As Xie Yanli's words fell, the scene fell into a dead silence. The gazes directed at Qin Fan were filled with scrutiny:

They wondered who this young lady was, to be able to get a personal invitation from President Xie, who was known for keeping women at a distance.

Facing the focused gazes of the bigwigs, Qin Fan maintained a faint smile on her lips, calmly and leisurely walking straight to the seat that had been pulled out for her.

As soon as she sat down, the faint, woody scent of agarwood from the man beside her silently enveloped her.

She reflexively glanced sideways and saw Xie Yanli sitting quietly. His posture seemed casual and unconcerned, yet his unfastened cufflink revealed a section of a toned, powerful arm, like an elegantly dormant leopard, making it impossible for anyone to underestimate him.

Qin Fan composed herself and politely thanked Xie Yanli, "Thank you for helping me out of that situation."

Pfft—

Standing behind Qin Fan and personally pouring her tea, Secretary Wen's wrist trembled, but he thankfully managed to steady it in time.

His thoughts were complicated: 'Anyone who didn't know would think this was her first time meeting President Xie.'

Xie Yanli's long fingers, holding the glass, paused. Then, his composed gaze slowly fell upon her. After sizing her up for a few seconds, a low, faint monosyllable escaped his thin lips: "Mm."

Although everyone was curious about Qin Fan, with the great Buddha that was Xie Yanli right beside her, no one dared to provoke her.

The dinner table soon returned to its previous atmosphere of idle chatter.

Qin Fan looked at the complex dishes before her, all perfect in color, aroma, and taste. She picked up her chopsticks for a moment, then set them down again and took a sip of warm tea.

Xie Yanli motioned for Secretary Wen to bring over a menu.

During this, Qin Fan didn't notice them. She was leaning lazily against the soft chair, ready to play on her phone for a while.

The bigwigs' conversation had nothing to do with her.

Her WeChat was about to explode with messages from Sister Jiang—

"Ahhh, Director Song just asked for my business card! He said he'd recommend you if a suitable opportunity comes up!"

"It's a blessing in disguise! How are you doing now?"

"Don't forget to ask President Xie to help you find out who's plotting against you from behind the scenes. Don't feel embarrassed. President Xie gets to sleep with a high-quality fairy wife like you for free every day, so what's wrong with helping out a little? Don't be shy, just reach out your little paws for help."

"After all, if the enemy is too powerful, you'll probably need President Xie to take care of it for you. We need to prepare for a rainy day and coax him well..."

Qin Fan's fingertip paused on the screen.

Thinking of Sister Jiang's instructions, she rubbed her brow in frustration.

Xie Yanli was a bit hard to coax.

Qin Fan rested her slender arm on the table and tilted her head to look at Xie Yanli. Her peripheral vision caught sight of his pale white hand, wrapped with Buddhist prayer beads, resting casually on his knee.

She extended a finger and casually poked Xie Yanli's pinky, asking as if in idle chat, "Are you going back home to the Beijing Suburban Villa tonight?"

Xie Yanli's voice was light but clear as he replied, "I'm not going back."

They didn't pay attention to their surroundings as they spoke, so many people heard them. They all looked at Qin Fan's extremely beautiful face with a sudden realization: so it wasn't that President Xie usually stayed away from women, but that his standards were too high. The only one he could fancy was a fairy.

And here she was, his kept little lover.

Qin Fan was choked by Xie Yanli's words. How was she supposed to continue the conversation now!

Seeing her expression was off, Xie Yanli kindly explained, "I have work. It's more convenient to stay at the hotel."

Qin Fan's slender fingers toyed with her thin phone. After a moment of thought, the corner of her lips suddenly curled up.

She quickly unlocked her screen, found a screenshot in her photo album, and passed it to Xie Yanli from under the table.

Xie Yanli lowered his eyes to look—

The first thing he saw were the woman's delicate, fair fingertips, pointing at a line of small text below a video of his interview from some time ago:

Bodhisattva, save me.

Xie Yanli was not ignorant of worldly matters; he naturally understood the meaning of those words.

Meeting Qin Fan's peach blossom eyes, which were looking at him with anticipation, and remembering the nude oil painting she had personally hung in his study last night, Xie Yanli pondered for a few seconds as a meaningful glint flashed in the depths of his dark eyes.

Qin Fan looked at him expectantly. "See how discerning the netizens are? They can tell you're as compassionate as a Bodhisattva, saving all living beings. So, saving your lawfully wedded wife shouldn't be too much to ask, right?"

Xie Yanli understood. His thin lips curved into a very faint arc as he slowly nodded. "Alright, I understand."

'Understood?'

Qin Fan blinked suspiciously, feeling a little uneasy. She hadn't even told him how to help her yet.

She opened her mouth, just about to mention the recent difficulties she was facing in her career.

Just then, Secretary Wen handed the menu to Xie Yanli.

Xie Yanli took a thin card from his trousers pocket, clipped it into the menu, and then casually passed it to Qin Fan.

Before Qin Fan could react, Xie Yanli had already risen from his seat, fastening his cufflink with one hand, preparing to leave.

Qin Fan held the menu, feeling that something wasn't quite right.

As Xie Yanli was about to leave, Qin Fan quickly grabbed the hem of his clothes, which was within arm's reach, and looked up at him:

"Wait, what did you understand?"

Xie Yanli was leaving the table early to finish his work sooner.

Since she was his legal wife, as long as Qin Fan didn't cross his bottom line, Xie Yanli was willing to fulfill his duties as a husband.

Being suddenly stopped, he calmly leaned down and whispered two words into her ear:

"Save you."

Qin Fan: "..."

Xie Yanli made sure she had heard him clearly before calmly straightening up and unhurriedly walking past the screen to leave.

At the silent dinner table, Qin Fan slowly opened the menu. When she saw a black card with gold-foil lettering clipped inside the colorful menu, her gaze froze.

It was—

A room key.

Case closed!

This damn man actually thought she wanted... sex!

Qin Fan took a deep breath, slowly calming her breathing. Her fingertips tightened around the room key, wishing she could throw it in the trash.

But when she thought about her career that was about to be blacklisted, and how she didn't even know who her enemy was, she felt it would be a huge loss.

Qin Fan weighed the pros and cons and quickly calmed down.

She couldn't throw away the room key. After all, Xie Yanli was always busy, often disappearing for ten days or half a month at a time. Who knew when they would meet again? Tonight, she absolutely could not fall asleep again.

After Xie Yanli left, all eyes in the room fell on Qin Fan.

She didn't stay long either. Stepping in her high heels, as composed as when she arrived, she gracefully left shortly after.

......

Qin Fan used the room key to open the presidential suite on the top floor of the hotel. The room was kept at a constant temperature, with a light, elegant fragrance.

A black carry-on suitcase was placed in the entryway.

Qin Fan glanced at it and then looked away. She kicked off her high heels and, out of habit, walked slowly towards the terrace with her small, bare feet.

As expected of the most luxurious presidential suite in the Xinghe Luqi Hotel, the floor-to-ceiling window alone, which took up an entire wall, offered a view overlooking almost half of Bei Cheng.

Instead of waiting for him on the sofa, Qin Fan grabbed a throw pillow and sat on the floor in front of the window.

Night fell, but the city did not fall asleep. Neon lights flickered, creating a world of brilliant lights. The people and cars on the streets below were as small as ants.

Qin Fan rested her chin on her hand and looked outside, a self-deprecating smile on her face.

In some people's eyes, wasn't she just like that, an existence whose efforts could be casually erased?

Perhaps it was because the room was too quiet, or perhaps she was too tired today, but Qin Fan couldn't help but feel drowsy as she hugged the pillow.

As the night deepened, many of the brilliant neon lights outside the window quietly disappeared.

"Beep—"

In the quiet space, the sound of the door opening was particularly clear.