with daily limited-edition cakes. Not only were they expensive, but they were often unavailable even with money.
"Thank you, I love this brand of cake the most," she said, happily accepting it.
"The boss asked me to ask you: can we continue to be in contact?"
Lu Yiming's playful smile vanished in an instant, replaced by a serious expression.
Only then did Ye Zisu notice a small, white card with a gilded edge tucked into the cake box.
Opening it, she found a handwritten mobile number, signed with a bold and elegant "Qin."
Upon seeing the character, Ye Zisu's heart began to pound uncontrollably.
Qin, the foremost of the Four Great Families, the Qin family?!
Regardless of who the boss was within the Qin family, his power and status were far superior to the Gu family's.
"Yes," she thought, ecstatic, while shyly nodding her head.
"Alright, I'll relay this back to the boss. I won't disturb you any further." With that, Lu Yiming turned, got into his car, and left.
Ye Zisu gazed at the cake box in her hand, feeling utterly pleased.
Then she looked at the cloth strip in her other hand. The embroidered pattern on it seemed vaguely familiar, as if she'd seen it somewhere before, but she couldn't recall where.
She turned and tossed the cloth strip into the trash can.
Who cared whose it was? Right now, I, Ye Zisu, am the savior of that mysterious big shot!
***
After leaving the Ye residence, Lu Yiming immediately called Qin Beiting.
"Boss, as you instructed, I delivered the cloth strip and the cake to her."
"What was her reaction?" Qin Beiting asked.
"She was very happy, saying she loved 'Xing Fu' cakes the most. She also said she'd continue to be in contact."
As Lu Yiming spoke, he started to tease playfully, "Boss, you should take it easy. That young lady looks like she's still underage..."
On the other end of the line, Qin Beiting's handsome, sword-like eyebrows furrowed slightly upon hearing the word "happy."
He recalled the girl's shocked reaction when he called her name on the mountain that day, and her hasty retreat.
It was precisely because her reaction was too extreme that he dared not approach her directly, thus sending Lu Yiming to scout ahead first.
He never expected someone to rush headlong into death so eagerly.
"You've got the wrong person," Qin Beiting stated, his thin lips parting, his tone assured.
At this moment, his black Audi drove into the gates of Kaiwei International Academy and headed towards the faculty building. A stretch limousine was parked below.
"Huh?" Lu Yiming, in the midst of his teasing, exclaimed, "Impossible? She even said she saw me on the mountain that day... Damn!"
Recalling his conversation with Ye Zisu, he realized he had been too hasty and hadn't noticed the deception.
"I'll turn back right now..."
He said this and was about to find a suitable spot to make a U-turn.
"No need."
Qin Beiting hung up the phone, his gaze fixed on a girl alighting from the rear of the limousine.
The girl wore a form-fitting white cheongsam. Her long, black hair was braided into a centipede braid. Her delicate profile revealed no expression, exuding an aura of icy purity and unapproachability.
"Brother Ting, we've arrived,"
Assistant Chen Dong said to Qin Beiting in the back seat after parking the car steadily.
The person in the back seat did not respond.
Chen Dong got out and respectfully opened the rear door. The person in the back seat still did not react.
Chen Dong lowered his head in confusion to look at the person inside the car. He saw his boss staring intently out the other window.
The window offered a clear view of the main entrance of the teaching building. A man in a suit was leading a girl in a cheongsam inside.
A girl???
Chen Dong's eyes widened as if witnessing a miracle; his boss was actually paying attention to a woman?!