Chapter 6

Chapter 6

I had been avoiding Shen Chen and Su Yue lately, terrified they would try to drag me into another one of their joint activities.

That changed when Shen Chen’s company partnered with mine on a new project. We were collaborating with a rising young author on an IP development deal, and the three parties had scheduled a dinner meeting.

I didn’t want to see Shen Chen, but his direct supervisor, Sister Xixi, specifically requested that I handle the negotiations. She mentioned that the young author was mysterious and notoriously difficult to book. They hadn’t even managed to get a background check on him; he had simply expressed interest in speaking with our project lead because he’d heard we were alumni of the same school.

Because of that, I ended up buying a stack of his novels and binge-reading them, terrified that I’d have nothing to talk about during dinner.

After finishing them, I couldn’t help but feel impressed. The author was truly talented; his depiction of unrequited love was so poignant and delicate that reading them late at night had moved me to tears more than once.

However, big-shot authors certainly have big-shot attitudes. The first round of cold appetizers had already been served, and he still hadn’t arrived.

Sister Xixi and I engaged in small talk to fill the silence. Upon learning that Shen Chen and I had known each other since high school, Sister Xixi gave me a knowing, suggestive smile.

“So, you two are basically childhood sweethearts.”

Shen Chen didn’t correct her.

“Not really. We just went to the same high school and then ended up at the same university,” I said, raising my glass as if to beg for mercy. “Sister Xixi, Shen Chen is getting married soon. Please don’t tease us like that, or his fiancée might get jealous.”

Seeing how eager I was to distance myself, Shen Chen looked slightly stunned.

“Fiancée?” Sister Xixi’s brow furrowed as if she were trying to recall something. “The young lady who kept messaging me in the middle of the night?”

“That girl is trouble,” Sister Xixi said in her native Shanghainese, shaking her head. “Xiao Shen, you should pamper your girlfriend, but you need to keep work and life separate…”

Shen Chen’s expression soured.

“If we’re talking about balancing work and life, no one does it better than you, Sister Xixi. Your daughter is a top student, and your projects are always flawless,” I said, raising my glass to quickly change the subject. “Our leadership even said that for this project, it’s either Sister Xixi’s team or no one.”

Sister Xixi’s greatest pride was her high-achieving daughter. Hearing me say that, she couldn’t stop beaming.

Shen Chen shot me a grateful look.

“Xiao Shen, if you had a girlfriend like Weiwei, you would have already-”

“Alright, Sister Xixi, no more of that!” I immediately cut her off.

“Sorry I’m late.”

The door was pushed open, but the person who walked in was… Shen Heguang?

“Heguang?” Shen Chen and I both froze in shock.

The star author everyone was talking about was Shen Heguang?