Chapter 66

Stay away from that woman.

Chen Xi stared at the text message sent by Zhou Yanzhou, completely bewildered.

Which woman?

Before Chen Xi could figure it out, Amy strolled over to her desk holding a cup of coffee, swaying gracefully in her eye-catching red dress. She leaned against the edge of the desk, glanced down at Chen Xi’s computer, and parted her red lips. "Did the skinflint Xu pile all this work on you already?"

Chen Xi: "..."

She blinked, looking up at Amy with an innocent expression.

Amy stole a glance at Xu Feng’s office. Seeing that they were safely out of earshot, she smiled and said, "It's fine, everyone in the firm calls him the skinflint."

"Seriously though, the skinflint has ridiculously high standards. Hard lines on getting stuck with him."

Though Chen Xi hadn't yet experienced the harshness Amy spoke of, she had already gathered a sense of Xu Feng's cold severity from their brief interactions earlier.

She shrugged helplessly, figuring that a strict teacher produces exceptional students, and tried to understand.

Amy gave her a look that clearly meant *good luck, you're on your own*, then floated away gracefully to harass someone else.

Chen Xi had no choice but to plunge back into her work.

Legal texts were dry and tedious, packed with complex concepts across numerous domains, leaving Chen Xi's head spinning.

This was a cross-border M&A case for a luxury brand. While Chen Xi had studied such cases in school, she had never handled one practically. Every document Xu Feng sent over was tens of thousands of words long, filled with financial reports and foreign legal provisions, leaving her feeling utterly overwhelmed.

She could only skim the text quickly, memorize the general milestones, write down what she thought were the key points on sticky notes, and begin brainstorming.

Aside from dumping a mountain of documents on her, Xu Feng hadn't given her a single hint. Chen Xi had no choice but to search online for similar M&A cases, hoping to find something useful to reference.

Before she knew it, it was already lunchtime.

Amy had only stamped a few documents all morning, spent some time sipping tea in the pantry, played on her phone, and spent the rest of the time watching Chen Xi slave away at her desk.

When the lunch hour arrived, Amy sighed, removed her employee badge, stood up, and walked over to tap the edge of Chen Xi’s desk.

Chen Xi was up to her neck in work. Hearing the tapping, she raised her head with a dazed expression.

Amy flashed a sweet smile and urged, "Darling, humans are made of food; work is just a chore. Let's go eat."

"It's not too late to finish this when we get back."

Chen Xi had only eaten a single egg that morning, and after working frantically all morning, she was genuinely hungry.

She glanced hesitatingly toward Xu Feng’s office. Seeing that the glass door remained tightly shut and the man inside was still buried in his work at his desk, she hesitated and asked, "Attorney Xu hasn't eaten yet. Would it be bad if we left?"

Amy let out a scoff and delivered a chilly critique: "If you wait for him, you'll starve. He hardly ever eats lunch."

Chen Xi: "?"

"He's a complete workaholic. Work is his lifeblood, so he can go without food or water just fine."

Amidst Chen Xi's shock, Amy looped her arm through Chen Xi's and hauled her up out of her chair. "Be a good girl and listen to me. Let's go eat."

Chen Xi had no choice but to grab her phone and follow Amy downstairs for lunch.

While waiting for the elevator, Amy checked her reflection in the elevator doors and asked vanity-flushed, "Darling, am I pretty?"

Chen Xi blinked and offered generous praise without hesitation. "Drop-dead gorgeous."

If Chen Xi's beauty resembled a pristine green lotus, Amy was a fiercely passionate red rose.

She possessed striking, dramatic features—a high bridge of a nose, full red lips, deep-set eyes, and a mass of voluminous, cascading waves. Her voluptuous figure and seductive walk carried the effortless glamour of a 1990s Hong Kong movie star.

At first glance, one might assume such a woman was haughty and difficult to approach, but upon closer contact, one would find her just as warm and dazzling as her exterior suggested.

Yet Amy didn't seem particularly popular in the law firm; Chen Xi had overheard people talking behind her back in the pantry several times.

Perhaps it was because Amy was simply too striking? Anyone standing next to her would instantly fade into the background, completely devoid of presence.

Delighted by the compliment, Amy beamed, wrapped her arms around Chen Xi, and planted a kiss on her cheek. "You're the best, darling."

The elevator doors slid open right at that moment, capturing the entire scene for Zhou Yanzhou, who was standing inside.

Seeing the woman practically draped all over Chen Xi, Zhou Yanzhou furrowed his brow.

Chen Xi froze when she spotted the man in the tailored suit standing inside the elevator with his hands in his pockets.

She pressed her lips together and was about to tell Amy to let go when Amy, noticing the elevator doors opening, grabbed Chen Xi and pulled her inside with swift efficiency.

The moment the doors closed, Amy noticed the man standing in the elevator, a glint of mischief flashing in her eyes. The next second, she pressed close to Chen Xi and muttered in a low voice, "Did I somehow rack up some amazing luck lately? Why do I keep running into that guy from the 33rd floor?"

"Want me to grab his number for you while it's just us in the elevator?"

"You've got to strike early with guys like this. They've got swarms of women buzzing around them all the time, and if you're not careful, someone else will snatch him up. Besides, a guy like this who's used to all the finest delicacies and every kind of beauty under the sun—you've got to take an unconventional path to grab his attention."

"How about you go streaking in front of him?"

Chen Xi let out a horrified gasp and shook her head frantically in refusal.

Thinking she was just being shy, Amy glanced down at Chen Xi's undeniably impressive chest and said meaningfully, "What are you afraid of? We've got the hardware for it."

With that, Amy actually reached out and copped a feel.

The movement was so lightning-fast that Chen Xi was caught entirely off guard. By the time she registered the sensation on her chest, her face burned bright red and she stared in dumbfounded shock at the grinning Amy.

Amy clicked her tongue in amazement. "Not an ounce of padding either. Impressive."

Chen Xi: "..."

Witnessing the entire exchange from start to finish, Zhou Yanzhou felt a vein throbbing on his forehead. He tightened his fingers inside his trouser pockets, fought down the urge to speak up, looked away, and forced himself to stare fixedly at the elevator doors with feigned calm.

Satisfied after her quick fondling, Amy glanced back down at Chen Xi's chest and smiled warmly. "Darling, you're full of surprises."

At this point, Chen Xi was consumed by pure mortification. Standing right in front of Zhou Yanzhou, she really, *really* did not want to discuss this topic.

However, thanks to Amy's antics, Chen Xi finally understood who the vague text message from Zhou Yanzhou was referring to.

The answer was painfully obvious.

Chen Xi glanced at the clueless Amy and couldn't help muttering internally: *You spend all day praising his looks, his high IQ, and his irresistible charm, yet he probably wants to add you to his blacklist.*

Amy missed Chen Xi's subtle hints and assumed Chen Xi was gesturing toward Zhou Yanzhou. She swaggered over and looked Zhou Yanzhou's outfit up and down before offering a final verdict: "Looking sharp."

Chen Xi: "..."

When the elevator reached the 13th floor, Zhou Yanzhou stepped out first. Chen Xi deliberately dragged her feet for two seconds, lingering behind to put some distance between them.

Perhaps due to the stunt in the elevator, once they were out, Amy cast an unabashed, lingering gaze at Zhou Yanzhou's back and made a wild declaration: "If it were me, I'd definitely sleep-talk him into submission."

Amy didn't bother lowering her voice, and every word reached Zhou Yanzhou's ears.

He frowned deeply, thinking only that he needed to keep Chen Xi far, far away from this madwoman.

Chen Xi: "..."

Once inside the cafeteria, Chen Xi ordered chicken leg rice, while Amy stuck to her diet food.

They sat at their usual table and continued chatting.

After cycling through the topic of men, Amy moved on to company gossip.

"Do you know why the skinflint always walks around with a frozen expression like he's terrified of the opposite sex, and why he's still unmarried at forty?"

Chen Xi let out a soft "Ah?" and shook her head in bewilderment. "Why?"

Amy gigged, as if recalling something hilarious, and burst out laughing. "Back when he was out negotiating a partnership with a client—a divorced woman in her fifties—halfway through the talk, she slipped male enhancement drugs into his drink. He almost lost his chastity right then and there. Ever since that day, the skinflint has kept women at arm's length and solidified his stance on never marrying."

"So I'm telling you, you've got terrible luck. Of all the people you could've landed with, you got him."

Chen Xi listened with her jaw dropped, her eyes wide with shock.

Zhou Yanzhou sat not far away, picking at a plate of unappetizing pasta while watching the two women by the window gossip away.

Midway through their chat, one of the girls looked utterly dumbheaded, while the other wore a spine-chilling expression that seemed to say, *Terrifying, isn't it?*—looking for all the world like they were acting out a soap opera.

Halfway through his meal, Zhou Yanzhou put down his fork, picked up his phone, opened his contacts, and tapped out a text message.

The moment the message went through, a phone sitting on the table diagonally across from him lit up.

The young girl glanced at the screen and hastily flipped her phone over.

As soon as Chen Xi finished digesting the gossip, her phone lit up. She glanced down and nearly shrieked out loud.

Fearing Amy would notice, Chen Xi moved with lightning speed to switch off the screen and flip the phone face-down.

Amy noticed her twitchy behavior and arched an eyebrow. "What's wrong?"

Chen Xi lied with feigned composure, "Spam text, nothing important."

Only Chen Xi knew how terrifying the sentence—*'I'll check with my hands next time!'*—truly was.

After lunch, Amy received a call and left early.

Chen Xi helped Amy return her tray to the collection station, thinking she had time to spare and planning to stop by the cafe downstairs to pick up a cup of coffee for Attorney Xu.

The lunch rush having passed, the elevator lobby wasn't crowded. As Chen Xi stood staring at the floor with her head down waiting for the elevator, a tall, slender figure appeared beside her.

Chen Xi turned her head to see the man standing with both hands in his pockets, gazing calmly at the elevator buttons.

Fearing being seen, Chen Xi silently stepped aside to put some distance between them.

Seeing this, Zhou Yanzhou recalled her intimate contact with Amy in the elevator earlier, and his brow furrowed.

*Ding.* The elevator doors opened. Chen Xi let out a soft breath and stepped inside.

Seeing the man follow right behind her, Chen Xi bit her lip and offered a quiet reminder: "This car is going down."

Zhou Yanzhou raised an eyebrow, his tone less than pleasant: "I'm not allowed to go down?"

Chen Xi: "..."

Of course he was. She was just worried she had gotten on the wrong car.

It was just the two of them in the elevator. She could breathe just fine when it was packed to the gills with people, but right then, Chen Xi felt suffocated.

She clutched the hem of her shirt, her gaze wandering helplessly toward the small digital display as she wished the elevator would just arrive already.

The man, however, looked utterly leisurely. With one hand in his pocket and the other flicking through recent news on his phone, he seemed completely unbothered.

When they finally reached the ground floor, Chen Xi bolted out of the elevator in a panic, but before she could get far, the man called out, "Stop right there."

Chen Xi halted on reflex. By the time she processed it, the man had already closed the distance. "Where are you going?"

The man's presence was overwhelmingly intense. Chen Xi blinked and answered honestly, "To get a cup of coffee for my supervising attorney..."

Zhou Yanzhou listened in silence for two seconds, then stated flatly, "Are you here to be an office errand girl serving tea?"

Chen Xi: "..."

Seeing her struck speechless, Zhou Yanzhou pressed on: "Do you even know what kind of coffee your supervising attorney likes? Do you know his temperament and working style?"

"And most importantly, have you finished the core tasks he assigned you?"

Chen Xi knew absolutely nothing.

Zhou Yanzhou felt a headache coming on.

He sighed and said in an even tone, "Learn to manage upward. Figure out your boss's personality before you start running errands."

Chen Xi felt a sudden flash of enlightenment and turned to head back upstairs to review her materials, but after taking two steps, she was halted by Zhou Yanzhou's voice: "Come back."

Chen Xi blinked, spun around, and stared at Zhou Yanzhou with a blank expression.

Zhou Yanzhou lost whatever temper he had left at her antics. He let out a cold laugh and asked unhurriedly, "Not treating your supervising attorney anymore, so you're skipping the cafe?"

"Don't see me standing here? Didn't think to buy me a cup of coffee while you're at it?"

Chen Xi: "..."

Wasn't she in a rush to get back to work?

Seeing right through her micro-expressions, Zhou Yanzhou complained in exasperation, "Even ungrateful wolves have more heart than you."

Chen Xi: "..."

The two of them walked one after the other into the cafe they had visited earlier. The shop wasn't busy. Not wanting to walk too close to him, Chen Xi deliberately dawdled for two minutes before stepping through the door.

Determined to make her treat, Zhou Yanzhou ordered an iced Americano, cast a sideways glance at the person lingering nearby, and said calmly, "She's paying."

The cashier instinctively looked toward Chen Xi. Chen Xi, currently playing dead in the back: "..."

Realizing Zhou Yanzhou was deliberately playing games with her, Chen Xi had no choice but to step up to the counter. She glanced at the menu, ordered a matcha latte and a matcha Frappuccino, pulled out her phone, opened her payment code, and paid for his drink along with hers.

The cashier placed the order and asked, "For here or to go?"

They spoke in unison:

"To go."

"For here."

Chen Xi wanted hers to go, while Zhou Yanzhou intended to drink his inside the cafe.

Hearing the words "to go," Zhou Yanzhou shot her a sidelong glance and asked with ambiguous intent, "Who's the other cup for?"

Chen Xi didn't like coffee, so the Frappuccino was unquestionably hers. The other drink was obviously for someone else.

Without waiting for Chen Xi to reply, Zhou Yanzhou guessed it: "For your supervising attorney? Did you not hear a single word I just said?"

Chen Xi exhaled, gritted her teeth, and replied, "It's for Amy."

The mere mention of Amy's name gave Zhou Yanzhou a headache. He stared at Chen Xi with a complex expression for two seconds and offered a subtle warning: "Are you close with her?"

Clueless, Chen Xi answered, "We're okay, yeah."

Zhou Yanzhou gave his chin a slight tilt and dropped the subject with a directive: "Stay away from her."

Chen Xi: "..."

Chen Xi didn't understand why Zhou Yanzhou had such a prejudice against Amy. She blinked and deliberately acted contrarily: "Why should I stay away from her? Amy is a great person and she's helped me a lot."

At that, Zhou Yanzhou's frown deepened. When another customer walked in to place an order, Zhou Yanzhou noticed Chen Xi standing right in the middle of the aisle and reached out to pull her aside to avoid a collision.

Chen Xi's gaze dropped to the hand gripping her wrist. The knuckles were well-proportioned, the skin fair, with a few prominent veins webbing across the back of the hand—giving it an intensely masculine, attractive look.

Zhou Yanzhou let go and stated with quiet conviction, "That girl doesn't look like a proper person."

Chen Xi: "..."

*That's just your own bias, isn't it?*

Once the coffee was ready, Chen Xi grabbed the carrier bag and walked straight out.

Zhou Yanzhou picked up his coffee, found a quiet corner table, and sipped it with casual indifference.

During this time, a young woman noticed he was sitting alone and boldly walked over to ask for his WeChat. Zhou Yanzhou smiled and refused: "Sorry, I don't have a phone."

The woman glanced at the phone he had just tossed onto the table and walked away in awkward embarrassment.

When Chen Xi returned to the law firm, she handed the matcha latte to Amy and kept the Frappuccino for herself.

Most people in the firm were out of the office during lunch hours—either out meeting clients or eating elsewhere.

Amy looked pleasantly surprised upon receiving the coffee, hugging Chen Xi and showering her with compliments until Chen Xi's face flushed crimson with embarrassed fluster.

Xu Feng happened to step out of his office just in time to witness the scene, and couldn't help shooting the two of them a lingering look.

Noticing his gaze, the two girls instinctively broke apart. Amy patted Chen Xi's shoulder and offered encouragement: "Back to work, you can do it."

Chen Xi managed a strained smile, lowered her head, and scurried back to her desk to open her computer and resume working.

After taking a stroll through the pantry, Xu Feng noticed the new intern had tied her hair back and was buried in deep concentration before her computer. He paced over to Chen Xi's desk, glanced at the sticky notes plastered across her monitor—which proved she was genuinely digesting the material and taking notes—and gave the edge of the desk a light tap.

Hearing the sound, Chen Xi snapped her head up, locking eyes with Xu Feng's expressionless face.

Maintaining his stern facade, Xu Feng delivered his instructions in a serious tone: "Come with me to meet a client at three."

"Print out the documents I sent you earlier, organize them properly, and hand them over to me."

Chen Xi nodded frantically.

Seeing this, the corners of Xu Feng's mouth twitched slightly before he turned and headed back into his office.

Chen Xi watched Xu Feng's retreating back, a wave of relief washing over her chest.

Amy was right: Xu Feng possessed an overwhelmingly oppressive aura, and she was genuinely terrified of him.

The moment the glass door clicked shut, Chen Xi let out a breath, stood up, grabbed her laptop, and walked over to the printer to start printing out the documents.

Once operating, the pages drifted out like a blanket of white snow.

Chen Xi scrambled to organize the documents, sorting the scattered papers into categorized piles before fastening them with paperclips.

When the printer finally fell silent, Chen Xi looked at the remaining small stack of unorganized paperwork, let out a wry laugh, and scooped up the brick-thick pile of documents in one arm and her laptop in the other, laboriously making her way back to her desk.

Seeing Chen Xi with her head buried behind a wall of paper, Amy cast a sympathetic look and delivered some gloating consolation with a straight face: "Good thing I transferred departments, otherwise I'd be worked to death."

Chen Xi: "..."

At 2:50 PM, Chen Xi finished organizing and indexing all the materials. She knocked on Xu Feng's office door and, at his permission, pushed the door open just enough to peek her head through the crack and announce, "Attorney Xu, the documents are all printed."

Xu Feng was on a phone call. He wordlessly pointed at his phone, then made a shooing gesture to dismiss Chen Xi.

Realizing he was on the phone, Chen Xi smiled apologetically and quietly pulled the door shut.

Back at her desk, Chen Xi sat hesitatingly, unsure of what else she should be doing.

She was still completely in the dark regarding Zhou Yanzhou's advice about "managing upward," having no clue where to begin.

To be honest, she had assumed the workplace would be like school—that she only needed to do her core duties and follow her supervising attorney's arrangements.

Yet society was no ivory tower; no one was willing to hand-hold you through personal growth. They would simply choose to eliminate or ignore you.

Having finished his call, Xu Feng stepped out and found Chen Xi staring blankly at her desk. A flicker of disdain crossed his face, as he failed to understand why Fang Hui had assigned such a clueless intern to him.

Under normal circumstances, new interns were assigned to mid-level attorneys at the firm.

Yet when Fang Hui handed the girl over to him, he had offered a pointed warning: "This girl has unusual backing, so don't scare her off."

Xu Feng had always despised people who relied on connections, but Fang Hui loved utilizing interns with personal resources and backing to secure business sources. Powerless to interfere, Xu Feng could only turn a blind eye.

With these thoughts in mind, Xu Feng cast a complex look at Chen Xi as she clumsily searched Baidu for similar M&A cases. He stepped forward to interrupt her: "Pack your things and come with me to meet a client."

Chen Xi checked her computer clock. The timing was exact: precisely 3:00 PM.

She smiled and nodded, thinking to herself: *Attorney Xu is a man who truly values time management.*

Riding the elevator down to the garage, Xu Feng looked at Chen Xi, who was lugging a heavy stack of documents without a single complaint, and asked, "Can you drive?"

The documents weighed a hefty thirty pounds or so and felt quite burdensome in her arms. Chen Xi blinked and replied hesitantly, "I got my license right after high school graduation, but I've never driven alone on the road."

Xu Feng: "..."

Up on the 33rd floor, Jiang迟 carried a tablet, gave a token knock on the president's office door, and barged in without waiting for a reply.

Tossing the tablet onto the man's desk, Jiang迟 plopped himself right onto the edge of the desk and asked brashly, "There's a dinner banquet at five, you going?"

"That bastard's been trying to book you for two months now. If you blow him off again, it's a bit heartless. Not that I'm speaking for him, but this really is a situation where he needs our help."

Zhou Yanzhou was reading a financial report. Hearing this, he glanced at the tablet, saw the contents, and calmly asked, "Address?"

Realizing there was hope, Jiang迟 gave a knowing smile. "Near Longfu Temple."

Without lifting his head, Zhou Yanzhou replied, "I'm going."

Jiang迟 beamed. "Got it, I'll set it up."

Timing the departure precisely, Jiang迟 reminded Zhou Yanzhou it was time to leave.

Only then did Zhou Yanzhou pick up his phone, car keys, and jacket, stepping out of the office with unhurried grace.

Driver Xie handled the wheel, while Jiang迟 and Zhou Yanzhou sat in the back. Before getting into the car, Jiang迟 glanced at the license plate and asked in confusion, "What's the deal with your plate anyway? It's neither an auspicious number nor a special anniversary date. What, is our mom's birthday on July 24th?"

Zhou Yanzhou shot a sideways glance at the chatterbox Jiang迟 and frowned. "Are you having an episode?"

Jiang迟 clicked his tongue, supremely confident. "How come I remember Teacher Meng's birthday is in the lunar winter? Could it be some girl's birthday?"

Zhou Yanzhou's expression remained unchanged.

Unfazed by whatever Zhou Yanzhou was thinking, Jiang迟 rubbed his chin, studied Zhou Yanzhou's expression, and probed tentatively, "Could it be little Xixi's birthday?"

The moment those words left his mouth, Zhou Yanzhou turned his head and shot Jiang迟 a cold glare.

Confirming his suspicions, Jiang迟 slapped his thigh in excitement and gave Zhou Yanzhou an enthusiastic thumbs-up. "Got to hand it to you, how romantic. If little Xixi finds out, she'll probably cry tears of joy, right?"

"And honestly, how old are you to still be clinging to this pure-love act? Young people nowadays don't go for this kind of stuff."

"If you're genuinely interested in little Xixi, stop playing hard to get. Confess already, before someone else beats you to the punch and you end up playing the home-wrecker again."

The more Jiang迟 talked, the darker Zhou Yanzhou's face grew, turning as black as ink.

Realizing Jiang迟 wasn't going to quit, Zhou Yanzhou cut him off coldly, "Are you done yet?"

Jiang迟 shut his mouth instantly, though he offered one final, desperate warning before clamping down: "Don't let her cool demeanor fool you, little Xixi faces tons of temptations at her age. Those college boys are all like peacocks showing off their feathers—their moves are sophisticated and novel, so there's no guarantee little Xixi won't get tempted. Take that kid who came to pick her up downstairs the other day—he seemed pretty interesting, didn't he?"

Zhou Yanzhou swept a single glance his way, and Jiang迟 manually covered his mouth.

The car fell silent for a moment before Jiang迟 couldn't resist asking one last time, "There are no outsiders here, bro. Tell me the honest truth: do you actually have feelings for little Xixi or not?"

Zhou Yanzhou let out a cold laugh. "What? Did you switch careers and become a matchmaker?"

Jiang迟 sighed, a complex mix of emotions on his face. "I'm just worried you'll end up a homewrecker out of love."

Zhou Yanzhou: "..."

*I'll make you a homewrecker with your own mother.*